Hardtops – especially four-door hardtops – were a big deal to the Big Three in the 1950’s. And for the 1957 model year, GM combined the pizazz of a pillarless four-door hardtop with the utility of a station wagon in their top-of-the-line Buick Caballero and Oldsmobile Fiesta. In Buick’s case, the Caballero gets all of the attention in the collectors market due to its unique hardtop design, but Buick also offered other station wagons with traditional door posts. Here’s one of those: an entry-level Series 40 Special Estate Wagon that’s obviously seen the Arizona sun for many years. Only 7,013 of these were produced and there can’t be many left that have survived both father time and the rough life of a station wagon. It’s currently sunbathing in Tucson, Arizona, and is for sale here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,500. We’d like to thank our pal, Zappenduster, for sending this old Buick long roof our way.
I can’t help but hear America’s “Horse With No Name,” when looking at the photographs because this old Buick definitely has sun damage and is listed as a desert find. The white paint is dull and thin in areas and this wagon would be a great project for the patina lovers out there. There are some rust issues shown in the photos including both passenger side doors and the rocker panels. And, thanks to rubber floor mats, it will definitely need new floor pans. The Buick’s massive front and rear bumpers look okay (but would cost a fortune to re-chrome), the trim seems to be all there, and except for a missing backup light cover, the glass looks decent. There’s a rusty trailer hitch visible and I wonder what kind of boat or camper this old Buick pulled back in the day when this huge station wagon was new and shiny.
There are no photos of the interior, but this wagon was listed last September on Barn Finds (see original listing here), and the photos showed a really rough, sun-baked interior that would fall in the toast category. I’d imagine it would need everything replaced. And, as I mentioned earlier, the floor plans have “flow-thru” ventilation and need replacing.
The seller says “the motor is complete and runs, but has a crack in the block from a hard freeze. Either find another nailhead, attempt to fix this one, or it’s swap time.” It’s probably a 364-cubic-inch “Fireball” V8 that generated 250 horsepower when new. On the gone missing list are the wagon’s radiator as well as the AM radio which are no biggies to replace. Given its current condition inside and out, this is one of those projects that would require some fairly deep pockets. But, as long as it can be saved and made roadworthy again, I really don’t care which direction the next owner takes this old long roof in. What would you do with it?
No interior photos, that can’t be good…