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…
Having sat in the AZ. sun for decades, there probably isn’t much left for us to see. I envision bare coil seat springs with the covers long-since baked off, little to no headliner, and door cards hanging on with blind luck and prayer. The interior would probably cost more to restore than the engine (cracked head?) and body. Yes…..even when considering the entry-level Special interior trim being vinyl.
Do you reckon those Fingerhut seatcovers are still intact?
The styling department got carried away with (IMO) those awful bumpers.
Those are the best part…
I love old Buicks–always have (and I’m 75). But I’m not a fan of “patina,” which some refer to as “nice rust.” Where I come from, rust is never “nice.”
My first car! Bought it from the neighbor who was a Buick guy…he always claimed it had a ‘one ton rear end’. Fun car…great for hauling around my high school jazz band associates. Horrible gas mileage…went through an entire tank of premium fuel just ‘cruising’ one Friday night…of course back then the Douglas station had it for 24.9 cents a gallon. Finally had to sell it when something broke in the front end, making it almost impossible to steer. My dad’s friend who owned the local Richfield station welded it up, said “sell it to your worst enemy”. Awesome car though.
Do you suppose that the cracked head was the reason for parking such a beautiful piece.
This car is reported to have a cracked engine block, a far more serious problem than a cracked head. A cracked block might well explain why someone allowed the the car to remain so long dormant. It’s less likely that an easily replaceable cracked head would prompt that decision.
price is fair but it is 100k to redo this due to parts availability. motor is easy its everything else. real shame. there are not many left
I like long roof cars when there is no roof rack poking holes in the sheet metal. I like them even more when they are 2 doors. But the style on this car “kind of’ hides the fact that it is a 4 door car. The body style makes it really evident that this is a BUICK!
I have purchased and repaired many cars that supposedly had a cracked block when they needed a freeze plug replaced. Also, having grown up in a place where a weather related cracked block can happen. (Northern Illinois) I find it hard to believe that could happen in Arizona. Maybe in a particularly severe Flagstaff winter. But like here in Northern Nevada, it doesn’t stay cold long enough to cause a cracked block. And definitely not in Tucson. A split radiator maybe. But not a block.
I like it, but the price is too high for the rust perforation and flaking present. Scale and rust is time consuming to fix. The “cracked block” takes more value away, and the engine is not complete unless the related pulleys and brackets are all there. I’ll assume that the radiator was scrapped by a thief, but for originality, copper/brass is the way to go, and too few guys can make those anymore; soldering skills are very hard to find any more in any industry.