The Special was often the entry-level Buick and built on a variety of platforms over the years. The name first appeared in 1936 and disappeared for good after 1996. The Special was the best-selling line of Buicks in 1956, including the seller’s 4-door sedan that looks to have been barn-bound for decades. If you were to dig through the years of dirt and grime, you might find a silver paint job somewhere. Houston, Texas is where the car has been hiding out and it’s available here on eBay where the bidding sits at $3,075. If there was a reserve, it’s already been met.

The Buick Special received an overdue post-war restyle in 1949 and — between then and 1954 — a couple of different engines were used in the Special. The first being the 248 cubic inch-eight that had been employed since 1937, and then the larger “Fireball” straight-eight in 1951. Beginning with 1954, the Special received an all-new body and chassis and was equipped with the more powerful 322 cubic inch “Nailhead” engine. As the company’s first pushrod V8, the motor got its name from the small valve covers mounted on top of the heads. Under those valve covers, the vertically mounted valves created an almost-hemispherical combustion chamber. After a very successful 1955 sales year, the Special was little changed for 1956 and sales declined. But Buick managed to produce 67,000 Special 4-door sedans out of 334,000 total Specials and of 572,000 units of overall Buick production. A shout out goes to Hometown Buick for production history.

The seller doesn’t provide us with any history on this 1956 Buick Special, which is a shame because I’ll bet there are volumes to be told. It is said to come with the rare air conditioning option, but there are no photos that show it. The car is said to sit on original tube tires which will not hold air after all these years. The odometer reads under 30,000 miles, so that’s plausible. But why was the car parked in the barn and left and when? Perhaps it has something to do with the title, which is not listed as clean. Instead, the eBay category of “Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed” was checked. The photos supplied don’t show any damage that would have resulted from an accident, so the car is something of a mystery. But some rust may be trying to get started along the trim under the rear window.

Those famous three Buick Ventiports are present in the photos as they were used on all Specials from 1949-57. The more senior Buicks used four Ventiports. The body looks quite straight and rust-free and perhaps a decent shine could be coaxed out of the paint and the acres of chrome. But I’m usually the optimist. The interior doesn’t look too promising as the seats, headliner and floor covering all need help and there may be at least one broken window because of the use of a sheet to cover the driver’s side.

A 1956 Buick Special could fetch as much as $33,000 according to Hagerty, if in Concours condition. So, let’s set our heights a little lower. Good condition is about half that, so what would it take to bring this car back to middle-of-the road. If the engine can be made to run, is there a cosmetic sleeper lurking under all that dirt and dust?