1950 Buick Other

Straight 8

75420151

Clear

GAS

"Yoda" It kills me to do this but I find its time to sell my 1950 Buick Special Sedanette ('Yoda'). I actually open the garage door and stare at it sometimes. Does anyone else do that? Just love the lines, but it seems my plans are not coming together and I have other things capturing my imagination, all car related of course. Anyway, everything works except the clock and radio. Both did work and then stopped. I paid $160 for the clock a few years ago. I think a cleaning would get it back to ticking! Have the shop manual and a repro owners manual as well. He runs and starts just fine. After a few days of sitting, you will have to pump the pedal a bunch. Modern gas bites to be honest. By the way, Yoda has never failed to start. Rides and stops quite nicely as well. Yoda looks like he was painted with a spray can 40 years ago. I just left it that way since it was fine for cruising around while I tried to develop a plan. I have a new NOS rear fender in great shape with the exception of a small dent that should be easily pulled out. It's typical of an old car; smells like an old book and I love that myself. Need to sit on a pillow for the correct drive position. For me at least. The interior is not ripped up seat wise but they're ugly. Door panels have a tear by the open handle. Glass is good. There are no major dents or rust showing. Headliner has a small hole but otherwise intact. The inner rockers don't look too good from the underside. It was never a problem for me. To be honest, I'd drive this car anywhere. Yoda has never let me down. Cruising at 60 is no issue but with 4:10 gears, there's not much left past 70. I just love the hood and what I see when cruising. I'm sure you can relate! Its hot in there though. The last owner pulled the carpet jute out and repaired a hole in the floor. Not too nicely done actually. The floor was then painted with an ugly brown sealer. The vinyl floor is there with a piece missing under the gas pedal. Here are some facts: - I'm the third owner. It literally was a little old lady's car from Connecticut. Her name was Annie Storrs of Storrs, CT and her husband bought the car new. Guess the family started the town in 1871. Yoda has some history to him! From about 1975 to 1990 Yoda sat in storage. The second owner basically did a little work to the car, got it running, fixed a few things and let it sit for 14 more years in his garage. I bought the car in 2004. - The speedo shows almost 61,000 miles. I put on 5,500 in the last 9 years. It's a little fast, like 5 or 10 miles per hour so the miles are off a bit. Nothing dramatic though. - Yoda is a Buick Special fast back, with a three speed on the column. Has a 248 straight 8 that leaks more oil than it burns, mainly from the front seal. Actually, it doesn't smoke at all. The following has been done to the motor: New 6 Volt Alternator. This made a huge difference. About 3 years old. An expensive one.Rebuilt the carb 5,000 miles agoNew rebuilt fuel pump 5,000 miles agoPertronix ignition 5,000 miles agoPlugs and wires In 2010 I rebuilt the front end. This made a giant difference in ride. Have pictures of the work. All the parts were blasted and painted including the wheels, control arms, drums and backing plates. Here's some of the work I've done: New front springsRebuilt lever arm shocksNew king pins and bushingsNew bushings for control arms and sway barDrums turned all the way aroundNew padsBrake lines cleaned inside and/or replaced as neededMaster rebuiltNew wheel cylinders all the way aroundNew Diamond Back wide whitewall radialsNew wheel bearings - inner and outerNew axle seals in rearNew Battery - one year or soI have some pictures of the work for you to see if you like. Just contact me. When I first bought the car I had the gas tank and sending unit restored. The cost was $900. Yoda rides great. He wanders though and needs an alignment. Yes, he has issues. Here's what I know: The clutch needs to be replacedSome of the glass rubber and door rubber is bad. Can get all you need from Steele though.The alignment needs to be doneTransmission chatters in first gearSeals leak (front and rear)Radiator is good but has not been touched. He never overheats, ever. So I just left the radiator alone.Gas line is rubber and should be replaced. I think I have a new stainless gas line somewhere.Passenger side wiper doesn't work. It can be fixed though. Used to work but I caught the wiper with a towel and somehow messed up the cable underneath the dashThere are some door alignment issues in the rear. I just don't know how to do that work so I left well enough alone My plan was to do a resto mod kind of thing. Certainly it's a great restoration or rod candidate. Perfect for a period rod! There were a ton of these cars built in 1950 but seem to be rare. I hardly ever see one at the shows or for sale. One good thing about old Buick's, there are lots of parts available and not too expensive. I have a '47 Caddy and parts for him are a ton of money and scarce! Geesh, I hate to sell this thing! Oh and by the way, he has been in the garage as long as I've owned him. So all tolled, I'd say the elements have not been near Yoda since 1975 or 38 Years. feel free to email me with questions. gnoub@me.com.