- 46,900
- 8,566 below average
- 22,995 great
- Lithia Springs, GA
-
- oldride.com
- 8,566 below average 46,900 gasoline automatic
With two-tone paint, flashy chrome wire wheels, and the industry's hottest v8 under the hood, this 1954 buick century hardtop is, well, pretty darned special. Sure, chevys are popular and cadillacs are flashy, but nobody could compare with buick's brand of style. It's not subtle, but the dramatic look only gets better with bold colors like the white-over-burgundy combination shown here. And yes, we really need to talk about the chrome, because there's enough here to outfit a fleet of lesser cars, and while there are a few blemishes here and there, it all looks pretty good from 10 feet away. From the fine-toothed grille to the sweep spear running along the sides to the wonderfully ornate taillight housings that put a bright bit of punctuation on the car, this century really looks dressed up. The interior is a little more subtle, but only a little. Two-tone black and red upholstery combines a '50s sensibility with bold colors that make it look expensive, which was surely the point. The steering wheel is thin and almost delicate, especially on such a big brute, and the fully functional gauges are arrayed in two round pods with secondary controls below. And as a buick, it's got a massive trunk with correct side panels, what might be the original mats, and a full-sized spare tire. The century was always buick's best performer, and this hardtop carries a big 322 cubic inch v8 called the "nailhead" thanks to its nearly horizontal valve covers. The name of the game was torque, and the undisputed champion in '54 was the nailhead, so this car moves like it's got corvette dna in its veins. It's wearing correct corporate turquoise engine enamel and they didn't take many liberties with the hardware, which still uses the original heavy-duty air cleaner and cast iron exhaust manifolds. There's a reliable and incomparably smooth dynaflow automatic transmission behind it, and it does take some getting used to but it's pure buick at its best because the ride is unlike anything else. Flashy chrome wire wheels were popular with buicks of all shapes and sizes, and these wear a proper set of bias-ply wide whitewall tires.
22,995 Lithia Springs, GALithia Springs, GA at oldride.com