Vehicle Description
Buick has always taken pride in building luxury vehicles that
incorporated the best new technology for comfort, convenience, and
improved safety. It was sometimes called a Bankers car. But they
also took pride in building performance. Buick's Century was
created by mating small, light, Buick Special bodies to large,
powerful engines. This earned it the nickname of "the Bankers Hot
Rod".
So, "small" and "light" are relative terms. This 1958 model doesn't
look either small or light by todays standards, but it definitely
looks like an awesome Buick Hot Rod. It looks like it's going 100
mph even while its sitting still. A unique grill of square openings
is framed above and below by copious amounts of chrome. Marker
lights are mounted on each side of it in rocket like pods and there
are fantastic ornaments that grace the front of the hood and the
tops of both front fenders. Chrome accent stripes capture
headlights and dress the side of the car in a line that dives down
toward the rear wheel, then turns up and underlines a trim panel on
the rear fender that looks like it could be a jet booster. The
large rear fins are totally encased in chrome and blend into the
substantial rear bumper that has a gas cap built into the center
just above the license plate.
Open the door and you will find a luxurious two-tone interior. The
door panel sets the look with alternating sections of tan and light
beige. A large tan steering wheel wears its vintage heritage
proudly with a T-shaped chrome center and full circular horn ring.
The tan upper dash is padded for safety and below it, a chrome
section contains a linear speedometer with the engine gauges lined
up along the top of it. The center of the dash panel is darker tan
with ventilation controls that look like jet engine throttles. The
seats both front and rear are super comfortable, as would be
expected in a Buick, and beautifully upholstered with pleated beige
centers with tan trim and beige piping. Tan carpets and a tan
headliner trimmed in chrome tie the look of the interior together
nicely. An aftermarket stereo and CD player has been added under
the dash with speakers in the rear shelf for a bit of modern
listening pleasure.
Open the hood and you will find an engine that is the culmination
of four years of development that increased displacement and power
each year. It is a 364 cubic inch "Fireball" V8 that makes 300
horsepower. It is a wonderfully stock motor and engine bay in the
survivor tradition rather than one that has been meticulously
restored and dressed up. The exhaust system includes a pair of
straight through mufflers that give the car a nice sound, and power
flows back through a 2-speed automatic transmission to the rear
axle mounted on leaf springs. Up front, power steering works
through a control arm suspension with coil springs, shocks and even
a sway bar along with power front disc brakes that provide good
stopping power. The car sits on classic wide white walls from Coker
that look like bias ply tires but are actually modern radials which
are mounted on the stock steel wheels and dressed up with those
gorgeous polished hub caps.
Come on down and check out this classic Buick hot rod. Then take it
home and maybe by the bank to make them jealous.
