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Car Tales: American Beauty, Buick Super Convertible Coupe

‘Quintessentially American, and one of the great and abiding brand names in the USA, the Buick marque started as long ago as 1899, set up by David Dunbar Buick. At Beverly Hills Car Club at the moment we have an example of his heritage:
1955 Buick Super Convertible for sale
‘A distinguished 1955 Buick Super Convertible featuring body by Fisher and finished in a beautiful color scheme of Cherokee Red complemented with a matching color interior.

Buyer / Seller Questions? 310-975-0272

‘Equipped with an automatic transmission, V8 engine, dual exhaust outlets, chrome trim/bumpers, fender portholes, convertible soft top, boot cover, Hella fog lights, three-spoke steering wheel with a horn ring, tail fins, BFGoodrich redline tires, Buick-branded hub caps, and a full-size spare tire fitted in the trunk. Amenities include front/rear bench seats, dual-side mirrors, manual-crank windows, vent windows, lap belts, an analog clock in the dashboard, sun visors with vanity mirrors, an ashtray, and a push-button radio. This Buick Super Convertible is an eye-catching American classic that is ready to be enjoyed and is mechanically sound.
1955 Buick Super Convertible side view
‘But who was David Buick, the founder of this legendary marque?
‘There is something rather brusque about the name, so it is almost not surprising to learn that Buick was a Scottish-born American inventor, born on 17 September 1854, in Arbroath, Scotland.
‘At the age of 2, he had moved with his family to the United States, where they settled in Detroit. Working at first in a plumbing company, he and a partner took over the business in 1882. Quickly David Buick demonstrated acumen as an inventor, his several innovations including a lawn sprinkler and a method for permanently coating cast iron with vitreous enamel, allowing the production of ‘white’ baths at a lower cost, a method still used today. His company was a success.
‘But he left it after he became fascinated with the internal combustion engine, constantly seeking ways to revise and refine it. Having sold the plumbing business, he in 1899 had the capital to set up the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Company.
‘Quickly David Buick managed to establish the Buick Manufacturing Company with the objectives of marketing engines to other car companies, and manufacturing and selling its own cars. But manufacturing and development problems ensued, and, at the end of 1902, Buick was out of money with only one car to show for his work.
‘However, his concentration on development had produced the revolutionary ‘Valve-in-Head’ overhead valve engine. This method of engine construction produces a much more powerful engine, and it is fair to classify virtually all modern engines as derivatives of Buick’s invention.
1955 Buick Super Convertible rear view
‘With a $5000 loan from Benjamin Briscoe, a friend and fellow car enthusiast, David Buick was able to move on to form the Buick Motor Company. This in turn eventually would become the foundation of what developed into General Motors.
‘In 1906, however, David Buick accepted a severance package: he left the company he had founded, with only one share of it to his name. William C Durant, the then president of Buick, then purchased this share from him for $100,000, a modern day equivalent being around $3,000,000.
1955 Buick Super Convertible interior
‘David Buick endeavored to return to the automobile business in 1921, with the unsuccessful Lorraine Motors, and in 1923 designed the Dunbar, a prototype automobile. But he was not to have further success.
‘He died in 1929, of colon cancer. In 2000, however, the automotive historian Vincent Curcio noted that, ‘To date, over 35,000,000 motor cars have been built in his name, which will never be lost to history.’
‘An epic life’s achievement.
‘Meanwhile, a feature of our beautiful 1955 Buick Super Convertible is its Fisher body. This was a true family affair, founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan, and a General Motors division for many years. Until the mid-1990s General Motors vehicles displayed a ‘Body by Fisher’ emblem on their door sill plates.
‘Originally a horse-drawn carriage shop established in Norwalk, Ohio, Fred and Charles Fisher, the two oldest brothers, came to Detroit in 1904 and 1905.With financing from their uncle, on July 22, 1908, Fred and Charles Fisher established the Fisher Body Company. Their uncle soon wanted out, and the brothers obtained the needed funds from businessman Louis Mendelssohn who became a shareholder and director.
‘Soon Charles and Fred Fisher brought their five younger brothers into the business. Even before this, Fred Fisher had built the first closed-body coupe, the 1905 Cadillac Osceola at the C. R. Wilson Company.
1955 Buick Super Convertible engine
‘Starting in 1910, Fisher became the supplier of all closed bodies for Cadillac, Buick, Oakland and Oldsmobile.
‘Finally sold to General Motors in 1926, the Fisher Body Company had evolved into one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies.
‘And that ‘Body by Fisher’ rubric was never undersold.
-Alex Manos, Owner
1955 Buick Super Convertible buyer Alex Manos

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