1956 Buick Special - Driver! No Reserve! 2 Door!

1956 Buick Other Additional Info:

You are bidding on a nice daily driver '56 Buick Special. This lovely 2 door sedan runs strong and everything works well. You could cruise this car to the local shows, to the beach, the drive-in or just drive around for fun. That is what I have been doing with it and I am sad to let it go. I bought this car locally a few years ago. It had some cosmetic front end damage from a minor fender bender and had been sitting parked for a while. I towed it home and put gas and a battery in it and it fired right up.
I did a lot of repairs during the time I have owned it. I replaced the broken grill and center badge, repaired the fender and hood, had the radiator recored with a 3 row core, replaced the belts, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, installed a Pertronix electronic ignition, replaced the fuel and water pumps, rebuilt the brakes, replaced the rear coil springs/shocks, powdercoated the original wheels back to their original red color, installed new Coker wide white wall tires, replaced the broken speedometer with a functional one, replaced the oil pressure gauge and sender, had the original 2 barrel carb rebuilt professionally, had a new true dual exhaust installed with glass packs and stainless tips to match the original "through bumper" design. I recently replaced the battery as well.
All lights and instruments work great. The stock AM tube radio functions nicely. I added a unit that plugs in-line with the antenna so it has an auxiliary cord that you can plug your iPod, CD player or iPhone into for music and it plays through the stock radio. This is perfect for playing period appropriate tunes while out cruising. All interior lights work including the trunk and glove box lights.
The not-so-good stuff: The clock does not work and the stock vacuum wipers are barely operable. Both driver and passenger windows are cracked but still go up and down just fine. The rear side windows go up and down as well. The right side wing window needs help but the drivers side works fine. The front bumper chrome is gone in some place so both front end rear bumpers could use a rechrome. The seats are nice but the rest could use some more love. The kick panels are missing and the carpet is ratty. The headliner is OK but I sewed it up in the back where the seam split. I am more of a mechanic than a seamstress so take it for what it is. The carb will go dry after a few days of sitting so you need to crank it a bit to get the fuel back in the carb or i just splash a little in the carb from a small fuel bottle to help her out. The heater and heater controls work perfectly but the heater core must have a small leak since the windows are fogging up now with the heat on. The car will start just fine if it only sits for a day or two between runs. There is a trans leak at the front, as nearly all Dynaflows do. It's not too terrible but you'd want to put a small pan down if you have a real nice driveway you want to keep clean. There is some rust on the body near the front bumper, at the front of the rear wheels, at the rear beltline, along the bottom of the doors (inner and outer rockers are solid though), the floor pans are solid. It seems that the driver's side was replaced with a fiberglass(?) pan at some point. There are some rust areas in the trunk but truly not bad for a 60 year old car.
I suspect this car was probably restored/repainted in the 70s or 80s. It does not seem to have suffered any "barn" storage or years of neglect. This car has certainly been loved by all of its owners including me. The chassis is very clean and nice and thankfully this straight and clean two door sedan has never been chopped up or beat on. I drove this car with my wife and dog from Southern NJ down to Shenandoah National Park, Virginia and back via Skyline Drive last year and it didn't skip a beat. It is a pure joy to drive and hope you get to enjoy it just the same. You will rarely see another one at your local cruise night. These Buicks are premium machines compared to Chevy, Ford, Dodge and I feel are even better looking/driving than Cadillac and Lincoln of the same era.
Included in the sale will be a car cover, service manual and a spare front bumper.