Factory A/C! 1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon Project
Hardtops were very popular in the 1950’s – in both two-door and four-door varieties. And in 1957, Buick (and its cousin, Oldsmobile) did the four-door hardtop one better with the introduction of a fancy, upscale four-door hardtop station wagon. Buick didn’t market their new station wagon as a basic suburban grocery-getter, they gave it an exotic name (Caballero is a Spanish word for gentleman) and called it an Estate Wagon. It was also pricey. At a base price of $3,381, it was the most expensive model of the midrange Century line. Like Chevrolet’s Nomad and Ford’s Parklane wagons, I guess you could call it a “niche” model, and only 10,186 were sold in 1957 (2.5% of all ’57 Buicks produced). Sales tumbled to only 4,456 produced in 1958, and the Caballero Four-Door Hardtop Estate Wagon was no more when the all-new 1959 Buicks were rolled out. But its low production numbers and uniqueness have made Caballeros a most collectable long roof for years. And this one is even rarer as it was ordered with Factory A/C!
We’ve offered a few Caballeros on Barn Finds over the years with most of them in the project category and a bit rough in condition. This one is still a project, but thanks to being a California car, it looks solid and isn’t a rust bucket. Not a lot of history is shared other than it is out of long term storage and it belonged to a guy who owned SoCal Speedshop in Sacramento. It still retains most of its original paint (the lower sides were repainted long ago) which is weathered and the wagon is described as “very rust free” with good floors and lower body panels. There are a couple of dents but there’s no major damage. The chrome appears to be in decent shape as does the glass, including the cool wrap-around rear glass and windshield.
The once snazzy two-toned, colorful, and glitzy interior is now tired and tattered. Its front seat is worn and was reupholstered at some point in a pink and white look. There’s no photo of the back seat or the door panels and the Caballero appears to be carpet-free. The instrument panel looks pretty good and it’s interesting to see the factory A/C vents (I’ve never seen a ’57 Buick with Factory A/C.) With air conditioning a very expensive option back in 1957 – usually 20% or more of the sticker price – I’m sure the percentage of ’57 Buicks with factory A/C was small. And, who knows how many Model 69 Caballeros came with this pricey option. Nothing is mentioned about the A/C’s current running condition but I’m assuming it’s not working.
There’s only one photo of the engine and it’s not the best. I’m going to assume that it’s the standard 364-cubic inch Fireball V8 that generated 300 horsepower when new and is mated to Buick’s then-new Variable Pitch Dynaflow automatic transmission. The seller says he/she was told “it will run and ran in the past from being fed from a gas can. I have not run, or driven it. My plan was to do a different drivetrain, so I’ve never tried to start it. My plan was to leave the body as is.” I’m not sure why the seller’s plans have changed, but their change of heart is the next owner’s gain. The wagon is still in the Sacramento area and is located in Vacaville, California, where it’s listed for sale here on craigslist for $25,000. That seems like a reasonable price since Hagerty lists a Caballero in #4 Fair Condition at $32,800. Another shout out to super-spotter T.J. for sending this rare ’57 Buick our way. I’ve never seen one of these large four-door hardtop Caballero Estate Wagons up close and personal. Have you? Hopefully the next owner will return this impressive, rare longroof back to its former glory.
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Comments
What a stunner this will be if an intelligent buyer returns it to factory spec. Inasmuch as the Nomads and kin are sought after, I’d make a project of this above any of those without a second thought.
These are cool, but is it really worth the asking price? You’d probably be into this for a minimum of $75,000 when finished. For that kind of money it had better be the buyers dream car, if not, why bother. There are a lot of great cars available in that price range there is no reason to compromise.
Steve R
Super Rare car in any condition. This one is super solid. AC is a huge bonus. This one is worth the effort. You would have one of the coolest wagons on the planet.
A/C was definitely uncommon in 1957, but this wasn’t just Buick’s top-of-the-line wagon, it was General Motors’ top-of-the-line wagon, so I would expect a higher than average take rate for A/C.
If there’s truth to the seller’s claim that the owner of the SO-Cal speed shop was the previous owner, that more than justifies the asking price. The SO-Cal shop is in Burbank, not Sacremento, so that fact makes me doubt the claim. Alex Xydias and Pete Chapouris are Hot Rodding/racing legends so if one of them owned the car you are buying a car with “provenance”. Also, the car is really “kool”, as the seller describes.
There was a franchise in Sacramento for years. There are several other locations currently open. You can use Google to confirm. This car was not owned by either of the founders you mentioned. The guy that owned the Sacramento location has been selling on eBay for years, with the so-cal name when it was open, now with another name. It used to be a lot of kitschy T-shirts and license plate frames no it’s memorabilia, with the occasional vintage hard part or car.
Steve R
Bought Vern’s books there waaay back when I was in Sac Town…..
I assume you are referring to Vern T____l. A friend in Sonoma county has known him a longtime. They have different automotive interests so they aren’t buddies. He said years ago the author of your books was having a multi week yard sale to get rid of some excess parts. My friend made several visits and walked away with stuff he could use on his Model A’s.
Had you heard of that sale? If so, was it something you went to?
Steve R
“Provenance”????
Because an owner of a noted speed shop bought a car, let it sit for who knows how long, and didn’t touch it??
If his grandmother didn’t buy it new and hand it down to him, it might just as well be on a used car lot for all the “provenance” you claim.
If that shop had worked on the car, and improved it, you might claim “provenance”, but not this car, this situation.
You didn’t notice the quotation marks???? LOL
@Dave- i can vouch for the seller. I personally saw this car and documents he had. This is the real deal.
$25K? where’s my checkbook! (I wish…) Very solid, and considering how scarce these are this solid, this beauty won’t last long. In restoring it, I would paint the upper portion creme that coordinated with the rust shade, with a correct interior. GLWTA!
A/C is cool. Hard top wagon is definitely cool. This will take diligence and money to complete, but oh the final product…
This car is the Holly Grail, a bucket list car, an icon and very valuable restored, probably 75 K plus. Finding one in this condition for 25 K is amazing. There is no doubt you would have a lot in it restored. Maybe it would be better to buy one done. But put it in perspective, you could visit your favorite new car store and buy their top of the line P/U or SUV and spend over 75 K, many are a 100 K. Then before the ink on the contract is dry and you have driven it has depreciated 10 to 20 % ! What would you rather have?
No doubt as cool as an old car can be but not a good daily driver. I love it as much as anyone. And I ain’t saying that 60 and 70-grand is not a lot of dough but those trucks accelerate, steer and stop well. The ride is as nice as almost any car and they turn in 20 mpg or more. Plus the windows and A/C work and the whole thing is warrantied. Any will probably run 200k or farther with routine care. But there’s always something else to drive.
Yes Ron ,I have seen a couple up close , and pictures NEVER do them justice.I am a 57 Nomad guy (plus my beloved 59 Elco ) ,but these Caballeros ,and 57 Pontiac safaris ,are breathtaking cars when done . Parts availability is nothing like a tri 5 Chevy ,therefore I am out .Good luck to the braver soul than I !
I almost bought this back in January. I drove down and looked it over. It’s a good car for restoration. The only reason why I didn’t pull the trigger on it was because someone 3 hours away from me was selling a Caballero for less money in the exact same condition.
So @ Ivon, did you buy the other one that was 3 hours away from you ?
It’ll go across the pond…..lots of good builders over there.
If I ever wanted to own a wagon this would be it. The ’57 Buicks are my favorite Buicks anyway and I hope someone shows some love to this lovely Buick. My best to the next owner