Original 322: 1954 Buick Century
The previous owner of this 1954 Buick Century passed away a few years ago, and it was then that the vehicle roared into life for the last time. It has been sitting ever since, and while the current owner had fully intended to return the car to active service, circumstances have meant that this not only hasn’t happened but that it is unlikely to happen any time soon. With that in mind, the owner has decided that the Buick should find a new home with someone who does have the time to revive the old classic. If that person is you, then you will find the Century located in Kansas City, Missouri, and listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner is asking $6,500 for the vehicle.
This is one of those moments when I wish that the owner had taken the time and effort to push the Buick out of the garage so that we could get a good look at it. From what can be seen in the photos, there doesn’t appear to be any major problems with rust. The owner doesn’t mention any rust issues, but that is hardly conclusive evidence. I’ve struggled with this photo, and believe that there could potentially be some minor spots right at the bottom of the quarter panel. What do you think? It would be interesting to get a look underneath the Century to ascertain the state of the floors and frame. The car is finished in Lido Green and Arctic White, which is an attractive combination. It does have a few marks and chips, but I get the feeling that the majority of the paint might be original. The glass all looks quite good, but a fair percentage of the trim and chrome is showing blistering from hidden corrosion. I suspect that most of it will require a trip to the plater at some point in the future.
The condition of the Buick’s front seat really sums up the state of the whole interior. It isn’t great, but it is serviceable. There isn’t an abundance of rips and tears around the upholstery, but it does look quite tired and dirty. I really think that a good starting point would be to thoroughly clean the interior trim because then you would have a better idea of what you have to work with. I mean, the dash pad looks really nice, but the dash fascia itself is looking pretty beaten and worn. The upholstery on the door and rear trims should respond well to a clean, but the armrests are really battered. The cards for the door trims are warped, but I believe that they could be “steamed” back into shape. I think that you’re probably getting the picture. Having said that, a nice bonus is the fact that the Century does come with power windows and a power front seat.
Beyond saying a few years, the owner isn’t really clear exactly how long it has been since the Buick’s engine fired into life. This is the mighty 322ci Nailhead V8, while the vehicle also features a 2-speed Dynaflow transmission, along with power steering. When healthy, that engine produces a pretty reasonable 200hp, giving the Century a ¼ ET of 18.2 seconds. Today that doesn’t sound that impressive, but in 1954, those sorts of times made you the king of the road. The owner doesn’t mention whether the motor turns freely, but the fact that he believes that it could potentially be made to run in a weekend has to be an encouraging sign. Of course, getting it running is one thing, but getting it roadworthy is a whole different ballgame. One thing that I am inquisitive about is just why the fan and belt have been removed. Hopefully, this isn’t an indication that there are some problems lurking in the depths of the Nailhead.
If this Buick Century is, in fact, solid, and if the motor is okay, then this is one of those cars where a competent individual could potentially complete the majority of the restoration work themselves. These are a model that has experienced a recent surge in popularity, and as such, there has also been a surge in values. However, we’re not talking huge values here, with the average car selling for around the $28,000 mark. Occasionally, a real beauty will pop up out of the woodwork, and these can fetch sums of $60,000 or more. I don’t know whether this one can achieve those lofty heights, but if the next owner does a good job with their restoration, who knows what could happen.
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Comments
Did I just see 4 million different greens?
Had a 1954 Buick Roadmaster, two door the same color. Bought it back in 1973 for $75.00. Converted it to a three on the tree just for fun (and being young and foolish). Drove the hell out of it until the engine quit (our fault). Went out and bought another $50.00 junker. Those were the days.
Looks like a solid car in pretty good original condition. The seller isn’t helping his cause with the poor quality pictures; he should have made the effort to provide some shots of the whole car. Overall looking a bit tired but maybe the you can live with the original paint and address the interior needs as time and funds permit. Freshening up all that chrome won’t be cheap but it needs to be done. The seller should have got it up and running if, as he claims, it wouldn’t take much to do so. Still, it’s a car that could be a nice driver with not a lot of work and the price seems to be reasonable.
`54 Was about the last year GM offered power windows for the FRONT TWO only, and I see this Century has them! A rare option for the day, the rear quarter windows were crank assys! A nice, fairly solid Buick for the price.
An extensive detailing would be the right plan for this ’54 with a renovation of the existing upholstery, if possible. I would leave the Buick as is – all formal as it was in 1954 and later, as well as keeping a stack of cruising tires and mags for Saturday nights and shows.
There is a lot of improvement that can be done with the underside without actually taking the body off the frame to get similar restoration/servicing results. This car is in such good original condition that spending a few hundred hours dealing with making the frame and body below decks perfect would be out of line expensive in time and $$$.
Big fan of these 1950’s Buick grills.
There was a sedan out in Nashville recently with that grill, straight 8 and 3 speed on the column for 5k… I tried to convince wife that we could visit her good friend and drive it back. You know the rest of the story.
The family had one, a 4 door hardtop, and in its time, it was a killer. Great straight line acceleration, lots of waltzing in the corners. Buick were built to be soft in the first place. I would try to buy it but I have no room. I’d also put disc brakes in it. The drums were totally inadequate in the rain. Also raidials
will help handling, and if i wanted to stretch Vintage A/C and Heat. It would be a wonderful and comfortable car.
Not just in the rain LOL! Ask anyone who put some miles on a ’50s era car with a stout engine (and some weight) about the brakes. My ’57 Olds was good for about four stops from above 60 MPH before the brakes flat went away! Of course highway speeds were a lot lower then.
That’s been my all-time favorite Buick since late 1953, when it hit the market. I’ve always liked the big engine/smaller body plot anyway, and there was (and still is) something clean and crisp about the ’54s anyway.
For an old-timer, it seems odd to read someone’s disparaging the stock brakes, as Buick’s were for many years widely considered THE standard of braking excellence, which was why they were for a while popular with state and local police forces. Although I’ve never driven a ’54, I did get to drive a ’57 full of fellow campers about a hundred miles back to Anchorage AK from our church camp down south of Soldotna, just because the car’s owner didn’t want to! I was aware of the brakes’ reputation, and I did find them both powerful and easy to modulate.
Buicks of that era were notorious for terrible brakes. I owned a 55 Century and 2 55 Specials.. Beyond horrible brakes, they had some of the smallest surface area and narrow drums. They would heat and fade after one hard stop. It was widely known at the time that Buick brakes were inadequate. Buicks were never “The Standard for braking excellence” The later development of the finned aluminum drums to dissipate heat did little to improve performance.
Looks like a reasonable and desirable project. I wonder why the seller listed it as ‘salvage’
Highway Patrol! Well………sort of?
My favorite Buicks. Sold the same color combination to Sean Penn for his first movie directing “Indian Runner”and got to watch it being flailed around like I never would but that’s why I sold it instead of rented. Sold a really nice 54 drop top(black with saddle top) over in the U.K. years ago and wouldn’t mind having that one back. My eye is on one I drove almost 60 years ago and found it again after 50 years……….