When it comes to automotive things, nothing’s sadder than a beautiful classic that’s been rotting away for decades. And unfortunately, there are millions of cars doing just that right now. But from time to time, we also stumble across classics that have been saved and put back on the road. And it’s a wonderful feeling.
This 1954 Buick Special is one of the lucky ones. The two-door coupe was left to die back in 1992 and went through almost 30 years of exposure to the elements. Having gathered dust and rust spots after sitting for so long, the previous owner decided to let it go and the Buick ended up with YouTube’s “TheCorvetteBen.”
The classic was first showcased on his channel in October when he gave it a good cleaning. The process revealed a solid car with a cool patina, but the Special was far from being road-worthy. A few months later and Ben decided to fix the engine and put it back on the road.
It took a lot of work and a long list of new parts, but this Special is now the proud owner of a running V8 engine. One that had enough grunt left in it to take the Buick on its first trip after a whopping 30 years.
Yeah, the old gal rattles and squeaks as it rolls down the road, but the mill fires right up and purrs like a kitten while idling, which you can hear toward the end of the video. Hopefully, this Buick will get restored (or at least refreshed all around) to become a road-worthy car because it’s a really nice and underrated classic.
The 1954 Special is part of a long-lived generation of Buick full-size cars. Introduced in 1949, it remained in production with various and significant upgrades until 1958.
Based on the GM B platform, the Special shared underpinnings with the Streamliner and Chieftain, as well as the iconic Oldsmobile 88. In 1954, engine offerings included the 264-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) and the 322-cubic-inch (5.3-liter) Nailhead V8s.
This generation was the final one for the Buick Special as a full-size. Discontinued in 1958, the nameplate returned as a compact in 1961 and then became a midsize car in 1964.
