Buick 1950 - 1954 custom and mild custom galerie

Very nice Driver, Motor is a 322 out of a 56, Transmission is Automatic T350 chevy, its been completely rebuilt with all paper work. contains lots of after market goodies like finned valve covers, plug covers, everthing under the hood is new and very clean, aluminum 4 row radiator. Brakes up front are all new and drums turned 3 weeks ago. Tires are new last month coker bias ply g7815 all around. rear end is 94 chevy impala and the brakes were checked at the same time in excellent shape. interior is in in pleated white pearl with black carpet and black and red original paint on doors and dash. steering wheel is original. it has original radio ( not working) good headliner. Body is straight except for small door ding, under side is flawless and clean ZERO rust any place. paint is Kustom copper with scallops and gold top, nice pinstripping hood and trunk with dual fake antenna out the rear fenders tops,

Je l'ai vu celle ci ... pas chère en plus et sublime... en coupé hard top en plus...

The team at Snik's gave the Buick plenty of newfound personality by adding a pair of '55 Oldsmobile headlights as well as smoothing out the bumpers, and setting a custom polished stainless grille by Grille Art into place.

The team at Snik's gave the Buick plenty of newfound personality by adding a pair of '55 OAs a youngster growing up in Roxborough, Pennsylvania, in the '50s, Barry Latta Sr. spent plenty of time with his head under the hood of a car turning wrenches with his brothers as they readied their hopped-up coupes for action at the local dragstrips. Barry began to form a bond with Buicks by the time he was in his teens and rarely wavered from his brand loyalty as the years passed. He spent plenty of long nights waiting in the staging lanes at tracks in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, as well as ones in Vineland and Atco, New Jersey, while piloting either Buick-bodied race cars or Chevys with massive multi-carbed Nailheads underhood. The formula for the track worked well for him.

As the years passed he wavered a bit, wrenching on Mopars (including his ISCA-winning '65 Plymouth Sport Fury) in Homer, New York (where he now resides), but never lost his fascination with Buicks. Well over a decade ago, his boyhood captivation with the styling cues of the '54 Buick Special resurfaced and led him on a quest to locate a suitable car to start a custom project. Having studied the model for decades, Barry knew just how he would approach the build by infusing plenty of dramatic style into the car. His search led him to an ad in Hemmings, where he located a mint unmolested model in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which would be the perfect candidate to cut up. Once the car was home, he wasted no time in tearing it down to start building his street cruiser.


There's plenty of sex appeal out back with the addition of '60 Chrysler taillights.Beginning with the stock chassis, he mapped out the revisions he wanted and hauled the spine to Fatman Fabrications in Charlotte, North Carolina. There the team installed a new front frame stub along with their cutting edge Mustang II IFS incorporating 2-inch dropped spindles, polished stainless upper and lower control arms, RideTech ShockWave airbags and power rack-and-pinion steering. Out back, the team followed with a RideTech triangulated four-bar system complemented by RideTech ShockWaves to keep the ride height low and mean. For plenty of braking power a Southern Rods & Parts chrome-plated billet aluminum master cylinder pushes fluid through Wilwood Engineering six-piston calipers with 13-inch SRP cross-drilled performance rotors, which do the trick up front while rearward Wilwood four-piston calipers and 12-inch rotors seal the deal. To give the chassis its final bit of sparkle and stance, a set of Genuine Boyd's Spectrum 19- and 22-inch wheels fore and aft do the trick wrapped in O-ring Dunlop SP Sport 9000 skins.

The Buick 425ci Nailhead sports plenty of attention to detail and vibrant plating. Topped with an Edelbrock dual-quad intake with matching 500-cfm carbs; extra glitter comes from valve covers, a valley pan, and an air cleaner from Mooneyes complete the look. Chrome-plated billet aluminum master cylinder from Southern Rods & Parts nailed to the firewall and engine accessories from Billet Specialties add to the final glamour.

The Buick 425ci Nailhead sports plenty of attention to detail and vibrant plating. Topped Snik's Rod & Custom fabbed up a new dash housing Dakota Digital gauges to monitor the cars' vitals while the interior comes by way of Paul Atkins Interiors. Wrapping a pair of late-model Lexus six-way power seats in buttery beige leather set the base for their classic contemporary fine lines and details.

Snik's Rod & Custom fabbed up a new dash housing Dakota Digital gauges to monitor the cars The trunk is finished in the same material and color as the interior; a far cry from the rubber matte and rough hewn metal normally associated with '50s cars.

The trunk is finished in the same material and color as the interior; a far cry from the r While attending an ISCA event a few years back, a car built by Snik's Rod & Custom of Manley, Iowa, caught his eye. He wasted no time in contacting shop owner Scott Schneckloth to discuss his ideas for many of the revisions to the coupe. A deal was struck and once the chassis was slid back under the Buick, Barry transported the car to Snik's for their particular style of magic to begin. At the same time, Barry also got busy on building the engine for the car. Nothing else would fit the bill better than the crown jewel of the Nailhead series, the coveted '64 425ci V-8. Having gathered parts to build the engine for some time, Barry had TA Performance of Scottsdale, Arizona, take care of all the machining while he readied everything for assembly. With decades of Nailhead building experience under his belt, Barry filled the stout block with freshened factory goods, including the crank, rods, and pistons, topped off with a set of factory heads. For plenty of deep breathing, an Edelbrock dual-quad intake capped with a pair of 500-cfm Edelbrock Thunder AVS Series carbs wearing a Mooneyes-finned aluminum air cleaner seals the deal. A '65 TH400 trans warmed over by Phoenix Transmission Products of Weatherford, Texas, spins power through a custom driveshaft to a Currie 9-inch rear to plant the power. While the car was at Snik's, Barry worked with automotive illustrator Rodney Hutcherson of Total Kaos Designs in Pasadena, Texas, to smooth out the big Buick sled, converting it to a classic contemporary cruiser and bringing Barry's vision to life.

The team at Snik's began the amazing transformation of the Buick by first lowering the lid 3-1/2 inches. To maintain the correct flow of the roofline, the A-pillars were reshaped to vertical in appearance to enhance the rake of the roof. From there the cowl vent was filled, the rear quarters were heavily massaged by removing the top hump from the panels, then sectioning them to create a better panel line flow. The team continued by artfully sculpting '60 Chrysler taillights. Moving to the front of the car, they masterfully morphed a pair of '55 Oldsmobile headlights in place complemented by '03 Buick ultra portholes, shaved the body of any unwanted barbs, smoothed out the engine bay, and had Dick's Louver Shop of Webster, New York, vent the hood.

Once everything was straight as glass, Scott loaded his paint gun with just enough custom-blended PPG Deltron gloss and laid out a decadent coating of deep green and taupe. To create an interior worthy of matching the exterior, Snik's first fabbed up a custom dash and then the car was delivered to Paul Atkins Interiors of Hanceville, Alabama, for a facelift including a custom console and panels, as well as covering the late-model Lexus seats with yards of sumptuous beige leather complemented by wool square weave carpet. To monitor all the vitals, Dakota Digital gauges were installed along with plenty of harmony from a Kenwood sound system and cool breeze from Vintage Air. To complete the deal and bring the car to fruition, Barry's wife, Marilyn, family, and friends in the Central New York Mopar Association worked tirelessly for the final few months wrapping up the wiring and engine bay details. This is one big Buick with a captivating presence proving that Barry's dream of sculpting a noteworthy street cruiser was accomplished.

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Read more: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/1012sr_1954_buick_special/viewall.html

This three-toned 1952 Buick Riviera was restyled by Barris Kustoms for Lyle Lake of Orlando, Florida. The car was called the Blue Danube because of the various shades of blue used on the car. The main body color of the car was pearlescent blue, the top was sky-blue metallic, while the bottom section was painted in an ocean blue mist. The Blue Danube was striped in white and copper by Dean Jeffries.[1]


Stock Buick Riviera side trim was used along with a straight chrome piece from midway on the door to the taillights. The top featured a three inch chop in the front and a six-inch slant back in the rear. Appleton spotlights were added to the car, the rear window was reformed and tilted forward to give the car a low slant line. In the rear, rubber wheeled roller wheels ran on ball bearings to allow the car to ride easier on bumps and dips in the road. The rear bumper came from a 1953 Oldsmobile. The bumper was cut to fit the rear fenders. The taillights came from a 1954 Mercury that were turned upside down and frenched.[1]


Third From the Sun

The Blue Danube appeared in an episode of the TV show The Twilight Zone called Third From the Sun. The episode was first aired January 8, 1960. Click here to wath the episode



Where is it Now?

While trying to locate the car, custom car collector Jack Walker contacted Lyle Lake. Lyle told Jack that the car was crushed, so in 1998 Jack decided to recreate the car instead.
Blue Danube Clones

Jack Walker's 1952 Buick Special



Magazine Features

Rod & Custom November 1957
Custom Cars March 1958
Car Craft September 1958
Trend Book 143 Restyle Your Car
Trend Book 156 Custom Cars 1958 Annual
Trend Book 197 Custom Cars 1961 Annual


http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Lyle_Lake%27s_1952_Buick

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/barris-1/lyle_lake_52_buick/

The Blue Danube
1951 Buick
Owned by Lou Schafer & Sons Formerly owned by Jack Walker


Lyle Lake moved to California from Orlando, Florida in 1956 driving his mildly customized '51 Buick Riviera hardtop. He went to work at Barris Kustom in Lynwood and eventually became shop foreman. With the help of Sam Barris, Lake's Buick was transformed into a full custom show stopper. Most casual onlookers didn't even recognize it as a Buick but thought it was another chopped '49-'51 Merc. It was so unrecognizable that George Barris got it cast in an episode of the Twilight Zone television series as a car of the future.
The beautiful lines of the top were created by chopping it 3 inches in front and 6 inches in the rear. The grille shell was formed by molding tubing to the opening as well as the hood. Bumpers made from '53 Chevy ends welded to Cadillac bullets frame the tubular grille. The headlights received shades that taper back into the fenders. In the rear the fenders were extended and the ribbed sections from two '54 Mercury taillights were spliced together and mounted upside down above the '53 Olds bumper. Modified Buick side trim separated the Sky Blue metallic, Pearl Blue, and Ocean Blue mist three tone paint highlighted by Dean Jeffries pin striping. As years went on the car was modified with a different grille, hubcaps and fender skirt removal. It was last seen in the L.A. Harbor area in the early '60s.
Jack Walker of Belton, Mo. is a custom lover of long standing who has recreated cars that have disappeared or are thought to be unobtainable. In 1997 Jack found a suitable car and tracked down Lake in Hobbs, New Mexico. With Lyle's advice, Kenny Baker chopped the top and Dick Huckans, of Sperry, Oklahoma did all the remaining bodywork and duplicated the three tone paint job. Bob Bond duplicated the original Dean Jeffries pin striping."

This recreated clone is now owned by Lou Schafer & Sons.







http://lscustomshop.com/buickbluedanube.php

The Blue Danube Buick
by Tom Strongman
October 1st, 2011

They say you can’t go home again, but when it comes to cars, sometimes you can.

Take Jack Walker’s clone of the 1951 Blue Danube Buick. It is a near perfect re-creation of the car that was originally created by Lyle Lake, a foreman in the George Barris custom shop. Lake’s car has long since gone to the crusher, but Walker wanted to make one like it. It is now owned by Lou Schafer and Sons Classic Car Restorations and Car Posters.

Cloning famous customs is not new to Walker, 72, of Belton. More than 20 years ago he commissioned a copy of the famous Barris Hirohata Mercury. Walker’s Merc is such a faithful reproduction that it has lived a celebrity life, touring auto shows and museums.

After seeing the quality of Walker’s copy of the Hirohata Merc, Greg Sharp, curator of the National Hot Rod Association Museum in Pomona, Calif., began to bug him about making a copy of the Blue Danube Buick.

Walker declined, but he said that Sharp kept piquing his interest by sending him photographs of the original. About 15 years ago, Walker picked up a newsstand magazine of classified car ads and saw a pristine 1951 Buick Special hardtop for sale in Beloit, Kan. He and his sidekick, Sonny Rogers of Independence, drove out to see the car. It was perfect, and the project began.

When Walker called Lake to tell him that he planned to re-create the Buick that he built when he worked for Barris, Lake objected at first. He said he and his wife had dated in the original and he didn’t want anyone to copy his car. Lake’s wife, however, encouraged him to let Walker proceed, and Lake eventually agreed. He then told Walker how he chopped the car’s top, and he even sent photos.

Walker took the car to Elmer, Mo., and Kenny Baker performed the necessary roof reconstruction. Dick Huckans of Tulsa completed the rest of the bodywork.

Lake’s original car had a stock interior, but he had planned to install simple, white tuck-and-roll upholstery. So Walker followed Lake’s original plan and had Bob Sipes of Pleasant Hill, Mo., do the interior just as Lake intended.

In January, Walker’s car was chosen as one of the 75 most significant customs and it was displayed at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, Calif. Since the original is long gone, Walker’s Blue Danube is a perfect déjà vu, and a reminder of just how beautiful Lake’s work was.
- See more at: http://tomstrongman.com/the-blue-danube-buick-of-jack-walker/

A creator of the Blue Danube, Lyle Lake arrived from Florida in the mid 1950s and became shop foreman at Barris Kustom Autos in Lynwood, California. By that time, the gang at the shop had pretty defined roles. Sam Barris was the artist, designing the look for clients' cars and often executing it. George Barris was the front man, getting the shop's name out there.

As part of his efforts to tout the Barris name, George worked for Petersen's Trend Books, snapping pictures and writing articles on customizing techniques.

Since Lyle worked at the Barris shop, George thought it would be a good idea to use the Buick the shop was building as Lyle's personal car in an article on the cost of customizing. So, camera and invoices in hand, George and Lyle documented everything along the way.


Lyle's 1951 Buick Riviera received extensive bodywork. Lyle and the Barris crew chopped the top three inches in front and six inches in the rear ($700), laying the rear window down to match the roof angle. This created a low, lean look that was complemented by several bodyside modifications.

The crew shaved the doors and added pushbuttons ($50), installed handmade skirts ($20) and functional rear brake scoops ($55 each), and reworked the side trim using stock trim up front with straight trim running from the rear bumper to the middle of each door ($20 each).

The trim choice was a curious one because many non-Buick customs of the day utilized Buick side trim for its unique, swoopy shape. Nonetheless, it worked, especially with the paint.

The white rolled-and-pleated upholstery accented the unique interiors of the custom Blue Danube perfectly.

The face was also quite unique. Instead of a complete bumper, Lyle chose a rolled front pan flanked by two bumperettes made from 1951 Chevy parts welded to Cadillac bullets ($80). The shop cut the grille from lengths of tapered tubing ($115) and rounded the hood corners ($10 each) to match the grille opening. The nose was dechromed ($25) and a California Custom Accessories headlight shade kit ($50) was frenched in, visually extending the fenders.

Some interesting touches were incorporated into the rear as well. Lyle added frenched taillights made by splicing two 1954 Merc lenses together and installing them upside down ($65 each). The bumper was taken from a 1953 Oldsmobile ($80) and the exhaust was routed through it ($70). Finally, thanks to the $190 lowering job, rollers were needed under the rear end to ­prevent the bumper from scraping on the ground ($20).

Barris applied the three-tone blue paint scheme ($250), with the top a sky-blue metallic, the main body pearl blue, and the bottom ocean blue mist -- thus the nickname Blue Danube.

Dean Jeffries, who worked at the Barris shop at the time, added white and copper pinstriping ($20). A set of 1956 Lincoln hubcaps ($15 each) completed the look. The total bill? $2,000.

The Blue Danube earned its nickname from Sam Barris' paint scheme, which featured three distinct shades of blue.

The Blue Danube garnered a lot of attention, appearing on the cover of Trend Book 143 - Restyle Your Car. It also showed up in the March 1958 issue of Custom Cars, and in an episode of the television show The Twilight Zone.

Unable to find the original, noted custom collector Jack Walker contacted Lyle Lake and learned it had been crushed. So Jack commissioned Kenny Baker and Dick Huckins to build the clone shown here in 1998. The original may be gone, but the Barris article on the car provides us a glimpse today of the price of admission for the best in 1950s customizing.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/blue-danube-custom-car.htm

Buick Sedanette owned and restyled by Sam Barris. Built in his spare time, it took 22 months of hard work for Sam to turn his Buick into a full fledged custom. After a garage fire, only a shell full of ashes remained of the Buick. The car was then sold to a wrecking yard so it could be dismantled for parts. Sam found the Buick at the wrecking yard in 1951 and decided to bring it to the Barris shop in Lynwood. Sam had to pay $650 US for the burned out remains.[1]


After removing the body trim outside and inside, Sam decided to chop the top on the Buick. He chopped the flowing roof in the rear by sectioning the body and by reducing the height of the deck lid. By doing this, Sam was able to retain the original body lines and use the original rear window. Up front, the top was chopped three and a half inches. The rear of the car and roof were sectioned five inches from a point below the rear quarter windows to the rear body panel, with the better part of this cut being done through the deck lid. After the cut, the windshield was slanted back to meet the front edge of the lowered top. The center of the top was dropped straight down, and the rear of the top was moved forward. To give the top and body sides a smoother look, Sam removed the drip-rails. Sam formed a similar rail inside the door opening to prevent water from leaking in the doors.[1]


The seams between the rear fenders and the body were molded smooth. Sam shaved the door handles and installed solenoids with the outer actuating buttons being concealed in the lower door trim molding. The original side trim was replaced with chrome from a 1951 Lincoln. The Lincoln trim was both reversed and turned over. Up front headlight rims from a 1953 Buick were frenched to the fenders. The stock grille was replaced by a 1953 Oldsmobile grille bar mounted below the stock Buick grille frame. The grille tips contained air scoops that direct air to the car's interior. The front bumper was a reworked 1951 Buick bumper. For a clean look, Sam also nosed the hood and filled the portholes.[1]


For a longer look, the rear fenders were extended four inches. Taillights from a 1953 Pontiac station wagon were frenched into the rear fenders. The rear fenders were completed with the addition of a strip of metal along their lower edge to give the car the appearance of being lower than it actually was. The deck lid was pancaked and a release solenoid installed with the actuating button located on the dashboard. Rear bumper came from a 1951 Cadillac.[1]


Once the bodywork had been completed Sam painted the car in a Golden Maroon Bronze color. The paint job required the use of many gallons of color and necessitated several color-sanding and rubbing operations.[1]


The car's interior was upholsterd in maroon mohair with inset buttons and pleated white leatherette by Carson Top Shop. White shag rugs were used as carpet. The headliner was done in bright maroon mohair with occasional white beading marking the supporting bows. The same maroon mohair was also used on the lower portion of the door and quarter panels, on the seat cushions and a portion of the seat backs. The mohair was studded with deeply inset white buttons. Upper part of the panels and seats were pleated with white leatherette.[1]

Sam lowered the car just over 3 inches to give it a proper stance. It was dressed up featuring 1953 Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps, hand made fender skirts and dual Appleton spotlights. Studebaker vent-door diamonds were attached to the hubcap centers. Sam kept the original straight-eight engine that sat in the car when he bought it from the wrecking yard.[1]



The build was completed in 1953, [2] and Sam admitted that he never would do another car for himself requiring as much job as the Buick did. He used the car as his daily driver for some months, before he in 1954 decided to sell it in order to afford an eye-surgery for his son John Barris. John had eye-cancer, and this was an expensive operation, so Sam had to let the car go in order to cover the medical bills.[3]



In July of 1960, Robert A. Radcliffe spotted Sam's old Buick on a used car lot on Sunrise Highway in upstate New York. The owner wanted $600 for the car, but as Rob only had $400, was going into the Navy in 2 weeks, and already had three other cars, he passed the deal. Rob got to sit in the car, and he remembers it being perfect besides missing a couple of buttons on the seat. According to the lot owner, famous Jazz singer Billy Eckstein had sold the car to the lot.[4]



After this, nobody knew where the famous Sam Barris Buick was, until 1969 when Robert Bartel of 12 Colgate Street, Port Jefferson Station, New York, spotted the car. Robert owned a gas station, and one day while being at work, he saw the Buick being towed in the back of a barn across his gas station. He asked the owner if he wanted to sell it, but the grumpy owner got mad and told him to get off his property. The guy sold it to a junky in town. In 1974 Robert tracked the junky down, and was able to purchase the car. He was planning to restore it, but time and money did not allow it. He installed a 1970 Buick engine and transmission, but there it stopped. He sent a letter to George Barris, asking for information about the car. He was asking for information about the grille, taillights, side trim, and color.[5]



Robert sold the car in the mid seventies. It swapped hands a couple of times before it eventually ended up on a riverbank in Tanton, Massachusetts. Chris Canier found the car sitting there, and knew immediately what kind of treasure he had found. Chris sold the car to Jim Walker of Dayton, Ohio. Jim had Dave Oakes restore it for him, and a low-mileage 1950 Buick Sedanette had to be sacrificed in order to get the car back to its former glory. After a while, Jim sold the car to kustom car enthusiast and Barris collector Kurt McCormick.


Kurt displayed the car on several shows, and it was exhibited at the Darryl Starbird museum for a while. When Kurt got the car back in 2012, he hired Manns Restoration to do a full restoration job on the car. Current plan is to get it ready within 2014.


Magazine Features and Appearances

Rod & Custom February 1954
Trend Book 133 Custom Cars 1957 Annual
Wheels Magazine May 1989



http://www.kustomrama.com/index.php?title=Sam_Barris%27_1950_Buick

Sam Barris turned his 1950 Buick Sedanette into a historic icon in the world of Traditional Kustoms. The top was chopped three and a half inches in the front and much more in the rear. Sam removed the drip-rails and to prevent the water from leaking into the doors, Sam formed a similar rail inside the door opening.

Up front it has frenched 1953 Buick headlight rings. The stock grille was replaced by a 1953 Oldsmobile grille bar mounted below the stock Buick grille frame. The grille tips contain air scoops that direct air to the car's interior. The front bumper is a reworked 1951 Buick bumper. For a clean look, Sam also nosed the hood and filled the portholes.

The car was painted with a Golden Maroon Bronze color. To give the car the right stance, Sam lowered the car just over 3 inches. The car was equipped with 1953 Cadillac Sombrero hubcaps. The car also sports dual Appleton spotlights to set it off.

http://stylishkustoms.blogspot.fr/2009/12/sam-barris-1950-buick.html