1950 BUICK ROADMASTER RIVIERA PROFESSIONAL
1950 BUICK ROADMASTER RIVIERA TV

The latter three all arrived in 1949, when Buick sales correspondingly increased by 50 percent, and then doubled in 1950.

1950 BUICK ROADMASTER RIVIERA PROFESSIONAL

It was the perfect term for the top of the Buick line, a car bordering on Cadillac price territory, preferred transport for the up-and-coming professional - the doctor, the lawyer, and anybody else who could not quite afford a Caddy.Д«uick catered to this clientele with flashy styling-far and away the flashiest of the GM divisions-plus luxury and a host of novel design ideas: the famous pop-art grille, the gun-sight hood ornament, the hardtop convertible, the sweepspear, and the porthole. That said, this Riviera makes for a solid base from which to start a restoration or maybeвЂ¦ what do you think, a resto-mod, a lead-sled custom perhaps, go for an old school hot-rod? The possibilities are endless.'Roadmaster' - what a wonderful name for a car! It had emerged during 1936 and would last until it was foolishly removed for 1959. ThereвЂ™s probably more here than meets the eye that will require attention вЂ“ thatвЂ™s usually the case with a 70-year-old car that is untouched. IвЂ™m a bit of a sucker for this vintage dash panel they really, regardless of car make or model, made for beautiful appointments back in the day. This Buick has that typical early вЂ50s dash/instrument panel flair. It would appear that there is no mat or carpet on parts of the floor but at least you get a look at the floorвЂ™s integrity and decide how best to repair the aforementioned rust. The seat upholstery looks OK but the door cards will need some work in terms of recovering or replacing. The interior looks a bit worn but pretty much in keeping with this RivieraвЂ™s age. The open, breezy appearance of the pillarless hardtop coupled with the wrap-around three-piece rear windscreen makes for a balanced, sweeping greenhouse panorama that has a touch of sophistication to it вЂ“ itвЂ™s one of the best from this era in my humble estimation. This was a stylish car in its day actually, it still is really. There is a minor dent in the driverвЂ™s door and rust in the driverвЂ™s side floorboard (floor pan will require replacement) but the rest of the car, rockers, lower fenders, etc. Moving on to the body, that dreaded вЂњPвЂќ word is visible on most of the horizontal surfaces but the body appears to be intact and pretty solid. No worries however as he has a complete other set that is included in the sale. The seller also states that this Riviera has been converted to a twelve-volt electrical system but he doesnвЂ™t know if the dash gauges were damaged as a result of the conversion. Gear changes are handled by a Buick Dynaflow automatic transmission.

Being a Super, and not a Roadmaster, it has a smaller engine and thus only three portholes (вЂњVentiportsвЂќ in Buick vernacular) instead of four placed on either side of the hood. There are no images of the engine included in the listing but research indicates that this Buick came equipped with a 124 HP in-line, eight-cylinder (straight-eight) engine displacing 263 cubic inches.

The seller tells us that the car is complete and can be driven. This Riviera has been sitting in storage in New Mexico since 1986 and apparently starts and runs. It is out-front and there is no mistaking it вЂ“ it is one heck of a grille! One of the most recognizable features of the 1950 model is the вЂњsnaggletoothвЂќ or вЂњwalrusвЂќ grille, whichever you prefer. There were about 56,000 Super-based Rivieras produced in 1950 so they were fairly common. Size mattered and the Roadmaster Riviera rode on a 130.3вЂќ wheelbase вЂ“ thatвЂ™s a lot of Buick! This Riviera, however, is a down-sized 1950 addition вЂњSuperвЂќ Riviera based on the Buick Supermodel with a 125.5вЂі wheelbase. The Riviera name was introduced in 1949 as a two-door hardtop trim level of the Roadmaster, that being the top zoot-suit Buick of the time.

1950 BUICK ROADMASTER RIVIERA TV

You have probably heard the old tagline for what was once a commonly run TV ad that opined, вЂњYouвЂ™ve come a long way baby!вЂќ and thatвЂ™s what I am thinking now after recently writing an article on a вЂ™66 Buick Riviera and then comparing it to this 1950 version, located in Rockwall, Texas and available here on eBay for a current bid of $5,900, no reserve and four bids tendered so far.

1950 buick roadmaster riviera