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Crusty Old 1949 Buick Super is Half Sedan, Half DIY Camper, 100 Percent Outrageous

It isn't often we find a vehicle on the web that leaves us completely speechless. When one scours every corner of the internet for all the custom car builds we can find, it can often feel like you've seen everything. Well, evidently, we haven't.
Buick Super Camper 45 photos
Photo: Classic Car Deals Cadillac, Michigan
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So, what is it exactly that we present to you here? It appears to be an early post-war Buick sedan with its back end replaced with a rickety old aluminum garden shed. Rest assured, someone intended to eat, sleep, and maybe even bathe in the back of this bizarre creation. In truth, the lost art of converting American family sedans like this Buick into full-fledged camper conversions wasn't entirely uncommon.

That said, it was largely early to the mid-1950s phenomenon. Meaning this 1949 Buick conversion is one of the very earliest. It's nearly impossible to say who, where, when, why, or how as to the origins of this Frankenstein's monster on four wheels.

But this is one of those custom builds where the pictures are worth at least a thousand words. With that in mind, it's a good thing there are nearly 50 photos in the listing detailing everything there is to see inside and out. We'll start with the car portion of this totally weird sedan and camper hybrid. The Buick Super was a middle-level full-sized family coupe or sedan produced in five model generations between 1940 and 1958.

Keep in mind that's with a significant break in the middle during the Second World War. 1949 was the first model year of the third-generation Buick Super. It was also the second to last production year for the 248.1-cubic inch (4.1-L) Buick Fireball straight eight. A larger 263-cubic inch (4.3-liter) engine replaced this unit in 1950 to close out the production of one of Buick's first flagship engines.

1949 Buck Super Camper
Photo: Classic Car Deals Cadillac, Michigan
Whether or not this factory straight eight isn't known for certain. Because for as many photos of every angle of this car/camper, the engine bay shots leave something to be desired. The official listing for this vehicle just reads "N/A," where the engine description should be. With that the case, it's possible this creation hasn't run or been driven for years, even decades. There's a general feeling of decay and rot throughout every square inch of it.

For how crusty and worn out the exterior of this thing appears to be, the interior is equally in the same state. Apart from the remarkable intact state of the front bench seat, the rest of this Buick camper conversion's interior is shredded, cluttered with a torn open box of facial tissues, and generally in a state like a freshly reanimated zombie. Based on how nice the seats look, it's safe to say they're not from the factory.

It's not really possible to tell how many miles are on the odometer. But even if it had fairly low miles, years of exposure to the elements ensured little left of what was once here. At least the steering wheel emblem still looks nice. But let's be real, we all want to know what's happening in the back of this thing. Well, like the rest of this it, it's a sad, cold shell of whatever it used to be.

The rear end consists of an outer shell with two port windows on either side and one in the rear. At the back, a wooden door complete with brake and indicator lights completes what at one point was somebody's home away from home. One of the few remaining items is a wooden platform where a mattress was presumably supposed to fit.

1949 Buck Super Camper
Photo: Classic Car Deals Cadillac, Michigan
A few other items linger on, like the holes where a stove and oven could conceivably fit. As well as a couple of cupboards and a red privacy curtain for the rear window covered in a fine layer of grey dust. There's even a pair of clothes hangars present, presumably owned by the person who built this custom camper.

As for the identity or the whereabouts of the person who created this bizarre RV conversion? Nobody has any earthly idea. After a quick search online, we found this Buick was last for sale through a Craigslist ad from Brainerd, Minnesota, in 2017.

Between then and the present day, it was purchased by Classic Car Deals in Cadillac, Michigan, where it's been kept ever since. So, with all this in mind, what would you be willing to pay for this outrageous creation? Is it even worth saving?

Well, with all the work needing to be done, this little sliver of weirdness can be yours for $5,995 before taxes and fees. That should leave a good bit of room for the multiple five figures it'd take to fully restore this "thing" back to
a real recreational vehicle.

1949 Buck Super Camper
Photo: Classic Car Deals Cadillac, Michigan

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