When it comes to restomods based on 1930s cars, we usually think about two-door Fords and Chevrolets. And that's mainly because they've been immensely popular with the hot rod crowd since the 1950s. Well, if you're tired of beefed-up Model As and Bs, here's something you don't see every day: a hot-rodded Buick Series 60.
Okay, so it's not the kind of build you'd see Billy Gibbons drive in the latest ZZ Top video, but it's a unique take on a 1930s luxury car. Not only because someone turned it into a panel delivery van but also because it's a tribute to Marshall Field's, the iconic department store from Chicago, Illinois.
Sure, it may seem like a strange choice to dress an expensive classic car in the colors and logo of a retailing company, but it turns out the owner's wife was a big fan of the chain before it was taken over by Macy's Inc. And don't let the new utilitarian purpose of this Buick fool you, it's still as fancy as it was when the company introduced the Series 60 back in 1930.
Yes, the rear compartment no longer includes a passenger bench, but it's draped in high-quality materials and features a large, stylish light in the headliner. As for the exterior, it is more than just a sedan with plugged rear windows and Marshall Field's logos. The owner also turned it into a proper delivery van by removing the driver-side rear door.
This Buick is also a proper hot rod when it comes to motivation. Initially powered by a 230-cubic-inch (3.8-liter) straight-eight, the van now rocks a 350-cubic-inch V8 of the GM variety. It's not the latest LS crate engine, but a relatively modern iteration of GM's iconic small-block mill.
There's no info on production year and performance, but Chevrolet has offered 350 powerplants since the 1960s. And needless to say, it should deliver more oomph than the car's original straight-eight, rated at 97 horsepower. It also sounds like a muscle car, which is pleasantly intriguing for a 1930s classic.
If you're unfamiliar with the Series 60, it was one of three full-size cars that Buick offered in the 1930s. It slotted under the Series 90, which later became the Limited, and above the Series 40, the predecessor to the Special. The Series 60 shared the wheelbase with the latter and the engine with the former, making it the fastest Buick full-size at the time.
Offered from 1930 to 1935, the first-generation model initially came with an inline-six under the hood, but it got a straight-eight in 1931. The biggest version of the latter, displacing 278 cubic inches (4.6 liters), arrived in 1934 with 100 horsepower on tap. The Series 60 was renamed the Century in 1936. Discontinued in 1942, it returned from 1954 to 1958 and from 1973 to 2005.
But that's enough history for today, now go ahead and check out the world's only Buick 60 Series delivery panel van, which took four years to complete, in the video below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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