Photo: Worldwide Auctioneers
Ah, concept cars! Love them for their futuristic designs or hate them for being too futuristic to make sense in the real world, their role as automotive trendsetters can’t be ignored. The trend, however, started in 1938 with… wait for it… a Buick!
Y-Job is how that one-off fellow is called, designed by the same guy who made the Corvette possible after taking inspiration from 1940s and 1950s European sports cars. A bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful thing even by modern standards, the Y-Job was Harley Earl’s personal means of transportation for quite a few years.
Equipped with a straight-eight engine, wraparound bumpers, flush handles, and the waterfall grille that’s still used today by Buick, the black beauty was carefully restored at the Henry Ford Museum and now slumbers at the GM Design Center.
The Y-Job in the photo gallery isn’t it. As the headline implies, you’re looking at a reproduction of the concept with an all-steel body formed by hand. “Constructed over a four-year period” according to Worldwide Auctioneers, the open-top cruiser is titled as a 1941 Cadillac because of the chassis on which it rides. Under the skin, you’ll also find “modern Corvette suspension” as well as disc brakes up front.
Gary Wales, “a noted classic car enthusiast,” is the man responsible for this replicar. An overdrive automatic transmission and an LS engine were installed, representing a huge upgrade over the original powertrain of the 1938 concept.
Last shown at the July 2020 Wheels and Waves Exhibition in Malibu, the Y-Job tribute also happens to be “a consistent Best of the Best and Best of Show winner under Gary Wales’ stewardship.” The auction house didn’t offer an estimate on this bad boy, but don’t think for a single minute that you’ll be able to get it cheap.
Four years of work are worth $100,000 on their own, and a 1941 Cadillac isn’t exactly affordable either. Although it’s not a million-dollar build, the replicar will certainly fetch pretty money at the Auburn auction next month.
Equipped with a straight-eight engine, wraparound bumpers, flush handles, and the waterfall grille that’s still used today by Buick, the black beauty was carefully restored at the Henry Ford Museum and now slumbers at the GM Design Center.
The Y-Job in the photo gallery isn’t it. As the headline implies, you’re looking at a reproduction of the concept with an all-steel body formed by hand. “Constructed over a four-year period” according to Worldwide Auctioneers, the open-top cruiser is titled as a 1941 Cadillac because of the chassis on which it rides. Under the skin, you’ll also find “modern Corvette suspension” as well as disc brakes up front.
Gary Wales, “a noted classic car enthusiast,” is the man responsible for this replicar. An overdrive automatic transmission and an LS engine were installed, representing a huge upgrade over the original powertrain of the 1938 concept.
Last shown at the July 2020 Wheels and Waves Exhibition in Malibu, the Y-Job tribute also happens to be “a consistent Best of the Best and Best of Show winner under Gary Wales’ stewardship.” The auction house didn’t offer an estimate on this bad boy, but don’t think for a single minute that you’ll be able to get it cheap.
Four years of work are worth $100,000 on their own, and a 1941 Cadillac isn’t exactly affordable either. Although it’s not a million-dollar build, the replicar will certainly fetch pretty money at the Auburn auction next month.
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