The primary purpose of a car is to transport people and things from one place to another. Some people buy them as investments or items for a collection and never drive them. It’s their money and they can do with it as they please. But I think cars should be driven. However, I would make an exception for our Pick of the Day, a 1949 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon posted for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Saint Louis, Missouri, if I owned it. It’s so gorgeous that I wouldn’t rack up as many miles as I would in other cars because I’d spend so much time just looking at it.
There are two main reasons for that. One is that this Roadmaster is such a grand piece of American automotive history dating back to when Buick still built cars, not SUVs exclusively. It also comes from an era when station wagons (and estate wagons) were a more common sight on American roads, when four-wheel drive or just the appearance of ruggedness weren’t necessary for vehicles used for transporting large amounts of people and their luggage.
The second reason this Buick is so eye-catching should come as no surprise: its design. It has the right amount of chrome in all the right spots, including on the four Venti-Ports that indicate this is a Roadmaster and not a Super, which had three. Whoever had this restored years ago made the wise decision to go with the deep, rich color of Dark Forest Green.
And then there’s the fact that this is a “woodie” – inside and out. A look at the brochure for Buick’s 1949 line of wagons shows the exterior was decked out with maple and northern elm and the interior door panels were covered with mahogany veneer.
The interior is a handsome mix of Dark Forest Green for the dashboard and door panel top rails, glossy wood, and the brightness of raw sienna leather seats. Metallic controls protrude like little ingots of precious metal below the distinctive and bronze-over-cream gauges. Even the cargo area is a lovely sight, with its luxurious wood and stainless steel-lined tailgate. That and the flip-up rear window open to a flat cargo area above the spare tire concealed below.
More skill hands moved by deep pockets refinished the engine bay, which houses a 150-horsepower 320ci Fireball straight-8 engine. A two-speed Dynaflow automatic helps turn that output into forward motion so this wagon can master the road ahead.
If you can’t help but stare at this wonderfully restored piece of family-oriented Americana on your phone screen, there’s a way to get it in your garage so you can look at it up close. You can even drive it once you’re done getting eyeful after eyeful of its pleasant colors and impressive craftsmanship. Just click here or one of the pictures above to go to the listing for this 1949 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, then pay the $149,500 asking price.
Click here to view the listing for this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com.
Source: www.classiccars.com