Featured on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com, is this 36k-Mile 1952 Buick Super Riviera.
The 1950s were an era of unmistakable style when it came to extravagant brightwork. Some of it was functional, some of it was decorative, and about seven decades later, such trim has gone almost completely extinct: Many modern cars, in fact, have even foregone chrome or bright aluminum wheels in favor of darker gunmetal or black finishes. It is no mystery that I have an affinity for Buicks from the 1950s. Here is a story I wrote last year about a 1950 Buick Special that my grandfather owned when he was in his 20s.
Finished in Apache Red with a Carlsbad Black roof, this AutoHunter-featured Super has plenty of that gleaming chrome trim. The car is being sold by a dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the auction ends on Wednesday. Few people keep a car for more than a few years, but this Super reportedly stayed with its original owner for an impressive 65 years, until 2017!
In 1949, the General Motors C-body platform received an update, and the Super shared this platform with the Roadmaster although it had a shorter wheelbase. All Buicks of this era became known for fender-mounted or hood-mounted portholes called “VentiPorts.” When introduced, there were three or four of such ports that denoted the size of the straight-eight engine.
The VentiPort tradition, incidentally, was brought back in 2003 with the Buick Park Avenue Ultra, and later with its 2005 to 2011 model-year replacement, the Lucerne. Staying true to the original Buick engineering methodology, the number of ports (although merely decorative and not functional) on the car corresponded to its engine size (V6 versus V8).
The mechanical condition of the featured 36k-mile car appears sorted based on the AutoHunter listing. Power comes from a Fireball 263cid inline-eight mated to a Dynaflow two-speed automatic transmission. The selling dealer says that there was extensive maintenance performed in October 2023 including replacement of the battery, belts, hoses, water pump, fuel pump, exhaust, and exhaust manifold gasket. In addition, the radiator was re-cored, the carburetor was rebuilt, and an oil change was performed.
If you are into big Buicks with beautiful brightwork like I am, you will want to check this one out!
The auction for this 36k-Mile 1952 Buick Super Riviera ends Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 1:15 p.m. (MST)
Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and photo gallery
Beautiful car
Grandparents gave us a 1952 Oldsmobile.
Loaded 98 i think, maybe in the late 50’s. I am Interested in outcome of your auction tomorrow. Thank you. L
Very classy looks very smooth
Not sure how one would recore a radio. I guess he meant the speaker was reconed.
I love automobiles, and I walk past a Buick just like the one in this post daily at my job in a storage company and it is heartbreaking to watch it sit out in the sun every day.
How about: radiator recored?
Bingo! Yeah, that was me switching radiator for radio. As always, the actual AutoHunter listing provides your best source of truth on the car. Thanks all for reading.
I Would Think That He Meant Radiator?
The article has been updated to correctly read radiator!