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This rare Estate Wagon was originally purchased by Mary Flagler Cary. Cary was the granddaughter of Henry Morrison Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil Co. The Cary’s maintained homes in Manhattan and Millbrook, New York. The 2,000 acre MIllbrook estate was where the Buick spent most of its time although it was apparently used occasionally to commute in and out of the city. Mrs. Cary passed away in 1967, she was predeceased by her husband.
The car remained in the Millbrook, NY area and was purchased by Mr. Bulgari in the 1990s. While the interior of the car was generally well preserved, the chrome was still good and the body was still fully functional, there were many rotted wood panels and there were some problems with the metal body structure from years of exposure to New York state winter roads.
The woodwork for the body was remade and restored in the United States while the metal body panels were restored in Italy. The two portions of the body were reunited and finally finished in Italy. A complete restoration of the engine and transmission completed the car. -
Company
General Motors
Make
Buick
Model
Roadmaster, 79R
Body Style
Estate Wagon, 4 - door, 6-pass.
Body Manufacture
Ionia Manufacturing Co / Fisher Body
Model year
1951
Wheelbase
126.25 inches
Length
211 inches
Engine
inline-8, OHV, 320.2 cid
Horsepower
152 @ 3600 rpm
Transmission
Dynaflow automatic
Original Base Price
$3,977
Brand Production
404,657 model year
This Car Production
679 -
When the first new Buicks of the post-war era hit the market in 1949 it would mark the ascendancy of Buick into the top four automobile manufacturers in the United States based on volume of production and sales. Buick would remain in fourth or third place through 1958. This was the period that established Buick as the preeminent mid-market offering in the automobile industry, trailing only Chevrolet, Ford and occasionally Plymouth, all of which dominated the lower and entry level portion of the market.
The controversial “toothy” grille of the 1950 cars didn’t seem to hurt sales as the company had their best year in their entire history. But, for 1951 the grille got a redesign, now with narrower vertical grille bars set behind the front bumper across the full width of the front of the car.
The signature round “venti-ports” that decorated the sides of the front fenders in 1949, a feature attributed to designer Ned Nickles, became oval and moved to the hood sides in 1950. In 1951, the venti-ports once again became round and moved back to the fenders. Venti-ports would become one of the most identifiable Buick features appearing off and on in many styles into the 1970s.
The advertising said it all, “Smart Buy’s Buick.” Clearly a lot of smart people bought Buicks. While sales would decrease from the previous year's record, so did everyone else. Buick maintained their fourth position in the industry for the model year.