Someone should build something like this.

In this day of 1/4, 1/2 and million dollar cars being built....and clones of historical customs, why doesn't someone build a clone of a proto type car?
While at the Sloan Museum car show this past Saturday we stopped by the Buick Gallery.
I was immediately stopped in my tracks by the XP 300 (see below).
Built in 1951 as an experimental car, it weighs in at a slender 3100 lbs (heat treated alum.) with a 300 hp turbocharged engine and acheived a top speed of 140 mph.
The styling was what got me. You can definetly see the Buick influence but the trunk, for example, is just too cool. Looking across the decklid from the cockpit area it actually looks like a hood, complete with hood ornament.
Wouldn't this be the coolest thing to clone, providing you have bottomless pockets?

 

Then there's the '54 Wildcat.
Why Buick didn't produce this...heaven only knows? What a thing of beauty.
Either of these cars would be real crowd pleasers, in a show or on the street.

 

The first car is,well,Ickkkk.The Wildcat on the other hand does have some style but definitely reeks of Corvette.That might be worth lookin' into.
T.OUT

 

Yeah, those are pretty cool. Way ahead of their time, for sure. I say go for it, be the first!

 

I actually like the first car better...because it doesn't look like anything else. Plus, I've always had a thing for what Buick later called the "personal luxury car." Big ass touring 2 dr. cruisers with gobs of style.

 

i've seen one of those gm busses in the back ground at a buick club show in pasadena a few years ago.

 

Those were the GM Parade of Progress trucks, used to transport the show around the country in the '30s-'50s. I wanted one of those to convert into a motorhome, really bad. I can post some pictures tomorrow. (I still want one)


Mutt

 

One of the Florida glass car shops makes a '53 Corvete copy and all those show cars were on the same platform so buy the 'vette replica and start cutting and itching!

 

It would be really cool to just take "elements" from either of those buicks and apply thme to a similar year one. LIk ethe grille/bumper on th efront of that first one, beautiful. It would still look Buick but REALLY make people scratch their heads.

 

Some guys in michigan are restoring one to original condition and they meticulously detail the re-build. pretty neat, need to go see it one of these days... those suckers had dual wheels front and back with a differental in each of the fronts...
here:
http://www.futurliner.org/

 

Well, yea,! That's what Harley Earl did with all the show cars/ He used elements of them in cars for the next decade.
Notice the '55 Buick Dagmars on the second car?
And his Le Sabre concept car had as many "parts" used on Olds (grill made smaller and doubled for the '55 Olds grill) and '57 Caddy tail fins, as were used on Buick. It even had a 215" aluminum engine decades before the aluminum Buick/Olds/Rover V8

 

Cut a '47 Buick four door off at the body line, shorten it to eliminate the back doors, and make it look something like my sloppy Photoshop picture. Instant factory looking custom sports car.

 

this is the one I thought they should have built, and someone should build today

the 54 Chevrolet Corvair

 

I wonder why I haven't seen any Buick "Y" job clones?!?!?!?

http://www.classiccar.com/harley_earl3.asp

Or the Phantom Corsair...!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame.php?file=car.php&carnum=1905

 

A friend of mine is building a Corvette Nomad like the one that was at the Waldorf GM show back in '53? There's been a few of them built but mostly (all?) street rod ones and his is going to be just like the original. He's doing a fantastic job on it, I'll post pics when I get some.

 

I just heard the other day about a clone of the Y-job being built somewhere out east. The owner lives down by Myrtle Beach.

 

factory looking customs are my hangup, I like chrome and trim. If i ever had the ability and money, i'd build customs that look like 50's show cars.

 

both very cool looking cars. i've often though about how cool it would be to build drivable clones of some of the old prototype cars like those. if only i had "Jay Leno" money, i'd be all over it. for YEARS growing up i wanted to design and build cars. i'd still like to, one day, design and build my own car completely from scratch. it'd probably be a mid engine sports car though.

 

I lay awake at night dreaming of cars......and now you add a couple more to dream about. THANKS!!!
Clark

 

The red 20's race car got my blood flowin'. What made me cry was the GNX with 43 miles on it and a sticker stating 'When vehicle is no longer used for educational purposes, it must be scrapped/crushed.'
Did anyone mention the '63 Mako Shark Corvette with a ZL-1 all aluminum 427?

 

Donzie,
You have touched on my heart throb.
There's something about two-toned paint jobs, lots of chrome and swoopy custom lines with lots of glass that makes my heart palpate.
I would love to have the ability to build a reproduction of some long lost and forgotten concept car. Thanks for sharing!

 

It's my understanding that the Corvette guys had the Wildcat killed. Didn't want the competition..

 

How about a Caddy? In the movie "Buddy Holly Story", in the Cad showroom there was a two-seat Cadillac sports car...WTH was that? It looked like it must have been a factory study like those Buicks. Really neat, sort of a Cadillac Corvette effect.

 

Bruce, you're thinking of the Allante no doubt! Haha...what a joke. Now you've got me wonderin' bout that Caddy......

 

YES! I agree!


FONZI

 

i believe zman is correct on this. but i gotta say harvey earl was quite a designer, and a cool guy... he would drive the high dollar Y-job to go get groceries.

 

I'm glad this post got everyone thinking.
Makes you wonder why the big buck guys DON'T have a car like that built?
Hmm, maybe because most of them are not really car guys. They see a street rod in a magazine and say "build me one like that, only better. Gotta win those trophies, don't cha know".
I think cloning a famous car is cool (ok, cloning the Mysterion was beyond cool) but cloning a proto type?......that would be the shits!

 

if vettes were cheap id have a 1954 nomad, but i dont know if i could cut one up if i had the money anyway. as far as difficulty i think it kinda speaks for itself...slap on an early 50's wagon's roof and start cruisin.

 

I'd say if you're going to do it the '51 LeSabre would have to be your first priority. That's the king. Firebirds 1 through 3 would be cool too, although I'd probably skip the turbine engines. Maybe just a wankel rotary or something.

 

speaking of turbines. i'd like to build the Batmobile from the Michael Keaton movie. now THAT would turn some heads. plus i LOVE how the cockpit opens .. oh, anyway....