Overview:

Up for sale is our 1959 Buick Invicta, 4 door Flat Top, model 4639 – a true survivor and all-original car.

This car has been in our family for approximately 2 years and has been a fun car to drive.As much as we love this great '59 Buick, there is another '59 Buick that we are purchasing in a different color that has slightly different options - so this car needs to move on to a new owner.

This Buick Invicta is finished in a two tone paint scheme featuring the body in Sierra Spruce Green and the roof finished in Artic White.

The paint is mostly original with the "magic mirror" finish, however, there is some indication that there was some repair work at some point in the car’s life in examining the car up close on the driver side rear door. It is similar in sheen and tone to the rest of the car, so my guess is that the repair work was done early on in the car’s lifecycle. The paint was buffed using Griot's Garagemachinepolishand brought back a nice shine that you see in the photos within this listing. The paint is not perfect, and has it's share of small blemishes for being a survivor.

The vehicle was manufactured in Kansas City, Kansas, and stayed in the general Kansas vicinity untilwe purchased the car and brought out to the Pacific Northwest in 2014. While it's probably silly...we nicknamed the car "Dorothy" given it came from Kansas, and headed on a journey to the Emerald City (Seattle's nickname) to be in it's new home.Much like the story from the Wizard of Oz.Seemed fitting - so for all the car shows here locally, the group knows the car as "Dorothy".

From our chat with the prior owner of the car, the Invicta was purchased out of Dodge City, Kansas from George-Nielsen Buick by a woman named Ruth. Ruth owned the car up until her passing around 1990/1991. The family of the dealership that was familiar with the car purchased the Invicta from Ruth’s estate and parked it in a covered carport in 1991. The car sat there until it was purchased in/around 2013 and towed home to Wichita, KS.

When the car was purchased by the prior owner in 2013, it was not running and the motor had seized up. With some patience, the former owner and a long-time Buick collector, spent the better part of 4-5 weeks treating the engine with oil to soak the internal components to get the engine to hand-turn again. The engine fluids were thoroughly changed out and a new battery added - followed by an attempt to start it properly. To everyone’s surprise, the engine fired up and ran well after only a few tries.

Since startup, the former owner went through the mechanicals of the car to ensure all was working, and began to drive the car for pleasure cruises on weekends locally in Wichita.

Since we have owned the car, I have taken the Invicta on several cruises in the Pacific Northwest, and the car has performed well every time. The longest trip was a 250+ mile cruise over the course of 8 hours, and the vehicle did amazingly well.

Our personal mechanic went through the car and we finished up some small items. The speedo works well, and operates smoothly, the power antenna and radio work, power is strong, and the ride is so smooth and beautiful.

VIN Decoding:

VIN: 6F4002645

6 = 4600 (Model) & Invicta (Series)

F = 1959

4 = Assembly Plant: Kansas City, Kansas

Last six #s = numerical sequence of the assembly of the plant: 002645

Features:

The car features all of the standard trim/features of the Invicta line for 1959 and was reasonably optioned with:

· 123 inch wheelbase

· Overall length: 217.4 inches

· Power steering

· Power brakes

· Wonder Bar radio – Does not work, but tries to work. May need some attention to get it working (That or I don't know how to program it).

· Power radio antenna

· 401CU/V8 Wildcat engine (factory nailhead)

· Triple turbine transmission

· Two tone paint (Sierra Spruce Green body and Artic White roof)

· Flat top roof with wrap-around back glass

· Interval wipers

· 6-way power bench seat

· Invicta tri-tone interior: Green vinyl, white vinyl stripes and green patterned cloth

· Automatic heat (does not work automatically) – had to bypass and manually setup heat

· After-market air-conditioning unit by “Cool Queen” – not functional.

o The unit remains in place but is not hooked up

o Compressor is installed still in the engine bay, but is no longer connected via fan belts

· It appears the former owner rebuilt/replaced the radiator as it looks brand new

· Glass appears to be original, and has some slight delamination along the outside edges.

· Original (or what looks like the original spare) is in the trunk. It’s cracked, and should not be used as a spare – more for display only.

· Trunk matting and side panels are intact in the trunk along with the lug wrench and jack.

· Service card and holder from the local service shop in Coldwater, Kansas is still on the dash along with the last known oil change, etc. Coldwater is close by in distance to Dodge City, Kansas where the car was originally purchased.

· The owner I bought the car from put on decent tires. They are not period correct wide white walls, but do the job.

· After-market seatbelts are present for the front seats. These appear to be vintage. The passenger side seatbelt is not routed correctly and will need to be examined for proper routing – would not be safe to use as seatbelt until checked.

· Period correct Kansas license plate comes with the car. It may have been the original from when the car is new, but no way of knowing for sure.

Updates/Repairs:

Since owning the car, we have replaced, updated:

· New/remanufactured power steering pump

· New/remanufactured wiper motor

· Tune-up

· Brakes serviced and checked

·Gas tank removed and repaired. (Prior owner also repaired the tank, but looks like a spot weld was not holding and was leaking gas)

· Installed bypass valve for heating in winter, and installed heater control knob

o New buyer will need to possibly replace this control knob. We pulled the fuse on it as the lighted knob was getting very hot to the touch and did not want to have a fire hazard. We disabled the knob until a replacement could be installed – have not had time to finish. Those are the red wires that can be seen under the dash.

· New period correct styled Anco wiper blades

· New under hood insulation blanket

Condition:

The car is an original survivor that is 57 years old. As with any car of this age that is a survivor, there are a number of quirks and blemishes. And, there are likely a number of unknown issues that could pop up at any time. The car works great, and we anticipate it will bring a lot of joy to it's new owner - however, we cannot predict the future, so this car will be sold as-is/where is with no warranty expressed or implied.The Invicta has not been restored, and, has been enjoyed in its stock format. Which is the way we like our cars.

However, we’d rather you know everything about the car that we do in full disclosure and transparency:

· The Invicta leaks oil and transmission fluid. Not a major leak, but it does leak. They all do. Especially when stored for longer periods of time. When we rive it in the summer, the leaks start to minimize again.

· Passenger front door sometimes fails to open. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. As of the posting of this ad, the door is stuck shut. Rear passenger door opens just fine. The window on the front door that sticks also works just fine. May be a lock/latch issue with the handle/inner workings of the door.

· Front chrome bumper on the car has two bumps where it appears someone, at some time, used a tow hook to pull the car. One on the top of the bumper near the center, and the other bump on the bottom of the bumper near the driver's side.

· Front bumper also has some scraping/scratches on the very front lower corner of the bumper. Light oxidation is present.

· Missing front bumper horn (trim) on driver’s side

· Front grille is cracked around where the “V” emblem would mount. The “V” emblem is missing probably for this reason. No idea on when it cracked – was like this when I got the car. Could be related to the bumper bumps mentioned above?

· Paint shows thin in some spots where the finish has been worn (driver’s rear door, one section on roof, passenger quarter panel)

· Paint has chipped away in some spots: below rear window, passenger quarter panel.

· Chrome/stainless trim on passenger outside fin (top) is dented near fin tip.

· It appears that the roof, hood and trunk may have suffered some hail damage. There are a few dents on the flat surfaces of the car.

· Under the car appears to be solid with no rot. There is normal oxidation for a car of this age, but the floor pans and other components appear to be in good shape. I tried to get a few photos of this, but the lighting was not great to capture the image.

· Chrome/stainless trim below back window (center of car) is missing it’s fastener(s) – so the trim lays flat, but not connected in the exact spot where it should be/should lay

o Underneath, there is some surface rust, but nothing that looks like rot. I have not pulled the trim to look further, and there is no leaking in the trunk around that area, so likely it’s solid.

· Small ding on passenger front fender stainless/chrome

· Door panels are original, and some are curling up on the bottoms.

· Automatic heat is not working (from the factory) – see above for bypass setup

· There is a rip in the driver’s side seat bottom. Two tears - one around an inch in length, and the other around 4-5 inches in length.

· Dash pad has deflated on passenger side – common with these cars when the backing breaks down and wears out.

· Seam separation on white vinyl seat back trim where it meets the green vinyl. Spoke with seat upholstery shop, and opted not to fix until ready to do all the upholstery as sometimes fixing the problem can actually make it worse due to the age of the materials (keeping a stitch/pulling the fabric off the seats, etc.)

· Front windshield has some scratches from what looks like a wiper blade that lost it's rubber blade at some point - scratching the glass. There is also a nick or two in the glass. Not very large, but they are there.

· Front seat foot well area has astro turf for carpeting. The original carpeting is underneath, however it’s worn. It looks like the original owner (Ruth) put in the astro turf. I mention this as it appears there are long green tipped hat pins keeping the astro turf in place.

o We pulled back the astro turf and it appears that the floor looks solid.

o If we were to keep the car, we would install a new carpet kit.

As you see, the car is basically how we bought it 2 years back. The drop down sun shade (blue color) is intact on the driver side sun visor (aftermarket item) and what appears to be Ruth's aftermarket vanity kit is still on the passenger sun visor (mirror, tissue holder, small pouch for items).

The car drives very well. Seats are comfortable, ride is nice, and power is awesome for a 57-year-old car. We get so many looks and thumbs ups when we drive the car around town. Handling and braking are good for a car of this size. When braking quickly, the car does seem to pull to the left a little, which is not noticed at lower speeds. Being we don’t brake hard often, and don’t travel at high speeds that often, it’s not been on the top of our “fix it” list but wanted to mention it.

As of the posting of this ad, original mileage is a little over 67,460. This may go up slightly as we do drive it once in a while. Low miles for a survivor.

We took over 300+ photos of this car – and am happy to provide the URL to that album to anyone that is interested. Please message me for location.

There is not a buy-it-now price, and we will not disclose the reserve prior to the auction end. We have set pricing at a reasonable amount for the car based on others that were similar in this condition.

Car has a clear Washington State title.

Deposit/Payment:

A deposit of $500 will be required within 24 hours from successful bidder via PayPal. Balance of payment to be delivered via wire transfer or certified bank check. Car will only be released to shipper once funds have cleared and have been verified.

Shipping:

Shipping will be at the buyer’s expense. Car is located in University Place, WA – which is just South of Seattle,WA by about 42 miles – and around 25 miles South of the Sea-Tac (SEA) airport. We do live near a DAS Shipping terminal in Lakewood, WA, and would be happy to drop the car off at DAS if this is the carrier you choose.

If you have any questions, please contact us. Happy to answer questions with what information we have available.

Happy Bidding!

On Jun-24-16 at 20:20:55 PDT, seller added the following information:

Some additional information on the 59 Buick. I researched the phone # and business location on the service card for the Independent Oil Co. in Coldwater, Kansas – which is where the car’s last oil change was before it was rescued and brought back to life.

Spoke with a nice lady on the phone of what I thought was the right business – phone number/location was similar. After chatting for a few minutes, she mentioned that the Independent Oil Co. went out of business some time ago (which we would expect), however, her father used to work there and would let me know if she came up with anything.

We received a call back this morning, and found out a bit more about this Buick. The woman’s brother used to sit in the car when he was a kid, and remembers the car very well. Her uncle (I believe it was the uncle) knew the car as well, and the owner was Ruth Stewart. Ruth was married to George Roy Stewart. Both were residents of Coldwater, KS – which is a very small town. Ruth died in 1983 (not around 1990/91 as initially told).

The car was picked up by a couple in town who knew the car and parked in their shed out back (which is the carport where the car was towed from).

I thanked my contact for the info – and said that you never know if/how these stories are true. I mentioned a comment about how the former owner mentioned that Ruth had loose ties to the mafia – someone in her family, etc. – but how that likely was not true.

The woman I spoke with chuckled a little and said: “Oh, she was.Her brother was Dean O’Banion who was in a rival group of Al Capone and was killed in Chicago. Look him up. You'll find all kinds of things about him.” – Sounds like Ruth led a very private life.

Turns out the story about her brother appears to be true. Ruth was indeed the brother of Dean O’Banion and relocated to Coldwater, KS to be away from all of the press and trouble. Her maiden name was: Ruth O’Banion. If you do a Google search, you can turn up the info I found today – which lists her along with her husband, George as living in Coldwater, KS. We know who the car used to belong to.

Pretty cool to have a name that goes with it. Although, there is no paperwork confirming this. Just stories handed down from the past seller and confirmed with the contact in Ruth’s hometown of Coldwater. I would imagine anyone who buys the car and has interest, has enough to go off of to do some research with the town hall of records, etc.

You can read about her, too in: Guns and Roses:The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot Before Al Capone- By Rose Keefe (Page 12).

Hope this adds some character to the background of the car. Interesting story.