We like to trot out cautionary horror stories for our October editions of MSCC.
It seems appropriate because most of us are well past the childhood period in our lives when mere ghost stories scared the hell out of us.
Now we get cold chills when horrible stories of car nightmares are relayed to us.
Ike Martens’ tale is sure to give car guys night terrors.
His 1955 Buick was a frightening tale of fraud and misrepresentation-car guy style.
We would like to believe in the brotherhood of the car guy as a universal truth and, for the most part, it is true-for the most part. Then there are the treacherous predators that will exploit the ethical world of car guys for personal gain. Ike was saddled with the latter kind of lowlife when he purchased his 1955 Buick.
The weasel/seller in California had advertised his Buick as an upper echelon Buick Roadmaster by including a photo of somebody else’s car. Ike wanted a Roadmaster , so he paid a Roadmaster price for a photo of some other guy’s car and a lower end Buick.
The car arrived via hauler on New Year’s Day, complete with three flat tires and frozen solid because Ike lives much closer to Santa Claus than he does to the Beach Boys. Ike had trusted a guy who registered well below the minimal scruples level and now he was paying the price for basic trust.
It wasn’t a Roadmaster and it needed a lot more work-even more after a forklift had bent the rear bumper at some point along the way. Ike’s first reaction was to leave it where he found it (frozen and decidedly unloved), but he decided to haul it home.
Ike said it best; “My labor of love turned into a money pit”. But he persevered and his 1955 Buick underwent a serious cosmetic face- lift that included new paint and upholstery.
The drive train was not too bad-every horror story has some element of good in it,but the best part of the story was the happy ending rarely found in horror stories. Ike’s wife was a former girlfriend whom he had dated back when he owned his first Buick.
They had gone their separate ways for 38 years, but now the misrepresented Buick is a great reminder of those early dating days for the happy couple.
It helps them forget about the unpleasant introduction to the Buick on that New Year’s Day and focus on a pleasant past reminder from their earlier romance.
Jim Sutherland
More car stories at https://www.mystarcollectorcar.com/
