The 1949 Special's nine-bar grille doubled as the bumper guards.
Lead trim: Special 263.3 cu in Fireball OHV I8 (from 1951) · up to 250 hp
Buick Special1949–1958
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Buick Special yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe 1949 Special's nine-bar grille doubled as the bumper guards.
Halfway into the 1949 model year the Specials received all-new bodywork with a dramatically styled grille (nine bars doubling as bumper guards) and the first fully postwar design for the series, with the new 40D series, the better-equipped Special DeLuxe; the engine remained the 248 cu in (4.1 L) used since 1937 until 1951, when it was replaced by the larger "Fireball" straight-eight. The Special was available in fastback Jetback and notchback Tourback forms (195,072 Jetbacks and 142,537 Tourbacks in 1950), with the Jetback gone by 1951 and a two-door hardtop coupe new that year. The 1954 Specials had an all-new, much wider and lower body and chassis and the all-new, more powerful "Fireball" V8 engines; introduced mid-1955 the four-door Buick Special Riviera (with the Century Riviera and the Oldsmobile 98 and 88 Holiday) was one of the first four-door pillarless hardtops ever produced, and the Special helped Buick rise to #3 in sales, overtaking Plymouth. For 1956 the larger 322 cu in (5.3 L) V8 was shared with the rest of the range, replaced for 1957 by the bigger 250 hp 364 V8 (0–60 mph in 11.6 seconds per Popular Mechanics), with all-new bodywork and a four-door hardtop wagon, the Riviera Estate; 1958 brought the most chrome yet and twin headlights. Wheelbase 121.5 in (1949–53) and 122 in (1954–58). GM renamed the Special the LeSabre for the 1959 model year.
Collectors Spotted in the Buick Special Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Buick Special yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
5 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special 248 cu in OHV I8 (1949–1950) | 1949–1950 | 4.1 L Inline-8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Special 263.3 cu in Fireball OHV I8 (from 1951) | 1951–1953 | 4.3 L Inline-8 | 120 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Special 264 cu in Fireball OHV V8 (from 1954) | 1954–1955 | 4.3 L V8 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Special 322 cu in Fireball V8 (1956) | 1956–1956 | 5.3 L V8 | 220 hp | 319 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Special 364 cu in Fireball V8 (250 hp, 1957) | 1957–1957 | 6.0 L V8 | 250 hp | 380 lb-ft | 11.6 s | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Buick sold its discontinued V6 tooling to Kaiser Industries, where it went on to power Jeeps.
Buick's original aluminum 215 V8 was swapped for a new cast-iron 300 after the earlier engine proved troublesome.
Its aluminum 215 V8, built for a compact Buick, went on to power the Rover P6 and the Range Rover.
The 1949 Special's nine-bar grille doubled as the bumper guards.
1940 was the only year Buick built a four-door convertible Special, the Sport Phaeton, with 552 made.
A dashboard handle let drivers manually retard spark timing to run cheap low-grade gasoline.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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