Mike Young's 1948 Buick Special Sedanette

The low rider-inspired super mild custom rides on a lowered Art Morrison chassis under a completely stock body. The black cherry paint looks black unless you’re directly under the Texas sun when the dark cherry sparkles. Restored Cadillac Sombrero wheel covers wraps up the style. Photo courtesy of Mike Young.

Buick redesigned the Special in 1942 and kept the same basic design until 1950, but the taillights, trunk handle, emblem, and rocker trim were holder overs from 1941. The improvement to the 1942 Buick included a re-vamped handsome vertical grille, streamlined chrome fender trim, wrap around bumpers, and on the Specials, pontoon fenders extending into the doors complementing the streamlined fastback profile. The door handles disappear into the beatline trim is a subtle touch all straight from the factory. Mike decided to keep the body stock, and not a single hole was filled, or piece of trim removed in the constructions of the Buick. Photo courtesy of Mike Young.

Inside, the interior is the handiwork of noted Southern California custom upholsterer Joe Perez, who was one of the innovators of custom upholstery in the 1950s and 1960s in Southern California. Joe Perez has done hand-crafted interiors for noted customizers such as George Barris, Larry Watson, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and celebrities like Elvis Presley. Everything from the kick panels to the trunk were covered in a combination of Bone White leather with dark maroon leather piping. The signature one-inch pleats abound inserts on the fronts and backs of the seats, the package tray, and even two in the headliner that run the length of the graceful fastback roofline. The only thing that wasn't leather is the dark maroon carpet on the cabin and trunk floor. Every open "French" seam on the car is laser-straight and reinforced from behind to withstand the rigors of time of a daily driver. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

Joe Perez came out of retirement to cover every inch of the cabin of the Buick, a job that took him six months. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

During the build, the original dash was chromed, and the cockpit was dressed up with a restored 1948 Buick Super steering wheel. Vintage Air A/C was tucked behind the dash along with a Bluetooth hidden stereo system. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

The drivetrain consists of an aluminum head Chevrolet ZZ4 383 Stroker engine with and a single Edelbrock four-barrel that has been dressed up with finned aluminum Edelbrock valve covers and S&S headers. Custom Matterson radiator and a GM 700R4 automatic transmission. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

Bob's Paint of Whittier applied the (undisclosed) off the shelf dark Black Cherry paint. The paints subtle hue looks custom and works well with the stock bodywork and sets off the chrome. The paint looks black unless you’re directly under the Texas sun when the dark cherry sparkles. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

Resto-Low. Once completed, Mike's Buick was featured in The Rodder's Journal 61. Photo courtesy of The Rodder's Journal.

Kustomrama Marketplace - Custom Cars for Sale

1948 Buick Special Sedanette owned by Mike Young of Austin, Texas. Mike came across the Buick as a stock creampuff in 2003. Back then, it was a complete running car with low miles, a solid body, and one re-paint over original nickel grey exterior.

Low Rider Stance by Art Morrison and Limeworks

Steve Dennish of Limeworks Speed Shop in Whittier, California turned the car into a mild low rider-inspired super mild custom for Mike. For a lowered stance and a reliable daily driver, Limeworks put the original steel body on an Art Morrison Builder Platform perimeter frame with rack and pinion steering, Mustang II-style independent front suspension, a four-link rear suspension, and a 9-inch Ford rear-end. Mounts were installed to incorporate a Chevrolet ZZ4 383 stroker engine with a single Edelbrock four-barrel carburetor. The engine was dressed up with finned aluminum Edelbrock valve covers and S&S headers. It ran a Custom Matterson radiator and a GM 700R4 automatic transmission. Additional fabrication of body mounts, cross members and floor supports were needed to enable to lower the Buicks body over the frame.

Black Cherry Paint

Buick redesigned the Special in 1942 and kept the same basic design until 1950, but the taillights, trunk handle, emblem, and rocker trim were holder overs from 1941. The improvement to the 1942 Buick included a re-vamped handsome vertical grille, streamlined chrome fender trim, wrap around bumpers, and on the Specials, pontoon fenders extending into the doors complementing the streamlined fastback profile. The door handles disappear into the beatline trim is a subtle touch all straight from the factory. Mike decided to keep the body stock, and not a single hole was filled, or piece of trim removed in the constructions of the Buick. Bob's Paint of Whittier applied the (undisclosed) off the shelf dark Black Cherry paint. The paints subtle hue looks custom and works well with the stock bodywork and sets off the chrome. The paint looks black unless you’re directly under the Texas sun when the dark cherry sparkles.

Custom Upholstery by Joe Perez

Inside, the interior is the handiwork of noted Southern California custom upholsterer Joe Perez, who was one of the innovators of custom upholstery in the 1950s and 1960s in Southern California. Joe Perez has done hand-crafted interiors for noted customizers such as George Barris, Larry Watson, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and celebrities like Elvis Presley. Everything from the kick panels to the trunk were covered in a combination of Bone White leather with dark maroon leather piping. The signature one-inch pleats abound inserts on the fronts and backs of the seats, the package tray, and even two in the headliner that run the length of the graceful fastback roofline. The only thing that wasn't leather is the dark maroon carpet on the cabin and trunk floor. Every open "French" seam on the car is laser-straight and reinforced from behind to withstand the rigors of time of a daily driver. Joe Perez came out of retirement to cover every inch of the cabin of the Buick, a job that took him six months. During the build, the original dash was chromed, and the cockpit was dressed up with a restored 1948 Buick Super steering wheel. Vintage Air A/C was tucked behind the dash along with a Bluetooth hidden stereo system. Outside, restored Cadillac Sombrero wheel covers on 15-inch steel wheels wrapped up the subtle, but beautiful build.

For Sale

Early in 2022 Mike decided to sell some of the cars in his collection in order to get down to a few he could drive regularly. He is asking US $89,000.00 for the Buick. Please get in touch with Mike at myoungx@me.com for more info, photos, and details.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Rodder's Journal 61