Paul Lopez' 1948 Buick

The Unbeatable Buick. A rare construction photo of Paul's Buick. Restyled by Jim "The Lead Man" Manfredi, the car was featured on the cover of Rodding and Re-styling May 1956. Looking for the featured story inside the magazine I had to browse through the magazine a couple of times. Not able to find it, I looked through the contents page without being able to trace it. A note about the cover on the same page could tell me that before Jerry Della Torre was able to shoot the car, it was partially demolished when another car hit it. Jerry told Ray that it got rear-ended real bad, "he said it wasn't worth fixing because back then, they were only worth a couple of hundred bucks." Jim took the front end off the car, and he put it behind his shop. The rest of the car got junked. The front was later stolen from behind the shop, never to be seen again. Photo from The Ray Soff Photo Collection.

Paul's Buick as it appeared on the cover of Rodding and Re-styling May 1956.

Rodding and Re-Styling May 1956

1948 Buick Roadmaster Convertible owned by Paul Lopez of Irvington, New Jersey. The car was nosed, decked and cleaned for door handles. The hood was modified with a scoop on top, and reshaped to match the contour of the front end that was custom made. Headlights from a 1953 Buick were frenched to the fenders to achieve a more modern look. Rear fenders from a 1948 Cadillac were crafted to the body was well. Oldsmobile Fiesta hubcaps and white wall wrapped up the style. In 1956, the car was partially demolished when another car hit it.

Magazine Features and Appearances

Rodding and Re-styling May 1956