Roger Hilborn's 1947 Buick

1947 Buick owned by Roger Hilborn of Wichita, Kansas. When Roger graduated from high school in 1952, his folks bought him a 1947 Buick. However, from Roger's point of view, the Buick was not a very interesting car to use as a high school transportation. However, Roger wanted to do the best out of the situation and had two local bodyshops in Wichita to restyle it. Cunningham's and Wilson's Body Shop were the lucky ones to handle the task of restyling Roger's Buick. First step was to strip the hood for its ornamentation, the deck lid was shaved as well. The fender trim were reworked and the doorhandles were shaved. The doors were opened by pressing a certain body panel behind were micro switches. A thermos jug was located in the trunk activated by an electric pump which served to supply the driver with refreshments of ice water, this accessory suited Roger nice during the hot summer days of Wichita. The rear fender skirts were reshaped to follow the lower body line. This modification made the car appear longer in length, but also lower since less of the rear wheels were shown. The taillights were removed from the body and relocated in the bumper guards. Extra large bulbs were installed to make them easily seen at nights during adverse weather. The owner himself was responsible for the custom grille, hubcaps, taillights, dash panel, engine work and the hydraulic trunk lift in the trunk. Once the bodywork was done, it was painted multicoat black lacquer. The white and black Tolex interior was installed by the Morgan Bulleigh Co.. This was actually their first installation the company had ever performed. Once the car was done, Roger's car had become a nice eye-catcher.

Magazine Features

Rod & Custom July 1955