1951 Buick Special Series 40

The Buick Special was available either as a Standard or Deluxe trim level. Bodystyles on the standard included a sedan and a two-door sport coupe. Just over 3,000 examples were built. The Deluxe line was more extensive consisting of a 2- and 4-door sedan, hardtop coupe, and a convertible. Deluxe production exceeded 160,700 vehicles. Deluxe versions had sweepspear molding extending into the rear fender trim, a more lavish interior, and a one-piece windshield. The standard Specials had a two-piece windshield. The interiors were cloth, and there was a unique interior panel consisting of gauges and speedometer in two large round units.

1951 saw Buick produce a healthy 404,657 cars total, but a mere 3% were finished as lavish and pricy Special Deluxe convertibles, which had a base price of $2,560. The most popular body style was the Deluxe sedan with 87,848 examples built. Next was the 2-door sedan which found 54,311 willing buyers.

Power was from an overhead valve engine displacing 320.2 cubic-inches and delivering 152 horsepower. A three-speed manual transmission was standard. A Dynaflow drive was optional.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019