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1954 Buick Series 60 Century

Within the GM Division hierarchy, Buick traditionally catered to the buyer seeking a prestigious, well-equipped, mid-to-upper-level automobile. Nearly one-tenth of buyers selected Buick automobiles for 1954, representing a record calendar year of production and third place in the American sales rankings behind high-volume Chevrolet and Ford. Significant milestones included the production of the two-millionth Dynaflow transmission on May 3rd, and the company became the first automaker to build one-half million hardtops.

1954 Buick Series 60 Century photo
Convertible Coupe
Chassis #: 6A1097835
View info and history
Auction entries : 2
Buick revived the 'Century' name in 1954, having been dormant since 1942 when it was used on the company's upscale full-size line of cars, as the company's performance model line. The Century was fitted with the 322 cubic-inch 'Nailhead' V8 engine of the Roadmaster with the lightweight body and chassis of the Special. The engine had five main bearings, hydraulic valve lifters, a Stromberg or Carter four-barrel carburetor, and delivered 195 horsepower at 4,100 RPM. With a Dynaflow transmission and 8.0:1 compression, output rose to 200 hp. The standard transmission was a three-speed manual.

Design cues included front-fender 'Ventiports,' front-bumper 'Dagmar' bullets, and sweeping bodyside moldings.

Body styles
The Century was positioned above the Series 40 Special and below the Series 50 Super (C-Body). Prices were approximately $300 more than the Special and $200 less than the Super. Body styles included a two-door hardtop coupe and a four-door sedan with similar prices of approximately $2,525. The convertible coupe had a base price of $2,960, and the station wagon sold for $3,470. The top-of-the-line Buick model was the Skylark, available only as a sport convertible and priced at $4,350, and equipped with the same engine as the Century.

Standard Features
The convertibles had a leather interior, an outside rearview mirror, a hydraulic power-operated front seat, power windows, and a power top. The two-door Riviera Hardtop had two-tone nylon cloth upholstery, and nylon cloth was standard in the other body styles. The instrument panel was the same as the Specials, with gauges set in two round housings.

1954 Buick Series 60 Century photo
Convertible Coupe
Chassis #: 6A5017768
View info and history
Auction entries : 1
The list of standard equipment was extensive and included air conditioning (sans convertibles), hydraulic-electric windows, full wheel covers, 40-spoke wire wheels, a tool kit, 'Dor-Gard,' 'Handy-Spot,' vent shades, an electric clock, Sonomatic radio, and Selectronic radio (among others).

Production
The two-door hardtop coupe was the most popular Century body style in 1954, with 45,710 examples constructed. The sedan was popular with 31,919 units built, but considerably less than the 70,356 examples Special Sedans ($2,265) and 41,756 of the Super Sedan ($2,710), albeit outselling the Roadmaster sedan ($3,270). A convertible body style was available on all Buick models, including the exclusive Skylark, of which 836 were built at a base price of $4350. The most popular convertible in Buick's lineup was the Special which found 6,135 willing buyers. Both the Super and Roadmaster had similar production figures at around 3,300 units built. The price of the Century convertible was nearly identical to the Super convertible, at $2,960, and approximately $400 more than the Special Convertible. In total, Buick produced 2,790 examples of the Century convertible in 1954.

Both the Special and the Century offered a station wagon option, with the Specials selling at $3,160 and the Centurys at $3,470. Production was exclusive and nearly identical between the two models, with 1,650 Specials and 1,563 Centurys.

1954 Buick Series 60 Century photo
Convertible Coupe
Chassis #: 6A5017768
View info and history
Auction entries : 1
The nearly 82,000 Buick Centurys produced in 1954 represented approximately eighteen percent of the company's total automobile production. The most popular Buick model was the Special, with over 190,800 examples built, accounting for around forty-three percent of the company's total production.

Performance
The performance of the Buick Century was proven during a period road test conducted by Motor Trend, when it out-accelerated the Chrysler C-300. Engine output rose even further in 1955, with the 'Nailhead' offering a stout 236 bhp, further enhancing the Century's performance credentials. The California Highway Patrol took notice, placing a large fleet order for 270 Century two-door sedans, a body style unavailable to the general public. Half of these received manual transmission, and the other half had Dynaflow automatics.

1955 and Beyond
Mid-year, the 1955 Buick Century gains a four-door Riviera body style, and together with the newly introduced four-door Special Riviera, the four-door Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, and the four-door 88 Holiday, were the first four-door hardtops ever produced.

1954 Buick Series 60 Century photo
Convertible Coupe
Chassis #: 6A5017768
View info and history
Auction entries : 1
The styling introduced in 1954 would continue through 1958, with annual updates keeping it fresh and modern. After 1958, the Century nameplate would resume its slumber for many years, being revived for the 1973 model year on the redesigned, rear-wheel drive intermediate A-body platform. The new 'Century' replaced Skylakr for BUick's mid-sized cars, and the Century Regal coupe was added at the top of the model range and later became a separate series (it became simply Regal for 1976). From this point forward, the Century name lived on for many decades, ending in 2005 after six generations of major styling updates. The last Buick Century rolled off the Oshawa assembly line on October 25, 2004.


by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020

Related Reading : Buick Century History

The name Buick Century was the model name utilized by the Buick division of GM for their line of full-size performance cars from 1936 until 1942, from 1954 until 158 and from 1973 until 2005 for a mid-size vehicle. For the 1936 model year Buick renamed its entire model lineup in celebration of the engineering modifications and design advancements over their 1935 models. For this lineup, the Buicks....
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1954 Buick Series 60 Century Vehicle Profiles

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Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

1954 Series 60 Century
$3,470-$18,050
1954 Buick Series 60 Century Price Range: $2,520 - $3,470

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Other 1954 Buick Models

Century

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
81,982
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 322.00 CID., 195.00hp
$2,520 - $3,470
159,154
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 322.00 CID., 236.00hp
$2,545 - $3,175
102,188
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 322.00 CID., 220.00hp
$2,961 - $3,304
65,964
122.00 in.
6 cyl., 196.01 CID., 105.00hp
8 cyl., 364.00 CID., 330.00hp
$3,315 - $3,830
37,566
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 364.00 CID., 300.00hp
$3,320 - $3,830

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