Welcome to 
Jyrki's Buick Site
Buick

 
This is sort of a diary of my project:
 
Foreword
I am Jyrki Pykäri from Vantaa, Finland, and I can't resist great looking American cars...
Back in the early seventies, when I was a kid, we would travel to Sweden in summertime to visit my unckle, who was working at the Volvo engine factory in Skövde. I was amazed by the great looking American cars of the 50's and 60's I saw at every corner (and the sound of a V-8). I quess back then there were specialized shops in Sweden, converting sedans to convertibles, or how can you explain to see almost ten '63-'64 ragtop Impalas the same day, in a small town?  I carried a little notebook with me, on which I would write down the make and model of every great looking car I had a chance to look at closely. 
At that time, most American cars found here in Finland were boring 4-door sedans, either compacts or full size "company cars". The hotrodders of the seventies were not too picky, and regardless of the model, it received the standard treatment of the era, with a jacked up stance, button tufted crushed velvet upholstery, metalflake, side pipes, Cragar SS or Slot wheels, and so on. Yes, these cars would look ridiculous today, but they made an impact on me then. Not all were 4D sedans, though. In my hometown, Hamina, I remember seeing quite a few Camaros, Mustangs, Plymouth Dusters and Barracudas, Dart Swingers. But I didn't see any pre-60's cars.

But what really hit me big time, was the Reader's Digest Annual Car Book of 1959 that I found in my father's bookshelf. Oh boy, all those huge fins! Ever since, I was determined to once own a great looking and sounding American car, preferably several of them. 

 
My Buick and how I got it
I've always had a soft spot for custom cars, and always wanted a classic '49-'51 Mercury. I almost bought an already customized '50 in the fall 1994, but that particular one was so badly fabricated that I decided to let it go. 

Then, back in 1989, the Street&Race Magazine 5/89 featured an article on KKOA Leadsled Spectacular, and one of the photos really struck me. This is what the editor said: "49 Buick Fastback -  a perfect example of a well designed kustom". I couldn't agree more. Now this is cool, I thought. Nothing against Mercs, but this is something different. Now where could I find one of these for me to customize - not likely from Finland.
Nevertheless, this picture left an impact on my mind. Some day, maybe some day, you never know...

 46 Kemp

 
Every now and then, I would pick up this magazine from the closet, and drool over this immaculate custom. Then, in 1995, I saw a '46 Roadmaster Sedanet for sale in the Mobilisti Magazine. I called the seller, Raine, immediately, but the car had just been sold to a man whose name he wouldn't reveal. Raine had imported the Buick in 1988 from Berne, N.Y., USA, and for some reason, he decided to pass this Buick forward in 1995, after replacing some rusted sheetmetal, like the sills and floor. He also told me a case full of documents that followed the car, as well as hubcaps, spotlight, some chrome trim, and front turn signals had vanished (been stolen) during shipping to Europe.

So, I missed the Buick, and decided to build a Cobra replica instead (after my wife's suggestion), which eventually became the first V-8 powered Cobra in Finland in 1997 (and at the time of updating this page in Oct 2002, still remains the only one?). 

Interestingly, the very same '46 Roadmaster  appeared for sale on the V-8 Magazine in summer 1997. I had spent all my money on the Cobra, which was almost completed. Now what can I do? if I missed this Buick again, I would never get it, I reckoned. Luckily the seller, Petri, was from Lappeenranta, living by the big lake Saimaa. So what? Well, I happened to have a speed boat but not much use for it, so I called Petri and made him an offer:
- You get my speed boat, and I get your Buick!

 
And so, on November 22, 1997, I had a 46 Roadmaster Sedanet on my yard. It was in worse a condition than I had anticipated, but it had most of the chromeware and stainless moldings intact, and there were no marks of a collision nor any signs of plastic filler. The engine still ran, but just barely. The upholstery had mouse holes, it had no fuel tank, the front and rear fenders were rusted through all over, and the bumpers didn't have much chrome left. Apparently Petri had recently reworked most of the trunk and wheeltub sheetmetal. Because I had to finish (and continuously upgade) my Cobra, the Buick just stood on the yard almost three years, until I finally started working on it summer 2000. Buick
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Tel: +358 40 5678924

Copyright © Jyrki Pykäri
Last update April 16, 2010