Earlier this year, I introduced you to the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico when talking about how some Route 66 motels used to offer garages for visitors. I decided to pass by Blue Swallow again while en route from Phoenix to Kansas City for this year’s National Acura Legend Meet — it was well worth the detour.
Parked out front was a two-tone 1951 Buick Super four-door sedan with presence and poise. I had to stop for some obligatory photos, first (of course) snapping one with my own car in the foreground.
The Super, or Series 50, was slotted between the Special and Roadmaster and rode on a 125.5-inch wheelbase. It was available as a coupe, convertible, or sedan.
In promotional advertising, Buick presented some of the features that set the 1951 Buick models apart from other cars. Among them:
- Dynaflow Drive automatic transmission
- Fireball power (high-compression, valve-in-head straight-eight)
- Push-bar forefront to combine smart style with unsurpassed protection
- White-glow instruments
- Torque-tube drive for steady ride and improved driving control
- Four-wheel coil spring suspension
- Dual ventilation to feed outside air into the front compartment
- Self-energizing hydraulic brakes which “multiply pedal pressure five times at brake drum”
- Dreamline styling with tapered fenders
- Also: Self-locking luggage lid, StepOn parking brake, two-way ignition lock, SafetyRide wheels, Hi-Poised engine mounting, and Body by Fisher
Two-tone paint jobs seem to be less of a “thing” nowadays, but back in the 1950-60s, it was common to see cars with contrasting roofs or body parts. I thought the yellow and green motif worked pretty well on this one.
For 1951, Buick gave a facelift to the toothy front end that distinguished the 1950 models, notably narrowing the “teeth” and moving them to behind the front bumper bar.
Exterior features included chrome brightwork, sweepspear side moldings, triple VentiPorts, three-piece rear window, and wide whitewall tires. Bonus points for the Route 66-themed New Mexico license plates, too!
Peering into the cabin, I saw bench seats with gray cloth upholstery, a radio, manual-crank windows, and automatic transmission lever.
Under the hood was a 263.3ci OHV straight-eight that was rated at 128 horsepower when paired with the Dynaflow automatic. Buick said, “Come settle yourself in a ’51 Buick — every one has the trigger-quick and confident Fireball power of Buick’s pace-setting high-compression valve-in-head engine.”
It felt a bit like being in a time-warp — admiring a primo classic Buick parked outside one of the best-preserved Route 66 motels still in operation. A lot of us wish we could time-travel to the heyday of The Mother Road and experience it firsthand.
