Written by independent automotive journalist Chris Griggs
Jet Age styling and creative customization combine in this 1960 Buick Electra convertible (Lot #1350) known as “Shades of Blue,” which will be selling with No Reserve at the 2020 Scottsdale Auction.
When you hear the term “feeling blue,” the first thing that comes to mind is sadness or disappointment, and when you hear blues music, the subject is often about hard times and struggle. For a color with so much versatility that’s seen so often in the world, blue gets a bad rap. After all, blue skies make people cheerful, and a day at the beach with crystal-blue water is the stuff of which dream vacations are made. When it came time to select a theme for this 1960 Buick Electra 225 convertible (Lot #1350), its creators decided to choose the happier side of the hue, opting for “Shades of Blue.”
The body lines of the 1960 Electra 225 are radically different and enough to make it stand out from the crowd in stock form. Add to that a stunning custom hue of blue mixed up by House of Kolor and lots of subtle exterior custom touches that most people wouldn’t notice at first glance, and you’ve got a real traffic-stopper. The front turn-signal housings were painted to help them blend in and let the concave grille and dual headlights be the focal point. Along the side, the bulky rocker trim was removed and a shorter trim installed, providing sufficient contrast but allowing the car to be more streamlined. Out back, the rear bumper was modified with cutouts for dual exhaust and painted to give the appearance of two split wraparound pieces with a roll pan. The crown jewel on the exterior fabrication work is the custom-made steel convertible boot, which was fabricated using pieces of a trunk lid and quarter-panels from a donor car welded together to make one seamless piece that contours perfectly with the factory body lines. Completing the exterior look is a set of Foose Legends wheels.
A car with such a striking visual presence on the outside must have an interior to match. To accomplish this, Mercedes MB-Tex leatherette was utilized to cover the seats, custom door panels and dash. A center console from a 1964 Ford Thunderbird was modified to fit, and sides were painted to match the exterior. The lower dash panel was extended across, housing controls for the air conditioning as well as additional gauges. Many understated touches help tie everything together, including the upholstered console top piece with embroidered Buick logo, which has been painted to match the steering wheel with tilt column. The trunk has been upholstered to match, with custom panels hiding the equipment for the RideTech air-ride system.
No true custom is complete without the right power plant, and for this build, a 5.7-liter first-generation LT1 mated to a 4L60E automatic transmission was chosen. Helping put the power to the rear end is a 9-inch Ford rear end held in place with a RideTech Tri-Link four-bar suspension setup with ShockWave airbags front and rear. To ensure the engine was visually on par with the exterior, a polished March pulley setup was installed on the front, along with chrome valve covers and white intake cover plates with a white-lettered Electra 225 badge script. The firewall was smoothed over, and custom inner fenders were installed to make the engine bay look as sleek as the outside.
When Shades of Blue made its debut, it made waves, appearing on the cover of Street Rodder magazine and sweeping the awards on the local show circuit. The combination of radical Jet Age styling combined with creative customization gives this car a presence that’s hard to ignore – and one that can be appreciated by all. When this beautiful Buick crosses the block with No Reserve at the Barrett-Jackson 2020 Scottsdale Auction, the only people feeling blue will be the ones who miss out on making it their own.
For up-to-date information on this vehicle, click HERE. For a look at all the vehicles on the 2020 Scottsdale docket, click HERE.