In 2004, Pruden decided he wanted to get into a hobby that he
had thought of often, classic cars. He was originally thinking
along the lines of a 1927 Chrysler or 1929 Buick, like the ones
his father drove. But then thought he would rather have a mid-fifties
cruiser. He'd seen a few cars for sale along the highways but
nothing that really grabbed him. Then while driving around in
Gladstone, Man., Pruden spotted a 1956 Pontiac Pathfinder (Canadian)
peeking out from behind a garage. The car was not for sale but
it was a good opportunity to talk to someone about cars and
get some idea of what one could expect for a certain amount
of money. By the end of the conversation the car was Wayne's
and he had a "cruiser" for the summer.
In the winter of 2005, the car bug bit him again. Pruden
thought it would be nice if his love of classic cars could
become a family affair as well and sold the Pontiac to his
son, Andrew, a regular on the streets during the cruise season.
With one car gone the elder Pruden was on the hunt for another.
Originally, he sought a 1956 Pontiac Star Chief two-door hardtop
but, sadly, it was not meant to be. A '52 Pontiac Catalina
in Nova Scotia had his serious attention for a while until
a 1957 Buick Roadmaster in Muskegon, Mich., grasped his attention
in its steely blue grip.
The model 73 Riviera was a four-door hardtop dressed in a
beautiful Dresden blue. The four-barrel carburetor helped
push 300 HP out of the 364 cubic inch Nailhead V8 to its variable
pitch dynaflow transmission. It had been totally restored
in Nebraska in 1993 and trailered to shows throughout the
mid-western United States until one of the owners became terminally
ill and the car was sold. The new owner worked the top end
of the engine, so it would run better on un-leaded fuel before
deciding to sell the car and build a truly customized cruiser
for himself.
With the classic now available, Pruden flew down with wife
Kathleen to Muskegon to drive it back to Manitoba. While taking
the scenic route home, the Pruden's encountered the dreaded
Curse of Threes. First, while driving through three days of
solid rain, it was quickly discovered that the wipers only
worked intermittently. Next, the gas gauge decided to take
its cue from the wipers and go on strike as well. Lastly,
after reaching their destination, Pruden discovered he needed
new ball joints (1957 was a one year only for that type of
ball joint). With each joint going for $300 U.S. each on the
Inter-net, Pruden was lucky to come across a local source
that had four and did not charge an arm or a leg.
The Buick restoration was faithful to fac-tory specs. The
vacuum wipers have since been changed over to two-speed electric.
The dual ex-haust now has only the two main mufflers and not
the additional four resonators as issued from the factory,
giving a perfect Buick sound.
Pruden enjoys his new hobby, cruising the occasional night
and participating in as many shows as he can. This past summer,
at the Kenora Harbour show, the Buick won the Presidents Choice
award. It also won Best Buick at The Fabulous 50's Ford Club
of Manitoba Annual Flashback Weekend this past September.
"Having a car like this is great" Pruden explained.
"People smile when they see you, give you the thumbs-up,
it seems to make others feel good as well as the owner. I
have grown to love all the great mid-fifties excess that has
been lavished on my '57 'Roadmonster.' There is tons of chrome,
that great big Buick smile. Cars back then had lots of individual
style. Today they all look the same; like suppositories!"
Pruden is looking forward to another cruise season this year
as a new member of the Manitoba Classic & Antique Car
Club. Pruden continued, "I joined this club because I
like the idea that it is not specific to any one make of car.
The people I have met in the classic car world are great and
always make new members welcome."
SPECIAL THANKS
Special thanks to Norm at Mid Canada Suspension and from Andrew
Pruden (author) for an introduction to the classics.
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