The Shimmer Shack Dedicated to 1949 Buick lovers everywhere!

Daddio first drives "Shimmer", our family car from the '50's to the '70's, and now a member of the family again.

"Gonna Take A Sentimental Journey
Sentimental Journey Home..."

        In the 1940's and '50's my Dad was enjoying his heyday as a swing musician, playing alto with some of the top bands of the day. He also enjoyed driving his pride and joy, a "Verde' Green" 1949 Buick Super Convertible, which is still, to this day, a symbol for him of that wonderful time in his past.

        Through the years, the Buick was driven countless miles as the family car, making memories as we took the puppies to the vet (chewed steering wheel), learned to drive in the supermarket parking lot (several dents), and even being stolen for a time and then found again.

        In later years the car survived a severe trial as the primary source of transportation and entertainment for my two brothers and me. I remember going to drive-in movies and saving money by hiding friends in the trunk. We took off-road trips where we pretended the Buick was a 4-wheel drive Jeep (the twisted frame underneath still attests to this abuse). We would drive around with everyone (including the driver) standing up. Or, since the door handles had fallen off and there was no top to speak of, we used to enter and exit the car without opening the doors, by running and jumping in as if we were the Lone Ranger mounting his steed in the movies!

        During this period the noble Buick was dubbed "The Shimmer," short for "Shimmy-ing Beauty." This was a reference, I suspect, to the alignment problem that made the car "shimmy" and sound like somebody was playing a tambourine when driven over 55 mph. Eventually and inevitably, the used-up car "died" and was towed home, literally, to pasture.

        After many years of sitting in the family backyard, the car was dismantled and a restoration project started, but, alas, abandoned soon thereafter. In 1987 my Dad, a.k.a. "Daddio," shipped what was left of the old family Buick to me. When I received the car it was a rough and rusty shell full of springs, old wires, unlabeled coffee cans of nuts and bolts, and boxes of odd-shaped pieces of metal. There were even parts that belonged to other cars thrown in for good measure!

        Fortunately for me, I like puzzles. I remembered the car very well, and was able to identify many of the parts by sight. Most parts were broken, rusty, non-functioning, or just plain missing. Over the next nine years I located, rebuilt or replaced them all one by one, with an eye for authenticity. It wasn't until we started putting her back together, though, that I began to realize just how great she was going to look.

        Now that we're back on the road I feel like I've gotten a lost member of the family back. I guess you never forget the sounds and sensations of your first car, and all the fun times you had. Bringing "Shimmer" back to her former glory was truly a "Sentimental Journey!"

        Thanks for stoppin' by! . . . Blaine

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(The Shimmer Shack Odometer has logged miles in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark,
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