When Mr. Wiley ordered his Convertible Phaeton from Illinois’ Bauer Buick in the fall of 1940, he selected a newly released, short-run “Spring Color” hue, his chosen warm, terracotta-like Sienna Rust body paint a striking contrast to the rich green leather inside.The open-top four-door Super was built in Flint in February 1941 and delivered through the suburban Chicago dealership in late March or early April.
Over the next 80 years, it would have four additional long-term owners, two of whom preserved it for the latest, who then returned it to its prewar glory.
“I found this car in 2004, in Wisconsin,” Michael Stemen remembers. “The ad said, ‘Very original; one of 467; runs, drives; last of the four-door Buick convertible sedans.’” The avowed marque enthusiast, then living in New York’s Catskill Mountain region, called upon an Illinois-based friend in the Buick community to inspect the Model 51-C on his behalf; upon learning of its high level of originality, Michael negotiated the purchase and set the Phaeton on the
