On this sunny July day the first thing you notice when you walk up the driveway at Robert Borden’s house in Wellington is the shine and beauty of the classic chrome grill of the 1939 Buick Century Coupe.
The tear drop grill design was used in cars in the late 1930s and early ‘40s. But the style didn’t survive much longer than a few years.
Borden says the original ’39 Buick Century Coupe was used in a royal procession from Halifax to Kentville when King Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mum) visited Canada from May to June 1939. Nova Scotia (and Canada) was still in the process of healing and rebuilding from the Halifax Explosion, the losses of the Great War and crawling out of the economic and social crush of the Great Depression. The Second World War would be declared three months later.
Long since forgotten and rotting out in a Berwick junkyard, Borden bought the Buick Coupe from another car lover who rescued it in 1990. The car was in such bad shape half of the chassis was transported on the back of a flat bed tow truck, and other pieces of the car were transported in the box of a pickup truck.
The car parts would then sit until Borden got around to restoring it in the early 2000s. The restoration would become an expensive hobby, he said, and an obsession for the full-time engineer.
“It’s about the enjoyment (of the build) because I put heart and soul in the car,” he says.
After years of restoration, the car has been returned to a new glory as modifications bring a personal touch to the classic car. The taillights, originally from a 1959 Cadillac, are mounted inset of the back of the car. The gauges on the dash are also inset.
The new and improved car sits on a 1985 Grand Prix chassis. The chassis was lengthened and narrowed to accommodate the ’39 Century body. The original engine bonnet opened sideways on either side of the car. During restoration Borden cut the nose and welded the bonnet together so it opens the way a traditional engine bonnet does today.
The powerplant of the car is a 350 Oldsmobile engine, from a car Borden rode in as a kid, and a four-speed Muncie transmission. During the restoration, the roof of the car was chopped four inches shorter. The original bumpers and protruding door handles were shaved off to give the body a smoother appearance.
The years of painstaking restoration work have definitely paid off as the Coupe is gorgeous, especially in red. “I like Buicks,” says Borden. “It’s a little rare. You don’t see too many ‘39 Buicks.”
He hopes the legacy of his diligent restoration continues and hopes to hand the car down to either his son or daughter. “It will be hard to part with this car. But I’m hoping one of the children will take the car.”
In addition to trying to get out to car gatherings at the Bedford Chickenburger and the Woodside A&W, Borden and his daughter have taken the car to the Moncton Nationals and speed sports shows.
“My daughter who’s 21 loves the car as well. It very rarely leaves the driveway without her in the passenger seat,” he says with a smile.
“From a father/daughter thing (spending time together) it’s big.”
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