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1961 Buick Flamingo

 Club member Jim Sweet's son Jay came across this unusual car. It was a concept car built by Buick starting with a 1961 Buick Electra 225 (otherwise known as a "Duce an a Quarter"
The article below was written by Jeff Stork and appeared on the Palm Springs Automobilist website.

Picture
Recently I showed you Bill Mitchell's Buick 1956X Century, which had many custom touches including lowered suspension, wire wheels, a two tone metallic special paint scheme and special floating bucket seats including a passenger seat that rotated 180 degrees. I've been in touch with the current owner of the car who reports that it was found quite intact except that the bucket seats and rear seats were missing. In their place were conventional bench seats front and rear with the S. O. number of the 1956X on a tag underneath.

But where did the bucket seats go?

I don't have an answer yet, but I have an idea.

Enter the 1961 Buick Flamingo Motorama show car. Created for the final General Motors Motorama, It's basically a 1961 Buick Electra 225 convertible finished in a special Flamingo Pink color, with two tone pink leather interior and...floating bucket seats including a 180 degree swivel on the passenger side.

Were the 1956X seats recycled into the Flamingo?

Can't say for sure, but there is a precedent.

In my old files from Buick, I have most of the correspondence regarding XP-810, Mitchell's original Silver Arrow, S. O. 40210. Here is a quote from a memorandum of October 15, 1962, concerning the interior of the car:

"Astra" front bucket seats to be installed. These will be furnished by making use of the seats being removed from the 1962 Buick Skylark Convertible advance interior car (S. O. 40224). The existing six way adjuster on the driver's seat will be reworked to fit the Riviera underbody conditions, while the passenger's seat is to remain as a stationary seat.


The memo goes on to stipulate that the entire interior is to be retrimmed, so the appearance of the seats could change completely.

While I'm not claiming that the 1956X seats were used in the Flamingo, I'm entirely convinced that they were replaced with conventional bench seating and the floating bucket seats were retained for reuse in another car, whether it was the Flamingo or another car of the era.

I guess General Motors caught on to the idea of recycling before the rest of us did.


  • Home
  • Our Story
    • News & Announcements
    • Cliff Noxon Service Award
  • Past Events
    • 2011 >
      • Allure of the Automobile
      • Great Oregon Steam Up
      • Carousel Trip
      • Veterans Dinner
      • Christmas Luncheon
    • 2012 >
      • 2012 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Superior Glass
      • June 2012 Picnic
      • CTCI - Memphis
      • Gorge Tour
    • 2013 >
      • 2013 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • President's Day 2013
      • Guide Dog Graduation
      • SMS Auto Fabrics
      • July BBQ
      • August Rally
      • September Business Meeting
      • Oct Covered Bridge Tour
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 Kick-Off Luncheon
      • Feb Dessert Auction
      • 2014 40th Birthday party
      • May Tech Session
      • July Rally
      • August Progressive Dinner
    • 2015 >
      • 2015 Kick-Off Luncheo
      • March Tour of Ken Austin collection
      • April Air National Guard Tour
      • May PT Boat Tour
      • July Rally
      • August Gorge Tour
      • August CTCI Convention in Albuquerque
      • Sept Carlton Crush
      • Oct Tour & Lunch
    • 2016 >
      • Feb 2016 Valentine Party
      • March - World of Speed
      • May 2016 - John Lemmon's car collection
      • June 2016 - Timberline
      • July 2016 - Rally
      • September 2016
      • Oct 2016 - Model Railroad
      • NOV 2016
    • 2017 >
      • Jan 2017
      • Feb 2017
      • March 2017
      • April 2017
      • May 2017
      • June 2017
      • July 2017
      • Sept 2017
      • Oct 2017
    • 2018 >
      • Jan Kick-Off Dinner
      • Feb 2018
      • March 2018 Freedman Collection
      • April 2018 Tech Session
      • May 2018 WAAM & LeMay
      • June 2018
      • August 2018
      • October 2018
      • November 2018
      • December 2018
    • 2019 >
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      • March 2019 Ken Austin Tour
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    • 2023 >
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  • Up Coming Events
  • Photos
    • As seen at a local Cruise-In
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    • 1962 Budd XT Bird
    • 1961 Buick Flamingo
    • 1916 Gas Prices
    • Ford History Video
    • Consumer Reports
    • Fords of the 1950's
    • 57-58 Thunderbird
    • Driving to Wichita 2006
    • Circus Party at 2008 International Convention
    • Working on members' cars
    • 1957 Rebuild
  • Contact Us
  • Join Us
  • Tech Tips
    • Preparing for winter storage
    • Cooling System >
      • Anti Freeze information
      • Plugged Overflow Tube
      • Radiator Caps
      • Temp Sender Bushing Removal
      • Cooling Trick
    • Electrical >
      • Battery Safety
      • Ground Strap
      • Safety Circuit Breaker
      • Turn Signal Switch
      • Fuel & Temp Gauge Safety
      • Electrical Leaks
    • Slide Shows >
      • Engine Install slide show
      • Body Removal Slide Show
      • Another Engine Install
    • Cleaning Tips
    • Valve Adjust tip
    • 1955 Shop Manual error
    • Turning Rotors
    • Welding around Brake Cleaner
    • Paint on Chrome
    • Wind Wing Glass Removal
    • Automatic Transmission Removal
    • Arm Protection
    • Changing the Fuel Pump
    • Rusty Lug Nuts
    • Local Parts availability
  • Club Store
  • Bird Watcher
    • 2014 >
      • Sept 2014
  • Cruise-Ins
  • Auto Service Recommendations