When Pat Fox went hunting for a car to connect him with his past, a lead in Timonium turned his attention to the northwest corner of Montana, where a gentleman was selling a 1959 Buick Electra.
“He [the owner] told me it was rust free and only had 60,000 original miles on it. It had been inside for 24 years on a dry floor under a dry roof. So I took a trailer and took my grandson who was 9 at the time and we went to Montana and had quite a trip,” said Fox.
But it wasn’t going to be easy passing off a bucket of bolts as a car. The process of restoring the frame took nearly three years. Fox said the effort was so all-encompassing that the car eventually turned out better than when it was brand-new.
The one thing working against Fox was not as much the age of the car as it was the marquee. He found that aftermarket support and restoration parts for his model were few and far between.
“It’s an odd car and some things are hard to come by,” Fox said. “Without being in the computer age and getting on these Web sites, you’d have a tough time finding these things. If the car were a Chevrolet, there’s everything for them, but being a Buick, it’s an oddball.”
Setting itself apart for its rare appeal, Fox took things one step further, so it’s no coincidence a bushy-tailed creature of the same name features prominently under the hood and trunk lid. Fox drove the pieces from his 1959 Buick Electra down to a friend in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to customize the artwork. Two weeks later, he made the same trip to pick them up.
And in case this wasn’t enough, the license plate “Foxy 59” bears his inscription. The plate was his daughter’s idea.
It wasn’t until his friends warmed him to the idea of showing his car that Fox drove the Buick to a local show in Edgewater. Not anticipating much, Fox took Best Paint, Best Interior, and Best in Show.
“That hooked me,” Fox said.
So what’s the greatest challenge Fox faces with the car these days?
“The car is 20 feet long. Being the paint job that’s on it, you are very careful where you park it.”
What do you drive?
A 1959 Buick Electra.
And why do you drive it?
It handles quite well and it’s real fun to drive. It weighs 5,000 pounds and has good horsepower.
What makes the car so special?
My [late] wife and I had one of those cars when we were first married. I always thought the car had tremendous lines.
What is your most memorable driving experience?
It was a bad one. Last Nov. 11, Veterans Day, I was coming home from a car show in Brooklyn Park, Maryland. I got Best in Show. On my way home, I stopped to have a cup of coffee and shoot the breeze with a couple friends. I was coming home and a big doe jumped out in front of me and I hit her.
What was the first car you owned?
It was a ’56 Ford convertible. It was a nice car. I wish I had it today.
What’s currently in your CD player?
I like country music.
And your first ticket? What was it for?
I think driving after dark before I had my senior driver’s license. It was a long time ago. I lived up in New York State then and you got what you called your junior license and couldn’t drive after dark till you were 18.
Check Out My Stats:
Engine: 401 “Nail Head”
Performance: Comp cam, two 4-barrel carburetors, MSG ignition, electric fans, Vintage Air A/C
Paint: custom mixed Passion Rose
Wheels: 16 x 8 American Racing aluminum 5-spoke
Body-off-frame restoration
Interior: two-tone grey leather rebuilt stock seats
