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Finishing a Late Friend’s Handmade 1956 “Baby” Buick Special Mini Car

1956 Buick Special Go Kart

Karl Fisher at Make It Kustom is working to honor a late friend, Cam Fletcher (1973-2022), who started building this mini Buick Special from the leftovers of a car that was so rusted out, it only had small pieces of sheet metal that could be saved — thankfully they were the parts that gave the old Buick its character.

So, rather than scrapping everything, he figured that with some fresh sheet metal and a little creativity, he could build a miniature car from what was left.

Unfortunately, Cam passed away before he could finish the build, and Karl was given all the parts and pieces by the family as they knew he would make this mini car a running reality.

The body is essentially complete and it makes for a really cool little ride, but it has no chassis or drivetrain.

In this episode of Make It Kustom, Karl is working to make this little car a runner and driver starting with the chassis…

The Mini Buick Special is a Roller

Narrowing the Rims to Fit New White Wall Tires

Karl mounts new wide whitewall scooter tires on the 1956 “Baby” Buick Special mini car. The rims get narrowed for proper appearing fitment…

Looking Dapper in Wide Whites

Tilting Body on Gas Shocks and Lowering the Rear

Karl adds structure to the vehicle and lowers the stance in the rear. Next, he fabricates the body to hinge and adds some bumper mounts.

Building The Ultimate ALL-IN-ONE Bracket

Karl installs the gas tank, fuel pump, battery, and gas shocks. Then adds an electric actuator for the tilting body!

Making the 1956 Baby Buick Run and Fabricating a Latch System

Karl fires up the “Baby Buick” for the first time ever! He also takes care of latching the hinged body to the chassis using hot rod hood pins…

Metal Shaping Fender Skirts From Scratch

Karl and his friend Elio begin designing and shaping fender skirts from scratch for the Baby Buick. They’re using the English wheel and the Shape-O-Matic power hammer to shape the “first article”…

Shaping Fender Skirts, Part 2

Karl and Elio finish up the shaping on the fender skirts for the “Baby Buick” (body crafted by Cam Fletcher). They bust out all the tools and machines for these fun panels — shrinking, stretching and planishing using the Shape-o-Matic, English Wheel, planishing hammer and more…

Stay Tuned…