1960 Buick bubbletop earns high honors at Grand National Roadster Show
Despite its name, the Grand National Roadster show is about more than roofless, pre-war metal. This event brings out scores of coupes, convertibles, sedans, wagons, and trucks each year. And to complement the show’s America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award, organizers present the Al Slonaker Memorial Award to a high-end custom vehicle that makes its debut at the Roadster Show in Pomona, California.
This year’s winner is the 1960 Buick Invicta Custom presented by Angie and George Eliacostas of Chicago, Illinois. The lavish bubbletop is a one-year-only design with quad headlights paired up like the jet engines from a B-52 bomber. The build was handled by CAL Auto Creations in Bennington, Nebraska, where the crew spent countless hours expertly tailoring the car’s already impressive lines into a work of art.
We asked George Eliacostas what made him choose a ’60 Invicta. “It’s out of the box, you don’t see it done, and it truly makes a statement,” he told us, pointing out the one-year-only body lines that were factory-original on the Invicta. His Custom, however, features a number of other that make it look like a factory-built concept. The headlight bezels, for instance, are blended into the body; all of the exterior trim is made from copper, too, with far fewer seams than the factory Invicta’s thin stainless trim.
Fans of mid-century iron will be glad to hear that the Buick is powered by a 401-cubic-inch Nailhead, but this one’s special. It has custom valve covers and a custom intake that’s fed by way of a crank-driven centrifugal supercharger. We saw the engine bay at the Grand National Roadster show when the car was presented unfinished and in bare metal back in 2019; a before/after comparison shows the few changes made along the way.
At the rear of the car, the centers of the taillights now serve as the fuel filler and vent. Behind the license plate, where the factory fuel filler would have been, is the trunk release—keeping the trunk lid free of any blemishes. The rear bumper is a clean design that ditches the split factory bumpers in favor of a sleek, single unit.
Underneath the car is a chassis and suspension that’s every bit as worthy of display as the bodywork. “When this thing is on the rack, you can spend hours on the underside and never get tired of looking at it.” Eliacostas told us. After a peek at the reflection of the independent rear suspension’s rear differential, we had to get down on the floor and take a closer look. He wasn’t kidding: the underside is finished with the same exacting detail.
Perhaps our favorite part of the car is its restyled interior, featuring rear seats custom-built to match the front buckets. The seat back trim in all four seats is lit with warm LED lights. The effect is powerful, and it completely looks the part of a factory build. If some rogue Buick designers were looking to take on the Eldorado, this is the interior that they would have cooked up. Starline Hot Rod Interiors in Papillion, Nebraska, shaped the seat foam and upholstered the interior in custom-dyed leather and NOS fabric.
Eliacostas plans on taking the car to Florida where it will serve as a coastal cruiser. He seemed absolutely thrilled that the car was everything he had dreamed it would be. The team at CAL Creations also breathed a sigh of relief now that they didn’t have to keep the long-running build a secret. Of course, now we’re waiting to see what they come up with next.
I had a 1959 Deuce and a quarter, I only paid $75.00 for it . It was my first car and I was just 14 years old. That was a long time ago, I’m now 69 years old. Mine was stock 401 Nail Head. What an incredible car ! I sure wish I had it back, but l don’t have a garage large enough too fit it. Very incredibly beautiful green one you’ve got there. Green is for Genius! What a stunning, custom cruiser! I’m happy with my memories of all the car’s that I’ve owned! I’ve owned a lot of favorites, for me that is. Keep up the great work.
Buick is my biggest love 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
A beautiful car!! The customs were cool.
I have a 2 door hardtop , original with 32,000 miles except for new paint. The coil spring ride is unbelievable. I can’t imagine a supercharger. They’re special and never got the true recognition.
Loved seeing George and Angie’s 1960 Buick win at this years Pomona Roadster show! CAL Auto did a fantastic job, like how they supercharged the 401 nailhead. Looks like they had to make a new firewall to get the motor set back, and probably to get the hood to close and clear it all. Piloted a couple 60’s. One was a maroon 4 dr hardltop with the roof extension out past the back glass. The other one was a two tone black and white 4 dr sedan, drove it for about 7 years, all around KS, NE, and CO. It even sported venetian blinds in the rear, compliments of the first owner. Smooth running car. Friends would refer to it as the Batmobile. You could engage the starter by depressing the accelerator pedal, and with the Dynaflow transmission, you’d never feel it shift unless you depressed the pedal for passing gear!