Photos: Riverhead Cruise Night car of the week Q & A

Johnny Bosco, 80 and his wife, Marge, 76, of East Patchogue own the News-Review Cruise Night car of the week for July 7. Scroll down to see what they had to say about their ‘Ocean Mist’-colored, 3.5L V8 1954 Super Buick convertible

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1) When did you get the car?

Johnny: “I bought the [first, identical] car brand new in 1954 at Ed Andy’s Buick dealership in West Patchogue. I was 23 and Marge was
19.”

Marge: “He asked me, ‘Do you want a car or a ring?’ and I said ‘You can’t drive around on a ring. I knew eventually I would get a ring, which I did. I lent him $300 to buy it. Two years later we got married and drove the car to Daytona Beach for our honeymoon. We will have been married 55 years next month. We drive it everywhere. It was stolen in 1961 and didn’t find it for two weeks; it was stripped completely. It took us 25 years to find another in 2004. When I saw that the car was the same color I flipped.”

2) What shape was it in?

Johnny: “It was in good shape. The man who had it kept it in a garage for 20 years just outside of Chicago.”

3) What was the biggest challenge in restoring it, and did you do the work yourself?

Johnny: “Me and my son, Louis Bosco, rebuilt the engine and the transmisson. And he put in power steering so my wife could drive it.”

4) What’s your favorite thing/feature on the car?

Johnny: “That the top goes down. It was white but we put it back to black — the original color.”

5) What was the first car you owned, make and model?

Johnny: “[The Buick] was the first car that I owned. Bought it in 1954 for $3,254. In 2006 we drove on Route 66 to Albuqerque for our 50th anniversary.”