hey guys i dont know if this is in the right spot or not.. i sold my 58 biscayne and now i am looking at a 55 buick roadmaster ,, could someone give me some in site on this car what you think ??? it has full power steering . brakes , windows .. v8 thanks her are a few pics
Unfortunately the 4 door 70s are not as popular as the 2 door Rivs. The car looks very clean and you'll save about $4 grand on the chrome and another grand on the tires. I don't recall seeing any sedans sell for much more than $10K recently but I'm no expert.
well he is asking 10500 for it ,, i really dont know ,, i just sold a 58 chevy biscayne for 11500 ,, a 4 door 6 cyl no power brakes . steering or anything ,, i just dont know ,, i am also looking at a truck too 53 chevy 6 cyl 3 on tree ,, i just dont know thanks
That's good news if one is buying a four door. $10,500 sounds about right if the interior and engine look as good as the exterior.... More pictures, please.... ---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 PM ---------- Roadmaster is not a Chevy. you'll get a LOT more car for less money... Parts for '55 Buicks are not as easy to find as they are for Chevys. But you can get them. Sites like V8Buick and AACA and TeamBuick are a ggreat place for help finding parts.. and technical tips.
I have to agree with James' post above. You will get a lot of car for your money, and a Roadie is much more car than a Biscayne ever could be. The Roadmaster is a luxury car, the Chevy most definitely is not. So it's a bit like comparing apples and oranges. First off, the build quality is so much different. The Roadie is designed to appeal to more supposedly sophisticated tastes. Like most luxury cars, it's surprisingly fast and powerful right out of the box, no extensive engine mods required. Sure, the Dynaflow drive may take a little getting used to, the fact that you can go from zero to 120 in the same gear and all you feel is a steady hard pull; - no screaming passing gear, no jolts in the seat as the car tries to kick away, nothing; - just easy, effortless Buick power. The car is coil sprung, so washboard roads should be no big deal, whereas with the Biscayne the thing would have rattled sideways into a ditch. The car is huge, but the power steering should make it effortless. One handed steering is the norm on the highway, with a Buick you aren't wrestling with the car that is operating in the upper 10% of its performance band, this car will cruise effortlessly at modern speeds and still have "something in the tank" when needed. As my wife put it very succinctly once she drove my 46 Buick after she had learned to drive on my 49 Chev, "You are never buying another Chevy ever again". Parts (driveline) are a little more difficult, body panels are very tough, trim can be next to impossible to find, but as long as there are no real rust issues, the car looks clean enough to warrant the price being asked. Buy it and enjoy it; and you'll wonder how you ever put up with the Chevy. But then again, I'm pretty biased, in case you never noticed...:laugh:
great to hear ,, i was woundering about the tranny how good they was ,,the car has about 100k on dont know if that is good or not ,, i will know more when i look at it ,,thanks for all the input ,, i am alos looking at a 53 chevy truck thee in the same town ,,,
The spark plug covers are not on the engine (that's not unusual, a lot of mechanics threw them away when doing a tune up. Buick did away with them a few years later.) Dynaflow transmissions get a bad rap undeservedly. They are quite strong and durable. As long as the fluild is kept full and in good condition, a dynaflow is trouble free. When having one rebuilt, make sure the re-builder has Dynaflow experience. A rebuild can cost $2,000 Changing to another transmission can cost much more as the torque-tube and axle will not work with an open drive transmission. As Marc says, The dynaflow is part of the Buick's character and a testament to the engineering and quality of Buicks.
cant wait till i see this and drive it, i am looking for something to dive on interstate,, i just hope i ant getting a can of worms you know,, i had my biscayne done , i rebuild the motor my self and had the tranny ( cast iron P G ) gone over , you know it never was a interstate car , no power and never handled good ,, anyway i camt wait ,, my son is tring to talk me into the 53 truck ,,, thanks guys for helping me
The big Roadie is a good interstate car, the truck, well, it might be good for 45 on gravel and be a handful on dry pavement. The neat thing about the Roadie is you can probably tow a house with it, there's lots of torque; the truck, well, it'll be challenged with a utility trailer. Inside the Roadie you can hear the radio; the truck, well, you'll have to convert to 12 volt, dump in a stereo, and crank it up loud to get over the driveline noise and wind howl. After you convert to 12 volt, you might as well dump that 6 and front clip and install a Nova clip and an SBC; while you're at it, take out the weak rear axle and cut in a 9" Ford...the Roadmaster, well, all you have to do is turn a key. It's already 12 volt, so if you don't like the radio, replacement isn't too difficult... You can see where I'm headed...yes, I'm very biased...and I've built a few of those trucks too, and no matter what I did they always left something to be desired. Buicks were long-lived cars; even back in the 50s when the metallurgy wasn't there likeit is now. The Dynaflow is a good tranny, the biggest problem is the reverse band and clutch and gunky accumulators. If it isn't leaking, it should be good. If you buy the car, have someone check all the fluids, particularly the rear axle. If it's high and it looks red, then the torque-ball leaks, which is a common problem. The shocks in that car are "knee action", rebuildable and refillable; fill them with motorcycle shock fluid and it's surprising how well they do work. The car will handle radial tires, but be carefull; parallel parking manoevers can pop joints on any pre-1961 GM car. But radials do make steering on the highway easier and less fatiguing. Power options should all be electric by 55, so things like window motors and that should be obtainable. Brakes are all drums, and they are all cast-iron and barely adequate for a car of that size. This is typical; so plan your stops. However, if you do have to lay into them, it will stop the car. you just have to stomp the pedal and hang on. Brake fade on the highway is moderate to severe, also typical of the year. An improvement would be to load in the aluminum drums that Buick made starting in 1958; they work well, but I'm not sure they interchange on the older cars. The car will ride like your grandmother's couch, there's a very good chance you'll get comfortable and fall asleep. If the shocks are all up and the suspension is in good shape, you will have next to no real road feel; this, believe it or not, was highly prized back in the 50s; the whole idea that driving should be effortless and the bumps in the road get all negated so the passengers ride in comfort. This car will definitely deliver that. It's also an easy car to speed with, so be carefull when it starts to lull you, next thing you know the speedo-bar is all red and starting to bounce back off the 120. And yes, the car will deliver and give you those speeds, and like most 50s vintage cars, handling becomes tricky at speeds over 75 mph. At those speeds the car will float like an oceanliner on high seas. When you test drive it, listen for things like lifter ticks, misses, etc. The valve train is usually a good indicator of how well or badly the engine has aged. If you are one of the few who know how to read a vacuum gauge, bring one and hook it up, that's the fastest way to see how healthy the motor is. When you put the car into "d" gear it will rev up to about 1500-2000 RPM to start moving and then hold there and accelerate as long as you hold the gas; and in theory, it should take around 21 seconds for it to reach 100 mph. I think 0-60 was about 13 or so seconds, not blistering by today's standards, but pretty good back in the day. Make sure the underhood wiring is in good order, it's fabric braided and easily rots. The gas pedal doubles as the ignition switch; make sure that the wiring to the switch on the carb is in good shape, these parts are very hard to come by, and a carb with a starter switch is probably next to impossible to find. But when it works, it's all pretty cool ("Look Ma, no hands!") Have fun, and good luck!
i know abut the vac gauge thast how i tuned my 235 after i rebuild it never used a timing light ,,, the only thing that i am worried about is no one around here knows anything about a biuck lol ,, where would i hook a vac gauge up somewhere on the intake ? , we shall see shortly ,, ilkk kepp you posted thanks for all the info been great stuff
What Marc says s right. Good thing about the '55 Roadmaster is it has bigger brakes than all the other '55. I have no trouble with stopping mine. Even on steep hills. Have the radiator checked out. If necessary get it rebuilt. The radiator cap for a nonA/C '55 is 3psi. I upgraded mine by getting a an A/C cap (7psi) The 7psi radiator cap, along with water wetter, and getting the timing exactly to shop manual specs has me running in the hottest Alabama weather with no worries. So you might want to go ahead and get timing light and set the timing. Also a shop manual is imperative. Ebay is a good place for original manuals, reprints and even on CD
well we went for a ride and it was kinda rough,, someone had painted the inside and had runs most of the interior was original the bias ply tires made it drive very bad ,, none of the gauges worked ,, it was real oily underneath,none of the controls worked , someone had redone the started from the gas pedal and put a push button under the dash,, but the possessive side is i loved the motor power and tranny shifting ,, the power steering was ok as well as brakes ,, ,, he was at 10500 ,, i would have to put about 2k in the car maybe more , i cant stand to see things broke lol ohh well the chase goes on i am still on the look out for something thanks guys for all the info ,,
I think it is definitely a project car. Engine looks like the car has been out of service for a long time and recently had a little work just to get it going. Hard to see much more from pictures. If your a perfectionist you can expect to put a lot more than $2000.00 in this car. My opinion is "don't but it unless you love it".:dollar:
