Hello all, I am a complete newby when it comes to classic cars and especially buicks. I love the mid 50s buicks and have been looking to get one for some time now. I have very limited mechanical knowledge(i.e. change oil, brake pads, exhaust) but would love to learn more. The questions I have are when looking to buy a classic buick, what are some important things to look at and signs to look for? As I don't have a lot of money I am looking at more of a fixer upper, but also don't want to buy a pile of rust. I've been looking at two different cars, one is a 54 riviera and the other a 56 special. Are there any particular things I should look for in these cars that say, "stay away"? Also how difficult is it to find parts for those years? One last question would be, any helpful tips on finding a good shop that works on classics? Should I just go in and talk to the people? Will any of them inspect cars for buyers? Thanks and any information is always helpful!!
Welcome to the forum and I hope you can find what you are looking for. Just a couple of things to mention, not to deter you, but you should know that parts are not as easy to find for Buick's as say a Ford or a Chevy of the same vintage. Sometimes parts cross between GM makes and models, but not so much with Buick's. I will let those with more knowledge of those cars tell you about the good and bad, but as far as a shop to help you out a location would be helpful. Most shops these days have very few if any people still on the payroll who know about cars this old. Best to check with local car clubs and such for information on the best ones to try. The people on this forum as well as the AACA Buick specific forums are by far the best resource you can find when it comes to old Buick's. Ask anything and you will usually get a prompt reply. Good luck with your search.
Welcome aboard. Our advice would be to hold off and keep saving up for a good solid, well cared for original with the most limited past owner pedigree file you can find. One preferably where the current seller needs to sell and is willing to bargain. Look for the sales where someone has recently invested time and money in redoing and documenting the essentials in parts and recent servicing and you can buy those improvements at a discount. If you go the rag tag route, expect to find a lot of sellers that are attempting to sell yard anchors, lawn art or shed clutter at premium prices and then you will find yourself quickly in deep water upon restoring one to even drivable acceptable and safe standards. I know that is what I am going to do the next time. - Hope this helps.
Thanks for the help guys. Moss, I figured the Buick's where a little harder to find parts for but I like the style a lot! I've looked a little bit online for parts and whatnot and it was a little more difficult to find. I'm in the Northern Virginia area and would be looking more for a classic car shop, probably wouldn't bring it to a normal mechanic. Telriv, thanks for the insight on the drive-train, but I'm thinking down the road of putting something a little more powerful in it. Buick57, I would love to save up some more and get a better one, but from what I've seen anything decent is around $20k-$25k. My thoughts are, and I may be wrong, but I would like to get something somewhat cheap and fix it up and make it mine, add what I want to add and the style I would like it. I also would love to learn how to start doing the work myself, so if I buy cheap and mess something up I would hurt as much...haha With that said I don't really have any idea on how much a good paint job would be or to have and new motor and tranny installed would cost, or to have new suspension installed? Do you guys know what prices I could expect from that? I'm in the Northern VA area and I'm sure it would be more expensive here than other places. Here is the 54 I've been looking at....it was for sale on CL a couple months ago for $5,100 the way it is in the first picture, the guy bought it and started doing body work too it. He has it for $4,500, was thinking if I could get it somewhere close to $3k for it would be good? Says no rust but I doubt that's true(can see some on the left rear fender next to trunk). Let me know what you think. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/5348064764.html Thanks again!!
I am getting that you have not restored a car before As suggested, you might want to think seriously about an easier car to do These cars are not so easy to go swapping different engines into, I am new to buick myself (I have a 58), but I have restored a lot of cars (thats why I dont own a mansion) and I am learning a lot with this car You said 20 to 25 grand was to much, to restore one will cost you that and more and to do a re power will add even more (you will have to replace and re engineer the entire drive line (from what I know) To me, what it sounds like you need is a running/driving car that you do bits to on the weekend, not a full on restoration project, so the simple answer to what to look for is something with minimal rust and body damage, an engine that runs well (not smokey and no rattles) and a passable interior The one you linked to needs a bit to get it good, but it doesnt look that bad (you wont get it for 3 grand, the guys already taken a hit on it, so he wont come down that far, at least I wouldnt) To get it kind of road respectable is going to require some bodywork and at least a radiator (that can be pricey), unless its specifically what you want, I would broaden your search and find one that hasnt been messed with (much) and is a bit tired, but is still a good car Restoring a car is a money pit, dont get sucked in by these "restoration shows" that fix a car in a week and sell them for mega bucks, its all BS They have a team of employees with certain skills that you dont have and will cost you heaps to pay for Think about how many guys they have working on the car, then multiply that by how long it took to fix the car and you can come out at 5,6,700 hours, now divide that by how many hours a week you can spend on it and you will come up with the true restoration time, normally counts in years I am not trying to detract from your dream, but just put a bit of reality in the picture, if you pay someone to build your car, you will pay 10s of thousands, if you do it yourself (and ask and learn), it will cost you much less and you get to learn something (and you get to buy all these cool toys, oops, I mean tools ) Sorry for the Dad lecture, but, its easy to get burned when your jumping in head first Mick
While I agree with what those above have said ; Parts for '55 Buicks are a LOT EASIER to find today, than they were 40 years ago. Good Luck and welcome to V8Buick:TU:
Gentlemen, that IS good advice and wisdom. I am not looking for a 54, I am in the beginning stages to even think about and start a search for a early 70's Buick GS, but what I just read is a good reality check. Dadrider
Same for any "fixerupper" really The more you can do yourself the better (most of the time) Look at what your skills are, how much your willing to put into learning to do what your skills arnt, how much your willing to spend buying tools ect, but the biggest thing for someone that has not restored a car to think about is where they are going to do it There will be times where even the "drive while I restore it" cars will need to be off the road for some extended time, you somewhere for this to happen The fastest way for a car to become a wreck (apart from crashing it) is to pull it apart, strip the paint off it, then find out that you cant keep it where you did it I lost a few that way when I was younger Its fun (In a sick sadistic kind of way) and personally satisfying bringing a car back from the dead, but it does take commitment and money Money is relatively easy to get, even if its mowing lawns or something, but commitment is hard and even harder to hold on to No one started out as some kind of automotive freak and new everything to start with, everyone that has done it had to learn and is still learning Mick
Mick, you're so right I've been working on mine for forty years. I'm not through, yet and I'm still learning
What Mick said, X 10! Take your restoration budget; -triple it Take your timeline; - quadruple it. = Chance of breaking even; - nil to remote, best case scenario. Cars are the ultimate money pit, people build'em because they love'em, not to make money on a flip. And believe me, once you start restoring a car, you have to love it, because that fine line between love and hate is a telephone line where quick phone call to the wrecker is made to haul it all away. Or worse yet, it costs you a marriage. Resto-mods have one big problem; - they cater to the taste of the person who built it. If you love it, there's no guarantee that someone else will. The world is full of heavily customized "Passion purple" cars with interesting body mods and a cookie-cutter modern GM powertrain that will never realize a tenth of what it cost to build it. Getting hold of a torch and just shoe-horning modern parts in also doesn't guarantee that it'll be safe or even driveable. Restoring cars is harder than quitting smoking, it requires a heck of a lot more will power to keep going on. Think before you leap, and know (and fully understand) your limitations before you begin.
Jay Leno once said that you can buy a car for $9,000 - put $50,000 into restoring it, and it will be worth $13,000. CAR AND DRIVER once mentioned in an article that unless the car has sentimental value to you, if it won't be worth at least $50,000 when you are done, it isn't worth restoring. This is not intended to discourage you. Restoring a car can be a very satisfying experience (if you want to restore a car). If you want to drive the car, save your money and buy one already done. It's way cheaper. Note: "Restore" is a vastly overused term. Some say "frame off" restoration. That's redundant. A restoration means everything is disassembled, inspected, cleaned, repaired, and restored to original condition. Anything less is fixing up an old car. There's nothing wrong with that, but it ain't a restoration.
Just a few thoughts here . There is the term Car Preservation being used these days as well, that is a Preservation vs. a Restoration. Most strict Survivor car projects will fall under this category rather than in the true sense of the term Restoration as used above. There is also the terms Frame-On Restoration being coined these days as opposed to the term Frame-Off restoration the difference being the body stays on the frame while everything else is removed and dealt with. It is our thoughts that if a car is not being kept completely original throughout the project then the term Mod Restoration should be used. Yes in all of these scenarios, the car is being brought back to an operating and functioning status. However, to further distinguish a Car Preservation from the other three mentioned, it strives to preserve and maintain original O.E.M. surface treatments, coatings, platings and components as much as is possible all the while keeping the frame attached but with a surgical approach to correctness and originality, and only replacing interior, exterior or mechanical components when absolutely necessary. If an original component or surface treatment or whatever it may be, cannot be rebuilt or refurbished to correct status, then as a last resort preferably a used replacement component is obtained before resorting to any new NOS components or lastly any new repo replacement parts as would be the case in a restoration i.e. frame on or frame off. For instance, if chrome parts are needed, then original good used chrome parts will be sourced and used instead of re-chroming a piece as any newly chromed part will not match the original patina of the other surviving nearby chrome parts and will always look out of place. Another example is when dealing with existing Painted surface areas. If deemed necessary touchup paints will be patiently tinted to match existing painted surfaces when and only if necessary instead of stripping and completely repainting an item just because it is chipped or faded as would be done in a Restoration. A Preservation can be done while driving the car the same as when undergoing a frame-on restoration as well.
Well put Buick57. I am in favor of any process that will keep an old car from becoming parts or being crushed. In my case, the T has been repainted, but the engine and chassis are original. It was in use with only a couple of brief periods of storage continuously since new. I consider it to be a survivor, and don't think that a repaint every 85 years or so is unreasonable. It appears to be the original color which, contrary to popular opinion, was not black. I did replace the rotted battery holder with a reproduction, but then repaired the original and will reinstall it this spring. I replaced one missing hubcap with a very good reproduction that was Nickle-plated as was the original. The rusty headlight rings were sent out for replating, still with Nickle, not chrome. A couple of badly-frayed wiring harnesses were replaced with near-perfect reproductions, safety is foremost. The radiator was replaced with a modern-design unit that a T purest would spot in a second, but no one else would care. It's no fun to drive a car that is constantly on the edge of overheating. Henry would have used the modern-type radiator if it had been cost-effective to do so. I feel that repairs and parts replacements that contribute to safety or authenticity are not only OK, but are mandatory. In more modern cars, that includes hydraulic brake lines - preferably with stainless. This fits into the safety category, as does replacement of the old plate glass in my Model T with safety glass.
Well put; - I had a 46 Buick that was a preservation case, and it got to the point where I got scared to drive it. It had all the warts and bumps associated with a pampered but used 67 years (when I last had it), and as such, the car became a research project whenever something started to go wrong. Not to mention, since the motor had never been taken apart, there were reliability issues coming up, as was with the transmission. When I finally got rid of the car, it was at the cusp of needing a full but proper restoration, which would have cost upwards of $40,000 if I did the work, double that if I paid for someone else to do it, (floating paint, lead-filling dents, rebuilding and recasting bearings, cleaning, researching original materials, etc.) or it could have been bondoed up, quickly shot and overhauled for $20,000. Either way, the car on a good day in #2 condition would only ever get $20,000, so it wasn't worth it. I also knew that with my latest oncoming physical limitations I'm probably going to have to take myself out of the restoration business, so it was better that I didn't start anything new. I got lucky and traded it off on a refurbished old convertible of mine, a car I knew from 10 years earlier that had spent 10 years and countless dollars of other people's money getting rebuilt. The end result; I got a good driver which I can be proud to take to shows, and the guy I traded with got a project he could love.
