I have been in contact with quite a few people around this country in trying to get my hands on a 1950 Buick Super or Roadmaster 2-door. I've been getting lots of pictures and lots more inquiries. What I really dont feel confident about is what to look for.. What seems to me to be a common dillema in most of these cars is floor pan rot. is this common? And what does that mean? I know I can get new floorpans, rocker panels, etc. at aftermarket but it concerns me a bit. A good friend of mine who has been into hot rods for a while used this analogy: "Rust is Cancer for cars!" .. He says if there is too much of it, it could have spread to the body and under the paint and its hard to tell until you start pulling the body apart. I just dont want to get taken on my first hot rod project .. I am young and want to enjoy cars for many years to come. Any help would be great. Thanks:3gears:
Just try to find the most rust free car. Or in some cases the one with the least amount. Like you said you never know until you start tearing it apart, and pouring money into what could potentially become a money pit. Goodluck, take your time finding a car. Even if you very eager, keep waiting till the best one floats on by.
Vino - I have a 1950 Roadmaster 2 dr hardtop Riviera, however it is not one you would want to "rod out". It is almost totally original with exception of converted to 12v. It is between a show car and a sweet a** ride. It is royal maroon. The engine is my avatar. It can be seen at buickstreet.com under 50s street on left hand side.
Beautiful sled Steve. and thanks for the link. The more information the better. you seem to be into the buick scene. whould you happen to know anyone selling a '50 buick 2-door. ?? Any leads are great! Also back to my original question: Are rusted floor pans a fairly common thing with these old Buicks? should I be that worried??
I have multiple 47 - 53 Buicks and EVERY car had rusted out floors. Maybe it had to do with type of metal that was used back then but unless the car is been treated right, the floor is gone. Most of the time, the rest of the car is OK so dont worry about the floors. Easily replaced for not a lot of money. Classic Fabrications in North Carolina makes replacements for about 100 bucks a seat.
all the ones i've seen had the floors rusted out, i was told that was because the heater was under the front seat and if they started leaking then they rusted out., Vino what kind of price range are you looking to spend?
RE Rotted Floors I have a 56 special and my car has cancer around the rear window a design flaw. the water sits under the rear window lower chrome moulding as sits there gets trapped underneath and doesn't run off. My floorboards are in pretty good shape. The entire car was undercoated it a tar like Material. What I have noticed is that anywhere heat was generated, above the exhaust system and the floorboards at the fire wall from heat of the manifold pipes the undercoating had flaked off, either due to the heat or due to the heating and cooling. and surface rust was starting built up. I wire brushed the affected areas down and treated them with a Rust Inhibitor and then topcoated that with a high temp paint and then coat with rubberized undercoating. But I have seen 54-56 Buicks with holes 18"X12" on the driverside floor under the Operating Pedals Like Fred flintstone. I Myself was/is in in the same position as far a budget restrictions. In that price range the car will have some sort of deamon to overcome. And everycar will need Tire, shocks, Brakes and an exhaust system and probably an exhaust and or a fuel system. So You have to figure on upgrading another 15 hundred. The better the car, without obvious defects will run about 8500. by then again mid-fifty chevys that have holes you can see through are going for 7500. Even the 8500 car without obvious defects could have other mechanical problems Engine, overheating, suspension or Transmission Problems. What Deamon do You want to grab by the horns and wrestle with? With 2500 your not going to be able to buy a turn-key vehicle that just need some TLC. unless your extremely lucky. I can tell you some stories about traffic signs pop riveted in to floorboards and undercoat over with new pretty paint jobs painted over a little bondo surface coating big holes. and Engine, Transmissions and rear ends filled with sawdust... even get this... bananas Yet. Dyanflows are cast Iron and very heavy and cumbersome as well as the rear Axle and Torque Tube. I'm not trying to discourage you. This Thing of Ours is a hobby and we all try to help each other out. We all have problems...that need to be corrected. We learn many New Things everyday and that is the Purpose of This website for enthusiests with Experience and Knowledge to help and Guide Other Members
Yeah I am experiencing that problem, I saw the car under a car port unstarted or moved for 12+ years got the car running after spending 800$ Needed battery tires carb rebuild points a complete break job immediately after moving the car we heard a pop and there were no more breaks... ON the highway driving it home pieces of the vinyl top were flying off dirt dobbers nests were falling off and it ran with old spark plugs and old wires somehow. After driving it around the rear main bearing in the 455 went out so the rebuild was 2500$ with the adition of 500$ in performance extra's. The springs still need to be reheated but for the 500$ price tag this car's a beast worthy of restoring.
