Hi all, where can. I find the engine number on that car - want to check for matching numbers... Also spoke to the seller today. He still wants Top much. Hope He changes his mind soon Cheers matt
Hi all, after long negotiations the deal finally didn't happen. Too sad, was a nice car but no nice price... However now I was offered a 1958 Special two door riviera. I tried to find to find out what makes the special the entry model but didn't do well... It seems that it has only one exhaust pipe wheras the century was equipped with dual exhaust. But I assume that's not the point about a special. Does anyone have a list of the feature that made a special, super, century o limited? I really want to dive into the 58 buick more deeply but knowledge is not easy to find... Thanks Matt
Hello Matt, The main difference between a Century and the Special is the horsepower and torque the engine produces. The Special has a two barrel carburetor which produces 250 hp and came standard with a manual transmission. Automatic was optional. The Century and above have a 4 barrel carburetor which produces 300 hp. The variable pitch Dynaflow was standard and the flight pitch Dynaflow was option. Attached please find the specs of each series. Chris P.S. Viele Gruesse ins heimische Muenchen
Okay, thanks! Is the engine block identical, so can I replace the carb to get the full monty? Whereas after 53 years hp and torque will not be my decision base it's nice to know about any details and what can be done. What about the single exhaust? Was there a standard? Thanks Matt
You would have to change the intake manifold and the carb, yes, but I would first check and see if those are "export" heads on the car. Some of the Specials had a lower compression ratio than others, so a 4 bbl carb might make some difference but not enough to match a Century. The standard exhaust would have been a single exhaust, yes. The Special and the Century shared the same body and chassis, which is the "smaller' one, and the Super and Roadmaster shared the larger chassis. The Special also won't have as much chrome on the interior as the Century did either. With the exception of the front fenders and hood, most body and hardware is interchangeable between the two sizes.
