Off to look at a Roadmaster tomorrow. '46 sedan. I have zero experience in anything this old. Any advice? What should I look for? How hard is it to rebuild/replace mechanical parts? Anybody have one?
I've got a 46 Super which is similar. What to look for; 1) completeness. There isn't a part available for them in Canada. There are also none left in wrecker's yards. Motor; it is rebuildable, but the kits have to come from the US, nothing of the sort exists in Canada. The Roadie would have a 320 with precision fit bearings in them as opposed to the 248 which still had slush-cast con-rod bearings. Brakes; Master cylinder is located low under the drivers side floorboard. Check for leaks. Don't expect them to work as effectively as a modern car. They require a good deal of pressure to stop that thing. Shocks: check for leaks, these are "knee-action" shocks, and not the telescopic style that we have today. Upper fron A-arms are actually the shock absorber. They usually are pretty soft since no one ever fills them up. If the car wallows like a pig this is probably what's wrong. Axle; the rear axle in these cars is the major problem. The wheel bearings are an old fashioned design and have to be periodically repacked like the front ones do. Buick recommended that they be done every time the brakes were re-lined. Few people ever did that so they usually piled up. If the axle howls excessively under acceleration then it's going to need work; get your chequebook ready. These axles weren't really all that quiet to begin with, it will start to whine at about 45 mph, but it shouldn't be excessively loud and it should be constant. Steering; these cars have a pretty weak box. Check for play; anything more than a 1/8 turn will need work. Give the front wheels a shake; if they're loose (bearings) you'll get a wobble that will tear the wheel out of your hands if you cross a railway crossing. As for body condition; these cars tend to rust in the rockers, and behind the fender welting. Body to frame bushings usually go too. Any missing trim is next to impossible to locate. Same thing with the interior, anything that is missing is tough to find. The car will have two heaters, one for the defroster in the cowl, and the other is under the passenger's seat. Find and check the hoses. Windshield wipers are vacuum operated. The wiper arms are driven by cables located in the cowl and are next to impossible to service. The washers are driven by vacuum as well, twist the switch in the opposite direction to operate. Chances are none of this stuff will work right anyway. The washer jar is made from glass and looks like a mason jar, it's located on the drivers side fender. Transmission; - non syncromesh in 1st gear, so don't try to downshift into it while rolling. Look for leaks on the torque-ball (where the torque-tube meets the transmission). If it's wet, then chances are the seals are gone and the transmission is slowly draining into the rear axle. I think that's just about it...
Forgot to add a point or two; - a healthy 320 should develop around 30 lbs of oil pressure at 35 mph, and idle around 15 lbs. Temperatures should remain under the 180 mark, depending on the thermostat used. The motor should be relatively quiet, those things are equiped with solid lifters so at worst it should sound like a sewing machine. But it shouldn't rattle or clack. The clutch is a regular style one, mechanical and not hydraulic. It should allow for easy shifting and doesn't need to be double-clutched. You can start the car in second, it has enough torque. It should handle highway speeds reasonably well, it'll scream at 60 though. It should handle okay, more like an old truck at high speeds. Unless the front end is loose or the shocks are weak it should be pretty much one-handed driving on the highway. On crappy roads it'll track, especially if the tires are bias ply, so it can be a handful. Rear axle ratio on those was about 4.10 so it's geared pretty low. The Roadmaster should be good for about 100 mph, but not much more, and that engine will red-line at about 3800 rpm, so don't over-rev it. Electrically there isn't much that can go wrong. The wires are all fabric braided, so check for frayed wire. Any plastic covered wires would have been added in after it was built. Signal lights are self-cancelling, and the lever is mounted on the gearshift side. The ignition coil on that car may still be a "lockswitch" type coil; this is pre-war technology and hasn't been available for years. Simple way to tell is if the line leading into the coil from the ignition switch is steel braided and goes into the back of the coil. If so, it's a lockswitch and will probably fail soon. Mine just did. These cars are equiped with a gas pedal activated start switch. Simply turn the ignition to "on", and depress the gas pedal at least 1/2 way. Do not pump the gas with the ignition on and the engine not running, you'll grind out the starter. They have automatic chokes, so starting it should be easy if it's in tune. Check the wires to the start switch located on the carb. If they're farayed, they'll give you trouble. The hood is a nightmare to adjust if it doesn't work right. Let the current owner show you how to open it, don't try it yourself. My car has some pretty nasty scratches in the fenders from people who popped both catches and tried to lift the hood in a conventional manner, not realizing it opens side to side. Frequently the trunk lock is buggered. More often than not the lever has been over turned and the lock mechanism has been snapped internally from the handle, so the handle free-wheels. These handles are impossible to replace, I've been looking for a good one for years. The radiator is a honeycomb core, and very expensive to replace. Check for leaks and pluggage. The car will overheat at speed if the rad is plugged. With radiators plugging up, waterpumps are a frequent concern. The replacement pump was an improved design, and although there is a chance the one on that car might be original, it's not likely. The newer design is an improvement. Both designs are no longer available anymore. I'd suspect the front end of any car of that period that has been driven with radials on it. They are not designed to handle radials, and there's a very good chance that the sockets on the drag link will be worn out as a result. The brakes are not self-adjusting, they have to be individually set. I can't stress enough, the brakes in those cars were barely adequate, so they have to be in top-notch condition otherwise that car is just not safe to drive. If the car hasn't been driven much, and is a low miler, I'd begin to suspect the fuel pump and carb. The leather plunger in the carb and the diaphrams in the fuel/vacuum pump are not designed to handle modern gas and will fail in short order. If you decide to buy the car, I'd love to see some pictures. My Super is a fairly low mile original that has never been rebuilt or repainted, just routinely maintained. As such, it still has everything in it as GM intended, and was recently and extensively photographed by the Reynolds Alberta Car museum. My car is black with the standard grey interior and broadcloth seats. Hopefully this is enough info...:sleep:
Power windows are hydraulically powered. Look for hydraulic fluid leaking from the doors. Many convert the windows to electric which is a pain and expensive. Body parts are scarce and expensive. These cars are complicated. There is a reason that you do not see many on the road.
Looks like this little idea of mine might be DOA. Wife took one look at the photos and said "Nope!" I told her she lacks vision. She told me my glasses are rose coloured. We're probably both right. Car was 98% there, motor was stuck though. Floors and frame were good, no holes in the body. I'll post pics when I can.
