I finally found an original oil bath air cleaner at a reasonable price and want to make sure it will fit on my '56 Special before I buy it. It comes from a '53 Super which obviously has the straight 8 but the carbs could be the same size at the top. It's about 2.5" in diameter across the top of my carb. Does anyone know if it will fit or should I just buy it and hope for the best?
53 super has a V8 with a 2 barrel carb, which takes the same air cleaner as your 56 special. If the 53 has a straight 8 , its a Special and the air cleaner is different. Bill
'53 was the first year for the 'all new' v8 322 cubic inch engine for all models except the 'Special'. :TU:
What was their logic in keeping the straight 8 in the Special? Did they have a lot of parts left over that they didn't want to throw away? Was the straight 8 cheaper to build so they kept it in their cheapest model to keep the price down for another year?
you got it. You answered your own question. When the Straight eight was in production, there where more engines produced than cars. They were used in buses, stationary power, and to replace the engines in older (especially prewar) Buicks
You may want to consider that the 53 Buick hood line kept the bulb raised hood design needed to accommodate the tall straight eight even though the Supers and Roadies had the new V8. Not until the 54 model year did the hoods get dropped down and air cleaner design changed. U may have a little trouble fitting the 53 air cleaner into a lower hooded 56 Buick - Just saying.
If you look at the design of the 53 Buick Vs the 54 -56 Buick , the hood wasn't dropped . The fenderline was raise almost to the bottom of windshield line, very attractive designing Bill
No offense but I hope that you are mistaken and that Bill is correct. It was shipped yesterday so hopefully it will arrive on Saturday. After I paint and install it I'll post a photo here. Thanks for the comments....
That is a a really good point and good eye. Hey I could be wrong. I was wrong once back in 1987 but in 1999 it turned out I had been right all along so don't know if that really counts ! , But seriously I got this tid bit from readings in a book about the design changes on Buicks from 49 to 60 some years back. The straight 8 was a tall beast and the nail head low and wide with both having completely different intake manifolds and carburetors. Regarding redesign, seem to recall they stated that the 54 had an overall redesign of the front frame and suspension. The new nailhead V8 allowed for the engine to sit lower thus eliminating the need for the "bulb" hood found on the earlier bucks. Now if this engine drop and flattening of the hood for 54 onward could still accommodate a tall straight eight air cleaner as opposed to the newly redesigned air cleaner of the new nail head and still have clearance would be a question that would be interesting to find out. However, after re-reading your post Lebowski, I believe only the Special was delivered with a straight 8 and the Super and R.M. was delivered with the new V8 so you should be O.K. after all. - Keep us posted as to the outcome.
Don't feel bad because I thought I made a mistake once but I was wrong.... The air cleaner arrived this morning from Wisconsin and it's in really good shape for being 62 years old. I got the tightening rod loosened up with a little WD40, wiped the oil off of everything, sprayed on some glass cleaner which removed most of the oil and painted it. It turned out pretty good so I attached the bottom part to the carb, poured in some Castrol 5W20 and put the top on. It certainly looks a lot better than the aftermarket chrome one that was on there before. The hood closed fine too. In case anyone is interested, I got it for $70 including shipping. Thanks to those who offered advice and support.... :TU:
Those old Buick oil bath air cleaners required straight weight SAE 50 oil. Anything thinner (even SAE 30) will be eventually sucked into the engine...won't hurt the engine, but an empty filter is useless. It is hard to find and I have to settle for Valvoline SAE 50 racing oil. Overkill for this application, but it works.
In the '50s and '60s, Buick felt that if you paid more, you should get more. In fact that was GM's philosophy. It probably cost Buick more to keep the straight-eight in the Special then it would have to install the V8, but if the customer was going to pay extra for a Super, Century, or Roadmaster, he/she was going to get something fancier. In '54 and '55, they shrunk the 322 to 264 just for the Specials. In '56 they threw in the towel on the 264 and put in a derated 322. In later years, the Specials got 364s when the Senior cars got 401s. In 1955, with Oldsmobile in the 88 you got a painted dash. The Super 88s and the 98 had chrome. They actually painted over the chrome for the regular 88 dash! Pay less, get less.
