Wet behind the ears...well, concerning classic Buicks I think I am. Just read about this forum, so here's my story. Long time enthousiast of American cars of the fifties, I finally bought one for my self last year for my birthday (I finally set aside some money). It's a 1955 Buick Century Riviera 2 door hardtop 322ci V8 (55-4637), basic edition. That means: no power windows or seats, no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, no outside mirrors, just the basics. Since this is my first car and first classic I decided to go for a good runner, so no engine and transmission overhaul was directly necessary. Especially since I wanted to do a drive-and-restore kind of project I needed a roadworthy car. And she definately wants to drive: in the beginning I adjusted and tuned the carburator after cleaning it and in the end she was running great (as far as a novice can judge that . I just overlooked that the idle rpm was a little bit too high and when I first shifted into Drive, she sped away instantaneously, no hesitation! Stopping her was the next challenge. Fixed that ofcourse. In the past year I've done quite a bit of work on body metal (floor panels, rocker panels, boot, ....), the electrical system, carburator, automatic choke, fuel system, cooling system,.... Last saturday I finally drove her (after three testdrives) home from the temp garage. Strictly speaking it was not completely legal to drive her since I didn't put the Buick through the yearly Dutch safety checkup (APK), but since I had seen and tested quite a lot myself, I was confident enough to go on without it. That was certainly an eventfull and exciting day, driving across 65 miles of flat Dutch country side. Winter is coming now (it's actually snowing as I look through the window here) and I'm not going to drive the Buick over the salty roads in the Netherlands (they tend to overdue the salt spraying here), since that'll definately be the end of her in no time. So this is a good time for restoring. I ordered new window sealing rubbers all around, since the current ones look like they are still the originals. Furthermore I'm planning to update/upgrade the front suspension and steering and definately the braking. Last saturday it was 10 degrees C ouside temperature, the heating doesn't work yet and I couldn't close one vent valve in the firewall (wind all over the place) so it should have been quite a chilly ride, but I can tell you, I've had sweat in the palms of my hands when trying to stop the Buick. The brake drums might have worked well in the fifties, but crowded Holland and modern traffic make me want to put on disc brakes on at least the front wheels. The lenghty stretches of tarmack that this car demands to come to a complete stop...... So if anybody has any tips, hints, trick, (web/email/-) adresses, phone numbers or whatever to get me started in the right direction here, thanks a heap. I'm planning to keep things as close to original as can reasonably expected (e.g. replica replacement parts are ok, but I'm not going to hotrod), but brakes is a different story. Well, so much for now. I'll be following the forums with interest from now on. cheers, Peter.
Welcome Peter! Wow, what a beautiful car!:beer It seems that there are a lot of Buick fans in the Netherlands. You guys should get together and form a club.
Peter: Have you investigated whether the special "Praise Dyno " shoes are available for your car? I have seen other recent posts that suggest no current disc conversions are available, but are under development. Search under the term "Fat man".
$1300 Jim, Thanks for the tip, will look into Praise Dyno. I already tried to contact the Fat man, but no luck so far. I've found a set for 'a mere' $1300..... Looking further, so keep those tips coming. Thanks, Peter.
Gotta love a 55..... Peter welcome and glad to see such a sweet 55 !! I owned a pink / white 55 back some 20 years ago ! Loved it . Just please don't ask what I sold it for !!:error: ou: Welcome !!!!!!!!!:beer :bglasses:
Welcome to Buick world ! The first car I stole was a '55 Buick - loved that starter on the gas pedal ! :TU: :beer
From one 55 fan to another....COOL CAR! :grin: love the colour Here's a pic of mines hope you like it
oops forgot to attach image............ The next thing i'm working on is getting a set of whitewalls for her so if anyone know's where I can get a good set and cheap that would be nice......and yes Rivman the starter is something else aint it.... BCCR55 I'd love to see other photo's of her, the interior etc... do you have any? I've posted some more photo's of my car in the members rides - pre 68 car section
pics SirBaz, Check out my simple site with lots of pics of the car and what I have and have not done to it yet at: http://markmonique.dyndns.org/~paf/Buick/ It started out as a list with pics for myself, but my friends were interested to see the progress as well. Looks like your 55 is in much better shape, especially the chrome. Maybe this winter? cheers, Peter.
Hey the car looks real fine....I have to laugh at the photo's of your car in the garage...not a lot of room..:grin: about as much as mines when trying to get in. Very interesting reading too...you've had her up to about 70MPH, I've had mines about the same and she cruises along quite nicely too.. I do have a bit of work to do on mines the photo's hide a multitude of sins, yes the chrome on my car is very good i'd say but the paintwork has one or two cracks on the bodywork nothing too serious, there is a tiny crack on the windscreen, (that's another story) but hopefully if all goes well a replacement windscreen will be fitted next week, I was told they finally have it in stock. Now winter is approaching I won't be out much in her so it'll give me a chance to do some little jobs on her :TU: I wouldn't say mines is in better shape going by your photo's, both cars probably have their own little faults that require attention lol Wot is the colour of your car? it seems to have an orange tint in the photo's....
Colors Yes, the garage... Well, the good news is that spring next year I'll widen it by 50% and dig a huge hole in the floor so I can work under the car conveniently, so then there should be enough space. And as for the color: the ID plate says color code BSB, which is stands for Dover White - Cherokee Red - Dover White. Define Cherokee Red....depending on the light conditions (and probably your camera) it ranges from red to orange. I wouldn't be surprised if the color has faded/changed a teint or two in the last 48 years. Check your ID plate and http://buicks.net/years/55/55paint.html for the official color of yours. cheers, P.
Here's a good site which also has the colour I.D. as well as some other info that you might find interesting http://www.adilop.com/index.html Cheers:TU:
