1956 Buick Roadmaster

     When I got this car, it was original in every way including paint and interior. However, the original lacquer had many cracks so I had the car stripped to bare metal  and repainted Black as original. I added the correct factory color "Seminole Red" for contrast as many dealers were requested to do back then on new cars purchased at the dealership. The chrome was redone by Graves Plating, Inc. in Alabama and is beautiful!! All of the stainless is original to the car and polished. There was NO RUST in ANY of the body panels. Just the mild surface rust you would expect on the under carriage and frame. The pot metal tail light housings, portholes and deck lid trim strips show typical small pitting but not enough to warrant new chrome to me. The body is straight, the paint beautiful and doors shut like a vault closing!!    

The interior of the car is ALL  ORIGINAL except new carpet and front seat cover. The cover had some splits in it and I located original pattern upholstery material and had it recovered as original. I also purchased enough EXTRA material to recover the REAR seat if/when desired. That material goes with the car. The drivers door armrest shows some wear/cracks otherwise all are in good condition for original parts. The right rear seat shows some thread separation which is only seen when the door is open. The original headliner is perfect! The POWER WINDOWS and POWER SEAT work correctly and all window glass is good. The original steering wheel has NO cracks. The heater works perfect! All dash gauges are working including the odometer. The radio does not work and the clock doesn’t keep correct time. I converted the windshield wipers to electric. Much better!    

The original cardboard trunk side boards are excellent and the original floor mat is very good save one stain. I put the period 1956 luggage set in the trunk to cover the small stain and they will be sold with the car. Original spare tire and jack are there. No paint work was done in the trunk area or under side of the trunk lid.    

Mechanically, the car runs GREAT!! The POWER BRAKES and POWER STEERING work fine. The engine has never been out or apart. Just cleaned and detailed. Parts either new or rebuilt include the following: Carburator, distributor, water pump, generator, power steering pump, fuel pump, radiator, all water hoses, brakes, shocks, Coker WWW bias ply tires, fuel tank, tank sending unit, fuel gauge, axle oil seals, exhaust and much more.  The transmission was removed and resealed. Even so, there is a small leak at the back where it attaches to the torque tube. The transmission works perfect except for the Park gear. I found that on a steep hill, it doesn’t always hold. However, the emergency brake solves the problem.    

For towing, I installed a transmission oil cooler, hi output flex fan and Class III 2" receiver hitch along with the required trailer wiring plug. The draw bar and ball are included with the car. The car tows GREAT and has made four 1000 mile round trips to New York state towing my 2600 lb. boat at 70 MPH on I-81. The Buick ran perfect and never overheated!! This Buick has NEVER let me down!    

      I purchased a new under-dash air condition system and it is all installed except the compressor and under dash unit which I have already fitted. All remaining parts and instructions needed to complete the installation are included with the car. Also included is the ORIGINAL FACTORY BUILD SHEET which I found under the carpet during the restoration!! The original hub caps are in excellent condition and are included. Currently on the car are a set of wire wheel covers I made up to look like Buick Kelsey Hayes wire wheels. The ORIGINAL owners manual, shop manual, tags and flyers found in the glove box go with the car. Also the framed ads. Please note the luggage ad showing the radio being held by the boy. I found one and it goes with the car!!