Looks pretty clean. A friend of mine has a '55 Roadmaster with a 500" Caddy engine in it, he has a 4 link with a 71-87 Chevy full size truck rearend. The rear was a good width and has the same 5 on 5" bolt pattern as his front drums.
Googled 55 Buick Roadmaster, seems Jay Leno has one with a 572 Big block in it. May be on Jay Leno's Garage also. Here are some photos of it.
NICE...i remember picking up my 56 olds in rock river wyoming almost 2 years ago come feb 4th..seeing yours on a trailer and some snow made me smile..im sure your were like me soo excited and proud as you drove it on the trailer home..cant wait to see your progress.. keep posting
yeah i seen that on t.v. that thing moves! i was very excited to get it! snow on the ground and high winds we made it back from Loveland,Co. thanks this thing is really solid for the age, been trying to grab it for about 2 yrs now and finally did...just need to get my 56 plymouth on the road and driving before i can mess with it tho
I have a 59 that I used the factory housing and a 63 lesabre 3rd member on it. I fabbed up a 4 link using all factory mounts and panhard bar. I changed out the rear springs and lowered it approx. 8". Did all the work laying on my back in the garage.You need some welding skills to do it right. During this time I changed the motor to a 425 and a switch pitch. I believe the 55 housing is the same. 56 may be the cutoff year. One of the buick gurus hopefully will chime in and tell you if housings are the same.
still up in thair which way i will go with it just trying to see what parts are out there close by and cheaply. i have a late 50's gm center drop out rear in my Model T was going to try and see if the center sections will interchange since this one has a yoke to eliminate torque tube setup. not sure on a motor and trans combo yet but looking for a deal to come along on something ....
As I was looking thru the various images of Roadmaster 2-dr hardtops, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before.....the length of the rear spear is different on some cars....some stop about 6 inches from the taillight and some end very close..."case in point" Jay Lenos 55 Roadmaster. what gives....anybody...class...class...?
About the rear axle: They changed to an open drive in 1960 or 61 but used the same rear axle design. So, if you can find a 60-61-62-63 big Buick in a junkyard the differential will bolt in to your rear end, giving you the open driveshaft. Not sure exactly how long they kept the same rear end, maybe even newer ones will fit. Then, you would need to add 2 long torque arms to stabilize the rear axle and hold it in place. This is what the truck arms are for, or if you can't find 67-72 truck arms you could make some out of round or square steel tubing. If you can't find a diff the next idea is to use the complete rear axle assembly out of a Chev pickup or full size station wagon, they used the same bolt pattern as Buick. You would have to carefully cut the spring mounts off your old rear end and weld them onto the new one. Now you can use your choice of engine/trans and connect them with a conventional driveshaft. Later. Did some browsing around the web. One guy says they used the same axle up to the late 60s or later but changed the axles in 63. So if you get a 63 or newer diff you need to use the matching axle shafts or maybe change the spider gears.
cool info Rusty.....think i got a line on a set of c10 trailing arms and front mount bracket for them...still working on rear end ideas yet have not come up with something yet... still searchin the web and area for a motor trans set up too
I have a '58 Century with a newer LeSaber drive train installed. Not sure how close the 58 is to a 55 but you're welcome to look at it if you want to. I'm in Fort Collins.
Some years ago t-man or z-man (I think they are twins) put a Jag rear end under a 57 (I think) Buick). I as slicker than frog snot. You might check that thread out.
Later open drive diffs will bolt into the 55 rear axle housing. However, Buick used 12 spline axles and spider gears from 1941 to 1955. In 1956 they switched to 30 splines. You might be able to use shortened and re-splined 56 and later axles. Not sure about the bearing sizes. Otherwise, find a 56 axle and narrow it to fit your 55. I believe the 56 axle assy is somewhat wider than a 55. My dad and I replaced the axle assy in his 54 Century when I was a teenager. I can't recall what year/model we installed. It may have been 56 or later. It was a closed drive version. I remember the day I broke the axle in the 54, and the day we replaced the whole assy. Dad dislocated my left index finger unbolting the RH coil spring from the 54 axle housing. It was pinched between the spring and ratchet handle. I let out a beller and he just touched my finger popping it back in place. Instant pain relief. LOL!
thanks man, been busy working on my 46 dodge and wiring the 56 plymouth i havent even had a chance to mess with it yet...hopefully this summer i can see what i can do on it...
Any updates on this one? Do you know the axle width wms to wms? I just made a deal on a 55' Super. I have other projects ahead of it as well but I am thinking about selling them to get going on this one. I'm planning on keeping the nailhead but if the dynaflow is toast I might go with something modern. I also know that the early(60-62) Chevy/GMCs have a different cross member/arm setup than the later ones(63-66)since the early ones have an X-frame so if you go that route try to get everything from the same donor. There is a company (Porterbuilt) that makes really nice suspension stuff for those trucks. It might be easier to use his cross member over a stocker, especially if you want to go really low. These are all things I will be looking into when I get the car home...
Close enough... Thanks! My 05' Wrangler is 60" I think and is coil sprung. Maybe I will do some measuring when I get the Buick home? In second thought the DANA44 is desirable to the Jeep guys so not a cheap way to go... I just read that the 64-66 Chevy rear is 62" but is 6 lug. They do make 5 lug conversion axles. The 67-8? 5 lug axles are 63½" wide. Maybe not the best swap axles after all?
i heard guys using the 67-72 chevy c10 truck rear and same bolt pattern on the wheels....its what im thinking of searching for
Can't remember where I found this picture, but I fell in love with the colors. Going to put them on my 55 Plymouth, if I ever get it that far. Good luck with your build.
Dude...I think I seriously just bought this same 55 Roadmaster!!! I bought it at the end of last year from an older guy in South Dakota... think he got it someone in Wyoming who supposedly bought it from a guy in Colorado who got it from someone in California. It's now here in Tennessee. Still needing to be worked on... haven't got around to messing with it...I have another 55 Roadmaster parts car to use any parts I need. What a dang small world...gave $2500 for it by the way...not bad. Trying to figure out how to upload pictures.
Oh yeah , torque tubes. I can still hear the clanging of E-brake cables on torque tubes. My friend's dad would only drive Buicks. When my friend asked his dad if he could borrow the car for a date, his dad told him not to leave any peter tracks on the back seat. I used to make out with my friend's older sister in the back seat of her dad's Buick...I love those mid 50's Buicks
Two funny things about this car is that there is a heater core under the front seat and that you turn the key and to engage the starter you push the pedal to the floor.
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