I have a ‘53 Buick Special 2dr sedan that I am going to pull the engine, transmission, and possibly shocks and other parts. The car is not likely to make a good candidate for a hotrod, but could be made into a cool gasser. It’s missing too many parts. It does have a grill and bumper, but no “ mustache “. And does have the stainless moldings for the sides. Could someone post inspirational pics of some early ‘50s Buick and Olds gassers. Also , would a S-10 chassis make a good base for the car?
I don't know Rusty, folks around here hate S10 conversions almost as much as R** R*d's....that car would make a nice custom for somebody. Too heavy to be a gasser/racer...just one opinion!
Why change the frame? The '50 Buick has a good solid frame, and no reason to change to an S10 frame anyway. If I did anything it would be maybe cut the frame off at the firewall and stub in boxed frame rails forward to make the solid axle an easier installation. I personally wouldn't choose this car to build a gasser, but it's not my choice. I've seen a lot worse attempted be built in gasser fashion. I found this one in a search here, that might give some ideas. I like that he didn't go street freak high on his stance. That would be hideous if it's too high. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/media/albums/1950-buick-gasser.31819/
Might consider leaning toward this style... open up the rear wheel wells, hang some 15x15 rims at all four corners and lay in a supply of square and round tube, bent accordingly. A simple brush paint job and you got it nailed. Not every car has to be a pseudo gasser....
That would make a cool gasser, but it would be heavy and slow unless you put big horsepower in it. An S10 chassis is only good for an s10, If you’re making a straight axle gasser then an s10 is not the place to start. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It’s not that heavy! It’s a Special, no bigger than a Chevy of the same vintage, and we all see plenty of tri- five Chevy gassers. I’ve seen a pic or two of early ‘50s Olds gassers. I’m just trying to find inspirational ideas for the next owner of this car. I have too many irons in the fire now! I think if one left the grill and front bumper out of the equation, it would make a great little drag racer. I’d bet the car with a V8 under the hood would come in at less than 3200 lbs. A ‘55 Chevy comes in at that much, more from the factory.
Scrap the s10 idea it’s to narrow, to weak and won’t line up with anything correctly. More effort to turn this into a incomplete project and frustrate you. keep the stock frame , you will need to eliminate the torque tube as well . It’s a structural part of the car. A jag front and rear clip fit quite easily. As do other front clips do your research. Truck trailing arms help to locate a more modern diff and eliminate the torque tube. I dunno about a gasser , but Buick’s make slick customs.
I don’t want to keep the car. I already have 4 projects going now. One of which is a ‘52 Special. That’s where the engine and transmission are going. Just trying to find some ideas for the next person who has the car.
"Engine builder, Gene Adams already was a drag racing legend from his exploits with his famed dark blue '50 Olds fastback that dominated the coupe and sedan classes from Saugus to Santa Ana." "The March ’58 issue of HRM featured Adams’ oblique B/Gas ’50 Olds fastback sedan. Adams was busy grinding up speed records at the Okey City Nationals (111.24 mph) and the Santa Ana drags (112.77 mph)." Hello, Your search will be hard as the factor holding back the 53 Buick sedan is weight. It is around 4000-4500 pounds. It is a nice car, but primarily used/bought for a family cruiser. Our dad had a 53 4 door sedan for his daily driver and no way would we think it was anything other than a family cruiser. It was just too heavy, underpowered and plain old, big. If it is the brand of Oldsmobile or Buick that is what you are after, Gene Adams was famous for his winning B/Gas Olds sedan and it probably weighed less than the listed stock weight of 3400 lbs. But, he had a GMC-supercharged 370-inch Olds motor for power. So, your big cruiser would have to have a huge supercharged Hemi Motor or the largest Buick v8 built to specs to get that huge car moving. If it is looks you are after, a nice primer paint job, no lettering, a Cal Rake design and a set of American Racing Mag Wheels. AND, definitely no straight axle and raised up in front. That would be no point at all. Then get the most powerful 671 supercharged motor or Paxton Supercharger and you will be set. No need to advertise it as a fake gas coupe that used to run at the drags. It would be hard put to find, anyway. Jnaki In the 50’s, most hot rod folks ran stock, then modified the motors and running gear to get it to go faster. Then those big sedans fell into the Gas Coupe and Sedan Class, with as little modification or a big wheelbarrow full of go fast race parts. 1956 olds sedan vs 1937 Chevy coupe of Doug Cook in C/Gas class. At:30 sec Doug Cook C/Gas class at Lion’s Dragstrip 1959
Thanks for the ideas and info. This is the Buick Special, which is the small bodied car. It’s similar to the Chevrolet of the day in size and weight. Anyone have more pics from the period.
Show them this picture and you'll have an easy time selling it (I know this is a '51, but same idea...and the '53 headlight doors are cooler anyway). It looks like a decent body, and trim/bumpers/grilles/etc. can be found pretty easily.
Hello, A 1950s Buick gasser? You might be barking up the wrong tree. Those are super heavy sedans and if one was made, the motor would have to have a lot of horsepower to push it down the dragstrip for any chance of a win or top times in the classes... if they are still around. In the late 50s, when most of the So Cal dragstrips were open, the 50s Buicks and Oldsmobile sedans were there in numbers, but in mostly stock car classes. Take off the hubcaps and blast away... Some were in the Gas Coupe and Sedan classes. The sophistication of heavily modified street legal, Gas Coupes was not evident as yet. Most everyone had done some motor modifications, a cam, an extra carb or two, etc. Some modified the motor somewhat and went into the Gas Coupe/Sedan classes, but it was hard to overcome weight. At the time, it seemed like everyone else was in the same boat. what to do to the motor to make it go faster. In the 50’s, most hot rod folks ran stock, then modified the motors and running gear to get it to go faster. Then those big sedans fell into the Gas Coupe and Sedan Class, with as little modification or a big wheelbarrow full of go fast race parts. The lighter weight full fender coupes/sedans were also there, and with certain modifications, had an advantage over the stock bodies heavy factory sedans during this time. 1956 Olds sedan vs 1937 Chevy coupe of Doug Cook in C/Gas class. At:30 sec Those Buick sedans look much better as customs and cruisers. We saw this light purple custom Buick sedan before the pandemic. we were happy that some guy/girl drove such a cool car on the streets. it is not everyday that anyone sees custom cars cruising around. Then one day recently the same Buick sedan showed up at a local car show. With new color paint combination that made it unusual and cool. Note: If you look at the progression of local named hot rod/drag race guys, they may have started with big sedans they drove on the street, took off the hubcaps and went racing. But as they build the next version of hot rods/drag race cars, they went to light weight and then lighter weight cars with fiberglass to add to the quickness of the Gas Coupes/Sedans. At the time of heavy factory sedans, some were able to get an upper hand on the competition. Here is a story on one of the guys that did well in the factory stock car classes throughout the years. Is this Lenny Kennedy in 1958-59? We wish it were my dad in his blue 57 Buick Roadmaster...! “The Oldtimers say Lennie "Pop" Kennedy was the first man to run down the Pomona Drag Strip. His first Buick was a 100% pure stock 1955 Century that turned a best of 86.97 at 15.60. In those days everyone ran their cars stock before they started cheating, so I was able to witness first hand which car was really the fastest off the showroom. The Dynaflow, coupled with the old man's tremendous reflexes made it a real mystery car.” “How could a Dynaflow, of all things consistently beat those '55 Chevy sticks? In 1961 I bought a '55, blueprinted (the) motor, and installed the hot gear set up for that year car- 4.44 gears from a Buick ambulance. It turned a best of 14.73 at 93 mph which was enough to handle the trick 1957 Powerglide cars from Marv Ripes A-1 Transmission and Bill's Service. There was no question that the 1955-56 Buick trans had the first high stall converter.” “For the ’57 model year, Buick bumped up the nailhead’s displacement to 364ci, as the cars themselves were growing bigger and heavier. The 364 was a vert different engine thanb the earlier small-cube nailheads, so few parts interchanded with the later models 364/401/425 engines. With a stout 9.5:1 compression ratio, the new 364 was good for 250 hp. If that wasn’t enough motivation for your driving style, Buick engineers brought forth an optional 10:1 version that brought the power output to an even 300 hp. While the 300 hp is the baseline for a tow rig these days, remember that even the fuelie 283ci SBC were only good for 283 hp in 1957.” “The first time out with the '57 Buick, at the old San Gabriel Drag Strip, the Dynaflow laid down a 14.90 at 90 mph. The Century was a 364 cu in. 4 bbl with 3.90 gears.” So, the Lenny Kennedy saga starts with this 55, then the 57 Buick in So Cal.”
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