Hi, im doin my first buick... a 1954 buick special 4 door... with a nailhead... im gonna lower it 3.5 inches or so.... any tips how to do this... can i just cut the springs?..... and i need to replace the brake system.... any tips or help on this car would be great...should i convert to an altinator?... also... does anyone know where to buy white wall tires cheap.... thank you... chris
should be able to cut a spring up front and 2" block on the rear. Convert it to 12v. wires for a 6v are heavier than 12v so no wires there but you'll have to change bulbs and reduce voltage to the gauges or switch them. starter will still work plus you can run a modern radio. Diamondback makes a affordable tire but it'll run you around $900. You can have a set ground out to make a ratty white wall and get the set for 4-500. Hope that helps, nice car btw
coker on the tires, heat the front springs and the rear I think is also coils.....they were on my 2. 56 buicks
look up kanter.com. they have all kind of Buick parts. I don't recommend cutting the springs. I cut mine and had problems. pay some $$ and buy new lowering springs.
Jamco Suspension has new 3" lower springs for both front and rear and they are reasonably priced. Just got mine for my 56 Buick for about $370 for all 4. The HAMB discount paid for the shipping. www.jamcosuspension.com
thanks... its alreadry 12 volt... and but im not sure what the blocks are for the rear... i dont cut the rear springs then??? thanks again
Blocks in rear are for leaf springs but your Buick have coilsprings so cut coils or lower springs are your options when lowering.
i agree no heating..... how many full coils equal three inches??? i think 1 coil in an inch and a half.... right???..... and the guy i got the car from said I gould get an altinator that hooks right up... he called it a single wire altinator... ??????? p.s. thanks for all the help guys.... Im digging this club.....
varies on weight. And you want to be sure that you can still bolt these in afterwards. So do a 1/2 at a time till you get it where you want it. The alternator is internally regulated. You need to be sure you set it up right. Especially the brakets and pulley alignment.
If I remember right (been awhile since I've worked under a 54 Buick) the rear springs are tapered on both ends which makes cutting them a problem, you would have to fab up a new spring perch. PITA I know but I wouldn't cut more then 1 coil at a time, you can cut a little more if it's not low enough, cut too much at the start and you throw the spring away and buy more! 1 coil off always seemed to be the majic number for me on most cars to get it down without totally ruining the ride.
Unless you need a very high charging output, like for a serious sound system, there's no real reason to convert to an alternator if you've already got 12 volts. Delco generators are plentiful, easy to get parts for, they work just fine, and they just look better.
Cutting the front coils isn't a big deal as long as you do it like the guys said and don't cut too much at a time. On the rears as they are tapered on both ends you might snoop the local wrecking yard for later model cars with shorter rear coils with a taper at both ends. It might take a fews tries to get the right ones but it's an idea to work on. And this time I have to agree with SRF in that if the generator works ok now and you don't plan to run a big sound system there isn't a real need to fix what isn't broken. If there isn't a generator on the car now it's time to look for an alternator. There are plenty of threads on the net on how to replace a generator with an alternator. Personally I wouldn't spend the extra money for a so called "one wire" alternator and just buy an internal regulator Delco alternator for a mid 70's early 80's GM car or truck with at least 60 amps.
i have a 55 Buick - it has a gas pedal starter (thar works - some don't anymore) - converting to an alternator may pose some issues with the starter http://forums.aaca.org/f162/starter-55-gen-alt-conversion-277113.html
and when you're done heating the coils dump a handful of sand down the oil fill and then 2 lbs of sugar in the gas tank. We're talking about how to ruin cars right?
Hi sloppymotor. I've had a few Buicks...great cars. No to heating the coil springs. Sure...it's been done, and you can do it too, but be assured...you'll will screw 'em up. You'll get the car lower, but the ride will really suffer. The heating process (torch) is too localized...you know, a little here, a little there, and the spring gets all unevenly bent up, and loses its temper in spots, and the spring-rate left to right will never be the same. All that, along with the fact that the old Buick shocks might not be like new anymore, and you'll be pitching and yawing like a drunk airplane-pilot as you "roll" down the road. No to cutting the coils also. For sure, the rears are coiled to a smaller diameter towards the ends, so they can be attached to the axle and frame. I'm not sure, but I think the front coils may be ground flat on the ends. Cut them, and they won't sit nice in the pockets. But if they aren't ground flat, you could cut them, but... I suggest going to your local spring-shop. Tell them what you want to do. They've probably got the shorter springs you need. I've had this done, and the total cost of parts and installation was less than I thought it'd be. Be aware of your clearances...especially rear axle to frame. Also, good shocks help to keep from bottoming out. My Buicks were all a couple years older than yours...'51, '52, '53. I don't know if your car has the lever-type shocks as mine did. If they are...and they leak...they need to be rebuilt, otherwise you'll have to continually top off the fluid. Consider adapting tube-type shocks if needed. A spring shop might be able to help you there too. That's all I have time for...gotta go. Good luck, have fun.
Disregard virtually everything in this post. Springs: Get some JAMCO springs front and rear.. they'll set you right up. You can cut the front springs (go a half coil at a time, reinstall, check height, repeat as necessary.. time consuming but worth the effort). Out back, the coil springs have pig tails at both ends, so you can't just cut them. Lower blocks ("2-inch block on rear") is inapplicable because you can't put lowering blocks on a coil sprung rear end. You can clamp some of the coils together, but that kills ride quality. Do NOT torch them to collapse the coils. One of the best things you'll be able to do is replace the front sway bar bushings... it'll improve handling dramatically. The shocks out back are knee-action, and you'll need to rebuild those. Moving to the wiring: it's already 12-volt. Buick was all 12-volt in '54. The Roadmaster in '53 was 12-volt as well. An alternator is nice, but my '54 kept the generator while I was driving it daily. Brakes: Replace all the wheel cylinders, soft lines, and get familiar with a dual-reservoir conversion. I used a kit from Master Power Brakes for a 1st generation Corvette, with a remote reservoir. It's spendy, but it's a lot cheaper than flying through an intersection. (which I did in mine, after replacing all the wheel cylinders. If you blow a rear cylinder, you won't have front brakes, one rear drum will be lubricated with DOT3, and the car will not stop on one rear drum with the E-brake. Or slamming through the gears to 1st. Trust me.) CARS in New Jersey is expensive, but they'll have most of the things you need for simple rebuild stuff. Good luck--they're fun cars. -Brad
Thanks Bro... To be honest.. I kinda liked the Buick Better.. even though its a 4 door..it was Comfy.. and the ride great..
Yes..I Cut the springs on the front 1.5 coils, and bought 3inch lowering springs for the rear.. It Rode great..
FIRST, get a shop manual, check your current ride heights, write them down, have a baseline. Keep measurements. jm2c
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