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Another 58...Roadmaster!


Smartin

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I was NOT in the market for another car, but I couldn't pass this one up. It's only money, Right? I'll make more!

90% original paint (top of pass fender and bottom half or front pass door were painted at one point)

59xxx miles

Nearly mint interior

Mint trunk compartment

Engine never been apart, but appears to have been sprayed at some point, same with some of the black in the engine compartment

Rust free, except under headlights where it is perforating

Chrome is in excellent condition

Stainless is excellent, couple dents here and there

Originally an Air Poise car, but was converted at some point. Few bits still remain, but I may pluck them off an sell to raise $$ for the Limited.

It appears to have been a Kansas car its whole life. I have the original owner's title, that is dated 1976 because they had applied for a new title at that point. The mileage on the 1976 title is 54xxx! So in the last 34 years, it has been driven 5000 miles.

It needs a few things...

Front trans cooler lines are leaking pretty badly

Paint needs buffed (I know a guy who can do this)

Dash pad is sagging (surprise!)

Interior chrome needs detailing

Instrument cluster lights do not work

Couple dents need repair in the stainless trim

Engine runs a touch rough, might be a carb issue...appears to have most of its original ignition equipment too.

FlightPitch transmission seems to stick in low gear until warm, then will finally unlock and run smoothly. I think it's a low fluid issue, judging by the pond of fluid on the floor.

Minor coolant leak at thermostat housing

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I started polishing the chrome on the dashboard this evening, and it is coming out REALLY nice. I had to take some time to replace bulbs in the dash and roof courtesy lights so I could see when I was working, though. They really put out some good light when they're all working!

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Thanks guys...I've been reeling all weekend over it. I wanted to pinch myself when I woke up yesterday to make sure it wasn't a dream!

Ok, so since the engine compartment has been monkeyed with a bit and has some spray bomb stuff going on, I would assume it wouldn't be a travesty to go ahead and do the Smartin treatment on it? I would like to do the undercarriage, too.

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Great find, Adam! This may be an early production car judging by the pointed crash pad vs the later rounded edge. Bezels and surrounds around the power window switches are polished on the early ones vs. painted on the later ones. Keep us posted on your progress.

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D'ANG ADAM! Like everyone else has said, That is one sweet '58!

Can imagine the feeling of being able to have an extremely nice driver and a Limited (soon to be completed/restored) car at the same time. Really the best of both worlds.

It does however explain your short absence posting on the Limited though.....

A girl friend, playing in a band, up and coming marriage, future surgery, some recovery time, wedding planning, your dedication to cleaning up the Roadmaster...... don't misunderstand me here, I'm happy for your ability to manage on all accounts. I'm just pointing out that 'life thing' creeping up on you, so don't let the Limited get too neglected as we have been living vicariously through your fine efforts on her (especially us '58 owners).

Regarding the Roadmaster:

I really like the two tone interior which to me classes it up a bit.

I also noticed what appears to be a BCA sticker in the front windshield, does that mean it was a Member car before or did you put it in there? Would be cool to think it has been in the Club for awhile and you are now the next Club custodian shall we say.

What an excellent early Christmas Gift!

I sincerely want to wish you and yours all the best,

Doug

BCA# 35039

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I'm having that problem, too...while I polish the rest of the chrome in the interior. I am catching the drool before it hits the cloth seats, though... My left index finger is about to fall off from all of the scrubbing! You don't realize just how much chrome trim is in that car until you have to polish every square inch of it. I haven't even touched the upholstery, yet...but the interior chrome is finished.

I need a sunny day to back the car out and do some detail shots of it...there's no good light in the garage.

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Guest TallGuyJoe

Awesome looking car man! You are crazy at least this car won't take as much time and energy as the other! Now I don't know which car to feature in the December Gazette haha. Whenever you get some time if you want to email a quick summary about it and some photos, or I could grab them off of here that will work. I think everyone in the club will love this one.

Now you need to get a bigger garage. Congrats!

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That is an awesome car! You are as bad as I am. I was also NOT in the market for another car when I found my Limited, but similarly I could not pass it up. This Roadie is even nicer! Do you have a 3rd storage spot?

How did you find out about the car?

How far from your home was it?

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I'm having that problem, too...while I polish the rest of the chrome in the interior. I am catching the drool before it hits the cloth seats, though... My left index finger is about to fall off from all of the scrubbing! You don't realize just how much chrome trim is in that car until you have to polish every square inch of it. I haven't even touched the upholstery, yet...but the interior chrome is finished.

I need a sunny day to back the car out and do some detail shots of it...there's no good light in the garage.

Oh I do.... When I got mine home and started on the interior it took 80 man hours to clean it properly. That's down to tooth picks and feather dusters. Yeah a well preserved interior will make you want to do this as was my case as well. Seriously, I found my spit on a cotton cloth to be the best rub in way to get the chrome age crystals off the surface. Just dissolved everything. Better than chrome polish as chrome polish "bites" into the metal surfaces leaving marks for further n easier oxidation to the surface. So to help prevent this, I then polished it with a chrome non grit sealer wax to preserve surface integrity.

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That is an awesome car! You are as bad as I am. I was also NOT in the market for another car when I found my Limited, but similarly I could not pass it up. This Roadie is even nicer! Do you have a 3rd storage spot?

How did you find out about the car?

How far from your home was it?

No 3rd spot, just a slightly oversize 2 car garage. I will have to move the Roadie out on days that I need extra room.

The previous owner was given my phone number by a board member about 6 months ago, and I chatted with him just after HE bought the car in a non-running condition. Just some general questions about 58's. Fast forward to a month ago, we started to chat again, and we ended up making a deal this past Friday. I drove out to Overland Park, KS (3.5 hrs away) on Saturday and trailered it home. Been messing around with it every day since then. My fiancee just got home from Cincinnati today, so I probably won't be doing much the rest of the week :)

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Guest Kejsaren
Great find, Adam! This may be an early production car judging by the pointed crash pad vs the later rounded edge. Bezels and surrounds around the power window switches are polished on the early ones vs. painted on the later ones. Keep us posted on your progress.

hi can you explane tha difference between the crash pads

i didn´t know it was a difference

maybe pictures

Janne

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No 3rd spot, just a slightly oversize 2 car garage. I will have to move the Roadie out on days that I need extra room.

The previous owner was given my phone number by a board member about 6 months ago, and I chatted with him just after HE bought the car in a non-running condition. Just some general questions about 58's. Fast forward to a month ago, we started to chat again, and we ended up making a deal this past Friday. I drove out to Overland Park, KS (3.5 hrs away) on Saturday and trailered it home. Been messing around with it every day since then. My fiancee just got home from Cincinnati today, so I probably won't be doing much the rest of the week :)

Wow, so you can squeeze 3 cars in that garage?

Funny how these things happen. The Limited was just 2 hours away, so I had no choice but to look at it. I also bought it short of space, but will soon be rectifying that with a new garage to replace my current somewhat-dilapidated and much-too-small one.

Growing up my dad owned an auto service center, and his lot always had old cars sitting in it. As a result people started just calling him or stopping by with leads, and his collection grew and grew. I guess as one becomes known for something opportunites begin to appear!

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Jan: The "pointed" part of the upper instrument panel pad is more rounded on later versions. Also some Roadmasters and Limited used padded intrument panel tops while others used painted ones. I don't know when or why these changes occurred. Go to the website www.kingoftheroad.com for excellent interior pictures of a 1958 Limited coupe which uses the same interior as the Roadmaster. This car has an original more rounded pad.

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Guest Rob McDonald

I've learned something in the last few days, that '58 Roadmaster 75s and '58 Limiteds have the same interior! Seeing Smartin's new Buick got me to wondering and this link to KingOfTheRoad confirms it. I'd previously assumed that Roadys had been downgraded a notch to make room for the new top dog. Not so. Instead, the Limited cranked it a notch higher, further into Cadillac territory.

I love that silver leather. Did Buick use it right through to the mid-60s? A friend of mine had it in a silver '63 or '64 Riviera and I fell in love with it. Silver hides also showed up in Corvettes of the same period but I don't remember seeing it in other cars.

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Guest Kejsaren
Jan: The "pointed" part of the upper instrument panel pad is more rounded on later versions. Also some Roadmasters and Limited used padded intrument panel tops while others used painted ones. I don't know when or why these changes occurred. Go to the website www.kingoftheroad.com for excellent interior pictures of a 1958 Limited coupe which uses the same interior as the Roadmaster. This car has an original more rounded pad.

Dont you think the narrow type is missing some of the guts and therefore collapsed a little bit.?

that seems to be a common issue on these cars and thats what i allways thought

sometimes the inside material is very sticky when to remove it and other times it could be very hard.

i guess it depends on the temperature

if you look at Kris Texler´s car you can see the padding around the electric window buttons look exactly as smartins in the same spot, and i heve never seen another shape of it. but everything is possible

youre absolutely correct about the panel top i´ve seen alot of different styles, w or w/o padding and also with the speaker grill under and over the vinyl

Janne

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Jan: You're correct that the sagging is a common problem; however, that is not changing the shape of the leading edge. Padding around the window switches seems to be the same for both versions. Back in the 90's, I had a Limited convertible (Body #13) that had the pointed front and bright trim surrounding the window switches.

I'll confirm Roadmasters and Limited used the same interiors as pointed out by Rob. My 58 Color and Trim Book proves it.

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Guest Kejsaren

Dave

About the padding, Maybe you can find 2 different part# in the parts book (i couldnt even find that part at all)

yes it seems like the Convertibles allways hav the chromed window switch frames

Janne

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Guest Kejsaren
Hey Adam, 13" blades, right? Google Trico Classic. They are the original silver color frames and brand new. I ordered 3 sets for my 72 big cars through Advanced Auto and were here in 2 days. Only about $6 per blade!

hi Brad

do you have a photo of them?

Janne

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Janne: Sorry for the late reply. My Master Body Parts Book dated January 1959 shows no break points. The "cover" as the parts book calls this crash pad or padding is listed in Group 14.655. My Product Service Bulletins and Buick Parts Product Information bulletins make no mention of any changes on this. Regarding the window switches, both painted and painted with chrome plating are listed under Group 10.777 in this same book. The switches are listed as the same for all Series and Models (ex. Model 48). No break points are given. I'm looking forward to seeing Adam's continued progress on both the Limited and the Roadmaster.

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