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1956 Buick Special


NC-car-guy

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Well the bug is still biting me strong! I bought a 1956 Buick Special today. (this guy has a TON of Buicks from a 39 to a 51 to 57 to 87. He is a Buick man! Anyhow, he gave one up today. Runs, drives, complete car minus title and floor boards. I got a good deal so I will combine it with my titled 55 that I have been using as a parts car. I imagine I will pull this body off the frame and set the 55 body on it. It will get the front body clip, dash, and seats from the 56. (basically all the stuff I scavenged out of the 55 car). The frame from the parts 55 car will be saved for when I'm ready to pull the frame out of the 55 tri color car. (the one that was hit).

I noticed on the 56 the transcooler is actually in the radiator and it had a padded dash Fancy! :-) Below are some pics, all the "missing" parts are in his garage and looked good and driver quality as is. He even had a beauty ring to replace the one I was missing on my 55. Say, does anyone know if the 56 tail lights will fit on the 55 body? They look similar, I don't have the car home yet and forgot to bring one to see.

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I know it has 57' hubcaps, the seller is going to swap them off for a 55 set before I take the car home. (he doesn't have any '56 caps)

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Hoping to bring it home this weekend and clean it up. Disappointing to learn that the 56 drive-train is not interchangeable with the 55. :-( whomp whomp... We'll have to see how this whole thing plays out. This is another 2bbl car so I may be on the hunt for another 4bbl intake/carb.

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All 56's are 322's. Only the Special is a 2 bbl. The 4bbl intake from a late 55 is the same as the 56. Early and late 55's can be determined by the placement of the oil filler tube. In the valley pan is early 55. In the valve covers is late 55.

Specials usually came with the painted dash top. Someone may have put one from a Century on there. Finding one in good condition will probably cost the same as having this one covered, since the padding is minimal and the cover appears to be just vinyl sheeting.

As you know, the 56 Master Cylinder is a one year only application. It is not interchangeable with the 55. But I am sure it could be used with the 55 brake lines.

Are you planning to leave the 56 dash with the 55 body? Kind of a shame, cause the 55 Dash is so nice looking while the 56 is nice but somewhat plain.

BTW I 'm sure that when you drive that 56 you will not be lamenting that you have the option of using the drive train for the 55. And I believe the taillight housings for the 55 will fit the 56 in a Special. Not so for a Super or Roadmaster.

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John,

You are very helpful thanks! I know that 56 master cylinder is a one off. I will probably use the one from the 55. However, looking at how the one is mounted on the 56, I'm thinking it might be fairly easy to make a little bracket and put almost any GM master in that same spot without removing the air plenum!!

I too like the 55 dash, although most of it is gone out of my parts car. I kind of like the vents on the 56 dash though. Maybe I can sell/trade enough stuff off the 56 to rebuild the 55 dash. The 56 does have different rear wheel wells and therefore different rear doors! I sort of impulse bought.....I am Addicted! Without a title, it's as good as scrap in NC, and since I got this for scrap price I thought it would help me get over the guilt of parting out the other car. DOH! The 322 in it runs good, smokes a bit out of the oil caps and the tailpipe and has a little tap to it but seems ok. I kind of like the 56 tail lights, and they are in much better shape than the second set of 55's. I know some of these concepts may be sacrilege to some, and to those I apologize.

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Bhclark, unfortunately this poor thing has no title and no one knows the last titled owner.

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Here she is coming home....

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Unfortunately I found out today the way the hood hinges mount are totally different than on the 55. The firewall mount and the hood side are totally different. Photos to come...... Whomp Whomp... Guess my big plans to swap this front clip onto the 55 may not go so well.

P.S. Don't tow an old buick with an F100

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  • 4 weeks later...

I had heard some time ago that the 56 rear had a pattern that the pumpkin could be changed with something else to open the drive train. I know the 56 has a different dynaflow, and I believe that makes the torque tube shorter than the 55?? Now that I have the 56' I am trying to recall all the things I was trying to do to my original 55. Also trying to decide how to do what with which car.

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Keep in mind that opening the driveshaft means you have to relocate or replace the radius arms from the Torque Tube to the car frame. So something has to be engineered. What I have seen is relpacing an entire torque tube rear assembly with a unit out of a Chevy C10 Pickup. In that case the radius arms are attached to either the back of the transmission or the back of the transmission mount. In each case the Dynaflow would probably have to go too.

In my opinion, for the 56 this is way more effort than any benefit you will achieve with an open driveshaft.

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  • 3 months later...

Well, not that I am in any financial position to give stuff away.... but I gave this car to a guy who LOVED it and it's already unrecognizable.... He's tuned it up, welded in floors and rockers, sanded, primed and had a friend upholster the interior. I'm glad it's getting new life and not going to scrap or rotting waiting on my slow ass to restore or take it apart.

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