1951 Buick Roadmaster Convertible (76C)

MrEarl recommended that I post a link to my restoration website and blog: http://www.bessythebuick.com/

Really excited about this project! So far, I've had good luck locating needed parts and received excellent guidance from the Buick community locally (Colorado) as well as nationally. Good folks all around:)

Thanks,

Jeff

Oh my!!!!!!! what a super duper ROADMASTER find....GOOD FOR YOU.

This will be a fun build to watch.

Wishing you all the best,

Dale in Indy

P.S. In 1941 we had a Buick, 1938 model, and often it was hard to start, so us 5 kids named it Bessy, and would say, COME ON BESSY, START....

Great story! Thanks Dale.

Jeff

Jeff, YOU will receive good info on this site. Robert who did/is working on a 52 will be a good fellow to visit with. Look him up in ME AND MY BUICK, that is if you haven't already done so.

COME ON BESSY, START THE STORY AND PIC'S A COMIN!

Dale in Indy

Subscribing!

Awesome! Glad you saved this wonderful car! I'm particularly interested in the floor/trunk pan repair as I'm in the very early stages in restoring a '52 Super convertible. Will follow your progress closely.

So Dale... Thanks for telling me about Robert. I've spent the last few weeks reading through the discussion for his 1951 Special project! What a remarkable project with an epic discussion and input from the forum. So much support by the group with amazing perseverance by Robert. Look forward to visiting with him!

Dave The floor has been my major point of focus recently. I've been torn on using aftermarket floor panels versus obtaining a floor from a donor vehicle. Decided to go the donor vehicle route to ensure originality in the restoration. As you may know, it is extremely difficult to find a donor vehicle with a solid floor. I've looked at several early 1950's Buicks and to my surprise, there is a fair amount of variation year to year and model to model on these pans. So, presently I am in pursuit of the elusive floor for the perfect match, but may prove too difficult...stay tuned.

On a side note, I recently spoke with a gentleman who specializes in high end Buick restorations regarding my floor. He said that they typically fabricate floor pans in house because it is not practical to obtain a floor out of a donor car (too much time/effort). Lines up with what I am finding.

That's my dilemma as well. I'm thinking that in my case maybe using repro floor pans and having trunk pan fabricated

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this fine car! I went through a similar search for floor panels when I started my '41 Roadmaster, and at the time there weren't any reproductions available, so we made our own. I think that if you found a compatible car with good floors, it would likely be too nice to part out, but I wish you luck in your restoration.

Keith

Great progress! Very jealous of that donor trunk pan you found lol. That's the piece that's most difficult to find for me.

Yes, I really lucked out on the trunk pan. You and Keith were absolutely correct about the difficulty finding good sheet metal for the underside. As far as the floor pan, the donor car was good from the front seat all the way back and included a nice underseat heater. Still amazed at the variation in floor pans from year to year on these Buicks. Will plan on fabricating the front floor pans at this point.

Is the trunk floor plan unique to this particular convertible model? If so, you did very well indeed to find such a solid piece, from a parts car that must not have been a total rust bucket. The rest of your car looks pretty solid, which doesn't surprise me, coming as it did out of Montana. They get lots of winter there but somehow the old cars survive pretty well.

Thanks Rob. I have several interchange books, but wasn't able to find information on floor/trunk pans. From visual inspection of a bunch of early 1950's parts cars, the biggest challenge for cross over was with the floor pans. For trunk pans, all 1951 2dr Roadmaster & Super (50 & 70 series except wagon) cross for sure. As everyone has alluded, anything that isn't in very good condition to start with, mostly have rusted pans.

Curious to get some thoughts on weather stripping and rubber seals to maintain a high end restoration. I am torn over aftermarket versus NOS. I'm concerned that the NOS may lose it's pliability/sealing ability over time. Is this a factor in AACA judging?

First, I'll say that I don't do my cars for top level type of judging, I restore mine to drive, though I do strive to be as correct and original as possible, but I believe that virtually everyone uses reproduction rubber seals. I think that you are right that if you were lucky enough to find some NOS rubber of that vintage, it would likely be too dried out to be usable. Also, in all the years I've been buying parts for my cars, I don't remember seeing any NOS rubber for 50's cars. I've bought from Steele, (they have an on line catalogue) and have been very satisfied with their fit, quality and service, there may be others you can use, but they do have a wide selection. Not cheap, but you usually get what you pay for.

Keith

If you can find NOS weather strips, you might be surprised at the quality. When we did the Caballero, the tailgate weather stripping was particularly complex. I did find NOS and was completely satisfied with them. As a matter of fact being applied in 1991, they still show well today. The attached photo was taken in 2007. - Dan