wex65

Well, I have had a ton of interest in the Roadmaster with 70 people watching the listing. Judging by the emails I have been seeing it seems like lots of people have a spare 322 in their workshops!?! At least five people say they have a spare engine and need the car to put it in... Seems like it will go to a good home. Paul

Thanks, pulled the 322 from the RM yesterday morning and will be sprucing it up with some paint (and removing 5 pounds of crud from it) this coming few weeks. Hope to start putting it back in the Special next month. The 264 is a little lethargic so I am looking forward to a little more oomph...nothing too major, just would be nice to hit the gas pedal and feel like there is more than a hamster under the hood. Of course, it might have been the engine considering low compression readings. Compression-wise, several cylinders on the 264 were down in the 85-90 area. Paul

Well, one way or another it will sell now... Buick : Roadmaster Base Sedan 4-Door in Buick | eBay Motors

Yes, that would help wouldn't it!! Located in Shepherdstown, WV. About 60 ins from DC.

Wanted to say thanks to those that provided input on my engine dilemma recently. With the surprise (to me too!) purchase of an MGA for my wife for Christmas I had to make a hard decision and so the Roadmaster is on the chopping block... http://forums.aaca.org/f117/fs-55-roadmaster-project-parts-341085.html Hope it provides someone else with a solid project or source of parts. Again, many thanks. Will turn my attention now to the Special and get the interior spruced up for next summer. Paul

UPDATE: Car is located near to Shepherdstown, WV...about an hour from DC and close to the PA and MD borders. Long story but in essence I am needing to clear out this vehicle in the next 2-3 weeks as I have purchased a surprise Christmas gift for my wife (unless she checks out the AACA!), an MGA, and need the space. I had bought this car in the early summer with every intention of turning it into a 'project' but a 55 Special, a Model A and life in general have gotten in the way. c'est la vie... First the bad news, the car has no engine/transmission and the hood will need replacing. That aside it is complete. It has new front suspension, a brand new exhaust system and brand new front door glass (not installed). The interior is OK although the bodywork could do with a little TLC. Please note door handles whilst not visible in photos ARE included. Exhaust system and door glass alone don't come far from making up the purchase price. First offer over $500 gets the car... Priority is for car to be picked up in next two weeks. This REALLY is a bargain...

Thanks Willie, with relatively little air coming out of the valve breather I am more focused on the exhaust valve side of things. I might pull the cover this PM and see what gives. Encouraging to hear the readings aren't massively different from a recently rebuilt engine. Paul

Never performed a leak down test before but did so today on a single cylinder in my '55 322 that read a little low on the compression test. On the compression test it reads 125PSI versus all others that are 145-155. On the leak down test I only managed to get a reading 55 with 100 PSI on the input. I heard air escaping along the exhaust pipe (sounded to be much more than the valve breather) and had some out of the valve breather cap. Assume this mean, respectively, exhaust valve and piston rings? Shame, not what I was hoping for... Is this typical or should I drown my sorrows? Paul

Not sure if you are still looking but I have an original, running '30 with everything in good condition. I was going to start stripping the car after Christmas, and will no longer need any of the running gear. If you want, you can hear the engine running and even drive the car. Let me know if you are interested. Aside from the body most parts are available and in good condition. Paul

OK, at the risk of visiting the workshop in the midst of a major turkey being cooked I decided to run a compression test on the engines to help me confirm my decision as to switch them. The 322 (Roadmaster) engine is as follows: REAR 7 - 145 8 - 140 5 - 145 6 - 150 3 - 155 4 - 150 1 - 125 2 - 145 FRONT They all look pretty decent to me except for 1 which is a little low. Is 125 high enough to consider this a decent engine or is the 25PSI difference cause for investigation? With a 57 year old engine these numbers look pretty good to me. I will perform same test on the 264 this PM. Paul

Guys, MANY thanks for the feedback and apologies for my tardy reply, I was in Ireland last week and just got back home last night. Having read through the various posts I am heavily leaning towards switching the engines over. As several have said, this isnt a massively rare car and my focus IS on creating a driver. If I show it, it will be at a local show and so completely original appearance is not an issue for me. Not sure if there is value here in my posting the results but I will likely do so with a few photos in the event it helps others. We have the Christmas parade on Dec 1st so I will leave it until after then. Many thanks once more, Paul

Thanks for all the input guys, MUCH appreciated. Willie, to be clear. You say to not switch the flywheel/pulley but surely they should be switched. i.e. if I pull the 322 WITH harmonic and matched flywheel and pop them in to the Special they need to all go as an item... I mean, switch out everything in front of the trans. Any reason to leave the flywheel and harmonic on the Roadmaster? Maybe I am missing something due to fast approaching old age So, it seems the swap is an easy one. The biggest thing i am hearing is that the Special will have a non-standard engine (this car is a cruiser and not judged) and the Roadmaster would have a slightly reduced value (it is worth little as of this evening so this is a non issue). Paul

Thanks Sean, can the 322 slot straight straight in? Are mounts and transmission mating the same? If I am going to need to get a list of items to accomplish the swap I will leave them as-is. Paul

The special is a 2 door hard top running a dynaflow. Looking at the engine bays I don't see any major differences. Paul

I have a dilemma and wanted to see if I could get some people to chime in to help me make a decision. I have two 55's, a VERY clean Special and a VERY dodgy Roadmaster. I have been taking parts from Roadmaster, swapping good for bad etc, and am close to selling it now The Special really is a nice car with two exceptions, an interior that needs fresh upholstery and an engine which lacks in power, puts out a little smoke and clicks badly when started. The Roadmaster engine on the other hand starts easily, no smoke, no clicking and pulls like a train. Feels like a solid, tight engine. I am thinking of swapping the engines this winter (which based upon the temperature outside is in about 10 minutes!), put the solid engine into the Special. Then, sell the Roadmaster as a 'project'... I am torn between doing this and leaving the current engine in the Special, selling the Roadmaster and spending time working on the Special engine. I suspect the engine in the Special IS the original engine, is there an easy way to verify this? I am just unsure as to whether I really want to take what could be an original engine out and spend untold money on it or simply switch in a known good engine and get shot of the bad engine/Roadmaster. I am of course assuming the swap will be straightforward?? Sorry for the rant but any input would be appreciated. Paul I used to be indecisive but now I am not sure...

I am about to send some parts from my 55 to Librandi too, being 2 hours from them. I wonder if a few members forming a bulk purchase would get a discount...?

Many thanks Willie, I am starting to think they might originate from something else then?!?!? Most of the dash is back together so unclear as to what it might be.

OK, I have no excuse. I removed the steering wheel and made a 'mental note' of what order things went in. Trouble is, I have a far reduced mental capacity versus when I was 20....so, I don't recall the order in which to insert the pieces. Rather than get into 'does the rubber thingy go in front of the springy bit with the you-know-what on it' I decided to go all high tech and record a quick video showing the pieces and my interpretation of how they go together. It isn't exactly going to have Spielberg quaking in his boots but it gets the message across FAR better than my writing. So, here it is...a 1-2 min video... As always, any input much appreciated. The bits I am very unsure about are shown at the end of the clip. Paul PS: Despite living in West Virginia, no, my accent isn't quite local.

Thanks guys. The dash it completely out so no fear of damage there... I completely painted the dash and reworked the switches/gauges etc and am now looking to get everything back together. I had hoped to have this done several weeks ago but got called away. Life interrupts every now and then I guess. I will post before/after photos once it is in, hopefully this weekend. It is looking stunning right now and I can't wait! I have removed the steering wheel, gear shift and turn signal levers and upon doing a trial fit on the dash see it isn't enough, the steering column is still in the way. Looking online, I found the process with which to adjust the height of the steering wheel which should lower the steering column 'somewhat'. I will try this first as it seems a LOT easier than removing the entire column. I did look in the manual but just don't see steps to remove the steering column. I see reference to steering gear which I am guessing IS it. Looking at the hols in the floorboard there is no way the steering box will fit through it. I will report back... Paul

Has anyone undertaken this and are there some simple steps? I looked in the manual but only found instructions to removing the steering gear itself. I suspect that as with the dash removal, a face full of dust awaits me... Paul

one more...correct finish on the speaker grille? The remaining paint makes me think it is more semi-gloss than gloss? Paul

Thanks Paul. I had already decided my winter project was to pull the engine and detail it. Based upon this thread and the fact the engine ticks for a few seconds when started I suspect my winter project probably just got a little bigger.

So with my newly painted dash now putting everything else inside the car to shame (where does it end!) I am trying to detail the various switches, gauges and controls. Can anyone confirm the following as the paint, if there IS any, has been seriously worn away. Radio controls, the bass/treble control is painted white in the lettering? The dash switches (ignition, wipers and lights) are painted in black? I already got the dash chrome piece that runs along the bottom with WIPERS LIGHTS IGNITION etc painted black, looks nice. Thanks, Paul

Many thanks, assume this is standard paint, no need for heat resistant etc. Paul

Looking to paint the air filter in the coming weeks nut would like to be sure of the correct finish? Looks to be possibly a satin black... Any comments on correct paint? Thanks, Paul