RShepherd

How does the transmission shift and perform? As you may have heard, those Roto-Hydramatics (aka Slim Jim) are somewhat trouble-prone and difficult to adjust for proper shifting.

That looks very much like the car that was custom made for Eleanor (Mrs. Edsel) Ford.

It's a '40 Super or Roadmaster. The reason that none of the parts will fit your Century is that it has the regular body like the Special while Supers and Roadmasters have the new-for-'40 "torpedo body" like the Pontiac Torpedo, Oldsmobile Series 90 Custom Cruiser, the La Salle Special 52 and the Cadillac 62.

That is a remarkably nice, original '61 and it brought back fond memories of my first car, a red '63 Skylark coupe, which I bought from the original owner (a neighbor) after she bought a new '71 Skylark hardtop sedan. Mine had factory AC, Dual Path Turbine Drive, heater, and AM radio, but no power accessories. How is yours equipped? I'll bet a Buick club member will take that off your hands very quickly if your price is reasonable.

El Diablo, Don't you mean an I-4 instead of a V-4? I don't think there's been a V-4 engine on any car since the English Ford engine of the 1960's which was also used in the little Saab.

Two other things I don't like about the new La Crosse: the trunk is just a little over 12 cubic feet in capacity (over four cubic feet smaller than a VW Jetta) and, like most other new cars (thanks Chrysler 300!), it has an extremely high beltline and very shallow windows which make you feel like you're in a well and obstruct your visibility.

Cadillac went to negative ground in '42.

The two-speed automatic transmissions in 1960's Buicks were Dual-Path Turbine Drive in the '61-'63 Specials and Skylarks and the Super Turbine 300 in the '64-'69 Specials, Skylarks, and Le Sabres with the '64-'67 ujnits having the switch-pitch torque converter. The Super Turbine 300 was the same transmission that Oldsmobile called Jetaway Drive.

Yes, they were Packard engines and the 4M2500's pictured at the top of this thread were the ones in them (and there were two of them in each boat).

A late friend of mine who was a Buick dealer from 1946-1975 ,while discussing Buicks of that era, told me he hated the slippage and sluggish performance of the early Dynaflows, so beginning in '49, he always ordered a Super instead of a Roadmaster for his personal car since the Roadmaster was "Dynaflow-only"after '48. I'm not sure that the Super with the smaller engine was much quicker than the Dynaflow Roadmaster, but the standard transmission would have eliminated the racing, droning engine on acceleration.

Regarding gas mileage on the 323.5 eight, my parents bought a '50 New Yorker new and my dad said it got about 15 MPG on the road and 12 MPG in town.

Put the straight eight back in it. It's what that car is supposed to have and there are so few of them left. It's a beautifully-engineered power plant that is as smooth as butter.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JohnD1956</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have had this happen occasionally on our 06 La Crosse. I suspect it is the automatic headlight switch and sensor going through a reset function, but I don't know that for certain. If the headlights come on then the dash display would dim. The car thinks it is night time. Is there something covering the black dot on top of the dash towards the middle of the car? Could also be moisture within that sensor although I don't know how it would have gotten moisture in it. Next time it happens try turning the headlights off right away and see if the dash display comes back up to normal. This may help the dealer diagnose the situation. </div></div> Thanks, John. When I drive his car later this week, I'll check the things you mentioned.

I frequently drive a senior friend of mine in his '08 La Crosse CXL. The car only has about 3,000 miles on it and from time to time all of the digital displays (below the speedometer, automatic climate control, and radio) get very dim or disappear completely. Until today, turning the ignition off and restarting the car immediately restored the displays to their normal brightness, but I tried that twice today with no success. The displays finally came up to normal brightness on their own while sitting at a stop light. I know this is one of those things that is not going to happen while the car is in the dealer's service department and the dreaded "could not duplicate customer's complaint" will appear on the work order. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm surprised this is happening on J. D. Power's 2008 "Most Dependable Mid-Sized Car".

Every time I see one of those "improved" and "modernized" jobs, I wonder why someone who wants a 350 V-8, Turbo-Hydramatic transmission, power steering and brakes, tilt wheel, and velour upholstery doesn't just buy a '76 Cutlass instead of permanently ruining one of those beautiful classics.