BuddyJohn56 Posted March 23, 2008 Share Posted March 23, 2008 I am about to purchase a 1956 Special Riviera and wanted to know how hard it may be to find the power steering and power brake systems for this car? It had neither so I would like to have them on there. Any leads or ideas would help. This is my first 50's Buick or car for that matter so I need a little help off the bat before I decide to buy this car. There is a lot of stuff on ebay too, but I would like to find a place that can sell or rebuild the Buick parts. Thanks.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Thriller Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Welcome.I can't help directly with the power stuff as my car has neither.... However, there are many sources of parts / rebuild services. Bob's Automobilia is one. Body and trim parts can often be found at Wheatbelt. Kanter's, Poston, and Classic Buicks are other locations that come to mind. As far as rebuilding, you may find there are still mechanics out there who are able to work on these cars.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyJohn56 Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thanks a lot for the help. I looked at your car page...very nice collection! Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Power steering may be a snap, but the power brakes are a one year application with an obscure location of the master cylinder. You may find there's not much advantage to the conversion if you can just leave yourself an ewxtra car length or two to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyJohn56 Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 The power steering is going to happen! I do drive an 84 GMC with very mushy brakes and even though they are power, it does not by any means stop on a dime! I leave a car length or 2 every time so that should come naturally. Thanks a lot. If I did do power brakes...I would do Buick power brakes like whats on my fathers '67 Skylark. That thing locks up tight. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Locking up is not what you really want. Todays cars have anti lock brakes because locking them up makes you lose control. But I bet you can lock up the standard brakes just as good as the 67's. If not, just adjust the shoes. Note the 56 does not have self adjusting brake shoes and so you need to do that periodically.I was looking at Budd's website tonight and noticed that power brakes were only available on cars with the automatic trnasmission. I don't know what that had to do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyJohn56 Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 Interesting about the power brakes only with the automatic. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fr. Buick Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 The best thing you can do is to keep the brakes adjusted. My '54 book tells me to do it every thousand miles, and I know it makes a big in how the brakes perform.The power brake will only make it easier on your foot. It will NOT make the car stop better. These old bombs were not built for the traffic we have today, so leave some space between your bumper and that Honda up ahead. And get used to brake fade.Also, the power brake system was not that great a unit, and expensive to find and rebuild. You would be beter off spending money on the power steering, which is a big help on my '54 Special, and I understand it got even better by '56. It is still a heavy car to drive (AKA herd down the road), but parking is much easier. Go for that first, and play with adjusting the brakes before you sink money into a power unit.Happy wrenching,Doug Cook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyJohn56 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks Doug. No problem, the power brakes seem to not be that important and hard to find. Like I said, my 84 GMC is a tank all lifted and even with power brakes, it stops in slow motion! So thats nothin new luckily. If I get his car, I will keep the brakes adjusted as you mentioned, thanks a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyJohn56 Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Thanks Doug. No problem, the power brakes seem to not be that important and hard to find. Like I said, my 84 GMC is a tank all lifted and even with power brakes, it stops in slow motion! So thats nothin new luckily. If I get his car, I will keep the brakes adjusted as you mentioned, thanks a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEN SCHNECK Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 can you tell me how to add power stering to a 1954 buick special. any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest galenmd Posted May 2, 2008 Share Posted May 2, 2008 I am driving a 49. The steering is extremely difficult and I won't go anywhere where I know I'll have to parallel park. The spots are too small and the car is too big. I can't get the wheels to turn unless I'm moving. Power steering would be very helpful. Is this a big deal to add on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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