My 57 2DRHT

[Guest kiwi56r]

Here are some pics. I finally got my carb issues sorted out out and took her for her first drive ( while I've owned her ) . It was cool to drive her even with completly worn out shocks, they're suposed to float a bit right;). The brake pedal gradually fades to the floor inspite of me putting a kit in it so that will need to be addressed. The engine is running super smooth now and the trans seems to be working fine, I was told that the trans doesn't use low gear unlees you manually select it, is that correct? Next job is to get plates for her so I can drive legally down to the wash world and clean some of the 25 year old dirt of her

Chris.

[Guest craigb]

Hey that is so cool! I also recently acquired a 57 super form a cousin who needed some cash. Its not a car that I dreamed about having, but since I got it I really admire it more and more every day. Mine does not run and needs a complete resto which I hope to start next week. My dad will bring a rotissorie next month and I hope to clean the frame and underneath the car as well. How much do you have to do to yours? Do you know where to get parts?

Craig

[Guest kiwi56r]

Craig,

there's really not much to do now to make her a daily driver. I was lucky to find a 57 in such good shape body wise, with just one quarter sized hole in the front passenger floor and a bit of rust in the trunk lid lower edge. The interior is shot and someone has put 62 Invicta bucket seats in which I actually quite like and fit with the 60's style custom look I have envisioned for her. I have a lot of plans but time and money don't always allow. Parts wise they'e tougher than a 57 Chev but who wants a 57 chev??? Ebay is a good source as is hemmings motor news and this forum

Chris

[keiser31]

Craig,

there's really not much to do now to make her a daily driver. I was lucky to find a 57 in such good shape body wise, with just one quarter sized hole in the front passenger floor and a bit of rust in the trunk lid lower edge. The interior is shot and someone has put 62 Invicta bucket seats in which I actually quite like and fit with the 60's style custom look I have envisioned for her. I have a lot of plans but time and money don't always allow. Parts wise they'e tougher than a 57 Chev but who wants a 57 chev??? Ebay is a good source as is hemmings motor news and this forum

Chris

I agree....your car is better looking than any 1957 Chevy that I have seen.

[JohnD1956]

Craig,

... The interior is shot and someone has put 62 Invicta bucket seats in which I actually quite like and fit with the 60's style custom look I have envisioned for her. ...

Chris

Oh no, you mentioned the 62 Invicta seats in there. Don't tell Mr. Earl. although I suspect he will see this eventually. Seriously, Please post some pics of those seats, so we can see how they look in the application.

And Congrats on a Super car. I once owned a 57 Special convertible. The shape will definitely grow on you over time. It's a realy beauty.

[Guest kiwi56r]

esp, the Super and Roadmaster had a one piece back window the same as the Cadillac.

keiser31, the 57 chevs were a nice looking car but there's just too many of them for my liking, I prefer something a little less mainstream and not as inflated in price as the tri fives

[keiser31]

esp, the Super and Roadmaster had a one piece back window the same as the Cadillac.

keiser31, the 57 chevs were a nice looking car but there's just too many of them for my liking, I prefer something a little less mainstream and not as inflated in price as the tri fives

I am with you all of the way on that statement.

[Guest 57coupe]

Love your coupe,I have one also the body is off at the moment have been giving her a full resto for the last 12 months .

Good luck with the parts especially those BLOODY ball joints BIG BUCKS if there u/s.

Very CQQL ride good luck with it.

[Guest kiwi56r]

57 coupe, thanks for kind words, the ball joints are expensive but don't make the mistake I nearly made by replacing them when thet don't need to be. The bottom joints have .062 (about 1/16'' ) of freeplay manufactured into them and according to Buick are only due for replacement when you get more than 1/4'' of movement at the wheel !! If they dont have that freeplay built into them they bind up as the suspension goes through its travel. Remember these joints were a relatively new idea at time. Post some pics of your project if you can.

Chris

[Guest kiwi56r]

here are some pics of the seats as requested and a shot of inside the drivers A pillar showing a bit of surface rust and some 53 year old bare metal from the factory!!!!

Edited January 2, 2010 by kiwi56r (see edit history)

[buick5563]

I dig the interior. Those seats are plenty comfy, too. They are the same buckets I had in my 63 Wildcat.

[JohnD1956]

Look at that! The seats do fit the application nicely. Good luck with your car. It ought to be a real showstopper when finished!

[MrEarl]

Wow, those seats would look good in earlier 50's too I bet.

[Guest Rob McDonald]

I'm looking over your shoulder here, trying to get motivated to get back out to my own garage. I need to restart a project that stalled when I got married - almost 20 years ago! Your pained cry about ball joints finally inspired this response, my first to the AACA Forum.

I have learned that metal does wait patiently. That musty old car smell also lingers, even after two decades of dry storage. My time piece is a '57 Roadmaster model 73A, which I purchased for $75 in February, 1973 - my first car. Nice straight body, original paint (white over dark blue) and not much rust. At age 19, I drove it the rest of that year, then bought something even more impractical.

Nurturing the dream of restoring it, I kept the old Buick covered and clean through move after move to countless rented garages. Over time, I rebuilt the motor, refreshed the brakes and steering and even tackled the front suspension. It had suffered a hard undercut blow to one of the lower control arms, which had been badly repaired by some previous owner. Surely I was losing perspective, I thought, when I forked over $300 for a full set of NOS ball joints at a swap meet. Just hadn't been able to find them anywhere else and the car was ready to roll otherwise. It was probably the only good deal I've ever made that involved a car.

Sometime in the late 1980s, I carefully removed what seemed like hundreds of individual pieces of chrome and stainless steel and drove the naked hulk to a well-trusted body shop. A couple of weeks later, a noticeably smarter looking thing was returned to me. Not long afterward, I met a fascinating young woman and the rest is procrastinative history. Barn find or basket case? Hard to tell.

I recently pulled the cover off the Buick, partly to stop my family from piling stuff on top of it (no damage, thankfully) and partly to see if I still cared about it. My children (aged 12, 14 and 16) were briefly fascinated by the sight of this other-worldly apparition. My lovely wife sniffed that it looks even bigger than she remembered. What do I think? Still not sure. Motivate me here, gents.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Rob, how about some pictures, perhaps on a new thread. All your own. And please finish this wonderful car.

Ben

[PONTIAC1953]

hi to chris and to rob, very nice car to drive and own, i used to have a 58 roadmaster four door hardtop. hey rob, don't give up, i bought my 53 pontiac chieftain custom catalina also in 1973, when i was 17, paid $150 for it, i still have it today, it's been non-driveable since 1988, going through some major changes, my work on the catalina has been slowed by being married, raising a son, moving to another state, work takes me away from home too much, not much play money. but i'm still able to get some small progress, just finished restoring the heater blower motor and tube assembly, tube sand blasted and repainted, nos 12volt motor installed, nos squirrel cage fan, new sheetmetal screws, next small job is the battery cover, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[JohnD1956]

Rob, there are some teriffic 57's in these forum pages. Just take a look and dream of how yours could be! But alas, motivation can only come from within.

Still you have the makings of an instant success. Since the car sounds like it is ready to roll, why not put a set of plates on it and take it out for a day. Pull into the gas station. Guaranteed someone will come up to you and ask, 57? You can choose to let it make your day or not.

Go to the local Wendys..I say that because the one in my town has a bunch of teenaged gear heads and one of them nearly fell out the drive thru window to gawk at the 56. Even the girls will comment about how it's a great car! The Macdonalds kids are too harassed by their boss to take a moment to look at anything other than the $ bills you're paying with

I followed the public transportation bus the other day for a few miles. At one stop a tired old woman got out and juggled her bags as the bus pulled away, me right behind it, and guess what? She called out " Nice car you got there!" Put a huge smile on my face.

Truth be told, my car looks like crap next to many at shows and cruise ins. But to the man on the street, it's golden, and any time I need any motivation or just a pick me up, all I do is take it for a ride. That's the part you seem to have on the back burner, in my humble opinion.

[buick5563]

Very well written Rob. Please start a new thread. With pictures, of course.

[Guest shorttimer]

Very well written Rob. Please start a new thread. With pictures, of course.

My thoughts exactly.

[TG57Roadmaster]

Greetings,

I don't know if my Roadmaster is one of the teriffic '57's on the forums, but maybe a few

pics will boost y'all's enthusiasm. She's a driver that's been all over the eastern half

of the U.S. on bias-ply tires, in most weather conditions except snow. This is how I found

her in 1989 (right in town, maybe a mile away), and brought her home for good in '92...

A good rust-free South Carolina original with a ratty interior, bad bumper ends, and retreads.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, and 30K-plus miles of joyful driving

have been added in the meantime. The upholstery, carpet, and trunk lining had to be replaced

(with NOS upholstery) due to wear, but the dash, headliner & door panels are as they left

the dealer.

Larger, one of the '50's zoomiest instrument panels, IMHO!

The rear bumper (and ends) were rechromed, and recently I finally added the correct

muffler/resonator system with the thru-the-bumper dual exhaust set up. It sounds great,

and when the car is cold the puff, puff, puff coming out of the bumper ends looks great, too.

Larger. She sports her original Dover White/Dresden Blue paint; this was before

the correct bumper exhaust tips were installed (and NOS mufflers, resonators, etc).

Larger. The front end needs rechroming, but I'm in no rush.

My advice to the lovelorn? Take your honey out to a drive-in or a Lover's Lane, and spend

some quality time in your '57's big back seat; you may be amazed at the results!

Just remember to put the armrest in the up position...

Happy Motoring,

TG

[Guest Rob McDonald]

WOW, what a treat! You guys have made my day! I just figured out how to get back to this thread - I'm new at this forum stuff - and am thrilled to find all this enthusiastic support. TG57Roadmaster, your car is stunning in that colour combination and, yes, it is one of the Terrific '57s that I've been admiring. Okay, lads, I'm going to launch a new thread hear and hope to see you on the other side. ~Rob

[Caballero2]

Rob:

Here are a couple of photos with a friend and myself about to get started in 1993. Then the other was taken in a neighborhood car show (the first one) in 2010.

Dan

'57 - 76C

'57 - 56R