1953 Buick Special Questions

[Vintagecarguy]

Hello all,

I am looking into buying a 1953 Buick Special with Dynaflow and had some concerns. First off, the car leans to the driver's side, just enough to be noticeable while looking at it. At the same time, the car seems to be higher in the back than it is in the front. I am suspecting that it is the springs, but I thought I would ask. Could it be possible that someone put the rear springs in the front and the front springs in the back?

Also, while looking under the car, my father noticed that there is an inspection plate missing from the bottom of the torque converter housing. Is this something to worry about, or is the cover commonly missing?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Vintagecarguy.

[avgwarhawk]

More than likely the springs are worn.   The front/rear springs do not interchange.    

[old-tank]

...  inspection plate missing ... not uncommon.  They are out there used or easy to make one.

[Vintagecarguy]

1 hour ago, avgwarhawk said:

More than likely the springs are worn.   The front/rear springs do not interchange.    

avgwarhawk,

thank you for the information. I was told that the car was apart for sometime before being put back together, so it might be possible that the springs were switched accidentally.

16 minutes ago, old-tank said:

...  inspection plate missing ... not uncommon.  They are out there used or easy to make one.

old-tank,

Thank you for the information.

[JohnD1956]

I think you should inspect the location where you saw the car. It's possible that it is uneven and the result is the lean to the side. Even if the springs were inadvertently swapped, it still should not lean too much to the one side.  I'd want to be very careful it not hiding a bent frame.  Try to count the turns on each front spring, just in case someone cut a few turns off of one to lower the vehicle.

 

Also, I am certain that the circumference of the rear spring is much larger than the front, so much so that the rear springs probably do not fit into the pocket for the front springs.  It should be easy to see however. The rear springs have that larger circumference, and less turns, and more space between the turns. Keep in mind however, that if the rear springs are in the front, then they are probably compressed from the excess weight of the engine and trans that they are not meant to carry.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[buick5563]

I'm pretty sure they are like 1955 springs, the rears are elliptical on top and bottom and can't exchange. 

[Vintagecarguy]

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 1:00 PM, JohnD1956 said:

I think you should inspect the location where you saw the car. It's possible that it is uneven and the result is the lean to the side. Even if the springs were inadvertently swapped, it still should not lean too much to the one side.  I'd want to be very careful it not hiding a bent frame.  Try to count the turns on each front spring, just in case someone cut a few turns off of one to lower the vehicle.

 

Also, I am certain that the circumference of the rear spring is much larger than the front, so much so that the rear springs probably do not fit into the pocket for the front springs.  It should be easy to see however. The rear springs have that larger circumference, and less turns, and more space between the turns. Keep in mind however, that if the rear springs are in the front, then they are probably compressed from the excess weight of the engine and trans that they are not meant to carry.

 

 

JohnD1956,

thank you for the advice.

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 2:34 PM, buick5563 said:

I'm pretty sure they are like 1955 springs, the rears are elliptical on top and bottom and can't exchange. 

buick5563,

thank you for the advice.