Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Up for sale is my 1957 Buick Roadmaster 75 four door hardtop. I've had the car for just about a year. I found it in a warehouse in St. Louis while I was looking at another 57 that was in the building next door. It was waiting its turn to be cleaned up and sold by this dealer. I was able to make the deal before they spent a bunch of time and money cleaning and repairing the issues at hand. It ended up being a real sweetheart of a car with just over 46000 documented actual miles. Despite the low mileage, it's not in any terms a "survivor," though. It has been repainted, and the interior has been redone with correct seat materials. Since buying the car, I have made contact with the previous owner who resurrected this car from a field in Colorado. He sent me every receipt he had, and every receipt that the owner prior to him saved. I have a thick folder of receipts that go with the car. It has been in the Buick Bugle several times, now. Once on the rear cover in 1996. That copy of the magazine with go with the car. It also made a page in last year's October (2019) issue. Also, in the February 2020 issue, there is a photo from the national meet that includes it. I will go through each section of the car and describe to the best of my abilities. Paint/Body Originally, this car was all Garnet Red. When the car was repainted, the owner decided that Dover White would be a better look for the lower section, and I agree. It is a beautiful color combo. The paint is basecoat clearcoat and shows very well. When speaking with the gentleman who had it painted, he said he had it done in 2000. It has obviously been well cared-for in those last 20 years. In terms of old rust repairs or hidden problems, it is clear upon close inspection that this has been a very dry car with no rust or rot in its lifetime. Interior As stated earlier, the entire interior has been redone. The chrome trim inside is in excellent condition. There are no rips or tears anywhere. Headliner is excellent. Dash pad is clean and supple. Steering wheel is solid with NO cracks. The clock works! The radio does not, unfortunately. But I can't remember the last time I had a car of this age with a working radio. The gauges seem to work fine. The speedometer itself stopped working shortly after I bought the car, and I just found out that the cable broke inside the sheath when I was repairing the transmission. I have a new one on order...hopefully that fixes the speedo issue. The carpet is in great shape with no stains or rips. Whoever did the interior, made up 4 floor mats in the same carpet, and they are included with the car. Power windows go up and down. The wipers (as of this moment) do not work. I found an issue with one of the cables when I was removing the speedo cable, and hopefully that will fix it. Otherwise, I have just been using Rain X. The Air Conditioning WORKS and is ICE COLD. One of the best AC's I've ever felt in an old car. Trunk The trunk has all of its original fabric material and cardboard intact. They definitely have some wear, but I am more interested in keeping it original if possible. If you want to make this a 400 point BCA show winner, it would have to be replaced...but it is serviceable as-is. Spare tire and retainer, jack, and wrench are all there. Engine The engine runs like a 46k mile engine should...smooth and quiet. When I bought the car, I put in spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor. I rebuilt the carburetor. I just put in a new battery this week that is a reproduction of the original one that it came with. Coolant is nice and green. Oil has about 1000 miles on it. Did I mention that the AC works? he engine compartment itself is pretty clean. Not a grease pit by any means. It looks like it's been painted/touched up at some point. I had a completely new exhaust system installed when I bought the car. It is solid and super quiet, as a top-of-the-line Buick should be. Transmission One of the big issues with the car when I bought it was that there was "something" wrong with the transmission. I bought it assuming the need for a rebuild. As I dug into it, the real issue was in the driveshaft. The female splines in the driveshaft were stripped. I replaced that section with a good used one, and the car was happy again...except for having NO Park position. I drove the car like that all year, and used the Parking Brake when I parked it. Knowing I was going to be selling the car soon, I decided to dig in and see what the issue was. The opportunity came up for me to buy a 57 Dynaflow transmission already rebuilt, so I did that and just finished replacing the transmission. There is no VIN stamped on the transmission of a 57, so it still is technically "numbers matching." It has the same casting number as the one that came out. The engine does, and it does match the VIN. I replaced the thrust pad and transmission mount when I did the swap. Driveshaft/Rear End When I replaced the driveshaft last January, I cleaned up the rear end and torque tube. I duplicated the paint stripes on the tube as best I could. I found out that these were bare metal from the factory, but I couldn't bear to install it that way. So it got a semi-gloss black coat of paint with the stripes as I found them. Brakes The brakes were poor when I bought the car. It would stop, but it was scary. I tried to just bleed them, but there was a ton of gunk in the lines and wheel cylinders. I have replaced all soft hoses, wheel cylinders, and front shoes. Rear shoes appear to be in good shape, so I left them alone. I did replace the rear wheel cylinders, though. Rebuilt master cylinder and power booster. Bled everything 3 times to make sure all air was out. Brakes are much better, but still takes a little effort to stop. They will lock up if you really need to. When the car was in the air for the transmission swap, I did some more adjusting. Hopefully that will help. I also think some driving, to help bed the front shoes, will help stopping. I haven't had a chance to test drive since those adjustments yet. Wheels/Tires Wheels are original with original hubcaps. It looks like the centers have been replaced. The tires are brand new bias ply Coker Classic 8.00 x 15 with the correct 2 1/2" whitewall. Suspension From what I have gathered with all of the receipts included with the car, the majority of the front end wear-items have been replaced...most importantly, the ball joints. When driving, I experience the typical old car feel when running on bias ply tires. They have a bit of tendency to follow the cracks and tracks in the road, but it's a smooth ride. It looks like the front shocks are pretty new. Rear shocks are coil-overs which seem somewhat modern. I don't know how old they are though. General Undercarriage The entire underside of the car was undercoated when new. It doesn't look like a million bucks, but I cleaned up some of the frame rails and front end parts to make it present a bit better. Chrome The chrome on this car is in great condition. No rust. No pitting. The front bumper and grille moustache have some light hazing on them, but not worth the cost of a rechrome. The front right bumper guard has a ding. Stainless is good driver quality, I would say, with some hazing and light scratching here and there. Glass All glass is in great condition. That's all I have to say about that. Weatherstripping/Rubber I don't see anything that needs attention. Asking Price: $28,500 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Interior 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkertom Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 As usual, a top notch presentation and description. Good luck with the sale! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Thanks Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Who else writes 1500 word descriptions for their sale ads?🤣 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 That's a seriously pretty Buick. Someone is going to own a sweetheart of a '57! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Here's a walk-around of the car on youtube 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Sale Pending 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 37 minutes ago, Smartin said: Sale Pending 3 days..wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 This car sells itself 😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs455 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 Straight up car for sale by a straight up guy. Congrats Adam! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 WOW on steroids ... Adam did you do all the transmission and rear end R&R yourself in your garage or did you have that done somewhere else ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Everything was done here in the garage. Definitely not one of my favorite jobs, but it gets easier after having done in a few times now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 It's a good thing you're a young man Adam! Doing what you do without a lift makes my back hurt just thinking about it.😧 As usual, great job sir! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Thanks Doug...I can definitely feel it more than I used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 59 minutes ago, dei said: It's a good thing you're a young man Adam! Doing what you do without a lift makes my back hurt just thinking about it.😧 As usual, great job sir! Yes! I used to work outside in the dirt, now I'm too spoiled to get near the concrete without a creeper and am saving towards a lift. @Smartin is a motivated guy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 It is after all and among a complex array of other things a matter of age dynamics ... today looking back I am amazed really at all the things I was able to take on in far less desirable conditions and circumstances then I would even consider doing today and accomplish them in my 30's with little thought but the task at hand .... 30 + years later I am being humbled and beginning to slowly become aware of and realize my new ever emerging limitations to my previously once long held perceived identity and capabilities. A form of elder adolescence if you will. Getting older sucks no doubt about it but on a more positive note that is why they make easy chairs and the internet for watching and connecting with others such a satisfying joy to behold. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 Beautiful 57! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Thanks! It is staying local. Id say that's a first for me, but my 60 is still local. He drives the wheels off it. He says it's his favorite and best driving car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcatsrule Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 So now what are you going to buy to replace it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Something will come along, I'm sure. You guys know me well enough This will finance the finish-out of my new shop, though. When I conjured up the idea of the new building, I undershot the numbers a little bit and didn't anticipate needing to sell this to finish the job. This was a no-brainer. Gotta have a concrete floor and insulated walls! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted February 5, 2020 Share Posted February 5, 2020 On 1/31/2020 at 6:36 PM, Smartin said: Asking Price: $28,500 Fantastic car! Lucky buyer. You cannot get another "pretty good one" to this condition and function for double the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 5, 2020 Author Share Posted February 5, 2020 Here's one that just showed up on ebay for comparison.. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1957-Buick-Roadmaster-75-4dr-HT/283773298385?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D74dd2695e93341a0b168662a554e3492%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D254504438855%26itm%3D283773298385%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A723ba5cb-4870-11ea-b7f1-74dbd1807353|parentrq%3A17b70ed51700a16e8e9331baffeaed8c|iid%3A1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Cardinal Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 Congratulations on the quick sale, Adam! I'm looking forward to seeing your next one at Strongsville. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 ..... yeah, yeah you just wanted the garage more than the car ... just make damn sure your new shop rafter design allows for at least a 14 headroom for the bendpak lift ... 👹 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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