Texas Road Warriors ---Auburn Assault: Cars? Museums? Breweries!

[NTX5467]

There's no denying that the car LOOKS like a '55 Buick, which is good.  There's no denying that the current and prior owners sought to remake that car in what they desired to have, BUT . . . the heart and soul of the car are definitely NOT '55 Buick.  The smoooth-riding chassis of the '55 Buick is long gone, as is the beloved torque tube and DynoFlow transmission and Nailhead engine.

 

In the times when that "1950s car" was designed, produced, and sold, EACH GM brand had their own identity which went far deeper than just sheet metal and paint (as modern vehicles tend to not have in the same degree).  NO generic corporate engines, transmissions, chassis calibrations, or styling.  Things which gave them their "flavor" and differentiated them from the other GM cars and also those of their competitors from other manufacturers.  Things which made a Buick a Buick, a Chevy a Chevy, or a Ford product a Ford product.  And, in so many "street machine" (as this is a post-war vehicle) situations, it is THAT part which has been changed.

 

In many ways, the vehicle is more modern (with the add-on modern a/c system being one example) and is what many consumers would now expect from a vehicle, but that original Buick "feel" has been lost, too.  As good as the THM700 might shift, it is not the same as the CVT-like smoothness of the DynaFlow, but with better torque multiplication or "more gears" of the modern transmission.  The "Chevy" 502 RamJet motor certainly has lots of torque, in numbers and the ability to lay rubber, but it lacks the feel of "Buick Torque" which complimented the DynaFlow and otherwise smoothness of the torque tube/coil spring chassis.  Torque numbers on a dyno sheet are one thing, how it pushes you back in your seat from off-idle to highway speeds (and beyond), the "feel", is what makes the Buick powertrain unique.  In more recent decades, it's what makes driving my 2005 LeSabre feel so effortless when compared to my 2005 Impala with the Chevy 3.4L V-6.  Just 20 horsepower less in the Chevy V-6 compared to the Buick 3800 V-6, with the same gear ratio in the transaxle, but as soon as the throttle is cracked on the Buick V-6, it MOVES and keeps on moving effortlessly until Interstate-level velocities are reached.  

 

To me, what I'd like to see is somebody do similar changes to a 1955+ Buick using a Buick 430, 8L90E GM 8-speed automatic, full electronic engine controls (with EFI), with the necessary torque-tube eliminator kit, and some nice HD shocks and f/r sway bar upgrades.  Additionally, electric power steering and upgraded disc brakes, and a well-integrated a/c system.  Then package all of that to look like "it came that way" in 1955-1962.  Then add some Buick chrome wheels and modern rubber of your choice.

 

I like and appreciate what many people do with their 1955+ cars to modernize them.  It's far easier, usually, to install modern powertrains (with appropriate fabrications), something you MIGHT buy parts for at the local chain auto supply, BUT I also better-appreciate it when a builder/owner seeks to do the same things with the NATIVE powerplant-famlly engine under the hood.  BUT that's just me.

 

As Old-Tank has/is proving with his '55, getting the engine machined correctly during a rebuild, doing it "right", then adding modern lubricants into the mix, along with an upgraded roller timing chain, might well result in an engine that would run for over 500,000 miles with no breakdowns.  Reason I say that is that, as the verification of "cylinder wall hone marks" on Old-Tank's motor proved, if I can get 625K miles from my '77 Camaro 305 engine (with a roller timing chain set at 92K) that far, the superioir metallurgical mix that Buick used in their blocks and heads back then, a Buick 1950s Nailhead might well be a "forever engine".  Making sure that the particular combination of things happens correctly, can be a contributing factor, though.  I, too, chose the same brane of 20W-50 motor oil as Old-Tank did when I changed the oil in my Camaro at 3000 miles, back in late 1977.

 

I'm NOT going to condemn those who "street rod" 1950s vehicles, as it kept that vintage vehicle from being a crushed block of sheet metal for recycling, appreciating the costs they went to to do what they sought to do, but sometimes I wish for a greater desire to retain MORE of the original vehicle's identity in what they did.  As in keeping this vehicle more "in the Buick family" in how things were done.  Or similarly "in the family" for other vehicle brands.  FWIW

 

Just some thoughts and experiences,

NTX5467  

Edited July 17, 2021 by NTX5467 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

11 hours ago, 364nailhead said:

C'mone, JohnD1956. It is too a 55. Stop denying it. Lol. 

 

With all due respect...

 

The Hot Rod in the video is, in my opinion, merely a 55 Buick because convention dictates that there has to be some name and age on a recognized  government  document to prove ownership.😇

 

I see that car as a work of art, on the canvass of a 55 Buick. A work of art is the perception of the person creating it.  It may depict reality, or fantasy, or some combination of both. And, as a work of art it is up to the viewer's perception for it's value and appropriateness to themselves.  And while It is a nice looking car, it is , unfortunately, hardly original.  It may have taken a lot of work to create this vehicle. It may have taken a lot of money to create this vehicle.  But it has an engine and transmission and likely a rear axle that was not even conceptualized in 1955, yet is commonly used today in many other hot rods.  It has a set of gauges that, regardless of the narrator's nomenclature, are no where's near the original, but are also used in many other hot rods.  It doesn't even have a very unique color of paint. And in fact, the owner of the car indicated that he has many times capitalized on someone else's vision and hard work to repair or finish a vehicle after they spent gobs of $$$, so how much of this was even his original ideas?  It has upholstery that didn't exist in 1955, and sports tires and rims that were created decades after the car was built.  It even has dual exhaust with 4 exhaust tips, and a braking system that didn't exist in '55. 

 

Is it a good looking car?  Yes!  But for me, as it exists, it is no longer a '55 Buick.   😄