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1955 buick century riviera sedan


Niels

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while starting to document the story of my car i came across some old negative's of my car when it was collected by my grandfather so i digitalised them. Hopefully you guys enjoy them as i do as i continue to post my 55 buick and the shenanigans i get up with.

it did not fit in the first garage apparently

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So another one feom the old archive is somewhere in the 90's when my grandfather owned the car ge drove it around being part of a 40's&50's american enthousiast club in Belgium. These are some old scanned negative's from then

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Welcome to the forum, Niels!  We almost have the same name.  It's great that you have those old photos of your Buick.  I look forward to learning more about you and your car.

 

Neil

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8 hours ago, neil morse said:

Welcome to the forum, Niels!  We almost have the same name.  It's great that you have those old photos of your Buick.  I look forward to learning more about you and your car.

 

Neil

Yeah i like the history part behind it. Would love to 1 day figure out its old american history from when it was new/what type of plates where on it and where it all drove around. 

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To continue the foto yourney in 2012 my grandfather sadly passed away and with that the car was sold. At the time i was to young to be able to buy the car. 

It was taken from it storage place for 1 last ride to a garage where it would be picked up by the buyer. I still rember that dreadfull drive like it was yesterday.

(From here on out the quality of the pictures gets beter)

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so from 2012 we take a leap forward to late summer of 2022 while out and about to a big meeting with my 1969 opel kadet B fastback at the time where i stumble upon a familiar looking car. after reconnecting with the owner (had some contact with him over the years) it was a pleasant moment being eye to eye with the car again. the bells in my head started spinning and before i knew it on the 5th of October 2022 i was reunited with the buick and could finally call it my own.

that evening i had the pleasure of driving the car home 80 kilometres (50 miles+-) in heavy chaotic evening traffic. this being my first time driving that car and a car of that size on drum brakes it was a experience to say the least. but wouldn't trade it for anything

 

This is the short version of the story. i will use this page to share foto's and struggles from 2022 on out and forward

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1 hour ago, Fr. Buick said:

Niels, welcome!  You have a very cool car there, and a great story.  Where in Belgium are you?  I spent five happy years in school at KUL in Leuven.

I am based around antwerp but i go anywhere and everywhere with my cars.

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 Great story Neils, and great car too. Reading through the thread and when I got to the point where your granddad was gone and the car sold it honestly brought tears to my eyes!

 It was because of a '56 Roadmaster my grandfather owned I got into these great cars! So I have a '56 Roadmaster and my son has a '55 Special and welcome to the forum.

 Fabulous that you got it back!

 Keith

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8 minutes ago, Buicknutty said:

 Great story Neils, and great car too. Reading through the thread and when I got to the point where your granddad was gone and the car sold it honestly brought tears to my eyes!

 It was because of a '56 Roadmaster my grandfather owned I got into these great cars! So I have a '56 Roadmaster and my son has a '55 Special and welcome to the forum.

 Fabulous that you got it back!

 Keith

yeah the connection with the car is what does it for me dont get me wrong i love the looks of the car. but sentimental value exceeds everything. like a good 56's roadmaster would love one day but have my eyes set on a 55 station or cabrio first. but with now doing extensive work on my 55 century, completing a Opel project car and starting a Nash metropolitan restauration for my girlfriend the next Buick has been pushed down the line a bit. 

but hey i am still young so have plenty of years to get the next one and i am sure it wont stop after that 

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So in late 2023 i had the frivolous joy of discovering a coolant leak under my car. at first i thought it was a simple hose that punctured but it turned out to the freeze plugs in the engine. so with that the engine needed to come out and a whole lot of stuff i was putting off was now time to do. the engine was checked and got a good clean with a lot of new seals and hoses etc. from the documents that i have this was the first engine out since 1974(before that i don't know). 

 

it took some time but well worth it for the long term. 1 week after the install 1 of the only hoses not replaced  (going to the interior heater) snapped and had to be replaced. and well that took me some time to get due to having no lift and it being in a awkward position to get to but hey you learn something new about your car on how to do things.

 

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Good job.  Makes me reach for my pills every time I see someone have to take an engine out of a 55. 🤣. Mine was also my grandfathers so can appreciate your attachment. Nice car - hope you have many safe happy miles with it.

 

You know, since you’re already doing one and the engines out might want to poke at the rest....🙃

Edited by KAD36 (see edit history)
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3 hours ago, KAD36 said:

Good job.  Makes me reach for my pills every time I see someone have to take an engine out of a 55. 🤣. Mine was also my grandfathers so can appreciate your attachment. Nice car - hope you have many safe happy miles with it.

 

You know, since you’re already doing one and the engines out might want to poke at the rest....🙃

I defintly needed some pills doing the engine out. My luck is i had a verry good mechanic with a lot of good advice to guide me true it all.

But boy was i in over my head without realising it. But with some blood sweat and a lot of cash it was alright in the end. 

Once i get my photo's on my pc i will show the rest. Because 2024 has been a real shitshow to say the least it has turned my car hobby upside down and i cant wait for it to be 2025 and be done with 2024.

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7 hours ago, EmTee said:

Niels, did you detail the engine compartment while the engine was out?  What is the current status; is the engine back in the car now?

Hey, the engine went back in and is curently in yes. I did a lot of cleaning before the engine got pulled and everything was made as clean without spending to much money on it. My plan is this winter to do a fresh undercoat protection on the car and with that i might refresh the paint around the engine bay/in front of the radiator. Currently the car is without its gearbox and missing a lot of chrome due to a accident i wasnt at fault with but am now stuck with the cost of it.

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beginning of may 2024 was the worst day i could have ever imaged. while on my way to help setup a big expo and put my car on display i was involved in a accident. 2 cars in front of me did a weird move causing the car in front of me doing a full emergency stop. while i gave everything i could braking i had the unlucky luck of going over a oil spot on the road. causing me to slide right in the behind of a brand new bmw totalling that car right on the spot. (by bending his frame upwards on top of my chrome bumper)

My buick took the impact front on hard. causing my chrome bumper to twist in ways i didnt know was possible underneath the bumper some paint work was ruined but to my biggest surprise nothing under was twisted or hit. even the bumper mounting supports where still sitting straight. after the shock settled and insurance paperwork was filed i got in the car and discovered to my horror the dynaflow transmission decided to only go in low gear and reverse with a big shock. i could drive it but not well it improved a bit and i was able to just shift in to drive because i had no choice then drive it the remaining 10 kilometres. but it did not sound happy. after a weekend of expo shenanigans with friends and trying to put my mind on something else. i contacted my insurance who i filed a claim with on the car right after the accident to figure out what next.

Then i got sucked in the pain of going back and fort with expert from the insurance gathering quote's for repairs etc. I had all the quote's by the end of may it took them till the end of august just to figure out what they where going to propose me at the end of it they came back with a offer paying 65% of the cost of repair otherwise they where writing of the car. after a good consulting with a lawyer i accepted the offer because otherwise the car would go to auction and i might lose it.

it has been a mental destroying road but the car is being repaired at the moment. due to good contacts i bought a full new front bumper from Amerika and got it shipped i found a new grill and upper lip in Canada and got that shipped. i had the rest re chromed due to scratches and dents in it. currently the dynaflow transmission is getting a rebuild and varia of other stuff is being sourced or fixed next op is the paint touch up to prevent rust and then its time to put the car back together for the first time since may 2024.

its been a tough road and this whole process did mentally destroy me but the love for that car is so big i couldn't picture living without it. but if it wasnt for fellow Buick owners/enthusiast i might have sold the car i found myself close a couple of times giving it all up and listing the car for sale because i felt like it was no longer meant to be for me. 

but for now we keep chugging along and hope these repairs get finished as long as i dont look at the total cost that i am ending up paying i guesse i am going to be fine.

(tnx for whoever reads this fully it feels good getting this rant out of me i will be looking at other insurance because i was supposed to be fully covered for everything until you actually need them and then you find out the dont cover certain things.)

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