hey guys and gals,I have recently bought this car I know its a 55 buick,but which one? I think the badge on the side says 'super' but the guy I bought it from said it was a century(its had the badges removed).Now I know there are 2 body sizes with buick,I need to know which one this is so I can chase up a windscreen and a grill/bonnet trim piece. Any good leads on some tailight buckets would be great as mine are badly pitted. plans so far are 350,T700,late model aussie GM diff and front discs,airbags and it'll be painted in a blood red with gold pearl. As it will be used as a family weekend car I'm still not sure what the interior will be,white looks great but 2 kids under 10....... interior suggestions?
From the info. I have, the primary difference in looks was that the 'Special' model had 3 portholes and the 'Century' models had 4. Don't think there was any difference in body sizes.
I think its a Super, the Century had the smaller body and that looks like the big body! If it is a super some parts like the windshield could be the same as cadillac!
It's a super. And I'd look around & see if I could find a 364 or a 401 before going the sbc route. A lot easier to replace a nailhead with another nailhead. Really, a 64-66 401 or 425 is optimal because of the transmission.
I'd say "Super". Looking at some old Buick ads, the Roadmaster appeared to have chrome on the bottom edge of the rear fenders behind the wheel. The Super did not. Both had 4 portholes. And that place on the left rear fender looks as if it does or did say Super. Click on this link to go to the ebay sale with the Buick brochure....several pictures there. http://cgi.ebay.com/1955-BUICK-PRES...45QQihZ007QQcategoryZ1315QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Either Super or Roadmaster, by the looks of the headlight bezels. The wheelbase on the Special / Century was 122", while the Super / Roadmonster had a 127" wheelbase. The Super came with a 2bbl WCD carb and the Roadmaster came with a WCFB 4bbl.
I would agree with the idea of keeping it Nailhead. A lot less to mess with, and a cool engine besides that is well-suited to a heavy car. There is a reason GM did't use a SBC in the realy big cars, and you just bought one of those really big cars. Your best bet is a 401/425 mated to a closed-driveshaft Dynaflow, which I think ended in 1960. Otherwise, look at replacing the whole rear end. Keep it Nailhead!!
As Beet said the NAGS part number is DW 351 they are still made new. and Supers were 3 holers, the century was a special with the roadmaster engine. Century's and Roadmaster were the 4 porthole models. the photo is a Roadmaster tag should model 72 job 55-4719
thanks for the info guys,I was hoping it was the model that shares the windscreen with Caddy as it would be a little easier to find here. I guess I should have pointed out I am in Australia,hence the problem I will have finding some the parts. I would have kept the nailhead driveline if it was still in it.....but it isnt and there are very few nailheads in Australia,so SBC it will be for now. I will have it home next week and will check the ID tags for numbers. At present its been panelled and rust repaired,and comes as a rolling shell and several boxes of trim etc....in other words a huge 3d jigsaw!
In '55 only the "Special" Series 40 had 3-holes. All the other series, including the "Super", had 4-holes.
I just aquired a '55 Super 2-door HT and from the info I've been gathering the 4 port hole fenders came on the Super and Roadmaster, which a bigger cars completely from the series. Once again I'm ******* my girlfriend off as I'm spending countless hours on the net gathering info on my new project. I did also recieve a parts car so I do have some extra parts. If you need something, just shoot me a pm.
No Century 4 door sedans were built in 1955, only 4 door hardtops. The cowl tag is always the best info.
Looks like a good start. As much as I like Buick engines and considering where you live I think theSBC 350 etc. is a good choice. Just to keep you enthused, some pics of a friends 57 Buick Century. 425 Nailhead, moderately built. I believe the Buick Super Turbine trans. 9" Ford rear axle with parallel leaf springs - which impinges on the stock fuel tank so they're using a fuel cell here, but I think a person could find a factory tank that would fit if a little searching was done. I had white tuck and roll in a 53 Ford when my daughters were little. It worked pretty good to keep a blanket covering the rear seat bottom cushion. Otherwise their baby shoes really dirtied up the white vinyl.
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