Projects 1956 Buick Special Wagon overhaulin´

Hey folks,

joined the great knowledge base here a couple of days ago and thought,it´s about time, to share my new project, for those interested in wagons

As the title states, it´s a 1956 Buick Special Wagon i found in Eureka, MT.

I´ve seen it on fleabay and instantly fell in love with him.

Since it was already missing it´s original drivetrain and the PO threw in a 1970 455 with tranny, it was kind of obvious, to build a "hotrod" out of it.

Right now, i´m starting to weld in some panels, as all floorboards and some other areas need a bit of attention.

I want the car to be a nice cruiser, with enough power, to spin the tires occasionally

Stay tuned and don´t hesitate, to give your opinion or suggestions,
as the rest of the car will also need a bit of going over, to handle the planned power plant.

These pics show the car at it´s origin. The wheels weren´t included in the sale, didn´t like them anyway.

Will post a few pics in the next thread, to show the car in it´s current state.

 

Here are a few shots from the Buick up in the workshop.

I decided, to start at the rear left, took the door of, to better reach inside.

First it didn´t look tooooo bad in the wheel house, but like most times, once you start removing the undercoating, you can see the pinholes in differnet places and i don´t want to cut corners on this one

 

That wagon will make a great grocery getter! HRP

 

I don't think that pinholes will be much of a problem.

Most of my projects have had rust holes that you could through a cat through.

 

Twinsies!

 

Neat car! I learned to drive in a 55 Century sw. Love them cars.

 

Hey JKustom,

is this your ride? Great car!!! Tell me/us about it, if you like. Wouldn´t mind see some details off it, as mine was already missing some stuff from the interior, like headliner, rubber parts around tailgates, etc.

It´s pretty hard, to get info´s about this car here, I´ve done a 1953 GMC Pickup last year for the wife, no problem on parts, or detailed information.

TIA for any support on here

 

That's pretty fucking cool. I think you should make it a 2 door.

 

Elky, Yeah thats mine. Im the second owner, I bought it in 1996. The engine is out of it and in the machine shop right now, but the car is all original. Let me know what you need I can take pics for you!

 

Here's a picture of my 1956 Buick Wagon, Good luck with yours. I love mine.

 

The 455 should be enough to fry the tires at will. I've had a few Buicks..... And lots o tires.

 

Love those long roofs. Thats a great project.

 

I am working on a 1956 buick special station wagon.Its just come out of a 20 year storage. I got her up and running.Got the brakes working after redoing most of it.Not sure if the booster is working.Got all the head lights , parking lights, and turn signals working after doing so wiring repairs.No stop lights yet.Just ordered a stop light switch for it.Now i have it yard driving but have to decide what to do with the transmission.The front seal is leaking pretty bad.I am on disabilty so its going to take a while to get her road ready.Any input would be great! Thanks Bruce.

 

Bruce There are kits available that will let you put a th350 behind the nailhead, I haven't kept an eye on them though so I couldn't really tell you what to expect price wise.. But to do a different tranny would mean you'd have to get rid of the torque tube and stock rear end.. Which means you'd have to build a new set up to locate the new, open drive rear end.. Kind of a can of worms. If you can find someone to go through the dynaflow, Thats the route I'd take, As a matter of fact thats the route I took with mine.. I like the dynaflow.

 

Wicked ride! I'll be keeping an eye on this one............

Have fun with it!

 

Nice old "Long Roof" !!!! Keep posting on the progress.

 

Thanks everybody for your comments, sure will keep you posted on the progress. There will be questions coming also.

I´m glad, there are a few other Buick Wagon owners here as well.

@buikwag, i´ve seen yours somewhere else, seems in show room condition,
chrome and all looks great.

@JKustom, thanks for offering, i´d really appreciate some shots from inside the tailgates, like where the weatherstripping goes on and how it looks.
But no need for hurry, there´s plenty o´work

Right now, got inspired from the homemade tools thread here on the Hamb,

i´m building my own english wheel with dies for making beads. There was one guy doing it and thought this a clever idea.

 

Cool project, welcome from indiana

 

looks pretty solid. should make a good driver

 

I just dug into my floors, and need inner wheel houses. Any idea where to find them?

 

56 seen at our local wholesale car dealers auction yard a few weeks ago..

 

Just found a motor and trans for my 1956 special station wagon.We are going to pull the bad motor and Trans today on it .WATCH THE 6 OCLOCK NEWS.lol.Bruce.