Hey Buick fans...I stumbled across a 57 buick hardtop recently....Looks pretty solid except for the qtr panel area between the rear wheel well and door. Rockers look good, but I havent been under the car yet..Looks complete but ratty....havent asked if it runs. The guy bought new radials and chrome smoothies and caps. It's presently piled high with old chrome mldgs and other various crap. I plan on checking it out further....any advice for trouble areas on these cars???....oh yeah...1500 bucks asking price.
A friend of mine built a 56 Buick Super right outta high school. This car had all the cool period-correct shit...right down to the dash-mounted 45rpm record player! Anyway, the biggest thing he used to have trouble with was the tranny (Dynaflow?). I remember him buying two or three trannies and swapping them out until he found a good one. Aside from that, he had trouble finding various trim parts, and the rear window seal had been leaking a while making for a rust problem in the rear package tray area. Very cool cars, though!
Gota abuddy who's got a '57 4 dr. All original. Bud just rebuilt the carb for the 1 st time ever last summer. Awesome car. Rides like a Caddy.
My neighbor has a beautiful 57 tudor Buick. You might want to investigate availability of parts before you get too deep into it. Rebuilt front ball joints were $610 IF he had a core. The universal joint could not be found and took a very knowledgable person over an hour of pouring over parts books, checking measurements to finally get one that fit. Not meant to discourage at all. He just wanted me to tell anyone I heard about that might want a 57 to tell them the info. Just fyi. Fourdy
I would agree with the transmission problem.A good problem area for body rot/rust is right behind the rear side window. in the trunk under the tray, look on both sides.. sucks when it's fully rotten in there. Body mounts are a good one for these cars as well.. The 1957 models came out with A arm front suspension unlike the king pin used in1956. the arms were made from cast iron. Iron isa brittle metal and when exposed to a lot of pressure it will snap like a pretzel. It was common in these years for an A arm to snap when people would curb the tires. Even potholes are deadly enough. Something to consider. I Personaly would buy the car if it was drivable for that price. And had no serious rot issues. Nice rides they be MmmHmmm!!
Hatch, Naihead's got it right , that area on the upper quarter behind the rear side glass is the shits ! There is a rubber pad in there to stop vibration I guess, and it held moisture next to the quarter skin. I took my 55' down to bare metal and just saw some pinholes there, ended up with patches on both sides the size of postcards ! On a brighter note, I got the quarter patch panels you need from Mac's Garage (on the web) I needed 55' all he had was 57' I modified them to work for me, but ought to be perfect for you ! Dynaslows suck ! If you upgrade to a modern trans. you'll need to replace the torque tube. PM me for more details on a driveline conversion using the original rear end. Bufords make good sleds though !! Pappy
I highly recomend the purchasing of a 57 Buick. I have had one for almost 2 Years now and have had very few problems. Parts have never really been a problem for me to find of course I work at a privatly owned real parts store, anything else you can get out of this buick parts store in new jersey. Ball joints if they go are expensive no mattter what. Really strange design that year, car only. They cost like 250 apice with a rebuidable core. I wish I had a pic. of mine that was decent scanned.
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