>Along with the rest of GM's lineup, Buick entered the postwar years with the all-new 1949 lineup, the Super and Roadmaster sharing the C-body platform and the Special using the shorter B-body. While Oldsmobile and Cadillac got new OHV V8s for '49, Buick would continue using the old OHV inline eight for the time being. The new Buicks introduced the Ventiports, a styling feature that soon became a division hallmark. For the time being, Buick continued to offer fastback "Jetback" models, but this style, a '40s fad, had run its course by now and was discontinued in 1951 due to scanty sales. The Dynaflow automatic transmission (nicknamed Dyna-Slush because of its sluggish performance on early models) became standard equipment on most Buicks. In 1951, the Special's 4.1L engine was replaced with the 4.3L unit from the senior Buicks in preparation for the upcoming phase-out of the inline eight.
>Changes were relatively minor for the next three model years; power steering was offered in 1952 and a four barrel carburetor gave the Roadmaster 170 hp. Air conditioning and a 12V electrical system arrived in 1953 along with power brakes, steering, and the new OHV "Nailhead" V8 in senior model while the Special continued to use the old inline eight for one more year. The initial power brake system in 1953 had a problem with faulty master cylinders, resulting in brake failures and accidents; GM issued a factory recall and the problem was corrected afterward. Buick sales dipped somewhat in 1950-52 after the initial demand for the new postwar models was sated and due to Korean War production cutbacks. Nonetheless, Buick's overall market share expanded significantly during the '50s in a symptom of overall postwar prosperity, climbing to third place behind Chevrolet and Ford. The old "woody" Roadmaster station wagon, which used real structural wood, was retired after 1953 to be replaced by a cheaper all-steel wagon with ornamental wood. The Dynaflow was upgraded for the new V8 engines to improve performance and allow engines to run at lower RPMs.>The last year for the 1949 Buick bodyshell was 1953; GM's senior models would receive new, wider 1954 bodyshells.
>>29144244>>29144243great, i'm in the boring part of the '50s. cars are bars of soap with no tail fins, i ended up on a government watchlist for wearing a red tie to work, there's no Elvis yet, and music is just like Doris Day 'n shit.
>>29144243that ancient shitcan would get gapped by a Kia
>>29144257>cars are bars of soap with no tail finsthis is exactly when tail fins started you dongusgoddamn look at those fucking hips, you don't realize how deep a buick sweepspear is until you see it from the right angle
>>29144243>For the time being, Buick continued to offer fastback "Jetback" models, but this style, a '40s fad, had run its course by now and was discontinued in 1951 due to scanty sales.What a shame, I love the postwar GM fastbacks. They just look right to me, most of the notchbacks look like weird humpbacks in comparison; IMO only the Cadillac gets around it because its P-38 tailfins add enough of a silhouette break. I think everyone in the 50s was fucking retarded, maybe.
>>29144243Buick meant business back then and was a prestigious brand instead of a miserable V6 grandma box with Rubbermaid interiors.
>>29144244'53 Buick runs into a lamppost in Oakland, California, mid-1950s. A possible brake failure caused by the known master cylinder issue.
>>29144353ouch. was she ok? also why is it that 50s cops didn't look like over-militarized retard manchildren with tattoos?
>>29144353>brakes fail>drive into a lamp postGreat decision making right there.
>>29144357Because most people in the 50's were white and reasonable, and you don't need a twitchy muscle man with PTSD to deal with reasonable white people.
>>29144353fuckin' metal non-collapsible steering column
>>29144357she probably got a broken nose but doesn't look that bad from what we can see anyway
>>29144357
>>29144259they're quite comfortable cars actually with the big torquey V8 or I8. the Nailhead was replaced by the early 60s with a newer engine design that could be more easily emissions regulated and had more power for the new interstate system.
>>29144382the original Nailhead was only produced from 53-56. it was replaced by the Block II Nailhead in 57 which had greater power for the upcoming interstate highway system. this engine was produced for a decade and replaced in 67 by a revised Buick big block that was designed to be easily fitted with emissions hardware.
>>29144259also it doesn't have BlueTooth
>>29144261repaint job that seems a little too high gloss>>29144353the original factory paint was medium gloss as can be seen here>>29144243this seems about right
>>29144353a Super or Roadmaster convertible; this lady obviously had some bucks
>>29144353Don't look up 50s car accident photos if you just ate. This is a very mild accident compared to many of them.
>>29144398It may be ceramic coated and waxed to perfection. Vintage single stage paint will shine right up, again and again.
>>29144422as proof. the factory paint was medium gloss and not mirror level of shiny.
>>29144357oh no cops were way bigger pieces of shit before body cams. my mother was in this car accident back in the 80s with a company car when she spun out and ran into a pole and this PHP officer practically chewed her head off and starts ranting that she was a terrible driver and could have hit this school bus that was a couple hundred yards up the road. bitch, it wasn't her fault that her employer put shitty mismatched tires on their cars and she lost control of the thing.
>>29144429He had just gone through a divorce and was angry at women in general, is the usual reason for that happening.
My great aunt had a '56 Buick in salmon pink. Apparently that model year had a lot of quality control problems because Buick overproduced cars (over 570,000) to meet high demand.
>>29144244>Nonetheless, Buick's overall market share expanded significantly during the '50s in a symptom of overall postwar prosperity, climbing to third place behind Chevrolet and Fordthe 60s had a stronger economy on paper and was absent of recession after 1960 while the 50s had two recessions and some cutbacks in consumer goods production during the Korean War but the 50s had greater purchasing power.
>>29144412Most 49-53 Buicks had cloth seats; the Super/Roadmaster wagon/convertible had standard leather.
>>29144243>Buick initially advertised the Ventiports as "providing additional ventilation" to the engine compartment despite their purely ornamental nature, but they were filled in except possibly on some early production '49 models.[8]
>>29144462They're still (kind of) around.
one of two custom '50 Roadmasters built for Harley Earl and GM vice president Harlow Curtice. neither of these cars is believed to still be extant.
>>29144477think those tires need some air put in them, they look a bit flat
>>29144477>April 14, 1950and they didn't know war was just around the corner. again.
>>29144477what the OP didn't mention was that the waterfall grille on '50 Buicks was a one year thing and in '51 they reverted back to the '49 design which didn't have the chrome strips down over the bumper.
>>29144484the approximate equivalent of it being June 30, 2001
>>29144495except the only thing in a Buick plant in 2001 was a shitty Rubbermaid interior grandma box
>>29144477Anyway, crooning had become stagnant. "All Shook Up" was still seven years away. Something had to fill the void, and that something was barbershop.
>>29144517that's a Simpsons quote, you douchebag
>>29144351back then it was like a Mercedes E-Class, a prestigious car for upper middle class professionals. also GM's traditional favorite son which always got its styling done first and the other divisions were just extrapolated from the Buick styling.
>>29144244early station wagons did use structural wood and were pricey, low production specialty items. for that reason they are hideously expensive for collectors to restore.
>>29144427GM used nitrocellulose lacquer until the mid fifties, which is much more glossy than the acrylic lacquer that replaced it. However the gloss didn't last long and required regular polish and wax to retain the shine.
>>29144351>>29144496Were you molested by a 2001 Buick Park Avenue?
>>29145213>bumped thread from page 5 for this completely worthless post
>>29145218>got raped by a Rubbermaid interior grandma box
>Buick production soared to over 220,000 cars for the 1950 model year, which was mainly characterized by a controversial one-year design which featured individual chrome teeth "spilling" down over the front bumper, all of them separate pieces bolted to the bumper. This design was a radical move by GM chief stylist Harley Earl--the teeth doubled as a bumper guard and advertising claimed they protected the front bumper from impact damage and that replacing damaged teeth was cheaper than replacing the bumper, but it was quickly abandoned and Buicks reverted to the old-style grille in 1951 after mixed customer reaction and the high cost of manufacturing this gimmick; each of the nine grille teeth was asymmetric, individually stamped, and non-interchangeable.
Picture I scanned from a 1970's National Geographic. I love 1950 Buicks.
>>29147060too bad they still had the old plodding prewar I8 engine in '50 while Oldsmobile and Cadillac had new V8s
>>29147110I'm a modifier, so that doesn't bother me.
>>29147110it was OHV so it's not as pokey as the Oldsmobile and Pontiac eights
>>29144261Thats ugly
>>29147962I8s couldn't rev that high due to their length and had issues with crankshaft flex and oiling of the outer cylinders. They quickly vanished during the 50s as V8s became cheaper to produce.
>>29146552One could say Buick was ahead of their time with the '50 design.>grille ahead of the bumperEvery car sold today is like this, even full size pickups and Suburban-sized SUVs. Bumpers are protected by the grille rather than the other way around.I'm glad they switched back to the '49 design for the next couple years. I'm growing to appreciate these early '50s bar soap looking designs more and more.
>>29148159>I'm growing to appreciate these early '50s bar soap looking designs more and more.late 50s cars get all the kitsch factor but at the time nobody liked them and they were considered tasteless, poorly-built junk compared to first half of the decade
>>29148285The 58 Buick had a top speed of up to 120 mph and a 0-60 time around 9 seconds while the '50 Buick was around 90 mph (you wouldn't want to push it much past 60 as it would be really thrashing the I8 which didn't have a very high redline) and took 18 seconds to get from 0-60--technology and performance evolved very quickly over the decade. The 58 can handle modern freeway speeds easily while the 50 was designed for city driving and two lane highways.
>>29148290there were car testers like Tom MCahill who would test the performance of cars going back to the prewar days and push them to the limits, see how fast they could go. they would end up thrashing the engine in the process for research purposes and it was indicative of safe limits the thing could operate under.
>>29148318>McCahill disliked the semi-automatic transmission on '49 Dodges, calling it "a dog." He referred to Chevrolets of the early '50s as "mundane and utilitarian."
>>29148319>He referred to Chevrolets of the early '50s as "mundane and utilitarian."Which was exactly what they were. A cornflake box family car with no sex appeal.
>>29148290the 58 used the block II Nailhead V8 which came out the previous year and was designed with the idea of the upcoming interstate system
>>29148319the Chevy six still used babbitt bearings until 1955 when most engines had switched to insert bearings twenty years earlier. it had a top speed of only around 60.
>>29148349the Stovebolt Six came out in 1929. it was redesigned in 36 and this Block II version was used through 58 before being replaced by a modernized OHV six in 59.
>>29148356yes but it did still use babbitt bearings until 55
