1955 Buick special 12v swap.

BrandonBerkosky

BrandonBerkosky

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So back in the day. 1975. My dad bought a 55 Buick. He was 23.
He had it painted and drove it every day until it the frame broke in about 1994.
I was born in 87 so I have some faint memories of it. Like the back doors being held shut with rope bc it was so far gone.
I was always obsessed with it and swore ide have one.
Fast forward 2013 I find the exact car on The H.A.M.B.
I won't get into 55 Buick body detail but it was a hard car to find in northeast pa. Where the winters claim the lives of many awesome vehicles.
Pictures are of his car circa 1975 as he bought it. 1980 with 13 coats of fresh laquer. Again in 2000 when the junkyard it was in finally crushed it.
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Here's mine.

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The plan is use the first gen 12v I have. With an A518 trans for overdrive and an 8" ford rear with 3.20 gears and a Detroit truetrac.

It will be fun it town and cruise effortlessly down the highway.

Why a cummins swap on this car? Well. The original nailhead is neat. But expensive to build. And the Buick dynaflow trans is worthless. Could I drop a 350 in it? Sure.

I already had this spare 12v "in stock"
And I scrounged up a 4x4 518.
So I found a 2wd tailshaft on eBay. Got my hands on a ford 8" from a 60s falcon thsts already the right width. Just have to swap it over to 4 link. The car was already coil sprung. So I'll run with that. and that's about where I'm at.

Original drivetrain is pulled and the new drivetrain is ready for the test fit within the next few days.
 
First test run. Tilted back farther than ide like. No big deal.

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I'll be doing some engine cradle modification to drop the front of the engine.
And trans tunnel persuasion to lift the trans. Otherwise the pan clears the steering so nice. And there's plenty of side to side room
 
Love the 8 inch! they are tough looks like you got it from a rustang, a lot of them had it. whats in there 2.73?
 
Yeah it does look like a mustang. It's actually a ford falcon futura.

Funny story I thought I was buying a 9" with gear set 3.20
My buddy came over the house and said hey where did you find an 8"
Long story short I'm stuck with it so it's going in the car.
 
I know those body lines from somewhere....Dad's had this one for the last 20ish years
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3 speed on the column, 264 nailhead with a 2 barrel carb. Did the dynaflows have an enclosed drivetrain? I remember "helping" pull everything back when he was replacing the rear main seal back in the day.

Good luck with the build, I'll be watching
 
Very cool project. I really like those old buicks, even better with a cummins.
 
Yes they have a torque tube. See how his rear wheel wells are open? That's how most are. I had to find the one with the quarters that cover the rear wheel
 
Tornado12 you got me thinking about the ratio. I was looking up the code for what I thought was a 9".
So I just pressure washed the axle and checked out the tag.
The gear ratio is 2.79.
I may not even run the overdrive trans. With gears like that I may just have my 727 gone through an be fine on the highway.
 
Initial cut of the frame. I was thinking maybe I can just cut and squeeze it down to make some room.
I may end up replacing the section I cut with something thicker. To make up for the loss of surface area.
I also have to make a new trans tunnel. The old dynaflow was shaped differently.
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BrandonBerkosky said:
Tornado12 you got me thinking about the ratio. I was looking up the code for what I thought was a 9".
So I just pressure washed the axle and checked out the tag.
The gear ratio is 2.79.
I may not even run the overdrive trans. With gears like that I may just have my 727 gone through an be fine on the highway.
Click to expand...

No lock up converter in the 727. I'd still roll an overdrive with lockup and let the low RPM torque of the cummins do its thing on the highway. I've got a 4l80e and a quick change rear behind the Dmax in my street rod. When I put 2.19 spur gears in it's still enough RPM to roll down the freeway in overdrive. Could always run 3rd locked if you want a touch more RPM. Cool project!
 
Turboperf. I know ur right. I had this crazy idea that somehow I could use the 727 and spend less money!! Lol. I'll stick with the od. Unfortunately I don't think I have the lockup option. Not according to my trans guys
 
Run the OD trans for lockup. Worst case you lock out OD and run it in the 1st 3 gears the majority of the time. At least you will have lockup.

very cool build!
 
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