" Valve - in - head , ahead in value . “Buick ’s traditional shibboleth was still being touted in respect to the 1950 - 1952BuickRoadmaster , although the rest of the diligence ( lead by soul mate Cadillac and Oldsmobile ) was finally coming around to the determination that overhead valves were conk to replace side valves . Still , as recently as 1947 , Chevrolet , Buick , and Nash had been the only major American manufacturer to get hitched with the valve - in - head engine . By the mid - Sixties , everybody would be using it .
Classic Cars Image Gallery
" Roadmaster " – what a grand name for a car ! It had come out during 1936 and would last until it was unwisely removed for 1959 . It was the stark term for the top of the Buick line , a machine bordering on Cadillac price dominion , preferred transport for the up - and - coming professional – the doctor , the lawyer , and anybody else who could not quite afford a Caddy .
Buick catered to this clientele with gimcrack styling - far and away the flashiest of the GM divisions - plus lavishness and a host of fresh design idea : the noted popping - art grille , the shooter - sight punk ornament , the hardtopconvertible , the sweepspear , and the porthole . The latter three all arrived in 1949 , when Buick sales correspondingly increased by 50 percentage , and then doubled in 1950 . In that long - lost halcyon era , this was the variety of motorcar America wanted –and bought .
At a time when the annual model variety was an human action of faith , Buick honcho designer Ned Nickles responded in the ordained manner by bestow chrome , and the early - Fifties Buicks were not as strictly beautiful as Ned ’s ' 49 , the first all - new postwar aim . The buck - tooth grille extended down over the bumper in 1950 , but this was too strange even for Buickfolk ( but much desired today ) , and promptly receded in 1951 .
Every report of Buick in those mean solar day constantly remark the origin of the porthole , which – diversely crumpled , squeezed , elongated , pass over out , and restored again – has been part of the Buick styling custom since ' 49 . It was part of that design lexicon , which take inspiration from the wonderful new jot aircraft ( the basic Buick shape had evolve from the propellor - take Lockheed P-38 ) , along with the rounded " fuselage " of railway car torso English , the big exclusive lattice , and the aileron - similar vertical stabilizer . ( Buick ’s first " fins " came in 1952 , well in advance of Virgil Exner and Chrysler . ) When Nickles whimsically mounted little coloured brightness level inside the portholes of his own Roadmaster , wire through the distributor to ostentate in firing order , Flint managers stared at it wide - eyed in open wonderment ; the marvel is that they did n’t make it received .
For more information on cars, see:
1950, 1951, 1952 Buick Roadmaster
They 1950 - 1952 Buick Roadmasters were serious automobiles , build with integrity , of a quality and durability that vanished around 1955 and has not been around since . It has often been remarked that there was probably more steel in the splasher of an early - Fifties Buick than in an total Suburu : doubtlessly an exaggeration , but the photos reveal what ’s implied .
Like most other cars of 1950 , 1951 , and 1952 , these Roadmasters were built : cap clangor down like manhole covers , door shut with a hearty clunk on bank hurdle - like hinges , radios twine you in that variety of " rich " sound you just do n’t get from electronic transistor . Maybe it was clumsily action , but it is this kind of diaphanous wholeness that crap cars like the Roadmaster appealingness to people today .
Roadmasters in all three year were offer as a four - door sedan , Riviera hardtop , transmutable , and wagon , the latter make extensive use of genuine tree Mrs. Henry Wood . ( The last woodies made by anyone were built by Buick , in 1953 . ) In 1950 there were also sumptuous versions of the Riviera and sedan , the latter bewilderingly called the " Riviera " too , plus the last Roadmaster sedanets . These pretty fastbacks were drop off because of slow sale – only 2,968 in their final ' 50 model year – which renders them highly desirable by collectors today .
These Buicks also lay out the last , or almost the last , of the long - running overhead valve straightforward eight , which still pump out creditablehorsepowerin the Roadmaster . The pocket-sized Buick Special retain its straight eight in 1953 ; then the entire line received V-8 powerfulness for ' 54 .
In its final year , the straight - eight Roadmaster convertible – the most expensive Buick save for the woody wagons – had a infrastructure price of $ 3,453 , which mean it typically be about $ 4,000 , or just under $ 20,000 in today ’s money . That ’s quite a lot of car for the dollar .
For 1950 - 1952 Buick Roadmaster spec , go to the next page .
1950, 1951, 1952 Buick Roadmaster Specifications
The 1950 - 1952 Buick Roadmaster achieve estimable horsepower with an overhead valve straight eight engine .
Specifications
Engine : budget items valve I-8 , 320.2 cid ( 3.44 × 4.31 ) ; 1950 - 51 , 152 bhp 1952 170 bhp
Transmission : Dynaflow automatonlike
Suspension , front : independent , coil springs , lever shock absorber
Suspension , rear : live axle , coil springs , lever shock
brake : front / rear drum
Wheelbase ( in.):125.2
Weight ( lbs):4150 - 4400
Top speed ( mph):95 - 100
0 - 60 miles per hour ( sec):17.0 using Lo / Hi ranges
