1957 Buick Roadmaster 75

[electra225]

The first air conditioned car I ever saw was an all-black '57 Roadmaster 75. Many Roadmaster 75's were built in a solid color. Two-toning was considered too sporting, apparently, for such a refined, dignified automobile. Art would two-tone and even three-tone them. That and a set of Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels really made an eye-catching combination for a RM 75. My personal favorite of all the cars we did was a RM 75 that was Garnet Red over Raven Black with a Desert Tan roof, and K-H wire wheels. Black and white leather interior.

The carpet in a 1957 Roadmaster 75 was unique to it and the 1958 Limited series. All Roadmasters in 1958 were 75's. The Limited took the place of the 1957 Roadmaster 75. The carpet they used was long pile, very soft almost like a cat's fur. Lots of insulation as well.

[walyfd]

Carpet may have been karakul nylon (a brushed deep pile) or mouton. Mouton is sheep fur and was available in the Eldorado Brougham at no cost. It was also available in series 75 sedans and limousines. It was standard in chrysler imperial Ghia limousines and many Rolls-Royce models.

There was actually a furrier who supplied the pelts and matching mink, Sable and chinchilla coats for the models... think it was Robert's or something.

All nylon interior fabrics were "mink tested" so they didn't pull or fray the guard hairs on coats.

Again, this is why limousine seats were upholstered in wool broadcloth or worsted cord.

[Dr. Radio]

Cadillac was THE car of cars and stars. The name alone was household... but, fir the conservative, successful business man who worked everyday, a buick or Packard were highly regarded as not showing off to clients...

As for hats... I've been wearing fedoras since high school. Wow was I out of style!!! Today, they're back....

Last trip to NYC. I'm the old guy on the left. My "little brother" who's 18 years my junior is on the right. We just left JJ Hat on 5th Avenue and had hats blocked and cleaned.

"HAT -iquette" is really an almost dead art...

So, if one was in the market for a fedora, are there any recommended places to search for the right one?

[electra225]

SMS in Oregon used to get us the correct carpet for the '57 RM 75, on special order. I don't remember if it was the same as the Eldo Brougham or not. I was thinking it wasn't, but don't quote me on that.

Walt, I like the suit you had on in that picture. Very classic and distinguished.

[Firedome]

"I think we tend to underestimate the value of the present and remember the best of the past".
Of course we tend blot out the negatives, and that's probably to the benefit of our mental health, but one needn't reject the benefit of modernity and tech advances in order to also realize that some of the things we've lost as a community and society as a direct result of some of that technology have not been beneficial. The book "Bowling Alone" by Robt. Putnam illustrates it well. No one wants to go back to bloodletting and coal tar poultices, nuclear saber-rattling, or separate drinking fountains but despite the more primitive science and cultural practices of the times there were many positive aspects that are sorely missed, a time when families and communities were closer and products were made with pride in mind as much as profit. I for one like to use my rose-colored glasses from time to time while still appreciating what we do have right now, I can appreciate the best of both worlds.

As to finding the right chapeau, I got mine as a special order from a local men's clothier who's been in business downtown for generations, stand-alone hat stores are gone. Harry Truman started out as a haberdasher! There's also some good sources online, hownever I prefer to patronize old-line stores when possible. Nice used hats can also be found from time to time at yard sales, consignments shops, and so on.

SMS can be a terrific resource, but beware of their reputation for glacial order fulfillment at times!

[electra225]

SMS and Kepich Exhaust were two vendors you ordered from when you took the first bolt out on a restoration. Kepich used so much shipping tape on their exhaust systems, it took two weeks of cutting the tape, then using lacquer thinner to remove the residue. Their pipes were perfect, dead nuts on. Curves and turndowns correct. Flattened where they should be. Sometimes best to wait for the best rather than to put some half-done junk on, then having to remove it around all the new paint everywhere.....

[walyfd]

JJ's is a great place for hats but you really should be measured. Plan a trip to New York! https://www.jjhatcenter.com/

SMS is a great resource and about the only supplier of their kind. I got a pre-sewn headliner for the '62 and a vinyl top for the '91. Great products but SLOW....

Pretty sure I used kepich for exhaust on the '57 and one pipe had to be rebent.

[electra225]

Kepich is the only place that makes the "trash can" mufflers for '61 thru '64 Buicks correctly. And the only place that can get the bend behind the front wheels on dual exhaust systems for those cars correct. There is a heat shield on the corner of the frame that is in the way if the bend is not perfect. Kepich was not perfect and they were slow as pond water, but we never found anybody better or that gave better results.

[Firedome]

In Buick was the '57 the only year with a large exhaust port in the rear bumper? '56 seemed to have just a small indent in the bottom of the bumper. I loved the big exhaust bumper ports on '57 Olds, Cads, DeSotos (pic o' my old car) back then, it made a big impression of power to a little kid, a cool '50s feature I've always liked and have sort of returned, albeit not as cool as the originals.

[TC Chris]

The '65 Olds Starfire had exhaust exiting via special side ports, just in front of the bumper. Exhaust gases flowing past the chrome bumper were not kind to it.

Many cars of that era also had "resonators," an additional small muffler way aft where they could collect condensation and rot away frequently. I always figured that these were designed to be dealer profit centers. I replaced mine with pipes.

Chris Campbell

[walyfd]

Not really. They did cancel out the exhaust noise. Cars with resonators are quieter. A trick GM did was to drill a 1/8" hole at the back of the resonator and muffler so they'd drain. Part of a dealer oil change was to make sure the holes weren't clogged.

[TC Chris]

I always enjoyed a bit of V-8 rumble, so eliminating the resonator was a two-fer.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

The resonators on my Electra sit right under the front floorboards on each side, right behind the front wheel. The get a lot of heat, so if you stay out of salty road slop, they last pretty good. I don't know that they did all that much in quieting the engine, really. The 1956 and 1957 Buicks were the only two years Buick stuck the exhaust thru the rear bumper, thankfully. The dual exhaust 1956 models had that feature, the single exhaust models didn't. Dual exhaust was standard on Century, Super and Roadmaster. All the 1957 models had the feature. The single exhaust models, Special only, had a block-off plate on the left side.

[William]

My 1973 Buick Riviera GS had dual exhaust. The mufflers were kind of under the rear seat floor and slightly forward under the front buckets. The resonators were all the way to the back with just short exhaust extensions by the rear bumper. It was a very quiet car as far as exhaust goes.

Bill

[electra225]

I don't recall any Buick with a factory exhaust system that was loud. Even the Skylark GS with the Stage 1 engine was relatively quiet from the factory. It was common for people to add different mufflers on those cars. I had Flowmasters on my '71 Electra, along with the factory resonators. It had a straight thru exhaust, but was not loud.

[Firedome]

The bumper exhaust "ports" rusted out quickly on '57/58 DeSotos, so to have solid originals like mine was rare. Dealers often routed the exhaust pipe under the bumper and a blanking plate was mounted in the port and painted black. A lot of replacement bumper ends wee sold a few years after the cars were new. Those ports are one of those '50s quirks I love!

I like a subtle sound of V8 power and quiet on trips so prefer to keep the resonators. For some reason Olds V8s have a very distinctive/different sound unique to them, not sure why: type of resonator, firing order, or something. I can tell an Olds by sound without seeing it. To this day in my mind I can still hear the sound of our neighbor Mr. Van Sant's beautiful white & blue '59 Olds 98 4 dr flatop hardtop backing out of his garage!

[electra225]

The starter on a Buick has a unique sound. The ring gear for the starter was on the torque converter instead of the flywheel. The idle on a Buick engine was lumpy due to camshaft overlap and the odd firing order, with number one cylinder on the right bank.

[walyfd]

Cadillac started the exhaust through bumper in '52. Looks cool as "deleted" but, by '57, dealers were replacing bumper ends like crazy. The '54 and '55 style were especially prone to rotting. Thankfully they dipped the exhaust in '58 and the ends are the same for '57 and '58. Chrome would peel or discolor and if the car ran Rick, the ends would be black...

54 and 55 cores are so hard to get, someone made reproductions years ago. Go for huge $$$...

Then there were the cast aluminum bumpers on Eldorados that turned to white rust.

By the mid 50s, seems like everyone was porting through the bumpers. I liked the Continental back end with the tire, the lights and the ports. So elegant.

[Firedome]

I loved those Caddy bumper ports, the lady next door had '53 then a '56, and people on the street behind us had new '57 and '58 Cads (he was a builder, good to be in the '50s!), I used to go in their driveways just to look at them. I was a weird car-crazy kid the kind that would ask the neighbor why he didn't have his car undercoated. lol. Anyhow those Caddys got me fixated on bumper exhaust ports, and yes the dealers did a lot of replacing. They don't repro those for DeSotos so you have to have bad ones re-welded and chromed.

I too was crazy for the Conti Mk II, I went to Woolworths on York Rd and got a Revell model of one right after they came out. So low, long, and formally sporty.