This is the one Buick that I still wish I could find today. It represents a time when most of us were proud to be American, as opposed to the girlie men of the here and now!!
About what it is. Big, heavy, loud, noisy, flashy, gas guzzling, pollution belching, the kind of automobile Americans are addicted to. Today's autos just don't have that appeal.
I have had several Buicks from 1953 to 1955. I also know about the 1956 Buick. The 4 ventiports were on the Century, Super and Roadmaster from 1955 to 1956 and maybe newer. The Buick Special had 3 ventiports. The 1954 Buick only had 4 ventiports on the Super and Roadmaster. Back in the 1930's the Buick ventiports were actually functional exhaust pipes and a safety concern so the exhaust pipes were rerouted and the chrome ventiports became a decoration. Many Buick body parts were interchange from 1954 to 1956. The tail light assemblies will fit 1955 and 1956 the same. The factory air on 1954 & 1955 had the evaporator coils mounted un the trunk under the rear deck and had transparent plastic vent tubes blowing the air forward and also had hollow channels in the interior hood chrome molding to direct the cold air the front passenger compartment. The optional factory air package costed about $750 which was a lot back then. The 1956 Buick air evaporator coils were mounted under the front dash and used the dashboard vents. Those dashboard vents were not available on the 1955 and earlier Buicks. The V8 fireball engine which was more of a Y8 shape was first available and standard equipment on the 1953 Buick Century, Super and Roadmaster. The Special had the straight eight in 1953 and earlier. The Special and Century were shorter and narrower and much lighter than the Super and Roadmaster. The California Highway patrol (chips) used the 1954 and 1955 Buick Century with the lighter body and the factory 322 CID engine which was faster than the Super and Roadmaster because of the weight. The 1954-1955 Special had the less powerful incline 8 engine and was slower. The electric window and electric seats and power steering were a factory package included on all the 1955 to 1956 2 door Roadmaster Riviera models and available optional on the 4 door sedans. The Roadmaster in the video probably Special ordered the option. Power brakes were optional on all models. The dual exhaust began in 1956 on the luxury models. It was potentially available in late 1955 but could not be done together with the power steering feature because of the location on the box frame interfered with the dual exhaust pipe routing. I know this is TMI but I have years of experience on old Buicks to share.
My mother's '56 Buick had factory air that was integrated into the dash. The factory air utilized the adjustable vents on either side of the lower dash as this example offers, and a center vent in the top of the dash that blew refrigerated air to the back. The power brakes were adequate for an adult driver, but not for a teenage boy (I learned to drive in a '56 Buick), and I remember it being super reliable.
There were no 6-cylinder Buicks in 1956. There were different size v-8s. The 4 ports holes and the three portholes were an indication of the trim (and size). The four ports were for the Roadmaster. Three ports on the Super. The high-end Century had four and the economy sedan had three. Also, there were no FM radio options in 1956. I am 81 years of age and once owned a 1956 Buick Rootmaster that I inherited form my great grandmother. It was big, and fast (for the time). It did have bias ply tired which would wear out in about 20,000 miles. Mine was black on the bottom and white on the top with red upholstery inside. It was fairly good gas mileage on the highway, but it sucked gas around the city.
You are dead wrong about the number of "portholes." You note that the three portholes represented a "6-cylinder" engine and the four portholes represented an "8-cylinder" engine. Buick did not manufacture a "6-cylinder" engine in the 1950's, all Buick's were "8-cylinders." For '56, the three portholes were put on the Special model, which had the smaller "8--cylinder" engine. The four portholes were placed on the higher end models, Century, Super and Roadmaster, which were equipped with a large "8-cylinder" engine with greater horsepower.
That is a fantastic 1956 Roadmaster, in a great color combination. The presenter made a glaring error regarding the venti-ports. They had nothing to do with the engine being a six or eight-cylinder. All Buicks built from 1931-on had eight-cylinder engines, until the compact 1962 Special, which came standard with a V-6. The 1956 Buick factory A/C system was located under the hood, not under the rear shelf area, as this car appears to have. It's definitely an aftermarket system on this car. More research needs to be done before presenting a car you're not familiar with.
Imagine living through the Model T years and being young enough to remember it then in 56’ Buick builds this. You’d have to be in total awe. Power equipment is natural to have these days but in 56’ total luxury. Even in the 60’s power equipment was in your most luxurious. I remember these around but they were old then. In those days a car 5 years old was looked at as old. There was changes every year, nowadays my 08’STS looks similar to newer models
Nice car. My mother had a '58 Roadmaster, white with light blue interior and fully-equipped including the air suspension. The rear deck AC looks to be aftermarket. My recollection is that this year still had the rear-mounted evaporator with the wonderful clear tubes leading to ducts and vents along the headliner. '57 and '58 had 2 side and 1 center cold air outlets. One spiffy thing was the pair of floor-mounted switches, one for dimming and the other to activate the "Wonderbar" Radio scanning feature.
Buick didn't have any 6 cylinder engines in the 50s. Three ventiports indicated the Special model. four indicated the Super, Century, and Roadmaster models.
4 venti-ports as Buick called them meant RoadMaster. Three venti-ports meant Special or Century, ie. lesser cars. Buick did NOT offer a six after about the mid-1930’s
I'm 73 and yes, General Motors was behind on their AC. This was a factory AC for 56. In fact, some Olds also had AC in 53 and it too was in the trunk. Chrysler and Packard had the same style. It was Nash, in 1955 who first had AC installed in the dash. They were the first to have a clutch for the compressor so that you could totally control the inside temp. These type AC units offered little control over the coldness of the air. All the compressors ran wide open. The way to change the temp of the air was to bring in more outside aid to mix with the cold. Again, this is factor AC.
My first car in college around 1967 was a '56 Buick Special Pillarless. This had none of the powered features of the upscale models, but it had no body pillar between front and back doors. It had the 350cu V-8 and the two speed Hydramatic. A real slow boat. I junked it around 1971 after the column transmission selector slipped from "reverse" to "low" while backing up one day. That tore up the transmission. Too costly to repair. I replaced it with a '59 Rambler Cross Country station wagon - perhaps the most useful and cost-effective car I've ever owned.
ALL Buicks fron 1931 on had 8 cylinders. 4 holes meant a Roadmaster, three holes were used on yhe low priced Special. The Super and the Century used 4 holes in 56, but that wasn't true in all years. There were no 6 cyl Buicks.
2:11 4 ports means 8 cylinder 3 means 6 cylinder- hogwash. Buick built their last 6 cylinder in 1930, until 1960's when they issued a v6. Number of portholes had NOTHING to do with number of cylinders.
The 1956 Buick Special With Three Port Holes Also Came In Eight Cylinder, So Three Port Holes On The Side Does Not Mean It Was A Six Cylinder, Your Statement Was Totally Incorrect, Try To Learn The Automobiles Of That Ara Before You Make Untrue Statement Know What You Are Talking About.
This guy should have done his homework on '50's cars, much less this car. Those aren't "targets" over the headlights - they are gun sights. Power Windows, if you can believe that? Hello? I believe Cadillac had them in the late '40's. My dad had a '54 Roadmaster hardtop Riviera 2-door with power windows in the front - but crank in the back. I was 16 at the time and thought that was totally weird. Plus, the '57's were just like the '56's except for more chrome. So much for changing the body-style. We then got a '56 Century convertible - the hot rod of the Buick line. I was 17 - and driving around in a fire-engine red/white top /red leather seats, power antennae, signal-seeking radio, etc. The local dealer had this as a demo and he gave my dad a good price.
Many cars of this vintage had air conditioning in the rear, and most of the early systems were made by Frigidaire, and non GM companies licensed it. Look over car videos for Oldsmobile and Cadillac for ways the rear A.C. was brought to the front through tubes on or in the headliner, a little later on some GM vehicles gave you the option to have both front and rear A.C. in the same car with complete units in both the dash and trunk, our Lexus and Highlander now both have this.
Portholes did not have anything to do with the number ops cylinders. In 1956 all Buicks had V8s. the 4 portholes symbolized that the car was Buiock's flagship: the Roadmaster. The other models had only 3 portholes on each side.
some years the Century was a 3-holer...check out a 1954. some years it was a 4-holer...1956. But yea, the RM and the Super were always 4 holes. so everyone here is correct! lol
@@davida.logansr1692 Pontiac first offered its optional A/C system in 1954, and it was located entirely under the hood. Pontiac was among the very first to do so.
You are incorrect on the portholes. All Buick’s were 8 cylinder. In 1949 when the portholes were introduced, only the Roadmaster had 4 portholes. By 1956 only the Special had 3 portholes, the Century, Super and Roadmaster had 4 per side. I believe that in the 2000’s the Lucerne had 3 portholes per side when equipped with the 3.8 V6, 4 per side when equipped with the Cadillac Northstar V8.
@0:29 Jets and gyroscopically stabilized true rockets back in those days represented Nazi Germany better not America (The Messerschmitt Me 262, and V1 & V2 rockets) LOL
All 56 Buicks were V8.
3 port holes were for the Special series.
This is the one Buick that I still wish I could find today. It represents a time when most of us were proud to be American, as opposed to the girlie men of the here and now!!
This car is Beautiful and the color is perfect
LONG LIVE THE ROADMONSTER
About what it is. Big, heavy, loud, noisy, flashy, gas guzzling, pollution belching, the kind of automobile Americans are addicted to. Today's autos just don't have that appeal.
I have had several Buicks from 1953 to 1955. I also know about the 1956 Buick. The 4 ventiports were on the Century, Super and Roadmaster from 1955 to 1956 and maybe newer. The Buick Special had 3 ventiports. The 1954 Buick only had 4 ventiports on the Super and Roadmaster. Back in the 1930's the Buick ventiports were actually functional exhaust pipes and a safety concern so the exhaust pipes were rerouted and the chrome ventiports became a decoration.
Many Buick body parts were interchange from 1954 to 1956. The tail light assemblies will fit 1955 and 1956 the same. The factory air on 1954 & 1955 had the evaporator coils mounted un the trunk under the rear deck and had transparent plastic vent tubes blowing the air forward and also had hollow channels in the interior hood chrome molding to direct the cold air the front passenger compartment. The optional factory air package costed about $750 which was a lot back then. The 1956 Buick air evaporator coils were mounted under the front dash and used the dashboard vents. Those dashboard vents were not available on the 1955 and earlier Buicks. The V8 fireball engine which was more of a Y8 shape was first available and standard equipment on the 1953 Buick Century, Super and Roadmaster. The Special had the straight eight in 1953 and earlier. The Special and Century were shorter and narrower and much lighter than the Super and Roadmaster. The California Highway patrol (chips) used the 1954 and 1955 Buick Century with the lighter body and the factory 322 CID engine which was faster than the Super and Roadmaster because of the weight. The 1954-1955 Special had the less powerful incline 8 engine and was slower.
The electric window and electric seats and power steering were a factory package included on all the 1955 to 1956 2 door Roadmaster Riviera models and available optional on the 4 door sedans. The Roadmaster in the video probably Special ordered the option. Power brakes were optional on all models. The dual exhaust began in 1956 on the luxury models. It was potentially available in late 1955 but could not be done together with the power steering feature because of the location on the box frame interfered with the dual exhaust pipe routing. I know this is TMI but I have years of experience on old Buicks to share.
gorgeous in every way!!
My mother's '56 Buick had factory air that was integrated into the dash. The factory air utilized the adjustable vents on either side of the lower dash as this example offers, and a center vent in the top of the dash that blew refrigerated air to the back. The power brakes were adequate for an adult driver, but not for a teenage boy (I learned to drive in a '56 Buick), and I remember it being super reliable.
There were no 6-cylinder Buicks in 1956. There were different size v-8s. The 4 ports holes and the three portholes were an indication of the trim (and size). The four ports were for the Roadmaster. Three ports on the Super. The high-end Century had four and the economy sedan had three. Also, there were no FM radio options in 1956. I am 81 years of age and once owned a 1956 Buick Rootmaster that I inherited form my great grandmother. It was big, and fast (for the time). It did have bias ply tired which would wear out in about 20,000 miles. Mine was black on the bottom and white on the top with red upholstery inside. It was fairly good gas mileage on the highway, but it sucked gas around the city.
You are dead wrong about the number of "portholes." You note that the three portholes represented a "6-cylinder" engine and the four portholes represented an "8-cylinder" engine. Buick did not manufacture a "6-cylinder" engine in the 1950's, all Buick's were "8-cylinders." For '56, the three portholes were put on the Special model, which had the smaller "8--cylinder" engine. The four portholes were placed on the higher end models, Century, Super and Roadmaster, which were equipped with a large "8-cylinder" engine with greater horsepower.
That is a fantastic 1956 Roadmaster, in a great color combination.
The presenter made a glaring error regarding the venti-ports. They had nothing to do with the engine being a six or eight-cylinder. All Buicks built from 1931-on had eight-cylinder engines, until the compact 1962 Special, which came standard with a V-6.
The 1956 Buick factory A/C system was located under the hood, not under the rear shelf area, as this car appears to have. It's definitely an aftermarket system on this car.
More research needs to be done before presenting a car you're not familiar with.
Imagine living through the Model T years and being young enough to remember it then in 56’ Buick builds this. You’d have to be in total awe. Power equipment is natural to have these days but in 56’ total luxury. Even in the 60’s power equipment was in your most luxurious. I remember these around but they were old then. In those days a car 5 years old was looked at as old. There was changes every year, nowadays my 08’STS looks similar to newer models
Gorgeous Car!❤ That color combination is so mid-fifties! ❤
Thanks for sharing. 😊
(subscribed)
Nice car. My mother had a '58 Roadmaster, white with light blue interior and fully-equipped including the air suspension. The rear deck AC looks to be aftermarket. My recollection is that this year still had the rear-mounted evaporator with the wonderful clear tubes leading to ducts and vents along the headliner. '57 and '58 had 2 side and 1 center cold air outlets. One spiffy thing was the pair of floor-mounted switches, one for dimming and the other to activate the "Wonderbar" Radio scanning feature.
Buick didn't have any 6 cylinder engines in the 50s. Three ventiports indicated the Special model. four indicated the Super, Century, and Roadmaster models.
4 venti-ports as Buick called them meant RoadMaster. Three venti-ports meant Special or Century, ie. lesser cars. Buick did NOT offer a six after about the mid-1930’s
By the time WW1 Pt 2 (WW2) commenced, Buick had not offered a 6 for several years. All were 8s.
WOOOOOOO 👏👌
The vent reports on the side did not indicate the Size of the engine Buick did not. Build a six cylinder engine only the Fireball 8 cylinder.
That's a gorgeous example of a Roadmaster!
I'm 73 and yes, General Motors was behind on their AC. This was a factory AC for 56. In fact, some Olds also had AC in 53 and it too was in the trunk. Chrysler and Packard had the same style. It was Nash, in 1955 who first had AC installed in the dash. They were the first to have a clutch for the compressor so that you could totally control the inside temp. These type AC units offered little control over the coldness of the air. All the compressors ran wide open. The way to change the temp of the air was to bring in more outside aid to mix with the cold. Again, this is factor AC.
the number of holes does not designate the number of cylinders and power windows were available in 1948.
My first car in college around 1967 was a '56 Buick Special Pillarless. This had none of the powered features of the upscale models, but it had no body pillar between front and back doors. It had the 350cu V-8 and the two speed Hydramatic. A real slow boat. I junked it around 1971 after the column transmission selector slipped from "reverse" to "low" while backing up one day. That tore up the transmission. Too costly to repair. I replaced it with a '59 Rambler Cross Country station wagon - perhaps the most useful and cost-effective car I've ever owned.
ALL Buicks fron 1931 on had 8 cylinders. 4 holes meant a Roadmaster, three holes were used on yhe low priced Special. The Super and the Century used 4 holes in 56, but that wasn't true in all years. There were no 6 cyl Buicks.
2:11 4 ports means 8 cylinder 3 means 6 cylinder- hogwash. Buick built their last 6 cylinder in 1930, until 1960's when they issued a v6. Number of portholes had NOTHING to do with number of cylinders.
The 1956 Buick Special With Three Port Holes Also Came In Eight Cylinder, So Three Port Holes On The Side Does Not Mean It Was A Six Cylinder, Your Statement Was Totally Incorrect, Try To Learn The Automobiles Of That Ara Before You Make Untrue Statement Know What You Are Talking About.
You do good presentations beautiful car would of liked to see the engine, was this car for sell or just to show
This guy should have done his homework on '50's cars, much less this car. Those aren't "targets" over the headlights - they are gun sights. Power Windows, if you can believe that? Hello? I believe Cadillac had them in the late '40's. My dad had a '54 Roadmaster hardtop Riviera 2-door with power windows in the front - but crank in the back. I was 16 at the time and thought that was totally weird. Plus, the '57's were just like the '56's except for more chrome. So much for changing the body-style. We then got a '56 Century convertible - the hot rod of the Buick line. I was 17 - and driving around in a fire-engine red/white top /red leather seats, power antennae, signal-seeking radio, etc. The local dealer had this as a demo and he gave my dad a good price.
The '55 Buick had the air conditioning outlets on the back deck. The '56 Buick had the air conditioning vent in the center top of the dashboard.
Buick never had 6cyl engines in the 50's.
Many cars of this vintage had air conditioning in the rear, and most of the early systems were made by Frigidaire, and non GM companies licensed it. Look over car videos for Oldsmobile and Cadillac for ways the rear A.C. was brought to the front through tubes on or in the headliner, a little later on some GM vehicles gave you the option to have both front and rear A.C. in the same car with complete units in both the dash and trunk, our Lexus and Highlander now both have this.
Portholes did not have anything to do with the number ops cylinders. In 1956 all Buicks had V8s. the 4 portholes symbolized that the car was Buiock's flagship: the Roadmaster. The other models had only 3 portholes on each side.
Armando Marin-Arias, 4 port holes can also be found in Super and Century Series. Only the Special have 3 port holes.
@UCXm3qKdn2I4JWnSqwnyN3ng From memory, the Century, Super and Roadmaster were the senior Buicks and the 3 portholes was for the Special.
@@davidtosh7200 I stand corrected. Thanks.
@@alanblanes2876 I stand corrected. Thanks.
some years the Century was a 3-holer...check out a 1954. some years it was a 4-holer...1956. But yea, the RM and the Super were always 4 holes. so everyone here is correct! lol
RARE
You forgot to mention the "X frame" which is virtually indestructible.
Cadillac had A/c in the rear but also had it in the front
That would be called dealer installed air my dad has a unit in his 56 packard clipper
Many males had rear deck mounted a/c Packard and Buick, Olds, Pontiac were among them.
@@davida.logansr1692 Pontiac first offered its optional A/C system in 1954, and it was located entirely under the hood. Pontiac was among the very first to do so.
You are incorrect on the portholes. All Buick’s were 8 cylinder. In 1949 when the portholes were introduced, only the Roadmaster had 4 portholes. By 1956 only the Special had 3 portholes, the Century, Super and Roadmaster had 4 per side. I believe that in the 2000’s the Lucerne had 3 portholes per side when equipped with the 3.8 V6, 4 per side when equipped with the Cadillac Northstar V8.
There were no six cylinder Buicks in 1956. Only the Special had 3 ventiports; Century, Super, and Roadmaster wore 4.
You mean AM station.
That’s not aftermarket a/c, that’s factory air conditioning!
The music is unnecessary,
Bro tell the price in $$$
Beautiful car. Awful music.
Typical car salesman - poor product knowledge. Numerous inaccuracies.
This guy has no idea what he’s talking about….
@0:29 Jets and gyroscopically stabilized true rockets back in those days represented Nazi Germany better not America (The Messerschmitt Me 262, and V1 & V2 rockets) LOL
You talks too much and not showing the whole car. Boring blapping mouth. Show the whole car period.
Talkative
Most cars in the 50-60s had 460 air conditioning, 4 windows down at 60 miles per hour.
My dad had a 56 Roadmaster 2 dr no post. Try and find one today? I have been looking for some time.
THIS GUY DOES NOT REALLY KNOW MUCH ABOUT BUICKS !