1949 Buick Roadmaster

Howard Stableford takes a ride in Jim Thornbury's 1949 Buick Roadmaster.

[@pilsudski36]

My very first car when I turned sixteen was a 1949 Buick with Dynaflow. It needed a lot of work, but it looked great. I couldn't drive it on the expressway, but but it was great for dates and beach trips. I felt like a king driving that old Buick! And it rode just as good as my MB 320E does today. This is the truth. Good times!

[@alanstrong55]

Seems as if the American carmakers waiting til 1949 to catch on to the real postwar designs and features. What a dream!

[@americanspirit8932]

My mother bought her a Buick Roadmaster 1949 I was 6 years old and I can remember the deal was in Brooklyn on Flatbush Avenue and my brother and I were in the backseat climbing all over it all excited about a brand new car first one and my mother happens to save the money for the car she paid cash in an icebox that we had in our apartment anyway it was a great car at Road for many many years my mother gave it to my uncle and then eventually sold to a company that use it as a snow plow with 250,000 miles on it at that time so great car great memories and thank you for the Post

[@jasoncarpp7742]

Of all the American cars of the 1940s and 50s, my favourite cars have always been the 1949-54 Buick.

[@kimmer6]

Wow, nice Buick. My dad bought his 49 Buick Roadmaster woodie wagon new and kept it waxed all the time. It spun a bearing twice so he traded it for a used electric typewriter in 1962 that weighed the best of 75 lbs. I was sad to see it drive away as we went many places with it. Pop was laughing saying that the guy driving away just got screwed. The spare 8 hole head gasket still hangs in gramma's garage. She's almost 90. This vid brought back good memories.

[@jeffreybaker100]

This is ideal. I mean with a Scottish guy driving the Buick and considering David Dunbar Buick was born in Scotland! What a perfect match!

[@ZZZZ-wz4ue]

… well No actually regarding the operation of the dynaflow. It actually is one large fluid coupling that has no actual gears like in the torque flight or a hydromatic. It operates by the fluid driving a series of turbines mounted within the front section of the transmission. This turbine setup has the ability to create a variable pitch to each of it's individual turbine fins. This of course is dependent on the amount of engine rpm and torque produced the the engine. Smooth, Gliding, Effortless …. these are just some of the various adjectives used when describing the Buick dynaflow's ride. These dynaflows show their best at highway cruising speeds easily happy around the 70-75 mph range as it's sweet cruising spot, all the while if followed by a standard transmission or automatic transmission car of the day, the car following would be hard pressed to keep up the Buick dynaflow straight eight without redlining their car. Yes, - The Boulevard Ride - The ventiports were accepted by the management at Buick after one of the jr. designers at Buick had installed them into his 47 Buick and had also put lights into them as a personal modification and touch to his Buick. The design brass liked the look and idea starting in 1949 incorporated the "ventiports" for the next 9 years up till 1958. Always get a kick out of watching pasty Brits describing their "American" car finds, all the while pulling off the American cowboy look - priceless ...

[@VictrolaJazz]

+ZZZZ Actually the boat anchor under the hood of a '49 Buick would have been spinning far faster than the modern V-8 of a '49 Cadillac due to the Buick's 3.9 or 4.1 axle ratio compared to the Cadillac's much lower 3.36--the greatest difference would be the noise coming from the Buick's boat anchor straight eight. The Dynaflow has a torque converter, Cadillac used a fluid coupling which resulted in much more positive connection through the gears. The Supers used an horrendous 4.30 axle.

[@SiLvErUnIt911]

Amazing.

[@erniegwright]

ZZZZ, I could,not agree more with you, us pasty brits do look stupid in stetsons, your tech. description of the Dynaflow is spot on Ive been fixing them and all the others for over 48 years, nice car the flags a bit OTT so is the shirt!!!

[@hanschenk2708]

GREAT CAR WISH I COULD FIND A SCALE MODEL

[@rarevhsuploads4995]

Han Schenk they exist in 1:24 scale & with a hardtop at 1:18.

[@KimSevern]

Doesn't that car have hydraulic windows, seat and top? Isn't that worth being mentioned and seeing operate? 😢