This 1948 Buick Roadmaster convertible, offered here on Facebook Marketplace in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, blends postwar style with recent mechanical freshening. Showing 35,000 miles, it’s powered by Buick’s straight-eight engine paired with a manual transmission, and the seller reports it runs and drives. Recent work includes a new exhaust system, brakes, water pump, fuel pump, hoses, belts, plugs, wires, and carburetor. The entire underside has been cleaned and painted, and while some fabrication is still needed on the rockers, the floor pans are described as being in very good condition. Thanks for the tip T.J.!
The Roadmaster’s long, flowing fenders and imposing grille make it one of the most distinctive Buicks of the immediate postwar period. The convertible body style adds to its desirability, while in need of some help to make it functional, and the seller notes that the car comes with numerous parts, including N.O.S. hood and trunk emblems. The rockers will require some fabrication, but the solid floors make it a strong candidate for a complete restoration.
While the listing doesn’t provide specifics about the interior, the Roadmaster’s upscale appointments would have included a roomy cabin, chrome-accented dash, and plush seating. The pictures show an interior in need of a lot of help to return it to its glory days.
Under the hood, Buick’s Fireball straight-eight delivers smooth, torque-rich performance, ideal for relaxed cruising. With the extensive mechanical work already completed, this Roadmaster should have a strong foundation for either immediate enjoyment or as the basis for a full concours-level restoration.
Buick’s Roadmaster was a flagship model in the late 1940s, offering a combination of size, style, and luxury that set it apart from most American cars of the era. With its solid structure, excellent trim, and recent mechanical attention, this example could be the perfect project for a collector who appreciates the elegance of postwar American convertibles. Would you finish it as a high-end restoration or keep it as a well-sorted driver with character?
Hey, hey, Beer City, by gar, that takes me back. Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee really and stirring up some ghosts there. I believe most of us remember this car from the heartwarming movie “Rain Man”, although theirs was a ’49, same car. I think it was probably the best movie for both Hoffman ( who I think has a 1 second spot in a new Mazda commercial) and Cruise, a stark departure from his wild “Impossible” movies. We saw very few, if any convertibles, and with our 3 weeks of summer, they weren’t popular. What are those, “Trippe” speed lights? Those will make the ammeter drop, not a city car option, and I don’t think this car was a Wisconsin native. More like that brother stationed in Texas fresh out of the army, bought a new Buick ragtop, that he dreamed about while slogging through the trenches of France, ( or so it was told) and eventually made its way back to the Badger, where it sat for who knows why. You can see how much has been done, and obviously, ran out of steam, or cash, and for a car like this, should be no problem selling.
Nah, he wanted a new Hudson with electric shift.
Post war grunge on a former post war beautiful car. The grunge does nothing to entice buyers.
You don’t want to get that nice interior wet.
Be nice to see the asking price or current bid. The link to Facebook takes one to the login page and for those of us who have never and will never be a part of FB, we can’t get behind the wall.
Clearly a full restoration would be required here and I’m not sure, unless doing all of your own work, that one would not be underwater almost immediately.
Agree with your observation that one would be underwater almost immediately. I would also like to know the asking price but also couldn’t find it. If restoring it appears that all the chrome would need to be re-plated, and I can’t begin to imagine what that cost would be – surely in the many thousands of $$$!! Would probably be a better candidate for a restomod – remove unnecessary chrome trim, and paint the rest body color.
Not to worry, already sold.
I agree with Eric_13cars. No Facebook; no way. What is the asking price?
“I’m a very good driver”
Sold, probably to someone who recognized its desirability: Buick, Roadmasher, big straight eight, convertible, manual transmission, rare, complete. Rust repair is the biggest downside; all else is no big deal. This is not just another’57 Chevy. Restore it correctly, keep it, enjoy it.
Agreed. It seems like the difficult parts intensive work is done. It looks like all the trim is there, I didn’t catch an interior picture but the top and body look complete so I guess the interior is the same. It would be expensive to restore, but no hunting for hard to find parts.
Ugly car, really really ugly.
So ugly, it’s cool!
Very Art Deco styling. If you don’t understand or appreciate that, clearly you wouldn’t be capable of understanding.
The Roadmaster straight 8 is the biggest most powerful Buick engine of the period. With a manual transmission instead of the common Dynaflo is extremely desirable.
The brakes on those Buicks are dual leading shoe type and in proper order provide powerful braking even for little old ladies.
In good tune it’s unbelievably smooth since it eliminates the second order harmonic that all V8’s suffer from.
It also has the fireball cylinder head which provides astonishingly decent fuel mileage in spite of the size and weight.
As A 14 year old Kid I raced a Buick sedan version like that in hobby stock and was surprisingly successful against cars more than 10 years newer. Due to its low speed torque. I could delay braking until I was inside of a 56/57 Chevy V8 and in getting around that big monster I had the torque to basically hold off the Chevies. Especially since the Hobby stocks were the first out on the muddy track. Recapped snow tires were my trick. Every body else just spun their tires in the mud but those snow tires combined with my weight let me push around lighter cars.
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I’d get her running, fix the brakes, install some wide whites, throw an indian blanket on the seat and take it to the next cruise….