7-1 SPECIFICATIONS

1955 Buick Chassis Suspension Specifications

1955 Buick Chassis Suspension Specifications

Tire Inflation Pressures . .. Inflate to the Following Tire Temperatures:

  • 24 lbs. Starting Pressure-After car has been standing for 3 hours or driven less than one mile.
  • 26 lbs. City Pressure-After car has been driven 3 miles or more BELOW 40 MPH.
  • 28 lbs. Highway Press~re-After car has been driven 3 miles ABOVE 40 MPH.
    *Optional Sizes on Series 40 7.60″-15′ at extra cost.

7-2 WHEELS AND TIRES

  1. Description

Standard wheels are demountable disk type, but demountable wire wheels are available as optional equipment. The wheels have wide drop center type rims, designed to give ample support for tire sizes used as standard equipment. The rims have tapered tire bead seats which cause tire beads to wedge tightly in place when tires are inflated.

Tires are low pressure, balloon type of four ply construction. Tubeless tires are used with disk wheels, but tube and tire combination are used for optional wire wheels. U. S. Royal, Firestone and Goodrich tires are used in production without optional selection of any specified make.

All tires used as standard factory equipment have been worked out with the tire manufacturer for stability. This does not imply that other makes and types of tires are not suitable for Buick cars, but owing to the large number of tire makes and designs, it is impossible for ride and handling accommodations to be worked out for each one. Tires, other than those for standard equipment, may cause wander. Larger tires may reduce clearance at fenders and be difficult to mount in spare carrier.

Wheels for the 1955 Series 60, 50 and 70 models remain the same as those used in 1954. A slightly smaller wheel (15 x 5 1/2K) will be used on the Series 40 models to compensate for their lighter weight.

Tubeless tires, used on 1955 Buicks, are standard equipment except when wire wheels are installed. Due to difficulty of properly sealing the spokes of wire wheels against air loss, the conventional tire and tube combination will be used on these wheels. See figure 7-1.

1955 Buick Tire Comparison

1955 Buick Tire Comparison

Tubeless tires resist blow out from impact breaks and give a slow loss of air instead of a blow out. Puncture sealant is not specified in these tubeless tires, however air loss due to a puncture is much slower from a tubeless tire and a nail can usually be left in until a service station can be reached. The tubeless tire is also better for high speed operation because of its ability to recover from any deflections more quickly and balance of this type tire can be made to a high degree of perfection because of simpler construction.

  1. Tubeless Tire Repairs

A leak in a tubeless tire may be located by inflating the tire to recommended pressure and then submerging tire and wheel assembly in water, or by applying water to tire with a hose if wheel is mounted on car. Remove water from area where air bubbles show and mark the area with crayon. After removal of the puncturing object from tire, the puncture must be sealed against entrance of dirt and water to avoid further damage to tire carcass.

A small puncture of less than 3/32″ diameter may be sealed without removal of tire from wheel by injecting sealing dough with a gun. Punctures up to 1/4″ diameter may be sealed by installation of a rubber plug with cement, after tire has been re­ moved from wheel. Sealing dough with gun, and rubber plugs with cement are contained in tire repair kits available through tire dealers. These materials should be used as directed in the instructions supplied with the kits. If a puncture is larger than 1/4″ or there is other damage to the tire carcass, repairs should be made by an authorized tire dealer in accordance with instructions of the tire manufacturer.

  1. Demounting and Mounting of Tubeless Tire

When demounting a tubeless tire use care to avoid damaging the rim-seal ridges on tire beading. A “bead breaker” is recommended for loosening the beads. DO NOT USE TIRE IRONS TO FORCE BEADS AWAY FROM WHEEL RIM FLANGES. After both beads are broken loose from wheel rim flanges, remove tire in usual manner, starting at the valve stem, using care to avoid damaging rim-seal ridges.

When tire is removed, inspect it carefully to determine whether loss of air was caused by a puncture or by improper fit of beads against rim flanges. If improper fit is indicated, check wheel as follows:

  1. Straighten wheel rim flanges if bent or dented.
  2. Clean rims thoroughly, using No. 3 coarse steel wool to remove all oxidized rubber, soap solution, etc. Remove rust with wire brush.
  3. Inspect butt weld and other areas of rim contacted by tire beads, to make certain there is no groove or high spot. Remove any groove or high spot by filing smooth.
  4. Inspect valve stem and replace it if damaged. Make certain that valve stem is properly installed to provide an air tight joint.

Before mounting a tubeless tire on a wheel, remove cardboard spacer if tire is new. Moisten a cloth with clean water (no soap solution or solvent) and wipe rim-seal ridges of both beads to remove all foreign substance. Moisten base of both beads with clear water (no soap solution) to help beads snap into place when tire is inflated. Start tire over rim flange at point diametrically opposite valve stem, so that valve stem cannot prevent bead from dropping into the well as last section of bead is forced over the rim flange. Align balance mark on tire with valve stem.

Either a tire mounting machine or tire irons may be used; however, parts of tools contacting tire beads must be smooth and clean to avoid damaging rim-seal ridges. Take small bites if tire irons are used. DO NOT USE HAMMERS.

Remove valve core to increase flow of air during inflation. Hold tire and wheel assembly in vertical position and bounce on floor at various points around circumference to snap beads out against rim flanges. If a seal cannot be effected in the foregoing manner with the rush of air, apply a tourniquet of heavy sash cord around circumference of tire and tighten it with a tire iron to force beads outward.

Inflate tire until both beads are firmly seated against rim flanges, then remove air chuck, insert valve core and temporarily inflate to 50 pounds pressure. Leak test wheel and tire assembly under water, and if satisfactory reduce to recommended pressure.

7-3 TIRE SERVICE

  1. General
  1. Tire rotation should be practiced as usual.
  2. During balancing, utmost care should be used in attaching wheel weights to rim flanges. Careless application of wheel weights contribute to leakage at the rim seal.
  3. All tires should be inspected every month or every 1500 miles for removal of nails, glass and other foreign objects.

7-4 FRONT BUMPER

The front bumper attaching bolt holes in frame front cross member are slotted vertically to permit raising or lowering either end of the bumper for proper alignment with adjacent parts. Special shims are available for insertion between the bumper back bar and frame cross member to move bumper forward as may be required for proper alignment with adjacent parts.

NOTE: The following illustration shows the use of the jack with the 1955 bumper arrangement.

1955 Buick Jack Instructions

1955 Buick Jack Instructions