1948 Buick Series 70 Roadmaster

Buick returned to civilian automobile production following World War II with its 'entry-level' Special Series 40, the intermediate Super Series 50, and the top-of-the-line Roadmaster Series 70. All were noteworthy icons of America's postwar automotive boom. The Special rested on a 121-inch wheelbase, the Super had a 124-inch platform, and the range-topping Roadmaster had a 129-inch wheelbase. All models came equipped with a three-speed manual transmission with a steering column-mounted shift lever. The Special and Super were powered by a 248 CID inline-8 with overhead valves, 6.3:1 compression, five main bearings, mechanical valve lifters, and produced 110 horsepower. The Roadmaster had a larger 320.2 CID inline-8 with 6.6:1 compression and delivering 144 horsepower at 3,600 RPM.

The Buick Special wore General Motors' Fisher B-body design introduced prior to the onset of World War II. The Buick Super combined the body of the Series 70 with the affordable engine of the Series 40. The Roadmaster shared its basic structure with the entry-level Cadillac and high-end Oldsmobile.

Prior to the onset of World War II, the hierarchy at General Motors was well defined, a ladder built by GM boss Alfred P. Sloan and began with Chevrolet, then Pontiac a rung up, followed by Oldsmobile, Buick, LaSalle, and Cadillac. Although positioned between Oldsmobile and LaSalle, there was nothing inexpensive or bare-bones about the Buick. Exclusively powered by eight-cylinder engines beginning in 1931, the Buicks were high-quality vehicles that communicated a high level of status in their own right.

Styling was regularly updated, and the Roadmaster appeared in three distinct series through 1941. The fourth-generation of styling for the Roadmaster was ready for the 1942 model year, however, America's entry into World War II dictated that only a few thousand cars were produced. Production did not resume again until 1946.

The 1946 Roadmaster received richer interior fabrics than its similarly styled Super sibling, a new grille and two-tone neutral-colored instrument panels (except for convertibles) in 1947, and an additional series script on the front fenders in 1948. The previous white Tenelite steering wheel was replaced by a black version to match the change from a two-tone woodgrain instrument panel to two-tone gray-with-silver instruments, except on convertibles which used a body-color instrument panel. When equipped with the automatic, The steering wheel promoted the engine and transmission with 'Buick Eight' in the spokes and 'Roadmaster Dynaflow' in the center cap.

1948 Roadmaster body styles included a two-door sedanette priced at $2300, a sedan at $2420, a convertible coupe at $2840, and a four-door station wagon at $3,435. The sedan was the most popular with 47040 examples built (including 527 for export), 20,542 sedanettes (plus 107 exports), 11,367 of the convertible coupe (plus 136 for export), and 344 of the station wagon (plus 6 for the export market).

The Roadmaster came standard with a cloth interior, a two-tone gray instrument panel with silver-tone instruments, chrome full wheel discs, an automatic choke, an ash receiver, and turn signals. The Custom Trim option added cloth upholstery with leather bolsters, lower door panels in leatherette, and a robe cord cover. The Convertible body style came standard with power windows, a power seat, and top.

Both the Special and the Super were powered by a 248 CID inline-8 with 110 horsepower and backed by a three-speed manual transmission. The Roadmaster was equipped with an overhead-valve inline-8 with 320.2 cubic-inch displacement and 144 horsepower at 3,600 RPM. It came standard with the three-speed manual or could be equipped with a Dynaflow automatic. With the automatic, compression rose from 6.6:1 to 6.9:1 with horsepower rated at 150 bhp. GM's new Dynaflow transmission was the first torque-converter transmission fitted to a passenger car. It was so popular that it was adopted as standard equipment for 1949. Production facilities were at first doubled, then tripled, and finally quadrupled to satisfy the public's thirst for the new convenience. Within two years, 85 percent of all Buicks were equipped as such.

New designs were introduced for 1949, with both the Super and the Roadmaster sharing the General Motors' C-body platform. The Super had a shorter wheelbase size of 121-inches which it shared with the Special, and the Roadmaster measured 126-inches.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2021