And so it begins... This is my first Buick and my first car I'm doing a full restoration on self-funded. I worked with my dad restoring his 70 Olds, but it's a little different feeling when you can say, "This is my car." Before I get started, I'll hit the problem areas. I believe this car was hit in the left rear at one point. There are two places in the rear lip of the trunk where it looks to have been repaired. To confirm this, the car has had at least the rear half of the drivers quarter replaced as well. It has a 71 rear bumper loosely bolted on so that will need to be replaced. Th trunk floor is great and shouldn't need replacing or patching. Prior to sanding, it would seem as though the passenger quarter has been replaced as well, but it was done nicely and shouldn't need replacing. Both doors are in good condition as well as the fenders, save for a small area of damage on the right front corner. The front bumper that came with the car will need to be replaced as well. The floors are very solid and while the front could be patched, I can get front floors cheap locally so I plan on putting front pans in it. It is a vinyl top car and I'm not sure how much work will be needed on the roof. I'll know more once the top is peeled back. The core support is totally rotted out under the battery and it will most likely need to be replaced. The deck lid is also pretty bad. The car sat for 5-10 years? before I bought it, but after I replaced the points and condenser, it started right up. There was some clicking from the motor being a little on the dry side for about 2-3 minutes, but once it quieted down, it ran like a sowing machine, so I may not need to do a complete rebuild. As far as interior goes, it came with new Legendary door panels, (front and rear), from Year One, and the seats had been recovered right before the car was parked and while they have some water stains, I've been able to clean them up some and will continue working on them. The dash is in good shape with no cracks, but the vents on top have fallen in and the speaker is blown so I will probably take the dash pad off and repaint it while it's out. Here are some pics...
Update: So far I have redone the rear brakes, including new wheel cylinders, springs, shoes, and I had the drums turned. The front pads were brand new, but I replaced the calipers and seals on the front. I also repacked the bearings in the front axles, and while they're aren't in great shape, they'll do for now. When I tried to bleed the brakes the first time around, the new master cylinder I installed turned out to be bad so I had to go and exchange it at NAPA and the button on the proportioning valve was leaking pretty badly so that had to be replaced as well. Thankfully, we had one left over from the Olds restoration that I was able to use. Also I have reinstalled the front seats after they were cleaned. They'll need a little more work down the road, but once we get the car down off the jackstands, I'll be able to take it around the block for it's "maiden voyage" per se. Then It'll be time to start stripping the paint off the car and see what I'm working with. Yesterday, I also took the vinyl top off and here is what I found...
You have your work cut out for you. that's a lot of metal work. I'm working on one now that was almost as bad and I Had to replace the rear deck filler, both rear inner fenders , most of the trunk, a butt load of metal fab to rebuild the window opening, replaced the lower dash and both cowl boxes. Its a real job. Good luck!
Thanks. I'm hoping to be able to patch and fix the rear filler panel. The trunk is perfect and so are the rear wheel wells for the most part. I know exactly what you're talking about with replacing metal. We had to put a full trunk, both quarters and outer wheelhouses on the Cutlass we're finishing up. It is a challenge, but well worth it in the end. I also discovered some decent rust in the drivers side firewall, but it's fixable.
Yeah, it's really pretty solid compared to some of the stuff I looked at. ou: As far as full roof replacement goes, I really hope not. ray: I'll know more about the true condition of the roof when I sandblast it a few weeks from now.
Here's what I got done over the weekend. I got all the trim off the roof and the drivers side drip rail is pretty bad. It should be fixable tho. I decided to wait until I have a weekend where I can work on the car Saturday and Sunday to strip the roof, that way, I can get it in primer. So therefore I took the hood off, striped it down and got it in primer. Here's a couple pics...
I've done some digging and I've been able to find some information about my car. When I was cleaning my seats, I found, not one, but two broadcast sheets? One was in better condition that the other, but between the two, I was able to make out all the listed option codes! Here they are: 3437-GS Sport Coupe 185-Pearl Bucket Seats D55-Full length Console U80-Rear Speaker D33-Remote Mirror A46-Power Drivers Seat AO1-Soft Ray Tinted Glass AK1-Custom Front & Rear Belts B50-Custom Padded Cushions C60-Air Conditioning And here are the ones I found through research: M36-TH350 K30-Cruise Control W20-Convenience Light Group WB8-Instrument Group N31-Rallye Steering Wheel JL2-Power Disc Brakes N40-Power Steering Also, I found out through the trim tag that the car was built the 4th week of December 1969 in Flint, Michigan. It also states that it originally came with a BLACK vinyl top instead of the WHITE like it had on it, which looked very original. o No: Anyway. This is also an original California Car! It has all the emissions equipment on it including the Charcoal canister. I did drop the gas tank but didn't find a buildsheet. However, the only things I don't know about the car option wise are what tires and wheels it originally came with and what kind of mirror(s) it had. Plans for this weekend are hopefully to get at least one of the fenders stripped and in primer. Here are some pics of the original owners manual, broadcast sheets and warranty brochure...
Made a little progress this weekend. Got the most rotten section of the hood cut out and a patch welded in. Theres a nice low spot now.ou: But thats what bondo is for.:grin: I have a bunch of loose ends to tie up before I graduate in about 2 1/2 weeks, so I'm not sure how much progress I'll make between now and then, but when the middle of June gets here, I'm all in until I head off to college in August.
Ok. Some progress to report. The hood is ready for wet sanding and painting, (still a long way off obviously), but other than that and being painted black on the underside, its done. The drivers fender has been stripped, sandblasted and primed and aside from a few small rust spots and one small dent, it's perfect. Next up is the passenger fender. I hope to have the front clip, (hood & fenders) "paint ready" by the time I leave for college 2 weeks from now. From that point forward progress will be slow with only being able to work on it one day a week. So updates will probably be sparse, but thanks for reading everybody. Will post pics when panels are done.
A little more progress. I applied rust treatment in the hard to reach places on the underside of the hood. My dad welded up the small rust holes on the bottom of the drivers fender. (My welding sucks) o No: Then pulled the dent out and got the preliminary coat of bondo on the areas of concern and sanded down. Moving right along. 1st day of classes start one week from today. This is probably the first time in my life I am actually excited to go back to school! The only issue is it takes away from Buick time. If only this apartment I'm renting came with a garage. Anyway, hopefully I'll get a little more done this week. My dad took off this week but we'll be busy. Going to get the engine out of the 70 Cutlass Tuesday, (If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself). We'll make some headway on the doors and decklid for my uncle's GTO. Then cruise the Chevelle some, go to a race Friday night, and a car show Saturday morning...Somewhere in there we'll check the timing on the Buick as well as the plugs and maybe I'll even get the other fender stripped. Wish me luck!
Moving right along. Got the other fender stripped and primed this weekend. After looking over the car, I can tell that the only original panel on it is the roof (which is garbage) and the floors (not so garbage). Once I got the passenger fender off, I could clearly see that the frame was quite wrinkled from being pulled, and considering the core support and fenders (and maybe hood?) aren't original to the car, I think it's safe to assume this one got nailed in the front at some point. And the left rear is the same way. But such is life. Just another bump in the process. So basically to recap, the front clip (fenders and hood) is basically done other than some finese work. I got front floors for the car this weekend as well as the cowl shouler panel for the drivers side. My plan is to get the floors, cowl, and core support done between now and around the beggining of December. Then over my 3 week Christmas break, I'll work on getting the quarter and roof done. My goal is to have the body done by spring break of next year. Plans are great ain't they? And a question to you all. Did the GS 350's come with 15 inch wheels? I was thinking they were all 14's originally.
This should give you hope & incentive ? http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...ion-Project-quot-Kokomo-quot&highlight=kokomo
Absolutely it does. That was one of the first threads I read through when I started lurking around these parts. It's a beautiful car and it came out flawless. I can only wish my car will come out that nice.
Great progress Dustin! I know how it is to balance classes, apartments, and cars. Yesterday I finished up class at 3:15 and drove a half hour home to start pulling the motor on the 87 GN. Drove right back after and now I have my internship at 9:30. It's just important to find balance between school and cars. Have to do well in school now in order to make more money to buy more cars in the future :laugh:
Agreed on all accounts. It's crazy how fast time goes by when there's so much going on. How long have you had the GN? And yes, better grades=more money=more cars in my book too! :bglasses: :3gears:
Dustin, Looking at this thread might give you some hope as well. You can certainly save that car. Duane http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?284629-Some-of-Nicks-work-(Warning-Not-Buick)&highlight=
Now THAT is a lot of metal work. I would definitely call that a blank canvass to work with. :laugh: But she is looking sweet now! What kind of motor/trans is in it if you don't mind me asking? Looks like a 396??? And P.S. My car has two and a half quarter panels and 2 inches of bondo on the drivers side, so I can relate to that.