1970 Sherwood Green Stage 1 restoration

Discussion in 'Members Rides' started by priariecanary, Aug 26, 2014.

  1. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    I dropped this '70 Stage 1 GS 455 off for restoration with Rich Johns yesterday at his shop in Ontario. The car is very rough but surprisingly complete and original. The Stage 1 engine still has the VIN stamped in the block and doesn't look like it has ever been out of the car. Same for the BB transmission, rear end, and frame. Rich and I (ok Rich did the work, I just mostly got in the way) pulled the engine. I am bringing it back to Minnesota with me. While Rich is restoring the car, Jim Weise is going to build a new engine for it. I will put the numbers matching block and heads on the shelf so I can drive the completed car without worrying about hurting the original stuff.

    The car was built during the first week of December 1969. So it has the pointed lenses, clear top overflow tank, and plastic radiator cover. It was pretty well optioned when it was built, with disc brakes, black vinyl roof, black buckets, console, rally gauges, 8-track player, air conditioning, auto trans, and I-have-never-seen-another-set-in-my-life-14 inch "Super Sport" wheels. I have purchased the following parts for the car from board members so far. Thanks for the help!

    Wheelz - Restored console and wide pin Stage 1 emblem
    Marxjunk - NOS cigarette lighter
    GS Spoken Here - NOS clear top overflow tank
    TurboV6 - Restored 8-track player.

    I will be looking for a new passenger side fender and front bumper core for sure along with who knows what else. I will also post occasional pics and updated as progress is made.

    Bonus - The engine got to spend the night in it's birthplace of Flint Michigan when I stopped for the night on the way home!
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Rich Johns

    Rich Johns Platinum Level Contributor

    Great finally meeting you yesterday Stacey.
    Have a good trip home.:TU:
     
  3. turbotimmer

    turbotimmer Well-Known Member

    Is this the sherwood car that was on craigslist in the New England area maybe a year or so ago?
     
  4. BUQUICK

    BUQUICK I'm your huckleberry.

    Looking forward to seeing this car restored. It's in very capable hands and will be beautiful. I love that color!
     
  5. Jrif12

    Jrif12 Member

    just thought I'd throw this offer out your way...

    I'm from Southern California and am heading out to Kentucky in October for the Buick GS Nationals, I'm bringing some parts for a few other members who needed some larger items as well. If you are planning on going and need fenders, bumpers, etc I'm making the arrangements now and taking deposits so that I know what all I can fit and need to bring with me in my trailer.

    All my parts are stored indoors and are pretty much all California rust free as well. Like I said just throwing this offer out there, and if you're not interested then no worries at all. Feel free to pass my offer around to whomever else.

    -J
     
  6. 70SherwoodGS

    70SherwoodGS Well-Known Member

    I love this car....for obvious reasons. And it's only 3 weeks off from mine. Same color, same plant. Sweet!
     
  7. Buick Johnny D.

    Buick Johnny D. New Member

    Nice car it's in good hands I bought my 70 GS from rich and it's a Sherwood green 455 car too!
     
  8. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Making progress - stopped by Jim's shop last night. He had the original engine disassembled. It looks like the engine had never been apart. It had the original head gaskets and we were able to find the missing "S" in the SS block stamp. One S was visible from the exterior and the other S was buried under the cylinder head. The flex plate was cracked and was probably the reason that the last owner stopped driving the car and parked it in their yard way back when.

    I also gathered a pile of parts from various sources over the past few months. Long armrest bases, NOS Tri-shield exterior mirror, NOS headlight doors, NOS right fender to replace the rusty one that came with the car. I also bought a huge stash of parts from GS Fred including a correct Stage 1 carb to replace the '71 service replacement carb that came on the car.

    Jim will be getting going on the engine build using a different block and heads. I will put the original Stage 1 block and heads away for safe keeping. Its am exciting to be moving from the parts-gathering stage of the restoration to the reassembly stage!
     
  9. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Yes the car was on Craigslist in Massachusetts about a year or so ago.
    .
    .
    .
    Update - Still gathering parts. I found a NOS quarter panel and another set of long armrest bases on Craigslist. Craig's also produced a backup set of Super Sport wheels so I have enough wheels now for all 5 locations including the spare. I also bought a nice Deluxe steering wheel on Ebay and had it restored so that part is go to go. Almost all of the stainless trim is at a polisher in Minneapolis. I plan on meeting up with JW later in the spring to hopefully see the engine run on the dyno. It will be Jim's "Super Stage" build with a little more snort than stock but a stock external appearance including cast iron exhaust manifolds. I will post some pics and engine details after it has been dynoed. I can't wait to hear it run! Next step is to pack everything up and deliver it to Rich in Canada for when he starts on the car restoration.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2015
  10. 54Rich

    54Rich Silver Level contributor

    Better spin those wheels, most of mine were bent. Took 12 to get 4 good ones. I have extras if you need them. We receated these in 15", so I'd have more tires choices. Took 15" chrome (the chrome was bad), had them power coated, put trim rings on them.

    https://www.facebook.com/pages/1969-Buick-Restoration/131828133564349?ref=bookmarks

    I spent the day with Jim on my motor, learned a lot.

    Rich
     
  11. Guy Parquette

    Guy Parquette Platinum Level Contributor

    One of my '70 Stage cars came with 14' super sport wheels...I kind of like them.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2015
  12. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Well, I am glad I have 8 wheels now. I assumed that the 4 wheels that came on the car would be good but that's probably a bad assumption. Whoever owned the car when it was last on the road probably wasn't big on car maintenance - they pretty much drove the car until it stopped running then parked it. Looks like that's what happened to your car too.

    I scrolled through your FB build thread from start to finish this morning. Awesome job! I don't have the talent or even the shop to do what you did. Nice work. I used to live across the river from you in Stillwater but got relocated overseas for work for a few years. So I have the additional handicap of not being on the same continent as my car at the moment...so everything is getting farmed out.
     
    Guy Parquette likes this.
  13. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Still gathering parts. Craigslist has provided a bunch of stuff recently. Extra set of Super Sport wheels, air cleaner assembly, and quarter panel. Got a nearly perfect set of armrest bases from GSFred, better than the sets I found originally. Got all the stainless except for the rocker moldings and wheel well trim back from the polisher. It looks fantastic! Checked in with JW, engines not done yet - maybe by end of summer.

    FullSizeRender.jpg
     
  14. Rich Johns

    Rich Johns Platinum Level Contributor

    Stacey
    I will be starting the restoration of your 70 GS Stage 1 very soon.
    I will keep you posted.
     
  15. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    I dropped a pile of parts off at Pure Stock over the weekend. Rich has separated the body from the frame. Frame has been straightened and a couple of small rust repairs made. The suspension A-arms and control links now have new ball joints and bushings. New Posi installed in the rear end. All of the numbers and codes on the frame and axle are still visible and in decent shape. The frame and chassis bits are getting bodywork just like the topside of the car. Rich makes the underside look as good as the pretty parts that you can see on the top of the car. It's a very painstaking process. He will start on the body next.

    From the look of the chassis and rear end the car was never abused too badly. Whoever originally bought it took pretty good care of it. I don't think any of the major components had ever been out of the car before I got a hold of it.

    GS_Frame_Rear.jpg

    It's hard to tell from the picture but the frame is hanging from the lift in the background and the rear end is on the stand in the foreground.That's a NOS quarter panel I found on Craigslist on the floor.
     
  16. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Here's a closeup of the frame after painting. This thing didn't look this good when it was new. The frame and suspension pieces are all painted an ready to go.

    Frame_Closeup.jpg

    On the paperwork front, I finally got around to applying for a title and license plates for the car in Minnesota. I wasn't in a hurry because the car sat for a year in storage after I bought it, then sat for a long stretch at Rich's place in Canada. Then I was living out of the country for work for a while so I didn't have a US address to register the car to anyway. Well, I got a letter in the mail the other day. The Minnesota DMV wants to see a bill of sale from the seller listed on the title. The guy I bought the car from in Massachusetts left the title open after he bought it from the previous owner in Kentucky. He never registered it in his own name in Mass.

    All that elapsed time since the Kentucky owners sold the car must have raised a red flag at the DMV. I called and explained the situation after 20 minutes fighting the automated phone system and being on hold. The DMV now wants a "Surety Bond" equal to 1.5 times the car's value before they register it, just in case there is any skullduggery, previous theft, or other weirdness going on with the car. I called my insurance agent to see if they offer Surety Bonds. This may be the hardest part of the restoration process.
     
  17. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Some rear ends were originally painted sort of halfway black and some were just left unpainted, depending on what plant the car was built in. Rich painted the rear on my car so that it looks unpainted but won't rust now. Notice how he detailed the welds to add the appearance of heat discoloration just as the original raw steel part would have looked after welding. This guy is an artist!

    Rear_1.jpg Rear_2.jpg Rear_3.jpg
     
  18. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Passenger quarter panel getting welded in place on the body shell. Note the repairs on the wheel housing.

    Quarter_1.jpg Quarter_2.jpg Quarter_3.jpg
     
  19. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    Some photos of the completed body shell and rust repair on one of the doors...

    Body1.jpg Body2.jpg Body3.jpg Door1.jpg

    Searching for parts has slowed down recently. I think I have most of the big stuff and Rich is purchasing the rest of the supplies as needed. The Sonomatic radio is off getting rebuilt but has a bad clutch for the preset mechanism, trying to decide if it's worth fixing or if I should look for another one. I got a set of T-3 headlights and a few other odds and ends that I will drop off in Canada when the engine is done.

    I ordered a surety bond for the title from my insurance agent and will send it to the state of Minnesota so they can proceed with the title work. My new Minnesota license plates came in the mail which is weird. I guess you don't need the title to get plates. Speaking of plates, I also got a nice set of 1970 Ohio plates for the car which I can run on the front since that's where the car was originally sold when new. I did the same for my '65 and my '67 with a set of Colorado and California plates from the correct year. My '62 still has the original California plates from the original owner.

    62plate.jpg
     
  20. priariecanary

    priariecanary Stacey

    More progress pics:

    The underside of the car is painted the correct black and then the Sherwood Green body color is fogged in. The underside of the car wasn't masked when body color was originally painted so this is how they typically look from the factory.
    Sherwodd_Fog.jpg
    Complete rolling chassis.
    Complete_Roller.jpg
    Front suspension detail.
    Front_Susp.jpg
    Rear suspension.
    Rear_Susp.jpg
    After the body is lowered on the frame.
    Body_On_Frame.jpg
     
    Guy Parquette and Weisguy184 like this.

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