great work being done, I love the color combo and everything about this built, the craftmanship is top notch
A few steps closer: The pearl white interior door panels (made by Legendary) have been installed along with reproduction GS emblems, arm rest backing plates, window cranks, and ash trays. We looked in the trunks of all the 70 GS cars in the concours class at the GS Nats last month and its obvious that there is more than one reproduction trunk mat available for these cars. The nicer ones came from Then & Now so thats what my dad bought for his car. The other mat offered by some other company is too thin and doesnt fit or lay properly like this mat. The matching BFG spare and 15x7 steel wheel have now been installed along with a restored bumper jack. None of these will ever be used so its just for appearance. The spare tire board was speckle painted to match the rest of the trunk, just like the original board. My dad mixes his own trunk paint (water based latex) and first sprays the base color, then comes back and sprays the specks in the second step. This paint is nice and smooth like the original and doesnt have the rough texture like the trunk paint that comes in the spray cans. The original headlight bezels had lots of bad rust pits, so a nicer set of bezel cores were located, and taken to a local chrome shop to be rechromed, then painted to match. A nice set of used rocker panel moldings were found in the swap meet at the GS Nats last month. My dad polished them on his buffer and repainted the red strips. The engine compartment is almost finished now. The foams that were previously on the air cleaner have now been replaced by a set from Then & Now which have a more correct appearance (no rounded corners in the rear). The remainder of the cooling system has been installed along with a reproduction fan shroud. My dad invested many hours into the fan shroud modifying it to fit better (had to trim a lot of it to prevent it from touching the radiator) and trim and contour the upper mounting ears to look more correct. Its not going to fool any purist, but it now fits well and the ears dont stick up so high. About the only things left to do under the hood are the hood latch, the front hood bumper, battery, intall a white AC oil filter, and get a correct oil filler cap. Otherwise its finished under here. The rear bumper still needs to be rechromed so it will be awhile before the back of the car is finished. Also still need the entire exhaust system (3 with X-pipe), just need the money... The front bumper is all done and ready to install, so the next time I visit my dad it should be in place. It will really look finished then. My dad is really excited to have the car almost completed. He's wanted a '70 Stage 1 for a long, long time (about 20 years) and it's almost done.
Thanks to all of you guys for the compliments. I always pass them along to my dad and he appreciates the feedback. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon. The hood latch has been replated by the local plater, crossbars installed, and front bumper installed.
I must say that I have been watching you guys and this project pretty much from the start along with many others hence the over 27,000 views. As this project gets closer to been finished I am already starting to get withdrawals already :laugh: no really whats next? I think this thread should be a sticky, you are a incredibly talented man! Think about this for a minute :idea2: I remember very clearly back in the 80's that there was no internet then and I was always impatient waiting for the GSXRA to come or the beta or VHS tapes of the nats to hit the mail box. Fast forward back to now and we are able to watch the progress of a huge undertaking like yours, boy are we lucky. Thank you for taking the time to take pics and post them as you go along. My hats off to you guys:beer Chris
Thanks David. Thanks, hopefully next year at least one of us can make it past the first round in BSA. Even though I lost in the first round, I still had a blast. Hopefully we can get even more cars to participate next year. Thanks for the very kind words. My dad enjoys restoring old cars but he really likes saving a car like this one that normally would be considered too far gone to justify restoring. You are right that before the Internet, things were very different. We can all get more information, quicker, thanks to the Internet. For me one of the biggest downsides to the Internet is that I spend too much time on it. My dad spends very little time on his computer, but it gives him more time to work on his car. I should do the same. You asked what's next? My dad usually has two projects going at the same time and the next two cars are going to be GTOs. When the Buick is completed, hes going to restore a '69 GTO convertible, Ram Air III, 4-speed. The owner has been patiently waiting for several years for a slot in line so my dad can restore it. The other project is a '70 GTO Judge that's owned by one of my dad's best friends. It will be the 8th complete frame-off restoration that my dad has done for this same guy (the previous 7 cars were all Chevrolets). It's a documented Judge, Ram Air III, 4-speed, and has the unusual bench seat (GTOs came standard with bucket seats). I went over and took some photos of the car today before my dad starts the restoration next week. Here it is:
Thanks Jim. If your car is a strong runner then you can drop it off at my house and Ill be sure to keep it until it gets a restoration in a few years. It wont matter if it gets scratched since it will get new paint anyway. Yeah Don, this guy knows that if he gets out of line, then getting back in the loop will be hard. I shouldnt call him a customer because he and my dad have known each other for 35 years and are really tight friends. He comes to my dads house every Saturday at lunchtime to see his car, bring parts, etc. For them is more than just restoring an old car, it's two friends finding a reason to get together every week. I know this is a Buick board but maybe you guys will find these interesting even though its not a Buick. This is the latest car my dad restored for the owner of the blue GTO above (Jeff). This was the 7th car restored by my dad for Jeff. The finished photos of the Chevelle are not the best because it was almost dark outside. It was still needing a couple of things done to it when I snapped these photos last week. Ill get some better photos soon. It is a 69 Chevelle SS396 sedan. This is the only year that Chevrolet made the Chevelle SS in the sedan bodystyle. This car was built at the Canada assembly plant and sold new at Berger Chevrolet in Grand Rapids, MI. The car had a rough life in the north and there was a lot of rust. The car is fully documented as a real SS sedan and came equipped with the 325hp 396, the standard 3-speed Muncie manual transmission, and chambered exhaust system (no mufflers). They restored it back to the same configuration and didnt add or delete any options. The only things that my dad didnt do himself on this restoration were: engine machine work, chrome work, seatbelt restoration, headliner installation, front and rear seat covers (premade covers are not available for this interior style and had to be fabricated). These Chevelle sedans came with different interiors than the regular SS Chevells and also used a rubber floor mat instead of carpet. Reproduction rubber floor covering is available but are not very good but they were lucky to find a nice original mat that my dad dyed from brown to black.
That is gorgeous ! When did he have time for that one ? :eek2::eek2: I don't think anyone will be complaining if they do :spank:. Chevrolet cut some cost on galvanized gas tank straps ? Always seem them painted on other GM's. DL
My dad almost always has two car projects going at the same time, and this car has been going along at the same time as the '70 Stage 1. Since my dad retired from his mechainc job in June 2011, he now has more time to work on them. I've been talking to him about when we can squeeze my GTO's body into the schedule. All the Chevelles and GTOs that we have taken apart have had black gas tank straps. We've looked at other original GTOs and Chevelles and they seem to all be the same way. We've got a video of a 1970 GM plant and it shows a '70 Monte Carlo body being dropped onto its chassis and it has black tank straps too. I guess Pontiac and Chevy saved a few dollars by painting them. I agree that the Chevelle is a good looking car. It runs and drive good too. Of course I like the Buick better, but I'd sure be proud to own that Chevelle.
Will you be documenting the Pontiac restorations for a Pontiac site? These are great photos, I look forward to seeing new pictures of any of the cars your Dad restores! Steve
The cars look great! Tell your Dad I have a 68 Lemans 2 door HT bucket seat parts car that I am parting if he needs anything let me know soon. I saved out of the jaws of the crusher but must return car to be crushed after I pick it so LMK soon on parts needed.
Good question :TU: X2 ---------- Post added at 04:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 AM ---------- "Yeah Don, this guy knows that if he gets out of line, then getting back in the loop will be hard. I shouldnt call him a customer because he and my dad have known each other for 35 years and are really tight friends. He comes to my dads house every Saturday at lunchtime to see his car, bring parts, etc. For them is more than just restoring an old car, it's two friends finding a reason to get together every week." If this isn`t what it`s ALL ABOUT, than I don`t know! Just like the "Rolling Stones" Keep On ROCK`N! Dan
Your dad is a true craftsman! Do you know how many SS sedans they made? P.S. I always look forward to your pics!
HA! That's funny. I'm not sure what I'll do. I doubt I'll put it on the Pontiac site since I don't go on there as often as I do the Buick site, but I might actually rebuild his website and just post the restoration of the GTO on there. Thanks Rusty, I'll let him know. Does it have any vinyl top trim? I think I need a piece or two for my '69 GTO. Got any photos of the car that you could send to me at: buquick@comcast.net ? Maybe I would see something else on it that I could use for my car. Thanks. I don't know exactly ho many were built, I think I've only seen estimates, not an exact number. The GM of Canada documents says "Number produced in Canada for sale in USA: less than 133 with L35" (325hp 396) The person that knows everything about the '69 SS sedans is Dan V (Postsedan). Hey Dan, how many SS sedans were built?
