Tailpipes are now on and the rest of the exhaust is scheduled to be installed on Monday. The drive shaft is also in. Duane
Guys, Here are 2 Original Hurst Wheel Center Caps that were just plated. There is another original just to the left of these that is really pitted and has some tape on it. The two that were plated did not look quite as bad as that one, but one had some serious road rash on it and the other had a pretty big dent in the flat area. Anyway they look really nice now. All that's left is to put the decals on and stick them on the car. Then that part is finished. Duane
Nick has a local plater that does them and I do not know who he is. I may have him do my Grille Surround. It is a very nice used piece I bought out of California like 25 years ago, but it has a few scratches on the top and 1 pit in the center bar. Right now the car has Nick's NOS piece on it, and I will have to give it back when we get a replacement bumper for the car. Duane
So cool to see how many people / friends in the Buick comminity you have helped over the years and become friends with now helping you with this car. This is a very special car in so many different ways with so many people involved in making it the very best it can really be. So many of us on the board are enjoying the build, info, and pictures. Thank you for sharing this experience with all of us.
Ryan, Thanks for the kind words, I was glad to share the build with everyone for many reasons. The story about this car needed to be told, as it has been "hiding" for many years, and I wanted to put together a "baby book" anyway, so I figured why not do it on the board. I also don't think anyone had shown many pics of a 69 build before, and as Nick has been sending me "progress" pictures all the time, it made doing this much easier. Another reason to do this is to showcase the amount of work that is necessary for a restoration. There are many guys out there doing this kind of work quietly in their garages and are getting no credit for the amount of work they are doing. Maybe they are not going quite as far as we did, but hopefully when their cars are done and people get to see them, they will understand what it takes to get one done, regardless of Make/Model/Engine size, etc.. I very much appreciate all the help I have been given in restoring this car, there is no way it could have been done without tons of people's help. I have always said if we don't all help each other out we would never get any of our cars done. Duane
Duane, where did this car reside most of it's life? I'm hoping I can find a vintage pic of it at a swap meet to pass on to you. Would be helpful to know which tracks it was run at. I gotta get down to Nicks to check it out, I'm so close. I'd like to stop by when you're there too. Looks like it won't be long until it's finished!
Walt, I believe it was originally sold in Mt. Holly NJ. I don't remember where Jimmy found it but I don't believe it was too far from there. I also don't know if it was ever raced at a track, but I do know it was street raced. Jimmy picked it up sometime in 78/79, and had it until last year. We have some verbal history, but nothing to back it up, so that's all I know. If you want to see it I would do it soon, as in this week, and not wait for me. I may not be up there for at least a week. I have to make a hole in one of the garages to put it in, and I may not get to see it until it comes home. If you wait too long, you will be seeing it at my house. Duane
Pennsylvania now lets you use vintage license plates on your antique cars as long as the plate was made the same year as the car was manufactured. I found a decent 69 manufactured plate on e-bay but it was a little stained. I figured I could clean it up so I got it. Here are the before and after shots. It came out pretty nice. Hopefully it will be on the car very soon. Enjoy. Duane
Good call! I'm a fan of the Year of Manufacture plate and MA has been letting people use them for a while. They fall under the same guidelines as antique plates - so to me, it makes sense. I mean, everyone knows the cars are antiques....
The trick with these plates is you have to make sure you get one from the correct year. PA used the same design for quite a few years, but they used different letter/number designations to ID the year of issue. There are sites you can go to that list the different sequences. Once you know that, you're golden. Just another bit of research. I really do not like the current PA "Antique" plates. I have one on my 71 GSX and I just hate it, so I wanted to do something different on this car. Sometime later I will change that one out. For 71 it would have the Liberty Bell in the center. Duane PS. I have a really nice "58" PA plate all ready for the day I find a 58 Vette.
These blue plates were used from 1967 to 1973 and MA used a sticker to signify the year - not an embossed number. That made it easier to find a nice one.
That came out nice. I too hate the antique plates. My dad gave me his from his 40 Buick but I just can't use it. I have been watching these PA plates for a long time just so picky I keep trying to find one with a 69 or my birthday or something familiar and in real nice shape since I found out you could re-use them when I titled my GTO but I have yet to find one I like with my numbers/letters They also make the 69 registration stickers for the plates as well.
