Well after getting my son squared away for his Bday (dec 18) and Christmas, I decided it was time for me to get to work. Got the engine and tranny pulled. Both have been pressured washed and degreased. Trying to figure out which color to go witho No: . Front clip and bumper removed. So far so good.
A '75 Buick engine should be blue (the AMC blue comes close to the metallic blue Buick used) Looking forward to see more photos of the progress :kodak: :TU:
Blue would be right if you want to stay close to original, but I think that Buick red is a good choice as well.
I was thinking about Buick red because I plan on installing MSD ignition and I thought it would look cool since the MSD box is red as well and it would be a nice contrast to the flat black background of the engine bay:grin:
I like the Buick red much more than blue. Watch out for some different shades that are sold (some even look purple).... Do a search here on the board. PS: I think board member 'Race Lutz' sells rattle cans for a good price. (Krylon 2114)
Ok. I am officially @ 6 months with the light resto. Since the last post, this idiot has not touched my car other than a little sanding here and there. I have not really been back to check on her because I understand that great work takes time. This guy does awesome work but should it really take this long? I am about at my wits end because he has not answered my calls in two weeks. Am I being too passive but I would love to be able to drive her before winter comes around again. Ok rant over:af:
Get in there in person and stand your ground... Lay down a date where you NEED to have the car done... Your daughters birthday or a car show will work. Tell him you have a body man ready to go if he is not going to do it... In most cases these guys will just do a slapjob effort when you push them so consider starting over with a new shop before your car becomes another example of shotty workmanship.
The sad part about it is that I have already given him half the money up front and he has not done enough work to justify that. I didnt want to get involved in small claims court trying to recoup my money.....
UPDATE!!!!!! Well after almost 10 months of minimal contact with "my body man", he finally calls me today to tell me to come check out the results. As excited as I am, I am contemplating on demanding a lowered price. He took possession of my car on Jan 1 with a deadline of no later than March 31. After that deadline passed, I extended it to June 30 because I understand things come up in people's lives that they have no control over. That being said, I had not heard from him until this morning. During all this time, he would not answer my calls or he wasn't at the shop whenever I went by there. But, each time I went by the shop, I noticed different cars coming and going each time. My guess is that he is almost out of work and money so now he wants to finish mine. What are your opinions?
So, I finally decided to have a sit down with the body shop owner about my car. Explained my disappointment with him and after some time, we agreed on a final price. It is a win-win for both of us. He informed me that I was lucky the entire car didnt fall apart when I was in the accident. The entire drivers side quarter was "repaired" with Bondo and cardboard. I am still baffled as to how some people can live with themselves doing things like that. Nevertheless, he fabricated both quarters and the drivers side door out of 18 gauge rolled steel and rebuilt the entire trunk. Now I can officially say that my car is all metal.:laugh: Pics to come soon. Hopefully he can finish while it is still warm enough to drive it once with the top down this year. Fingers crossed.:TU:
cant wait to see it! You made the right choice and now atleast you know it is fixed right and that will make you appreciate the car more.
Thanks 50. Still trying to decide on a color scheme. Definitely will not be pearl. I want something that catches your eye but doesnt stand out if that makes any sense. But then again, the 455 will definitely catch their ears:beers2:
Ok guys. I have a lot of progress. Body should be complete by end of Jan and hopefully painted by end of Feb.
Ugh.. Tony... timing timing timing.. A few years ago I scraped a 75 Lesabre Convertible White too, and red inside. I sold what I could on ebay and had to junk the rest. Car had been rear-ended, non-rebuildable salvage title I tried to talk to the DMV and they said I could have got a rebuilt VIN from them if I changed a major component. Their list of major components were frame and cowl. So I had t let it go. You could have had what was left.
Here is a pic a couple of summers ago before I started the resto... Here is a pic this summer before the new top was put on..... In person the white looks great I have white seats and red dash and door panels. I would strongly urge you to use the correct one year only 1975 blue engine color (or as close as you can get with AMC blue) My motor just got finished last week and the color is fantastic! Oh and Curtis your car lives on.... I bought the door panels, front fenders and grill from you several years back!
Are the fenders on in that picture? You must have added the corning light openings to them. Its nice to know parts live on.... I remember it being difficult to find boxes for fenders and door panels, but not as difficult as the one for the dash pad! Here's my Dads in burgundy. It too has white seats and and red dash/doors/carpet etc. I had always wondered what these cars would look like with skirts, so I Photoshopped some on, and love the look
