Man oh man that looks awesome! There is absolutely no way in he!! that I could have done anywhere near the same level of craftsmanship in my garage. I'm no slouch, but having the car done professionally is just "wow". Yards, thanks for your dedication in helping Nick get the chassis back together. And Nick, all I can say is you're an artist! I will see you both tonight when I get a chance to see it in person for the first time! Can't wait! :grin:
Never mind the quality, you'd have just never even had the time to put it back together regardless of the quality. I'm flabberghasted at how long it takes to bolt stuff together. Not only that, after seeing Nick do this, it is obvious that it requires an enormous amount of talent to bolt this stuff together so that it works correctly. As an example, just look at the transmission in the pics!
I've been meaning to stop by and check it out. Hard to find the time tho. Looks fantastic, and boy I want a garage like that one! Hope you guys have a great trip, maybe I'll make it next year. When you get back, consider hitting Musikfest for a few shows. Davey Knowles/ Back Door Slam is playing Monday night, and Chris Smither is there Wednesday night. Also Los Straitjackets, Red Elvises, and about 100 other acts....all free. Great beer ther too!:beers2: See you guys around!
Trans and driveshaft are in. We're rolling it into the trailer in a few minutes. This will be used in a clinic at the Nationals as an example of a properly restored chassis.
Brett- Body work is coming along. Everything except the front fenders and hood are ready for color. Driver's fender needed a small patch panel that I believe is welded in by now (see where it's cut in picture) and the hood needs to be smoothed. Target is end of month to squirt it! Below are some pics. I'm pretty sure these were before the final long boarding on the quarters. Also there's a pic of the refinished carb sitting on top of the chassis. That choke piece is NOS, but I think it's going out in the next gold cad run as it looks pretty shelf worn. I think Nick is targeting October/November to have it done. (Ahem, Nick, uh, October 12th is my birthday) Thanks to Yards for the latest pics.
Ken, what is the big red loop on the back of the engine block? Not sure If I have seen that on 455 GS.
Well, it was there originally and I assume it was used to manuveur the engine into place at assembly. o No:
Duane- I can't wait to see some color shot on it. What does Limemist REALLY look like? Especially when the metallic in the paint can be seen and isn't faded to green split pea soup. I do know that green is gonna pop a lot better than plain old white, DL. p
All of the 455s originally had these and they were used for that purpose. Many have been tossed over the years. I have some factory pics in which you can see these in use during install at Flint.
Here are some updates: <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=buttweld.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/buttweld.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=shine.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/shine.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=shine2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/shine2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=spray.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/spray.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=spray2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/spray2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=support1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/support1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=support2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/support2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=work.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/work.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=work2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/work2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Thanks for posting the update, Yards. It's hard to believe I'm looking at pictures of my car! I can't wait to see some color on it....
Nick just literally scrubbed his paint booth from top to bottom. It is as clean as an operating room. When your car goes in it will be treated in a way Detroit never saw coming.
I thought your car was some putrid green color - glad you changed your mind and went with a nice shade of gray
You nailed it, Alan, the Buick color for code 43 for '71 was indeed "Putrid Green". I'm going to leave it in primer and flame it. That's the way all GSX cars should be redone! p Can't wait until my leopard skin diamond tufted faux fur interior and 22" wheels come in....
Lemme know when you're nearly done - I want to buy you a present to complete your 27 year resto ...they have it in chome too but I thought gold was classier - it IS a rare Buick afterall :TU:
It's been a little while, but here's the update. The underside and the firewall/dash have been finished and painted satin. The body was lowered onto a temporary frame that will serve as the foundation while rolling it in and out of the paint booth. Nick will sand the top side this week and hopes to squirt it next weekend. <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/6.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/7.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/?action=view¤t=8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh41/1badriv/gsx3/8.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
