I got what was in that last pic from Santa Steve yesterday as well Bill!! Kinda ironic his initials are S.C., isn't it??? Haha
Pretty cool they are stamped with Delco Moraine... Even with repop stuff you pay for the copyright on the name. The were a great deal and will toss Santa some more business as work progress. Already have the stuff loose and ready to come out. Ill finish cleaning and painting the firewall and then start assemblig and working my way forward. After the engine bay is done its gonna be onto the sheet metal patching and then the interior. Gonna fire the Bad Lad with open headers to announce that chapter of completion for the neighbors! ws
Got my booster and master cylinder from Steve today too - will open it up tomorrow. Unfortunately, my car is in storage so they won't be installed until May. Bill: what did you say you used to clear coat your m/c with? UticaGeoff
I just washed it down really good with brakekleen and then used spray on rustoleo clear. Keep the plastic plugs in and go around it once lightly (like the mounting side), and try to keep the clear from getting into the chambers. After the initial coat was dry, I sat it upside down on a pint paint can and gave it a coat whenever I walked by it, probably an honest 10 coats. With a full drying time of a month plus, the brake juice should pretty much wipe off without killing the clear, Did the cap too. Just wanted it to maintain a fresh look for a while... Nothing like popping the hood and seeing 25% of a nice engine bay covered with a big 'ol rusty pile in the corner! I should replace the brake lines too, but they cleaned up well with some PB blaster and a wire toothbrush. Id call the finish "field grade". Bill in TR
"A PERFECT EXTRACTION"... Dr. Willy DDS. Got the old master off the booster, with loosened connections was able to lay it on the tire, then snug the lines back up for no leakage. Got the booster off the firewall and started doing some cleaning, especially the old OEM seam sealant. The assembly looks good but a very slight , and I do mean slight, fit up problem. Waiting for instructions from the distributor on how to handle it. Originally, there was a rubber seal between the MC and the booster, but theres no room on the new unit for the seal. I don't know if its now built as an integral part or what. The new MC matches the OEM unit exactly, via 6" machinist scale. Bill in TR
Distributor got back to me tonite and confirmed to dis-regard the old seal and use what came with the new unit only. "Use the parts that came with the new booster. Only 1 seal is used and is is supposed to stay with the booster." Thanks for the reply SANTA... appreciate it! Just didn't want to make a mistake at the critical junction during assembly. Gonna install it tomorrow and will advise on install... stay tuned. Youll be surprised at how nice the unit looks Geoff. Should be a dramatic visual improvement! Bill in TR
New exhaust gaskets arrived from REMULAC today...Truly a work of art. Imagine travelling across three billion miles of open space in 3 days when it takes the USPS a full week to travel 100 miles, AND, free shipping. Next time Im voting for BALDAR! Tomorrow Im gonna Narfel the Garthog. All kidding aside, Ive used a lot of graphite gasket stuff and preformed packing rings for pumps and valves in the power plant and had good luck with difficult sealing situations. Now Ill hafta see what that lucky #7 exhaust bolt goes in like. May be a job for the wife with those long skinny fingers. The 12 point header bolts were here on time too. What a treat. They did charge me (Fastenal) $6.01 for shipping. Probably came from URANUS LOL... Bill in TR
Ill bet it was strawberry flavored... And what a bubble! That really took Dave Thomas some practice Ill bet! Plan on making some progress tomorrow so stay tuned... today was a parts waiting day. Happens once in a while, ya know? Gotta fully charged batteries in the image reproducing device so you know what that means! Bill in TR
Got a handle on the XYLEM and FLOM... now I gotta get the WHOA to match the GO. Since no body advised otherwise about the heater plenum hanging out 3/8" I took the cut of grinder (and it aint no Dremel) and trimmed the box flush with the firewall. Now the fiberglass inboard side of the evaporator housing slides into place like its supposed to. It looked like a chunk-o-sheetmetal was was in fact a 3/16 aluminum extrusion (??) that played hell with the cut off wheel. Damn the torpedoes! Took all the stuff off the firewall, cleaned it with solvent, then re-did the remainder of the seam sealer. Let that dry for a while and got it painted and re-assembled; all the harness clips and relays etc. Off course that also meant wire wheeling all the screws and brackets and giving them a coat of black or silver. Looks pretty reasonable if I do say so. Got the new WHOA things mounted. Ran a tap through the nuts and a wire brush over the studs so they ran up with a flick of the finger. Otherwise it would've been an hour of wrenching flat by flat. Sill need to make up the clevis on the pedal, and remove the MC for a bench bleed before final install, but I had to play make believe for today. "How do I look??" "You look swell Papillion". Managed to get some other loose ends cleaned and painted, but ran outa Jutspa. Only 4 hours today and it was coffee time... Bill in TR
Thanks man! Just trying to go through the neglected systems and Purdy it up a little bit while Im in there ya know? I think Ive finally mastered the maintenance versus total restoration issue after 50 years. Yeah, its a clone but still looks BAAAD, and just want to have a dependable relatively clean old iron. Today the earth, tomorrow; REMULAC... meeps sorp! Bill in TR
Shawn... a few things just dawned on me... where from SWO are you? My sister went to OU in Athens like 1968... it was a pivotal time in my life visiting her there LOL... also, whats up with the '72 youre doing? Got a thred running on that? I float around here and usually get lost somewhere deep in the bow... oops! Post some pics! I need to see the competition! ws
Hey Bill, Been watchin' the progress, lookin' good! Glad the brake parts worked out good for you with Steve. The mock up looks good! I've had mine for over a year, still in the box. Well, I have taken them out a few times and looked at them Ha Ha! That was supposed to be on my list of summer projects for the '64. Just no time for wrenchin' with the busy schedule I had. Man, with all that room to work, are you planning to spruce up the engine block and accessories while you are in there? That would really brighten it up along with the other work you have done. Keep up the nice work and keep adding pics :TU:
Bill, I'm almost exactly half way between Dayton and Cincinnati. Not exactly Athens (a bit of a hall from there) but I do have some Buick friends there (here's looking at you Mr. Lance). No, I don't have a build thread (I'm only 5 years in to the frame off, guess I shoulda started one by now) but there's no competition! If you parked your car next to mine, you'd be getting all the looks without a doubt! My car is a low key ride, the theme is "no options but to go fast". Think "copo buick". Despite it being a huge undertaking as a frame off, it was never my intention to win any awards. Its meant to be a solid cruise night/driver car. I built it to be the car I've always wanted, nothing more or less, built for me by me and that's all. Just a fun ride to hop in and cruise for me. It'll never win any awards, just fun for me. Yeah yeah, I know you've been on me hard about that! I need to get the tear-down pics from the old man. Despite it not being concourse by any means, (not even remotely close to be honest) it would be a build a lot of guys on here I believe would appreciate. Guess I need to ****e or get off the pot myself...
Hey Mike.. no reason to lurk from afar! Last year I sold a Model T speedster build and did a long running "blog" kinda thing, but not being a purist, I didn't conform to their idea of what I "should" be doing. Personally there were a bunch of dried up old men that are also heavily into bible thumping. If I used a no-no word, theyd all join in on the thred and beat me up in the name of Jesus. Not quite that bad, but it sure seemed like it. Sixty is right around the corner for me and I was Model T'ing since I was a kid and more miles under my belt that half them ol' dryballs ever dreamed of. It got to the point that it was just no fun anymore, and no camaraderie so I left. Always wrenching on something, I went back with my all time true fave and that was Buick GS's. Ive owned a bunch in the past that at the time were merely a few years old at best. Now I am at where Shawn is... building something for me. My ride is a 1972 GS 350 that the PO cloned into a 455 GSX... its one Ive always wanted but could never just afford, and this one came along at the right price, altho suffering from neglect, was everything I needed with the worst of the work already done. In 1990, the PO rebuilt the car with new GM rear 1/4s, including all new trunk stuff, did a fresh motor etc, then parked it for 20 years in a dirt floor Morton building. Moisture took its toll underneath but was still very salvageable. Right now, I am addressing some cosmetic issues and correcting the twisted wire with black tape syndrome. Its 90% elbow grease and 10% new parts. SHOW STOPPER??? No way, but man does it get the looks and still gets in on to boot. Thanks for enjoying the thred(s) so far. Im still trying to figure out the system here, so there is some floating around. Im between and parts wanted usually. Coffees ready so I gotta roll for now, but stay tuned and by all means feel free to ad something , especially with pics if you desire. I have no objections to thred drift, if even to beat me up on the work Im doing. BTW... any solid sheet metal from the great South West?? I am in need of a solid core support for the 70-72 model years !! Bill in TR
Hi Bill, My post was mostly a compliment on your work, no bad mouthing intended at all. Just a friendly suggestion, that's all. I have been working on detailing my engine compartment too, and noticed how much easier mine would be with the access you got going there. I'm not doing a concourse job either. I do notice that my engine bay would show better if I do the block, manifold, and exhaust. Those are projects I plan to take on. I have worked on a lot of the other stuff like you have. Anyway, keep up the good work. It is shaping up nicely.
