I got this car off a local 'fly by night' car lot locally, i got it for $1200.00 i took it to a local mechanic that works on my whole familys cars. he said everything wrong was fixable and that the body was in unbelievable condition for its age so here are some pics before i start my project. The attachments were not working when i tired so i had to post links http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2438.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2437.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2439.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2436.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2442.jpg http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Aaronisbest/DSCN2443.jpg
Wow beautiful 4 door, you got it for a good price:grin: I have some 4 door parts if you need, plus a service manual. Hope you make it a sweet cruiser!
You wouldnt happen to have the chrome pieces that go on the edge of the doors would you? im missing the rear passenger side piece ):
they go on the edge of the doors, im not 100% sure if they are stock, but the one that doesnt have it seems like it wasnt put on after. i guess they are 'door protectors' that go on the very edge http://www.eurobumperguard.com/door_edge_guard.html those, but they are actual chrome was just wondering if they where an option or after market?
last Wednesday i gave her a complete tune up and cleaned my valve covers, turns out the left one was getting water into it and made some nasty smelly foam like substance on the inside, but after about 6 hours and 2 trips to Napa i finally finished. i can feel the difference already, next week it is time to get some quotes on paint/body work, exhaust and 'Maybe' an engine swap depending on if i need a valve job or not. Slowly working on the interior and going to replace my headliner as soon as i find the right fabric. Slowly but surly she is coming along. thanks for the comments and help! -Aaron
just ordered some parts for her! I decided im going to change the interior to black, i bought materials to make seat covers and headliner. i also bought a few extra 'effect lights' to hook up to my dome light to add a little flare. I also got rear bumper fillers from http://www.replica-plastics.com/ (best prices for the pieces i could find anywhere!) on an off note i also bought myself 2 new pairs of shoes now just working on the interior until my parts arrive then pulling the rear bumper and adding new plastic. still trying to decide 100% on a color of the exterior. Also debating keeping my original hub caps and buffing them out or buying smoothies for it. i decided that rally rims wouldn't look good on a 4 door. I also need to measure and see how many feet of weather stripping i need, if anyone knows the best place/shape of stripping to buy please let me know!! tomorrow i will take a picture of the fabric i bought for my seats, i really think its going to look good. (and yes i can sow to make them myself) well thanks again for the support and help on my first project. i will keep updating with pictures as i go along!
dont get your hopes up with the replica plastics parts. they fit terribly and need alot of work to fit even well. but there is really no other option unfortunatly. as far as valves being adjusted, if you have a 231 buick motor in your car you dont need to adjst the valves, you should have shaft rockers that have no adjustment in them.
My mechanic said I'm blowing blue smoke due to my valves that's all I really know until I get it looked at.
I don't see where he said he was going to adjust the valves. A valve job would be implying replacing the valve guide seals and lapping the valves to clear up the blue smoke. Is your mechanic sure it's not rings? You don't want to go through the expense of doing the heads and it not be the problem. Conversely you don't want to be hit by surprise when he pulls the heads then says "Oh we need to do the rings (aka whole engine)". My Centurion needs a new set of valve guide seals (and possibly guides), I never noticed the smoke after letting up on the throttle until I took this video, it clears up pretty quick. The excess vacuum during deacceleration pulls the oil through the valve guide seals apparently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL_UQX_eqEc
He hasn't really looked into it I just asked him why it was blowing smoke and he said its more than likely my valves. I'm going to take it down in the next week or two to have him look at It and get a definite answer and quote.
hey guys just a quick update, picked a color and next Monday she is going in for body work and paint. Im going to my local maaco and i know it isnt the greatest and a lot of people have had bad experiences with them but im testing my luck. This is and is going to be my daily driver so it dosent need to have amazing paint. i cant exactly remember the name or code of the paint but it is a few shades lighter than what i have and it has a metallic flake in it. Also Thursday of this week im going to get my shocks replaced so i can have a safe trip down to the Vancouver show. i think thats it for now. thanks everyone.
soooo, paint guy called and said when they poped off my wheel well trim that it was rusted under it so they are fixing it the best they can and cant replace the chrome trim, anyone have a place i could get more? need all 4.
why cant they reuse the trim??????o No: if its because of rust and they are fixing it with bondo new trim pieces wont help............. scott
im not 100% i get the car back tomorrow hopefully so i can see the total, i know the one that had bad rust under it was damaged before anyway. Was just wondering if anyone knew where to get new ones.
