My 76/77 Buick regals going to the darkside!

Discussion in 'V-8 Buick Powered Regals' started by Norman Martin, Aug 14, 2020.

  1. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Basically, My tactic is to sand or blast to bare metal and immediately spray small batches of epoxy primer the same day as I complete the metal work. I spray epoxy in a heated garage of course. I will get the garage up to at least 70 degrees for 24 hours before I plan to spray and then I keep it at 70 degrees for at least a week after. Any body filler I use is on top of a layer of epoxy primer within 4 days of spraying the epoxy due to the chemical bond between the newly activated primer and the filler. . If I go 5 days outside the spray window, I will spray another layer of epoxy to reactivate the primer window of opportunity. I am in the camp of those that believe that only epoxy primer should be touching bare metal. Fillers go on top of that and get sealed under a sealer.

    Basically I follow these instructions from my favorite Epoxy company- https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/perfectpaintjob. I just stay far away from the window limitations by going 5 day window instead of 7 day within reason. The good part of spraying in the winter is the relative low humidity in the cold air. As long as I get the garage up to temp, I really have no issues.

    The paint will not come for some time. Hell, I might just get the car in epoxy, do the filler, epoxy sealer and then leave it that way but use a vinyl wrap for color! Maybe change it every couple years. I dont really have the skill or place to spray a proper clear so until I can get the skill an/or location, this is what I have to do. Lord knows I dont want to pay someone else to do it. I am not cheap, I am a DIY guy.
     
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  2. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    I guess because I'm in Florida, I don't really think about heating the garage first. :D
     
  3. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    AHHH...Dick move Sir!
    I have hated living here all my life! I recall being a kid and looking out the window at these other kids doing snow angels. I was disgusted and confused as to why they liked being out there. The best military deployments for me were the ones in the winter time because I got to miss the winter here. I would honestly prefer a 2000 Saudi 126 degrees, a 2015 Kuwait 130 degrees or even the worst of them all....The infamous 152 degree heat index 2002 Qatar deployment!

    Give me heat all day long!
     
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  4. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    I feel kind of bad. I hate it when I buy the "Best of" product and get it installed only for a better product to come out right after. I purchased the 10.1 Joying Android radio and got it installed only to see that there is a newer model that is faster, more features and has a better interface. Well, good thing I purchased the original one on Amazon because I have a long return period. Today I placed the order for the newer one and even got the slightly bigger one this time.

    So the Regal will get a 11.6 inch screen instead of the 10.1 screen. I had already begun to cut up the crappiest of the two dashboards that I have to fit the big screen up high when I realized that I could actually fit a bigger screen so it was perfect timing for the discovery of the newer product. The new one should be coming in right before my return window is up so hopefully I can get a chance to compare the two side by side.

    I will attach a photo of where the dash modification sits as of now in an edit from my phone. Essentially, the location where I have it currently is just simply too far down and too much of a reach from the drivers seat position. Since this dash is already in a crappy condition, I do not feel bad about cutting it up to make it look more modern.

    Here is a link to the new one.
    https://www.joyingauto.com/new-rele...car-stereo-supports-1920-1080-resolution.html

    Edit: so in the photos you can see the difference in the sizes, the sectioned glove compartment door, the moved door latch location and the 10.1 screen location vs the new higher (slightly off center) location for the 11.6.

    20220106_093449.jpg 20220106_093027.jpg 20220106_092849.jpg 20220106_092835.jpg 20220106_092829.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2022
    FLGS400 likes this.
  5. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    Sorry Norman, didn't mean to be a dick... LOL.

    I actually like to go hang in the snow every now and then, and I'm not a ski or snow boarder. Going to Colorado in a few weeks to visit friends up in the mountains, and for my better half's father's 90 birthday. I look at it and a refreshing change...

    Florida is not all that, as it is humid as all get-out most of the year, and it rains almost every evening from July to October. If you hate snow and sub-freezing temps though, I can see where it would be ideal.

    You ever consider moving?

    Anyway... I like reading your updates on the Regal. Keep em coming please!
     
  6. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member


    I am 100% open to moving. I almost got an expenses paid move to anywhere south of Kentucky. The position I was in the final 2 and I would have to live in the region where I covered. The company was going to move the person and it would have been grand....except for.....a leadership change in the company put a hault to all hiring while they "Re-structured". That position never got hired. It just went away.

    Florida is indeed humid as hell but come up here to Chicagoland this week and you will have a different perspective on that "refreshing" thing. it is currently 6 degrees without the wind chill factor...and of course it is windy as hell out. Hell, I dont even live anywhere near the city. I am far far west of the city.

    I hope to move anywhere south of the KY/TN border and east of AL/GA border or somewhere in the southwest. I am getting older and much less tolerant of the annoyance of cold climates. I just want to go somewhere that I can afford to buy a large property to be able to enjoy. I am talking 20 or more acres. I would buy a big property here but I would be taxed to death just to own it.

    I dont mind rain, heat or humidity. Hate cold though! (As I sit here licking my wind burned lips)
     
  7. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    Well if you're looking for that much land, I believe that there are areas in North Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia that would be more economical than other states. I'm not sure about the tax situation in most of these states, but Florida has pretty low property taxes and no state income tax to worry about.

    Plus, right now in any state, there seems to be a lot of employment opportunities.
     
  8. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Yes! My new Joying head unit, a 39 inch display cable extension and the external dvd drive got delivered 3 days ahead of schedule today! I have already hooked the dvd up to my phone and played an old Hannah Montana Dvd that was laying around (My daughter is a 23 yr old college grad now, lol). I also played a burned cd and a store bought cd with music. Works great and realized that it can burn dvd's if I want.

    So basically, during the big after holidays restock, they delivered the 3 items 9 days from my order. My original delivery date was estimated to be 01-20 and I got it early this afternoon. Not bad at all!
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2022
  9. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Cool upgrade!
     
  10. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Yeah but too bad I just scratched the screen while trying to fit it in a new location. I emailed them and hope they might help me out since this is the 2nd day of ownership. Even if it was not their fault, I have my fingers crossed. I knew I should have put the shipping film back on. I was just too excited to get it fitted to the dash. Why does this always happen to me.....!!!???
    20220118_230900.jpg
     
  11. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Yeah they will take care of me alright....for $180 for a new screen. That sucks but I will have to decide what I want to do about it. It is hardly visible with the screen on operation but damn, I have a brand spanking new head unit with a scratch and that will bother me forever. I once had a brand new car that got hit with a rogue golf ball directly in the middle of the hood within 24hrs of ownership. It feels kind of like that. It kills me because I was just about to post a 5 star review on Youtube of the product. I still feel like the product is 5 star but how the hell am I going to post a video with a scratch like that. I hoped that Joying would send me a new screen since I mean it would be a nice thing to do. My youtube video would have 100% brought them more than the $180 that the new screen would have brought them.


    For the record, I understand that the scratch was my fault and that they are not obligated to remedy the situation. The head unit is fricking awesome with only a couple minor critiques. I just wish I had not set the screen down where I set it down. I would still buy Joying products but damn, this scratch is going to bother me. My review of their great customer service stands but with this slight hit. If it were my own company, I would have sent a screen out and simply asked for a review to let folks know how we took care of the problem. I will continue my custom installation of the unit in the Regal but I will stare at that scratch like a dime sized pimple for the rest of the time I own it.


    So, summary- The joying head unit is very nice. It is very fast with a very nice screen.

    My only wish is that -

    1- The widgets in the new interface were translucent like the last one so I can see my custom background on the home screen.

    2. The new 27 band EQ has 27 bands total. The older one had 16 bands front and 16 bands rear. (this is only for those that are not using a different dsp like helix or mosconi, etc)

    3. I do not like the included file manager. The old one was easy to navigate

    4. The new unit did not include the images, a few songs and videos of China and a few other locations in high def which really showed the quality of the old 1920x1200 screen.

    5.There was one more minor thing and I will update this once I remember it upload_2022-1-20_9-34-34.gif

    ---EDIT___ the 5th was that I am trying to figure out why I cannot get my Galaxy note to show up as an SD card. It is probably an issue with my phone to be fair. I will update.....
     
  12. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Well, Finally I have a pretty good update.

    --I was able to get the rough install figured out for the custom mounted Joying 11.6 with the scratched screen. I am going to live with the scratch for now but I think I will eventually buy the replacement to satisfy my OCD.


    -- I am not using the mounting system that came with the radio. The plastic clips hold the screen out too far due to the old ducting behind the location. Rather than cutting the ducting up, I decided to make a removeable cradle with ridiculously strong Neo magnets to hold the screen in place...Trust me, this thing is held in there super well. it takes some effort to remove the screen cradle from the mount. The actual brain box for the head unit is mounted below the original center speaker hole which will now be an access hole for cables and whatnot on the radio. The dash that I am using is all tore up from the sun and I figured I might as well cut it up rather than the other dash that only has a couple cracks in it. Eventually I will figure out what will go in the access hole location. It might be a center channel speaker or more likely a gauge pod for engine items. Materials used for this were simple pvc house trim from the big box store, 2p-10 rubber toughened CA glue and epoxy as well as screws and the magnets.


    --The radio works great but one issue that is bothering me. My favorite app Realdash is not working in this head unit. The other unit worked just fine. The torque app works so I know that my OBD2 bluetooth adapter is working. It may be a problem with the app. I will find out soon enough. It should not be too much of an issue because I will be ordering all my Gauges soon from speedhut and will no longer need the function that Realdash provided me.


    --The separate wireless steering wheel controls work great accept for the fact that this headunit has the google voice input for the steering wheel programming reserved for some reason. The main complaint from most people about Joying headunits is the lack of a physical or quick volume button. That issue is mostly fixed by the cheap steering wheel controls and the small quick button that when selected, stays on the screen all the time. Within 2 touches, you are changing the volume.


    --I do not have my speakers, processor, amps or subs installed so I temporarily have a speaker from an old surround sound system hooked up to the radio amp to be able to hear sound.


    --There is one "Issue" that is not really an issue. I have a custom boot screen image selected for the car. The problem is that the head unit boots up damn near instantaneously and you never see it!! Great problem to have.


    --I think I will be using Nova launcher as my default launcher because it is super simple and has everything I need within 2 swipes of the screen. I like the factory launcher but I want the ability to change the color of the home screen widgets to either transparent (so I can always see my custom background) or to red to match the car. The similar Teyes CC3 UI allows you to change the color to anything you want. Nova launcher lets me do that easily.



    That is about it. The unit is stupid fast it looks great and is fully customizable. I will add the pics later with an edit on my phone. Please excuse the messy car that is under construction and remember, This whole dash and interior will be getting custom upholstery. I am just getting the "framing" done.
    20220202_180108.jpg 20220202_180117.jpg 20220202_180148.jpg 20220202_180150.jpg 20220202_180201.jpg 20220202_180217.jpg
     
    Last edited: Feb 2, 2022
  13. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Brief update. Joying has sent me a replacement screen! I am very pleased.
     
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  14. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Edit....Stay tuned

    Edit!!! Sheww!! I got worried there. I posted a message that I got a misc box in the mail. In that box was a box that labeled LCD and in that box was my new screen.


    I then very happily made my post on this forum. Then I was like, lets test it.......only to find a powered on but non working screen. I then peed my pants a little thinking that this sucks. Just my luck. So I emailed Joying and edited this post to read "Stay tuned".


    Then


    I plugged the older screen in and low and behold same thing, no screen.....That is good! So because I am a technical guy, I decided to follow the number one rule of low tier troubleshooting (power cycle that bish!!). After removing power and waiting a minute, powered her back up and voila! old screen works. I removed power again and swapped to the new screen while crossing my fingers.


    Pow, BOOM, BANG!!!! problem solved!!


    so..... I emailed Joying to to say "disregard the previous email" and now I am here editing this post that Joying is indeed AWESOME!!


    They came through for me. I now have a perfectly new headunit with no scratches!
     
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  15. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Uh OH!!! Annual Bonus paid out.....here we go!
    [​IMG]
     
  16. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    Well, it looks like my shifter finally got shipped Friday and will be here on tuesday most likely. While I am not impressed with the 15 days that it took to build the shifter, I really hope that it works fantastic as it seems that it will. I will finally have a horseshoe shifter with tap shift. The ecu is already programmed so I just have to get it installed and wired.
     
  17. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    The shifter is here. I will definitely need todo something about deadening the rattly metal that it s made of. I know 100% that it will be a noisey part once the audio gets installed. I do not do rattles.

    Plase excuse the speakers in the photos.

    20220322_164226.jpg 20220322_164202.jpg
     
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  18. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Cool! You will have to make some videos I bet the car sounds great! I drive the same engine and trans in my lifted truck daily... with headers and 3” duals it sounds great.
     
  19. Norman Martin

    Norman Martin Well-Known Member

    It does sound great. I am running magnaflow mufflers but I may buy some cheap chambered mufflers just to see if I like the sound. I have them mechanically secured rather than welded just for the purpose of testing different sounds. Now the old Buick 350 sounded good too. I like that carbureted sound better but fuel injection is the bees knees!!
     
    sean Buick 76 likes this.
  20. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    you would like the sound of my new Buick 350 that’s almost done. it’s carbed with a CSU blow through custom Holley, 10:1, ported alum heads, billet crank and rods etc. Twin turbos. Even just with a test dummy buick 350 it sounded super cool. I’ve got EFI for it but the air fuel ratios are perfect under boost and cruise so I’m running it for now.

    That shifter is super cool!

     
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