1969 GS 400 4 speed- Canadian built- 33,000 miles

Cold as hell with gusty winds today. Completed a side project….

 

Went through all of my bolts. Being a Canadian car, it has the fine thread bolts on everything. I bought a black phos plating kit a few years ago, and pulled it out of the rafters to see if it (baseline) functioned. The water got up to 300 degree F... So, I have to get the mixture components and clean all of the bolts. I am plating the bolts I know are for Buicks on this run... Will spend some time cleaning them all before plating. May deter from the "patina"/ original look... However, I like clean hardware.. And I would place these under the "safety" column... I will post the results.

 

IF the bolts turn out well, I will help out local folks and stuff. I have most of the supplies for black and gray phos. Of course it'll be free, or a cup of coffee.. Not expensive coffee, either... Cumbie's coffee!

 

Cold as hell up here the past few weeks... Been meaning to try some plating.

I had a large assortment of Buick bolts that needed plating. I wire wheeled some, and let a few "soak" in acid prior to dunking in the plating mix. I don't have a bead blaster any longer... As the plating mix was "spent" after the assortment of bolts, I changed the mix to try on a hood hinge. I didn't clean it and "threw" it in. The heat was way too high, and there was oil on the hinge. I will NOT show that, as it came out like liver failure light gray (clay colored) sh*t....

These still need to be wiped down to get some residue off...

I have a second batch of bolts and fasteners to go in, as well as bumper hardware... As well as a few larger items and the hood hinges. These will all go into a fresh plating mix, with the heat (and current) dialed in.

I don't like rusty hardware...

 

Spent a few hours out there today. I replaced some of the bolts with original, replated ones. Engine mounts are brand new.

Now... I spent an hour out there just staring at this car.. On one hand, I LOVE frame off cars, with spotless engine bays, nicely painted inner fenders, radiator supports, gleaming red engine.. And thought "while the engine is out, I may as well..."... The same with the pulleys and parts on the engine... However, this car will not have the numbers 400 engine (although it will have a 400 engine), and not numbers Muncie, and I plan on driving this vs showing it, I feel the best course of action is just clean what needs to be clean, wash the dirt on debris off of everything, replace what needs to be replaced, and just go from there....

Thoughts?

Here is todays small progress.. I do have to paint the AC 40664 Stage 1 fuel pump, as it was rusty... And the wicked high performance Poston aluminum intake (as the previous owner painted it black), and scrub / polish the exposed ribs on the Poston valve covers....

 

We need a wow button. Curious what kit your using for black? Or are you parkerizing? I need to do some hinges and other parts.

 

Parkerizing... but using a different formula to get black oxide... The first round came out amazing. Second round they came out gray.. Then I left them in the mix and they turned black...

The hinges, Tony..... That is another story. I did them in a third mixture, and they came out gray (69's have a lighter finish then the 70-72's). They definitely received a coat... However, I don't like the finish... So, I will be stripping them (again) and coating. I'll post a pic in a sec...

 

The shine you see is a lubricant concoction I made…

 

This was another part I plated…