Buinicorn my 1964 wagon

Good progress!

 

Thanks again for posting these pictures of your build. Very interesting how you approach many of the problems you encounter. I too have one of those assembly manuals. A flat magnifying glass works great sometimes. I’ve even taken pictures with my phone to zoom in on some of the blurry pages and works fairly well. Going to be a very cool ride!

 

Sorry to bug you with more (probably stupid) questions? So when you are sanding the bare metal prior to paint, What is that process? Do you use multiple grades of sandpaper, or just something like 50 or 80, and then trust the primer to fill the scratches?

Thanks!

 

well, this goes to the back burner again for a bit.. but first, got the trans dipstick then reassembled the car

it's already been to bare metal (exterior), what's on it now is epoxy primer. Under will get some form of coating, the inside gets paint and spray-on sound deadener and thermal protection...

 

For soon

https://www.u-pol.com/us/en/product/upol/coatings/specialty-coatings/gravitex-plus-underbody-coating

 

months later... this is back in action so I can get back to my wagon



and back to fixing holes

first hole

second hole... the metal was contaminated with something - probably lead

brazing worked

 

and more hole welding


some welded up

 

If my calculations are correct, I have about a day more of welding - then undercoating and sound deadening. Then I can remount the body forever
so onward

patch

weld

stitch underneath

then more work making the side perfect

the whole point is to anneal the metal... it will shrink naturally but first I need to get the brittleness back out before I pound on it again

and I'll have to do this repeated before I hit it with a hammer again. Heat, let cool naturally....


mostly I have to fill the rest of the trim holes but also do just a bit of welding inside the wheel wells

 

more fine tuning.... a warning, though. This will not be perfect. I plan on driving this and even race it (though using it as my race-tow-car has great appeal to me).... okay

first get the lines within bondo distance


back it


the other side, I needed to slot the wheel well because (guessing here) the Skylark sedan has less of a curve

so weld it so water can't get behind the filler


minor grinding while waiting for things to cool


fix the corner - again, so water cannot get behind the filler


betterish... not going to spend a lot of time here... when the next rebuilder gets to it, this will give him something to bitch about

 

Looks like a LOT of work. I would get fixated on one area and stuck. Love how you are moving along.

 

Now that the '40 is running fine (enough), the Corvette is mostly maintenance, it's time to get this running....
and look, a thing happened

first, some lightening


door free




okay, decision time... do I paint underneath or just epoxy paint and undercoat?

you'll note both Buicks are on the plate (and I may take a suggestion I got about leaving the patina - for now - on the 50 and making it run....

so suggestion about the underneath of the wagon....?

 

for the next week or so, this gets front burner... I've got to get the floor painted so I can mount the body to the frame....
first, remove harness

remove frame

put on Corvette dolly


I also really need to start planning the details... things like power windows and such.... I think I have most of what I need to make it mobile.... but no gauges - if what I use needs dash mods, now would be a pretty good time to do it.... and on and on... very comfortable, fast, fast, car... one I could race if the vehicle I'm towing becomes incapacitated....

 

time to make the safety experts cringe

the goal here is get the sand out (more of the sand), and get the grease off the underside.... this is round 1


also do a bit of spot rust treatment

can't see the difference but a lot better

while the frame waits for remarriage

 

tonight was planning, mostly... I really don't want to work on this upside down

so I dug out my rotisserie and got to planning


then there was puppy play time.... Luigi's brother came for a fully puppy play date, complete with a full mudding...
That's Luigi, he's almost white when not covered in mud

but fun was had by all

 

I know, I know, I should go back to Corvette only content.... but alas, you need to suffer to really appreciate C3 content.
time to set the car in place

front brackets

assembled

in the back, I'll use the hinge mounts to hold it

welded

it even holds on the back

 

spinny time

 

ugh, I don't like undercarriages
however, it needed a full wire-wheeling plus washing... so that's what it got....



the owner of the C3 and his wire wheeling endeavors tonight

 

back to work


then this happened

*ducks!!!*
in looking around, I realized I needed to remove these

because it was full of sand and debris....


thankfully, my helper wasn't hurt


I really need to find another wagon or quarter.... I can fix it, but I think I'll do some calling around tomorrow and see if I can find something

parting shop shot

 

been kind of busy with other stuff.... but did get the floor welded in


Also got the turbo flanges....

Tomorrow is track day - so probably no update