What Geoge Said! "it wasn`t intended ever for show car,but a driving machine to enjoy,i know that if i had done a frame off resto that thing would be a trailor queen and dont want that" - - Which is exactly what I'm doing, closest to body off it got was setting on chunks of 6"x6" between the frame and body so I could clean and paint both the underside of the floors and the tops of the frame (new polygraphite bushings for good measure). I plan to drive the crap out of this thing that's why I went with an ovedrive trans (somebody say roadtrip?) Doug, I got 90% of my weatherstripping from YearOne, if you call Mike Tweedy directly he may let you stack your BPG discount on top of seasonal sales (no promises there) and that makes it a little more paletable, but the top frame weatherstripping kit buy itself is nearly $200. Both of my cylinders were leaking and the lines were real brittle so I replaced them also (another $400). Fresh outta shifter parts, I sold off my last one earlier this summer to Rick (just saw one go with a console for $77 on ebay) I quit adding receipts a while ago, this is the car that I've held out for since I was a kid and I'm gonna build it the way I have envisioned it for the last twenty years. James, Thanks. I'll post a few more next week when I get some of the trim installed.
wlundI can't emphasize the parts storage issue enough. You MUST bag and everything no matter how familiar you are with these cars! And make sure you have enough good storage space to put the stuff while its waiting its turn in the reassembly process. Its amazing how much space a car in pieces takes up. The next time i will take even more photos and notes and bring baggin and taggin to a new anal retentive high! (i lost 3 weeks to a misplaced master cylinder plastic firewall seal......) Len the car looks great! Having seen and heard Len's car a few months ago i can say the pictures don't do it justice.
Len the car looks great. Please let me know how it rides with the poly body mount bushings. I am doing a frame off on my 70. I dont know how much the total cost is going to be (I probably dont want to either) but I already have 8 years into this project. I started with a 70 skylark convertible in '95 (it was my good high school friends car) and bought a bunch of parts. I then decided that if I was going to make this kind of investment I wanted a real GS455 convertible with air. So I found a 70 that needs a lot of work but came with some cool extra parts and I dragged it home from Georgia in 2002. I sold/traded the skylark to a guy who has turned into a pretty good friend and an absolute Buick fanatic, who hooks me up with alot of parts. I then had marital problems and the car sat until we fortunately were able to work them out. I have my quarter panels but am waiting for my friend to get me a car with a good trunk pan. I bought a homemade rotisserie from a local guy who makes them for $300. I hope to have the trunk pan by the middle of dec so I can get it and the quarters welded in so I can lift the body off over my Christmas shut down. I know this post is long winded but this is kind of things that happens with a frame off. You have to be committed (and maybe Committed ) to do one. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Jack.
I have done two complete frame off restorations ('64 skylark and '66 skylark). Right now I am in the middle of the third--'65 Skylark GS. I also restored a '65 Special, but did it on the frame--I found it took more time to work around everything and leave it on the frame than it did to do a frame off. I built a wooden stand to hold the body using 4x4's and 2x4's. Here is how you do it: 1. Jack the whole car up and put it on jackstands 2. Take the front fenders/hood off 3. Take all the body mount bolts out and anything connected between the body and frame 4. Take an engine hoist (cherry picker) and lift the front end of the body about 6" off the frame. 5. Put a 4x4 between the body and frame under the front mouting points. 6. Drill holes up through the 4x4 so you can put bolts through it into two of the cage nuts made into the front of the body--this secures the 4x4 to the body 7. Lower it back down with the 4x4 between the frame and body 8. Move to the back and lift the body up in the same fashion 9. Take another 4x4 and build a small structure on the top of it with 2x4's that will extend up to the body mounts (the quarter panels prohibit the 4x4 from sitting flat on the body mounts--it has to be about 8" below the body mounts to clear the quarters. 10. Bolt the rear structure to the two rear body mounts just like you did the front 11. Lower the body back to the frame with the wooden structure between the frame and body. 12. Build legs out of 4x4's onto the 4x4's protruding out the side of the body and brace the front and back together with 2x4's--use your imagination on how to do this part. 13. Once you have it built, all you have to do is take out the jackstands and lower the chasis to the ground with your floor jack(complete with all 4 wheels and the engine/transmission). 14. Then just simply roll the chasis out from under the body. 15. That leaves the body about 3ft. off the ground--plenty of room to get under it and work. I highly recomend powdercoating the frame--I found a guy that sandblasted and powdercoated my frame for $450--he is in Mocksville, NC. It will cost you more than that in paint, sand, and sweat to clean it yourself and paint it!
Len, Your car is really starting to come together. Looks great! Looking forward to seeing your progress in more pictures as you proceed. Harvey
Len your car looks really, really good.....I love the color (very unusual) and the rims.....I think the 68/69 body style looks even better as a convertible..... If anyone is contemplating a real frame off, be prepared for a lot of work and time. Whatever your budget is, double it for all the little things. You will need a LOT of space as well.... later Tim
Thanks Guys! Nice to have something to take a picture of other than just piece parts. Color is the original Tarpon Green Mist code "P" I think in 68. They matched it perfectly I had them leave some of the original paint on the windshield pillars (which was the only place that the previous 5 repaints didn't get to) just for nostalgia, you can't tell the difference at all even with the two right next to each other. Plan to have it on the road in mid-January if the parts I've got coming in support it.
You're right about the extra work. I did a 67 Chevelle 5 years ago and just today put the body of my 67 GS on my rotisserie. I also started the long and tedious job of heating and scraping all of the old undercoat off. There are always unforseen little problems uncovered when you do that. Like a rusty body mount that doesn't show up under the undercoat. Oh well, its best to find it all now and repair it properly. Harvey
