Update as of last sunday (9/19/10) We got paint! Some smaller parts and we are starting on the jams. pics: We only painted the outer edge of the trunk because we wanted to keep some of the original paint and the paint really was not that bad. BUT something has to go wrong and it lifted in spots.
Oo how things turn south fast. Things have been slow, real slow. Turns out our right fender is most likely shot too. My grille filler piece, is a piece of junk... We dont have any time to work on the car. On a bright note, I have been collecting parts: 16 inch rally steering wheel winshield wiper bottle battery tray core support patches stainless grille moulding (still need to get the j mouldings) in dash tach headlight bezels door handles I think about the car every day all day, I just cant find time for it. Heres a :3gears: hoping for summer 2011. Any advice?
Don't let the project stop Louie. Keep going a little at a time, few hours a week. There is always something to do.
Some progress, I know I know sandblasting can warp the metal. My dads been doing it for 25 years and hasn't warped anything yet. This fender was full of hidden surface rust...Not the description I got when I bought it. oops forgot the picture
More progress: I decided to take on the task of masking the grille Saturday. Then I prepped it more using a wax & grease remover and gave it a very light coat of self etching primer. After spending a half hour in Advanced Auto, I sucked it up and picked a color for the silver and the Argent. I sprayed the silver and its a lot closer than I thought it would be. *I am not restoring this car to a show car, its a driver, therefore I used rattle cans to save money and time.* Let me know what you think of the silver, good or bad! I will spray the argent in two weeks. More progress of the door and aircleaner base: Louie
It is looking very good, I don't think some people realize the time an effort it takes to do these projects, it looks like you do....good job!
Thanks for the compliments and interest in this project, It seems like people don't follow a thread if its not an interesting car. Throughout this restoration I realized that restoring a car isn't just one big project, it's hundreds of little projects that come together to form something awesome. Yesterday we did nothing picture worthy, The aircleaner has a dusting of gloss black on it but I ran out of it. ou: My right front fender is almost ready for final primer. Next week: finish those two projects, doors come off, grille gets dark argent applied, maybe inner fender gets repaired. Later, Louie
We got a lot done today, I just didnt take a ton of pictures lol. The doors still need a little bondo in places, if your wondering why I didnt do the bottom parts, I thought it would be easier to do them when we take them off. pics: :beers2:
awsome project louie....i see you go to carlisle as well, maybe ill catch ya up there some day....going up for this spring? ill be there the 29th, pickin the isle's for an fittings and whatever else i may find that i need. keep up the good work:TU:
Thanks! We will be up there in the spring, although I don't know the exact date. Most likely the 29th or 30th. When I find out, I'll let you know!
Only 2 hours of work done today, this is what I managed to pull off: Let me know what you think of my dads bondo work, I'm his biggest critic but I think it came out great and will not be extremely wavy when the car is painted. Going back down tommorow, I have new help! My friend is going to work for us this summer and hes an aspiring car guy! Maybe not a Buick guy, but you got to start somewhere! We will only be putting 2 and 1/2 hours on it because we have football at 6 pm and dont get out of school until 2:45. Stay tuned! Expect an update tommorow night!
Wow I can't believe I haven't updated this since April! I should have tons of pictures to share with you guys but I broke my Droid X and lost all my pictures since I switched over to an iphone. Since the last update: Both front fenders are a few hours away from paint. I completely dissassembled the firewall and painted it semi-gloss black. I installed the A/C box I got from Mark and Tyler Northcutt and I'm ordering the booster and master cylinder from Mark Reeves at Then and Now Auto sometime this week. I took part of the down to baremetal, primed, and painted it semi gloss. The drivers door has way to many dents to use so we will be taking it from our donor '71. Finally, the only fire red paint left on the car is in the door jambs, on the hood, and on the roof. The only pic I have and its a little blurry:
sweet an update! This is one of the 2 threads im subscribed to so Im glad to see it. Your car is gonna turn out great Louie.