Cool project, I love the cruisers! I as well love to cruise the big cars, my 75 Regal 4 door is an amazing family car, the kids love it.
Ahh the nostalgia... Just made an order. All new brake parts, new parking brake cables, all new bushings, in other words, everything new to rear. So rear will get done this winter. I have control arms and rear out, they go to blasting and painting. Also i got the paperwork. Indeed, this exact car has been the top-of-the-line car at Nokia ( which you guys know from their telephones), from 1983 to 1989. Cool history, and worth preserving. Im going to ask for old register plates. Its turning out to be bigger project every passing day, but hey, so are all old cars the more you look at them.
Winter vacation started, and i thought to give myself a few presents. Last year i bought proper welding equipment, this year i decided i deserve sand-blasting cabinet and compressor to run it. Great sale, -46%! 620 litres @ 6bar, 5,5kw motor. Made in Italy. Well, then i needed blasting cabinet. I bought the biggest one i could "afford", going bigger than this would have tripled the price Interestingly, this same cabinet with fixed vacuum costs 900€, but this one is 250€ and exact same vacuum separately bought 200€, so total of lets say 500€ with costs to install and wire it Anyways, spend about 6 hours to address few things i didnt like, and when building it, every seam and bolt-hole got put together with industrial combined glue+seam sealer so it wont leak dust to my garage. Now to buy that vacuum and install plus wire it. Takes a wheel easily. Going to blast all control arms, brake parts etc etc. Maybe next year ill present myself with painting room, i have one spare room at basement, next door to garage
So, kind of alot has been done, but little visible things. Electrician #1 newer showed up to do modifications to electric cabinet to run the compressor, now waiting #2. Hopefully next thursday or friday he shows up. I pretty much have everything i need, and i sold the manual choke Carter AFB from the car, currently without carb. Contemplating if rebuilding Quadrajet from 76 Olds 350, or rather buy either new Holley or Edelbrock. I had excellent experience on my last car from dual AVS2's, run flawlessly and got a nice fuel curve out of them, plus really crisp. Anyways. Im a sucker for chemically cleaning bolts, it inhibits with rust aswell and forms phosphate on it. As an example, yoke straps and bolts, plus register plate hardware: No mechanical cleaning, just from bath after rinsing with water. Easy and good enough for me. Meanwhile, got the fuel sending unit, painted the tank, and installed it. The black coating on the tank is stone-chip protection, since we have, and i drive, gravel roads aswell. I bought the 3-pipe sending unit, even my car had 2-pipe unit, just in case i need return-line at some point, now i just blocked the return. Hose is Gates Barricade, not sure if best what money can buy, but atleast most expensive, and ive had good success with it in past. I dont actually like how the fill tube came out. Original tank had it more middle of the opening. Truthfully, i bet its easier to fill now, and theres nothing really wrong, but hey, problems at head are the hardest to cure I got aswell the original licence plates for the car, which are also period-correct from coloring. While cleaning the licence plate "base plates", found out that rear-licence plate holder even had the old licence plate "burned" to it. These are the period correct plates it came out of showroom at 1983. To top this off, they called from national archives, from where they dug up the original registration paper ( they are sending me copy of it), which indeed states that this car was owned by Nokia 1983-1989. Now im just waiting the electrician. Then im off to set the new-for-the-car 3.23 gears and TrueTrac, and rebuild brakes etc.
Work is going very nice.. Are those black cubes on the front lights for spraying them clean? I have never seen them on Buick of this era..
At the time, headlight washers were required by law here in Finland. As were some other things this car managed to pass by being corporate car. Its like an circle came to an start, once upon a time those were mandatory, then they got dropped out from law, and now they are again mandatory with Xenon headlights, go figure. Only "problem" is that assemblys were often hideous, and indeed, these are also drilled through front bumber.. Forming rust around the drill hole, so those are going to stay. But they work, and are good, so not that big of a problem. At 1983, protecting the underside of body was mandated also by the law, and thats how my father ended up protecting this very same car in 1983. And i think that is VERY cool, it was 38 years back, when dad was 20.
As long as they work I worked with a man from Finland and he told me about the somewhat intense drivers license test. I remember something about backing up and doing a 180 with the parking brake?? A bit off the cuff but getting drafted in the Army and going on a 3 day bike ride with limited water and Wasa Crisp bread/crackers. What was the mandated process of protecting the underside? Skid pad type brackets or heavy coating of some type?
Heavy coating, and it was up to corporate who run these companies. Cant remember the company who run it off from my mind now. There were several companies, which had their own selection of car-makers they coated. That parking-brake stuff is bullshit i can tell right away Army-story might been true very well. Its only 11 years when i got off the army ( here you are required to go army if male ( excemptions if you have injuries etc/ if you want to serve at civil service)), and i remember we had some pretty tedious weeks aswell. Week at dark forest at autumn "without sleep" ( just when we fall asleep there were always some alarm and we had to pack everything up and move out to new area) and minimal food, and then long march back to barracks half-asleep. Two weeks at Lapland at winter etc..
I think I even saw a Utube vid about getting drivers license showing the test. I will take your word thats for sure. My friend Jaacko probably had almost 20 years on me and he did tell me a Army stint was mandatory.. Hey the more heavy undercoating the better.. Just look how nice it kept your car
Sorting out engine bay meanwhile. Say "Hi" to my fuel hose between fuel pump and carb Straightened its about 50" inches long, is made from two hoses with a connection at middle, and its all tucked on carefully selected assortment of different heat-resistant insulation tubes EDIT: Short list of notes. - Heater return hose is also made from 2 parts - Vacuum-operated heater valve at back of intake has been removed and replaced with straight pipe ( slightly questionable, not 100% did they use it anymore at that time. it closes coolant flow to heater when AC on full cold atleast on older models) - Homemade "craftsman" throttle and TV-cable bracketry, alongside "nice" return-spring bracket for carb - EVAP canister has been removed and blocked -Aforementioned fuel line, the hard pipe had just been cut and hose put on top of it with worm-clamp, wonder it hasnt burned down Sure theres more to find out, but for starters. What _a_ mess.
Winter vacation, here i am! I thought i treat myself.. Or whats a treat to anyone, but nevertheless.. I recently sold the manual-choke Carter AFB, and after pondering my choices ( i have one Q-jet core at my disposal), i decided to hit for #80555C Holley, 650cfm Spreadbore meant as Q-jet replacement. Mainly two reasons. I inspected my core, and decided i dont take that trouble. Ive had refurbished SU-carbs at past, so i had some idea whats ahead with worn shafts ( even i have tools to bush those, and spare bushings) and gunked up passages. Second, i wanted to finally have something i can get parts locally. That carb is bough locally too. All q-jet stuff is from order to USA. Plus ive messed with almost every carb other than Holley at my life, and i want to test it aswell. So far i havent hit on any bad carburettor, from SU's to Edelbrocks and Webers, they all work when at proper tune and condition. So i want to see this aswell. What you like about my EGR-block offs what some previous owner has done? Here it sits, pretty as a pig Then i hit problems, and suffered brain meltdown. As i said earlier, it has homemade throttle-/ TV-cable bracket. Interestingly it wont work.. Also i figured out why previous Carter had spacer between carb and air cleaner. Air cleaner hits the bracket without it, and the 1" spacer under Carter from spreadbore to squarebore. Then it has the fuel-line removed per previous post, thats one thing. Other thing is throttle-shaft parts hitting EGR-valve casting on head. Removed also some emission/ CCC-stuff which were left lying on engine bay here and there, wires just cutted with pliers, or vacuum-hoses closed shut with screws.. One last happy thing is i thought i weld plug to downpipe to install my AEM there to tune the carb at spring. Turns out, the whole exhaust is changed, AFTER downpipe. Downpipe is rusty enough that you wont weld anything there. So, some happy times ahead.
Everyone knows how blasted stuff looks. Im just happy as a pig, electrician visites at morning. Here we go... already blasted stuff for almost 8 hours Sneak peak.. I love this. Paint is POR15 rust preventer, ive had good experience with this, and lays nicely even with a brush, alot less hassle.
Brakes are done, control arms done and hanging ( loosely), waiting for the rear end. Rear is waiting a weekday while people is at work, and it doesnt snow. Blasting it at yard.. But hey. I thought to look for electric gremlins, like the power windows not working at drivers side. Tested that switch is ok, so problem is either cut wiring or blown motor. Or ALOT of gunk, but dont believe that since fuse wont blew. So, next step is to remove the door panel.. Edit: Drivers door motor is shot, so i throw my bets that the other door motor is shot aswell, and order new ones. Whats that... Is it.. .. IT IS CHRISTMAS!!!
Been ice-fishing, ordered some stuff to Buick ( hopefully last ones this winter). Rear-end stalled due to waiting new carrier bearings, my bad i didnt order them earlier, thought to put it together with old ones, but decided against since everything else is new. Spend whole day setting up gears, and this is the best i could arrive. If no opposing comments come, ill put it together tomorrow. Used Yukon gears, all new bearings. Drive Ghost of drive Coast Ghost of coast Getting it closer to root flushed the pattern out of the toilet, and its not yet touching the crown, so id call it done and cross my fingers its quiet.
Sorry to get off track but I just noticed the handle on the trunk above the license plate. Can't find that on any other similar year Electra's unless people or the dealer missed it on the order sheet if it was a factory option?
THANK YOU ALOT!!!!!!! Ive always wondered that theres something strange at my rear, but not really nailed down what. Went straight to the car, and indeed, somebody has installed that afterwards, judging by the assembly, and the part after taking closer look. Thanks!! That will stay for now, but if i get the repaint im dreaming, im filling the holes. I failed miserably at my rear. Not so far that i could laugh to it yet, but long enough i can tell what i did.. I had red loctite ( hard) at my hands, so that goes to the pinion nut, which is large, thick one from Yukon installation kit, so alot of area. Then i started to tighten it.. Without tought, my small electric impact failed me first time. Last time i did rear i had pneumatic impact. Didnt get crush sleeve started. Long story short, when i got my hands to pneumatic impact ( 40mins), the red loctite had settled, and now i cant get the nut in, or out. Ill heat it, remove the yoke, change the pinion seal since the heating very probably damages it, and re-assemble it with new nut.. Yeah, and no hard loctite to nut Beer time. E: Of course i could find a fu***ng long breaking bar and try to continue tightening it.
Too funny! I guess with those freezing winters any extra help to get stuck trunks open help with that added handle. It doesn't look bad in the pics and kinda looks like it was from the factory.. I'm sure one of the rear end experts will chime in with some tricks to get the nut off. I'm sure with heat and some extra hands will help big time. Probably some type of chemical that loosens loctite is out there.. I would wait on the breaker bar deal and have a few beers for now. Kudos for attacking this car with passion
Heat loosens the red loctite, nothing mystical on it. Just need to heat the nut and off it goes. I dont even know why in first place i put red loctite on it, but it just happened to be on my hands Santa delivered some packages thursday, now i have new u-joints, two new electric door motors, one new toggle switch "bottom", parts to build simple EVAP system etc etc. Good example why id rather order. The "special" bearings for Eaton TrueTrac are 98€ + (h)postage 10€ locally ( 2x cup and 2x bearing). Same Timken bearings at USA costs 40€ INCLUDING OUR VAT, and would come with shipping cheaper than i could get locally, from other side of the world, and if youre ordering something else also, you save ALOT.
I'm reaching here but looking at your first post pics where you show the rear door open it could be me but it looks like the rubber moldings that circles the door jam is thicker than normal? I had 2 of the same year Lesabre Customs and I don't remember seeing that thick molding. If it is different i'm wondering if its a Limo type thing or for the extreme cold. Edit: Maby i'm wrong, I just looked up the 83 for sale.. Might just be the picture angle.