Thanks! I run solo but been doing it since I was 13....I still look out the eyes of a man your age but the body reminds me it's 44 years young!:laugh:
The Harbor Freight paint gun that usually cost about $15 actually works really well for painting frames. When your done your only out very little $$$.
I agree and I gave it some thought but just continue to use a Campbell Housfield gun i have had for years and clean it up after each use. That extra money saved in product and throw away gun goes to other necessities.
Hey Mark, doing alright. Still recovering from my second neck surgery, on duty injury...... Still wet sanding SLOWLY....... I don't have ur email address anymore, but i can just pm you some photos when done. The twin turbo is up & running, just needs to be tuned...... Hopefully get her done in te next few weeks.
I made a little more headway this weekend. I removed the last of the under dash items (wiring harness and pass side kick panel) and gave the floor pan a wire wheel treatment where it needed it from a leaking heater core once upon a time. I then applied Rustmort to neutralize it. Nice solid floors. I also cleaned and applied Rustmort to the inner cowl; looks like a new car out there. I prepared the metal dash with 320grit wet sanding and cleaned it for new coating. I applied two coats of dark blue metallic paint. I also rebuilt the M/T steering column and prepared it for color change from black to dark blue metalic and applied two coats of paint to it. I prepped, painted and installed the pedal bracket under the dash and the clutch / brake pedal assembly. I installed the BBB steering intermediate shaft that was already restored. That made way to install the new brake booster prepped and painted and master cylinder prepped and painted bare steel color and connected the brake lines. Patio time and martinis...Cheers!
Saturday I got to work on the NOS 1971 455. I installed the gorgeous 1971 rebuilt heads and swapped to T/A Stage 1 springs, removed the NOS cam and installed the TA -C110 cam, the new Edelbrock Performer intake, oil pan, NOS timing cover and prepped and applied BUICK red coating. Next I installed the mini starter, wired it with NOS pos and neg battery cables and a very nice GS 455 wiring harness and installed new motor mounts. I installed all the heat shields and wire gutter. Next I installed the Eastwood coated exhaust manifolds. Everything has new ARP bolts; those are quality! I then prepped the trans to install, bolted it to the OEM bell housing, installed the new billet flywheel and the new Rock Crusher. Love the 1969 Edelbrock Valve covers freshly polished. Sunday gave way to some house chores but then a couple final tid bits and then I installed the drive train. I had time to prep and apply two coats of semi gloss black to the the cowl and everything visible and extra attention to blind areas that I treated with phosorous so this thing is solid for life..After the engine and trans were bolted in, I bolted up a fresh Q-jet built my my good Pal Dave Knutsen. Much more to do but great strides every weekend. I have a NOS 6 blade short shaft water pump that I will be installing. Cheers!
I dedicated Friday a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday and most of Monday on the Skylark and made some more steady headway. Its really starting to come together and I am pleased with the stance and look forward to seeing the doggies on the rear meats. The sleeper look is really what I am after and that faded paint and little rust spot does the trick. Not in any particular order but here is the progress: I Freshened up the windshield wiper motor & pump and applied a couple coats of aluminum Duplicolor to it and a couple coats of satin black to the wiper transmission parts and cowl screen. I installed the restored heater box with new heater core and fire wall insulation kit. 1/4 " butyl tape seals the box to the outside fire wall. I Prepared the pinch weld and installed the new windshield, wiper motor, transmission and cowl screen. They look crisp and clean. I installed the new Delphi Lifters and Edelbrock timing chain & gear set. Next weekend the degree wheel will tell the rest of the story. I replaced the factory front seal with the neoprene seal from TA on the new timing cover and assembled the NOS oil pump onto the housing with Melling Gear set & TA adjustable oil pressure regulator. I installed the new 6 blade short shaft water pump and applied two coats of clear enamel to that and the new harmonic balancer as I like the clean look against the BUICK Red engine. I prepared the inner fenders, hood hinges and underside of hood and applied satin black coating. I hung the radiator core support, the inner fenders and fenders and lined up all the gaps nicely and tightened it all down using a dab of assembly grease on all the threads to promote longevity. I cleaned up and prepared the exposed portion of the sheet metal panel between the back glass pinch weld and package tray that is painted Dark Metallic Blue like the dash. Photos:
After taking a couple weekends off away from the Skylark, I spent some time forging forward. I installed a very nice OEM GS455 under hood wiring harness from a donor car and a pair of early Cadillac Horns that definitely get any ones attention when blasted. I installed a new battery tray and clamp from TPP. I cleaned (inside and out) a very nice 1969 gas tank and refurbished the straps and bolts. I fashioned a top of tank pad from a product I have a roll of that is very similar to the factory product only it is white. I applied a thick coat of rubberized under coating to the bottom and sides and installed the tank. The cam degreed in nicely and that allowed me to button the engine up. I installed the new timing cover and balancer and a new Stage 1 fuel pump using the new ARP bolt set. I also installed a new fuel line from pump to carb and the factory clip that secures it to the water pump bolt, and made the connection to the fuel supply line. I still need to install the return fuel line and the fuel system will be complete. I installed NOS Kenne Bell Blow Hard Flex Fan, that's quite a nice piece! I installed an AM&P lifter valley oil baffle, the T/A gaskets and the performer intake with the new ARP bolt set. The fresh Q-jet is bolted on and ready to go. The MSD distributer, coil and 6AL (mounted inside the car) is installed and 8mm wires and new AC Delco plugs finish the ignition system off. I am waiting for the Mr. Gasket wire separator rails and new Mr. Gasket T Bar hold downs to finish the neat under hood appearance I am looking for. The heater hoses and the new belts are installed. I have ordered the radiator hoses and will pick them uup next week. The valve covers are temporarily installed and a restored OEM oil filler cap. I installed a restored OEM rear sway bar and F41 rear frame braces. Today I have only a couple hours to spend on it. I pulled the trans back out to install the new clutch and complete the 4 speed linkage connection so its now operational. I measured to order the new drive shaft, 56-1/8”. That all went very smooth. The easiest trans install I have ever done which is great as I was in no mood for a fight! I spot welded the floor hump into place. I started to install the cowl to hood seal from METRO but they shorted me 2 clips so it is not finished. That’s it for this weekend’s update. Some progress pics:
Yes I have made some headway, been too busy with other things to update the thread, so I'll try before this weekend.
It has been about a month since the last update. I have made some time since then to keep making progress although a bit sporadic compared to the summer. The project is coming along, and I have tracked about $13K spent & 200 hours into it to date. I have some big ticket items that need to happen before I fire it off and hope it all works and drives. I am projecting about $2K more & 80 hours to get it driving and new interior. I remember as a kid one of my dad’s favorite songs was Blue Bayou; of course The Linda Ronstadt version was preferred. I thought it is fitting to name the project “BLUBYOU” and get plates for it. By the time I have the engine broken in & bugs worked out, I should have the money for the final step of the plan to make it “Street Sleeper” and it can live up to it’s name. Anyway not sure it’s in chronological order, but here is what has gone on since the last update: The correct date coded blue seatbelts were soaked in detergent, scrubbed and rinsed and look like new for the most part. I disassembled the latches, prepped, refinished and assembled them ready to install when I get to upholstery. Eventually I am likely going to find two more belts to replace a couple that are starting to fray on an edge and are not as nice as the rest. The windshield wipers were installed with new blades completing the cowl work. I want to preserve as much of the original factory floor insulation as possible. The front factory stuff was wasted due to leaking windshield, body seams and the neglected heater core. I cut and fit new floor insulation at the front section from the same 3M material I used for the gas tank insulation. The remaining factory material will suffice as is. It is ready for new jute and carpet. The NOS GM Key blanks were matched to the new door locks and ignition switch and the trunk and glove box locks are keyed alike. All now have been re-installed with new gaskets just like new. The MSD 6AL is installed and wired up. It is concealed under the dash and the new MSD Blaster 3 coil is also installed and ready to run. I installed a new Belkamp Voltage regulator but swapped out for an original AC Delco cover I restored to keep the vintage appearance under the hood. I had to take apart the engine wire harness I previously installed at the dash socket to install a heater fan wire as the OEM harness was originally from an A/C car which utilizes a secondary harness to power the fan with the A/C components. I removed the fan wire from the old harness & block that was in the car originally and transplanted it into the GS Stage1 donor harness now in it, tested and all good! All four new headlamps were installed and all new radiator hoses installed. The repop shroud and radiator insulators show up Monday from TPP. I will install those Monday and the hose hook to complete heating / cooling system. I also found a correct 70 hood latch release handle in CA and some other odds and ends that I expect the mail will also deliver Monday. I installed a new Sony 4x10 speaker in the factory dash location. I opted to leave the ’70 Sonomatic I had on the shelf in the box and installed a decent looking and working ‘69 unit I had as it has the “BUICK” push buttons which I prefer the look over the ‘70. Hey it’s a 10/69 car anyway and looks great with the Hurst in view, so why not? I installed the glove box door and ash tray that were stripped and refinished. I prepared and refinished the original dash pad which turned out very fine. It is now installed I procured and installed a new ground strap kit to complete engine electrical work. I ran the radiator over flow tank and the windshield washer tank through the dishwasher taking advantage of wifey being out of town. ”Car parts in the dishwasher”; good stuff. Those are installed and waiting for the washer hose to show up to complete. The interior wiring harness is all buttoned up. I prepped and sprayed the plastic chrome on the instrument cluster. It was nasty before and at least now is uniform and clean looking. I used the Silver paint pen to dress all the openings and all in all looks decent . The ‘70 M/T speedo is installed. I opted against reinstalling the clock and not spending the money for rally gage. I am waiting for the in dash tachometer from the Parts Place to finish the dash and have a tach. Stewart Warner gages will handle the system monitoring. I also installed the OEM clutch pedal neutral start switch & pigtail. I installed the hood and everything was looking spot on until I installed the grille. There is fitment issue with the top of the grill and bottom center of hood making contact. It is not noticeable until the grill goes in. It appears the hood lip is 2.-125” whereas the other 70hood I have is only 1.5” which allows for it to come down over the top front of the grill. Strange I have never seen this all the years. The lip is two pieces and the top piece was the culprit. Off with the hood, out with the cut off wheel to remove that extra metal so the top and bottom lip match and measure 1.5". Again, it is only one piece to the double wall construction and the spot welds are closer to the front so no matters to be concerned about; just trimming extra material. Set the hood back on and it’s all good now! Now the grill bumper and running lights....ahhh, juice is flowing through her wires for the first time since it was parked in 1999.....the front bumper is going back to the shop one day for more straightening drivers side still a bit tweaked... I removed all the window, roof and door weather stripping and now ready to install the METRO kit I have. Next weekend start in on the chore to refinish the trunk and set the back glass. After that, it comes down to some big ticket items that I will have to start saving for before it’s on the road including new Tach ~$200, SW gages ~$ 150, Dual Exhaust ~$400, New Drive Line ~$325, front Hides ~$250 and a new Sears Die Hard Battery ~$120. Cheers! Some Pics muncie
Mark, wow, great thread and thanks for sharing. I agree with a previous post, wish I worked this fast. I am doing a restoration but not as extensive. I am learning from this big time. Paul.
Thanks for the update, Mark. This car will be a wolf in sheep's clothing for sure. I know you mentioned your wheel combo before, but I can't find it. Are you going to stick with doggies and snow tires? :beers2:
