tim; i asked the bodyshop owner and painter, as to the timeframe to wait before installing the vinyl roof. he stated that waiting one week is sufficient.
my gs was painted late yesterday afternoon. it came out of the paint booth this morning. i would guess that the wetsanding & buffing will not be completed until friday at best.
guys; my car is painted and we will be trailering it home tomorrow. i went to the bodyshop yesterday afternoon to have a looksee at the car. it is straight as an arrow down the sides, the hood & fenders now line up properly. the fire red paint is most excellent - three coats of waterbase colour & three coats of clear. we test fitted the grill & the headlight bezels and made an adjustment for the grill. they will finish cleaning the car today, especially the underside of the hood & the engine. now the work begins for me to re-install all the removed parts and pieces. i did re-assemble the sport mirrors and prepped the headlight bezels (gray painted area) for re-paint, which i will do. i must say these guys (louie's collision service in leamington ontario) performed great work on my winter project. this project blew my budget by $1000 but oh well. i should be able to post pictures thursday.
IF it looks as good as your brothers stratomist blue GS did --Then your Fire Red GS will be a Show Winner & ya better add some more wall shelves for the future trophys !!
Guys; My car is out of the bodyshop and back home. Unfortuntely, the car was trailered home last wednesday and of course it rained. I was supposed to have use of a covered trailer but this trailer requires an upgraded licence for the towing truck. With no side glass nor rear window, the interior did get wet, but with the use of towels and a fan and two microfurnaces, all was dried. Later, I spent many hours cleaning/washing the dash area, under the hood and under the front clip/chassis. There were small amounts of blasting sand about the interior and ths some vacuuming was required. Last friday, i started re-installing all the parts and pieces that I had removed last october. Since the headliner and vinyl roof have yet to be installed (may 26), needless to say, the interior panels and the console are not installed nor are the seats, except for the driver bucket. Everything went back together relatively easily and no parts were lost. I had to re-adjust the side glass because new weatherstripping was installed. Yesterday at 4:00 p.m., the car was test driven. All is well. Love to hear the sound of that buick V8 fore up again for the road! People who viewed the car, yesterday, commented on how fabulous the paint appeared. And it is. The body, along the sides is straight as an arrow. My 72 gs looks great and worth every $$ spent to repair and repaint. mike- you and your guys did a great job! check out the pictures. http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1439.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1440.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1441.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1442.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1443.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1444.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1445.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1446.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1447.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1452.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1448.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1449.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1450.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1451.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1453.jpg http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo62/72gssaturn/IMG_1454.jpg
guys- attached are three pictures of the car completely re-assembled. the car was washed and has been waxed with two coats of "final detail". i thought that you would like to see the final results. it has been a long ride from de-construction to re-construction and to completion but it was worth every minute and $$.
That is one pretty car! My 72 GS 455 is the exact color combo you have there. It gives me hope that my car will one day be as nice as that one. I see you kept the vinyl top. I am torn on that one. I have to admit it looks super with the roof. Did you debate whether or not to keep the vinyl? Thanks, Rudy E.
yes, i debated whether or not to keep the vinyl roof. i was not certain as to how overpowering red would be. some reds look terrible with a vinyl roof; while others shades of red overpower the car without the vinyl. this shade of red is fine either with or without the vinyl roof. i decided last winter before the car body was all primed that i would keep the vinyl roof. i actually showed the car in chatham, a week ago, without the vinyl roof & people were split on yes & no on the roof. since the car was an original vinyl roof car, i stayed with it. if i had to do it over again, i might leave the roof off.
I seen the car in person last weekend & the finish product is amazing!! This car is gonna turn "alot "of heads & win Gerry alot of show awards !! You can have a beautiful body & paint job but you have to compliment the car with complete detail interior & exterior wise & last but not least a fully detailed engine bay. Gerry has done this & WOW--It looks terrific in all areas!! Well done !!!
