They are NOS original GM as JW states. The foam changes color as they are exposed to the atmosphere/light over time. They do not start out the yellow color as you think. One side of the pair was already exposed, has the color and the other was not. The foams centers were stored in these so the centers were also protected from the transformation. So the pic you see are the short GS 455 NOS ...13 foam seals turned up to the unexposed side. This side too will turn darker and the color will eventually go to what you are used to seeing. If you will notice in the pics, around the edges during storage all those years where it did get more exposure relatively speaking, the yellow color is already beginning to appear.
Let's get underneath.. Note the finish of the fasteners, surface finish and color of the frame and suspension components. While it is certain that some of the cars had the gearbox and suspension components painted black, (I have a 50K mile 70 GS 455 car in the shop that does show evidence of this) this particular 49K mile car, showed no evidence of paint in these area's, after very careful inspection, so we recreated it just as it was, on this particular car.
Copper plated steel cotter pins, installed as per Assembly manual spec. Thanks go to Larry DiStefano for custom plating the pins for us..
Learned something new/interesting....according to JW's pics and I just checked the 70 Buick shop manual....shows the bolts for the steering arms going to the outside (bolt head closest to the spring) Of all the A-body cars I have removed the disc brake set-up......must be at least 20-30...not one had the bolts going that way. All of them had the bolt heads on the rotor side with the nuts on the spring side. Must have been a plant variation???
And now an overview of the entire underside. Front A couple disclaimers here.. Front spoiler baffle in place, spoiler has been test fit, but is in the trunk for shipment to prevent damage. Final toe setting not established as of yet, so tie rod sleeve clamps are not properly orientated or tightened.
No, that is the original crossmember George, checked out correctly, right down to the two letter code (don't recall that code offhand..and the books are at the shop.) We beleive this to be the original crossmember that it left Flint with, as both the assembly line code, and PN match the books. Considerable attention was paid to correct PN's on this car by both the guys and I, and Jim. Specifically on this part, attention was paid to the slot for the Parking brake cable. As you know, TH350 crossmembers don't have the slot, but we contend that a true 4 speed BB crossmember does, just like the 400. I have another original 70 STG 1 4 speed car that we just dissasembled the other day for resto, and it has the slot in the crossmember, and is the same code and PN as this one. I have never seen the steering arm bolts in any other orientation.
Its too bad you had to cover up that beautiful frame with a body! JW and Jim Lore have raised the bar for GS/GSX restorations. Well done gentlemen :beer FYI-My 70 4 speed car has the slotted big block crossmember. I believe it to be original to the car. One observation- The speedo reducer is a right angle style. And I see you only used one of the little cable hooks (for lack of a better name) to attach it to the transmission. My 4 speed car (also a non A/C 3.64 rear car) has a two piece speedo cable- no hooks. The reducer is a straight thru style and its mounted directly underneath the bellhousing. The bottom center bolt of the inspection cover holds it in place. I wonder why they did it differently. You would think they would all be the same. Both are Flint cars with G-60s BTW....those little metal hooks are made of unobtainium!
I wouild have to go back and look at the assembly manual, but I recall questioning this very point during assembly.. I do believe that there may be a date code revision on the cable.. We did have two clips that we could have used, but we relied on the speedo cable in this instance, it was one piece, and not long enough to use both clips. It was the original, as verified by the assembly code, still visible in ink on the cable casing, and the code matched the assembly manual callout. JW
i never understood until now how people can look at a painting for hours. :grin: Just comparing notes as I pour over these pictures- The adjuster block on the lower equalizer rod is mounted on the outside of the Z bar. According to the assembly manual, it should be on the inside. I think by having it on the outside , it puts an odd angle on the rod. Also, where did you attach the clutch return spring on the fork? The assembly manual shows a welded extension for the spring, but my fork doesnt have it. I use the hole in the bottom of the clevis pin.
