I have a feeling I already know the answer, but what the heck. My gas tank is in very good shape. There is some rust inside and I was planning on using the Eastwood tank cleaner kit along with the sealer. Is it worth the effort to clean, seal and then repaint the tank, or should I just pony up the cash and buy a new one? I purchased some "Zinc" paint for another part and was thinking that that would be the same as the "Tank-Tone" paint sold by Eastwood. What do you guys think? Len
All that wonderful resto dictates a new tank. You cannot imagine what is in there until you cut one open. They are not that expensive. Try www.opgi,com www.thepartsplaceinc.com www.gastanks.com
Thanks Jim, kinda figured thats what I'd have to do. I need to find cheaper hobbies. :laugh: You fly planes, correct? I am finishing up my Private Pilots license this spring. I was real close until I purchased my Stage 1 back in '03. It would have been cheaper for me to buy the Piper I was looking at. :3gears: Talk to you later. Len
You can say it.....its all my fault! ou: :laugh: Does your wife still have the dart board with my face on it? :laugh:
Jason, She has now put my face on the dartboard. Thank God she doesn't know how much I have already spent on, what she kindly used to refer to my beautiful GS as "the rusted peice of junk", or she would smother me in my sleep. I haven't worked on the car since before Christmas....those damm kids. Hell, they got presents last year. Now I am back into getting things done. A little more money, a couple more parts and before you know it....I'll need more parts and more money. Talk to you soon. Len :3gears:
Len Once you touch that money pit tar baby you are along for a long and expensive ride. You say that was your mom's car originally or do I misremeber?
My Dad traded one of his workers in the late '70's for the car; he (my Dad) restored the car in 1980. I got it from them (my parents) in 1982ish. I beat the !@#$ out of it for the next three years and then sold it (after I blew the engine 2x, rear and hit everything in my way) since I needed a more "economical" car to drive. What an a$$, should have know better. Now that I am older and wiser, I get to spend lots-o-cash to re-live my youth. Anyway, that's my story...and I am sticking with it. Len :3gears:
I could not find the original owner. The car was bought by my Dads friend in 1975 from a Used Car dealership in Huntington, New York named Tom's Car Town. He purchased the car for $1,175 with around 28,000 miles. I could not locate the business. I asked him (my Dad's friend) if he had any photos or such, he said he did not; he tried to get me to sell him the car back. I had the original intake manifold for the Stage 1 for years after I blew the original motor, I believe it was in my parents basement until they sold the house a few years ago. I had carried the heads in the trunk for about a year until I went to a party and had to load some coolers in the trunk; so I did what every teenager would do, I threw them out in the woods. I went back several years later to see if I could find them, no luck. The original N-25 bumper was rechomed three times and was flaking when I sold it. The original rims were used on my old Chevelle; my Dad had put Keystone Klassics on. They looked sharp; but, I am going to put the original ralley rims. Supposingly, the car came with 60's all around. That's as far back as I got. I called Canada to see if it was Canadian, no luck. I found only peices of the build sheet inside the drivers kickpanel; nothing you can really make out. If you have any way of researching the car I would greatly appreciate it. I tried NY DMV, no luck. I tried researching the dealerships in NY, they wouldn't give me the time of day. I have a picture somewhere with my Mom and Me standing next to the car before they restored it 1978 or 79. It is the only photo showing the original Pearl White interior. Although, the doorpanels were covered over with black, the pearl white covers are still there. My Dad has photos when he restored it, I am still waiting for him to locate them. There must have been a shortage of '71 GS grilles even back then, because he had put a '72 on it instead. Thanks to Duane, and a lot of cash, we are going to take care of that problem; I have Duane's concourse quality grille comfortably resting in the box. I open it once in a while just to give me hope. I have nice new emblems and stuff to put on; I am trying not to rush it, but I am not too patient. All this on a gas tank thread. By the way, gastanks.com is the way to go; only $ 169 for the tank. OPG and others are around $ 300+. Len
71 s are the worse to trace. You would hope that someone might remember a car like that. You say the NY DMV cannot produce the prior owners based on the VIN? I ran into that stock answer once here in a case only to find that contrary to the standard answer they really kept old tapes containing this data. It was just a question of running the tapes and retrieving the data. They discouraged the public from doing these requests by denying they had the data at all. There is a company ( or companies) that buys tapes from each state or once did in order to provide the public with car data for a fee. I think Smartin used them to find the numbers of Centurions still registerd. If they have that data and they have bought tapes fron all state DMVs for a number of years it is plausible that older data for your VIN is on those tapes. I would like to know if they do myself.
I paid NYS DVM $ 65.00 to do a VIN search, they came up with nothing. I tried public records to try to trace the used car dealership to see if they had any record of the original owner, nothing. You would think that the old Buick dealerships would keep some kind of records; they wouldn't give me the time of day. I called and e-mailed. I even tried microfilm from 1970 to 1971 New York Times to see if I could find Buick dealership with ads listing the GS, a convertible would surely stand out. I couldn't find any; I did find some pretty ugly cars though, the Fiat was one of them (sorry, if there are any Fiat owners). If anyone has any other suggestions, I am willing to try it. Len
As long as we're telling stories... I'll pick up the story from here... Len advertised the car in the local paper, Newsday around 1984-85. I actually called about the car back then and spoke to Len's mom. The car was advertised for $4000? maybe. I cant remember. Anyway, I deceided to not buy it as I already had a few cars and was still living at home. And I didnt exactly have the money either. A friend of mine named Roger wound up buying it. I remember him letting me drive it down Bayshore Road and in Channel parking lot on Deer Park Ave (the local hot spot for hot rods). After a few years, I fell out of touch with Roger. Years passed and I always wondered what became of Roger and his 71 GS. About 3-4 years ago or so I deceided to try and find Roger and see it he still had the convertible. All my friends said i was nuts! All I heard was "that car is in a junkyard by now". But I was determined. So I started calling people. People I hadnt spoken to in years. Miraculously, I finally got in contact with Roger's brother. He said that Roger now lives in Penn with his wife and three kids :eek2: . And amazingly, he still had the vert! Roger calls and tells me that the convertible is sitting in his backyard for 13 years. And yes, he was thinking about selling it. Roger lived in the Poconos and at the time of our conversation the car was buried under three feet of snow. Roger says he would call me in the spring. A few months later on a Friday in April, I get a call from Roger. He said to me if I still want the car, its mine. Come get it. I hooked up the trailer, went to the bank and was at Rogers door at 9:30am Saturday. I gave him the money, loaded it on my trailer and was home by 1:30pm :grin: . Never even looking the car over. After 18 years, I finally had the convertible :beer What intrigued me about the car was that the names "Fred" and "Barby" were embriodered on the front seats. I had to find out who these people were. I called Roger back and asked him if he remembered after all these years where he bought the car from. He remembered exactly..Fordham Rd in North Babylon. Luckily Fordham Rd is not a big street, so I started knocking on doors asking if anyone knew Fred or Barby. I got about 3/4 of the way around the street when an elderly fellow said "yes, they were my old neighbors". He told me the information I needed, their last name. I looked in the phone book and found Lens mom. I called her. She put me in touch with Len. And the rest they say is history. When I called, Lens wife answered the phone. She asked me "is this about a plane?" :laugh: So len...does that tank come with the filler neck already attached?
From what I understand of it, if the car isnt registered in 8 years, its deleted off the files. Plus, NYS does not issue titles on pre 73 cars. So a title search wouldnt even be possible. The paper registration you keep in your wallet is the 'title"
Continued... I first listed the car in 1985 on Cablevisions (TV) Swap and Shop, it was free. Now that I think back on it, I don't think the ad was totally correct. I think the ad had listed the rearend gears at 4.11. There were a couple of problems with the car when I got rid of it. The rear was changed, we (my Dad and I) ended up replacing the rear with a peg leg rear from a Skylark. The engine was swaped with a 1972 block out of a wagon, I believe. You got to realize, my Dad was a Chevy guy, he really did not care much for the Buick; he had his 1964 Vette that he was concentrating on. That was a sweet car; and we only had one garage. Plus, I did not have any money at the time to put into the car. I was going to college full time and working full time. Plus I was chasing after as many girls as I could. Boy, they took up alot of time. Anyway, I believe the car was listed for $3500; I think we sold it to Roger for $ 3,200. I took the money and bought a brand new 1985 Nissan Pulsar NX. What an animal, a whopping 96 Cubic inches. That car ran for years, I actually gave that car to my mom around 1993. Another part of the story goes like this... For about 15 years I kicked myself in the a$$ for getting rid of the GS. Then, about five years ago now, my wife and our four kids were driving back from a weekend at the Delaware shore when my youngest boy noticed a nice black '70 Chevelle SS driving down the road. He said, "Dad, look at that hot rod". He loves cars. I preceeded to tell him about my old GS. When we got back home, I called my mom to ask her if she could contact our old insurance agent to get the VIN and have one of her police buddies do a search on it. About six months later is when I got the call from you (Jason); I thought my mom actually came through. It took me a while to pry it away from Jason. I am not kidding when I say I was driving around looking in peoples garages for a GSX to trade for. My Dad came up/over in the summer to help install the new rear. He couldn't believe that he was working on that car again. He hasn't seen it with the body back on; he is supposed to be coming back here in February. He is going to do the head work for me. My Mom thinks I should call the car shows on the Speed channel and give them the story. She thinks they would pay for the restoration. I told her I don't want anyone "Pimping my ride". It is a great story. I am just glad I got the car back; I had lots of fun with that car as a kid. Len
Really is a great story. Im glad I was a part of it. Funny how things work out. Len was relentless in getting his car back. He was calling and emailing me constantly. Cant say I blame him. He reminded me of ...well, me! :grin: I think back when I called your mom up and asked to speak with Barby. She said who is this? Nobody has called me that for years!! I might buy one of those repro gas tanks for my 71. nothing like a nice shiny new tank under the car. This is the car shortly after buying it. It was still on my trailer. Its been a long road for her. She almost didnt survive...
