Dave, The mounts at the firewall were different colors, depending on when they were made, at least in 70. I would need to check to see if the others changed over the 70-72 years. Duane
So the mounts under the coresupport are the same as under the trunk ? Wonder why no one includes them in their kits ? I was just looking at a 72 COnvert resto that had the blue color under the rad support and every thing fit fine . Thats not to say my blue coded ones are the same . They look like they wioll work . Maybe I am too woried about this as I have looked into the whole body bushings thing . None of the repros is anything like the factory as far as total diameter . Isn't the height of the core support bshings very important in the alignment of panels ? Seems that these have to be spec on so that the fenders will align properly . I am using NOS fenders and coresupport .Of course my originals were smashed into oblivion and the support was rusted .
John, If you are using NOS fenders, I would be more concerned about how they line up with the hood, then about the body bushings. Some core supports were shimmed originally for correct fit. Duane
Back in the day when these cars were getting wrecked and going to regular body shops we shimmed the core supports to make the front sheetmetal line up .
Duane , I am all too familiar with the fittment issues . I do have at least 1 very good fender ( NOS) that I can use . I saw you stated that you would rather fix the rusted bottom on a used fender than the top of a NOS fender . I was wondering why this is ? Is it because the top is more visible ? I would be afraid that the patched area would just keep rusting out . I guess that the shims would have to be put in while your trying to adjust the gaps ? I personally have dismantled at least 20 skylarks and GS' and never had a shim in the core support area
John, My dislike with NOS fenders started something like 18 years ago when I received a painted car, that was supposedly restored, and found the NOS fenders did not match the hood lines. At that point, if your not a body guy, you either destroy a paint job or live with it. From then on I have always purchased good used fenders from calif/arizona and had the bottoms repaired if needed, and never looked back. Now if your a body guy and can do the work yourself, that's great, but if not it's a lot more cost effective to buy a decent set of used front fenders and have them fixed, rather then pay through the nose for an NOS set, then pay to have a body guy cut them apart to fix them. The choice is yours. As to your seeing a lack of core support shims that's wierd because most of the Flint cars originally were built with one to start with, and took them out if they weren't needed. That way they could get a "negative" shim if required. Duane
Duane, Here's one for you. Yellow marker. Says "FAIR". Handwritten .What the heck could that mean. Does not sound comforting. Weld inspection?- Mike
CARS core support mounts are very close to stock. They are not the same as the ones they include in their kits however which are the same junk everyone else sells. They evven short you the extra 2 Buicks used under the firewall. I have seen the blue ones as well and they are probably OK as well.
If you are thorough and patient in your welding/patchwork it is almost guaranteed they will never rust in those areas again.
Went thru some pics pre restoration and found some a few interesting markings. These were found on the numbers matching 3:42 posi differential on my 70 GSX under about an inch of grease and grime. The car was built in Flint so maybe these are plant specific. I was a little hesitant putting them back on so I left it black until I get clarification. What do you guys think? Claude
yup, the factory workers needed a easy way to identify the housing assy's quickly,instead of hunting for the small stamp on the axle tube. so they used painted lines and a two letter code to indentify the ratio and if it was a posi or not. all the codes and stripe colors are in the assy. manual.
Here's a frame label. If I remember correctly Duane told me that as these were unloaded from the trains there were labels applied. Which would appear to be upside down as the frames were upside down on the trains. Never could get this one off. It disintegrated when it got wet. Not sure what was printed on them. Maybe Duane can finish this... -Mike
I will never again complain about any of my Pontiac, Buick or Chevrolet bretheren being too anal about detailed restorations: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=119349 ou:
