Again, I have started planning repairs around a car that is probably getting to the point of not being worth repair.. I picked the car up cheap, with a running motor and clean title... doors were decent, pass floors not as bad as they could be, trunk full of labeled parts previuosly removed... Well, I finally cleaned the trunk out and started poking around.. Peeled up someone's screen mesh fiberglass job..piece of sheetmetal, just tacked over the old floor. Basicly both body braces are gone, and the floor is rotted following them all the way up to the wheel wells The wells are seperated from the trunk floor axle hump area. I have what I believe to be two usable braces..Also the existing tank braces seam to be OK. I planed on buying the one piece pan, and there is an option to buy a local 3 piece kit.. I am thinking I can pull it off, and this car initially was bought to learn welding and metal repair on, but man, strting to want to pull back...on the fence now i guess...
i feel your pain bro. had a similar situation here as well. maybe you can find someone to weld in a trunk for you. dont give up!! good luck.
My first Buick a 72 skylark custom convertible had a fuel tank that was basically held in by the fuel line and a couple of 1/2 inch ribbons of very rusted metal . Drove it home 20 miles :3gears: probably not the smartest thing I've done . Traded it for the paintjob on #2 that I found looking for parts for the first one.
Thanks, I dont mind tackling the welding , its the lack of existing metal that is scaring me..lol I'm just stuborn enough ,I may just stick with it.. Nice..Guess ya never know what you will come across. Thanks Scott, this is the Skylark trunk..Its funny I have a complete Regal cut up and ready to use for my GN resto, and yet here I tinker with the Skylark..lol Thanks again Been reading up more on the trunk job...Have to figure out a way to support the body ..I have been advised to fix the sheet metal before I swap the body onto the better frame.. SHould I do the floors off the frame???
Yes, do the floors off the frame...I have an article on our site on trunk pan repair....with the rust you have you will need the 3 piece kit and get two new braces and maybe the gas tank braces too....it is not difficult...just time consuming.....if your inner wheel wells are good.....you are set. You can support the body infront of the rear wheel wells and the rear crossmember that is shaped like the letter L that holds the rear two anchor nuts......much easier w/no frame in the way.
Ya, its actually that article that made me ask that..I notice the body was already off.. I have been advised by a few guys that this was a bad idea(more so talking about doing pass floors ), that things will tweek and move , like door alighnments.. Or is that more likely when doing rocker type work ?? I actually like the idea of it being off the frame, like you mention way easier to get at things and have room..
A hardtop should have no problem being off the frame. Convertibles will sag and alignment will suffer unless you brace them. A real rusty rockers and floors might be a problem though.
Thanks, that makes sense...My rockers are pretty solid, the floor is in pretty good shape, its pretty much the trunk area and the back glass..Guessing the vinyl rood had its hand in the trunk situation as well..
You should be fine with removing the car from the frame. Go to GStage1 and click on his name. Go to his web site and look at the cars he has done. I sold him the convertible that he painted blue. That was a real turd to start with. My neighbor with only hand tools removed his cutlass body and replaced the frame with one of my Buick frames. You can do it
So I have been browsing the resto pics on that site..I have been inspired to aproach it this way.. My greatest concern is keeping the car secure in betweentime..I am mostly a weekend warrior and the body would be outside not seperate from where the kids play. It would have to be rigged so it couldnt come toppling down if someone leaned on it or pushed it..Not that we would let them play near it, but ya never know..Stuff happens. Trying to come up with something with in my reach to make that happen...
You better look closely at the cowl, inner firewall, and body mounts. Cars that rusty usually have poor frames as well. You will need to be objective about fixing it if it is really rusty. The best advice I got was over 30 years ago from an old timer: "Buy the best body and frame you can, because it will be cheaper and easier in the long run" My first car was A 69 Chevelle SS396. Emotions got the best of me, and I bought it. It needed WAY more work than I had anticipated.
chris, if your still looking for sheetmetal, give me a call. i have a 70 sedan shell i'm looking to dump, that you would drool over! steve in wilmington, ma. 978-658-2247.
It can be done on the frame. Here are some pictures of the trunk I am currently doing. It is very labor intensive and this is not the first one of these I have done. Good luck. Take your time and make some careful cuts. Always plan on it being worse than it looks-because it usually is.
Ya , I have been told the same in the past..Most would have passed on this car for parts.lol It is more of a practice/lets see if I can pull it off thing...a slow atachment is forming lol I didpoke around the cowl area, its a little soft on the bottoms, but fixable.. That sounds interesting, looks like you are about an hr and 20 away roughfly..I will be around this weekend, maybe I will give you a ring. Thanks, appreciate the inspiration..I need to do a frame swap anyway, so I think I will do the work off of the frame... Got in some of my tools, Cleco's,flanger, shears...Ready to rock lol..
