I am in the process of restoring my 69 Buick Riviera GS. I have both the front and rear windshields removed and the metal, like a lot of others, looks like swiss cheese. I do have a 68 Riviera that I got for a parts car. I was hoping that its channel is in good enough shape to transplant over to the 69. I haven't removed the 68's windshields yet so I'm not sure of it's condition. If I have to repair them from scratch, does anyone have some basics on how to do it? I do have a welder and am fairly accomplished with it. I've mostly done welding on 1/16" exhaust tubing but not too much thin sheet metal. It's a wire-fed welder. I usually use flux-core wire but it does have the capability of using a shielding gas such as argon or a CO2-argon mix. What types of cutting tools are good for sheetmetal on a car? I have an air rotary cutter, and sawz-all, and a drimel. I guess a shear would be good for sheetmetal stock and I have access to one at work. I also have access to a brake but I've never really done any extensive sheetmetal fabrication. I think I'd have quite a hard time matching the curves on the channels if I had to make them from sheetmetal stock. Is it possible? Some of the holes extend into the visible areas. I'm also worried about getting the channel where the windshield sits nice and consistent. If it has high and low spots, would the windshield crack over time after installed? Here are some pictures of my front channel for you to get an idea of what I'm looking at. I tried to brush all the rust away and drown it in rust treatment and then spraied some primer on it to try and keep it from rusting further. Thanks for the help! :TU:
There is no need to use the exact same piece off another car. I use old door skins for patches like those. It's not as hard as you might think, but a flux core welder just wont cut it for that kind of work. You have to use very low heat and wire speed to do it without buring holes in the metal.
Like Darren said, I'd go to a body shop and as for some scrap panels. Look for the heavier, thicker stuff. Cut some patch panels from that.
So are y'all saying I should just weld in little patches, or maybe strips, instead of replacing the whole post/pillar covering area? IE: from where it wraps around on the inside to where it begins to blend into the body around the other corner. The metal is pretty flakey and rough all the way around, I just assumed I'd have to cut it all out(other than the actual structure metal) and replace it. Another thing I'm wondering about is getting the little pins for the chrome trim clips back in the right spot. I guess the main dimension to get right would be depth into the channel rather than latterally since I think the clips will slip inside the trim.
Also--you might check other type donor cars for that A pillar--possibly an a-body A-pillar has the same cross section or profile as your Riviera A-pillar--I would first try to find a CLEAN Apillar and dissect it to get the largest piece(s) out of it you can. In the A-pillar area you won't have to worry about heat as much as you would when welding in a path panel on an outer body skin for example. The a-pillar is thick and has a lot of bends in it that add strength and stiffness to resist heat warping. This doesn't mean you should crank your welder up to its highest setting and have at it....but you can do much more than just tack, tack, tack like you have to do on some thinner, flatter panels. You can get STAINLESS STEEL screw in replacement studs if you aren't going to spot weld/stud gun install the trim studs like original. You will need to clean out all the primer and rust converter on the metal you plan on welding. Get it clean.....spot blast it clean if possible.
Those pillars were so wasted on my 67 that I had to go the junkyard just to make patterns. Then I went home and copied my patterns out of steel.
I also had to repair the lower portion of the inner layer also, along with the entire leading edge of the dash.
I used the thread in trim studs. They work nicely. But the pillars being rotted out like that also took out the floor since that was where the water started going. Hopefully yours were caught before this.
So the last two weeks were spent dealing with that. Hmm, I no longer have that convenient rust hole to run the wire for my manual switch pitch through.
so...revisiting this from long ago...and wondering why I never responded. It must have been because I was totally blown away at how clean and smooth those pieces you made were. Can you describe a bit at what even tools you used to form them? I'm particularly impressed with the flare out at the bottom and how well it matches up. I have now gotten back into this restoration and will be addressing this issue soon. Really the only body work I need to do is replace some floor sections with panels I got from OPGI and then attack these channels. I take it from your signature that you no longer have the 67 Riviera?
This thread is almost 8 years old Wayne - I was pretty impressed with those '67 'hand fabricated' replacement repair panels that Dave made too !! 'A' pillars on second generation Rivs usually rust out as there is no place for any of the water that leaks in to get out, and it slowly rusts away the steel inside the lower portion of the pillar. After you repair those 'A' pillars, drill a small 1/4" drain hole in the bottom of the pillar so trapped water (...if there is any), can escape - you can also use this hole to spray a rust protectant on the inner inaccessible surfaces of the 'A' pillar to prevent any future rust out. My '68 was repaired with 'rust free' outer panels from a '70 Riv donor parts car. The dash panel cowl to firewall metal also required extensive repairs due to rust damage from wind shield water leaks like most A and E body cars. Most of the steel 'T' studs and molding clips were rotted away, and replaced with stainless screw type moulding clips positioned roughly in the same position as the originals. Good luck with your ongoing, long term project !!
Someone makes a repair patch for this also I have seen a section of windshield lip in a catalog but cannot remember who had it I think it was this http://www.shop.amp-my-ride.com/AMR...82EB62EA3DB5A9FCEDD57D6C1D709C.m1plqscsfapp05 Most of the window channels are similar. I watched a friend use something like this to fix his GS channel.
