Well my car has taken on a few too many dings and scratches so i've decided to tear it apart and fix it up the way i want it. I started last week, and i'll be posting every now and again to keep you all updated.
Looks like a pretty clean starting point! Those Western cars hold up pretty nicely. We East coasters have to deal with tons of scale and rust. Keep the pictures coming!
i wish that was the case, joe. this car spent the first 28 years of its life in new york on long island, probably the worst area on the east coast for salt in the air and in the street. i moved out to the west coast 6 years ago.The skylark had a paint job 7 years ago, but it was done by maaco and the poor bodywork is starting to show through. not to knock maaco, they told me when they did it that it wasn't a top quality job and i got what i paid for and maybe a little more, the paint is holding up real well, just not the body work.
Dan, you can send that poor old 455 down here to me and I will give it a nice home in sunny So-Cal. ray:
I'LL trade you my 455 for a ls7 and 6 speed manual! The media blasting is done and has revealed a LOT more rust then i even imagined. i guess i will be sending my body guy to Hawaii instead of disney.
Looks like a good idea going through it when you did. Nothing too bad, but if left alone you may have had real issues. I am looking forward to following this thread and seeing how things go. Everyone talks about cars out west like we all lived in the arid desert. We see up to 100 inches of rain in a year here and enough wind to make sure it gets everywhere. Moss grows on everything, even road surfaces. We don't need salt on the roads in the Northwest to rust our cars (although DOT is starting to use it again).
"i guess i will be sending my body guy to Hawaii instead of disney" Thats funny :laugh: ........ I also look forward to following along.. good luck with the project!
recieved my door panels from classic industries, awsome pieces except for the fact that the metal upper bracket does not come attached so you need to use your old one. its tricky putting it back on because it was originally designed to go together using a special tool, so a little fabrication was needed to make it work. i used carpet glue, a few pop rivots and a 3 pound hammer. they came out nice, i think.
Guage cluster just about finished mounted autometer carbon fibre sport comt guages in covan classic panel.
whew! things are going slowly. i have been working on putting electric windows in my doors, what a chore. finally finished the passanger side. also finished painting/por15ing my core support. there are more pictures posted on my picasa account. http://picasaweb.google.com/DnRLemyre/BuickResto5509#
Nice pictures Dan, it's amazing what you find when you strip a car down to bare metal. I was laughing reading your post, your putting power windows in your Skylark, and I'm contemplating putting manual windows in my Regal.. Were never happy are we.... Keep up the good work!
well, im really only putting in power windows because i got such a good deal. $40 for both motors and regulators, i couldn't resist.
moving along.. finished POR-15'nin the frame today, painted the steering column and picked up the new tremec 5 speed.
firewall ready for paint, after that i'll be ready to install the engine and new transmission.while the body guy hopefully continues with the body.
gonna go with the body color on the firewall, and thinking about black on the inner fenders for a little contrast.
some updates on the slow moving progress. the firewall is primed and ready for paint. engine is painted and bolted to the new 5-speed and will hopefully be back in its riteful place.
