Well guys, the verdict is just in from the bodyshop. Same man I used for the resto on my '71. Long story short about every two years I was taking the car back in for touch-ups around the vinyl roof trim. Always seemed to be right at the "T" studs. This year there are a few more spots, very small, but there none the less. Climate is a HUGE factor where I live......salt water & humid air. We may also have trouble from some original steel we initially "thought" was OK right at the trunk-rear window filler. Coincidence is I'm in process of buying a complete trunk filler to forward edge of the rear shelf piece from a known good parts car. The chunk will extend up to get most of the rear window too, I believe. I honestly hoped it was a spare part I would not ever need to use! He's recommending removing the vinyl & trim & go to a painted roof. I agree with him as the vinyl & trim have given me the most trouble of all over the last 6 years. I just can't picture the car in one colour scheme which is Butternut Creme. I'd like to paint the roof brown but those pesky "T" studs will have to stay. What we're thinking is all one colour. We'll remove the side trim too & weld in the factory holes in the doors. This should expose the factory lines much more, those that run about mid-wheel opening & back to the doors & quarters. This will be a Winter Project with me basically stripping the car of all trim/bumpers/chrome/interior etc.. He does his magic & I get to put it all back together. Anyone have any pictures of a '70-72 in Butternut Creme? I can send some pics to have photo-shopped, I'm not familiar with the process. Looks like the new 15" wheels will be on hold for a bit, maybe next year.
WOW! That's one beautiful car you have! Mine is a Skylark & will likely stay as such without the stripe. I can see enough though to say I'll be happy with it. Thanks very much for the pic.
steve- you will be undertaking the same process that i did last october. as you may/may not know, i had my car repainted over the winter (project of 6 1/2 months). i too had corner rust in the rear window area. i removed everthing - interior & exterior - that could be removed, including the vinyl roof before trailering the car to the bodyshop. once the car was blasted & sanded, repairs had to be made in the lower corners of the rear window & several areas in the front window frame. i knew that the driver side front corner of the hood had been hit maybe 20+ years ago. it took a lot of hours to remove the bondo and repair the damage properly. unfortunately, u may be surprised to find other weak or about to rust through areas elsewhere in the car body that will need repairing. the bodyshop did a fabulous job with the repairs and the paint. look along the sides of the car and they are as straight as an arrow. i had a new vinyl roof & headliner installed locally and the installer did great job. the cost was worth every nickle spent!! g:beer d luck
Hi Gerry, We repaired the lower corner of the rear window back in '02 during the body-on resto. There was a bit of evidence on the trunk filler we thought we dealt with properly. Thought we had it all. Water laying in the rear window channel penetrated under the paint.Car gets wet 2-3 times a year only, when it's washed. Just posted a "Parts Wanted" ad for a no-rust 71-72 GS hood. Vinyl is coming off for good. Really like BIG TODD's pic, think I'll go in that direction. Without a GS hood I think I would only change the lower rocker mouldings to red pin striped vs. the black I have now. Not sure how it would look with the stripes but less the hood & spoiler?
i, too, like todd's colour. looks great with the stripe. even without a gs hood, it would look just as good. of course u will require the rear spoiler. would u consider painting on the stripes as opposed to a decal? my brother had a real 72 gs and cloned it to a gsx. the car was painted all stratomist blue (vinyl top removed). the gsx stripes were painted on and clearcoated. i understand that it took 9 hours to complete the striping job. i can email u a picture if u wish of that car. he sold it to a fellow in georgetown, january 2008.
Gerry, Love to see the pic. Still on the fence about the stripes & spoiler. Car has it's original 350, recently rebuilt, converted before I bought it to 4V intake & carb.. 2.56 open rear, I drive it like a Grandma would. Losing the vinyl & adding the stripe would tend to attract attention that maybe I can't keep up with. I'd get stupid & have some nice chats with the local cruisers with the red & blue lights on the roof. Either that or I'd put it around a pole somewhere. I do, however, have a fresh '71 455 in the warehouse. Complete rebuild, never even fired yet. Who knows where this will end? I'm looking at getting someone to photo-shop those images for me to see it without the stripes.
Steve, Time to jump into the deep end with the rest of us.. GS hood Spoiler and stripes 455! You know you want to do it.. I'm just helping you along here.. :grin: JW
Jim, I was leaning that way a couple years ago but changed my mind. Here I am again. Just sold a good TH400 I had planned on using with the 455, sold the BBB cross member too. The '71 800 cfm carb. you recently restored/rebuilt for me is also slated for the 455. Time for a corporate decision. I drive it like Grandma now. Put in the 455/TH400 with a better gear & I'll be acting the fool every chance I get. Does sound interesting though.:laugh:
Steve, My advice is to get a hood and a spoiler, have the bodywork/paint done, and then just drop the 455 in with your current running gear.. Don't make too big a project out of it. You can worry about the other stuff later.. JW
That isn't my car. that is one I found on the internet awhile back, it is sweet looking though! My kid don't like the color, I think you have to be an adult to appreciate the color.
I've shown the pics to a number of people over the last couple days. My car buddies at Joe's shop, body/paint shop etc.. Everyone had wide eyes & "WOW", they really liked it. How do I find out about applying the stripes? Are these decals or painted on under the clear? What are people using these days. Searched here a bit but can't find an answer.
Just a quick question about one of your posts. Why do you feel the need to keep the T-studs? If you are going to get rid of the vinyl top anyway, have your body man cut them off and smooth those areas before you do the paint. In my opinion, it would look like the job wasn't finished with all that work as a GSX clone and those T-studs still sticking up. Sell the clips and the chrome trim from the vinyl top and don't look back. After all, you already know how great it will look when you are done! Later, Randy
Randy, In my initial post I was considering painting the roof brown as an alternative to installing another vinyl roof. The mouldings would remain to separate the colours as they did with the vinyl. I've asked Cullen Bryant to render the images BIG TODD has sent in. He's done a great job. Gives me a view of the finished product should I opt to stay as Skylark vs a GS clone. Big change just losing the vinyl & door trim/moulding. I may have messed up the proportions on the side view along the way.
what color are your body side mouldings? if you take them off I might want them, I have a 70 that will be going back to Bamboo Cream and might put these back on but only if I can find nice originals
Sory the pix arent too big, but this car was for sale in ontario (not mine). I think the solid colour looks great.
Todd, Got one? Kurt, Body side mouldings are stainless with an inset that was black from the factory. I've since used black pin-stripe in place of paint. I have a prior request for the mouldings, I'll let you know what's up once they are off. Excellent shape.
Steve, That's cool, I would have to have the tan inserts for mine but thanks for letting me know something. I really don't want to put them on and probably won't
