4 Speed Convertible Restoration

[Brian]

It is possible to pull the pan with the engine in the car--I have done it.  You have to take the engine mounts loose and jack the engine up as far as it will go until the transmission hits under the floor pan.  You can then get the oil pan off. 
  Where did you find the rear convertible style power window regulators?   How did you change the blower motor with the fender installed?

[nut465gs]

Dan,

You will have this convertible finished before the end of summer. Looking good, you're making great progress. Did you have any problems getting the side glass to line up with the top frame? I'm still not done adjusting my glass and top frame yet. I've adjusted all the glass and top frame so many times, sooner or later I'll get it right. Patience.

John

[dsags]

Brian,

You are the wizard ! It's amazing how easy the 'nails' came off and basically left very little behind. Will be a quick clean up and respray. Masking off the bottom will take longer than the painting.  The blower was fine, it was the switch that was bad which is why the blower motor did not work. Lucky. If it had been the motor then the fender would have had to come off. The regulators are from Auto City Classic. Except for the wiring harness they are very close to the originals. Uses the same grounding method, etc. The car has the wiring harness that you supplied via Mark Ascher and the windows work fine. Except ....

John,

Have had so many small issues with the windows its amazing. There are just too many combinations of adjustments. The body shop even did a mediocre job on these so have gone back to square one. Last issue was the rear vertical window run felt decided to start bunching up so those are getting replaced. The top frame has not been adjusted either. It's just at a so-so state. Goal now is to get the windows to go up and down smoothly and have the upper and lower stops adjusted properly. Then the top will get adjusted to the windows. How many point deduction would I get for having Jon's redlines on it ? 

Would like to be able to get it judged in Bowling Green.

Dan

[nut465gs]

Dan,

Adjusting the side glass to each other is tough enough, then it's got to line up with the top frame / weatherstripping. It's really frustrating to get the glass where you think it should be only to find out that the side glass has to move in or out to line up with the top. Having power windows complicates things even more because the battery wears down from the constant adjusting. I assume that you temporarily attached the top weatherstripping to adjust everthing. Then you take the weatherstripping off to install the top fabric, then the weatherstripping is screwed and glued in place. Therefore, everything must fit correctly before the top fabric is installed. Good luck with the process.

According to the BCA Judging Guidelines, one point is deducted for each tire that was not available for that year or model. Redlines were not available on the Skylark GS until 1966. Radials were not available until 1967. When I drove my convertible to the 2006 BCA Nats in MN and the 2010 BCA Nats in Iowa, I drove on an extra set of wheels with radials tires. Before the show I put on the bias ply "show" tires and wheels. Four tires plus the spare will fit in the trunk. I did not want to drive at highway speeds with bias ply tires. Scary.

John

[dsags]

John,

As usual you are correct. Everything has to be correctly fit before the top is installed.
Driving on bias ply tires ? That would be scary. Old enough to remember it. Ugh.
Any deduction for used vs. brand new tires ?

Dan

[nut465gs]

Dan,

According to the BCA Judging Guidelines, 1 or 2 points are deducted for excessive wear, dirt or damage to tires. However, non-authentic tires are not judged for condition. So if my understanding is correct, only 4 points total should be deducted for non-authentic tires. I suppose the same goes for the spare tire. I am getting this information from the BCA website / documents/ judging manual. Page 63 and 64 on this link.
http://www.buickclub.org/BCA%20JUDGING%20MANUAL/BCAjudgingrev2.pdf

I do not know if the GSCA uses the same guidelines or if they have their own.

John

[dsags]

John,

Thanks for the link. Should have asked for it before.

Dan

[dsags]

Have been slowly making progress on the convertible. Got bogged down figuring out a couple of items - carburetion and brake lights.
The carb was purchased as a remanufactured item and then had a rebuild kit put in it. The short of it is the engine ran like crap but figuring out that it was the carburetor took a while. Sent the bugger off to Carmen and he had it back to me inside a week. Needed a bit of machining and such. Runs fantastic now.
Then no brake lights. Finally had to resort to reading the wiring schematics and using a test light. Turn signal switch was the culprit.
Really does give you an appreciation for how the factory could turn out all those cars so quickly that worked so well the first time.
Mounted the bumpers - rear needed a bit of tweaking.
With Brian's help figured out how the carpeting and consolette coexist.
With Tom T's help got the gas pedal and heat duct I needed. Sweet.

Dan

[dl7265]

Lookin good Dan,
Good luck with repo pedal pads 

DL

[Loren At 65GS]

Dan,
  Just my $.02.
I have had the opportunity to have judged at a few nationals and also captained a team.
 
The key thing we were always told to keep in mind, "the vehicle should look as it would have when delivered to the first owner".

The frustrating thing I find in the process, is that you can not judge in the class you are in. I do see the reasons for that , but also have seen the other side of the coin. That being, some incorrect decisions because a judging team member does not always know what is correct for a specific model and year.
Example in the battery cable discussion that was on a thread here.

Hope that helps in some way,
Loren
 

[dl7265]

A prime example. My '68 Conv was discounted in AMES for radial tires. Now, I had the letter from Buick from Mike Tromm showing they were available. The car still achieved SR Gold, So I did not B**** about it.
  In an event like BCA where car's from teens-1990's judged much more difficult. Then say GS Nats where primarily 65-72, and some turbo cars. Although they are working together this year to invite all Buick to Bowling Green.

DL

[dsags]

DL,

Repo pedal pads were a breeze  Getting the carpet glued down should not be though  Doing an 'alignment' now. Front end looked like it belonged on a Massey Ferguson.

Dan

[nut465gs]

With Brian's help figured out how the carpeting and consolette coexist.
With Tom T's help got the gas pedal and heat duct I needed. Sweet.

That's what this website is all about. Looking good Dan. You're on the home stretch.

John

[dsags]

You are right John. Thanks for your generous offer of a gas pedal too.

Dan

[dl7265]

DL,

Repo pedal pads were a breeze  Getting the carpet glued down should not be though  Doing an 'alignment' now. Front end looked like it belonged on a Massey Ferguson.

Dan

Just pick a nice 100F degree day there  , and let it relax a little. Are you planning on using 3M spray glue ?
DL

DL