New member in Canada

[jackadoo]

Hi - I'm new to the world of Gran Sports - introduced through my dad who bought a 65 convertible last fall.  He's not much of a computer guy so I expect I'll be posting up his questions.

The car is a nice driver, restored in the original navy on white combo.    The features match the cowl tag as I deciphered it except for the original Buick tach and Stewart Warner retro gauges that my dad installed.  There are a few things we want to tidy up (cracked steering wheel and dash and one pitted rear tail) and my dad is looking to install rear seatbelts.

We're in Toronto and purchased the car from Ottawa.  We think the car spent some time in Ohio as there is an Ohio chapter BCA sticker on the windshield.  Unfortunately the original VIN plate is no longer on the doorframe - there's a sticker on the door (above the latch) that shows the VIN.  We're not sure if the car has been given a new VIN for some reason or if the engine is not original to the car) as this number doesn't seem to match what we see on the engine.  We haven't been able to find the VIN on the frame but I will look next time my dad puts the car on the lift.  I understand it should be on the top side of the frame by the driver's door - is that correct?

Cheers

Mark

Cheers

Mark

[Loren At 65GS]

Welcome Mark,
  There are two spots on the frame for the s/n. You are correct about the one under the drivers door. Also there is one located on the drivers frame rail on the trunk extension portion.It is on the outboard side, not the inboard gas tank side.
 Loren

[mrbuick65]

Hello Mark. I met you at Stouffville a couple of weeks ago at the big car show. I had the red 65 GS. Still waiting to get an email with the pictures of the car. mrbuick65@rogers.com
John

[nut465gs]

Welcome Mark,

Glad to have you and you father aboard. Very nice convertible. Midnight Blue with a white top is a great color combo.

Almost all '65 steering wheels are cracked. They can be professionally restored for big bucks. Or there is a guy (Frank) who reproduced the '65 Skylark steering wheel a couple years back. I don't know if he has any more left. Anyone know how to contact him? The dash pad can also be restored or look for another that's not cracked. It can be dyed to match most interior colors. The pitting in the taillights is typical. They can be rechromed for big bucks or you can search for one that is not so pitted. The Skylark Gran Sport taillights, dash pad and steering wheel are the same as what was used on standard Skylarks.

Regarding the VIN and serial number, besides the VIN tag in the driver's door jamb, the serial number should also be stamped on the front on the engine block on the drivers side.  On the passenger's side of the engine block should be stamped LR plus three digits. The VIN should be stamped on the frame in two different locations, as you know, Frame rail top side under driver's door. It's is virtually impossible to see it without taking the body off the frame. My mentor Loren, must be losing it. The other VIN should be stamped on the TOP of the frame rail, driver's side trunk extension portion. If the frame does not have a lot of rust, you can read it using a mirror. You might need to scotch brite it to make it easier to read. Correct Loren? However, on the outboard side of that trunk frame extension will be the frame's part number. There were two suppliers of the boxed GS frame. It should be either #9777400 or 9780911.

Can you share what numbers you found in those locations? The number on the top frame rail should be correct for the car. It will tell you whether the engine was swapped or if a new VIN was assigned to it by Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, can you share the data on the firewall trim tag. Again welcome and congratulations to your dad for buying such a desirable musclecar classic.

John Egel

[Chris]

Midnight blue with a white top has to be one of my favorite color combos... very nice looking car!

Welcome to the club Mark stay warm up North.  :)

Chris

[Mister T]

Welcome from another Canucklehead.   Nice looking vert you have.

I wonder if at some point, this car was stolen, recovered, and assigned a new VIN by either the DMV, or perhaps State Police. 

[nut465gs]

Found the site for the reproduction steering wheels. They only come in black so you may need to paint it to match interior color.

http://www.mcintyreenterprisesltd.com/

John

[campfamily]

Has anybody bought one of these, and if so, were you happy?  The wheel in my car is black (I have a white interior), will I need to do any painting to this wheel to make it match?

Thanks in advance,

Keith

[dsags]

I bought one and they are nice. The steering wheel should be gray similar to the dash pad and board. If the steering column is gray the wheel should come close to matching that.

[WkillGS]

I bought a couple of the repo wheels. They are an exact reproduction.
They're molded in a dull black, so even for a black interior they'll need to be painted.
Somebody got carried away when scraping off the casting flash on my wheels, so expect to do some priming, filling and sanding of the casting lines to produce a flawless finish.

I believe this was a one-shot deal. once they're sold, they're gone..... call to confirm.

[jackadoo]

Hi everyone - thanks for all the messages - I haven't been on the site in a while and dad is not so keen on "that damn interweb".

I haven't had a chance to look for the second VIN on the frame - we're supposed to be installing rear seatbelts soon and will hoist it for that so I'll try to take a peek on the topside of the rear section and report back what we find.

I think the next "upgrade" will be a clock - my dad isn't as fussed by the wheel and dash as I am and its his car.  I spend my time with an unmolested, all original 1984 Rabbit GTI - just like I had in highschool.   

[campfamily]

I spend my time with an unmolested, all original 1984 Rabbit GTI - just like I had in highschool.   

My first brand new car was a 1984 GTI.  I loved that car, I wish I had never sold it.  Bright red, red interior, sunroof.  Somewhere I have a picture of me autocrossing that car on three wheels!!  I put nearly 75,000 miles on that car in the four years I owned it, and loved every minute of it!

Keith