Seeing some progress FINALLY...65 Resto

[nail lark]

    It is actually warming up enough to get something done. I finished the underside in semi gloss and am working out the quarters after installing the alpha lower sections. The body was in my shed most of the winter and we plan on keeping it right in our way until it is white. It seems that there were a lot of days that we worked without seeing any light,but I think I am over the proverbial hump on this one. I will probably have tons of annoying questions, but I consider this to be past the half-way point with the driveline done and the body totally de-rusted and epoxy primed. Just a brief update....This is the car that my dad had written inside the quarter panel with his greasy fingers in 1965 at the Flint plant. They would smear something in grease and spatter paint over it. He said they used to do that all the time on 3rd shift....anything to override boredom.
When I work for GM we would find bottles with screws in them . They were in the doors or in the rear quarters. But that's neat working on a car that your dad built.

[schlepcar]

I think found a solution to my nasty portivent problem. I tried like crazy to find a nicer set and I ended up sending the housings to Terry Meetz in Brillion ,WI. He did an excellent job of repairing the pits and restoring the chrome. Next,I had to try to repair the inserts and had a broken one that Wheelz replaced for me out of an extra housing. After repairing the pits and imperfections with filler and etching primer I had to try to duplicate the correct finish. I went through various try and resand,and try again techniques. The end solution was quite simple and gave me the best result. I bought some exterior aluminum gloss paint and sprayed on multiple coats over time over perfectly finished primer. After it had dried for a couple days(or 47 beers in Wisconsin time), I lightly scratched it in straight lines parallel to the length with a course scotch brite pad. This gave me the brushed stainless look that I needed without having to try to locate nice inserts,which are getting more and more extinct.

[GS66]

Nice work Dan! Maybe next summer I can stop over for a ride!

[schlepcar]

I'm at that "more money than time" stage where everything I need cost$$$$$. I just bought some nice tail light housings from dsags and now I need to figure out what bumper route is the best. The bumper boys are always at the swap meets with better prices than their website,so maybe I will wait a bit. Did you get any snow yet?

[elagache]

Dear Dan, Jim, and mid-60s Buick lovers,

I think found a solution to my nasty portivent problem.
. . . .

It looks really good!     Too bad 1965 Specials had a different vent design . . . .

After it had dried for a couple days(or 47 beers in Wisconsin time),

. . . Did you keep the beer cans to be absolutely sure of the time? . . . .

Congrats!  Good job! 

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Thus far, the vents on my trusty wagon look really good for being original all these 50 years!

[dsags]

I'm at that "more money than time" stage where everything I need cost$$$$$. I just bought some nice tail light housings from dsags and now I need to figure out what bumper route is the best. The bumper boys are always at the swap meets with better prices than their website,so maybe I will wait a bit. Did you get any snow yet?

If your current bumpers fit well the thing to do is just get them chromed. Several members have had issues with replacement bumpers that don't fit. In Wisconsin the body shops send them to North Star (think that's correct) Plating. They can straighten if needed and you get the same bumper back as was sent in. Cost is about $500 per bumper.

Glad those tail lights worked out for you.

Dan

[WkillGS]

I have a '66 bumper from North Star. Beautiful work.
Tri City Plating in Tennessee is another good replater.

I've read a lot of bad reviews about Bumper Boyz. Best to do some research first.

x2 on Dan's recommendation about checking fit before replating. It doesn't take much of a hit on our front bumpers to bend the point upwards.

[mdkd]

Dan

I agree with Dan dsags.

I had a small but annoying dent in my original 65 GS bumper above the rear license plate.

I decided to have both the front and rear bumpers done at the same time so they would have the same shine.

After 50 years the shine was getting dull.

I had North Star chrome my first GS bumpers back in the mid 80s and was very happy so I turned back to them again.

It seems they have gone through a lot of restructuring including teaming up with Keystone.

They are located in Brainerd MN and you can get a lot more details with a Google.

I have a lake place just north of Brainerd so I personally brought my bumpers up for repair.

While talking to North Star they said they get bumpers to redo from all over the world so a call to them could get you a good suggestion on how to get yours to them.

The bumpers I had on my GS at the BCA Nationals this last year are a sample of their work.

I was very happy with their results.

The rear bumper dent was gone. I got my original bumpers back. I considered the price fair. The shine was a mirror. The bumpers fit. The delivery time was as stated. The people were good to work with.

For people who haven't had bumpers redone before I did have marks on the back side of the rear bumper to straighten out the dent. Once installed these dents are Impossible to see so it depends on how pure you want things to be.

Milton

[GS66]

Dan, I will be out your way next week. Too early for a ride?😀😀

[wheelz]

Guys...a short story...FWIW, I've been sending Tri City Plating all my bumpers for many years... little over a month ago, I sold a 70 Lark/GS front bumper to a client in Alabama.  I convinced the buyer to have me send the bumper direct from me to Tri City, as I've done many times in the past.  This bumper condition was no different than the others, including the infamous CRACK at the point of the bumper.     In fact not only 70, but 71 & even some 72, have this annoying crack.
I received a call from Chip at Tri City a week later and he was notifying me "THEY NO LONGER REPAIR CRACKS"... I said WHUUUUUUUT?

Ya. They've had some issues in the past and now no longer repair cracks or tears in bumpers.

SO, now, you must repair your own cracks in the bumpers BEFORE sending them to Tri City... and even then, they will NOT honour their LIFETIME GUARANTEE on the plating over the welding repaired areas.

This bothered me deeply.  HOW can they be a BUMPER REPLATING BIDNESS and NOT repair bumpers????

Well, a long conversation with owner Chip Carrier and I am EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED that they simply will no longer take on bumpers with cracks. PERIOD.

THAT being said, 'RANDY' a fello who used to be production manager at Tri City for 18 years, (whom I've kept in touch with) has recently opened the doors to the public and to possibly challenge Tri City, just updah street from Tri City...called R&D Chrome Finishing Services.  423.543.1722   They also offer LIFETIME WARRANTY AND..they repair cracks AND pot metal.  Sales@RDFinishing.net 
equally as important to mention, Tri City has been sending R&D all their diecast replating ever since they opened....!

I have NOT personally seen any replated bumpers from R&D so I cannot comment...

Just say'n... if your bumper does NOT have cracks, Tri City would be still be a good choice. However, if it does have cracks and/or tears, know that Tri City wont touch it, but R&D will.   

Wheelz, Tampa Bay

[schlepcar]

Dan, I will be out your way next week. Too early for a ride?😀😀

Well Jim....it does move,does that count? I have all the panels lined up with a final sand ready for warmer weather. I think iI can say I am dragging a little on it and need to put it back in my way. Let me know when you are going to be this way,Dan

[GS66]

Dan, I was in Gaylord this week and it was snowing. Maybe the approaching weather will allow you more time to work on the car!😀

[schlepcar]

I am down to blocking out the hood and I'm a moron....I have literally stripped this hood to bare steel 3 times. The first time I primed it and ran up town just long enough for it to get rained on. I then sanded it all off and reprimed. After blocking it all nice I sprayed some urethane primer on which apparently had sat too long because the activator never cured the material. This in turn allowed the primer to soften the epoxy underneath and once again I had to chemically strip EVERYTHING...So,the moral of the story is never give a care about what you are painting and it will be nice the first time.

[elagache]

Dear Dan and mid-60s Buick painters,

I am down to blocking out the hood and I'm a moron....I have literally stripped this hood to bare steel 3 times.

I'm afraid that's simply par for the course when it comes to painting.  I had to repaint the dashboard knob bezel at least that many times because of various mistakes I made.  Painting and body work is really a horrible catch 22.  If you really want your car to turn out right, there is a strong motivation to do it yourself because you care so much about it and hiring a professional will cost you an arm and a leg.  Alas, painting is the front line between your car and the elements, and for all our technology, getting a beautiful paint job is really pushing our technology - especially since we can no longer use the solvents that made paint tougher.

Taking care of an old car means getting quite an education from the "school of hard knocks."  All you can do is take the blows and move on.

Edouard

[schlepcar]

This is true and every time you relearn material tech/data sheets and get comfortable using the newest stuff.......they will discontinue it and you are back to ground zero. I actually am quite familiar with a lot of the material I am using and my biggest problem is that I do not use this stuff as fast as I used to. It is going to waterborne paint and the stuff I use is more old school but you have to be careful how it is stored. I thought that it was likely to eventually give me grief since it was the last panel to be finished. The rest of the car was going too smoothly. I also got a line on a Keystone rep that will guarantee satisfaction on the bumpers for $900 for the pair. That is the best deal I have found and I am giving it a try.