Secret experimental 1964 GX 455

[yachtsmanbill]

Hey Brian... Merry Christmas! That chevelle valance is incorrect for the Buicks and Olds'. Something subtle I'm sure.  I have some material left over from the trunk floor job and just gonna fab what I need from that; waste not want not eh? Still looking for a chunk of passenger side very rear end of the quarter panel. More to fab and pretty complicated. Keep an eyeball peeled for me woodya? thanks...   Bill in TR formerly from Darien!

[yachtsmanbill]

Sometimes perfection is measured in hours. One lousy 6 inch piece took 4 hours. Just brushed some primer on it to keep the rust (oxydation) at bay until the 'glass filler gets finished.  This is before, during and after. Very little filler gonna be needed. This was a "practice run". Pretty rusty on welding rust (?), but its coming back to me LOL...   Bill

[gssizzler]

Progress! Looking great !

[yachtsmanbill]

We're trying!
If anyone may be interested,I watch "Trevs' blog" on youtube. Its amazing what the guy can do.. Sometime when youre bored, have a looksee... Bill

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNTUDByoDoSlWxwzVvVIM1VRQQ6NvA%3A1576415784324&source=hp&ei=KDL2XZnlEIyqtQXmipygDQ&q=Trevs+Blog&oq=Trevs+Blog&gs_l=psy-ab.3..35i39j0l5j0i22i10i30j0i22i30l3.3286.9278..9920...3.0..0.99.991.11....2..0....1..gws-wiz.....10..35i362i39j0i67j0i10.godxu9NTtmI&ved=0ahUKEwiZmdy23rfmAhUMVa0KHWYFB9QQ4dUDCAg&uact=5

[elagache]

Dear Bill, Jon, and mid-60s Buick owners with a perfection streak!

Sometimes perfection is measured in hours. One lousy 6 inch piece took 4 hours.
. . . . . .

. . . . . What are you complaining about?  That's a rate of 1-1/2" per hour!  Better still, I computed that in under a second - never mind an hour! . . . .

Yeah I know, . . .  with friends like this . . . . . . 

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Yeah I know, . . .  with friends like this . . . . . . 

Who needs school teachers??? LOL That comes out to about .025" per second haha... So whats another 6 hours amongst friends? Tomorrow will be a finesse grinding job; this is the rough cut. The corners take burr grinding (my fave) and it'll look good. Its tough to get in there with a pretty weld with all the crud on the underside. BON, this was operating room clean to begin with! The port side will be a breeze.  Bill 

[yachtsmanbill]

Just strolling along. Fingers are tingling from the grinding and couldnt feel the contours anymore. Blue tape shows it pretty well.    A few minor tweaks here and there and it'll be ready for a finger swipe of filler. Then onto the rear quarter panel fab job. YUCK! 

Theres one more piece to make. The templates from the other side fit the port side pretty well... so far. What a chore that mustve been back in the day! The corner shows steel, a brazed joint, and lead in the valance joint for filler. That would put GM in the poor house these days.  Bill

[elagache]

Thanks Bill for keeping us updated!

It is definitely taking a fair amount of "fabbing" effort, but the results are looking good!   

I'm sure BADLASS appreciates all da' luv!! . . . . 

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

The luv is good, but the PRO-creating is better LOL... Thanks Ed!   Bill

[yachtsmanbill]

Had to do some running around this morning, so I didnt even turn the heat on until 1100hrs. An hour to warm the shop (it was 5*F this morning!) and got started around noon. The tweek job on the starboard side involved cutting a weld, and moving the insert about 1/8" That turned into a mess so I'll probably re-do it with new steel tomorrow. All 3" of it.  Oh well...

The port side was a breeze; way less rust and tried two new moves. To maintain the radius at the valance is a 90* butt weld, with some iffy base material. I formed a piece of that green 3/16 brake line as a batten. It worked well, however, the green stuff came off with a scotch brite, and after a few tacks, I discovered it was also galvanized. Had to finesse grind that stuff off in place. That and the drive wheels on my ol' Miller MIG are worn and didnt want to push the wire. I kinda "knurled" the main roller with a center punch. Actually FOUR punches as the wheel is hard as a rock and busted the 4 points! Still succeeded but Im gonna pick up new wheels. 20 some years worth so I got my moneys worth.  Oh well.

So the port side went pretty well. After the wheel thing and the brake line, it stitched up rather nicely. Some more grinding in the morning and that should finish that aspect. I believe the pin holes in each stitch are the result of leftover zinc from the tubing. This whole job is tedious and needs to be good to fit the glass proppa...  Bill

[yachtsmanbill]

So I was grinding the radius on the starboard side and saw a hairline crack due to a really thin fillet weld on the corner., Had to slice it open and fit another piece of 3/16" brake line for a filler. Turned out good and went with some glass filler. After sanding, there were a few high spots showing as steel, so that got dressed down below the second glass level. Another shot of glass and it was good to go. Some D/A sanding proved it to be pretty well so I shot some galvanized primer on it. Maybe one more dose of glass and some hand sanding will produce a superior result; lets hope so! This is over a week on two corner repairs. Cant wait to start doing real body work!

Pats coming home tomorrow so Ill need to spend the day with her. She's getting along with a cane and already talking about going shopping. Almost off the narcotic pain meds. You go girl! Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill and 65GS.com faithful

Good to hear that both Pat and BADLASS are on the mend!    Just try to restrain Pat's shopping instinct! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks Ed... and everyone else too. We had to go to walgreens for a scrip tonight and then stopped by for some Mexican. First meal that Pat sat and enjoyed. Hospital food is bad, and rehab place grub is even blander. So now shes tuned up and resting on the couch. Gonna have a chance to get out and clean shop tomorrow.

So now, not to re-hash old news, but I need to look into a headliner kit. I see the kits (probably from the same china gulag!) from 79.00 to 169.00. I have (had) what is called a basketweave pattern. None that Ive seen so far remotely resemble what I had. Whats the consensus on this one? I looked at OPGI and Rot-auto and am kinda disappointed. Opinions appreciated. Tips and techniques too! Heres what was on mine and the current "basketweave" pattern. I dont mind changing, but the visors are good enough to re-use. Thoughts? First one in green is the new stuff. The blue is mine. The last pic is kinda hard to read with the digitosis camera but says NAUGAHYDE 64... Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill and caregivers of mid-60s Buicks and more!

Thanks Ed... and everyone else too. We had to go to walgreens for a scrip tonight and then stopped by for some Mexican. First meal that Pat sat and enjoyed. Hospital food is bad, and rehab place grub is even blander. So now shes tuned up and resting on the couch. Gonna have a chance to get out and clean shop tomorrow.

I'm glad that Pat is back at home and able to have a more normal life.  Hospitals and rehab centers do want to encourage you to go home, but I don't think they need to stoop to crummy food to provide extra incentive!

So now, not to re-hash old news, but I need to look into a headliner kit. I see the kits (probably from the same china gulag!) from 79.00 to 169.00. I have (had) what is called a basketweave pattern. None that Ive seen so far remotely resemble what I had. Whats the consensus on this one? . . . .

Biquette will need a new headliner one of these days but I've never looked into what was being offered.  I second your feelings of disappointment.  I took two pictures of Biquette's sun visor.  Here is one with the camera flash going off:



As always, click on the image to get a high-resolution version.  Here is the one illuminated by an LED work light only:



Indeed the original pattern is very fine and subtle.  What has everybody else been doing for headliners?

Bill, are you planning to put some insulation between the roof and the headliner?  BADLASS doesn't have nearly as much roof surface area as Biquette, but I would expect even sitting in a parking lot under full sunlight for 15-20 minutes would be enough to make the car uncomfortably warm.  Since BADLASS won't have air conditioning, I would expect even some economy insulation would make taking the car out for errands more enjoyable.

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Its a sure thing that the food incentive wasnt subtle LOL. Every day Pats getting stronger and back to her being her obergruppenf?hrer self haha. Hell, she lets me play and I dont stray, so its all good!

To getcha up to speed since youve been sunning on the south coast on the Med,  I got the whole back window frame sanded, cleaned, 2 coats of primer (one zinc and one reg'lar spray primer) a nice heavy coat of Navy Blue as a base, and another nice heavy coat of Navy Blue metallic as a cover. I think its the route I wanna go. I wanted to get the window frame ruffed in for two reasons. To play with a paint color, and get it colored (covered) for a headliner install. You know when I start rolling, boulders jump outa my way haha. Then, the glass can go back in.

I cant believe that GM changed little things as subtle as the headliner pattern between years. Ive been looking til' Im blue in the face at patterns for the last couple of days. The pattern on my '64 is ARIEL and yours is a BASKETWEAVE.  Both of the honest patterns are out of print. To me its apples and oranges, but now Ill hafta get the 2 visors resewn as well. Stay away from the later perforated type. Thats no different than a zip edge on a social security envelope. and ad to that sewing penetrations, you have a double potential for failure. Nuff said on that. Good luck with your choice. While its out, its also a good time to pull the seats etc and paint those inside door jams. In your pics, the OEM paint is showing her patina. LOL. I plan on doing the steel on my dash board and door window frame this week. The smell of fresh paint in the morning reminds me, of,,, VICTORY!

So instead of sitting watching the paint dry (theres another LOL in there someplace!) I put on my BRAVE boy pants and cut out the rear valance. MUCH easier to work on on the bench/anvil. I sat and debated where to cut for an hour with an 18" scale. Cut it once, but measured it twice. Turned out good. Fifteen minutes on the anvil and its already about 80% better. The red circled part is what was collapsed on the car and it wouldve sucked "trying" to straighten that in situ. Tomorrow thats going back in with a smidge of filler and get primed. Theres no substitute for immediate gratification.

One other issue I encountered; are the trunk letters self adhesive? Theres ZERO access for nuts from underneath. Ideas or comments???  WHEW!!  Bill