65 GS Post Coupe Restoration (Painting)

[option B9]

    Hi everyone, my 65 GS Post Coupe is in the shop for finished bodywork & paint. After 2 years and 3 body shops later. I found the right shop that was willing to preform the work now !  And not take my money and put it in the corner and never do the work..
   A brief history on the GS, I purchased the Post Coupe (flame red) back in May 2003 from Sandy Shuman in PA, loaded it on a U-Haul trailer and brought it home to NYC. The GS was basically a very rusty parts car. It needed everything. But I was determined to get it back on the road. Thru the 18 years I purchased 4 parts cars for some of the parts needed. Other parts came from fellow BCA members across the country. Replacing rusted out sheet metal took most of the time since I wanted to do it right the first time. The welding, new suspension, power front disc brakes, motor upgrades were all completed by the fall of 2018. In the Spring of 2019 I re-assembled the GS and started looking for a paint shop.
  Last week I received a call from the body shop to say that a rep from PPG was there to scan the paint so they can mix the correct code R paint color. This past Thursday I was at the shop to approve the paint color that they test sprayed on the front. I brought my 65 Buick Color & Trim album to match up the paint and it matched up ! So now they can go ahead and spray. I took photos of the GS to document the painting, More photos in a few weeks.

    Tony 

[GS66]

Nice! Happy to hear of the progress Tony! I have been trying to get my car painted for almost 2 years.

[elagache]

Dear Tony, Jim, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks Tony for the update on this very special car!     Please do keep us posted on the painting progress!

Cheers, Edouard 

[gssizzler]

Wow! So good to see a project nearing the finish line! Steve would be so excited to see this car back to factory and on the road! Looking really nice!

[cwmcobra]

Looking good Tony!  I'm sure Steve and the entire Shuman family will be proud when it's completed and better than it left the factory.  His legacy lives on!

Keep the pictures coming!

 

Chuck

[option B9]

  Thanks everyone, It sure feels good to get to this point in the restoration after having so many problems with body shops promising but not owning up to what they say. But seeing new red paint on the GS  Thursday really made me feel that I kept my promise to Sandy all those years ago. The shop has plenty of work to do, so I may not get it back until sometime in September. But I will be going out to see it about every Two weeks so I will take more photos as work progresses.
   You may notice the small air cleaner on the 401, I made that up from a small inexpensive no name flea market find, had to weld in a smaller ring to make it fit the AFB but it works just fine. The stock GS air cleaner just kept getting in the way, and I did not want to damage it. When the GS comes home I have the the rest of the dealer option chrome dress-up kit to install. Thanks again for all of your support..

                                                                                                 Tony   

[Robert V]

Tony,
Looking good, I can't wait to see the finished project.
It will be worth the wait!
Robert v

[Rollaround]

Tony, you’ve succeeded in finding a shop that follows through. Exciting times, finial paint is like the icing in the cake, a significant milestone. Let the assembly begin..   

[option B9]

    I went out to the shop on the 6th, The bodywork on both front fenders is completed so they sprayed color on the inside of the front fenders, and were working on the hood in the spray booth. So work is progressing slowly. Next update will be in September.... 

         Tony 

[GS66]

Nice to see you found a place that gets things done! Your car will look great!

[cwmcobra]

Good progress Tony!

[elagache]

Dear Tony, Jim, Chuck, and mid-60s Buick restorers,

I went out to the shop on the 6th, The bodywork on both front fenders is completed so they sprayed color on the inside of the front fenders, and were working on the hood in the spray booth.

Thanks for the photo!  It does bring back memories of when my trusty wagon was repaired from the November 2010 accident and repainted.

So work is progressing slowly. Next update will be in September.... 

As Jim says, that's a decent pace for a body shop.  Your GS has only been there about a month.  The shop that painted my wagon took 3 months to make comparable progress.  I assume that even for your shop, insurance repairs still get priority, so they have limited man-hours for classics.

When it comes body shop work, you need lots and lots of patience!

Cheers, Edouard 

[option B9]

 Edouard, Chuck, Jim.   Yes the insurance work is a priority in every shop, that's where they make the big money. But they are making progress on the GS. Slow and steady seems how they are going about the work. They also have a 71 Nova that needed major bodywork and that's coming out really nice too. At this rate the GS should be completed this Fall. Just in time for the cooler weather..

                    Tony   

[option B9]

    Hi everyone. its been a while since I posted any information on my post coupe restoration. But since my GS is in the shop I took advantage of having an empty garage. I went thru my hardware and organized everything into those plastic sorting cases, purchased several new tool chests and made a rolling work bench/welding table with a quarter inch steel plate top and clamp storage underneath. And just before the cold weather set in I epoxy painted the floor.
    I finally went out to the body shop to see the GS this past Friday. The body work is basically completed, now they are going to start priming and block sanding. I took several photos that I will post. The work is proceeding slow, but it's getting done. So it's good news... 

                     Tony 

[cwmcobra]

Good to make progress Tony.  Hope the rest of the project gets priority at the shop!