Buddy's Beauty - 65GS Hardtop

[Jimbo]

OPGI has visors. I purchased a pair a few years ago and they match my originals.

[Clatter]

Thanks for the tip, Jim.

Ours are Dove and hence have to be made.
Like that price? $495! 

Starting their journey into the abyss...!
SMS says 3-6 weeks.
3-6 months is my guess.
After you call the credit card company...

Bye little guys... Hope to see you again one day!
*sniff*

[Clatter]

Here's a specialist question for y'all..

The Skylark parts car has that cool tinted green glass.
Seems a nice whole set. In better shape than the GS.

Because our original build specs are unknown and Buddy likes the look,
The tinted glass would have been an appropriate available option with the GS, right?

Said another way,
A GS didn't necessarily come with clear glass, did it?
 

[Clatter]

Parts hunting is funny.
Trickier than i first thought since we want this car correct.

Take the courtesy lights for example.
OPGI and Fusick both seem to have the same ribbed light.
While our originals are smooth.
Looks like one of those cases where we're going to pay the chromer to re-do the originals.
Maybe we'll have to buy a re-pop to get a good set of parts or lenses?
Hopefully they all play together.

See also sun visor mounts.
Fusick costs a little over twice as much as OPGI.
Because a set of crappy re-pop anything pisses me off,
Fragile and breaks, doesn't fit, chrome fails after a year...
I'll buy the one that costs twice as much every time.
Problem is,
Erm,
They're both the same exact product made the same place, right?
 

Now, we're also looking for a rear-view mirror.
Anybody got one?
They make the stalk so we just need the mirror body part itself.
Was going to disassemble and send the mirror glass for re-silvering,
Polish the body,
But the day/night cam won't stay in place.
Probably not fixable...

[elagache]

Dear Clatter and mid-60s Buick caregivers, 

The Skylark parts car has that cool tinted green glass.
Seems a nice whole set. In better shape than the GS.

Because our original build specs are unknown and Buddy likes the look,
The tinted glass would have been an appropriate available option with the GS, right?

Said another way,
A GS didn't necessarily come with clear glass, did it?

I'm well out of my league so hopefully the real 1965 GS experts will soon chime in.  Back in 2012, I got the windshield and tailgate glass for my trusty wagon from Pilkington Classics.  I just tried to find their website and classic cars isn't mentioned.  The closest I could find was a phone number and email that you can reach at this webpage:

https://www.pilkington.com/en/us/contacts/automotive

Much more ominous is a reference to Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd at the bottom of the webpage.  Has Pilkington been bought out?  Anybody know?

Now, we're also looking for a rear-view mirror.
Anybody got one?

Not to belittle a reparable OEM mirror, but at least OPGI sells a reproduction:

 https://www.opgi.com/mirrors-hardware/inside-rearview-mirrors/inside-rearview-mirrors3/mirror-inside-10-with-black-twist-knob-1964-66-a-body-CH97033.html

Can you believe it? OPGI claims that this is the paragon of quality and accuracy . . . .   

Once more, what is the opinion of the 65GS.com community on this claim?

Edouard

[cwmcobra]

Steve,

Tinted glass was an option on the 65 GS. The car I restored didn't have AC and had clear glass. I retrofitted factory AC during the restoration and replaced the glass with tinted and date coded SoftRay glass. Perfectly correct.

I have a couple of nice mirror bodies and a resilvered mirror available. I was going to install the mirror into one of the bodies, but the silvering is so delicate I was afraid to damage it. If you want to try your hand at it, send me a PM.

And the OPGI mirror that Edouard linked to is a nice part but not correct. 1965 Skylarks had an 8" mirror, not 10". I had a 10" in mine for awhile and it didn't cause any deduction in judging. Lucky to have judges that didn't know or didn't care, I guess. The mirror bodies and glass I have available are 8" and correct.

Chuck

[Loren At 65GS]

Chuck is very correct on all the points.
I found it interesting that ordering AC, didn't mean tinted glass was an automatic addition. Tinted glass had to be ordered separately at additional cost. Also, tinted glass could be ordered on non-AC cars. Oh, there was also a bulletin about the add on air not being used in a GS. After having that add-on AC system on a parts car, I could see that there is not enough room under the dash for both the AC and a console [automatic or manual].
 Another thing, this one I don't quite understand is that the original specs for the Gran Sport says that bucket seats were part of the GS package but every original sales paper I've seen, there is a charge for the bucket seats. Must have been a way for the dealers to make a few extra few bucks.    lol

  Loren

[elagache]

Thanks Chuck and Loren for satisfying my curiosity!   

After all, even on Thanksgiving, one does not live by turkey alone!

Edouard

[Clatter]

Tri-five visor trim that Loren found showed up.

Parts are a -little- bigger than OG.
Slight difference.

Not going to bother me... 
FYI.

[Clatter]

Thanks to Chuck for the mirror,
It's added to the boxes in the attic for that one day when we start putting things together.


In the meantime,
We got some stuff taken apart! 

Because the Martins do hot-rod stuff mostly...
Want to check details on correct OG motor painting.

Were the assembled engines painted in their entirety after assembly?
Or were the castings painted, then assembled afterwards?
Say, freeze plugs showing as zinc or painted over in green?
How about head bolts and the like?
Metal finished or painted after assembly?

I'm tempted to blow this engine apart, tank everything and shoot it in real car paint in a booth.
Blasted, epoxy base coat, etc.
Like they did here:
Pretty sure you all have seen this, right?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0be_NBYPCNk

Get everything clean and inspected, fasteners plated, etc. etc.
Deliver the stuff ready for assembly.
But the Martins are supposedly the best and want the thing delivered assembled,
And Buddy wants the pros to do what the pros do.
Any of you guys have experience here?

Hard for me to relinquish control! 

[WkillGS]

....
Were the assembled engines painted in their entirety after assembly?
....

Yes, they were painted after assembly.

I'll start. I'm not 100% sure on the following tho. Looking for verification from others.

Intake manifold was in place, as a portion of the valley cover did not receive paint.
I think distributor was installed, but I'm not sure on that. It may have been partially masked during engine painting.
Same for fuel pump... it may have been partly masked off for painting.
The alternator bracket is installed later. The aluminum bracket is unpainted. Lower steel bracket can be black or unpainted. Upper steel bracket I've seen black or engine color.
Power steering bracket is engine color. I believe it was installed after assembly/painting.

[Clatter]

....
Were the assembled engines painted in their entirety after assembly?
....

Yes, they were painted after assembly.

I'll start. I'm not 100% sure on the following tho. Looking for verification from others.

Intake manifold was in place, as a portion of the valley cover did not receive paint.
I think distributor was installed, but I'm not sure on that. It may have been partially masked during engine painting.
Same for fuel pump... it may have been partly masked off for painting.
The alternator bracket is installed later. The aluminum bracket is unpainted. Lower steel bracket can be black or unpainted. Upper steel bracket I've seen black or engine color.
Power steering bracket is engine color. I believe it was installed after assembly/painting.

Big thanks Walt.

Vaguely remember seeing a thread about this stuff somewhere here... 

Might have to try some carchaeology...
Perhaps there is some original paint hidden under the rainbow.
Maybe with a careful application of paint stripper we might discover original finishes?
Because info on Fremont cars is a bit thinner perhaps,
And they did seem to do things differently at times.

Really good to know that engines were shot fasteners in place and all.
That will be easier for the Martins vs. some of the show-detailed street rod motors they do.

Engine detailing can be the funnest part of the whole build! 

[Clatter]

Something else only an expert would know...

These rivets that hold the body tag to the firewall.
Guessing they're some kind of special tamper-proof original items.
Anywhere to get repops or new?

Our tag has a couple coats of paint, a small tear, etc.
Plus, the whole shell is getting blasted.
It will need restored. What is the correct finish?

Don't want to just use regular pop-rivets putting it back on.
It would be unfortunate to leave in place, but if it's what we have to do...

[Loren At 65GS]

Something else only an expert would know...

These rivets that hold the body tag to the firewall.
Guessing they're some kind of special tamper-proof original items.
Anywhere to get repops or new?

Our tag has a couple coats of paint, a small tear, etc.
Plus, the whole shell is getting blasted.
It will need restored. What is the correct finish?

Don't want to just use regular pop-rivets putting it back on.
It would be unfortunate to leave in place, but if it's what we have to do...

Here's a link to eBay listings for correct rivets.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=cowl+tag+rivet&_sacat=0

 Loren

[Clatter]

Something else only an expert would know...

These rivets that hold the body tag to the firewall.
Guessing they're some kind of special tamper-proof original items.
Anywhere to get repops or new?

Our tag has a couple coats of paint, a small tear, etc.
Plus, the whole shell is getting blasted.
It will need restored. What is the correct finish?

Don't want to just use regular pop-rivets putting it back on.
It would be unfortunate to leave in place, but if it's what we have to do...

Here's a link to eBay listings for correct rivets.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=cowl+tag+rivet&_sacat=0

 Loren

POW! Just like that.
Magic!

A billion thanks.