65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
General Discussion => Q & A => Topic started by: Polishmeatballpizza on April 22, 2016, 10:17:43 PM
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Got the seats and carpet out, jeez, what a mess.
Can you guys tell from the pics, am I screwed? Or, can it be salvaged? I thinking floor pans are in my future.
*** Will the floor pans from a 64-72 Chevelle or El Camino fit the Buick Special? It's an A-Body, right?
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More pics
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Full length floors or a one piece floor ,braces,inter rockers will be the ticket! .Looks like the kick panel area will need to be rebuilt also! With a convertible this needs to be strong as they don't have the advantage of the roof structure a hardtop has! Keep in mind that repairs here wouldn't be easily seen as the kick panel cover goes over this area!
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Do you think I need to remove the kick panel covers, and replace them?
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mmmore
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more pics.......
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even more pics
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The kick panel can be patched , the door opening and windshield pillar needs to be braced before , starting any metal work! Convertibles tent to flex more than the other body styles! And it will be very hard to get things to line back up if this happens!
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For the most part the 64-66 a body floors are the same! The fit and quality of the repo pans do vary!
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How do you brace thedoor opening and window pillar?
Is this something I can do in my garage, or do I need to take it to a body shop?
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Could I just leave the doors closed during he entire process? Wouldn't that hold everything together?
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Dear George and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Hmm, this forum is unusually quiet for a weekend. Most of the gang may be preparing for the first Buick Club of America 65GS.com division meeting which is next weekend. So hang in there, you should be getting more advice soon.
As a family, we have always taken very good care of my trusty 1965 Buick Special wagon, so she has never needed the kind of restoration you are taking on. So sorry, I'm certainly not the person to give you any advice.
Cheers, Edouard
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Dear George and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Hmm, this forum is unusually quiet for a weekend. Most of the gang may be preparing for the first Buick Club of America 65GS.com division meeting which is next weekend. So hang in there, you should be getting more advice soon.
As a family, we have always taken very good care of my trusty 1965 Buick Special wagon, so she has never needed the kind of restoration you are taking on. So sorry, I'm certainly not the person to give you any advice.
Cheers, Edouard
Well, thanks for the reply. I figured everyone was busy. I'm cleaning the garage, making room for the new baby!
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How do you brace thedoor opening and window pillar?
Is this something I can do in my garage, or do I need to take it to a body shop?
That's tough to answer without writing a book!
There are lots of video's on Youtube that can show you the process.
It is something that can be done in a home garage if you have some metalworking and welding skills.
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George, your floors by themselves don't look any worse then others have he to deal with, but as stated you could write books on floor replacement. I would suggest the first thing you may want to do is inspect the three braces under the floor that run across from side to side. Then check the rocker panels for soundness.
This should help you understand the depth of repair required. If the rockers and braces are sound it will simplify the repair.
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George,
The car appears to be a refugee from the midwest or eastern US. I would get under and check the condition of the frame as well.
Very common for these to be rusted at the front, behind the front wheels.
The convertible body can be braced by welding and/or bolting tubing from the lock pillar (rear door jamb) to the hinge pillar.
Check out the Restoration forum, there should be pics there of this done to a number of converts that were restored.
Mark
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George,
The car appears to be a refugee from the midwest or eastern US. I would get under and check the condition of the frame as well.
Very common for these to be rusted at the front, behind the front wheels.
The convertible body can be braced by welding and/or bolting tubing from the lock pillar (rear door jamb) to the hinge pillar.
Check out the Restoration forum, there should be pics there of this done to a number of converts that were restored.
Mark
Would keeping the doors closed do the sane thing, as far as bracing?
Even if I'm just cutting small sections, I still need to brace it?
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George,
I think just from improved access it would be much better with doors off. Braces should be installed before removing from the frame.
With the swiss cheese floors in your car, a one piece pan would save a lot of time and aggravation. The kick panel areas will need work,
but as others here have said, all that can and has been done before.
Mark
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Instead of replacing the whole floor pan, I'm thinking of just doing the sections. I know it's more work, however, I don't feel comfortable doing the whole pan. Saw an article where they drilled holes from the bottom around the frame members, to locate the sections to cut.
One quote I got was $3500.
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In my experience, less is better. When we did the trunk in my car we bought the patch panel and only used about 1/3 of it to repair the areas needed. Left more of the original sheet metal in place and resulted in less total weld area.
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Unless your going for a concourse restoration, I also think less is better. A very wise man once told me, never cut out more than you need to.
How's the trunk and how are the body mount brackets just behind the rear wheels?
I started with a project similar to yours, I'll try to post some pictures of my efforts tonight.
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I have learned from experience the absolute best and easiest way to replace the floor is to find a parts car (like a 4-dr special) and cut the floor out along with the braces in one big piece. Put it in your car, then peel back a small tab over each brace to access it so you can weld it to the stub of the original brace still attached to the inside of the rocker panel. I did it to 2 65s and it is way better than trying to put in the aftermarket floor pans. The hard work with the aftermarket pans is spot welding them to the braces. I found that the contour of the aftermarket pans didn't always follow the braces perfectly and had the beat on and massage them to touch the braces so they could be spot welded.
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George, my floors were rusty with some daylight showing through however my rockers, bracing, upper toe area and tunnel were sound. I think most of my floor rust issues were the result of water leakage, the convertible curse. I elected to use patch panels because, I had never done it before. As Brian mentioned they do need fitting. After some trail and error I was able to maintain firm panel to brace contact.
Mine is a very slow moving project, it gets over run by so many other things. I have no set timeline, this is truly the hobby part for me and I have another 65 to drive.
Your project may come down to your comfort level doing the work (you need tools and a welder) and when you want to drive your car. So $3500 might not be to bad for labor and materials if it gets the car on the road quicker.