65GS.com - Buick Gran Sport Enthusiasts!
Projects & Restorations => Projects & Restorations => Topic started by: gssizzler on May 02, 2020, 01:21:12 AM
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Finally got my post car to my buddy's to get the sheet metal work underway!
Got a couple small patches to put in the driver's floor pan and a patch to put
In the passenger side quarter! Hoping to get the carb and manifold changed out,plus take off the aluminum valley cover and put the stock steel one back on!A recurved distributor with pertronix is going in! Going to try and get it to run better! It sure likes Sunoco 110 though! Put in some fresh stuff today! His post car is right next to mine! Good company! Going to have to go right to the mat! My post can't stay long!
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Dear John and mid-60s Buick restorers,
Finally got my post car to my buddy's to get the sheet metal work underway!
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Thanks for starting a thread about this car's restoration so we can follow along! :hello2:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Welded up some holes in the body and ground down with carbide cutters! Didn't get pictures! I did take a shot of the floor on drivers side! There were holes and metal was weak rather than trying to weld and grind ,weld and grind, putting in a original floor patch! This was challenging to do as you can't cut deep or you cut the frame, brake and fuel lines! Talk about close quarters! I did it! But was nervous! After this the quarter panel patch which is going to be a bigger challenge! I want it to look nice and fit good so I can put the wheel well trim on!
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Oh boy,oh boy, oh boy... Do you already have the patch? New or an old cut out. If you want a nice fit, try this:
Using some generic numbers we'll call the HOLE 12" x 12". Mark the floor 1" larger all the way around. Now the MARK is 14 x 14. Take your patch and square it up just within those marks, cutting as needed to fit. Tack it to the floor so it wont move. Mark the new panel 1/2" smaller all the way around. So now its tacked and immobile and marked for an accurate cut. Plunge cut the skinny cut off wheel and follow between the marks on the new and old panel cutting through both the patch and the existing floor at the same time.
Grind off the locating tack welds and debur.The new panel being cut with a 1/32" thick wheel and around the circumference will be 1/16" smaller and just about drop into position. Yeah... be careful on the piping and PB cable! Whats the rush right? Take a 1/4" ish piece of aluminum for a bucker upper and tack the patch in. Try to keep it centered for the gap. You can use a 2x4 to push up off the shop floor and push down from the top so its flush for a tack. The aluminum wont weld to the steel and will help keep the patch cooler too. It will also help protect the gas and brake lines and cable from spatter burns while welding. Make sure BOTH SIDES of BOTH pieces are ground shiny clean with some 36 grit discs. Any crud at all will find its way into the weld. Its called capillary action and will get sucked right in. Finish as desired.
Just weld in little dabs and move around so it doesnt warp. It'll even pass the judges! Bill
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Patch is in! Ran out of gas, the tanks And me! Started welding up other parts of the body too! Getting ready for the big job installing the quarter patch panel! I'm fortunate to have my talented buddy Randy! Even though he gets grumpy with me when I don't want to listen! Lol I think he is sick of my car already! Lol :headbang:
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More progress ! Floor patch is all welded! Now it will get ground down, seam sealed and painted! Left quarter is good to go too! Next is the big one ! The right side! Biggest challenge yet so far of the body repair! Front clip will have to come apart too! Fenders are going to be replaced and maybe the hood!
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Looking Good! Just a few suggestions tho that may save you some time and effort...
When youre grinding, if youre using an air die grinder, use a 5/32 (?) thick x 3" wheel. Makes it easy to attack the high spots on each weld bump without generating too much heat. Once the high spots are down, the rest comes easy. I would also be very hesitant about ground on sheet metal; especially painted stuff. Even a momentary loss of ground can cause the welder to blow out and burn through that spot. I take a pair of vise grips on a body bolt and wiggle them for a solid ground, then put the clamp on there... Just sayin.
I see you tigged the trim holes closed. Any chance you have or wanna sell the bathtub clips and or trim. My '64 special is in need of some smalls like that. Feel free to PM me for details. My trim was the 3/4" wide aluminum stuff and kinda hard to find! Good luck and carry on! Bill
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Most of welds that we have ground we used a carbide cutters to dress them down and then went to a grinder with discs or flapper wheel! I will use a body
File when I get to do the body work! This quarter didn't come with clips!
The special deluxe or skylark trim clips used are about one in wide! Wider than
the trim on your car! I might have a few of the correct ones for your trim! Yes the 64 aluminum trim is very hard to find! And finding it in undamaged condition is even harder! In the years that I have been parting these cars I have had only one complete set! I think the correct one for your car is on the left in the picture!?
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More grinding on floor welds! Had a few holes in the floor to weld up that were drilled to let out the acid when it was washed! Wire brushed and POR15 the spots going to come back and wire brush the whole floor! Got to dig out the old sealer and put in new, then POR15 and coat! Started drilling out spot welds on quarter piece getting rid of the unneeded metal! The left side of the car is done!!! Now onto the right!
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Here is the biggest challenge of the body repairs! Luckily I have the clean original piece with the trunk drop to go in as the drop is rusty to! Here we go lol! I have almost the same repair to do on one of my other cars,same side also
but the drop is great and it will be a smaller patch! So practice and knowledge for future repairs!?
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i bought a pair of 1/4 rear lower patches from wolf steel..had them in a week and very high quality..they fit well and the body line is right
https://www.alfaparts.net/sky.htm (https://www.alfaparts.net/sky.htm)
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Hey Marxjunk how are you? You driving the red hardtop? I might try one of those Panels on my other car as I don’t have rust in the wheel lip like on this car! Only the very bottom 4 inches! I would like to find a excellent front floor section that the seam is mint on as the floor is nice on that one except that darn seam!
If I ever get to go out west again maybe I can find something!?
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I couldnt post pics in the PM, but these are the clips Im looking for. Nothing wrong with OEM driver quality stuff! Thanks! Bill
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More progress! Right quarter holes done and drain holes in floor! My buddy Randy has done a incredible job welding! There is no warpage what so ever! With the welds ground down you can't even tell there were trim holes! Had to getter up in the air to work on the quarter! Opened the very bottom of quarter up! A can of worms lol Rust worms! Lots of spot welds to drill out! On a good note layed a wheel well trim up to the quarter and it fits excellent so nothing is out of wack!
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Lots of work going on! I drilled out around 80 spot welds between the the two panels! Worked on It Saturday non stop from 9-6 or so! It will be a excellent long lasting repair! The work I'm proud to say that my buddy is doing is better than that of some of the so called restoration companies!
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More
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More ! quarter is on clamped down for fitting! Then welding it up!
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Your quarter is looking good. I need to do about the same to my GS including a new trunk floor pan. Can I borrow your buddy Randy??? :-)
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Thanks!, he is like my talented big brother! With words of wisdom,encouragement,and positive reinforcement! After my
car he has several of his own projects to work on! I will put a good word
in for you though!
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Nice progress!
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I was just looking at all the drilled out spot welds on the trunk floor side drops! Need a carpal tunnel brace yet??? Bill GOOD GOSH!
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Don't think a brace is going to do much good at this point ! I have permanent damage to my hands and elbows already! My former job, part of it was opening bottles, sometimes 1500 to 2200 a day! The pain in my hands and elbows wakes me up at night! Sometimes my hands cramp up or lock up and I have to physical pull them apart! Never had both hands do this at once! My hands also fall asleep. lol The spot weld cutting went good.I drilled a small pilot hole in each weld as the cutter I used has a guide stem which keeps the cutter going straight and smooth! I also used a pneumatic air drill, light and quiet!! Just hang on! My buddy runs twin compresses so no lack of air! Today POR15 the lip of the outer wheel well and other spots! I reconnected the e-brake cable and discovered that the trans mount bolts were mia!
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Lots of fitting and prep work! Omg it's on!!! :headbang: :rocker:
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Twins together! Tools of the trade! Things went very good! Lots of time ! We used the Fritzee Fabrication Technology! Overlap one inch,tack weld, cut at a 45 degree angle, carefully butt weld panel together! My buddy Randy is super talented! Over 50 inches of welds!!!!
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Almost done!!! Have to weld lip and a few of the hidden tabs! The main weld is ground down and once covered in paint you won't know it's there! Work continues with replacing the damaged left fender,fitting the right fender and hood! Also cleaned ,bead blasted,and rebuild the door hinges! So realigning the doors and strikers are in order! Replacement carb is next in line for a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner and rebuild! Floor plate for the shifter hole is also in the works! Going to have to make a small piece to graft into it as it was hacked up over the years for different shifters!
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Great work by you and Randy !! You’ll have that on the road in no time. Keep it up.
Dan
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Don't think a brace is going to do much good at this point ! I have permanent damage to my hands and elbows already! My former job, part of it was opening bottles, sometimes 1500 to 2200 a day! The pain in my hands and elbows wakes me up at night! Sometimes my hands cramp up or lock up and I have to physical pull them apart! Never had both hands do this at once! My hands also fall asleep. lol The spot weld cutting went good.I drilled a small pilot hole in each weld as the cutter I used has a guide stem which keeps the cutter going straight and smooth! I also used a pneumatic air drill, light and quiet!! Just hang on! My buddy runs twin compresses so no lack of air! Today POR15 the lip of the outer wheel well and other spots! I reconnected the e-brake cable and discovered that the trans mount bolts were mia!
Were you selling beer at a ball game LOL? Ive had both carpal tunnel and ulnar tunnel releases done twice; so now we are on to another:
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02U4vSr2FX2nhORhNe3O4rcxnK0FQ%3A1589806105446&source=hp&ei=GYTCXu-7F4eWsgXivaSwAQ&q=Dupuytren%27s+Contracture&oq=Dupuytren%27s+Contracture&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCABQkxNYkxNgnSNoAHAAeACAAVqIAVqSAQExmAEAoAECoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwivrLGhub3pAhUHi6wKHeIeCRYQ4dUDCAk&uact=5 (https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk02U4vSr2FX2nhORhNe3O4rcxnK0FQ%3A1589806105446&source=hp&ei=GYTCXu-7F4eWsgXivaSwAQ&q=Dupuytren%27s+Contracture&oq=Dupuytren%27s+Contracture&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCABQkxNYkxNgnSNoAHAAeACAAVqIAVqSAQExmAEAoAECoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwivrLGhub3pAhUHi6wKHeIeCRYQ4dUDCAk&uact=5)
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This is a very good pic of what we are supposed to be seeing on the 64-5 lower quarters. The replacements fit good,but they do not have the compound curves of oem. If you look at the curved lower body line it appears that the lower quarter is straight,but it actually has a gradual curve that is also curved back out at the lower rear of the wheel well trim. This piece is difficult to find in decent used condition, so many are installing the aftermarket in pieces or making it fit otherwise. I have seen many rust-free advertised 64-5 cars with body lines that are just plain wrong from ten feet away. I?m not trying to be a perfectionist(synonymous with Chuck)....lol,but be aware of what it should look like on a proper repair.
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Thanks Dan! Lots of work, but well worth it! Yes out on the road is where this car deserves to be! Yachtsman theres a thought watching a ballgame,exercise,and get paid! Lol Ten years of production with repetitive motion kind of did me in! Thanks Schlepcar! OEM usually fits good as long as there's not bad damage where your trying to mate too! Anyways for today's adventure I decided to rebuild the shifter floor plate! Could have got a repo but this is the original ! So I looked for a piece of shaped metal and came up with the wheel housing that I cut off the quarter that we put on! So not cal metal fabrication but it is the first time I have ever built a piece like this ! Probably could do better with more practice and bead roller, English wheel etc..
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Stick carburetor is spruced up, rebuilt and ready to go on! Hopefully it works and the post runs smoother! Randy did a nice job on it! It took a nice bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with heat!
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Stick carburetor is spruced up, rebuilt and ready to go on! Hopefully it works and the post runs smoother! Randy did a nice job on it! It took a nice bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with heat!
It better work ! LOL
Dan
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Dear John, Dan, and mid-60s Buick restorers,
Stick carburetor is spruced up, rebuilt and ready to go on! Hopefully it works and the post runs smoother! Randy did a nice job on it! It took a nice bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with heat!
It better work ! LOL
(http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/wink.gif) . . . . Of course it will work! Don't nice and shiny things always work better? . . . . :laughing7:
Seriously, thanks for sharing the photo. It brought back memories of my own struggles with that model of Carter carburetor!
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Looks great spruced up! That ultrasonic is the trick.
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Well put carb on, runs better already! Also putting in a electric choke! Will work better with the headers! Got the shifter plate almost ready to weld in! Cleaned
up the body drain plugs and got them ready to install! Started pounding dents out of the fender!
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Finished welding the quarter! Had the small tabs and a little on wheel well lip! Hard to get pictures! Worked on grinding and dressing down the welds! Almost all done with welding! Just the shifter floor plate! I decided to pull all the body plugs and blow out the trunk, floors , rockers! The rockers had 30 pounds of mouse nest and media in them! Yuck! Had to use a very long air gun that fit in the hole and took the air hose and put it right in the rockers! Had to work it front to back to free it up!
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Shifter plate is in! I even did a little of the welds :hello2:All welded up! Going to align drivers door! Put rebuilt hinges on the passenger door! Change out fender and try to align fenders and hood! Then back to my garage for POR 15 of all the floor ,New seam sealed and trunk spatter paint! Then the interior metal gets paint the red!
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Mice can really take over and do some damage. Plus the mess they leave behind is UGH. Good looking work!
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Now ya have me wondering; Ive never had the vents out, just the kick panels. Is that the same cavity as the rockers, or is that a different access? I did the trunk drops on mine (about a 3/4 plug at each end), but never thought of the others. Did you just vacuum out the vents? Where are the plugs on the rockers? Bill
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Yachtsman, there are plugs in the rear wheel housing that lead right into the rocker! Also plugs in the lower front of the corners of the firewall! Unfortunately the mice nests and media came with the car!, it is all cleaned and blown out now! After half a day working on it! I took off the rear wheels allowing access to the rear holes! I utilized a ram rod that fit in the hole,vacuum cleaner in the kick panel vent and a long air blower! Worked It back and forth!, even put the air hose directly in the rockers! With Randy's twin compressors running full bore and 100 psi I got them cleaned out! What a fricken mess! The passenger side was easier as the factory a/c hole is there!
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Yachtsman, thanks for flipping the pictures!, for some reason I can't get them right! Anyways worked on the Post 4 out of the 5 days I was just off! Got drivers door on and replacement fender,had to use a Skylark as it is all that I could find! Started on replacing passenger side hinges did get door back on but not aligned! Fresh hinges always change that! Got to finish what I can as I got to bring her home this weekend!
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A man after my own heart... tapping every threaded hole. Dont forget to wire wheel the bolts and put a drop of 30W on each :hello2: !! So you pushed the air ram rod from behind and put the vacuum in the kick panel vent? Im gonna wait for next winter to do that one. Sounds like a mess! So wheres that rear plug? I never saw it on mine, but wasnt looking for it either... :dontknow: :dontknow: A pic would be great!
Now for some breaking news... Manitowoc is having a 3,000 car "cruise night" this Saturday. Should be a blast. Gonna have both Buicks in attendance!
Even take the family car and park just to watch the driveby! 6:30 PM until... Bill
https://www.facebook.com/events/2273678686261853?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22plan_user_invited%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D¬if_id=1590289064132828¬if_t=plan_user_invited&ref=notif (https://www.facebook.com/events/2273678686261853?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2229%22%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3A%22plan_user_invited%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D¬if_id=1590289064132828¬if_t=plan_user_invited&ref=notif)
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Yep tapped all 24 holes! ,and clean the bolts! Wire brushing is the preferred method of cleaning bolts! I don't like to blast or use toxic chemicals! I think bead blasting wrecks the finish and don't like the grit! I use a dab of really good anti seize! That cruise in Manitowoc sounds great!
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So yesterday was not a good day as I have mentioned I have been having issues with my hands and joints! I went to put the passenger side door on and it came out of my hands! I dropped it on the floor on the lower front corner! :angryfire:no pictures!
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Today was much better! I really wanted to put the a.c. Back on this car! Either factory or a new system! I have most of the original parts but they all need to be rebuilt/restored!$$ Just not in the budget right now! So I got holes to fill! I have only seen three factory sets of block off plates ever! They don't repo them and couldn't find any originals for sale! So I'm building my own! I think I found something that is very challenging and rewarding! If you have been following the post you will remember the extra metal I trimmed off the quarter we put on! So I inverted the beveled edge and used it to lock into the fire wall! I put a couple tabs to also help keep them in place! I will be using the factory screw holes to hold these on!
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The champagne of beers loaned it's carton for templates! Easy to cut but stiff enough to hold some form!
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Dear John and mid-60s Buick restorers,
Today was much better! I really wanted to put the a.c. Back on this car! Either factory or a new system! I have most of the original parts but they all need to be rebuilt/restored!$$ Just not in the budget right now! So I got holes to fill!
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Sorry for the silly question, but what is the plan when you finally get around to installing the A/C? Have you created your block-off plates for relatively simply removal?
Cheers, Edouard
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I was wondering the same. Getting that condenser box in after the car is put back together means taking the passenger fender and inner fender well all back out again, and then there is all the ducting under the dash.
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To answer your guys questions yes they were built too and can be easily unbolted and removed! Another reason that I spent so much time fitting them! I utilized the screw holes from the factory! And the lip that I made locks in the bottom of the firewall opening! Here's some pics!
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Yachtsman !, here are some shots of those holes in firewall and wheel housing
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Thanks a bunch for the pics! I never thought of them when the front clip was off, and the rears have factory undercoat covering them. You can bet next year theyll be coming out! Thanks for the time!! Bill
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So getting some time in on the post! I think it's the only thing keeping me sane right now! Me buddy Randy loaned out his garage again to me while his post is at the painter! So got the mini starter in!, Bypassed the resistor in the engine harness , hooked up the.electric choke, put in the pertronix! No more points! Starts and runs better now! Also took off the finned aluminum valley pan and painted yucky green valve covers!, started on seem sealing and por 15 for the floors and inside cabin of car!
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Trunk floor has some bings and dings but is rust free! Only one I have had that didn't need trunk pan replacement or repair!
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:sad4: :icon_scratch:Green paint on valve covers
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Thanks for the update! Looking good! :hello2:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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POR 15 does wonders. Painted more of the interior floor ,is a little gritty! No slip, there was media on the metal when the car was stripped! So the primer got sprayed overtop. Not my doing! I didn't want to try and remove it all so just left it! Once the heat and sound deadner goes in and is covered with carpet can't see it anyways! :headbang:
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Looks good Jon. Excellent protection and I agree, it's all hidden after the carpet goes in!
:cheers2:
Chuck
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Looking good!
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Thanks Guys! I went to swap on Friday, first one in a year and a half! Picked up a pair of windshields for my other gs's ,a couple cases of Brad Penn oil and found a nice clean firewall fan box! Worked on taking out the headliner bows and retainer strips! The key is to mark all of these and there positions! The clips that retain the strips can be a bear! Plans are to paint and coat the roof ,rails,bows, reatainer strips and put in some heat/sound deadner! I want to try and eliminate the headliner staining that comes from moisture and the roof and rails not being coated!
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Moved the post to a dry warm garage for winter! Had to get a ride on the roll bed as I have a noise in the motor I don't like! Did not want to take the risk of wrecking the nailhead! And I just have not had time to figure it out!
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Dear Jon and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Moved the post to a dry warm garage for winter! Had to get a ride on the roll bed as I have a noise in the motor I don't like!
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Don't let it bother you. After all, considering the age of these cars, they deserve a little pampering from time to time! So long of course that you have a flat bed truck operator who understand how to pamper!! :love4:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14:
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Ya! The rollbed driver Carl is a car guy! Made his day! He was born and raised in Kenosha WI! No less! He had a Matador Red Rebel Machine in high school! Loves American motors products and old cars/trucks in general! Super nice guy! I just hate putting my post on anything where it has to be hauled! Like it on the road up running!
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Hi Jon and mid-60s Buick caregivers,
Ya! The rollbed driver Carl is a car guy! Made his day!
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Glad your baby was in good hands! :thumbsup:
I just hate putting my post on anything where it has to be hauled! Like it on the road up running!
I hear you brother! What's the point of owning especially a GS if you don't enjoy driving them! Still, at their age they shouldn't have to work as hard as they did when they were younger. Decades ago, Biquette had to be driven to the shop even when I knew there was something wrong with the car. At their age, these cars have paid their dues and deserve some extra luv! :love4:
Cheers, Edouard :occasion14: