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Restore my buick electra 1969 :)


sebastienbuick

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4 hours ago, JohnD1956 said:

Okay, I found some pictures of my last 69  Electra and you are correct.   The inside of the trunk was painted body color. 

 

hello JohnD1956 :) , thank you for your research ;) .
before painting the trunk, I sanded it until it came back to metal. and sand I saw that there was the bodywork color throughout the trunk.
do you have pictures of your electra? Was it also equipped with disc brakes on the front as on mine?

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My 69 Electra was very rough. And I did not do much to preserve it till very late in my ownership. I will post some pictures later on. But yes, it had the disc brakes and a lot if optional equipment. I was really happy with that car but I am happier with my current 72 Electra. 

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Here are some pictures of my 69 Electra.  Like I said, it was rough. Very rough!  And  for many years I made it worse by storing it outside year round.  I put down heavy 4 mil plastic, and put some 2x10’s on top of that to drive on, then some canvas over the top.  For the most part this worked to keep the underside dry, but even though I started it from time to time, it became rodent infested.  The interior and everything just deteriorated.

383572733_Electraintherough015.jpg.94ac5d11ac97cb1be4b7c466ae528d91.jpg

 Two years before it was sold I pulled it out of the woods, and licensed it for on the road use, just to piss off my neighbor.  She was on the town board and did not like my  2 car, canvass covered,  carport being in my driveway.  She got the building department to cite me for a violation.  So I moved the car port to the back yard, and she got the building department to cite me a 2nd time.   After that I sold the carport and pulled this car out.  I stripped the interior and trunk materials out and sanitized the entire car inside and out.  Then I licensed it for road use and moved this car right into the driveway where she would pass by it every day, but could do nothing about it.

1820112745_DougsGS011.jpg.e20c7be5d49a2c100517e502e549d8d5.jpg

1898085964_DougsGS017.jpg.d84b7452385d5209554e51d975290dd7.jpg

2142956554_DougsGS014.jpg.82ab5d1d0c69b6b82130e0b38fe0e025.jpg

1602172700_DougsGS019.jpg.3afb0337859bd1293055f490a51b3dd7.jpg

Over the years I had stripped three other Electra’s and pretty much had everything in stock to make this a decent driver,  so eventually I started to put it back together.

In Aug of 2007 I replaced that lower extension panel.

1204236556_extensioninstallation017.jpg.f8b89f9aaceb9f3d3eb14975e64eaa9e.jpg

95420776_Electraextensionpanel011.jpg.ccbcfee86dc56558b03e884475da873e.jpg

 

But by October 2008 , without money for paint I primed it so it was close to one color, and then I put a coat of clear over the primer on the roof to try and stop that from rusting.  I ran out of clear coat and I figured the rest of it I’d be stripping down for paint anyway so I left it like that.   I switched out the automatic climate control HVAC system, which I could not get to function,  and put in a salvaged regular climate control system.  Then I put in the interior I had stored in my attic.

1771170114_Craigslistphotos001.jpg.677975eb33386b11bea10ac475f9e8d8.jpg

123323766_Craigslistphotos003.jpg.2180e7ddbd6ec5fe3ed5d0b0ab31c5da.jpg

1663472691_Craigslistphotos006.jpg.c07e59e474c81d538bb9740af628952b.jpg

134567683_Craigslistphotos007.jpg.d775bccf0185595248dc58aed481ca10.jpg

 

I drove it for a while like this, and I really got a kick out of this car.  It was an amazing performer.  I had stripped out most of the insulation during the sanitization process so it got significantly lighter.  It was easy to spin the tires from a dead stop. 

But one day I got to thinking about how much work it would need and how that would impact my other cars.  So I prayed that someone would buy this car, and about three days later someone contacted me and bought it.  It was fun while it lasted, and I really missed it, but for me it was the best alternative.  It would have needed most of what you have done and I did not think I could do it. 

Since it was a Limited it was really loaded.  It had a 40/60 front seat, and each side had 6 way power adjusters.  It had a tilt steering column, cruise control, side cornering lights, posi- rear, and am/fm stereo radio with power antenna.  It did have the correct cloth interior with the square seat buttons, like Buicknutty’s, but that was ruined by the years of neglect.  I salvaged this interior from another 4 door Electra and unlocked the seats to fold forward for the 2 door car. 

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17 minutes ago, JohnD1956 said:

Here are some pictures of my 69 Electra.  Like I said, it was rough. Very rough!  And  for many years I made it worse by storing it outside year round.  I put down heavy 4 mil plastic, and put some 2x10’s on top of that to drive on, then some canvas over the top.  For the most part this worked to keep the underside dry, but even though I started it from time to time, it became rodent infested.  The interior and everything just deteriorated.

383572733_Electraintherough015.jpg.94ac5d11ac97cb1be4b7c466ae528d91.jpg

 Two years before it was sold I pulled it out of the woods, and licensed it for on the road use, just to piss off my neighbor.  She was on the town board and did not like my  2 car, canvass covered,  carport being in my driveway.  She got the building department to cite me for a violation.  So I moved the car port to the back yard, and she got the building department to cite me a 2nd time.   After that I sold the carport and pulled this car out.  I stripped the interior and trunk materials out and sanitized the entire car inside and out.  Then I licensed it for road use and moved this car right into the driveway where she would pass by it every day, but could do nothing about it.

1820112745_DougsGS011.jpg.e20c7be5d49a2c100517e502e549d8d5.jpg

1898085964_DougsGS017.jpg.d84b7452385d5209554e51d975290dd7.jpg

2142956554_DougsGS014.jpg.82ab5d1d0c69b6b82130e0b38fe0e025.jpg

1602172700_DougsGS019.jpg.3afb0337859bd1293055f490a51b3dd7.jpg

Over the years I had stripped three other Electra’s and pretty much had everything in stock to make this a decent driver,  so eventually I started to put it back together.

In Aug of 2007 I replaced that lower extension panel.

1204236556_extensioninstallation017.jpg.f8b89f9aaceb9f3d3eb14975e64eaa9e.jpg

95420776_Electraextensionpanel011.jpg.ccbcfee86dc56558b03e884475da873e.jpg

 

But by October 2008 , without money for paint I primed it so it was close to one color, and then I put a coat of clear over the primer on the roof to try and stop that from rusting.  I ran out of clear coat and I figured the rest of it I’d be stripping down for paint anyway so I left it like that.   I switched out the automatic climate control HVAC system, which I could not get to function,  and put in a salvaged regular climate control system.  Then I put in the interior I had stored in my attic.

1771170114_Craigslistphotos001.jpg.677975eb33386b11bea10ac475f9e8d8.jpg

123323766_Craigslistphotos003.jpg.2180e7ddbd6ec5fe3ed5d0b0ab31c5da.jpg

1663472691_Craigslistphotos006.jpg.c07e59e474c81d538bb9740af628952b.jpg

134567683_Craigslistphotos007.jpg.d775bccf0185595248dc58aed481ca10.jpg

 

I drove it for a while like this, and I really got a kick out of this car.  It was an amazing performer.  I had stripped out most of the insulation during the sanitization process so it got significantly lighter.  It was easy to spin the tires from a dead stop. 

But one day I got to thinking about how much work it would need and how that would impact my other cars.  So I prayed that someone would buy this car, and about three days later someone contacted me and bought it.  It was fun while it lasted, and I really missed it, but for me it was the best alternative.  It would have needed most of what you have done and I did not think I could do it. 

Since it was a Limited it was really loaded.  It had a 40/60 front seat, and each side had 6 way power adjusters.  It had a tilt steering column, cruise control, side cornering lights, posi- rear, and am/fm stereo radio with power antenna.  It did have the correct cloth interior with the square seat buttons, like Buicknutty’s, but that was ruined by the years of neglect.  I salvaged this interior from another 4 door Electra and unlocked the seats to fold forward for the 2 door car. 

 

 

 

 

thank you very much JohnD1956 for the photos and all the information ;) 
indeed I see that it was not easy to restore your buick :( , but you did what you can, you protect it well and you have repaired the rear wing that was rusted ;) 
I have exactly the same interior on mine with the same option.
on the other hand I do not have the seatbelts of origin : /  (by which it was an import France), do you have it in stock to sell? (the belts)
your buick was very beautiful ;) 
you're lucky at home (in america) because you have a lot of spare parts and car :) , here in France there are very few parts for my electra, the only parts that there are these are the  common mechanical parts with other model.
thank you for the photos and for your story :) 
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hello everyone, here are some news from the buick :) .
Before finishing painting the trunk, I started (rather continue what I started a while ago ^^) to work on the underside of the car.
I have to work from the bridge to the back.
So I made a small sandbox under the car.
So I sand all the under, in some pictures "blur" we can see that the visibiliter was very reduced with the fog of sand.
once all sanding, I painted everything in phosphatant paint (light green) and then I applied a dark gray primary paint.
next week end I will apply anti pea gravel on the underside and a glossy black paint :) .

SAM_9037.JPG

SAM_9038.JPG

SAM_9039.JPG

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9 hours ago, dei said:

Very nice Sir.?

The car is going to look spectacular when painted!!

 

Oh, isn't this fun trying to post pictures with this new 9.77 MB picture size limit??

 

thank you  dei  ;) , yes indeed it's a pity that the size is limited to 9.77mb :( , about 3 photos.It is much longer to send messages. 

 

8 hours ago, GARY F said:

Great job. It looks like you are working laying on your back.

 

thank you GARY F ;) , I'm happy, it's a good step made ;) 

 

6 hours ago, pjqj2000 said:

Thanks to your nice photos I can see where the horn relay is behind the dash of our Electras 

Thank you 

 

thank you pjqj2000 ;) , I'm glad I could help you, and if you need information or photos, do not hesitate to ask me ;) 

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Hello everyone, here are some pictures of the work :) 
I therefore continue the work by the rear deck.
I had already sanded, painted, ... and I still have to change the seal and paint finish.

So, emptying, cleaning the quarter and the quarter and deck joint area.
then reassembling with a brand new joint :) 

 

SAM_9178.JPG.7b7f8d46cbfcebcb7329472e235d8b60.JPGSAM_9179.JPG.0e0650c16a98972768daed23340c866c.JPGSAM_9180.JPG.577cfae119bf1f2a0299e8f9e34e917a.JPG

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SAM_9192.JPG.ce4d689e315d934d64deae3d06880fe9.JPG

 

now that the seal of the quarter has been changed, it is the turn of the spinnaker wheel seal at the exit of tree.
So I clean and install the new gasket and grease.
I also test, clean and lubricate the wheel bearing at the output shaft.
I also made a joint for the shaft outlet and the "flange" of brake system.
I did that for both sides

 

SAM_9196.JPG.1ed2dd86de207a82f089b578eb7b0eea.JPGSAM_9198.JPG.fce9dfee63c49c453f038f21382a4767.JPG

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