PWB Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Ladies and Gents Seriously considering switching from power bench to stock power buckets with recline and a shift console. Figure the hardest part is dropping the tranny. I don't care about value being affected. Big job for me as I don't have a full shop. I found a good '67 donor to yet purchase. I'll probably junk what's left. Your thoughts on the task are respected and appreciated. (Expect some good humor chiming in too) Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Paul - So you don't care that you will be increasing the value of your car? . Because that's reality my friend. Very small % of people fuss over numbers on a Fisher tag. Why do you have to drop the tranny? The hardest part will be cutting the arc welds and spot welds from the seat and console mount brackets, the shift linkage mount and placing them all and welding in your car precisely. A donor car is the best way to do this project as it is a little more involved than it looks on the surface and having a complete car handy is perfect for a correct changeover. Also the wiring will be all there too. It appears to me they used a cutting torch to cut the hole for the shifter mount as the edges were very ragged/melted. You can use a cut-off wheel and heavy snips. The steering column will need changed as well as adding the blank plate over the dash shift indicator. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 (edited) Thanks JZ! That gives me confidence. The car is in MI. I'd be getting it sight unseen. Pretty cheap. A rust bucket. I just got a picture of a crack in the console plastic. A bit discouraging. Will need to patch that up. I'm sure I'd have to re-chrome all the metal. So, what are the hinges like in this year? Should I expect more cracked plastic at the console door hinge areas? Thanks much Edited September 27, 2017 by PWB (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Nice. Go for it. Make sure it is the right donor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 If the car is a bad rust bucket make sure the seat frames and tracks aren't too rusty. Many of those consoles crack in that area and down the side. For the most part cracks are from shrinkage and not enough reinforcement designed in but again expected life span of car was maybe 8 years? The crack certainly can be repaired as you mentioned. Typically the hinges hold up well unless really abused. Always liked the front compartment with push to release spring lid. sort of a hidden compartment since it doesn't have a visible latch. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965rivgs Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 My personal seating preference is the bench with armrest but the buckets seem to be more desirable. Think about actually enjoying your car and that armrest before you convert ! Tom Mooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 The bucket seats make you feel like a super hero in a bat mobile like rocket-ship. But maybe they are like when women wear high heels. Looks good, but not so much comfort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 The biggest issue is having to ship and then dispose of an entire car to make the switch. I hope you have understanding neighbors... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70rivme Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 I like the direction you are taking your ride to. I am trying to accomplish the same task on my '70, but with the shorty console. I have already obtained the console and manual buckets. Now I have to find the time to make this transformation happen on top of the $ to refinish the seats. I believe the mounts for the seat tracks are available in the aftermarket. I'm sure someone can chime in on this one. Good luck on your changeover, I'm excited to see your results! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 (edited) "Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed." R.I.P., Adam West Edited September 27, 2017 by PWB (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 What's a Ford product doing on a Buick Forum? ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky5517 Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Hey PWB Am enclosing pix of how I spruced up the wood veneer on my console. There was a layer of some type of coating or clear something which I peeled off with a razor. Don't go too deep or you'll gouge out a piece like I did in the middle photo. I sanded (gently) and applied some Miniwax urethane; forget what color I used but I have a small can of Natural as well as Cherry. I sprayed a clear over it when I was done. Not a concours restoration but I'm fine with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 54 minutes ago, rocky5517 said: Hey PWB Am enclosing pix of how I spruced up the wood veneer on my console. There was a layer of some type of coating or clear something which I peeled off with a razor. Don't go too deep or you'll gouge out a piece like I did in the middle photo. I sanded (gently) and applied some Miniwax urethane; forget what color I used but I have a small can of Natural as well as Cherry. I sprayed a clear over it when I was done. Not a concours restoration but I'm fine with it. That's the varnish. Get it off, all off. If there's still some left, use some stripper on it. Once all of the old varnish is gone, lightly sand it, use a tack rag to get all of the dust off of it, then seal it with some clear epoxy penetrating sealer (ain't cheap.) Follow the directions then in a couple of days when everything is dry, but new varnish on it. If you think the veneer needs to be re-stained, do it before you seal it. Just be glad it's not a boat that you're redoing (like I am.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epriv Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 This thread got me thinking......back in the day, buckets were somewhat of a novelty option. Now days, I'll bet you couldn't find a new car, or truck for that matter that doesn't have buckets. Owned 3 '68 Rivs, 2 with bench and 1 with buckets. I like the look of the buckets, but like Mr. Mooney, prefer the bench with the armrest. I need something to do with my right arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Woo hoo! Found my console, column and power seats. Might as well throw in a sport ratio box while I'm at it. Need to find that gem. Its gonna be a Merry Christmas. And a busy one. Any advice on this project is welcome. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted October 18, 2017 Author Share Posted October 18, 2017 Oh, yeah 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 (edited) Took care of that pesky crack and applied some positive reinforcement on the seam. JB Weld for ABS plastic is one tough nut! I highly recommend it. This thing has more tinsel than a Christmas tree. Chrome-man is gonna love me. Edited November 16, 2017 by PWB (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 . . . sounds like your having fun Mr. Paul - that's what it's all about - enjoy !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted November 17, 2017 Author Share Posted November 17, 2017 Shame on Buick for not coating the un-seeables. Gotta make Bruce Wayne proud. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted November 18, 2017 Author Share Posted November 18, 2017 Filled in some scratches, re-flocked the "jewelry" box and shot satin black. This pups almost ready to sling D-Engine Estes rockets. Whats everyone else workin' on? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68RIVGS Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 (edited) On 17/11/2017 at 12:59 PM, PWB said: Shame on Buick for not coating the un-seeables. Gotta make Bruce Wayne proud. . . . if it's bare steel they'll never see it, besides, it will last long enough ! NICE RESTO job Mr. Paul - Bruce would be very proud ! Amazing what a little time and a rattle can will accomplish. Edited November 18, 2017 by 68RIVGS (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Beautiful work Paul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 On 11/16/2017 at 3:21 PM, PWB said: Took care of that pesky crack and applied some positive reinforcement on the seam. JB Weld for ABS plastic is one tough nut! I highly recommend it. This thing has more tinsel than a Christmas tree. Chrome-man is gonna love me. Paul, et al. I repaired a similar type, but much longer, crack in an ABS door panel on my old Blazer. I used fiberglass cloth and two part epoxy. The epoxy come with tubes A and B mounted together. Push down on the plunger and equal amount of A and B come out. Use a body filler spreader to mix, and spread. Then lay the fiberglass cloth on the epoxy mix and use the spreader to push the fiberglass down into the epoxy mix. Walk away and let it cure. It's a tough as the fiberglass; all the epoxy does is bond the ABS to the fiberglass. Throw away the spreader, you'll never get the epoxy and fiberglass off of it. The crack went back together so cleanly that I didn't need to refinish the good side. If you knew what you were looking for you could find the crack, but you had to know where to look. If you need to fill in the crack, sand lightly enough to get some sanding dust. Let the dust fill in the crack, then drip some super glue on the dust. Capillary action will draw the glue into the dust Let it dry and sand it smooth. You'll probably need to dye or paint if you have to do this. If you don't want to sand, spread some baking soda into the crack and let the superglue wick its way into the crack. It won't hold the crack, you repaired it on the back side, buy you'll have a surface that you can sand and paint. Back in the day, we used to call it "BS Plasticizer" - BS was for Baking Soda and we just made up the plasticizer part for marketing purposes. You can buy 50" drums of baking soda, repackage it into 8 oz. jars, and sell each jar for about what you paid for the 50# drum. I only worked there, didn't make the decisions. Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 (edited) Im working on trying to get this drone flying smooth for some videos: Edited November 19, 2017 by Chimera (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivman Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 On 11/16/2017 at 4:21 PM, PWB said: Took care of that pesky crack and applied some positive reinforcement on the seam. JB Weld for ABS plastic is one tough nut! I highly recommend it. This thing has more tinsel than a Christmas tree. Chrome-man is gonna love me. On 11/17/2017 at 12:59 PM, PWB said: Shame on Buick for not coating the un-seeables. Gotta make Bruce Wayne proud. 17 hours ago, PWB said: Filled in some scratches, re-flocked the "jewelry" box and shot satin black. This pups almost ready to sling D-Engine Estes rockets. Whats everyone else workin' on? Definitely Great Work Paul! Sure does look like it’s ready for take-off. Let us know who you pick for your chrome work, and how it goes. Thanks for posting your progress, looks good!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 (edited) 12 hours ago, RivNut said: "If you need to fill in the crack, sand lightly enough to get some sanding dust. Let the dust fill in the crack, then drip some super glue on the dust. Capillary action will draw the glue into the dust Let it dry and sand it smooth. You'll probably need to dye or paint if you have to do this. If you don't want to sand, spread some baking soda into the crack and let the superglue wick its way into the crack. It won't hold the crack, you repaired it on the back side, buy you'll have a surface that you can sand and paint. Back in the day, we used to call it "BS Plasticizer" - BS was for Baking Soda and we just made up the plasticizer part for marketing purposes. You can buy 50" drums of baking soda, repackage it into 8 oz. jars, and sell each jar for about what you paid for the 50# drum. I only worked there, didn't make the decisions. Ed" The dust...great idea Mr Ed. That just reminded me of a trick a master carpenter did - he mixed parent wood dust in glue to fill slight gaps! Incredible work. Hah - in the Hamptons where they could afford masters. I was the floor sweeper. Chimera - love the drone vids. Makes me miss No Cal so much. I was stationed in Lemoore and it was the best times of my life there. A coworker of mine in TN just spent a grand on a drone with gimbled cam. He's comin down to shoot my Riv' next time he visits family here in FLA. I won't have my console in sending out the chrome work Monday. NINE chrome pieces for console alone. Boy, those days are over. 66' - 67' were chrome hogs! Now I see why GM went to loop bumpers and plastic dashes. It was a DEAL with the FEDS. LoL Edited November 19, 2017 by PWB (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Yeah, Im just getting used to flying this Mavic drone (made by DJI). Really like this one. I had a Yuneec drone previously until that one fell into the ocean while attempting to film a couple surfers from Canada. Get your friend to follow you in the drone while driving if able. I will be doing some of those type of shots when the weather clears. I love it here on the Mendocino Coast; seriously a paradise. Center console is going to be so sweet when installed. I need to get that going in the 68. NICE WORK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted December 6, 2017 Author Share Posted December 6, 2017 Just received console shift lever fuzzy and I'm very pleased with the product. Not quite as dense as the original but its the best runner up I could find. SO, I got plenty left over for any brave souls out there. Give a ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 SO, I finally completed my console resto. What a beast. Must be almost one hundred parts with the 3 door's bushings, pins, captures, lock, nuts etc. I'll never gripe about my late '80's Chevy console again. Maybe 25 parts total? No comparison to mid-century modern nirvana! Epoxied, painted, chromed, flocked, veneered / urethaned, lubed and ready. Heres a resto tip: I wrapped exterior grade black vinyl over the shift slot plate. I tried paint first. Home style paint over chrome is not gonna last. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 That console looks absolutely great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Beautiful job Paul ! Bucket seats up next ?.. Thanks for all the great pics and advice . Is that a new shifter lens ? Or did you redo the original ? Am I understanding you that the entire shifter area (i.e. Everything black) is vinyl?..if so that is amazing . What adhesive did you stick it down with? Thanks Ken Reed ROA 14549 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) Beautiful job Paul. Just beautiful! Imagine if you put that on ebay what it would sell for. I too was always amazed at the engineering that went into the console back when they didn't use computers to design things. Its a wonder Buick ever made money on these cars! Edited January 31, 2018 by JZRIV (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Perfection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) 35 minutes ago, kreed said: Beautiful job Paul ! Bucket seats up next ?.. Thanks for all the great pics and advice . Is that a new shifter lens ? Or did you redo the original ? Am I understanding you that the entire shifter area (i.e. Everything black) is vinyl?..if so that is amazing . What adhesive did you stick it down with? Thanks Ken Reed ROA 14549 Thank you all for well received comments from all whom I consider my superior restorers. I'm a one car at a time restorer at most! Mr. Reed, all my veneer is real wood. The black vinyl comes with self adhesive. It has slight stretch. Its the same material use for signage. My shift letters were starting to "dry rot" like most white plastics from the day. I removed the damaged areas, back filled with plastic epoxy then filled with white paint for plastic. Level polish. I did loose my backlight as expected. The vinyl source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MG70CCW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Another tip, don't ever let acetone get on your shift handle plastic - instant melt!!! Edited January 31, 2018 by PWB (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 My younger daughter has a Cricut machine connected to her computer. I've had her scan bicycle decals from pictures for me then run a sheet of vinyl, as shown above, through the Cricut. And it cuts out a perfect replica. If Paul were to have a template that could be scanned, he could get a Cricut with the proper software and reproduce the inserts for the rest of us. ? Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocky5517 Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 What a beautiful color!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted February 1, 2018 Author Share Posted February 1, 2018 18 hours ago, rocky5517 said: What a beautiful color!!! Thanks Rocky and all. All the used console veneers I've seen seemed bleached by time? This tone best matches the shifter grip pad and glove box emblem "veneer". Seems dead on to me. I did the vinyl by hand. Got it on the first shot. But I'll work on a computer generated template when my job slows down. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 48 minutes ago, PWB said: Thanks Rocky and all. All the used console veneers I've seen seemed bleached by time? This tone best matches the shifter grip pad and glove box emblem "veneer". Seems dead on to me. I did the vinyl by hand. Got it on the first shot. But I'll work on a computer generated template when my job slows down. Cheers You may already have the template if you still have the backing you peeled off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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