Stooge Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 12 hours ago, 39BuickEight said: Great work! Thanks, I appreciate it! 12 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said: Way to go, sir. Nice steering wheel! Ben It really does look right at home in there, especially with the black dash, and it was some of the convincing to paint the dash black. Thanks again for sending it my way! 2020-03-11_12-42-48 by Dan Haas, on Flickr There have been a few other things along the way, and I've been trying to chip away at the pile of stuff that I am missing from when the car was blown apart and parted out. For the most part, this will effect the interior the most, which is fine since that isn't something that will keep the car from being drivable when it gets there, but I am still missing a few clutch related things. I have the flywheel, the correct transmission mounted pedal set and a rebuilt disc, but still need the clutch fork, pressure plate and throwout bearing. I've read on here about '80s jeep clutches working for the smaller engine cars, but not much definitive for the bigger engines as far as an easily obtainable, off the shelf clutch. I've been doing some reading, research, and have a few potentials that im going to try since I think it would be good info to put out there of what will fit/work. I had found a stock one on ebay that was a take out from a running car getting a late model engine and trans, but was outbid by someone with deeper pockets, so after that, i decided to refocus on an off the shelf one. Also found some fender lights 1 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2 by Dan Haas, on Flickr a rebuilt starter, though I still need the solenoid but they seem reasonably available 3 by Dan Haas, on Flickr And among other things that im forgetting, even found the missing bracket for the cowl vent 20200127_200929 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200127_195530 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200127_195523 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200127_202434 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200127_202539 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20180527_151046 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Wow, nice work! I remember rebuilding the rear area of the trunk on my '41 Century. Not an easy job and yours turned out great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Looking good. The trunk tool tray area is a common area for rust out. It is not an easy area to repair. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted March 13, 2020 Author Share Posted March 13, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, MCHinson said: Looking good. The trunk tool tray area is a common area for rust out. It is not an easy area to repair. 22 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: Wow, nice work! I remember rebuilding the rear area of the trunk on my '41 Century. Not an easy job and yours turned out great! Thanks guys, I really appreciate it! I didn't expect the trunk area to become as involved as it is, but after I cut out the outer skin and saw the state of the inner area, doing it right and cutting it all out was the only option. Im not looking forward to welding in the perimeter channel, and im especially not looking forward to grinding all those welds down and getting it cleaned up, but again, they are beyond repair and it needs to be done. With the front cowl/ rocker area, with the exception of the very front of the floor, and an area of the trunk that i am on the fence about replacing, (a good amount of brazing repairs, but are well done and solid and being in a unseen area of the car, i think it shows a bit of the car's history) almost the entire bottom 6 or 7 inches of the car will have been replaced, so hopefully that will stave off rust issues for the car's foreseeable future. 2020-03-13_07-15-12 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Also curious, if anyone knows what wheels i have. i always thought the rear offset looked off and that they seemed to stick out a bit but chalked that up to all of the missing weight of the engine and transmission, but then i came across a set of 1937 hubcaps that i was planning on buying, but then figured out that my current wheels are shaped different. Sort of looks like a late '40s/ early '50s full cap on there now, so im guessing someone just needed wheels that fit the bolt pattern and put them on at some point. Also has an 8.20-15 tire, and i believe the correct one is a 7.00-15? though the size differences are almost negligible. 2020-03-13_07-27-29 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-03-13_07-17-11 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited March 13, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted March 16, 2020 Author Share Posted March 16, 2020 Sunday's project, I wanted to get started on making a new repair piece for one of the front rocker/ fender mount area infront of the doors. I need to do both sides, and since I had the car pushed over to one side, and there was more space and light on the passenger side, I started on the passenger side. Both sides are pretty rotten, but the driver side is a little worse so I figured using the slightly better passenger side as a template/ reference to start made a little bit of sense. started out cutting a 14"x14" piece and a 9"x4" piece, though I didn't take many pictures of it since there wasn't much to see. 2020-03-16_08-16-28 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I still have a brace welded into the door frame. so that still needs to be cut out and the door better aligned before I cut out the weld and weld in the new. 20200315_101227 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200315_101309 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200315_101255 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Still need to map out where the new fender mounting threaded inserts will go, and tighten up/ clean up the edges and corners a bit better, but its a start 20200315_153526 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200315_153535 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200315_153705 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 On 3/12/2020 at 11:09 PM, MCHinson said: Looking good. The trunk tool tray area is a common area for rust out. It is not an easy area to repair. Not that you'll be out in the rain much, but Buick recommends drilling drain holes in that lower trunk edge to help alleviate the rust. I love following your great progress! Your dash is stunning in black! Great choice. Keep up the great work. I'm re-living the dream all over again. Gary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 When I got my car back from the painter, the trunk pan was full of water. It never occurred to him that the holes in the decklid were letting water in and it was just sitting in there. He never opened it. A minor mistake on an otherwise great job by him. I drilled a drain hole 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted March 17, 2020 Share Posted March 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, 39BuickEight said: When I got my car back from the painter, the trunk pan was full of water. It never occurred to him that the holes in the decklid were letting water in and it was just sitting in there. He never opened it. A minor mistake on an otherwise great job by him. I drilled a drain hole Yep, that's exactly why every single late-30s, early-40s GM car is rotten back there. A little leaking past the weather seals and it collects down there where you never notice it. Very rare to find a car of that vintage without some rust work in the tool tray area. Same way '50s Fords all rot in the rear seat footwells--water seeps in, gets under the carpets, and just sits there for years working on the floors. Almost impossible to find one that hasn't been patched there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) Thanks guys! im not sure if i'll try to make it fancy, or just keep it simple and drill a hole or 2, but there is some sort of drainage planned before I start prettying it all up. Im still working full time in the laboratory with all the virus stuff going around, so I didn't get the time off from a shutdown like we had been anticipating, but we do support a lot of major medical industry across various essential facets, so I get it, but I did have a lot of work planned for that time! I've been dragging my feet getting the rest of the tail panel welded in, but I've been trying to chip away at it. I had originally cut the body to match the new tailpanel, but made some changes, so that's why there was a triangular hole to fill; so poor planning rather than poor execution cutting it the first time 20200321_173444 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Just a first pass clean up, but not a million miles off 20200321_194302 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Then I started getting the nose/ radiator support and the headlight buckets cleaned up since they were the last of the removeable sheet metal that hadn't been stripped yet. The original remaining paint on the fenders and nose matched the body, but with the exception of a few dents and wrinkles in the fenders, they are in much better shape than the rest of the body and shouldn't take too much to get them finished. 20200403_200207 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200404_135944 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-04-06_07-45-48 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200404_142715 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200404_154704 by Dan Haas, on Flickr When I took apart the headlights to get them cleaned up, unsurprisingly, I seem to be missing a few pieces to have a complete assembly. where I've been a little nervous about some part of them getting damaged/ specifically the lenses and reflectors, I decided to get them painted so I could take them home to rebuild them and keep them out of the way while the rest of the car is being worked on. Trying to spray primer on 19" long light buckets, hanging from a hook was pretty clumsy, so I spent 2 minutes making a little paint stand out of some scrap panel and exhaust tubing 20200405_095023 by Dan Haas, on Flickr From the picture, it looks a little wavy while it was wet and I thought I screwed something up, but leveled out fine 20200405_123131 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200405_123256 by Dan Haas, on Flickr i'll going to get the lenses and chrome rings cleaned up a bit, and mock them together to have something to look at this week, I just painted the headlights yesterday so I haven't unmasked them yet. Also, tracked down the correct cigarette lighter and receptacle. not the biggest priority, but the hole in the dash was bothering me 20200327_162330 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited April 6, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GARY F Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Looking good. Can't beat the black. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valk Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 I’m jealous of you abilities- you make it look easy. Great work. Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 8, 2020 Author Share Posted April 8, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 5:36 PM, GARY F said: Looking good. Can't beat the black. Thanks! I'm no professional painter, though I try to give it my best, but doing the whole body in black is going to be a challenge getting it right, but should be worth it in the end. On 4/6/2020 at 7:24 PM, valk said: I’m jealous of you abilities- you make it look easy. Great work. Peter Thanks! The only way I can afford it, is to do it all myself, and who doesn't like a big overwhelming project to slowly dig themselves out of?? Aside from working on the body lately, I've been trying to track down some of the still missing essential pieces to complete the driveline, and to make things easier, I've had the transmission at home in the corner so if I come across something, i have it right there to check. Looking to see if i had a retaining bolt for the reverse idler shaft last night, ended up in a mock up build of the transmission case, to really see what i was still missing, ( when i bought the transmission, it was blown apart, and the counter cluster and reverse idler gear were both significantly chipped but have since acquired 2 complete usable sets and a few extra pieces for the stash). Fortunately, it seems i have all of the parts now, im still missing the counter cluster support shaft, though I've found one this morning, but does anyone know of a vendor for the detent springs and the shaft retention bolts? i could only find one of the springs, have both ball bearings, but where im missing the cluster shaft, im also missing the retention bolt that holds it in place and threads in from the bottom of the case. i would imagine its the same style bolt as the reverse idler bolt, with a threaded shoulder and an a smooth/ soft pointed end. Just a mock up, the bearings aren't installed and im missing the lower support shaft so everything is a little out of place 20200407_200708 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodneybeauchamp Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 Nice work. Just thinking that while the light buckets are being put back together you may want to consider putting in 6V relays for the headlamps. This will provide 6V at the globe and provide the best possible lighting, even better if you head down the QH path in 6V. The relays are easy to wire and totally hidden from prying eyes and judges in the big buckets. Made a huge difference on my ‘38 where at first you needed a match to see if the headlights were on. just my two bobs worth! 😀😀😀😀😀😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 58 minutes ago, rodneybeauchamp said: Nice work. Just thinking that while the light buckets are being put back together you may want to consider putting in 6V relays for the headlamps. This will provide 6V at the globe and provide the best possible lighting, even better if you head down the QH path in 6V. The relays are easy to wire and totally hidden from prying eyes and judges in the big buckets. Made a huge difference on my ‘38 where at first you needed a match to see if the headlights were on. just my two bobs worth! 😀😀😀😀😀😀 Another option to consider is a good heavy duty separate ground wire from the reflector bucket to a good chassis ground. On my 1938 I installed a new wiring harness, so I feel confident that the wiring is as good as new, but I added a nice heavy ground wire from the reflector buckets to a headlight mounting bolt and the headlights are nearly as bright as the sealed beam headlights in my 1937 Century without even having the reflectors properly redone on the 1938 Century. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, rodneybeauchamp said: Nice work. Just thinking that while the light buckets are being put back together you may want to consider putting in 6V relays for the headlamps. This will provide 6V at the globe and provide the best possible lighting, even better if you head down the QH path in 6V. The relays are easy to wire and totally hidden from prying eyes and judges in the big buckets. Made a huge difference on my ‘38 where at first you needed a match to see if the headlights were on. just my two bobs worth! 😀😀😀😀😀😀 2 hours ago, MCHinson said: Another option to consider is a good heavy duty separate ground wire from the reflector bucket to a good chassis ground. On my 1938 I installed a new wiring harness, so I feel confident that the wiring is as good as new, but I added a nice heavy ground wire from the reflector buckets to a headlight mounting bolt and the headlights are nearly as bright as the sealed beam headlights in my 1937 Century without even having the reflectors properly redone on the 1938 Century. I'll end up with a new harness as only the inside of one of the headlights had any sort of wiring in it, and that was in pretty bad shape an held together with duct tape, though I was planning on getting a complete car kit from either Rhode Island wiring or YNZ as that headlight bucket probably had the most wiring in it out of the entire car as it sits. I am keeping it 6volt and plan on taking it on some road trips so I want the headlights to be as good as they can be. I was reading about the benefits of the Uvira coating, as my reflectors look fairly tarnished, but haven't reached out to them yet, though I believe I need to send the reflectors out for nickel plating prior to sending them to Uvira. MCHinson, what did you use for the sealed beam conversion in your 1937? I was reading the 1998 Torque tube article on the headlights, but that seems to just be about disassembly/ assembly, etc. Unmasked the headlights the other day, and cleaned up the bezels a bit just for something to look at. im not happy with one of the edges for the ribbed trim piece, so they'll probably get painted again 20200411_111000 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited April 13, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted April 13, 2020 Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) Took me a few minutes to find it, but if you read starting on page 12 of this .pdf newsletter, you will see how I converted the car to sealed beams basically following an old article from 1973 from Rod and Custom magazine. That article is also reprinted in that Torque Tube II issue following my article. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwkvul_TyYjSaWVGTUQ1TnpubmM/view?usp=sharing Edited April 13, 2020 by MCHinson (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 That's a great write up, thanks! and since I am missing some of the headlight innards, I dont feel bad about retrofitting it I think I have a pile of parts kicking around my backroom from a 1964 Impala SS that I was working on. i'll have to check if I have the bulb cups, but if not, a quick ebay search seems like I wont have much trouble finding them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 20, 2020 Author Share Posted April 20, 2020 (edited) Finally stopped dragging my feet a few nights ago, and started welding in the driver side tail panel, the big gap at the top was from when I made some changes after the first cuts were made. Just a first pass and still needs some clean up, and the small filler piece I had to make was giving me grief since there was some undiscovered brazing on the underside of the sheet metal where the 3 new pieces met the body, so I called it a night 20200415_175655 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200415_195458 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200415_201651 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I wanted to get the tail panel, most welded in so there wouldn't be any body panels flopping around, since Friday I recruited a buddy and we got the body off of the chassis and set on some stands 20200417_160454 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200417_161235 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200417_163038 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I had been planning on sending the frame out to be sandblasted as it looked pretty crusty, and honestly I was a little nervous about the condition of it before I started pulling the body apart. When I first pulled the nose off, and gave it a quick hit with a wire wheel, it cleaned up surprisingly easy, and with everyone being shut down, and in the interest of sacrificing a weekend to save some budget, I spent around 10hrs between Saturday and Sunday cleaning it up. I don't want to suggest that this was a good idea, a safe idea, or a good use of time, but no blood/ incidents, a few near misses when a wheel would grab something and bounce off suddenly, especially with all of the X frame structure and crevices. I am pretty happy with the results, it came out a lot better than i was expecting and really was a lot easier and went quicker than i was expecting. Im going to try and get it painted this week, order a gas tank, ( probably a nova tank from Tanks Inc, inexpensive since I will need to cut and modify it to reposition the filler neck), some fuel line and brake line, and try and run those lines while the body is off to make life a little easier for when Im actually close to needing to connect the brakes and fuel, but the body will be back on the chassis. 20200418_123032 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200418_143856 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200419_135728 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200419_135739 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Also, came across an ebay ad for a new old stock door panel for a 1937 Buick coupe a week or 2 ago for $100, so Wednesday or Thursday, i threw out a best offer of $50 and they accepted and was delivered sunday from fedex, which i didn't know they made deliveries on sundays. Looks stained in the picture, and im sure its a little faded, but really good condition. Not sure the history on this type of thing, if they were remanufactured for awhile afterwards, or if this has just been sitting in a box for 80+ yrs 2020-04-20_07-50-06 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Luxor Motor Sales ? Grand Rapids, MI 20200419_170813 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200419_170817 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited April 20, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 Had to stop by my shop after work last night, and decided that since the new gas tank is on order, I should get to work and gave the frame a quick once over a degreaser and got to painting. I've become a fan of painting chassis parts and frames with tractor and implement paint, goes on easy and with the hardener, is extremely durable. There are a few crevices im going to go back through with a brush like the rear shock body pockets and stuff, but that was enough for an after work weeknight, and will give it enough time to dry before I start messing around mounting a tank and lines, etc. while im at it, im probably going to get the rear exhaust hangers in place and maybe buy a new set or parking brake cables since mine are in pretty rough shape and Bob's has them for $130 for the rear pair. 20200418_160210 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-04-21_09-05-29 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200420_202109 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200420_200747 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 (edited) A few recent things, im the proud new owner of a rebuilt 11" pressure plate, which with the exception of a clutch fork, means I almost have a full drive train 20200427_204241 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Dug out the shocks that I've acquired, one is different and I believe may be from a slightly later Oldsmobile, but the other 2 seems to be a matching pair, and also match the mounting holes in the rear sway bar. One was pretty well frozen, but with a little work and some oil, both seems to move freely and are building tension pressure, but I still plan on sending them out for rebuild as one of them was pretty dry so im assuming whatever rubber is inside would be pretty deteriorated. still need the shock links to the rear end, but I need to go through my boxes to see whats in there, though I think I have seen them for sale through Bob's or another vendor. 20200503_174041 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Feel free to skip the rest, and remember this is a modest- 'lets try and do a nice job on a small budget because my last project was waay over budget' project and this car was stripped clean and sold off of alot of the useful/ hard to find pieces No gas tank or straps came with this car, after some measuring and going over everything, I decided on a first gen Camaro/ firebird tank. Came from Tanks inc, was inexpensive, but I already knew there was going to be modifications so I wasn't that worried, though the metal was a little thin. 20200424_175819 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200424_181557 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200424_202814 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200424_203915 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Next was making some mounting straps, decided on 1/8, a little on the thick side and overkill, but worked well and is something I wont have to worry about. Some T bolts from McMaster Carr, 3/8-16 20200502_150237 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Bent to follow the shape of the tank, i'll be cutting some rubber strips and adhering them to act as isolators, but Im going to have to to pull the tank a few times when the body is back on to make the passenger side filler neck, as well as paint the tank and straps and reseal the tank after its been welded 20200510_135557 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I've been really trying to avoid doing any sort of non-reversible welding on the frame, but I conceded and filled 2 of the factory gas tank slots on the rear, and used (2) 3/8-16 weld nuts to act as the rear mount. This keeps the tank accessible from underneath and takes out the need of trying to fish a wrench on top when the body is back on and keeps the tools needed to service it, if the need arises, to a minimum. I plan on taking this car on some longer road trips when its done, and keeping things accessible is something im really trying to keep in mind for when im on the side of the road a few states away from home 20200510_130147 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200510_134310 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I did use the front mounts without any sort of modification to the frame, 20200510_141323 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200510_141315 by Dan Haas, on Flickr The next, not completely correct piece, was that the 320 engine I have, is from a 1947 and as such has a different front engine mount plate behind the timing chain. I've been looking without much luck, though I did have someone offer to sell me one for $500, but I politely declined, so I figured I would give this a try. I still need to pull the piece out and weld it from the backside and fish plate it for a little extra security but it at least keeps the ball rolling in the right direction. Made a quick and dirty frame template 20200422_202032 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Some cuts made 20200425_144715 by Dan Haas, on Flickr And some bends to make the lower angled edge into a horizontal plane 20200425_152338 by Dan Haas, on Flickr one of the filler pieces, made from 3/16 plate. 20200425_152438 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Aesthetically, I should have made 2 separate pieces for the larger filler piece and made the side piece rounded instead of one piece that I scored and bent, but having it squared off a bit will give more clearance to getting long enough bolts in and out 2020-04-27_10-13-28 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200426_123750 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200426_133608 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200426_132944 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited May 11, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 Not alot of progress, but some forward progress and alot of filthy work that i dragged my feet through. Im putting an order together for Bob's including the new bellhousing/ engine mounts, throw out bearing, and a few other things, to hopefully get an engine into this car for the first time, i would guess, in many decades. I think the only component i am still missing to get the transmission and engine bolted together is the correct clutch fork with the through hole for the pedal linkage, and i believe a is slightly bent/ concave. I blew apart the rear a few weeks ago and managed to get it back in over the weekend 20200417_161235 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200607_111003 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Originally i was planning on just replacing the rear leaf springs with new ones from Eaton, but with the car seemingly being apart longer than it was together and they looked to be in good shape, i pulled them apart, wire wheeled them, ground out any indent marks from the edges, softened the edges and corners, and gave them a once over with a flap wheel to give it a quick little polish. Then painted with durable tractor implement paint and applied some graphite paste lubricant before re-assembling. I still need to order the leaf spring clamps but i wanted to get the suspension back in so i could get the chassis back on wheel dollies as it was in the way on jack stands 20200519_175330 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200523_124729 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200516_132827 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200521_193450 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200521_195130 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-06_01-11-51 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I havent pulled the axles yet, but plan to when i do the brakes and replace whatever seals/ bearings are in the outer/ flange. i also have to make some new, what i am assuming are, triagulation bars that run from the rear to the torque tube, one of mine was rusted to the point it was snapped off at the bolt and the other was pretty close to being there. i have the raw materials and die to make new ones saved to my McMaster carr list, i just havent ordered them yet. Theyre going to have to be very slightly different, as the stock ones have a 9/16-18 thread, but the unthreaded portion of the bar seems to drop down to 1/2" or so, so the nuts can unthread into the center and make it possible to install as it would not clear otherwise. i intend to just thread a longer portion of the rod to just be able to run the nuts up further to get them out of the way enough to install. I still need to send out my rear shocks for rebuild. 20200627_110009 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200627_111535 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200627_123156 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200627_135838 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200627_135747 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200523_135944 by Dan Haas, on Flickr New Ubolts, (they are a little longer than stock, but i plan on trimming the excess length off the ends) and new bump stops from Steele Rubber, 20200704_131821 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200704_132014 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I need to dig out my parts storage bins as i would like to get the parking brake cables, fuel lines and brake lines run or atleast mocked up before the body goes back on. I am also planning on running an electric fuel pump in line with the mechanical pump for some back up and was planning on using the 6volt rotary vane Carter one, as i have used them before, albeit 12v ones. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1967 - 1997 Riviera Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 "Then painted with durable tractor implement paint and applied some graphite paste lubricant before re-assembling." I have read others on here mention that you should not apply any kind of lubricant between the individual leaf spring elements because the surface friction that exists between adjacent leafs as they flex helps them do their work. Just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 In 1936 GM had leaf springs lubricated with graphite, and a special tool to squirt more in once a year or so. It might not be the best way according to current thinking, but not completely crazy for 1937. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Yes Bloo: I know when I pulled the rear axle on my 37 the rear springs still had the metal "Gaiters". Still had grease in them but the sheet metal was rusted out on much of them. Shop manual shows the fixtures to re-grease them. We had a spring shop here in Chambersburg ("Gaumer's"). In 2006 I just sent them the springs and they cleaned them and supposedly re arced them. Son Alex helping. What was left of the metal Gaiters. Parts on the way to the sand blasters. 6 years passed between then and when I finally installed them. It seems on my car the rear is lower by 2". Height of the bottom edge of the body at the rear is 14". Of course I still have not installed the NOS shocks I bought for it in 1990. That may help a bit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 12 hours ago, Bloo said: In 1936 GM had leaf springs lubricated with graphite, and a special tool to squirt more in once a year or so. It might not be the best way according to current thinking, but not completely crazy for 1937. My `36 Buick coupe had been disassembled 30yr prior to when i bought it 7yr ago. Rear springs, most of the covers had rotted away, and leafs were all rusted together, no movement. I doubt they had ever been re-lubed since new. I went with a new set of super-sliders from Eaton. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick35 Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 My 35 is missing the metal gaiters on the rear springs. Does anyone sell replacement ones or are they needed?Thanks,Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 5 minutes ago, Buick35 said: My 35 is missing the metal gaiters on the rear springs. Does anyone sell replacement ones or are they needed?Thanks,Greg https://accentsunlimitedgaiters.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick35 Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 I wasnt going to post this, because its a stock deviation, but i see this thrown around enough that it could be useful to someone else and did this over the weekend. This is one of those concessions i've been hemming and hawing over for awhile, with not wanting to deviate too far from stock, and have a safe enough car that i could take on road trips. I've had enough instances of being in cars with brake failures, (it doesnt take many and i've had a few recent ones in the last few yrs) with old original stuff, all new stock reproduction/ nos stuff, new style, etc. and figured adding a dual master cylinder using the stock pedals and stock transmission side mount was a happy mid point of not deviating too far from stock, but just a little extra layer of safety, peace of mind while not interrupting too much visually, unless you climbed under the car to look. First tracked down a 1" bore manual drum/ drum master cylinder with the outlets that would be facing toward the frame, then got out the cardboard and came up with this, 3/16" plate, fully welded on both sides, though i still need to correct some of the hardware i used with what i had on hand. i mocked it up on the bench with the torque ball flange nad the transmission crossmember, and didnt have any interference issues, but i am planning on getting the engine mounted in the frame this week, so if i have any issues, i will know soon. 2020-07-13_09-10-12 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-13_09-09-06 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-13_09-10-46 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-13_09-11-45 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-13_09-37-20 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-07-13_09-12-58 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 (edited) Some activity, in preparation to get the body on and trying to do all of the things that would be harder to do after the body is on, and alot of de-rusting, cleaning, sanding, grinding, painting, etc. The engine has been set in the frame, and everything fit as it was supposed to with the modified later style front engine mount plate, ( although the rubber blocks twisted a bit while tightening up the bolts). i bought new bellhousing engine mounts from Bob's, but unfortunately i didnt have the stock ones to turn in for a core so they cost a little extra but im happy to atleast have them. 20200913_132912 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200913_132850 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Exhaust has been run and the fuel line is in. from what i could tell, the fuel lines would have been run outboard of the frame, ( there werent any fuel lines in the car when i bought it) but with my running board brackets, i had to run the line on the inside of the frame. Alot of obstructions on the interior of the frame, but i made it work in 1 long piece of hardline. I added 6 volt Carter fuel pump to work as an auxillary/ back up/ helper and installed it on the gas tank crossmember. 20200913_134500 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200908_204125 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Spent some time sort of awkwardly kneeling under the car while it was on stands to sand down the underside of the floors. I had rebuilt alot of the floor, but there was still alot of the stock floor in place that had a good layer of rust, but fortunately it all cleaned up pretty well, and i sprayed on a few thick layers of the same tractor enamel that i have been using on the chassis. Since i was painting the underside up into the toeboards, i figured i should spray some primer on the firewall since the engine would be in the way eventually. 20200913_104124 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200913_115335 by Dan Haas, on Flickr the transmission case is empty, as the engine and transmission will be coming back out to get cleaned up, but just to make sure it fit together in the frame 20200726_105543 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200726_105531 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Most importantly, a buddy came by yesterday and finally have it looking a little like a car again. I still have some aligning to do, and i have to make new holes for the rear most body mounts where i replaced alot of the trunk, but i just wanted to get the majority of the big moving done while i had an extra set of hands. 20200913_161157 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200913_160808 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I think next will be finishing up some of the sheet metal work, primarily finishing the weather stripping channel around the trunk, and the outside cowl/ toeboard area where the front fenders bolt to the body. Also not sure what to do about the antenna mounting holes on the driver side. i dont plan on having a dash radio or using the antenna that came with it, ( i dont know if its stock, it doesnt look old enough but the mounts on it seem like they would fit the body holes) but i dont really want to weld them up either. Edited September 14, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick35 Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 I had two holes on the driver side cowl on my 35 Buick and had no idea why they were there.I don't think they were for an antenna because they were horizontal ,anyway I had them welded up and I can't tell where they were.Then I thought for a side mount bracket but mine has the spare in the rear.Greg 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted September 14, 2020 Share Posted September 14, 2020 If you are interested in how the fuel lines were run originally, my 1938 Buick restoration story shows how they were done originally. To the best of my recollection, the fuel lines on my 1937 Century are identical to those on my 1938 Century. In 1937 Buicks did not have antennas mounted on the body. In 1937 the radio antennas were made up of antenna wires that attached to insulators under the running boards. The running board antennas were not very good so a few years later, Buick switched to external antennas. Off the top of my head, I am not sure how many years the running board antennas were used, but they were used in at least 1937 and 1938 that I am sure of. The poor reception has resulted in a lot of people adding external antennas over the years, but if you want it to look authentic, you can go ahead and fill in those antenna holes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 Thanks guys, if they are not factory holes, then i don't have any guilt over filling them in. i just didn't want to get rid of them if they were an oem feature and some future owner wanted to utilize them @MCHinson i was sitting next to the car frame switching around between your's and Gary's threads trying to figure out a way to do it without completely changing how the homemade running board brackets were set up. i made a few pieces of hardline trying to make it work , but there weren't any that i was happy with and was confident wouldn't be obstructed by or in contact with the body/ inner rockers. I would have rather done it outside the frame, but im happy enough with the outcome, it was just something that i had overlooked when i was setting up the running board brackets. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 With the body back on, its time to jump back on to some of the remaining sheet metal projects that i was procrastinating on and and i didnt want to do too much cutting while the body was sitting on stands at the chance of having something fall out of shape, ( door sills, trunk frame, etc.). i had made a new repair panel for the passenger side cowl/ fender mounting area months ago, so i started there saturday. Fairly crusty and i could pull the lower portion apart with my hand2020-10-05_07-16-12 by Dan Haas, on Flickr A quick check with the new panel cleco'd over the old section 20200315_153535 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200315_153711 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200927_123319 by Dan Haas, on Flickr It had been partially repaired before and there were some unexpected gobs of brazing, but luckily the inner rocker metal it was attached to at the pinch/ crimp area was rotted and i could just replace it rather than fight welding around brazed metal 20200927_123900 by Dan Haas, on Flickr that small section on the top, i just cut out and made a simple little patch, most of that area was good and i didn't want make a whole new panel for it 20200927_125429 by Dan Haas, on Flickr A quicky little inner rocker piece, curved on the left side to fit around a section of the door sill. Butt welded on the right upper side, but there was a factory over lap from a piece of the floor that i took advantage of to just do "spot"plug welds on that section and cheat a bit. gave it a good once over with a while wheel and some cleaner and painted it all since it would be sealed up permanently, though there is a small window from the inner toeboard area, but not really accessible for paint. 20200929_202043 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Made a template to locate the fender mounts and used some 5/16-18 weldnuts on the backside to match the original thread sizes 20200927_105930 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20200927_133758 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201003_132016 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Still have some cleaning up to do on it, but thats good enough to make sure it will fit right. i left the bottom curve unwelded so when i get the door aligned and where i want it, i can match the new panel to align with the door bottom. i did the same thing with the rear rockers. 20201004_101412 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-10-05_07-40-01 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I had some free time yesterday before i was supposed to give a buddy a hand with something, and mounted the door and loosely bolted the fender in place, (both a little clumsy when by yourself) and put a running board on. there's alot of adjustment with the running board brackets, and the fender itself, so i'll spend some time getting it sorted, but certainly looks like it will fit correctly and the fender will fit snug into the relief areas of the new panel. There' still a piece of the door sill bracing in the place so the door is open a bit and just ziptied closed. 20201004_112327 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201004_112157 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-10-05_06-53-21 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201004_112206 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201004_112344 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 (edited) Maybe not the biggest update work wise, but The one im pretty excited about, and whats going to save me alot of time and money, getting a seat for the Buick upholstered. i had bought a seat frame, springs, etc. a year or so ago, then Lebaron Bonney, who i was going to get the seat coverings and some interior stuff, went bankrupt, and i've been hemming and hawing about getting it covered, the cost, etc. Then, someone in a '37-'38 Buick group, posted an ad they had found for some seats way up in Maine, so i called him, took a vacation day and headed up to Maine a day later. Older guy, had raced for decades, was a founding member of the Orientals car club, had some had some nice cars in a nice barn, (as well as a beautiful house overlooking the mountains) and most importantly, a really nicely upholstered split bench seat, with the decorative chrome pieces, skirts, etc, from a 1938 Buick for $100 a '26 T that was basically made into an extended cab truck. he said that he drives it all around the country and has put over 60k miles on it 20201014_122051 by Dan Haas, on Flickr '39,20201014_122038 by Dan Haas, on Flickr '39 Pontiac 20201014_122018 by Dan Haas, on Flickr The Equinox earning it's keep, the new seat fit perfectly in the back. i wasnt in any rush and had a nice leisurely 3.5hr drive there, spent all of 30minutes at his house talking shop, looking at his cars and loading up the seat, then a 4hr drive home. a well worth it trip. [/url]20201014_174248 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2020-10-26_02-44-30 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201024_193424 by Dan Haas, on Flickr its in great shape, but could use a cleaning. it looks like it was just in a car that was brought to shows and doesnt show any hard wear, and i dont know why the seat bottom looks discolored in the pictures, other than that its corduroy/ broadcord and maybe needs to be brushed in the same direction? It looks fine in person 20201025_123900 by Dan Haas, on Flickr And i finally got to actually sit in my car for the first time, after owning it for 3'ish yrs and it just felt right! Just a test fit and to mark out on the floor where the seat will be located, since alot of the floor has been replaced and i want the seat to be where im comfortable sitting. Im a big'ish guy, and and some of 1930s cars that i have been in, have felt a little squished in, so since the new floor needs to be marked for seat bolts anyway, im taking a liberty and moving it back slightly. It will be coming back home and getting wrapped in plastic to keep it safe, leaving it around all of the metal work and sanding would destroy it quickly. 20201024_191046 by Dan Haas, on Flickr and the old seat for comparison 20201012_192539 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I havent held it up next to it yet, but it looks like the new old stock door panel i have should be a pretty close color match, although admittedly, i do wish the colors were slightly darker but i am very happy with even having this much of an interior 2020-10-26_01-24-18 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Also, got the rest of the trunk weather stripping channel cut out, the supports cleaned up, and the new pieces i made fitted. I decided to just drill holes into the new channel to coincide with the supports, and then i'll plug weld them to the stock support pieces. it ends up being around 16ft of new channel, so i've just been picking away at it running a bunch of tacks in between doing other things. Cleaning up the welds and dressing them isnt something im looking forward to, but i have a plan and some tools that should do it without too much fuss. the trunk lid will go back on to fit the lower piece of channel, then im going to cut out a majority of the trunk floor and remake it. i was trying to get away with using it as is, but it needs to be done and i'll regret not doing down the line. 20201025_123349 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201025_123341 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201025_123353 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I also thought it was time to finish the Edsel fender that i had started awhile back, since it was getting the in the way and collecting dust. i had been avoiding it because the peak/ end of the body line was giving me trouble trying to get it right, so i started there. The bottom side of the body line, is an indented/ concave shape and slightly sharp, where the top, is a rounded outward shape. i had the new piece made with the rounded up, and got stuck. Then i thought instead of making it all one piece, i ran a strip thought the bead roller and started trimming the edges to fit the opening. Still needs work, but not a million miles away 20181209_113143 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20181209_121508 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201010_125746 by Dan Haas, on Flickr its just loosely in place and theres no inner fender to help align it, but its looking better 20201010_170820 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20201010_170823 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited October 26, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Looking really good, Dan! It's great that you were able to get that seat and have a nice visit and see some nice cars as well. Ain't this a great hobby? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 (edited) Still here, alot of not so interesting work but still puttering away and the end of the never ending metal work is in sight sort of. i also decided to blow apart my C10 truck that i built over a few yrs, starting about a decade ago, but what was cool to a 23yr old me, is a little different to what 33yr old me wants now so i'm changing a few things. It has been sitting neglected the last few years so that has been taking some of the play time and money, but i wanted it to be back together when the nice weather comes back in a few months. 2020-12-21_12-42-20 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I've been trying to eat up the rest of my vacation time before the end of the year, so this last week or so, i thought cutting big holes in the Buick would be a good use of time! I have been trying to make excuses to leave the trunk floor alone, but it had to be done, so its getting done. It was full of holes and old brazed repairs that just looked bad and with all of the other work especially in that area with the new outer tail pan, inner tail pan/ tool recess area and trunk channel, it would have been silly and lazy to leave it. when i cut it out and could see all of the swiss cheese holes, i felt a little better about it. 12 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 13 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 14 by Dan Haas, on Flickr started with a big piece of 4ft wide 18ga. i think i might upgrade my little bead roller next time i do a big floor piece, but with a little convincing it was fine, though an extra set of hands would have been helpful 15 by Dan Haas, on Flickr i cut the sides to follow the curve of the frame like the stock floor had, rounded the edges of the new "flaps" to make it look a little nicer and used a step die in the beadroller on the tops of them for the body mount bolt holes and to make them recessed a bit ( where the blue marker marks are on them, though this was before i did that) 16 by Dan Haas, on Flickr and since i had to make a cover for the fuel neck that intersects the floor to go out to the passenger side fender, now seemed like a good time to do it. It would have been easier to just drill the hole for a new tube, but i had cut out the section from the new tank i bought when i shaved the fill neck, so i just moved it over to the side. it was a pain and will still get cleaned up a bit, but it was good enough to make a new cover piece for it. 17 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 18 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 19 by Dan Haas, on Flickr i still have a few little filler pieces to make up and alot of grinding welds down to make it look nicer, but i wanted to get the big stuff done while i had the momentum ( this was from yesterday). 20 by Dan Haas, on Flickr and pulled a wheel off so i could test the spare time clamp. i do not have the tray that is supposed to cover the tire and make a false trunk floor with the side brackets, ( i was planning to cut one out of plywood and cover it in rubber mat when i get to that point) but looking at the height of the trunk floor brackets that would support the tray, im guessing the wider wheel and tire is getting in the way of that, ( i believe the wheels that came on the car are from a post war car and are 1.5" wider and a different backspacing that what would have come on a 1937 Century). i can worry about that later though 21 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited December 21, 2020 by Stooge (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 A little getting distracted with my white truck lately that is starting to snowball a bit. but i finally stopped dragging my feet so much getting back to work on the trunk of the Buick this weekend. Somewhere along the line, with all of changes of plans and reworks, the gap of the lower part of the trunk lid had tightened up a bit, not a ton, but enough that it had to be corrected, so that was first. Marked off where the gap started tightening up, and made 2ft long slits on either side of the trunk opening with a cutting wheel, and widened it slightly. then had the cut line taper off at the top, and pulled the trunk channel back to fill in the new gap, and in turn straightened/ pulled back the perimeter to create a less noticeable new edsge. There was probably a better way to do this and cutting giant holes in a big curve wasnt something i was especially looking forward to, but it did what i wanted it to. Theres still some clean up to do, but it all kept its shape so im happy enough with it. 2021-03-01_08-00-47 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210221_155006 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210220_155204 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-01_08-01-43 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Since that was enough to know where the gaps would be, i finally started fitting in the new lower channel i made probably close to a yr ago before i pulled the body off the chassis. A few things had changed since then so this made for a 'its going to look worse, before it looks better' situation fitting the corners/ edges where the 3 or 4 pieces all meet. 2021-03-01_07-41-27 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-01_06-16-04 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Since i had widened the opening a bit, i elected to pie cut the corners, that i had made with the shrinker/ stretcher, to fit the contour a bit better, and also cut the corner edge to make the transition from lip, to filler piece to new channel that was already put in, flow a little better. 2021-03-01_06-15-36 by Dan Haas, on Flickr First pass or 2, not a perfect edge but its a work in progress and will be corrected, theres some planishing still to do, along with the lower corner lip could use some prettying up. there is still another piece, a long strip that will connect the sides of the trunk channel and make a outward facing C channel on the lower lip. The piece i cut out of the trunk, didnt have the the upper lip, so i made the new one without it, then some research showed there should be one there, and that my car was just rotted out or was cut off during a previous owner's repair. 2021-03-01_06-17-19 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-01_06-14-52 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-01_06-14-25 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I'll start cleaning up the long center section welds and start the driver side corner this week sometime and can hopefully call the trunk stuff done soon 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 (edited) A few little updates, i've been getting distracted by some car projects for other people, but i have sort of set a little goal for myself to drive this to a regional Bay State Antique Auto Club show at the Endicott Estates in Dedham, MA. It's a show i've been frequenting for years and is a highlight show of the season for me, though since it was cancelled last yr, and postponed until July 2022, so that is my goal. I am guessing car may not be "finished" as far as interior is concerned by then, but it will shiny paint, and running/ driving, and will hopefully make me stop dragging my feet on finishing it. My last personal car project took atleast 7yrs,( i was also working on other's car projects) and admittedly started to lose interest near the end, and i would like to avoid that with this car. The rear of the car is mostly done, but i still have alot of grinding and sanding before bodywork can start. my car was missing the innermost lip around the trunk, so i built it the replacement stuff without it, so when i figured out it was missing, i added it. 2021-03-23_10-32-04 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-23_10-31-56 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210307_162601 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I've put together a starter and solenoid, though i am not so happy with the actuator linkage from the solenoid plunger. Solenoid came from Brillman, though i do not remember where the plunger came from, but i suspect i will need to find a new one, since it seems to bind. I am using an under dash starter switch in place of the accelerator pedal switch. 20210425_104000 by Dan Haas, on Flickr With what i believe is the correct NOS voltage regulator for using a dash switch. 2021-03-23_10-33-29 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 2021-03-23_10-33-40 by Dan Haas, on Flickr From the same person, (Jolly_john on here, i believe his username is) i picked up a set of NOS glass fender light lenses. i believe the shape of these indicate an earlier style and match the current leneses, just without cracks in them 2021-03-23_10-30-11 by Dan Haas, on Flickr and a 6 volt Optima so i can start trying some things. 2021-05-17_07-42-17 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Found a pair of the correct rear shocks, though they will need to get rebuilt. They both start to build tension with fluid added, but will weep out of the bushing/ joint overnight. The store Then & Now https://www.then-now-auto.com/shop-2/ is in the next town over and in the same town as my shop, so i will call them first and see if they rebuild this style shock, though i believe they do, i just havent done it yet. 20210509_101223 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Since i would like to start bodywork pretty soon, i dug out the door parts and proceeded to get them unfrozen, and made some keys for the door and trunk locks. The latch mechanisms both seem to be working well, and have a good "snap" to them. i need to find or make a new locking rod, i have only found the 1 so far in my crates of parts, annd i also plan on moving the locking handle to the driver side. i used some countersunk screws i had handy, but found envelopes with the correct hardware. Some previous owner, meticulously took the entire car apart, and bagged and labelled all of the hardware, and most of the smaller parts, but unfortunately, then proceeded to part the car out, so while i have a 100+ hardware envelopes, alot of the stuff was long gone when i came into possession of the car. 20210530_150030 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210530_150047 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210531_163734 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210531_163943 by Dan Haas, on Flickr And yesterday, picked up something i wasnt really planning on using just yet, but they popped up for sale, hemmed and hawed over it for a morning and bought them, fold down rear opera seats. Especially after Lebaron Bonney went under, i really didnt expect to have much of an interior, and had not seen the rear seats for sale in my casual looking over the last few yrs, but i am glad to have them. Matching the upholstery will be down the road, but after i build it, i will get the rear support board covered to make it look a little more finished. 20210614_095519 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210614_180157 - Copy by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210614_180326 - Copy by Dan Haas, on Flickr Unfortunately i seem to be missing one of the supporting legs/ lever mechanism for latching the seat closed. The mechanism and latch are still in place, but the leg actuates the mechanism. i'll email the seller this morning to see if they have it, but i suspect not. 20210614_180242 by Dan Haas, on Flickr @DonMichelettiwas kind enough to send me some pictures of his car un-upholstered to steer me in the right direction as far as the backing board structure is concerned. I'll need to look into if im missing something to support the side cushion's upper loop mounts under the side window, and are just ziptied in place to get an idea of where they are supposed to locate. DSCN1557 - Copy by Dan Haas, on Flickr DSCN1559 - Copy by Dan Haas, on Flickr DSCN1560 - Copy by Dan Haas, on Flickr The service manual's depiction of the seats 2021-06-01_10-27-54 by Dan Haas, on Flickr A 1966 GTO i had been working on went to paint a few weeks ago, and i pushed the buick outside to do some spring cleaning 20210509_123058 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210509_123127 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited June 15, 2021 by Stooge (see edit history) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stooge Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 (edited) Like a kid on christmas, i had to go play with my new seats and get them sorted, or atleast get them installed enough that i could bring them home and get them out of harms way at my shop and regular metal work and sparks. Acquired some 3/4" sanded on Thursday and by Sunday night had something resembling the rear folding opera seats, though i need to get the hardware i'll be using, since i just used what i had on hand. Started with a big cardboard template so i didnt risk messing up multiple sheets of plywood. 20210620_131811 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210625_104242 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210625_140212 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210625_153508 by Dan Haas, on Flickr I used threaded inserts on the backside to the corresponding factory brackets that were still in place, so i could take it in and out without having to fasten into the wood itself. I still need to make some tabs for the threaded brackets on the backside of the seat bucket tins. I dont remember a bracket there on the original floor, but alot of that area of the original floor was rotted out, so some simple brackets are not an issue. 20210627_121511 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210625_155821 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Unfortunately, it seems like the seller couldnt locate the missing leg post, or atleast i havent been told otherwise and its been a week or 2. I think the plan is to get a length of 3/8" polished stainless, and cobble together the latching/ block end, and break out the tig welder and weld them together to make a new handle for the missing side. Fortunately, it seems relatively simple and i have the one to copy. I was going to make a hardware order from McMaster Carr this morning for the seat and board fasteners, so i'll see what they have for stainless rod. 20210627_192256 by Dan Haas, on Flickr 20210627_192336 by Dan Haas, on Flickr Edited June 28, 2021 by Stooge (see edit history) 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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