I bought Ted's car this weekend <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

See story here:

http://www.bpgforums.com/showthread.php?t=3762

Brian - time to update this thread:
<img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

http://forums.aaca.org/showflat.php?Cat=...ge=2#Post269406

Adam, congratulations on acquiring a beautiful car.

Nice to know that there's now someone else I've met who has a '71 Formal Coupe!

I can only hope we'll get the two of them together someday for photos.

I'll update that other thread someday soon.

Adam, your photos on the BPG forum are dynamite -- really showing off the beauty of 1971 Burnished Cinnamon.

Amazing how similarly optioned (or non-optioned!) our cars are.

Yes, I discovered yesterday, that the side moldings on this car are aftermarket! :-P I can't remove them without repainting, either. I guess they will stay :-)

Adam, I had noticed that they weren't on the option list included on your build sheet. They are very stock in appearance, based on your photos.

It seems rare to see the '71/'72 full-size Buicks without the protective side moldings, so it's interesting that both your Sandpiper Beige LeSabre sedan and this Formal Coupe were delivered without them. Mine also lacks them, as does Keith's recently acquired Flame Orange convertible.

Adam, I e-mailed photos of your car from the BPG forums to Gary Klecka in Alaska. He remembers you, of course, from our meeting in the hotel parking lot in Flint.

Here was Gary's comment:

"WOW! What a car! I like the color combination. Is this car unrestored?
Thank you for making my day with these photos!!

"Both Adam?s and your Centurion need to be photographed together because of the scarcity of these models. Two Formal Coupes together would be great!
By the way, how many louvers does Adam?s trunk lid have? You?ve got me looking for early/late production ?71?s when I see one."

I replied that your car was built the first week of June, 1971, so would have the later style trunk lid.

Regarding the scarcity of the '71 Formal Coupes, I mentioned to Gary that I last met another '71 Formal Coupe owner in 1979 in Walla Walla, Washington. And what a beauty that one was -- one owner, low miles, Twilight Turquoise with black roof and interior, and loaded with options. It was for sale at the time; I'm sure it's long gone by now. I've hardly seen another '71 coupe since that time, except one on the street in Denver (Silver Fern) in 1985 and San Francisco (Burnished Cinnamon) in 1985. Oh, and I test drove a beater on a used car lot in Columbus, Ohio (Sandpiper Beige) in 1983. As you might imagine, I keep my eyes open for them.

Brian, the only thing that has been done on this car, restoration-wise, is paint on the midsection (below the paint stripe, and above the lower 4" of the body). I think this was due to the large number of door dings & such.

Of course, typical maintenance items like plugs, wires, cap, rotor, hoses have all been changed. There is still one heater hose, a tower clamp, and all the vacuum lines still original.

In order to get this thing inspected, I need to get a set of mufflers on it. I blew them up like balloons on the way home. It's almost cartoon-like.

Did you see the last photos I posted of the interior?

Adam, yes I did see those interior shots. I think this is probably the nicest original '71 Formal Coupe still out there.

Wow! How sweet it is!!!

Congrats

JD

I installed a 2.5" dual exhaust system on it this week. It's my first exhaust job...doesn't look too bad for a beginner! I'll get a picture or 2 up when I get back inside. I am throwing a rebuild kit in the carburetor this afternoon to see if I can get it to run a little better. I had to put the old one back on, since the convertible finally left yesterday. I had been running the carb off that car so I could drive this one around town.

Quick update on the exhaust - it's finally finished!

Not a bad job, but it's not perfect, either. It looks presentable when you stick your head under the car. Pay no attention to the crooked pipe here or there. It sounds really nice, too. I had the short case Dynomax muffs on the convertible, and it was pretty loud. These long cases sound a bit more tame. Of course, this one doesn't have headers in front of it, either.

I put a rebuild kit in the carb this evening, as well. I found out when I took it apart that it was missing the spring under the piston the holds the metering rods. No wonder it ran like crap. I put in some rich secondary rods, and it bogs when I open up the secondaries now. I have some tuning work to do with that.




Speaking of the convertible - I said goodbye to it yesterday.

Video of the new exhaust system:

http://www.buickpartsdirectory.com/coupe/exhaust_rev.avi

Adam, the exhaust system looks nice. Good work! Thanks for keeping us updated on your projects.

I had new duals installed on my Centurion in August. We omitted the resonators initially. The exhaust people dislike them because they tend to accumulate moisture and rust out. Unfortunately, the roar during part throttle acceleration or on hills just about droned my wife and kids out of the car. So I had the resonators installed. It's perfect now; still throaty and powerful sounding, but comfortably quiet inside the car.

The convertible looked beautiful for your final farewell.

It had some ratted out resonators on it when I bought the car, but the whole exhaust system from the mufflers back was pretty much trash. I got a set of 2 1/2" tail pipes made with the stock pattern, and they fit perfectly. The mufflers I bought are performance mufflers, since I'm a go-fast nut. They were a bit long, so it was difficult getting them to fit in the spot where the old muffs were.

Wow! Stunning example of what has become an incredibly rare model! Thanks for sharing the photos. I hope to see it at a BCA meet...maybe Flint in '08??

It'll be at the Heartland Regional this year, and in Flint '08!

Time to bring this back up to the top. It's warming up in the garage a little bit, so I need to start thrashing.

Probably going under the knife this weekend, only to return as a fresh complete detail. It's either start NOW, or wait until after Easter. If I start now, I will try to make my deadline Easter Sunday so I can show it in the big Easter Show in Forest Park. I have everything I need, with the exception of a little paint....so it should go fairly well.

Adam,

Looks like you have something decent to start with. Please post pictures of the surgery... I enjoyed your updates when you were working on the LeSabre engine bay.

Good luck Doctor,

It's finally getting some attention!!

I'm tired of bagging and labeling bolts.

jeez!!!!! i cant believe you! i look at that engine bay picture and think "wow what a good clean looking engine bay. and then you go and tear everything apart to clean it up! man you must really want that thing perfect, huh? poor engine block looks so small in there!!!

You betcha! As perfect as I can get it...you've seen the last two engine compartments I've done, haven't you? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

This isn't just to clean it up, either. I have another set of heads and a cam I'm installing.

yes i have seen them and thought the same thing each time!!!

and i was a little puzzled as to why you tore it down that far <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

what kinda gain are you expecting from the swap?

I'm hoping for 100hp gain. The heads should really wake it up. They're ported big time, and I paid a mint for them <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />