jackofalltrades70

I thought I would try the hood one last time before taking the front end back apart. Boy am I PISSED!:mad: The hood doesn't line up again. I have to loosen all the bolts up and try again. Better now than later, but I thought I was SOOOO close to painting the car. Wish me luck!

Ok, not what I wanted to hear today, but Kanter doesn't have any master cylinders to sell, they only can rebuild my unit, which means I lose 2-3 weeks sending it and then them rebuilding it, etc. In the meanwhile, I pumped out the tank today and will try to pull it out tomorrow. I also managed to work on the "horrible" chrome on the front of the car. It is/was and forever will be in horrible shape. I just want to keep it from getting any worse. Here are some pictures of the procedure for cleaning rust off of the bumper today without killing myself. I used clr and a copper brillo pad. I then rinsed off the clr and polished it with Mother's polish. Enjoy the crappy pictures. Matt

Wow Bro! You are getting there in a hurry! Glad you had a good Fathers Day with your dad! Looking good! Matt

I don't think anyone has mentioned this method, so here I go. Please, if you are going to use this method, use gloves and safety glasses. I don't think that CLR is a horrible product, or dangerous, but I think it worked wonders without working my arms off or damaging anything. I used it and a copper SOS type pad. I then rinsed the part off and then polished with Mother's polish. I didn't spend a whole lot of time and forgot to take close up pictures of "before", but I have included a picture of the front end of the 56 Special I just bought as a driver and you should be able to enlarge the pic to see the rust and grime on the chrome. If you look, you can see my reflexion in the pitted chrome. Not bad and I'll just keep it polished with a good wax to keep moisture out. Matt

Just bought one rebuilt from Kanter with core charge. Once they get the core back, I get $60.00 credit. $345.00 for the master and core charge. Not bad and there is free shipping at the moment. I'll let everyone know how it works out when I get her put on.

New master cylinder ordered from Kanter. Be here Tuesday or Wednesday??? Meanwhile, Monday I will pump out the gas tank and clean it and seal it. I think the pickup might be bad or I may have a hole in the line somewhere. The tank has to have about 1/2 tank of old stuff, but the electric pump won't pull anything. Needs to be dropped and cleaned anyways to be safe. Runs nice on a gas can though. I have a small drip when it rains inside the car. I think its the windshield seal, thus the cloudy windshield. I'll have to pull the stainless and check the seal condition, possibly seal it with some chewing gum or something! hehe. Fathers day car show tomorrow, so I won't be working on anything tomorrow. Just driving one of my friends babies. Happy Fathers Day to all my good friends on here! Matt

Wifey now knows about the car. Everything A. O. K.

Stan, Please read the forum rules for posting For Sale items. The guys aren't trying to be mean or beat you up. Try listing one at a time with asking price, condition, location and pictures if possible. Matt

Buickful! Congratulations!

Guys, I started an Ebay auction several days ago and forgot to post it here. This was in a box of parts I bought from another gent. It's a no reserve auction. The wheel is pretty solid, pretty dirty and cracked a little. Matt 1948 Buick Steering Wheel | eBay

Which one you going after Mike?

I'm looking for a rebuild kit or a complete master cylinder to replace my unit with. Any ideas?

I moved the car a little more today and noticed that the brakes weren't just right. I pulled the master cylinder because the rod was hard to push and carpet was hung up on it inside the body. The rubber bellows is no longer and the bushing plate in the end is shot. Cleaned it up and the rod moves well, just need a source for a rebuild kit. Anybody???

I have a friend that paints cars and is pretty good that said he will come to check the car out before I throw the epoxy primer. He has even offered to assist in the painting if I want. Matt

I didn't cause it didn't look pretty! Seems weird, but that's why and when I did, I always finished the day with a little more panel beating, or skim coat of filler or glaze, then filler primer again! Matt

Willie, I 'dust' the area with black over the grey primer to help put a shiny surface over it. It helps a lot and makes the little imperfections stand out when sanding. Is that what you were referring to?

Angus, Welcome aboard and what a Buickful ride you have there. Might I suggest, that you drive the heck out of that this year and chrome over the winter. All will appreciate the quality of the car and you save the funds for the winter project. You live in the Northeast just as I, so you won't be driving this gem in the winter anyways. Matt

Ok, I wandered back out into the garage again tonight for and hour or so. I worked on the header a little more and POR15'd the top area of the header. The rest will be painted to match the rest of the convertible the top mechanism. Which, by the way was picked up by the powder coater today. I told him to take his time and do it right, so I will probably see it next week or so. I run over the car in different angles of light and only found a few more spots to work over. Might not be the fastest bodywork/paint prep job, but I wanna make sure my first paint job is quality first. So, it might be another week or so until I am happy that the body and parts are ready. I have to go back to the paint shop for another can of catalyzer for the epoxy prime sealer anyways.

Brian, Many condolences from myself and my family. Dad has been gone 17 years and I still find times to miss him as he wanders into my thoughts when certain things are in "their right place at the right time". Wonderful that you could take the Centurion on the trip and even more that you had an uneventful one to boot! He's smiling from above. Matt

No work tonight on the car. Rainy and I'm pooped. Will post more when there is more to post. Matt

Ok, garage is 80% clean. I now have the bodywork at 98% finished and hope to continue tonight. A little more sanding and then glazing on the parts from yesterday. I have to get my leaf blower started so I can "blow down" the garage. That should get rid of the majority of stuff accumulated in nooks and crannys. Then I'll wash down the floors. I have to find my box fan and filters to start setting up draft on the future paint room. Also need to start figuring out where all of the parts are gonna hang. Matt

Wow! Really late. Here's some pictures. Details tomorrow.

Glad you had a fun day with your father! Next weekend should be even better! Matt

Today, I cleaned on the garage some more, organized my extra parts, stored things away in the basement and took the convertible top apart after taking a long video of how it was together. I also took pictures of the irons at different angles for reference. The parts that aren't chromed will go next week for powdercoating to a local guy. The chrome irons, went into the boxes of parts to be rechromed. I cannot believe how many things are accumulating in those boxes. I really think and hope that I can finish everything else up this week so the following week I'm laying the epoxy sealer. I asked a lot of questions while at the paint shop, because I'm a novice at this. The key is asking politely and thoroughly. As long as they aren't really busy, they are really happy to help out and explain all steps to follow and how to prep before-hand. They also gave me some sheets to refer to. Matt

John, I tried, really hard, PROMISE! Just didn't work. Matt