JJorgensen52

Thanks Bama! You know, I'm not a green person myself, but my uncle used to have a '73 Centurion convertible that was a deep forest green and it was a SHARP car. I'll have to look into that. The two tone, that's another matter. Part of what I love so much about this car's style (I mean, aside from the fins, because who doesn't love fins??) is that faux convertible roofline, and I like the idea of taking it that extra step further. I am toying with the idea of going to black instead of white, given that I've darkened my main color from what I had first envisioned.

I must admit I'm torn because white over white is in fact the original color - but at the same time, I really feel that the car really deserves a darker color on it to make all of Buick's intricate trim accents stand out! It's a tough decision, to be sure. That is one reason I wanted to actually get a little paint on the car, before I commit to it.

More progress. First, I had to clean up a bit in the garage - I have a new project coming home which needs space, so I'm turning my Buick into wall art! Secondly, I ordered a can of paint to test the color I'm thinking of for the main body in my two-tone - I had previously identified it as Twilight aqua, but it turns out that it's actually a Chevrolet color, '63 only, called Monaco Blue (Ditlzer PPG 12711, factory code 914). Either way, I think it looks sharp (And I realize this is REALLY bad paint work, it was just a quick spray with a rattle can to get a sense of the color, I did no surface prep and even less finishing). And here's a link to some photos of a '63 Impala in Monaco Blue http://www.jr56.com/pa/63409/ What do you guys think?

Answered my own question. Yes, you can remove an inner fender with the hood still in place. No, I would not recommend it! I'm getting a second set of hands over here as soon as I can to get the hood off - for now I have it supported using a wooden dowel. I don't think it would actually do any harm, but I'd rather be overly cautious in this case.

I stand to correct myself. The knob is correct for '63 and '64 fullsize, but the actuator is '63-'65 Riviera specific. I was unaware there were two different units, I thought it was just a difference in the bracketry. It appears from the service manual that the Riv unit is shorter and may not fit inside the lock mounting bracket on a fullsize.

If you've still got it, I'm interested. Appears to be the correct unit for '63-'64 full size. PM sent.

I figured it out! GM installed the rear light housings (crimped connectors) onto the harness AFTER installing the headliner. There is simply no way to separate them now without cutting the wiring. It is actually physically impossible to pull the harness through this roof support, where the solder splice was hiding. That said, I'm looking at one of two options: 1. Cut the harness to take it out of the car, and then solder it back together when I reinstall the lights 2. Make a new harness, which runs with the rear light harness and then comes UP the B-pillar from the trunk. That way I can install a disconnect for each side to make it possible to do this with the headliner in the car. I'm favoring #2 at this point. Any opinions?

Making progress! Dashboard is now completely stripped. I also drained the cooling system tonight, getting ready to pull the radiator and subsequently the inner fenders and core support/front apron. Does anyone know if I can remove the inner fenders, but leave the hood in place?

I forgot to update this thread! The answer to my question is that the '63 coupe does NOT have a disconnect. The sail panel lights are on a single wire harness; the wires for the passenger's light run across the center roof support and join the driver's side light above the rear of the driver's door. From there, the harness runs down the edge of the roof, down the a-pillar, and through the dash. It plugs into the main harness just behind the driver's side kick panel vent. The harness was pulled through the car in one piece. This said, I still can't figure out how the heck they got it through the sail panels. The sockets (as far as I can see) are spot welded into the light housing, which is too large to pass through the hole in the sail panel. Since the harness is a "Y" and has no disconnect, short of removing the terminals or adding a connector, I don't see how they can be removed from the sail panels???

Only a small update. I continue to make progress on disassembling the car for paint, but I received my new built radiator today This is a U.S. Radiator, purchased through Cool Craft components. It's original copper/brass construction, A/C style without a trans cooler and with an updated core (4 rows vs. OEM 3 and more modern fin spacing). They offer all sorts of options, of course. Note how thick this core is (5/8" thicker, nearly 30%, over the original)

Gents - Tonight I pulled the windshield out of my Wildcat, and I'm now thoroughly confused as to paint colors. My firewall is blacK (and has wax pencil markings so I know that to be original), my body is white (respray of original color over original finish), and the cowl (underneath the cowl panel itself) is both colors. To the unlearned (that would be me ), it looks like the black paint from the firewall should extend up over the cowl and to the dash. The primer color exposed leads me to believe the dash was painted at the same time as the firewall in one shot. However, part of my cowl is now white, with what looks like overspray from the repaint. Can anyone tell me which it should be? I'm going to be repainting some of the black under the hood and then changing the main body color of the car, and I would like to paint this area as the factory would have done. Thanks in advance.

Tonight I pulled the rest of the interior trim and the headliner (yesterday, I had removed the rear window). Getting ever closer to starting rust repair! I had asked previously about the sail panel light wiring - the answer is, in this car at least, they come from a connector in the driver's front footwell, and run up above the headliner. There is no inline connector, and I while I can remove the harness, I can't separate the two lights so I'm still stuck there. I have a question - in the attached photos, you can see where I pulled the front of the roof insulation down that this car clearly had moisture in it and the inner roof panel is rusting (just surface, no scale to speak of). What I would like to know, does anyone have a good suggestion for dealing with that? I made a slight effort to pull the insulation out from under the top bow, but it wasn't interested in coming free. I DO NOT want to remove the spot welded bows. Any thoughts?

Well folks, small update after what seems like forever to me. 1st - I've transferred for work, so my Buick and myself pulled up roots and are now in Virginia. That put a bit of a damper on things, but I've got the shop more or less set up here and I've got more time now because my commute is a lot shorter, so more work to be done! 2nd - I've run into an opportunity to purchase a number of pieces of sheetmetal and other small parts I need, which will help speed things along. 3rd - Most important. I've been on a waiting list with Richmond Gear (through Jegs) for a transmission since the 1st week of March - last week, they called to tell me that the expected ship date this month wasn't going to happen and that they couldn't tell me when a transmission would actually be available. So, in the interest of getting the car on the road, I chose to give up my spot on the list. Instead, I did this: I'm pretty excited about this one! It's not exactly the right unit, but it is a '63 dated Borg Warner T10 with the correct gearset (per the service manual), which has the correct Buick casting iron main case. It was originally installed (and is VIN stamped for) a '63 Special. The tailhousing is not the correct casting number, it's a Chevrolet part, but it will do for now. The trans is freshly rebuilt and I'm excited to get into the swap. Predictably, finding the correct yoke for a '63 Buick 4 speed (which, from what I can gather, should be a GM 3R type u-joint) proved difficult, so I have a standard Dana 1310 series yoke from a Corvette of the same vintage.

I started up my Wildcat and backed it out of the garage for it's monthly warm up - I'm in the middle of doing bodywork repairs - does that count??

Pete, Those fenders are in better shape than mine; I may be interested in them but I actually had a lead come up earlier today on a pair of '63 fenders close to me - I should know next week if that is going to pan out, and then I will let you know. Thanks, JJ

Does anyone know what sheetmetal exchanges between the '63 and '64 fullsize models? I'm in need of patches for the lower portions of my front fenders (behind the wheel), and it certainly looks identical, minus varied trim holes. Has anyone tried this? I can't seem to find any '63 cars to get panels from which don't have the same rot holes as mine. Alternatively, if anyone has spare fenders stashed away somewhere

I have a '63 Nailhead, out of a Le Sabre. It had a 3 speed on the tree. The motor is a JR code, should be a 2 barrel but at some point it had a 4 barrel intake installed on it, it has a Carter carb on it. It is complete from air cleaner to oil pan, with a newer alternator and a PS pump. Good stuff: Original clutch, pressure plate, flywheel Motor ran fine, good oil pressure. Bad stuff: Block is damaged. Cylinder #4 needs honing, the piston has a cracked skirt. Cylinder #1 has a damaged cylinder wall, looks like freeze damage. The piston is also trashed. Extra stuff: 4 spare pistons 8 spare con-rods I would like to sell all of it as a package. $400 OBO Alternatively, if someone wanted just the manual crank, flywheel, etc, I would be willing to part out. Am able to ship freight. Cylinder #1 Cylinder #4

Well, I am WAY behind on this project, but life does that! Anyway, I've been chipping away at it, and this weekend I got two things done: First, I got the front clip broken down - unfortunately both front fenders have patches in the lower sections and will need repair However, this is one step closer to being paint ready. I'm also happy to note that the remainder of the front of the car is very solid. I've found out the extent of the rust I had seen before on the passenger's side by the firewall - as it turns out, the rocker box is fine but the floor support - cowl pinch joint is rusted through and you can actually see the ground from inside the car. Secondly, I was able to get the dent in my tail panel pretty much completely out. There is still a small curvature to the top of the panel right below the trunk lid, but I would have to cut away the lock mounting bracket on the inside to fully straighten it and it is hardly noticeable unless you know to look for it. All for now. I am also in the middle of converting my '72 1-ton GMC from 2wd to 4wd, so I'm jumping back and forth between cars. So many projects, so little time!

It doesn't matter which HHR it is, there's just something not right about it! How do I know? I drive one every day ... I keep telling myself the SS badging makes it more acceptable haha

This weekend I was continuing to work on stripping my Wildcat for rust repair and paint, and I've run into a hang-up - I cannot figure out how to remove the sail panel lights (rear interior pillar lights) from the sail panels so I can continue to remove the headliner. I've removed the housing and screws from the pillar, and I've removed the sail panel from the car as well, but I can't find a connector, or way to disconnect, the wiring. Is there a connector somewhere above the headliner? Or am I stuck having to pull the entire harness? I tried just removing the contacts, but they did not want to be persuaded out of the socket. It seems like there ought to be some trick to this, they had to get installed somehow!

It looks for all the world to me like that car never had a tachometer ... I thought they were standard for Wildcats?? Either way, very nice.

Located some patches from a dismantler in Washington.

This weekend was very nice out of doors, so I spent most of my time working on another project I have going outside (parting out trucks is kind of a side-side-hobby for me), but I did get one thing done (see this thread for more details) - installed a '69 AM/FM radio in place of my Sonomatic. Still need to hook up the rear speaker wiring and make a small trim plate. In other news, I have found a gentleman with a '64 Wildcat that is getting parted out, from which I am getting patches for the tops of my quarter panels. So that is a big step forward.

This was one of those projects where I got into it and forgot to take some of the pictures I meant to, but here's the rundown. No, this is not a direct swap. The mounting bracket for the '63 dash requires two holes to be drilled in the radio bottom cover. There are conveniently reliefs in the tuning mechanism right where they need to go, so it interferes with nothing internal. Quick and easy to do, looks like the factory did it. I did have to reverse the bracket to clear the internals (it is asymmetric, lengthwise). I had marked it in the identical location as the original radio, and you can see how the end position puts it about 1/2" to the passenger's side. Buick also gave me generous sized holes in the radio support, so there is a little leeway here. The knobs are a mixed bag. The passenger's side installs fine, either the dummy knob or the fader assembly. The driver's side, the key way is slightly different on the tone knob ('63 Knob on the right) I had a spare '63 knob here I modified to fit, however, that was a little messy and I'm not 100% satisfied with the function, so I may look into modifying the keyway on the radio to take the original knob, instead. Here's the major change. The faceplate opening in the car is the same height, but is both too wide and too narrow at the same time. In order to properly set the height of the knobs, I had to install a spacer behind the face plate (one 1/2" washer on each side, about 1/16" thickness). The overall dimensions of the chrome crown protrusion on the '69 radio is the same height, but approximately 1/4" narrower than the '63 Sonomatic. With the knob heights set correctly, the side covers of the flip-dial mechanism protrude through the dash opening. This required a trim of about 1/8" on either side of the face plate. The flash actually makes it look a lot worse than it appears in person, because there is not normally so much light shining into the dash. What I will do to fix this is trim up a small "bezel" of sorts, to cover up the gap. I'll probably make it from aluminum and paint it black, after mounting to the face plate. Now, money shots! The radio does seem to play pretty well, but my original speaker sounds TERRIBLE! I will have to get a replacement. Bottom line: If you're not afraid of a little trimming, it will fit. It looks very much like it belongs there. I may swap the B-U-I-C-K buttons from my '63 radio, as the styling is *slightly* different, and frankly my buttons are nicer, but that's a very minor quibble. Now I just need to find the correct fader harness so I can hook up the original fader knob and add a rear speaker. There is no way to use the later style knobs with this face plate, it is just too deep. And yes, my face plate had broken mounting tabs to begin with so I was not very concerned about applying a little dremel

Photos and additional info to come later when I actually get out to the garage, but initial observations: 1. This radio carries a PN 94BFP1, for reference. 2. Shaft centers are the same, 6 1/4" 3. Shaft lengths are the same, and the early style knobs fit (some slight modification is required to the driver's side inner knob, the older radios had two keys on the inner knob, this one has only one. 4. Overall dimensions are near identical of the case 5. Face is the same height and relative location on the case; however, is approximately 3/16" narrower than the '63 Sonomatic I also have a correct '63 fader knob here, for the rear speaker. Does fit, but on the later radios the fader is internally mounted and interfaces with the knob differently. Not sure yet how I will deal with that.