Gary W

Friday October 5, 2018: Installing Interior Panels..... Post 1 /4 Due to the photo size thing, I'm going to break tonight into four separate posts to tell the story. This kit came with NO instructions at all. I'll document how I did it, but please remember I am not a professional installer. (But I'll take any advice from those of you who are!) Today I got to install a couple more panels installed in the car. I did the drivers door, and the passenger side rear panel kit / armrest / headliner welting... So, the new fabric LBB sent me to cover the armrests is the coordinating color to the 2-LM panel fabric. I didn't order this new fabric, but it's what I'm getting. Being this is the final fabric, I was able to finalize the rear quarter panel pieces. Here goes: Driver's Door Panel First, I measured and tacked that cardboard-backed fabric around the window opening. Once it was tacked, and it laid nice and straight, I finalized the installation with small brass screws. The blue tape helps me find the small holes in there when you are working black on black and looking up into the lights. Then I hung the door panel over the internal hook, and carefully started to cut the fabric to allow the door handle studs to come through. All three exposed and the door panel is sitting nice and straight. I had to push the car outside to install the panel because there is simply no room between the cars anymore. I first clipped in the metal retainer clips into the door skin. Moving the panel over to the door, hook it again and get the studs to poke through. I went around the entire perimeter either marking where new holes had to be drilled, or shifting the clips around to fit into existing holes. I used a gold sharpie marker to mark the door where the clips line up. Now, with a piece of wood under being the door, I drilled any holes that I needed to to get the panel to sit just right. For the final time, install the spring behind the window crank, lift and hook the panel, line up the handle studs... And pop all the clips in place. Now the fabric pieces are installed. Next..... Drivers door (2)

Kris at The Running Board Rubber Company, Mc Bride, Canada. Once you get over all the shipping hurdles, He really does beautiful work.

Here's what the trim detail looks like. This is a before and after polishing photo. I used these #10 - 24 clips with the stud and all new stainless hardware. Snap in all the clips Finished detail.

Timing is huge! If you're running on a "late" spark, she'll heat up for sure. In some of my cars, if they are running too lean, they'll also run hotter than if the mixture is adjusted properly.

Attaboy: I was able to polish and re-use most of my dash parts. (Ivory knobs). Call Bob's Automobilia. He sometimes has the knobs and crank handle knobs. The larger wood grained panels were all sent out and sand blasted, then wood grained by Bob Kennedy in CA. All the rubber parts that were replaced, which was ALL the rubber parts, were ordered from Steele Rubber. Everything from the smallest door handle grommet to the window seals, vent window seals.... all fit perfectly. Here's the section building the driver's door: Lot of rubber parts in there: Here is the latest update, installing the interior door panels:

Of course, Don is correct. The only way to be sure she'll run cool is to clean out all crud in the block, and then rod or record the radiator. When I had my block out of the car, I did just this. With the block out of the car, it was much easier to knock out the freeze plugs . You can see how much crud was inside the block. I spent half an hour with a power washer and blew out the block in every direction, in and out of every water port. When I was done, the block was nice and clean inside. I also sent my radiator out and had it recored with a high efficiency core. I also tested my thermostat before I installed it to be sure it operates correctly before I used it. I hope it will run nice and cool. I mentioned trying to run it without the thermostat as a simple diagnostic test to rule out the thermostat as your problem. If she still runs hot with the thermostat removed, unfortunately you have other problems that need to be addressed. You'll get to the solution! Gary

You can try to run it without a thermostat and see what happens. Drop your thermostat in a pan of water with a thermometer. Heat it up and see if it is actually functioning as it should. When the water temp hits about 140 the thermostat should start to open. At 160 it should be fully open. Maybe you have a bad one that is limiting the water flow. Good Luck.

Interior photo from the 1937 Brochure: Looks like the '37 Interior handles are around 7:00. Thanks for your input!!! Gary

Wednesday October 3, 2018: Interior Panels Part 2: Finishing the door skin I'm setting all those wire clips under the door skin and snapping the panel over the door. This was a pain! The panel has about 16 holes drilled in it under the fabric. NOT ONE of those holes lined up with the holes in the door! Not one. So, hours of carefully elongating some panel holes, and straight up drilling a few new holes in the door, I was able to get the panel set nice and flush and sitting tight to the door metal. You see I have the arm rest holes marked for future install. Back into my box of parts to dig out the vent window crank and the window crank and door opening handle. I used a little silicone on the stud and inside the handle, and slowly in the vise I steadily drove it home. I was careful to go little by little and protect the chrome and the plastic from getting marred. It takes a little effort, but it went down nice and spins smoothly. Then the door bling. So nice seeing all these parts again! I just used a little hand pressure to seat the plastic into the chrome escutcheon. I slipped the clip down into the slot. I made sure I could see a small tang on each side inside the window riser. Then, some pressure and the handle slides over the stud and that clip grabs the groove in there. So the handles are back on. I put them on the way they were in the car when I got it. Is that door handle supposed to be horizontal? Passengers side tonight. Notice: Window garnish and arm rest not yet installed. Armrest: LeBaron didn't ship it in this shipment. They are re-covering it in this fabric. Garnish molding: It gets a nice welting around the front, top and rear surfaces. LeBaron sent two weltings, one for each garnish molding. I started making a nice fold and make my preliminary measurements. And quickly realized the welt is about 6" too short. Both are measured the same length so they are sending new ones soon so I can button up the door skins. Moving right along! Have a great night Gary

Wednesday October 3, 2018: Begin Interior Installation Part 1: Passenger's side Rear arm rests, Rear Panel, Door Panel The panel kit finally arrived! I immediately opened the box and took inventory. First thing I noticed was that the armrest fabric is different that the original. The new broadcloth panels look nice and I think they will look just fine in the car. Let's get started! Delivered. Looks like UPS drove over it! After all this time, I was fearing I would open the box to a bunch of creased panels... Taking inventory. Everything inside was unharmed. A new fabric arrived for the rear armrests. So, first thing I did was to strip the armrests I just finished and re-covered them in this new fabric. Set the ash receiver and punched a nail through to secure it into position. So, here is the "new" armrest, finished and ready to go. The rear panel needed to be trimmed. It was missing a mounting hole, and the window crank hole was too low. So, using a sheetrock knife, I made a new hole and made other adjustments. After trying in the panel on its own, then with the armrest, it was time to secure the panel to the armrest before installation. So, you throw the fabric over the armrest, and with the air stapler, secure the panel all around the armrest flange. Push and squeeze the two parts nice and tightly then drive the staples. Back into the car. *** Note: I got a call from LeBaron Bonney today that this may not be the correct fabric on the armrest! So I did not go any further with the rear panel *** Door Panel: Being work stopped on the rear panel for now, this morning I decided to tackle the door skin. There are quite a few steps involved to get it nice: First thing I did was place the old panel on the door to see exactly where the edges meet the door, the overhangs, hole positions..... I started first on the fabric piece that goes over the top of the window. The car DID NOT have this fabric piece when I got it, but after seeing a lot of photos on the internet, I figured how it goes in. Here, I'm marking all the mounting holes with blue tape so I can find them easier when installing the fabric. Once the holes were marked, I used a little double-backed tape to help secure and align the fabric piece. Then, I went around first using tacks to hold it and create a "pilot hole" for the screws to come next. This gives you a chance to see if you have any puckering between screw holes. One by one, I pulled the tacks and replaced them with brass screws. Having the upper fabric in, I started aligning the door panel. There is an internal hook built into the door which holds the panel. Huge help. Once satisfied the position is good, I used the knife to open the fabric to allow the window and door lock studs to come through.

Saturday September 29,2018: New Jersey Concours d'Elegance Bucks Mill Park, Colts Neck I hope you all don't mind if I go "off topic" and share some photos from Saturday's NJ Concours d'Elegance. The show was very well attended and the grounds were beautiful. The weather was absolutely perfect and the entire committee, from the Judges right on up to the Grand Marshall could not have been more hospitable. My Buick was originally registered for the show, but being it was not ready on time, I ended up bringing both my Model "T" and my Model "A" Roadster. We arrived around 8:00 in the morning. The drive up Route 34 was just great! About 60 degrees, little morning moisture in the air and the beautiful sound of that Ford humming right along. It just doesn't get better! My 1914 Ford "T" Touring out on the show field. (I really apologize for the quality of these photos. The resize just looks terrible. Loses all its quality...) I was situated along the back row with other cars in "Class 1": 1900 - 1929 The Roadster was in "Class 2": 1930 - 1939 The Roadster took 2nd Place in the class! But the highlight of my day was when the Model "T" took first place in Class 1. After the winners are notified, there is a Parade of Concours Winners at Victory Lane. The Grand Marshall talks about each car that comes through (All I was focused on was my moto-meter red line absolutely pinned at the top, and the steam coming out the overflow pipe under the car!!!) The organizers really went all out to put on a truly beautiful event! There was this 1938 LaSalle, 2-door trunk back sedan. From the cowl back, the car is identical to my Buick. It gave me a chance to study the interior, take a bunch of photos and get an overall as to how the car should look when I'm done. Here's the rear arm rest / panel section that I'll be starting on tomorrow night. Here, you can see the headliner welting over the door, and even the door handles are in the same spots. "Body by Fisher"...... obviously shared the same bodies over a couple of marques. OK.... I had to get a Buick in here! I'll be back in business tomorrow! Have a great Sunday night out there! Gary

Friday September 28, 2018: Confirmation from LeBaron Bonney AND UPS! Finally...... The interior kit is on it's way!!! I received an e-mail from Mr. Scott Holbrook, President of LeBaron Bonney, at 1:45 this afternoon that my panel set is shipping TODAY! This was followed by a confirmation e-mail from UPS at 3:52 this afternoon with all the shipping details and a tracking number. UPS also confirmed delivery on Monday, October 1 by the end of the day. So.... after an eight month hiatus, I'll be back in business soon! Have a great weekend everyone! ** I'll be attending the NJ Concours d'Elegance at Bucks Mill Park in Colts Neck tomorrow (Sat, 9/29). The Buick was originally invited, but unfortunately because this rather long delay, I had to change my registration. I'll be bringing my 1914 Model "T". Thanks for hanging in there! I can't wait to install the interior and go for my maiden voyage. I hope it all goes well.

Hi Perry; Those stainless trim retaining clips need to be compressed in the inside and then they push out. Once I had the side windows out, I was able to reach in with a needle nose plier and squeeze the "wings" together and push out. My car is a '37, but I'm sure a lot of that stuff carried on. Some of the trim actually has a small nut on the forward most and rear most clip, and the push-in style all through the center of the molding. (This was true of my running boards, hood and rear quarter trim moldings). This is the squeeze-style. Get your needle nose on that and while compressed, push it through. Do each one just enough to get it started and then remove the molding strip. When removed, the clips look like this. This is the other style that was on my car. These held the small molding on the cowl and were in the center of the door moldings. Again, a squeeze and push Although this is me lining up all the holes and re-installing, for removal I released each one just enough to show through the outside. Then carefully removed the molding so as not to bend or distort anything. Good Luck with your restoration!! Even though my car is a '37, I do have a lot of photos of the entire job that may help if needed. Gary

So here's a question for you: Here are the pertinent pages from the Dealer Service Bulletins from 1937. There are methods outlined as to properly adjust the clearances between the horn ring and and the steering wheel spokes, and the internal clearances for the horn ring. I used this book to get my horn to actuate from all three spokes. If you notice the drawing labelled "Section A-A", the cross section is the shape of a 1937 wheel, the spokes do not have the "drop" in them like the '38 wheel has. This is why I was under the impression the artist took license and did not draw the horn ring in the book I mentioned earlier. So.... Is the horn ring correct for the 1937 Steering wheel? This is the reference book I used to set the horn ring clearances. Scan of page 58: "Horn Ring - 1937 All Series" (Fig. 70) Scan of page 59. (Fig 71) Thanks! Gary

Sending heartfelt prayers to my Forum Brothers (and Sisters!) in the N.C. / S.C. area as this storm approaches. PLEASE be safe! (Matt McHinson, you are in my thoughts, my friend)

Excellent job and beautiful workmanship! Love the article in Hemmings........ well deserved praise! Congratulations!

Speedy Recovery my friend!

Matt: There is a listing on eBay right now advertising a 1937 Buick Steering wheel. I couldn't tell you if it is correct or not, but the internal spline looks like it is correct. ( I just took a couple screen shots)

Here's a photo from the '37 sales brochure: Artist rendering shows an ivory wheel. I had my wheel restored based on that sales brochure picture.

Saw this on You Tube

Thursday August 16, 2018: Update on the Upholstery I called LeBaron Bonney yesterday and was told that my kit is going to ship tomorrow, August 17. So I guess a few days in transit and hopefully I'll be stapling by this time next week! I did get a couple small things done while waiting: Stopped the heater hose from leaking at the firewall Hooked up a master electric disconnect switch under the hood Installed what was left of the Dyna Mat sound deadener Found springs on Amazon that I think will be good for under the front seat Organized for the install OH....... And learned how to resize photos!! This is where I mounted the master cut-off switch. (I tucked the heater hoses inside the front fender. I didn't want to use the bracket that hides the valve cover decal.) I think I remember seeing another Buick mounted like this and it must have made an imprint in my brain. (Don?) I simply bent a heavy brass bar, drilled and dressed both ends The bar acts as the electrical conductor and the support I crawled under the car to try to show how I made the connections. Forces me to check the oil and look at the hoses before I take her out. I used the remainder of my DynaMat to cover some of the exposed metal inside the door And under / behind the rear seat area. This is the thicker DynaLiner self adhesive matting. I found these springs on Amazon. I'm going to try to use them under the front seat. My car didn't have the springs so I really don't know the exact size I'm looking for. But these fit into the openings nice and snug And will show through like this. (Although maybe lean to the rear) Then I cleaned everything up, vacuumed the rug And organized my "interior kit" so when it arrives I can get moving! Thanks for hanging in there! It's been waaaaaaaay too long! Have a great night! Gary

That's a very professional-looking paint booth! Very nice!

Not at all! The restoration cost $ 377.99 + $ 75.65 Shipping for a grand total of $ 453.64 I sent the entire column and gearbox as a unit, which meant I had to use a big box (I used a bicycle box) which jacked up the shipping cost. But, by shipping the entire unit, Lares also replaced the upper column bushing with a long life nylon bearing so when installing, you no longer use the spring and retainer. As far as lubrication, Lares uses their own blend and sends instructions not to touch anything. But their technician told me that you can use any good quality wheel bearing grease or 600W oil. Personally, in my Model "A" Fords I use Penrite Brand Steering Box Lube. It's a 1200W, EP, "non-leaking" lubricant that I've had very good luck with. I got it from Restoration Supply (Part # LUB009) I don't know if it is acceptable in the Buick, but I'm hoping the Buick won't be requiring any attention for a while. Hope it helps! Gary

Hi Dave I never separated the two. I sent the assembly out to Lares for a complete rebuild, and it came back all in one piece the way I sent it out to them. Very happy with their workmanship.

Very talented man! Beautiful workmanship.