Gary W

Wednesday February 7, 2018: Installation of the Passenger Side Door Bob finished the passenger side door about noon today. I had a long "honey-do" list to accomplish, so after dinner, my "crew" helped me lift and install the door. I didn't install any of the door goodies yet, just got it hung on the hinges and closed tight. Here's the latest from the last few days: I finished wire-wheeling and painting the door sill screws. I painted them the same color as the sill. (Aluminum... just like the hood vents) I finished the hinge pins. On the body, I ran a fine round file through the hinges, as the pins would not go through. After all the body work and paint, stuff gets in there. Then I cut strips of scotch brite pads and "flossed" out the debris and smoothed out the interior walls. Satisfied the pins go through easily, I set them aside and ran down to the paint shop to pick up the finished door. This was Monday, Feb 5. Bob was wet sanding the cured clear coat in preparation for the machine compound. Installed the door wedge. And this morning he installed the weatherstrip around the perimeter of the door and the bottom. Ready for the drive back home. Bob said "It shines like a mirror!" So I bought it home and .......... Got a photo of the car...... REFLECTING off the door! I guess he's right!! Back it up a little. The man does beautiful work! I had a screwdriver in the upper hinge and a thin "T - Handled" allen wrench in the bottom hinge to use as punches to help align the door. Enter the crew. Kyle held the door up, I was pushing the hinges into position and Matt stood guard to drop the screwdriver in the hinge. Top in, then down to the bottom hinge which gave us a fit. The pin made it through the upper hole, the main body of the hinge but would not go through the lower hole. We ended up running a third hinge pin up from the bottom until it started lifting the upper pin. Then, driving the upper pin back down, it simply followed the alignment pin and it found its way. These two are great helpers! So, it closes nice and tight. Especially with the new seals around the door. The gaps all look nice around the entire perimeter and nothing is rubbing or scraping anywhere. Tomorrow I'll start with the vent separator, the window felt channel, all the inner door goodies, the glass, the outside handle, the trim piece...... But it's on and looking good! Thanks everyone for following along! Have a great night! Gary

Here's the one that I used in my Model "T". It clamps on to the frame so no holes drilled. It articulates in both directions View from the outside Close-up of the clamp and the articulated joints. Gary

Super Bowl Sunday February 4, 2018: Door handles, Door Locks and Hinge pins Seems like pretty mundane stuff, but it took me a while to get these parts ready for installation Hinge Pins: Is it crazy to constantly mark every part so it goes back into the same spot? Sometimes I think I need to get some professional help! Hinge pins are probably universal, but I have this ridiculous fear that after 80 years, they have worn into a sweet spot and I didn't want to disturb it. So I made "hash marks" on the underside so they go back where I got them from. I really boogered up this one trying to get it out. It was stuck and I needed a hammer, punch... So, before I hit the wire wheel, I got my Dremel out to start reshaping the head And shaped the taper back on to the bottom of the pin. I mushroomed it pretty bad when I knocked it out. Everything cleaned up on the wire wheel prior to priming and painting the heads gloss black. After removing all the old paint and rust, there was a little more work to do reshaping the head and creating a nice contour before paint. Door Handles and Lock: This is how the morning started. Even after the chrome shop got done, the shafts were still very rusty. The small screws in the middle are to secure the door sills. Here's the after photo. This is the result of the wire wheel. In this photo, you can see the "before and after" but I also noticed that the rust was also INSIDE the lock chamber. So, before I assembled the lock, I sprayed some WD-40 down the shaft and what a mess came out! I took my time with a long, thin screwdriver and by scraping the inner walls it finally ran clean. Amazing how much rust and debris came out of there. Here's the Service Manual depiction of the internal lock. My internal mechanism is all together, not apart like the picture above. The internal shaft is one piece. Here I lined it up so I knew how far the lock cylinder went into the hole in the handle to line up the pin. I sent the handles out for chrome, and the chrome shop disassembled everything. This is all I got back from them. So I slid the lock mechanism into the hole in the handle Tapped a galvanized finishing nail through the holes to secure it into position Used the dremel once more to smooth out the protruding ends. Key in Key turns easily and the internal tumbler turns so I think I'm OK. Actually, I'll never lock that door anyway so....... Enjoy the game! Gary

Saturday morning, February 3, 2017: Update at the Paint Shop..... Passenger Side Door I stopped by the shop yesterday after work and again this morning. The Passenger side door got it's base coat early this morning and is getting clear coat now. This was Wednesday. The self etch primer applied to both sides. Friday after work. Grey "build up" primer on. The lower door panels look really great. Another view of the grey primer sanded out. 6:15 this morning. Base coat Super Jet Black After setting up a bit, it's ready for clear coat. Bob, wearing a respirator, rigged the door so he can get at the inside and outside in one session. I was able to watch for a while as he gets in and out of all the curves. Constantly changing angles as he sprays the clear. Finishing up the inside of the door. Now turning to the outer door skin, he slowly sprays the clear. Finishing the first coat of clear. I had to leave at this point. Getting a headache. I believe it gets another (or two?) coat of clear. Then it will cure all weekend before getting wet sanded and machine buffed. Bob is going to install the door seals for me. I got a new kit from Steele. As for me..... it was pulling the final set of ziplock bags out of the box labelled "door stuff" and of course....... More hours at the wire wheel getting all the fasteners ready for paint and install. I should be hanging the door Wednesday. I think it'll be easier to hang the door on its hinges and build all the felt window channels, vent window, install the glass, door handles.... while its on the car. Have a great weekend! Gary

Here's how to do it on a '37. I assume it's a similar task: Just click the arrow in the upper right corner

Wednesday Evening, January 31, 2018: Wiring of the Heater / Defroster Unit I didn't really know how the unit was wired originally so this is what I did today: Flashback to last year. I don't like all the accessory switches in sight right in the middle of the dash. My first goal was to try to keep the under dash area as "clean" as I can. I didn't want all the accessory switches hanging down under the radio and glovebox. So I wired the Heat and Lite switches down to the left of the steering column. The "banjo" is hiding the slide switch that turns on either the cluster / clock lamps or the map reading lamp, but that other black switch over there is how I wired the heater / defroster. Looking right at it now, I mounted a SPDT toggle switch into the factory hole that was already in the dash at that location. So now, when I turn on the HEAT switch, it feeds the SPDT. When I push towards the windshield, it actuates the defroster motor. When I pull it back towards the cabin, it turns on the heater blower motor. Center is off. The HEAT switch has a built in rheostat / transformer ..... that changes the speed of the heater motor. B E FO R E A N D A F T E R : January 2017: Just before restoration began. January 2018: Huge improvement. I really like the way the radio fills in the center. Those four wires hanging down are for rear speakers if I want to install them. I need to tuck them away. BEFORE TODAY Have a great night out there! Gary

Wednesday Morning, January 31, 2018: Door Update The metal patch panels are welded in and fiber glass was used to make the contours. The outer door skin bottom is now ready for all the sanding, self etch......... So it is left alone for now and we flipped the door over. Pulling out the door skin plastic clips. You can see some of the nails still in the nail holes. Those suckers really hold firm. Removing all the door weatherstripping. The wedge Dead center of the door bottom: the seam was in pretty rough shape. Using a hammer and dolly, Bob begins to reshape the area The area begins to take on its original shape once again After and ready for the self etch. After stirring, stirring and stirring all the solids from the bottom, it is strained into the gun. Two light coats And he'll flip it over in about an hour to complete the body work on the outside of the door. Gary

I was just at the paint shop this morning and the inner door was getting self-etch prime applied. I took a photo of the nail slots and the holes for the clips: the nails go in the elongated slots and really hold firm. My car had clips inserted into the round holes you see about an inch in from the edge. You may have to lift the nails if your car is original. Bottom of the door. the head sticking up is the plastic interior clip that was used to hold the door panel on. You can see the nail head in the elongated hole. still holding firm. You can see the elongated holes run up the forward edge quite far.

Beautiful work! Amazing. You are quite the craftsman and your detail is perfect. Great job!

I don't know what is "correct", but I used the one that says "LITE" only because that's what I had. I like the "FOG" also. I figure as long as it works, looks good lit up and is period correct, go with what you like!

Hi Matt My '37 Model 48 had two screws on the lower corners of the door panel. After removing the handles and the window garnish, I used a thin plastic upholstery tool to pop out the hidden clips around the perimeter of the panel.

Friday January 26, 2017: Begin metal work on the Passenger's Side Door I stopped by Bob's shop just at the right time Friday after work to watch him create and MIG weld in the lower door patch panels. As most of you know, the bottom of the doors are especially prone to rust, and I had three bad spots that required the metal cut out and patch panels made. Here is the progress on the passenger's side: After sandblasting. Not much plastic in the doors, just a little by the lower hinge and the lower corner on the handle side. But the lower edge had a few rust through areas. The metal that was cut out is laying on top of the door skin. Here's the rotted metal that was removed from the rear drain hole area. The patch is welded in position. There is the large area dead center that was left to do when I arrived. Using the metal cut out as the template, a new piece of metal is cut out. Then it is formed. Flattened out after the snips which tend to curl it, then he uses a steel bar to give it a longitudinal curve to match the door profile. Test fit a couple of times. Then after grinding all the paint off, and cleaning the patch panel (and the opening in the door), it is held firm by the magnet and ready for the first tack weld. Here's the machine. First couple welds. Little tweak to get the proper fit. And then finish the first round of welds. He will weld it all around the perimeter before it is ground smooth. Have a great weekend! Gary

Hi Neil I had my front fender irons and all four bumper irons powder coated. The powder coat tends to insulate and I didn't want to grind any of it off. The instructions included with the new UVIRA coated reflectors for the headlamps said for best results to run a dedicated ground directly to the headlamp socket. So I did. The lamps look great. When I installed the Trippe lamps, only one lit up. So I touched a wrench from the light shell to the bumper (basically grounding it) and it lit up. Just for fun, I did the same thing to the side that was lit, and it glowed BRIGHTER! So I just made a decision to run a dedicated ground to each lamp. I ran the ground wires to the fender mounting bolts. (The sending unit ground is about 20 feet long and comes off the battery, clipped to the frame out of sight) Driver's side Tail Lamp. The short wire from the tail lamp mounting bolt over to the fender bolt.

It will help to have a friend help you navigate the twists and turns needed, but no. It's not very difficult Remove the steering wheel: 3 screws from the underside of the wheel will release the center button and the horn ring Remove the large nut to release the wheel from the shaft. Remove the spring for safe keeping Remove the two screws that secure the column to instrument panel bracket Remove the pedal plates from the floor Remove the horn contact wire from the column (under the hood) Under the car, remove the pitman arm from the steering box OR remove the pitman arm from the outer end of the steering connecting rod. Remove the three bolts that secure the steering box to the frame. With the car jacked up, one guy needs to guide the box down while someone inside the car carefully guides the column through the floorboard. I wrapped the column in towels on the way back in so it didn't get scratched and marred.

My wife found those at Home Goods! (Part of the Marshall's discount store) She bought them to use as decoration in my sons room. I really liked them in the trunk so....... One for the good guys!

Tuesday January 23, 2018: PROGRESS REPORT ... Hood and Trunk are now installed

Tuesday January 23, 2018: PROGRESS REPORT ... Hood and Trunk are now installed

Tuesday Evening, January 23, 2018: Installation of the Trunk Lid Tuesday is my late evening at the office so I didn't get home until 7:30. I took a quick run to Bob's shop to pick up my trunk lid. After covering the kitchen counter with a heavy work blanket, I started installing all the "trunk goodies". It didn't take long, and my boys helped me walk it out to the garage and install it onto the car..... 7:30 at the shop. Buffed out and ready to go. And in the kitchen waiting for the "goodies" to get installed. I've been working on all the trunk parts and had everything stored in one bin. I had to rebuild the lock cylinder, as it was completely dismantled for chrome. Step one was to install the locking mechanism. A few pages back I finished all these parts in "trim black" and cut new gaskets. Both sides finished and operates nice and easy. Install the rubber backing onto the rear lamp / license plate holder. Set it into the four holes. I like to go all around to be sure the rubber bead is nice and even all around. Four 7/16" nuts to hold in in position. License plate holder. This is the part that slides to accommodate different size plates. That spacer washer is key so the metal doesn't hit the trunk lid. Slide that spacer under the license plate bracket and it will set into the locater depression made for it. Then run the carriage bolt through the sliding bar, through the spacer and another 7/16" nut secures it tight. The last photo of the rear of the car wide open. Kyle gave me a hand holding and positioning the trunk lid, while Matthew was ready to push the hinges into their holes. With the three of us, we got it right into place. While the boys pushed down on the hinges, I was busy inside the trunk tightening up the hinge screws. I only tightened them enough to hold the lid, but allow some wiggle room. Then I went outside the car and got the gaps even all around the perimeter of the trunk. Once satisfied the gaps were all consistent, I turned the handle and locked the trunk lid right in that position. Then went back inside the trunk and tightened down the hinge mounting screws. While I was inside the trunk, I figured I should attach the support arm. It lined up real nice and was fairly simple to get installed. Next, I ran the wire up to the license lamp / trunk lamp socket. Tested the operation of the hinges, the alignment, the locking mechanism..... All Good! And then installed my Brand New NJDMV Historic Plates! Very cool. Checked the lights..... all good! And another big one done! The only thing I have to do is install the chrome handle ferrule. I know I ordered three new chrome ones, but for the life of me, I have NO IDEA where they are. I even bought the ferrule seating tool to do the job right. So I just have the handle sitting there for now. If I can't find the ferrules tomorrow, I'll order new ones. Then it's painting the black recesses next to the work Buick, and touching up the word BUICK with chrome paint. A good day! Gary

Tuesday January 23, 2018: Paint Shop Update on the Trunk Lid Last Friday the inner aspect of the trunk lid was painted and allowed to cure all weekend. I was able to stop by the shop Monday and Tuesday (Today) to catch Bob finishing the outer skin of trunk lid. I'll get it home after work tonight and start assembling all the "trunk goodies" prior to installation. Monday morning. Flipped to show the outer panel. Close-up of the hinge holes. Ready for it's final sanding and wipe down before paint / clear. I stopped by the shop Monday afternoon, the base / clear is applied. Another view. Ready for the wet sanding..... This morning Bob was starting the wet sanding. After the squeegee to find any imperfections that require more sanding. And this is how I left it this morning at around 10:00 am. Once this is wet sanded, it gets machine compounded. I don't care how many times I see it...... it's just hard to look at!!! Meanwhile at home, I finished making all my dedicated ground wires. I made a total of 10. One for each forward lamp (6), one for each tail lamp (3), Sending unit. Have a great night! Gary

Hi Bob Check out page 28, and then read on. My '37 Buick has a 7-bow headliner. Just click the arrow in the upper right corner. It'll go right to the correct page. Good Luck! Gary In this post from October 4, Iaid the old headliner outside and marked the bows so they went in the same way and in the same order: I finished all the bow wires by sanding them and spraying them. With each one marked, It removes the stress of mixing everything up.

Saturday January 20, 2018: Finalized wiring to the Trippe Lamps Tonight I finished running the wires out to the fog lights. I also ran a dedicated ground to each lamp and it makes a ton of difference in the lamp brightness. I think because the bumper support irons are powder coated, there isn't a great electrical ground. Just looks so cool in the dark garage. Have a great night! Gary

This may sound stupid, but I was afraid to start cutting the rug to fit the floor properly. Being the mat was already pre-cut (somewhat) and had the jute backing, I simply fine-tuned the rubber mat to my car and then used it as a template to cut the rug. It is already formed to the transmission tunnel, the pedals, door sills and the seat and it adds a little more sound deadening under the carpet. (Looking back, I would have ruined my carpet if I followed the markings that the manufacturer drew on the underside). But I guess as long as you can fabricate a good template, you can cut the Dynamat and your carpet. Also, I figured if I'm ever at a show, and the car is supposed to have the mat up front (not carpet), I can remove the carpet for judging and have the Buick black mat on the floor. (I did use dynamat on the entire floor of the car, the self-adhesive sections. The thick Dynaliner sticks directly to the Dynamat, and the size fits the rear section almost perfectly right out of the box. Very little trimming and waste to get the rear section done. It's a very easy product to use, but for me, using the mat up front as a template/ carpet base was just safer) Hope it helps!

Friday January 19, 2018: Inside of Trunk Lid painted I stopped by the shop on my way home today. The inside of the trunk lid is painted and the outside is sanded nice and smooth. Bob will allow the inside to cure fully before flipping it over to paint the outside. We are shooting for Wednesday install. Inside of the trunk all painted. Here you can see how smooth the outer side is, all ready for paint. Have a great weekend! Gary (*** Randy.... Transmission Oil was discussed in June, 2017: Page 12, Post #300; Page 13, Posts 301,2,3,8,9,11,12,13,14 & 322, and Page 14, Posts 333 & 334)

Wednesday January 17 2017: Progress on the Trunk Lid and other stuff: This week Bob has been working on the trunk lid. Amazing transformation over the past five days. He stopped by Wednesday afternoon to make a few small adjustments on the hood. It is sitting much better now, but still not 100% I'll get on it little by little. In the meantime, I've been finalizing the wiring under the dash and organizing the trunk parts for the install. TRUNK LID:: 1. Underside The underside of the trunk lid was sanded down to bare metal. Once all the paint was off, any loose edges of the insulation material were tacked down with adhesive. Any rust remaining was removed with a wire wheel on an air driven motor. Self-etching prime first, then two coats of grey build up prime. Bob then masked off one of the openings to show me how the insulation will look once its painted "trim black" All the insulation within the holes will be painted trim black, then covered for the base / clear paint. The contrast will look nice. With the tape removed, it'll look very nice. Underside ready for paint. Upside: After sandblasting. The trunk lid was completely covered by this bonding material. It is completely cracked and alligatored. Using a 24 grit disc on the wheel, Bob starts removing all the plastic. It comes off pretty fast, and it is a dusty mess. He is very careful around the edges and is constantly changing the angle of the wheel to the contour of the lid. Again, like we've found throughout the build, the metal underneath is beautiful. You can see there is some rust under the plastic which is why he is so fussy about getting all the plastic out. I had one dent just to the right of the handle. I missed the tutorial how he pulled the dent out, but here is the tool he used to basically pry the metal back into shape. All the surface rust has been sanded out. Notice how little body plastic is actually being used! The original metal is really in great shape. Those spots you see filled in is where he feels low spots with his hand. The trunk lid gets another sanding, smoothing out the filler before the primer is applied. It got yellow self-etching prime, then two coats of the grey prime. Then the "guide coat" is sprayed in preparation for the final sand. So, it will get sanded out today, and I guess painted, allowed to cure over the weekend and wet sanded and buffed out Monday.. Back at the Ranch........ I've been finishing up some odds and ends I'm using a self-adhesive 1/2" thick "Dyna Liner" under my rear carpet. This will stick directly onto the Dyna Mat i put down first. I used the rear carpet as the template, traced it out. Cut the outline Fit it into the car, making any fine cuts around the seat mechanism, battery box and making releasing cuts so it lays nice over the tunnel and the floor contours. Then, starting at one side, pull the backing off while rolling the liner into the floor contours. It all lays down nicely and fits just inside the door sills. I worked this week finalizing the under dash wiring while the radio was out. I soldered an eye to every end, then covered with shrink wrap. There were a total of six wires that I had to solder the eye to. So, while the radio was out, and I had the extra room under there, I: 1. Finished the vacuum line to the wiper motor and tested them for proper operation. 2. Ran the defroster tubes from the defroster motor and temporarily taped them to the underside of the dash. I can't install the deflectors until the windshield garnish molding is installed. 3. Wired the Trippe Lamps to the switch marked LITE. I took the feed from the unused terminal at the top of the lighting switch. Tested the lamps, all OK. 4. Wired the Heater / Defroster. I think I'm going to wire in a SPDT toggle under the dash so I can have either the heater motor OR the defroster motor running. I fed this from the charge indicator behind the dash. I'll still leave the switch marked HEAT, because it lights up and looks cool, but I'll use it to simply feed the SPDT, where I can direct the current accordingly. When I tested the heater, there were a few blades scraping against the housing somehow. Another half hour of yoga under there and I got them all free and rotating quietly. 5. And finally.... Installed the radio. I fed the radio also from the charge indicator. I had this radio completely restored using all modern guts and bluetooth technology. I don't think it draws nearly the current the old tubes did. The charge indicator deflects, but not much at all. Not like the heater motor or headlamps. I have all the trunk goodies restored and ready, so as soon as the trunk lid comes back from paint, it shouldn't be long until it's installed. Have a great day out there! Gary

Saturday January 13, 2018: Installation of the Hood This morning Bob came over with his son and a couple friends and the five of us lifted the hood into position. Once the "muscle" was done, Bob stayed for another hour with me to start making the adjustments. I think we have it about 90%, but it still needs some fine tuning. I was getting set up, covering the fenders and making some preliminary measurements. I placed towels over the front and cowl just in case it slipped. We actually had five guys here. One on each corner and Bob at the front. Here we are with the first lift getting the hood up and over the front clip. With five guys, it was much easier getting it lined up before dropping the bolts into the holes. Everyone was watching their corner as we slowly dropped it down. Here I was setting the rear hold-down bolt down into the cowl mounting hole. I used one flat washer here so the sheet metal was at the same level as the cowl. And slowing closing the sides down. Once that part was done, the gang left and Bob and I started making some adjustments. First thing was to tighten down the forward and rear hold down nuts. The hood prop will hold both sides of the hood up so we can tighten up the rods. Bob stayed an extra hour with me, and we got it really close, but it still needs some finessing. I would like to close the rear gap a little. Here's a side view. It looks pretty good so far. Like always, I set in place, made a few minor adjustments and will get to it tomorrow with fresh eyes. The biggest problem is the very front. From this angle it looks OK. But.... You can see up front, there is a 1/16" - 1/8" gap on the passenger's side, and 1/4" on the driver's side. I have all the clip bolts loose, the large nut at the bottom is almost out and the outer fender bolts are loose. I wish there was some way to just shove that clip over 1/8", but I don't know how. Also, the lower bolt is supposed to slide "fore and aft" but how, exactly does one accomplish that? It's buried up inside the front crossmember. Do you think this discrepancy can be remedied by adjusting the rods under the hood? So anyway, here it is all buttoned up. Looks sharp! A better angle of the hood in position. Have a great night! Gary