drhach

That roof is in pretty bad shape.

What's the plan?

FYI, that set worked on my 1942 (248).

18 Degrees? That's when we put on our shorts

With practice, you won't need to use the clutch at all except when taking off from a stop.

I like how they put the engine specs right on the center console. They definitely knew their target audience.

I watch that guy on YouTube. He does nothing close to the caliber of what's shown above. Frankly, he's kind of a hack, but he's fun to watch (sometimes). He also doesn't try to misrepresent anything as being something else. So, nothing lost there. He makes his living as a youtuber, not as a guy who sells the cars that he works on. Just for materials, you're looking at $6k realdealsteel.com/i-23901525-1957-chevy-4-door-sedan-to-2-door-sedan-sheetmetal-conversion-kit.html They also say that you still would have to do extensive cutting and welding. Not sure how much you would have to pay a skilled fabricator to make all of that Sheetmetal fit. Then you have to replace most of the interior. Add to that the upfront cost of a decent donor car and it seems like you could easily fly past $30K.

I remember my buddy wanted to build a mini-bike. His Dad got out the Sears catalog, found the engines page, called Sears and placed his order. They didn't even ask for any kind of payment. They called him when the engine came in. All he had to do was show with the right claim number and hand over cash, a check or a money order. Amazon makes you pay first

I've been doing some searching and I may have a line on a person who does small run fabric weaving. They have a setup fee, but after that, their prices are not too far off from SMS. We'll see what comes of it. Regards, Dan

Those are the cleanest windows I've ever seen

What happened between June of this year (when the car sold on BaT) and now that justified raising the price by $10K?

That leather looks really good. It seems the typical fabric is that overstuffed velour/velvet. The leather is a nice change.

That is a long time. It may be time to get the sheriff involved. It's your stuff, they have no right to say that you can't have it back.

I love that external fuel pressure gauge. I had a similar issue and installed a gauge as well. Although, I wasn't clever enough to make it readable from the cockpit. Rebuilding my fuel pump solved my problems. Measuring is the best way to know for sure.

Good job, I'm impressed with anyone who can do "any" kind of painting. I've never had much luck in that arena. I think I'm too impatient.

Well, actually page one of section 12-1 of the 1942 Shop manual says: "Always depress the clutch pedal when starting in cold weather to release load caused by heavy lubricant in transmission. Service stations should give this instruction to owners." I always push in the clutch when I start the car. It's less mass for the starter to spin. I just noticed EmTee beat me to the punch on that one.

It takes a little longer if your 6'4" and don't fold very well. It took me about an hour.

Anyone can correct me if I'm off base here. I think if you use the SMS stuff, nobody at an AACA function will say you're wrong. But you may be wrong This is what Neil is referring to. I found a picture of a 1942 Buick Interior fabric book (Faxon Literature). It happened to be opened to the page for my interior. I wish I could have bought it, but it was already sold. The picture is still posted on their website (faxonautoliterature.com/1942-Buick-Color-Upholstery-Dealer-Album-Original)

I read a great book a few years ago. It's called "Daisy's diaries". It's a travelogue by a guy who decided to tour the English countryside on a vintage motorcycle. The abiding theme is that the more he maintains it and gets it in spec according to the manufacturer's design, the more reliable the bike becomes. It's really an interesting evolution of reliability. It definitely flies in the fce of the notion that old vehicles are not trustworthy.

No worries. Good luck with your efforts. Please continue to post progress updates.

The sample that SMS sent me (that they claim is correct) is not a perfect match for my 1942. It is what Buick calls "Tan and Grey Bedford cord". If you find a better resource, please let me know. I tried Bill Hirsch but he was ever further off the mark than SMS. I've wondered if there may be some sort of "small run" artisan fabric company in the U.S. who would be able to reproduce this. I know that Bedford cord is commonly made in England. That's where Bill Hirsch sources it. But I haven't been able to locate a specific resource. All of the samples that I've seen have laser straight lines in them, my pattern is somewhat wavy in appearance.

Yes, but you asked for color ideas, suggesting that you wished to change the color. My point was that given there is no data plate, you aren't necessarily tied to the original color, whatever it may have been. Anyway, I think Buicks are supposed to all be black. It's on page 5 of the owners' manual :). Regards, Dan Hach

I didn't know any of the Beetles came with fuel injection. Very nice car.

Are you the original owner? The "used car" hang ag suggests that maybe you aren't. Do you know the car's history?