sebastienbuick Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Good job ! , the underside of the car is beautiful 4 hours ago, EmTee said: Underside looks good; what did you use? Painting the underside of my cars is on the 'to-do' list. As you already know, that's a dirty and thankless job for something that most people won't bother to notice. It's recently (we finished last weekend) with my brother we stripped, degreased, primed and painted black the underside of my 1978 Dodge Monaco police. We did the underside where the tank is (we had dismantled the tank to repair it, as we had taken it out we worked on the trunk panel), and with two people we had 4 full weekends of work. It's a long and dirty job, but once it's done we're very happy to have done it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted April 29 Author Share Posted April 29 4 hours ago, EmTee said: Underside looks good; what did you use? Painting the underside of my cars is on the 'to-do' list. As you already know, that's a dirty and thankless job for something that most people won't bother to notice. Yes you are right, and my son who is usually very keen really wasn't into this much at all! I cleaned as much of the original undercoating off as possible, so was simply falling off, but I used heat which then left the base metal messy and it needed more cleaning with solvent. Wire brushing with a drill mounted disc was used as well. Between one way or another we got 95% of the undercoating off, then we sprayed it with the professional (I know, it really isn't) Tremclad because it dries much quicker, then sprayed new undercoating on it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 Tonight I sprayed the base on underside of the trunk lid. This is the first application of this, and tomorrow morning I'll apply the clearcoat. Rather exciting to use the final paint for the first time! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 That color is going to look great! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 16 hours ago, Buicknutty said: Tonight I sprayed the base on underside of the trunk lid. This is the first application of this, and tomorrow morning I'll apply the clearcoat. Rather exciting to use the final paint for the first time! Can't wait to see it with the clear coat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 Here you go folks! I sprayed the clear coat a little while ago and I think it turned out well. I mean it is the inside of the trunk and the metal isn't as good, nor did we go as nuts as we are on the other body. Now I'm even more anxious to do the whole car! The colour in these pics isn't quite right due to the lighting and the way the camera sensor responds, but the colour does look very lovely, the nice rich forest green. My wife is quite pleased! Keith 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 Sounds like you're happy with the new spray gun. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 4 hours ago, EmTee said: Sounds like you're happy with the new spray gun. Yes I am! Now for my next trick is to have the whole car come out as nice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 Wowww very beautiful color !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 6 hours ago, sebastienbuick said: Wowww very beautiful color !! Thank you very much Sebastian! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 Today I spent about 6 hours running the new fuel and delivery and return lines, clipping them down in place, etc. Unbelievable how much time this took! As I'd mentioned we could not get the gas tank back in no how, no way with the original straps. I had the tank cleaned and sealed several years ago now and the only thing we can figure is they got our tank mixed up another slightly larger one and here I am 8 years later finally finding out. So I had to fashion new straps as well, not totally correct but at least they hold the tank safe and secure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 8 hours ago, Buicknutty said: As I'd mentioned we could not get the gas tank back in no how, no way with the original straps. I've had that happen before after lust dropping the tank to repair a leak. I wound-up installing longer than stock carriage bolts and then cutting off the excess after getting the tank tightened down. I wonder whether your tank 'ballooned' a bit from pressure testing after it was repaired... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 4 Author Share Posted May 4 (edited) 13 hours ago, EmTee said: I've had that happen before after lust dropping the tank to repair a leak. I wound-up installing longer than stock carriage bolts and then cutting off the excess after getting the tank tightened down. I wonder whether your tank 'ballooned' a bit from pressure testing after it was repaired... Thanks, and yes that is something I wondered about either, (but didn't put in my post, sorry) though it certainly didn't look it, but I guess it wouldn't take much of en expansion to make the straps not fit any more. Edited May 4 by Buicknutty (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 We pieced the front sheet metal together a bit yesterday and the fit isn't too bad except for the middle of the left fender where the arc is a bit higher than the hood. So what's a guy to do about it? I think I'm going to leave it. I either have to use some filler to raise that part of the hood, which will look strange, or try to cut, bend and weld the panels which will create a whole lot of other problems. The hood is about a half inch forward from where should be, but that really doesn't matter, as the rise is different. The right side is much closer in arc to the hood so the fit is better. I think once again I'm up against the variable quality control which was the norm at the time. I was having trouble refitting the right fender till we figured that the mounting had been slightly bent. I suspect by the guy I had do a sandblasting and priming for me on this fender a few years ago. This is one of the issues one can encounter (like my gas tank) in taking so long to do a project. What do you folks think? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I am not sure how to do it but it looks like if the arc of the hood was corrected, that front corner may come back into position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Were these parts originally with the car and how is the fit before disassembly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 41 minutes ago, old-tank said: Were these parts originally with the car and how is the fit before disassembly? That left fender is a replacement from Bud's in Oklahoma as the original was very rusty. I still have it though. All these parts, and the right one in particular were shimmed quite a lot. The right, which I've now got to fit well is original to the car, well some of it is. I welded the bottom sections in off a fender I got from a parts car some years back. The fit on the car wasn't really that good on anything and I have been trying to have a better looking fit as I'm piecing the car back together. Also I have my very original '69 Electra in a different bay and the gaps on it aren't great either, though the doors, hood and trunk close really well, like perfectly. It has a similar issue with the hood arc compared to the fender, though not as bad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I would try placing a block of wood a little shorter than the 'hump' at the edge of the fender that meets the hood and give it a few light hammer blows. Support the edge of the fender directly below at the points where the fender/hood alignment is acceptable. I would start with light hits, check progress and adjust the block as necessary and increase the force a bit incrementally. If moderate blows don't do anything I would look at possibly making a cut in the fender flange that bolts to the inner fender directly below the apex of the 'hump'. That should allow you to press the top of the fender into alignment. If you can have someone hold that alignment, or come up with a fixture to hold the desired position, then tack weld to refill the cut and recheck before carefully refilling the cut with a series of tacks to avoid heat distortion. It comes down to how much the current alignment bothers you. (I have a feeling I know that answer... ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 2 hours ago, EmTee said: I would try placing a block of wood a little shorter than the 'hump' at the edge of the fender that meets the hood and give it a few light hammer blows. Support the edge of the fender directly below at the points where the fender/hood alignment is acceptable. I would start with light hits, check progress and adjust the block as necessary and increase the force a bit incrementally. If moderate blows don't do anything I would look at possibly making a cut in the fender flange that bolts to the inner fender directly below the apex of the 'hump'. That should allow you to press the top of the fender into alignment. If you can have someone hold that alignment, or come up with a fixture to hold the desired position, then tack weld to refill the cut and recheck before carefully refilling the cut with a series of tacks to avoid heat distortion. It comes down to how much the current alignment bothers you. (I have a feeling I know that answer... ) Thank you very very much for those comments. I'm in such a quandary as I really want to paint it I NEED to see the colour on it, but if you are thinking that alignment is bugging me, you're right. Plus I think about a year or two later it's going to still bug me then I will likely wish I'd corrected it. Though I want to get it painted before the hot weather hits. Some food for thought till Sunday as I have other things in my life to take care of for a couple of days. What a difference between this car and my Reatta, built only about 20 years later (mine's a '90) where the fit and gaps are perfect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 14 minutes ago, Buicknutty said: ..... What a difference between this car and my Reatta, built only about 20 years later (mine's a '90) where the fit and gaps are perfect. I suspect that's the difference between a production line assembly and a craft center assembly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 1 hour ago, dship said: I suspect that's the difference between a production line assembly and a craft center assembly. Yes you are right that's not really a fair comparison, thanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I was thinking maybe put something under the hood at that point and gently "close" the hood, allowing the object to push upwards on the bottom side of the hood....effectively increasing the arc of the hood in that spot. I've done this many times on door and trunk edges. Might be more difficult on the hood with its stiff side framework, though. On 70-72 GS's, NOS front fenders are not arc'ed enough for the hood. Some people build the fender edges up, and some metal work the fenders into place. I have done both. Would much rather do the body work and not metal work. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 This is what happens when you chase perfection! https://forums.aaca.org/topic/324816-1966-f100-short-bed-styleside-metalbodypaint-work/ 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 12 Author Share Posted May 12 (edited) Thank you everyone for your ideas and comments. That's quite the job on that pick up! The Lady owner of the car has asked me to "Just paint it please". However I'm still turning this over in my mind, perhaps when she's not looking I'll take the cutters and dollies to the offending panels. I will let everyone here know the outcome! Keith Edited May 12 by Buicknutty (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 the truck builder is on another level. But keep in mind that it has taken him 5 years to get to that point. I wouldn't have the patience for that. That's why I don't build cars for the Ridler award or street rod nationals. The level of perfection is ludicrous. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 17 hours ago, Smartin said: the truck builder is on another level. But keep in mind that it has taken him 5 years to get to that point. I wouldn't have the patience for that. That's why I don't build cars for the Ridler award or street rod nationals. The level of perfection is ludicrous. I had wondered if it was your truck. Actually I don't have that kind of patience either which is why I'm so hot to get it painted, the lovely owner as well. The other thing is all of our cars are drivers and when you take anything to a high end completion it's not really a driver anymore as it's too perfect. So I'm a bit in the middle on this, I want it to look good and it gets difficult to decide on where to stop! This dark metallic green will tend to show imperfections so I'm hoping to have it really smooth and then lay a nice top coat of base clear over it. Thanks again for the info and support! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 This afternoon we decided to put the front end sheet metal on again and try to figure out the fit of them. Well it was even worse then we thought it was last week! A friend came by this afternoon to try to help us sort this out so today there were three of us messing around with it. Looking at the markings on the (new to me) fender it seems as though it is a GM fender as we wondered about that too. The paint was very patina'd as you'd expect from a desert piece with no evidence of previous damage even after stripping it. So not only is there a hump in the left fender, when we lined the front edge of the hood with right fender then the left (the replacement one) was too short and the gap wasn't as good, which we can shim so not too much of a problem. The biggest one seemed to be the length, with the hood aligned with the right fender, then the left was nearly a 1/2 short. The gaps to the doors and quarter panels are good too, so we cannot shift those to fudge things. When we measured the length of the fenders, the left one came out about 5/16's or so short, so that is at least part of the problem. We had trouble believing there was that much of a variation, but double checking everything our numbers seem to be accurate. I'd said about trying the old one, which was just sitting nearby and the lo and behold the fit was nearly perfect, and with a some care in assembly it could be about as perfect you can ever get these cars. Which it brings me to the next quandary, what to do next? Try to cut and manipulate the beautiful one so it fits right, or work with the original rusty one? Here are a few pictures from our afternoon of frustration with the original fender on, then off so you can see some of the issues I would need to deal to repair it. Like I said here years ago, it's a Canadian car with rust to prove it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 If the original front fenders is well aligned, I will try to repair the original front fenders , to be sure that the alignments are good. Can be taken the interior reinforcement of the new front fenders to repair the original front fenders 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Well, that stinks! Given the fitment issues with the replacement fender, I'm thinking similar to Sebastien; cut-up the replacement to repair the original. That said, repairing the original will be a lot of work, but I'm not sure there's any simpler way to address the apparent length discrepancy. Even throwing-in the towel and sourcing another used fender (if possible) won't guarantee a better fit... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Your fabricating and welding skills seem to be excellent. What is the possibility if adding what you need to the front of the replacement fender? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Is there any sign that the "new" fender was wrecked and repaired at some point? That would be my only guess as to why it's off so much. I can't imagine that being factory slop. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 Just now, Smartin said: Is there any sign that the "new" fender was wrecked and repaired at some point? That would be my only guess as to why it's off so much. I can't imagine that being factory slop. The only evidence of repair is a very small patch at the bottom of the replacement fender and nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 Thanks guys for the comments and info. Right now I am leaning towards repairing the original, but it pains me to cut up the replacement one! My son suggests we can sell it, but I have a problem passing on something problematic to another unsuspecting person! John, thank you for the vote of confidence! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 19 hours ago, Buicknutty said: Right now I am leaning towards repairing the original... Review @sebastienbuick's thread on his '69 Electra for inspiration! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 15 Author Share Posted May 15 6 hours ago, EmTee said: Review @sebastienbuick's thread on his '69 Electra for inspiration! Thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted May 15 Share Posted May 15 7 hours ago, EmTee said: Review @sebastienbuick's thread on his '69 Electra for inspiration! Thank you EmTee ! 1 hour ago, Buicknutty said: Thank you! THANKS ! , if I live nearby I will have you repair the fenders with great pleasure ! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 17 Author Share Posted May 17 After a whole lot of thinking and soul searching I've decided to repair the original fender and took it to the local sandblasting guy today. He has done good work for me in the past and does a lot of body panels for other people. So it will be interesting to see how it looks in bare metal. Could be scary! He said about a week, which would be good, then it'll a number of days to repair it I think, then paint and prep. I figure a good couple of weeks till it's ready. We will continue along with the body prep of which there isn't that much more to do. I feel like doing final paint on the everything as I think we can be ready for that in a few days. Then we can start the reassembly. I realize there's the downside to doing this way the biggest one is colour matching but I will keep enough of the base at the same dilution to do the fender. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 14 hours ago, Buicknutty said: ...I will keep enough of the base at the same dilution to do the fender. As long as you paint the fender and hood oriented as they will be when installed on the car, they should come out fine. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted May 18 Author Share Posted May 18 8 hours ago, EmTee said: As long as you paint the fender and hood oriented as they will be when installed on the car, they should come out fine. Thank you! That is what I'm planning to do. I've made the mistake of not having like panels orientated the same and then noticing slight differences. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastienbuick Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 I think you made the right decision , I too would have decided to repair the original wing, that way you can be sure that it will fit well . I think that once sanded it will be fine, there seems to be damage just on the bottom of the wing (especially on the reinforcement). If you wanted to paint the car before finishing repairing the fender, keep some of the paint you used to avoid having a color difference when you go to paint the repair fender. But I see that's what you said too . Good luck, you're doing a good job, I can't wait to see this beautiful Buick painted 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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