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1930 Buick model 68 - Ready for paint!


michaelod

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Actually the shop is going to paint the car, mount the body on the chassis as well as hang and adjust the doors. The rest I will do myself. I have been very pleased with the quality of work they have been doing but with a shop rate of $80 per hour, it is in my best interest to do as much of the work at home as possible.

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The car was originally "Regalis Maroon" with black fenders/aprons. It is a color that I am not to wild about so I am going to deviate from that slightly and go with a cherry red with black down below as original. May not win any awards, but then there is no point in painting your car a color you don't like. It will not look out of place in any case:

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  • 4 weeks later...

post-80871-143139273616_thumb.jpgHello Michael,

The primer and the bodywork was done very well and the car with the color paint you have picked will look great.

I do have a question ...haw about the wood work how much did you have to replace and how did came out ? can you spare some more pictures as you go along ?

#2 Q How did you handled the metal trim work around the upper part of the cabin, was soldered or you have attached the trim with screws / nails?

I'm working on a similar car as well .

Thank you for sharing the steps of restorations

George

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Edited by GEORGE DANCIU
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Hello George,

To answer your questions:

Question 1) I did have to replace about 1/3 of the woodwork in my car due to insect damage from termites. Everything from the rear seat on back and several other pieces as well had to be replaced. This was challenging due to the fact that the metal seams along the sides of the trunk had to be opened up in order to facilitate replacement. The actual woodworking was not a problem for me as I am an expert woodworker with a fully equipped shop. There is a procedure to reattach the trim strips that Stuart Syme described which I used. This involves cutting off the old nails which cannot be reused in the new wood, drilling holes in the strips and countersinking for screws, then filling the holes with body filler. Are there problems with the wood in your car and if so where?

Question 2) I assume you are referring to the top trim strip. This was completely missing on my car, so I had to form one out of aluminum and used the same procedure outlined in question #1 to reapply. Note that as my car is currently being painted that will require the following process in sequence:

1 - paint the car

2 - install the top fabric

3 - install the trim strip and fill holes

4 - mask the top fabric and previously painted car

5 - paint the trim strip to match the car

Hope this helps,

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Hello Michael,

Thank you for the answers ...the wood work on my Buick was very dry..the car was station in Florida in a closed garage but very dry environment.

At the same time such a old car acquires a specific smell " aging" if I may say and I start changing the wood as well.

A good thing and good deal of saving money with a trade like yours in this case.

Seems like I have to do the same thing with the strips in order to secure the metal seams around the car.

One more question if I may....tell me about the upholstering ..did you purchase the material from Mac's ? did you find the color material to match the original mohair material ?

Sorry, my wiper motor is nonfunctional and one is missing...any sugestion wher I can buy and/or repair the one i have ?

Thanks George

Edited by GEORGE DANCIU
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  • 3 months later...

Well the car has been painted now, so thought I would post a couple of pictures in it's current state. They did an excellent job applying the paint however my choice of trim color was to close to the body color and probably does not provide enough contrast between the two. Nevertheless I think it looks pretty good. The middle picture is closest to the actual color.

Thanks,

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Yes indeed. Actually they did the trim color and pinstriping first, prior to shooting the body color. The clear of course came last. As I understand it the reason for this was to have all the paint at or near the same level, thus avoiding a "stepped pyramid" effect. My painter was very experienced, literally having shot hundreds of cars. I had considered painting the car myself and would have saved a vast amount of treasure in the process, but I seriously doubt I could have come anywhere near the quality of the paint work.

Thanks,

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George,

Interesting that you would ask that question at this time as I just purchased tires for my car this week. I ordered Firestone White Walls, 650-19 for the car from Coker back in August 0f 2012. They were out of stock at the time and as it turns out last week the manufacturer let me know that these tires would not be available until 11/1/2013. Since I was not willing to wait a total of 14 months for the tires. I did some research into the Firestone 700-19 White Walls which I purchased due to the fact that like you, I am running with wire wheels which are slightly wider than the wooden wheels found on the majority of these cars, and thus can accommodate the wider tire. Coker recommends a 3.75 to 4.0 in wheel for these tires which falls right in line with the width of the split-rim wire wheels. Six of these tires plus tubes will set you back over $2K, so be prepared for some pain.

Thanks,

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Mihael,

Thank you for the info.I 've been on the hunt for tires in several country from Europe,England and I found Firestone tires 4 only,the size 700-19 but none 650-19. I arrived at the conclusion that both size will fit the rim and they will look and ride well....The problem is if the 700-19 will fit the sidemount ...because the width in the fender is 7.1" If the Firestone is wider ,than you can not mount the spare tires on the side..Agree????

Universal Vintage Tire from Hershey Pa. offered Lester tire with white strip at a desent price. (650-19) Do you know anything about thi brend ?

May I ask you where you have purchased your tires from...can you give me a contact # or an e mail address. ?

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Hi George,

I went with the larger size tire on my International pickup and it would not fit in the wheel well. I left the air out and it fit fine. I bought tires from Universal Vintage Tire in Hersey. They either mounted them for free or it was very cheap. If you don't mind the drive, it might be worthwhile.

Dwight

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George,

I purchased my tires from Coker tire at Coker Tire - Buy Vintage Tires and Wheels . Apparently the factory only makes tires on an intermittent basis for these cars as the demand is low compared to tires for modern cars, and Firestone or their representative has not made the 650-19 WW for a while. At the present time all of that size have been sold out and are not scheduled to be produced again until 11/1/2013. Here is the response that I received from Coker when I complained about the long wait:

"Unfortunately that is correct information. Our manufacturer reserves the right to set delivery times and to move them as needed for their production. Although we are a large member of the classic market we do not hold the sway of the major tire companies that use the same factories for modern tires for today vehicles. We do expect tires to be produced and they have not been discontinued but it is a ways off due to new delivery dates. I apologize for the delay and try to keep you informed as soon as we are notified in case changes need to be made."

I too have some question about whether or not the spare tires will fit in the wells and simply won't know the answer to that until I get them mounted. Prior to that I will need to sandblast and paint my wheels so it will be a few months yet before that happens. At the present time my front sidemount fenders are at the paint shop along with my car so I can't even do a visual inspection to see how they would fit

Thanks,.

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Hello Dwight and Michael,

Much appreciated the input,I think that the smaller tire 600-19 will fit inflated in the bucket ( well ) of the front fender as they did the older ones which I had originals on the rims.My car is at first restoration ground up and I had everything on it [all original parts] even with the 650-19 the spare rims with tires on did not have any space except for the water to drain......so 700-19 inflated will not fit for shure.

So as you said Michael we are at the Tire Companies mercy....or politicly corect... when the decision is that the market and the delars are requesting vintage tires. I hope to have my car sprayed within 5-6 weeks and by than I will have my wheels painted and tires fitted [will be 650-19 Lester ]

Good luck with the process of restoration ...a lot of weekends will be shot for the comming months.

One more question....wind shield WIPER MOTOR vacum type....is a big problem for me ,the car did not have one and please tel me if you know a sorce????

Many thanks Michael,

George

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