CheezeMan Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Long story short... I finally decided to investigate that little annoying rattle in the passenger door. Found the window arm was broken. Just because I can't let an opportunity slip by, I decided to refurbish both doors on my '63, complete with new carpet on the interior trim panel. Every piece and part was touched and refurbished. The long story is that this took all winter. I'll let the pictures tell the story. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 You need to do a step my step write up on the repair that you did to the 'swing arm.' There are many of us out here who are experiencing the same problems. My bigger problem is that the bottom half of the arm has disappeared somewhere. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Wow! What a beautiful job! You have really set the bar high for the rest of us. If you have a chance share with us some of the processes you used, paints, etc. Thanks. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted June 10, 2016 Author Share Posted June 10, 2016 Ed, I found a local welder who really knows his stuff. He is amazing with pot metal, and very reasonable. I think he only charged me $20. Once I got it welded back together, I was able to save the original rivet (pic #1) and reuse it to put it back together. To do this, I drilled a hole into the shaft of the rivet, and threaded it (pic #2). Then cut and shaved a bolt to the exact size I needed (pic #3 & #4) From there, it was re-assembled (pic #5). I used some blue thread-locker on the bolt so it won't come back off. I think after I assembled it, replaced the bolt with another that wasn't shaved, only shortened. I was originally worried about interference but found the size of the head did not matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) Hi Bill, There were many details on this build and some processes that I probably had to make up as I went along. Not sure if I can recall of them. The door "pan" or what Buick calls the inner door panel, was not re-painted, I had it powder coated. I suck at painting. Needed pro help there. Taking lots of photos along the way was key. I have over 580... When I laid out all of the parts for one door, oh my! My dad basically said "I hope you remember where all those go!" I replaced all felts and rubber materials, gaskets etc. Some I had to cut/fabricate myself. Getting the new felts put back on was challenging as they didn't seem to be the same as original, so some finesse was in order. One common problem I had was cross-threading a couple of the door hinge bolts. I had to drill and re-thread them with a Heli-coil insert. I found some used '63 Cadillac door bolts on eBay to replace the ones I messed up. The door trim panel (aka door panels -or- door cards for the Brits among us) was probably the most challenging part of the rebuild. With everything glued and stapled and that the door panel is basically paper with trimmings, it was very difficult to take apart without ruining it, and then put it back together and still have it look somewhat decent. I can get repo panels made for my trim level, and might do that in the future. (about $700 for a set of 4 from SMS). I needed new door lock rod covers (the white/black braided cloth) and OPGI has them. But after waiting 2 months for the backorder, I cancelled and found some different material use. I found some braided speaker wire covers to do the job. They are green in the photo in my previous post. Edited June 11, 2016 by CheezeMan added SMS information (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Thanks. Again, nice job. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Very nice, not having a Riv, so I wonder how does water get out of the door? Is the door skin slotted at the outside bottom? It looks great now, but actually for a 63, it didn't look that bad inside the door B4, NOT saying you didn't need to rework, I would have done the same procedure. Thanks, Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmiddy Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Hey Chuck! Really, really well done job - I can imagine very well what kind of problems you encountered... Im doing exactly the same work right now on my 65Riv and I'm deeply impressed how neat your car looks now! Congratulation for that great work and thank you for the inspiring photos! In some parts I went a bit farer... I changed the whole panels with birch wood instead of this ugly "papmaché" (pasteboard) and made the vinyl and fabricworks with the basic material from SMS Auto fabrics too. They where able to provide me the original vinyls and fabrics of the luxury version of the seats for '65 Buicks GM exported to Europe. I was pretty lucky to find SMS!!! Same as you, I first ordered all the patterns and as they came, I was very impressed about the quality they provide! What I also redone is the complete paintings of all parts in original color (the mixing of the colors where done by my good friend and specialist) the apply then by myself. Wooden applications where also redone completely with canadian maple (provided by a german specialized provider) wich I finished with a special oil mix for parquet. Looks pretty neat at the end! So now I have a complete new interior as they rolled from assembly line ;-) Now all interior is done, I've just to put everything in place again. As a newbie with zero skills in all kind of these restoration workings, I'm a little bit proud of what I could achieve in this challenge! I say that just because a lot of you guys out there could do your restoration all by yourself only by watching some pics, exchange your problems in forums (here I want to thank all the people who supported me with great ideas and very constructive suggestions) and last but not least, forsting the internet (Google became my best friend!). What I learned during these workings is that with a bit imagination, problem management and a helping hand from time to time, everybody is able to get a good skill level to restore a lot of things in their own oldtimer! Nothing is more satisfying then that! (Well, ok, except good s.. ) For whom it interests, here the link to my flickr album (work in process): https://www.flickr.com/photos/142025655@N08/albums Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Nice job. I have a matching heli-arced arm on my driver's side; same thing, a local welder fixed it in 1980. He also welded the ring back on my R bombsight after a snow brush collision. I had the upper door stainless polished while the door was apart as well. There is a box out in the garage with a full set of manual widow tracks and lifts that match the ones in my car. They are designated for new fuzzies when I redo my doors, too. Your pictures are inspirational....... maybe, well, started my 38th year of owneship last month. Wouldn't want to rush into anything. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWB Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 You're a credit to the craft. Fantastic work. Another Riv. saved. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kaber Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 You are my hero! That is fantastic work!!!!! Thanks for postig it! Kaber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now