1937 Buick Model 48: RESTORATION HAS BEGUN! (Photo)

[DonMicheletti]

Gary, good photos. The '37 choke mechanism certainly is different from the '38.

What worked for me was to adjust the choke butterfly so when the engine is cold the butterfly has about a 1/16" opening. With that setting the car started perfectly and the choke opened fully when the engine was thoroughly warm - maybe 20 minutes of driving.

 

In stripping the chrome. The right way to do it is to "reverse plate" the part where each layer of plating is removed opposite of the way it is put on. Not really a  chemical strip.

I have been told that the best way to plate pot metal is in a cyanide plating process - I dont understand that, but Pauls did a great job on my stuff.

Maybe someone can educate us.

[MCHinson]

The 1937 Delco Choke for the Stromberg carburetor was problematic from the start. They typically did not work well. I am not that familiar with it, since my 1937 Century has a later Stromberg carburetor. Your choke is clearly not the original choke for an original 1937 Stromberg so it is either the replacement choke or else you might have the Marvel carburetor or another different carburetor.

 

Buick supplied both Carter and Stromberg carburetors in 1939 to replace the original 1937 and 1938 carburetors with the problematic Delco chokes. With all of this, you typically find a lot of different carburetors on 1937 and 1938 Buicks.

 

I am going to go out a limb since I don't remember and guess that maybe you have a Marvel carburetor. If so, maybe these adjustment instructions might help.

 

1937 Buick - Carburetor - Automatic Choke Adjustments.PDF

 

[pont35cpe]

Gary, my `36 Buick 40 series 233cu. in. engine has the same type intake setup (starter switch, choke). My engine has the orig. carb. Stromberg with the same choke, I haven`t ran my engine yet to know how the choke will perform. My car is in the bare metal state ready for paint and am looking forward to your painting process and progress.  Excellent!!   Tom

[MCHinson]

51 minutes ago, pont35cpe said:

Gary, my `36 Buick 40 series 233cu. in. engine has the same type intake setup (starter switch, choke). My engine has the orig. carb. Stromberg with the same choke, I haven`t ran my engine yet to know how the choke will perform. My car is in the bare metal state ready for paint and am looking forward to your painting process and progress.  Excellent!!   Tom

 

Just curious,

What model Stromberg is your carburetor? I have never heard of a 1937 with a 1936 carburetor since most got later carburetors in 1939 but that is certainly possible.  The 1936 Special originally used a Stromberg Model EE1 while the 1937 was originally equipped with a Stromberg Model AA1 or a Marvel Model BD-1. So many different carburetors were changed in 1939 that people who later bought 1937 and 1938 cars think that their carburetor is original when it is not. I have access to a lot of period Buick carburetor literature but correctly identifying the carburetor is important to know which literature to refer to for adjustment and rebuild information.

[pont35cpe]

36 minutes ago, MCHinson said:

 

Just curious,

What model Stromberg is your carburetor? I have never heard of a 1937 with a 1936 carburetor since most got later carburetors in 1939 but that is certainly possible.  The 1936 Special originally used a Stromberg Model EE1 while the 1937 was originally equipped with a Stromberg Model AA1 or a Marvel Model BD-1. So many different carburetors were changed in 1939 that people who later bought 1937 and 1938 cars think that their carburetor is original when it is not. I have access to a lot of period Buick carburetor literature but correctly identifying the carburetor is important to know which literature to refer to for adjustment and rebuild information.

Matt, my car is a `36 with the EE-1 carb. with similiar choke assembly as the `37 Special.

[MCHinson]

pont35cpe,

 

Thanks.

 

Gary,

 

Most of my literature is 1937 and 1938 but I do have some 1936 literature. What model number is on your carburetor? If it is an EE-1, I will see if I can find some information on it that will be helpful.

[Gary W]

Hi Matt.  I have a MARVEL  BD

[MCHinson]

That makes sense. The same delco choke that is used on your 1937 Marvel carburetor was also used on the 1936 Strongberg EE1 Carburetor. That means that the Choke information .pdf that I posted earlier could be helpful to you with your 1937 Marvel carburetor as well as pont35cpe's 1936 Stromberg EE1.

 

I don't have any experience with either but hopefully the literature will be helpful.

[Gary W]

I got it and read it through.  I'll take it to the garage and double check my settings.  Thank you!  I really appreciate all your help.

 

[DonMicheletti]

'37 and '38 chokes are different. I think they used the same choke mechanism on both Marvels and Strombergs because they did use the same manifolds regardless of carbs.

I'm not sure of the '36, '37 mix

[Gary W]

Sunday,  June 18, 2017:    Happy Father's Day!       Painting the "recesses" in the chrome parts

Here's how I did it........

 

Today I set up shop in the kitchen.  Way too humid outside to do anything!  I wanted to rebuild the windshield wiper "transmissions", but I have to paint the grooves in the chromed towers first.  But, being those wipers are so prominent on the cowl of the car, I wanted to practice on a couple parts first before I attempted the wiper towers.   So today I painted a few parts. Having never done this before,  here goes!

 

 

I chose the fender lamp chrome molding first.  It had nice deep grooves so I figured it would be easier.

 

I dipped the artist's brush in Rustoleum Flat Black. and made sure to "work" the paint into the depth of the grooves.

 

It's really hard to photograph chrome parts.  But there is black paint  down the entire side.  There IS NOT ANY paint on the front "ring" surface.  Just a reflection.

 

I wrapped my finger tightly in a thin cotton cloth.  Then, by sliding my finger down the length of the part, while "rolling" my finger backward, the paint cleaned right off the "proud" surface, leaving the black in the detail.

 

Here is the fender lamp center molding after wiping off the paint.  I really like the result!

 

So I tried the trunk handle next.  Grooves are not as deep, but the surface is nice and flat so I figured it would wipe off easily.  Again, worked the paint into the grooves.

 

Looking sloppy, and believe me, I was hesitant to paint on my freshly chromed parts!

 

As soon as the paint was worked into the grooves, I immediately wiped it off, again kind of "rolling" my finger backward while sliding down the part.

 

And here we are!  Not too bad for my first attempt!

 

Then I did all eight door handles.  They were much easier as the grooves are very deep and the part is thin enough to clean with one quick sweep!

 

Another view.  And then I had to stop to fire up the grill.  Darn kids are always hungry!

 

Happy Father's Day out there!

Gary

 

 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Gary W (see edit history)

[39BuickEight]

Living on the edge!  Black paint and a white shirt

[DonMicheletti]

Looking Good!  Isnt it amazing how long these "little"  jobs take even if they are easy.

[dibarlaw]

On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 11:33 PM, Gary W said:

Friday, June 16, 2017:  Rebuild the Automatic Choke Unit

 

For those following along, I'm having a bit of trouble with this automatic choke unit.  I installed  a "helper" spring on one unit to try to remedy the problem of the choke only partially opening.  While that unit was installed on the engine,  I completely disassembled another unit I acquired and gave a good soaking in lacquer thinner.  I let it soak for a few days and got it back together and installed.  So this series is for those of you inclined to open up your automatic choke unit.  At least you can see what they're made of:

 

Here's the automatic choke unit prior to disassembly.

 

Just another view.  My hope was a good cleaning up would restore the unit to proper function.

 

Part of the disassembly showing how I was able to push the pin out using needle nose pliers.

 

With the pin out and the plate that keeps the piston from dropping too far removed, the guts look like this.

 

And here is the choke unit fully disassembled and ready for a good soaking and cleaning.

 

Fill 'er up..... and let everything soak for a few days.  (Install tires while this is soaking!)

 

The parts cleaned up real nice, and a lot of surface gook came off.  I wiped everything off and laid out all the parts according to assembly sequence.

 

Step 1:  Using an 800 grit automotive paper, I simply polished the walls of the internal cylinders so everything was nice and smooth.  

 

Step 2:   Install the top plate with the long "bellows" looking part.  I used a silicone sealant to take the place of the gasket that was unusable, being absolutely sure none bled through into the cylinders.

 

Step 3a:  Turn the unit upside down and install the bi-metallic coil and the vacuum piston shaft.

 

Step 3b:  Tip the shaft to first get the axle through the side of the casting

 

Step 3c:  Then center the part and push the piston into the vacuum cylinder.

 

Step 4a:  Install the plate with the extended ear towards the piston so the piston cannot fall through.

 

Step 4b:  Tighten the two screws that hold the plate in position.

 

Step 5a: Install the brass fitting to the casting that will center the shaft.

 

Step 5b:  Tighten it down

 

Step 6a:  Install the pin that connects the bi-metallic coil to the "bellows" connecting arm.

 

Step 6b:  Again, I used a needle nose plier to push the pin through.

 

Step 6c:  Here's a shot of the pin fully seated and the internal guts all back in position.

 

Step 7:  Again, I used a very light coating of a high temp silicone gasket maker to seal the bottom plate.  Nice and easy here as it seals very nice without a lot of mess if it is not over applied.

 

Here's the unit ready to have the arm re-installed on to the protruding shaft.

 

With the arm installed, the gasket installed and the automatic choke installed on to the engine and hooked into the Marvel.  Notice, I did not paint it yet.  I want to check the function first.

 

 

 

So, after installing the cleaned unit, I started the engine.  The first thing I noticed was that the vacuum definitely pulls the choke open to about the 60% area.  Already it's pulling open better.  I let the engine idle for 5-6 minutes, but I was in the garage and the place was filling up with exhaust fumes so I couldn't let it run much longer.  I don't know how hot the engine is supposed to get before that bi-metallic coil acts on the choke to fully open it.  Also, even though the engine was idling, and the choke did open about 60% or so, the engine DEFINITELY ran better when I manually opened the choke to full open.  It smoothed out.  When I let it drop back to the 60% mark where it was held by the vacuum, it started to feel like it was "bogging down".  Push the choke full open, smoothed right out.  So I have to figure out how to make that thing open the choke fully about 1 minute into running.  The engine likes it much better full open.  

 

As I stated before, the previous owner simply wired the choke full open all the time, completely bypassing the automatic choke entirely.  I ran it in December and January and it started right up and ran fine that way.  If tomorrow is a nice day, I'd like to roll the chassis outside and let it run for a good 10-15 minutes, let the engine fully warm up and check the operation of the automatic choke unit.  If it still doesn't open fully, I may have to consider another option here.

 

Have a good night guys!

 

 

Gary:

 I wanted to add the Delco Remy service notes from their service manual of 1/11/37. It goes into quite a bit of detail including disassembly, service and adjustment. Modern technology is not cooperating as the scanner refuses to communicate with the computer today. I will add the images when the computer straightens up and flies right!

 Going by your photo essay I will do the same with my Delco 2 cylinder model 498H.

As I was looking at my unit before I removed it today I noticed that it was hanging up at the choke butterfly. If the air cleaner screw clamp is to tight it will cause some binding. Also the butterfly shaft on my BD-1 is very sloppy which can also cause binding when being pushed or pulled by the choke linkage. I wanted to make some shim bushings to remove some of the shaft play and smooth operation The butterfly can only be removed with the top of the carb removed. I do not want to disturb this as I feel that the top casting has already been tightened down to its limit and the screw mounting bosses are a bit fragile.

I also have the Buick service bulletins that show the Marvel BD-1. The 1937 Buick service manual only shows the Stromberg.

 I will let you know how mine comes out.

Larry

[dibarlaw]

Gary:

 Spent the afternoon doing as you have done with the Delco choke unit. I made my own gaskets. I have a lot of practice doing stuff on my 1925 Buicks. Thank you for your inspiration for me to do mine.

I installed the unit and timed the opening to full. About 5 minutes. The chart in the manual indicates that these units should go to full closed at 50 degrees F. I think the choke butterfly shaft is still binding a bit on mine. I set the link in the center hole as when the unit is at rest it leaves the butterfly open about 1/16". 

I did use high temp silicone sealer on the unit to manifold gasket.

I will see if the choke is closed  in the morning.

Larry

[dibarlaw]

I had to connect to scanner with a USB cable before it would work. Always worked remotely before. Need to troubleshoot.

Here are the Pages from the Delco manual. I hope this helps others with these types of units.

Sorry. A little of my scanned cobalt blue still on the glass.

[dibarlaw]

I checked this morning and the choke had closed to the 1/16" opening. It only went down to around 60 degrees last night.

Here are a few pages from the Buick Service bulletins that relate to adjusting the choke.

[Pomeroy41144]

Great work. 

[Gary W]

Wednesday June 21, 2017:  Wiper Tower  ("Transmission")  Reassembly:

 

After practicing painting in the detail lines of the door handles and fender lamp trim, today I decided to reassemble the wiper towers.  I removed the towers as a unit, with all the mechanism attached.  I photographed the parts so I could remember how they all fit back together.  When I sent them out for chrome, they were returned for disassembly.  So, not knowing how to disassemble these units, John and I tried to pry off the chains.  Well, this got the large wheel out, but the smaller wheel was still inside the tower.  I did get the proper technique, and did get them disassembled, and chromed.  Today I did the reassembly:

 

Flashback:  When I removed the tower assemblies, I immediately marked them and photographed them so I knew exactly how they go back together.

 

Here is one of the towers I removed from the car.  This one didn't work as the pin that goes through the tower into the internal chain-driven wheel was rusted in place.

 

I learned the proper way to remove the pin.  Use the nut and a stack of washers as a "puller".  The pin will withdraw straight out from the internal chain-driven wheel.

****  SEE  POST  # 233   ON  PAGE  10  FOR  THE  DISASSEMBLY  TECHNIQUE  ****

 

This is the result of pulling out the rusted side.  The "ears" snapped off the pot metal and the chain fell free.  At this point, I had pulled the chains off the large diameter wheel, then this one broke, so I had some reassembly to do.

 

After throughly cleaning the area with acetone, I mixed up some J B WELD and smoothed it into the area.  While it was still "putty", I placed the links of the chain.  IT IS IMPORTANT that you orient the wheel properly!  This side that you see in this photo MUST face the back of the tower.  (The side that sits on your cowl)  It has a thicker "boss" than the other side that the pin presses into.  The threaded pin goes through the front, and then passes into this wheel.  That pin will not go through if this wheel is assembled backward.  So I had to be doubly sure before I used the JB Weld that I had it oriented properly.  If you disassemble, and everything comes out together, then this is no longer an issue, but on reassembly be sure the heavy boss faces back.

 

  

I smoothed out all the JB Weld the next day, after it was fully cured.

 

 

So here it is all cleaned up and ready to be reinstalled.  

 

Back to the painting, filling in the grooves with black paint, then, immediately after..........

 

Wipe it down leaving the black paint in the grooves.

 

So the chains are back together, the smaller chain-driven upper wheels are properly oriented.  This is the way they go back together.

 

This photo just to show the towers with the black paint in the detail grooves.  

 

Begin the reassembly by placing a few drops of oil into the recess in the back of the tower where the pin will ultimately fit into.

 

Slowly begin dropping in the chain-driven wheel, a little wiggle here and there so it does't bind.

 

You can see the edge of the wheel coming into view.  At this point, I used the fine tip of the oil to line it up the rest of the way.

 

Start with a little digital pressure to engage the wheel.  Notice the pin has a knurled section that fits in the wheel.  The rest protrudes from the wheel and sits in the internal recess in the back wall of the tower.

 

I was cautioned not to push the pin in too far, as it will bind the unit and it won't move easily.  So I partially drilled a hole in a piece of 1/2" MDF to act as a "stop" and protect the threads of the pin.

 

While I made sure the tower was sitting nice and square, my son slowly tightened the vice.  Here I am showing my photographer what to focus on.

 

I did not do one big push.  We went little by little, checking the operation of the wheel to be sure it wasn't getting bound up in there.  Here we are on the last push.

 

With the pin pressed back into position, I placed the newly-chromed nuts and one more project off the list.  Those pins may have to go in a little more, but I want to test fit the wiper arms and see if it's necessary.

 

Wiper towers finished and ready for installation!!!

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2017 by Gary W (see edit history)

[DonMicheletti]

Gary,

When you reassemble the dash area of the car, install the wiper towers first.

I made the error of installing the defroster ducts and other stuff while I was waiting for the towers to get back from the plater. But a lot of stuff was in the way of their installation and had to be removed to install the towers.

[Gary W]

Friday June 23, 2017:  Update on the Body Work / Paint Progress

 

After work today I stopped by the paint shop to see how things are progressing there.  At this point, the front of the car and the roof are done with the URO-FILL surfacer, are sanded smooth and the first "self-etching" prime coat is applied.  The primer is called Vari-Prime and it has a yellow color.  Bob (the painter) also "hammer-and-dollied" (is that the correct term?) some minor bruises out and he welded in a patch where the right rear fender iron exits the body.  Here's a few photos so you can follow the progress.  Enjoy!

 

( ** Every photo in this series was taken with my iPhone 6.  I stopped by the paint shop either before or after work, and didn't have my Nikon with me.  Apologize for any lack of clarity. **)

 

 

 

In a previous post, Bob was filing in the leaded joints in the front of the car and repairing some body dings and removing some old body putty.  He is now at the rear, working on the leaded joints and the trunk opening.  

This material is called URO-FILL Acrylic Urethane Primer Surfacer (and Activator) made by Evercoat.

 

Once dry, it is sanded from coarse (36 grit?), to an 80 grit.  I can't remember if he goes any finer at this point.  Please note the inside of the trunk lip.  He worked all that rough stuff out of there.

 

Upper Right trunk lip after sandblasting.  There are pits, lead, body filler.....  pretty rough.  Even though the rubber seal fits in that cavity entirely, Bob is working to make it look nice under there.

 

Upper Left trunk lip after sandblasting.  Again, pretty rough in there.

 

After cleaning it up, this is the beginning of the repair using the URO-FILL surfacer.  The first sanding is being done, as you can see the sanding dust accumulating.

 

Here you can see the improvement as each sanding gets it smoother and smoother.  This has been a great learning experience for me.

 

Right Rear panel where the bumper iron exits the body.  There is  a lot of rot there.  But for some reason, only there.  The left side is fine.  It appears like brown paper over the body opening, but you are seeing my wood dolly through it.

 

Bob made a template first.  He then used a pneumatic "tin snips" type tool to cut the metal to the desired shape.  (Photo was taken after patch was in, but you get the idea!)

 

Then this got cut out and removed from the body.

 

The new patch was welded into position.  The body all around the opening was counter sunk to accept the patch.

 

Initial grind to remove the rough welds......

 

Then a finer grind wheel to smooth out the welded joint and begin to meld the surfaces smooth.

 

By countersinking the patch into the body, Bob was explaining how the body actually stiffens the patch and gives it a lot of support.

 

This is the self-etching primer and various components that work with it.  (And the yellow sheet is my bill for same!)

 

Front sprayed in primer to protect the bare metal while he works on the back.

 

Driver's side in prime.  

 

I told my wife that I changed my mind on the color.  Going with Canary Yellow.  She didn't buy it!  

 

Have a great night out there!

Gary

 

 

 

[Thriller]

Well, yellow is a primary colour....

 

A bright yellow '37 would certainly stand out. 

 

[39BuickEight]

Looks very familiar, other than only needing a few patches instead of 273,393 lol.  Nice!

[PlymouthPE]

Quality work from start to date/finish.

I look forward to every update and the clarity of the pictures speak a thousand words.

Excellent workmanship.

[Gary W]

Sunday June 25, 2017:  Nuts and Bolts and other things

 

Admittedly, some posts are more boring than others.  This may be one of the boring ones, but it details those dirty jobs that need to get done.

 

 I am getting excited to have the body painted, and Friday's visit to the painter was uplifting.  So, my mind is now moving at warp speed trying to formulate a  "step - by - step"  plan on the rebuild.  It seems to me that once the body is delivered from paint, the obvious first step is the body bolts and the rubber pads.  Then I'm thinking the firewall insulator and all firewall grommets, followed by the wiring, the wipers, cowl vent assembly, emergency brake, dome lamp, headliner, glass......  I want to come up with a logical plan so I'm not chasing my tail.

Throughout the restoration, as I removed anything, it was photographed,  tagged, labelled (sometimes with drawings and notes) and ziplock bagged.  So today I began to go through the boxes and started to prioritize.  I set up the faithful bench grinder, with a new wire wheel attached, and started cleaning up the rust and the gunk off all the body bolts, and basically following the steps above, I wired, scrubbed in acetone, primed and painted and again, bagged the parts for assembly.  Here's today's production:

 

Some of the body bolts as they came out of the car.  I labelled each one according to their location, "D" Driver side, "P" Passenger side.  But they are all the same (except the front studs and the long bolt #6) so that was not necessary.

 

All the "D" washers and flat fender washers were all rusted up.  

 

 

Each one wire-wheeled clean.  They all were in nice shape except two of them, which I replaced with two new bolts.

 

Here's how they look right after wire wheeling.

 

Soak them in acetone to remove any residual oils, grease....  I wash them down while they are submerged to clean everything good.

 

Lay everything out for painting.

 

After prime and paint in gloss black.  At this point all the body bolts and related parts AND all the fender bolts are ready for reassembly.  Next step:  The Firewall related stuff.

 

 

 

In each bag is a 4X6 index card with description of contents, and any little notes on reassembly ( like where that clip goes! ) will be on the index card.   I can always refer back to the photos for additional help.

 

 

 

My mask has a full facial shield so those stray wires don't get in my eyes.  

 

The firewall insulator screws, lock washers and nuts after wire wheeling.  All these were peened over on and were a pain to get loose.

 

Soak everything.  In here are horn mounting bolts, emergency brake handle mounting bolts, steering box mounting bolts...... things I figured I'd need first.

 

Again, all cleaned, scrubbed and laid out for paint.

 

Now, allow it all to dry overnight and bag everything up for reassembly.

 

Here's my horn relay as it came off the firewall.

 

Huge improvement just wire wheeling the crud off.  I never saw those letters before! I did go on to paint it.

 

And finally, I finished sanding down the steering column so it's ready for brown paint.  ( I think I'm going to paint the firewall insulator screw heads brown also)

 

I know it doesn't look so glamorous, but needs to get done and I'm glad I'm making some inroads.

 

Have a good night out there!

Gary

 

[LAS VEGAS DAVE]

NICE WORK GARY.

[Taylormade]

Gary, what type of paint are you using on the bolts and washers?

[Spinneyhill]

Nice work.

 

Were the nuts, bolts and screws in Buicks plated with something? 1930 Dodge seems to have most of them plated with cadmium, others zinc and others Parkerised.

[GARY F]

All those little touches are important. Looks great

[Gary W]

 

 

I've been using the Rust-Oleum Automotive Gloss Black and recently starting using this Krylon Paint and Primer combo.  Actually, I thought the Krylon's were the same until I just looked at the cans!  

I noticed the "color master" type on the left dries more of a "matte" type finish (maybe not matte, just not as high a gloss), while the Krylon in the middle dries to a gloss, as does the rust-oleum.

The paint and primer combo means I can skip the primer step, and I maintain the "BUF" indications on the bolt heads, and even the small "Made in U.S.A." markings.

 

[DonMicheletti]

All the bolts I have found on the '38 Buick's are unplated and unpainted

[DonMicheletti]

I have to restate that. MOST bolts and nuts are unplated or unplated.

Some hood hold down hardware is plated. Either cad zinc.Some special front side panel screws appear to be black oxide as are some chassis bolts.

For the most part, general bolts and nuts were raw.

 

[Taylormade]

I understand Gary's painting the hardware.  Some of the bolts on my restoration started to rust before I got the car halfway together.   It may not be totally original, but it's better than ugly rust streaks - unless you intend to remove the bolts every few months and polish them.

[Gary W]

Wednesday June 28, 2017:   Bodywork done on the rear of the car:

 

Update on the rear patch panel

 

 

Last week the patch panel was welded in and the welds ground smooth

 

 

Here is the result of the Left Side "hammer and dollied" to fine tune the metal contour, and filler applied to the area.

The Right Side patch ground smooth and filler applied.

 

 

 

Here we are today with the self-etching prime coat applied.  The repair really came out nice!  

 

[Gary W]

Friday June 30, 2017:  Repair of the Left Rear Quarter

 

With the rear in good shape, Bob moved on to the left rear quarter.  There were some pinholes in the underside of the driver's door jamb.  The quarter panel had some rot and the cage nut was completely rusted with the fender bolt sheared off inside.  I purchased six new cage nuts to replace the ones that were pretty beat up or outright missing.  Here's how the driver's side repair is coming along:

 

The lower fender cage nut had a bolt sheared inside it.  There was some rot-through above the cage nut and at the bottom of the wheel well.  

 

Here's the cage nut that came out (of the Titanic!)  No wonder the bolt sheared off.

 

This is the metal that was removed from this spot.  You can see the slot where the original cage nut was bent in place.  A new patch was fabricated for this and the lower one and a new cage nut installed.

 

Here is the quarter now with the patches welded in place and just surface ground for now.  

 

Under the driver's door sill, Bob used fiberglass to seal the little pinholes.  It will be sanded out smooth.

 

"No ups, No extras!"

 

(What's an "up" anyway?)

 

Have a great night out there

Gary

 

 

[Gary W]

Friday July 7, 2017:  Update on the body work / paint:

 

It seems with the 4th of July landing on a Tuesday, the week was sort of... well ... out of sorts.  A little slow.  I disassembled the heater unit, sanded it down smooth and primed both it and the steering column.  I did find a really nice brown paint which John will spray tomorrow morning.  I'll update those photos tomorrow when that job is done.  

 

But, heres the latest update on the body work and the paint work.  The driver's side door sill was fiberglassed, and a patch made for the rear fender bolt.  That side is sanded out smooth, the filler and the self-etching primer applied.  Then Bob moved on to the passenger's side, which had considerably more damage.  I'll let the photos talk the rest of the way!

 

Here was the Driver's side with the fiberglass filled in the pinholes along the bottom of the door sill.

 

Now the driver's side is sanded out, filler applied and sanded out smooth.  The self-etching prime coat is applied.

 

The driver's side all in prime.  On to the passenger's side :

 

 

Rear aspect of the quarter panel showing the rot-through, especially where the fender cinch nut is located.

 

The area is masked out, trying to preserve the original body detail along the bumped out molded area.

 

A template is fabricated, noting the center of the cinch nut and the slots for attaching same.

 

 

After the rotted metal is removed, the patch is spot welded into position.  This is not the final weld.  Now on to the lower quarter section:

 

 

Here is the lower quarter section before.  Obvious rot through here.

 

Before anything is cut or removed, Bob creates a template that fits within the original body moldings and follows the contours and curvatures of the original sheet metal.

 

Over to the bench to finalize the lower curvature utilizing a steel pipe and some small hammers.

 

Once satisfied with the fit, the body is then marked and cut.

 

Using that pneumatic "tin snips", the rotted section is removed, taking a margin of healthy tissue with it. (He will repair all that back damage as well)

 

Here you see the old and new.

 

Here the patch panel is lined up and getting ready to be tack welded into position.  Unfortunately, someone hit a utility pole and all the power went out and the welder was out of commission.  

 

 

3M Seam Sealer.  Used in some of the body seams at the lower door openings, and in the trunk along the back well.

 

He uses it in places like this.  You can see it in the first few photos as well.

 

Have a great night out there!

Gary
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gary W]

Saturday July 8, 2017:  Power is back on and the patch panel is getting welded into position

 

I stopped by the paint shop this morning.  Bob was working on the patch panel from yesterday.  Here's a few photos of today's progress:

 

 

Here's the metal that was removed from the quarter panel area.

 

 

This was how we left off yesterday when the power went out

 

 

Let the sparks fly!  The welder uses Argon gas and it feeds steel wire to the site as he works.

 

He has to work in different areas so the heat doesn't warp the metal. 

 

He feathers the spot welds into the body with a small grinder first.  (This is for demonstration purposes only.  Just showing the order of operations. He will run a weld seam along the entire length of the metal)

 

Then out comes the larger grinding wheel to finish smoothing the bead.  After that, its the standard fill, self-etch prime, build up prime....

 

Almost done with metal fabrication and patch panels.  Bob also welded in a new piece under here and drilled an opening for the rear window drain to fit through as that part was completely unusable.

 

 

 

 

[Gary W]

Sunday July 9, 2017:  Happy Birthday John!

 

This post is way off topic, but I have to wish my friend John a very Happy and Healthy  87th  Birthday today!!  We spent the day at Monmouth Park Racetrack's 24th annual car show.  There were well over 200 cars and thousands of people attended!

 

Without his help, my restoration project would not be nearly as far along as it is today, and I am so thankful to have him as a friend.

 

 

Happy 87th John!

 

 

( OK...enough mushy stuff.....back to work tomorrow!)

Have a great day!  Gary

[39BuickEight]

Hard to beat 3M seam sealer.  That's one thing that there is little debate on.

[neil morse]

2 hours ago, Gary W said:

Sunday July 9, 2017:  Happy Birthday John!

 

This post is way off topic, but I have to wish my friend John a very Happy and Healthy  87th  Birthday today!!  We spent the day at Monmouth Park Racetrack's 24th annual car show.  There were well over 200 cars and thousands of people attended!

 

Happy 87th John!

 

 

( OK...enough mushy stuff.....back to work tomorrow!)

Have a great day!  Gary

 

Haha -- you guys cleaned up real nice!