Gary W Posted December 31, 2017 Author Share Posted December 31, 2017 Saturday December 30, 2017: Hood Related Stuff installed onto the car I stopped by the paint shop yesterday ( Friday ) after work and the hood is now painted "trim black" on the underside, and the top sides are in grey build up primer with the guide coat applied. It won't be more than a couple days now, so I have to get the car and the rest of the hood related stuff ready and installed. Driver's side. Two coats of build up prime and the guide coat applied ready for final sanding. Passenger's side awaiting the same final sand, color and clear. I have the stainless hood hinge and the two side moldings all polished up and ready for the install. I'm applying the second coat of the aluminum color paint to the hood vents this week. I have the hood handles back from the Chrome Shop so I think I'm ready to go as far as the parts that go ON the hood prior to installation. So today, I got to the parts that need to be installed on to the body before the hood is installed: FIRST: That nagging water leak. I drained the block from the side drain only. Then I removed the hose. I measured the distance between the thermostat housing and the water inlet neck of the radiator upper tank. There is 6" from edge to edge. So, I'm thinking a 7" hose gives me 1/2" overlap to clamp to. I had a feeling the hose was too long, and it was distorting over the housings preventing the clamps from sealing nice and tight. Here you can see where the hose distorted around the base of the thermostat housing, so I decided to trim it. The hose was 8" long, so I removed 1/2" from each side (trying to get rid of the distorted areas) Clean slice and back on to the car. It fit much better without any pressure pushing up and down on it. And it's holding water just fine now! Installed the Hood Side welting with machine screws and square nuts. When I got the car, it did not have any of this side welting installed, but I think it adds a nice finish and hopefully will let the hood seat properly. In the background you can see the trimmed hose in position. I used the same welting and the same machine screws on the cowl. I put the first two in on the top, then giving the welt a little tug, I used a punch to open the holes and installed as I went. I had to remove the interior kick panels to get the screws in. Next came the hood locking parts. These are the parts I cleaned and painted last week. This is the passenger's side. I left it loose for now because It'll need to be adjusted when the hood is set in position. Does anyone use a paper gasket or rubber pad between this and the fender? Or straight metal to metal? And finally, the upper, rear hood locking parts. Again, left them loose for now. And again, gasket here?? Gas Filler Tube Fender Grommet: I just wanted to share the difference in two parts. The new one from Steele came in (On the Right) It has a very nice shape and a mushroom flange at the bottom. It fit right in perfectly and makes a nice seal to the car. I did not use any adhesive here at all. Maybe down the road if necessary. ONE QUICK "NON-BUICK" PROJECT TODAY: I went over John's house this morning and installed a new wiring harness into a 1968 Mustang he is working on for a friend in town. First of all, I'll NEVER complain of wiring the Buick! The Buick has space to work! These Mustangs are tight, unforgiving, and filled with tons of sharp, unfinished metal parts that cut you up like you can't believe! What a tough job. When I finished at John's house (3 hours), I bought the dash assembly home with me and restored it tonight. I know it's not Buick, but the before and after is nice. I rewired the cluster, swapped all the gauge lenses and installed everything into a new dash cluster. Another couple of hours.... but a nice finish! I truly hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you a HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2018! Thanks to everyone following all through the year! Gary 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Gary: I replaced the welting on the front edge since it was rotted along the bottom and torn from the rivets. I bought some at Hershey as I thought it was the same as the ribbed ones at the rear. What was there was a flat welting. I did not think that the bit of extra thickness would matter. The hood now does not fit as it did before. Bigger gap along the horizontal edge above the headlight and at the grill. Also the locking mechanism is tighter and more touchy to lock. The fender lock tab is metal to metal as is the one on the cowl. I do not think a gasket would hurt. While you are setting up the hood now is the time to think about some type of hood prop. The only fully accessible position is if one side if folded over the other. The rear edge hood pad is to rest on the exposed painted portion of the cowl. Not good for sheet metal or paint. In both cases the sheet metal parts are torqued and twisted. My car was beat up there on both sides when I bought it. I made 2 walnut sticks with opposing grooves on each end to raise up the hood several inches above the cowl. The grooves catch the radiator shroud / nose frame stay rods and the hood locking rod. It has the hood hang without much twisting. I have seen some very nicely made types and think the old Torque Tube Magazine had an article about them. Once a quick breeze flipped one side over and folded the side piece under the hood top panel. It took a bit of doing to get them unlocked. Photo shows the original flat welting and rivets also the reverse S hood stay I made wrapped in some soft sheathing. Occasion for the photo was of the overheated engine compartment on our first long distance trip to South Bend in 2013. It did this 2 more times and then settled down for the rest of the 1,750 mile trip. Most of the trip temps were over 100 degrees. Larry 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 5, 2018 Author Share Posted January 5, 2018 (edited) Thursday, 2018: It's my Birthday! 55 Today. And we got HAMMERED with about 18" of snow and blizzard conditions! Here's the latest Buick update: This Hood Prop was on the car when I bought it. So I shined it all up, replaced the nuts and bolts, tightened it up and replaced the worn rubber ends with neoprene tube... And made sure it bent down lower than the hood. I have to be sure it clears under there when the hood is installed. Did the '37 have any sort of Factory hood support? I saw another thread where the '39 prop was discussed..... Any info on the '37? PAINT SHOP UPDATE: The underside of the hood is painted in Trim Black. The top side is all finished with two coats of grey prime, then sanded with a guide coat. This was Tuesday morning (January 2, 2018) when I left the paint shop. The hood was painted shortly after I left. It now has to be wet sanded and buffed out but I couldn't get out today so I'll be picking the hood up early next week. What bumper goes in here? I have the triangle shaped bumpers for the front lower corner, but there wasn't anything here so I'm curious what belongs. Knowing I'll be picking up the hood next week, I got to work getting the car prepped. I sprayed the final coat of the aluminum paint into the hood vents. I attempted to paint the word "SPECIAL", but I think it was polished out too much and the letters are barely raised and I'll make a mess trying to paint it. Then, I removed the radio to get access to the rear hood retainer bolt. I think it'll be much easier to install the hood with the radio out of the way. While the radio was out, I installed a new light switch that Tom graciously sent me. Much better and nothing is on when it should all be off! I finished hooking up the vacuum line from the manifold to the wiper motor And generally tightened up the cluster screws, the welting nuts, cowl vent screws... just got things finalized under there. I measured the hood while I was at Bob's shop and when I got home I fabricated this stand to support the hood so I can pre-install all the hood goodies before lifting it onto the car. I cut this piece of foam board And tacked it to the wood skeleton And finally, wrapped it in four layers of this thick cloth to prevent any scratches under the hood while I work on the top side. I slid the rear hood retainer into the stainless hood hinge. I wanted to do a preliminary measurement. With the rear bolt in the cowl mounting hole, I have about 1/4" opening up front. Should I try to close this down a little prior to installing the hood, or is it easier to install the hood with a little "wiggle room" and bring the front nose into position while the hood is in place? Any suggestions here would be greatly appreciated. Have a great night out there, and to all my friends in the North East... be careful! Gary Edited January 5, 2018 by Gary W (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Happy Birthday, Gary! You are a gentleman and a scholar, and we are very fortunate to have you on this forum. (And my totally ignorant and random opinion on your last question is that "wiggle room" is a good thing and you should wait until you have the hood in place to make the adjustment). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, There was no hood prop hardware on 1937 Buicks. From memory, there is a rubber bumper that goes on the bottom rear corners of the hood sides that fits in those holes although I don't remember exactly how it is shaped without looking at the car and don't want to go through the snow to the garage for a photo tonight. The theory of operation is that the rubber sits on the cowl and keeps the hood from sliding down. It is not really something you want to rely on. Your aftermarket hood prop is a better idea. It will protect the paint on the cowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randiego Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary Happy birthday to you. Oh to be 55 again. With none of the arthritic joints or problematic back. Hope that you don't have that fellow, "Arthur Itis" visit you too soon. Out here in California, we all are shuddering with the news of the severe cold and the icy roads. Time to stay indoors and drink hot toddies ! I agree with Neil. Leave the gap in the top trim piece till you get the hood in place. Then you can adjust all segments for the alignment that the 4 piece hoods were so famous for. Back in the day, the mechanics were fluent with these type of hoods. On my Plymouth, the previous owner cut off one of the rear bolts that holds the rear clip so every time that I open the hood, it slips out. I will attack that issue this weekend. I just don't open the hood that often as the car runs great. I have a friend hold the hood while I carefully open it to check the vitals then I close it back. A pain in the keester. I want that issue fixed pronto. It is almost an art form in opening these hoods. Practice makes perfect (hopefully) In your case, I would not want to practice on a freshly painted hood ! On my cars (the 36 Pontiac and the 36 Plymouth) if you don't take precautions, you will hit the bullet headlights, either scratching them or denting them. My question to the older guys out there; When the garage mechanic serviced these cars, did they do anything special when they opened the hoods? Like laying a towel down on the cowl or did they just rely on the rubber corners of the hood? If any of the Buick members have a factory service manual, was there any mention of procedure regarding this issue? Or were they just all experienced with the folding hoods? Woe to the shop mechanic who had the hood slip and scratch or dent the headlight or cowl. Gary, when you get your hood installed, that may be the most tedious task that you encounter. As careful as you are, I am sure it will go smooth sailing for you. But I am sure that you are concerned with this step. Good luck in your hood installation. Hope that it goes without a hitch. Randy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul White Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Hi Gary, Happy Birthday to you from Australia Stay safe from the weather Best wishes Paul 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, Happy Birthday. Here is what goes there: http://bobsautomobilia.com/hood-items/hood-rest-pads-1937-38-hr-378/ I still would not rely on them. The aftermarket hood prop is a good thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, enjoyed this thread,. 55? Many more friend, many more. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Dale in Indy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randiego Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, Does Steel Rubber Products have the rubber pad/piece that goes into the holes there? You have the other parts from them. Did they offer or show another item for that end of the hood? Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassesguy Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary: Hope you had a great birthday! Thanks for all your posts. I'm working on a 37 Model 40C. Dave Rex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 3 hours ago, Gary W said: It's my Birthday! 55 Today. And we got HAMMERED... I got that far and thought, "Good for you." 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, happy belated birthday! Thank you for the check for the side pans. Now there is no doubt as to our speculation as to your profession. The pads you seek are available through "BOBs" They are vulcanized to a steel plate and are to be bent to match the radius of the hood. Larry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, Happy Birthday, belatedly as well, from me as well! I love the look of your work on the car, it certainly will be a great looking car when its' done. Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary. I dont know if the '37's have it, but on my '38's there is a little angled bracket under the hood center strip that touches the end of the hood hinge angle that keeps the hood from moving back and forth and hitting the cowel and scratching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Happy Birthday Gary! Your hood stand setup is a perfect example of one of the things that folks who don't rebuild cars just don't understand when they see the finished product. The car itself is but one of many other projects done along the way. Carry on! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Gary, I think these photos will show how the hood rest pad looks as well as why the hood rest is needed. The original design tends to push the hood welting towards the rear and tends to bang up the paint on the cowl over a period of time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 (edited) Friday January 5, 2018: Hood Vents, Chrome light switch bezel and Installation of the Front and Rear Bumpers: After some running around today ( S L O W L Y as we are still digging out!) I got around to a couple Buick projects late this afternoon: HOOD VENTS: Here is the underside. You'll only see this when the hood is raised. I've been spraying coats of the Rustoleum Aluminum paint, allowing a full week of dry time between coats. Here's the show side. The masking tape is still on the chrome ribs. Closer view of the up side. The tape still in place but today it's ready for the big reveal! I removed the green tape from the upper and lower chrome strips first. Immediately you can see the contrast. Then I unmasked the inner four ribs. This blue tape has a sort of elastic quality and it really seals nicely. No paint got under there at all! I highly recommend this paint. It went on smooth and the finish is beautiful! Now the chromed ribs really pop! This is the "Special" nameplate being installed. Notice I did not paint the word "Special" because it is barely raised and I think I'll just make a big ol' mess of it. I am very happy with the final results. I took my time and waited for that paint to fully cure before re coating because I didn't want it to peel or react in any way. It was worth waiting. CHROME DELIVERY: My final order arrived at 4:00. Bumpers, bumper medallions and the light switch allen screw and chrome bezel plate. My switch is held in with just an old rusted allen screw. It's the one that came out of the car. My car never had the chrome bezel plate. Just for the ones that haven't done it. You push the spring inside to release the pull knob. Remove the knob and use an allen wrench to free the light switch from the dash panel. The new chromed bezel plate and chromed allen screw going back in to secure the lighting switch to the inside of the dash panel. Slide in your knob, engage the spring clip under there and you are done! Just another nice finishing touch. (You'll notice I've removed the radio to ease the hood installation.) BUMPER INSTALLATION: I laid everything out, opening bags of parts and using new stainless bolts / nuts / lock washers for the outer bumper attachments. I bought these heavy duty stainless nuts, bolts, washers from McMaster Carr. The carriage bolt square fits perfectly inside the bumper support. Being I was working alone, I first set the outer bolts in their holes and ran the nut on a few turns. This allowed me to "hang" one side on the bolt while I got to the other side to secure that bolt in place. I got the outer bolts finger tight at first, just so there was enough "wiggle room" to install the medallions. You will have to push and pull on the brackets a little bit to get it all aligned. Once everything was installed, I tightened up the nuts and secured the bumper. I'm very happy I had them re-chromed. No sense going this far. Rear Bumper installed. Even the back side looks nice! FRONT BUMPER: FLASHBACK to January 11, 2017. The day I started this restoration. The bumpers were the first thing I removed. And tonight. Going back on the car! I did the front exactly the same method as the rear. Here's a shot of the back side of the bumper. Paul's did a really nice job (on everything!) Here's the front bumper installed. Do any of you guys put a rubber pad under the medallion where it touches the bumper so it doesn't scratch it? I think I need to update my "Front End Friday" photo!!! Thanks for all the birthday wishes, thanks for following along and I hope you enjoy your weekend. (P.S. The hood is painted, but the weather prevented Bob from getting to the shop to wet sand and buff it. But it should be done next week.) Gary Edited January 6, 2018 by Gary W (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Gary, Since you did not paint them before the installation, I am guessing you might not realize that the horizontal recesses on bumper guards are typically painted black. It really makes the bumpers look even better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Just noticed another thing... Do you have a Rear Gravel Guard? I don't see it in the photos. Dave Tacheny may have one but they are also now available in reproduction parts. http://bobsautomobilia.com/bumper-items/rear-bumper-splash-pan-1937-38-ser.40-60-bp-378/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 Hi Matt... Thanks for the head up. I had Laser Cut-outs made for my hubcaps and for the bumper guards. The polishing left the indents shallow, so I used the vinyl tape instead of paint. ( 2 of the bumper guards have the black accents, two do not.... they were chromed at different times). I'll put the black accent on the two bare ones as soon as I figure out where I put the stuff! My car did not come with a gravel guard, so maybe a call to Bob's is in order. Anyone notice a quality difference between the repro and an original? Just much less body work on the repro if it is made well. Thanks! Gary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Gary, hope you enjoyed your "Double Nickle" day.. Glad to hear the light switch solved the problem, looks like you also changed out the old knob, all is really looking good. Now this is just me, but I normally paint the backside of the bumpers/guards with "Argent" which is a dull aluminum paint to seal the backside, which always seems to develop a rusty look. Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 2 hours ago, Gary W said: My car did not come with a gravel guard, so maybe a call to Bob's is in order. Anyone notice a quality difference between the repro and an original? Just much less body work on the repro if it is made well. I can't answer the quality question. I bought one from Dave for my 1937 Century. It is a little bit rough but should look about right for the unrestored 1937 Century. I admit I have not yet installed it yet. It seems that I have been too busy on the '38 to do anything to the '37 but drive it. One other tip, when you get it. It does not install the way you might think. It does not hide the rear bumper bolts. It hangs down below the bolts to prevent rocks from being thrown up from underneath the car. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pont35cpe Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Gary, are you getting Laser cut tape for the "Special" on the hood side inserts? Also where did you get the laser cuts done? Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 I'm wondering if something like stamping the hood name plate might work. Have a pad with paint, then touch the piece down onto it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 I actually sent the "Special" plate out for the laser cut process but even they told me the words are not raised enough to get a good digital photo and make the laser cuts. But it was my first idea. The Buick in the hubcaps came out perfect, as did the bumper guard cutouts but they just couldn't grab the "Special" I may just leave them chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 After watching your previous work, I am surprised that you have not taped off the Special lettering, trimmed around the letters with an exacto knife or razor blade and then painted around the letters. Off the top of my head, I think the background area surrounding the chrome letters are supposed to be the same gray as the louvers, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 2 hours ago, Gary W said: I actually sent the "Special" plate out for the laser cut process but even they told me the words are not raised enough to get a good digital photo and make the laser cuts. Peculiar. One might think even a reasonable picture would be sufficient. Can you put it on a scanner bed? Photo or scan, you can clean it up in Photoshop or the like. From there, it should be easy enough to generate the appropriate file to have the letters laser cut. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibarlaw Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Matt: Most restored 37 cars I have seen the series nameplates I have seen are black. I just liked red for mine. I spent about an hour painting the raised letters in my posted photo you can see the model paint, brush and match sticks to do the lettering. Then several coats of clear. I like it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 As far as I know, my 1937 Century has never been restored, but I have only owned it for about 4 years and could be wrong. I have a 1938 Special emblem from the body donor car for my 1938 Century project. I also have the 1938 Century project that I don't think has ever been restored before. The lettering style on 1937 and 1938 are different, but I suspect the colors were the same. I realize that many people paint the letters black. I don't know for sure, but I don't think that is how they were done originally. I have several other unrestored hood parts that I found at Hershey that I can check, but it will be Monday before the snow melts so I can see them again. I think most of them are rusted enough that it might be difficult to tell for sure, but if I recall correctly the areas around the letters is rusted about the same as the rest of the louvers, which makes me think that I am correct. No matter what Gary decides to do, his car is going to be a wonderful restoration. I do enjoy researching the small details to try to do as accurate a restoration as possible. It is more difficult for those of us who are too young to remember seeing them new to restore these cars than it would be to restore a later car that we remember seeing when they were new. Lots of small details have to be researched when you are restoring something much older than you are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 7, 2018 Author Share Posted January 7, 2018 36 minutes ago, MCHinson said: Lots of small details have to be researched when you are restoring something much older than you are. I really like how that looks! I like the chrome letters showing through the colored background. Is that a cream color? Could I use the silver and "wipe" the Special clean? Thanks Matt! (Thanks again! and again and again......) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 Gary, It appears to be the same gray as the louvers. It has aged a bit differently due to the underlying chrome on the emblem. Your idea about painting it all and wiping the letters might work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 Sunday January 7, 2018: Getting things ready for the hood install But First: I shoveled. Can you say "backache", boys and girls? Back to the Buick: I installed this welt on the cowl and this leading vertical edge last week. I took Larry's advice and tonight I removed it in favor of a thinner welt. Here you can see the difference in the thickness. I used the one I removed as a template and marked the length and the holes with a gold sharpie marker. From there, it was three punches... Blackened the top edge with another sharpie marker And installed the flat welt using # 8 - 32 X 5/8" stainless steel machine screws and square nuts. Thanks Larry for the "heads-up" appreciate it. Then I sorted through boxes and bags to find and organize the Hood related parts I'll need this week. Any helpful hints on the hood install, please send them along! Have a great night! Gary 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul White Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 1 hour ago, Gary W said: Sunday January 7, 2018: Getting things ready for the hood install But First: I shoveled. Can you say "backache", boys and girls? Back to the Buick: I installed this welt on the cowl and this leading vertical edge last week. I took Larry's advice and tonight I removed it in favor of a thinner welt. Here you can see the difference in the thickness. I used the one I removed as a template and marked the length and the holes with a gold sharpie marker. From there, it was three punches... Blackened the top edge with another sharpie marker And installed the flat welt using # 8 - 32 X 5/8" stainless steel machine screws and square nuts. Thanks Larry for the "heads-up" appreciate it. Then I sorted through boxes and bags to find and organize the Hood related parts I'll need this week. Any helpful hints on the hood install, please send them along! Have a great night! Gary Hi Gary, ah for it to be snowing. It was 119F in parts of Sydney yesterday. Car is looking fabulous! Cheers Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model56s Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Gary, I've been lurking for some time and alerted my brother Randiego to this inspiring restoration. It is so satsifying to see the job done right with so little delay. I told my wife that the difference with this restoration, very close to finish in 12 months, is that you stayed with it. Most people get frustrated, or tired, or whatever and back away for months at a time and the next thing they know 5 years has got behind them. My guess is that with your project we're seeing the result of desire aided by the habits that experience instills (your Model T, etc.). I bought a 49 Buick Super Sedanette in February 2012 that I estimate was restored in the early 80s. This car brings me great joy and has significant meaning - from the date stamps on the clock and speedometer it was assembled in February or March of 1949 in GM's Kansas City assembly plant when my late father was in Kansas University medical school in Kansas City (1951 graduate - he delivered me as an intern in 1952). It still looks great, and is mechanically excellent, but should be painted and needs some very minor metal work in one lower spot. Reading your post encouraged me to do the same as you did with your 37, but I'm still on the fence - I love driving it too much on my County two lane blacktops! It was Elan Blue (a light metallic blue) from the factory but was painted black when it was restored. I'd like to redo it in a metallic navy blue. Thank you for your post, attention to detail and your boost to the old car hobby. I'm looking forward to seeing the hood, doors, trunk lid and seats installed! Geoff Lockett Dardenne Prairie, MO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 Monday January 8, 2018: Hood Update at the Paint Shop I stopped by the paint shop this morning on my way into the office. The hood is painted and here you can see the contrast between the trim black on the underside and the gloss up top. Bob was just starting the 1200 grit wet sanding process. Soapy water and a light touch to smooth out any irregularities in the clear coat. And then squeegee it off to be sure all the imperfections are smooth. I only stayed a few minutes. But I should be taking them home Wednesday. Happy Monday! Gary (Model56s.... Thank you for the kind words. I'm so happy to hear that I am helping boost the hobby. I truly love these old cars. I was born with motor oil in my veins.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
39BuickEight Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, Gary W said: Sunday January 7, 2018: Getting things ready for the hood install But First: I shoveled. Can you say "backache", boys and girls? Ok now, you have done some really neat and creative things along the way on your car over the past year, but do you really expect us to believe you created a pile of snow like that---with a shovel??? Edited January 8, 2018 by 39BuickEight (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary W Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 Monday January 8, 2018: Hood Stainless trim polishing I wanted to show some before and after photos of the stainless hinge and the side moldings. I had a few cancellations today, so I took the time to open a new cotton wheel, and using Tripoli, Rouge and finally Simichrome Hand Polish I finished the stainless parts for the hood. It's hard to photograph stainless but here you can see the tip of the one not yet done on the right And there were rust blossoms down the length of the hood side molding. I opened up a brand new cotton wheel. I use a lower speed as I find it much easier to control the work. First step was Tripoli. It removes the surface scratches and begins the polishing process. The next step is Rouge and then I finalize with a hand polish to remove any red residual and give it a final polish, After machine polishing. They didn't come out perfect, but some of the blemishes were really in there good. But I'm happy with the result. Have a great day! Gary (I was doing the cleanup after the plow finished! A little fun with the camera!!) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Nice "work shirt" 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlymouthPE Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 On 1/7/2018 at 9:37 PM, Paul White said: Any helpful hints on the hood install, please send them along! If you think back to the hood removal effort when an errant scratch may not have been that significant a doubling of the effort on the install errs on the side of caution. Rustle up as many warm bodies to steady the 4 corners and one for front center to protect the rad/grill shroud etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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