dmfconsult Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Sure does! I can’t find any local upholstery shops that are that reasonable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 On 1/8/2023 at 1:35 PM, Smartin said: Coker classic bias ply 8.00 X 15 with 2.5” whitewall …these are the ones that were on backorder for 2 years. But they have them in stock now. Adam, I'd be interested in your thoughts on how the car handles with bias plys versus your previous cars using the Auburn bias-look radials, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 16, 2023 Author Share Posted February 16, 2023 Honestly it feels about the same....maybe a bit softer. But they look-a-likes still have that squared off side wall that catches grooves in the road, so that is still something that is present. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 My seat covers came back the other day. I started to reinstall on the seats, and realized there was a problem with the rear bottom. It was too narrow and wouldn't fit over the back edges of the frame, but inches on each side. I called the upholsterer and we were both thinking I have missed something or messed up the order somehow. He came out and we scratched our heads for a moment. Then realized that the fabric portions of both the seat bottoms were switched. He sewed the front seat fabric to the back seat vinyl. Oops! He took the bottoms back and fixed the issue. Brought them back to me today. "After work," I tackled the seats again. Finished up the rear seat bottom that was goobered up. Fit fine... Then I took care of the front seat. Both of those pieces had trashed foam and needed complete replacement. I bought 4 linear yards of 2" foam from JoAnn Fabric ($30 a yard, ugh) and use that to replace the old stuff. It's not perfect, but feels great. Aside from installing the seat tracks on the bottom of the front seat, these are ready for install. I just need to find time to get this car back in the shop to weld floors in and gut the interior to replace everything. Pics in the next post...they're on my phone. I hate typing on my phone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Seats look great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 1, 2023 Author Share Posted March 1, 2023 Sure beats what came out of it LOL! It probably would have cost more than double what I paid to redo the entire seat covers, instead of just doing the fabric inserts...and likely would have been easier on the upholstery guy too. But I only have a few nickels to rub together for this project...and most of it has vaporized in this interior. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 The vacuum advance was DOA, so I replaced it this morning before I drove it to the exhaust guy. Everything went perfectly and got the timing set back up since I pulled the distributor to replace it. I hadn't ever really driven the car except up the street and back down, so I was insure how it would act on the open road...but I took a chance and got in. It didn't take long to realize I had a significant ignition issue. The car runs smoothly at light throttle all day long, but if I put a load on it, it breaks up. Definitely feels like ignition. So I went ahead and bought all new parts to swap out when I get it home. I could tell they were pretty old when replacing the vac advance, but was hoping it would be fine for a while. NOPE. Sigh. Exhaust guy should have it done sometime this week, though. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 32 minutes ago, Smartin said: The car runs smoothly at light throttle all day long, but if I put a load on it, it breaks up. Hopefully a new set of points fixes it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 (edited) Sometimes the metal arm that supports the point fatigue and float out. Accel created points for racing that would not float out. If the points do not resolve the problem look to the carb and a possible rebuild. I experienced the same with my 60 Electra. Carb rebuild resolved it. Edited March 6, 2023 by avgwarhawk (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 6, 2023 Author Share Posted March 6, 2023 Yeah...I should put the carb on the list, too. It's pretty weepy. But is super responsive otherwise. Parts are on the way. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share Posted March 11, 2023 Well, I *think* I figured out the engine cutting out issue. I ran out of gas on the 5 minute drive home. Good news is that the exhaust sounds great! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 2 minutes ago, Smartin said: Well, I *think* I figured out the engine cutting out issue. I ran out of gas on the 5 minute drive home. Good news is that the exhaust sounds great! Good sounding exhaust. That's always a plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 9 hours ago, Smartin said: I ran out of gas on the 5 minute drive home. 'Optimistic' gas gauge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 10 hours ago, Smartin said: I ran out of gas Typical old Buick curse. The last time I did that was in 1980. My back still hurts from pushing Annie up over the banked blind curve to get her off the highway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 11, 2023 Author Share Posted March 11, 2023 1 hour ago, EmTee said: 'Optimistic' gas gauge? LOL nope! Just me not paying attention. Thankfully I was a half mile from home and had exactly one gallon of fuel left in a can. I normally have two 5-gallon tanks sitting there but recently used them up on other cars. I need a 100 gallon tank at the house for filling up these beasts. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 5 minutes ago, Smartin said: LOL nope! Just me not paying attention. Thankfully I was a half mile from home and had exactly one gallon of fuel left in a can. I normally have two 5-gallon tanks sitting there but recently used them up on other cars. I need a 100 gallon tank at the house for filling up these beasts. One would think grown men would know better! I STILL have not learned. Twice in the last year. Beautiful car. Ben 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 If it makes you feel better I ran out of gas in my 60. Fortunately it was a mile from home. The missus ran some gas to me. The gas gauge is really just a suggestion in these cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine Gun Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/10/2023 at 10:17 PM, Smartin said: I ran out of gas on the 5 minute drive home. About 20 years ago I ran out of gas twice in the same month. I was on I-81 on my way to Harrisburg when my low fuel light came on. I got off the highway a few exits later, pulled into a McDonald's drive-in across from the gas station, got a cup of coffee, and got right back on the highway without stopping for gas. I was on the phone to AAA about 15 minutes later. I did exactly the same thing about three weeks later, the only differences being it was a Dunkin' Donuts on the Garden State Parkway. Lesson: coffee and driving don't mix. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Today was full of frustration, but also some progress. I started tackling the interior. Pulled the blue seats out. Pulled package tray, repaired it and reinstalled. Removed all headliner trim and headliner. I laid out the old headliner next to the new one. Houston, we have a problem! New headliner has 6 bows. Mine has 7. I called SMS. They were insistent that the Electra 225 4 door hardtops both have 6 bows. Only the sedan has 7. She asked for photos. I sent them. They are "working on it." So now I have a bunch of trim pieces laying all over the place and I am trying to hold off installing the front seat until the headliner is installed. But if it's going to take a month to get another one, I'll just install the seat. Speaking of installing seats, I had to install the carpet before that happened. So I got the new carpet out. Nice sewn and molded set from a seller on ebay. And at this point, it was too long ago to go back on the deal. It fits like garbage. It's too short on the sides where the door sills are. I made it work, but it caused some other fitment issues that I don't like. Photos? coming. There's not much to show, but meh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 I installed the rear seat to get it off the floor. Tired of tripping over it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 This thing cleans up nice. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 The color looks great on that car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 Headliner still MIA. My persistent emails have surely discouraged their pace🤣 Apparently the lady who sews the headliners only works two days a week. Just think of the increase in production if she worked full time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted April 25, 2023 Author Share Posted April 25, 2023 Headliner and trim installed. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drhach Posted April 25, 2023 Share Posted April 25, 2023 (edited) Looks great. Will you be posting anymore videos on your youtube channel? Edited April 25, 2023 by drhach (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smartin Posted April 25, 2023 Author Share Posted April 25, 2023 I recorded the headliner install but I’m going to try and wrap it up before I edit the video and post. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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