Another 1971 LeSabre Custom 4 Door Sedan

[Smartin]

Started pulling parts tonight....I only had an hour to work, so I made the most of it.

The core support and battery tray are SOLID! Very nice for a lifetime Northeast car

So THAT's how the black is supposed to look! One of the previous owners had used a paintbrush to paint GLOSS BLACK all over the place on the core support. It looks like Rustoleum

[Smartin]

These are the only shiny parts I have done so far..

As usual, my guest bedroom becomes my parts warehouse while this project gets going.

NOS front bumper and rechromed rear bumper...and the one I just took off the car is in the foreground..

Starting to get interesting!

[imported_buick5563]

Adam,

I'm cool with using a guest bedroom for storing parts, but I'd get a whoopin' if I didn't take the nice comforter off first.

Mike

[Smartin]

ehhh....the comforter gets used in the garage on occasion to cover a car, or a part of a car. So it isn't the nicest thing in the house. Plus, I'm single and I live alone....I can do what I want

[Smartin]

Took the heads and passenger side exhaust manifold (singular) to the machine shop for work the other day. The drivers side manifold is cracked, and is being replaced with another from a board member on v8buick.

Valve job and cleanup on the heads with new seals, and milling of the exhaust manifold surfaces..

I only broke 3 bolts (all on the pass. side) when trying to remove the manifolds. I broke all three of them in succession. After the 3rd one, I thought I was in for a rough machine shop bill with 12 helicoils!'

It looks like I will be putting the car on hold for the rest of the week and through the weekend. I have to work the local home and garden show for our irrigation company...and it pretty much completely drains my will to live. Look for more progess next week sometime!

[Smartin]

I got someone to work for me this morning at the home show so I could sleep in a little bit. I also got some work done on the car.

Basically, I'm looking at a "budget job" here with the engine compartment. I am not spending any morney for plating any parts (except the rear bumper, but I was almost forced into doing that) so I am making due with what I have.

Hood latch and master cylinder cover are done with a basecoat of exhaust stainless steel spray and coated lightly with a gold anodizing paint from Duplicolor. I then spray a VERY small amount of red paint on top of that (more or less a dusting) so it gets a little color in it. If you look above in a previous post, the gold parts on the bed are done the same way. They look really good in person.

Wiper motor was also finished this morning - not as nice as Jim Lore's X piece, but it will present nicely under the hood of my car. I was unable to save the decal on the base of the unit, so I just wiped it off..

I have finally cleared the firewall of all the crap so I can clean and paint it. I'll probably paint the firewall, then do the same gold cad treatment on the brake booster as I did the other gold parts. I'll then paint the core support and wheel wells at once. My heads are ready at the machine shop, but they aren't open until Monday. As soon as I get them, I will bolt them on, along with the rest of the "red" engine parts, and paint them as a unit, much like the factory did. I will leave the fuel pump and distributor out for this job, though.

[Guest my3buicks]

Adam, looks great!! You almost got me motivated enough to do the same to the Centurion, ALMOST is the key word there.

[Smartin]

What would it take to push you over the proverbial edge, Keith?

[Guest my3buicks]

probably seeing yours done

[Smartin]

As funny as this sounds, I don't think I've ever really seen a truly cleanly restored engine compartment in one of these cars....I haven't been to many national events yet, though.

I figured that seeing a 4 door sedan restored would be interesting, too.

[Smartin]

Black paint finally laid on tonight. Firewall, wheelhouses, and core support are nicely covered. I did the booster and master cylinder last night. It appears on all the big cars that I've had, that the booster is not a real rich shiny gold cad like I see on all the restored A bodies.....it's more of a dull greyish green gold. I emulated that with the one you see in the picture.

I got the heads back today, along with one of the exh. manifolds. The other one arrived today, so I get to go BACK to the machine shop to get this one surfaced, and have the bolt holes helicoiled. Both sutds are broken off inside this one. What's another $100?

As soon as I can get the intake and valve covers cleaned up, I will bolt the core of the motor back together and paint it. That way, the bolts will be engine color as they are supposed to be. I like the look of a clean bare set of bolts on an engine, but I'm going to correctness on this...so why not take the step to do this?

I also twisted my transmission cooling lines right off the fittings tonight. Destroyed...totally.

I called Inline Tube and bought a set of universal lines so I could bend them myself....since they don't carry any for the 71 LeSabre. ...and no one else does.

[Smartin]

More work done today. The FedEx guy showed up with my new trans cooling lines, since I twisted the lines in half trying to get them out of the transmission fittings. The ones I ordered were the universal kit from www.inlinetube.com and I had to bend them myself. I had hte old ones as templates, but it is still difficult to get the slight subtle bends the old hoses made. I actually was stomping them into the ground at one time to get the lines to lay the right way It worked, though.

Here they are in all their shiny glory:

Notice the engine is coming back together. I hope to have it painted tomorrow. After the motor is painted, I can start cobbling thingss back together. I still have quite a few things to clean and paint...like the air cleaner, power steering pump and brackets, all the AC lines, compressor, radiator, condensor, pulleys, etc. I was able to get a few goodies painted today, so I feel like I'm making some good progress.

I went to a local dealer Buick display today, so it gave me some inspiration to get the car going as soon as possible, so I can show it off before Rochester.

The engine compartment is not the only thing that has to be done on this car. I have all the door jambs that need to be cleaned and painted, as well as the trunk jamb. Front clip has to be reinstalled, as well as the "new" rear bumper. I suppose that's about all..... ou: Oh yeah, I still have to rebuild the carb. I'm waiting on a shipment from Classic Buicks so I can get some other things replaced and installed - like the oil sending unit, fuel pump, fan clutch, carb rebuild kit, rad hoses, heater control valve, all the decals I could think of, hose clamps (yeah the tower clamps)...

I realized today that I forgot to order hood bumpers. Maybe I'll grab a set at CARS's booth in Rochester before the car is judged

[Smartin]

...and my parts bed is getting full

[Smartin]

We have red!!!

[Smartin]

and a grille found its way onto the front end tonight...along with some NOS headlight bezels and grille emblem.

[Smartin]

Lots of "stuff" installed today. I've been waiting on installing any brackets until I got my exhaust menifolds on, so I could have some room to work. I was able to run some errands today and picked up a bunch of stuff from the Zone and O'Reilly...also got a load of grade 8 bolts for the manifolds. I still have to pick up the drivers side manifold from the machine shop on Monday, so it will get installed next week along with the rest of the power steering gunk.

The passenger side manifold went on easily with no problems...and note that I used NO gaskets. Buick did not use gaskets on them. If you do this, make sure both faces of the head and exhaust manifold are straight.

There seems to be quite a bit of dust that collects on everything, and it's tough to keep (particularly) the black parts clean and scratch free. The black is a semi-gloss, and it's as close as the factory as I've been able to find off the shelf. The only problem is keeping it looking good. I suppose this is why a flatter black is more prevalent when you see these restorations. CARS chassis black (which is supposed to be correct) is too flat for the core support/wheelhouses, so I'm not really interested in using it. I used it on the 60, and I still don't agree that it's correct even for that car.

[Junqueboi]

I love what you are doing to that car. Nice work. Please lose the crappy Fram oil filter though -- you deserve an AC PF24! Google "oil filter" tests or something like that. Some guy did some great tests on various filter brands... forgot where the link was. Delco came out on top & FRAM came out on bottom!

Later.

[Smartin]

Yep, Fram is JUNK ...I have a couple AC's on the shelf ready for the proverbial triple oil change after I get the car running again.

[Centurion]

Gosh, Adam, it looks beautiful. You've got me thinking again that I wish you lived closer. My '71 would certainly benefit from your skill and careful work.

[Smartin]

Oh, Brian...what's an extra couple grand in transport costs?

[Guest my3buicks]

I have names for people like Adam, he might as well have a meat fork poking me - yes Adam you win, I will do mine now this winter.

[Smartin]

For me, it's been so rare that I get to see a car like this finished with such care, especially under the hood. This car really make or break the value of a car. Anyone can see that it's a nice car, but when you open up the hood and see a spotless powerplant, it rises to another level.

It will be interesting to see and hear the comments in Rochester this year. Although I'd like to be taking a certain twilight turq convertible...hmmmm

[Smartin]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have names for people like Adam, he might as well have a meat fork poking me - yes Adam you win, I will do mine now this winter. </div></div>

It's hard not to crack when you can see how nice these come out, isn't it?

[Guest my3buicks]

Just shy of 18 hours, not to late ; )

[Smartin]

So I can't pull the trigger on the turq C. ...but the seller doesn't seem too interested in sharing much inromation.

I'm going to try to start the car tonight if I can get all the fluids filled and changed. I got the carb rebuilt last night...only took me a couple hours. I've gotten pretty quick at those I just wish it looked new like the rest of the motor. I may have it sent out and redone at a later date.

[Smartin]

W00T the car runs!!!!

Started up like it never went through an operation. I was only off 4 degrees on the timing, so I got that dialed up. I hear a small exhaust leak coming from the choke housing somewhere, so I will get that taken care-of. There are no other leaks anywhere that I can see.

The bumper is still off, so I looked a little weird driving around the neighborhood...but I don't care.

I had a chance to clean the floor up where the car sat for over a month. I had to use a metal scraper to get most of it off the floor. A lot of it was the goop that fell to the floor when I was plucking the grease balls off the motor. Mix in some antifreeze and misc oils, and you have yourself a nice little pile of slush.

Items still on the docket before Rochester:::

Air Cleaner

Find correct emissions sticker for radiator support

Paint all door, trunk, and hood jambs

Paint underside of hood and replace insulation

Touch up areas on lower edge of body

A/C charge...that should be nice and cheap

I think I'll be set after I get all that done. I believe I'm going to just swap the wheels and tires on my two cars so I can see how I like the chrome wheels on the LeSabre before I plop down a load of cash for new wheels and tires for this car.

Pics to come!

[Guest my3buicks]

wires would look really nice on it : )

[Smartin]

I thought about that...and I'll throw them on (maybe) this weekend and see how they look.

As promised:

The nasty carb I ripped apart last night:

The nasty floor I scraped this evening after I got the car out:

Ready for ignition!!!!

Running! You can't really tell, though Looking at this picture, I really need to pay attention to the hinges and underhood. Yuck!

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Looking at this picture, I really need to pay attention to the hinges and underhood. Yuck!

</div></div>

Like OLD-TANK once said "Workin on ol' Buicks is like eatin a piece of tough meat, the more you chew the bigger it gets".

I guess he has lots of experience with both. old Buicks and Texas steaks....

[Smartin]

I can see where that analogy is accurate!

I got the front bumper hung tonight...it's quite a task if you're by yourself. :spank:

[Guest my3buicks]

really looking forward to seeing this car at Rochester.

[Smartin]

Likewise! I can't wait until July. I'll have it looking really good by then

[Smartin]

I was going nuts over the hood hinge problem, and the underside of the hood being a mess.....so I did something about it. Good thing I had a full sheet of hood insulation sitting in the basement I did a quick spray of cast iron color on the hinges, but did the black underhood much more carefully. It turned out nice.

I also did the hood jambs...they were pretty ugly compared to the rest of it. My Centurion is getting REALLY jealous.

Oh, and for those of us who don't know what a straight front bumper is supposed to look like, here is a nice example. Fresh off the press!....34 years ago. Most of the ones I see on these cars are bent in slightly from those little "love taps" that happen when we inch too close to the garage wall, or your wife's car in the driveway. My Centurion's is bent up a little bit. The one that was on this car was hit pretty good and bent the crap out of the lower grille inserts and made the whole thing look totally wrong.

[Ted "Wildcat65" Nagel]

Looking great. I've got another jealous Centurion!

Ted

[Smartin]

I am for hire if you're interested!

[Smartin]

As with some other areas on the car, one of the previous owners decided to do some "work" with a paintbrush and spray can in ALL the door jambs and trunk jamb areas. SOOO....I had to go back and redo all of this, since the colors were not even close to the body color.

I still have to do the trunk jamb. I think I'll wait for the trunk until I get a rubber set. I need to replace all the weatherstripping due to dry rot....particularly the two front doors and the trunk. I'd love to keep the trunk rubber intact, due to the good fit and the original paint daubs can still be seen at the top center, but there is a bunch of brushed-on paint splattered all over it, so off it goes!

Man, this car runs good!!

[Smartin]

Trunk jamb and underside of the lid....YIKES As you can see, replacement rubber is a must. I ordered a full set from Steele last night...that one hurt the wallet some more. Since I am swapping the rear bumper, I will pull the taillight assemblies and bezels and clean & repaint them....while I'm at it

[Smartin]

Trunk jamb and underside of lid are finished. Looking at the "after" picture of the trunk lid, there's a bunch of dust where I wiped half of it down...that's not permanent - don't freak <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> I didn't paint the entire underside, so I just feathered in the new paint. It looks nice. It's always nice to have clean door and trunk jambs. Lots of folks overlook these details when they clean up a car....and it makes all the difference in the world.

I ordered from Steele because I had been told it was the best. Well, the trunk rubber is no better than the Metro stuff, and Metro is less than HALF the cost!! For now, I will have to slam my trunk closed...because as usual, the rubber is much stiffer and doesn't lay in the channel as well as the factory stuff did. It eventually settles down, but it takes an entire season.

[Smartin]

Another sub-project finished! The rechromed bumper fits like a glove, and it was easy to align. All the plastic parts have been cleaned and repainted before I bolted them back on. I just wish I had that rear body molding that I was promised 4 months ago. I think something happened to the guy that I was trying to buy them from <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[55PackardGuy]

Adam,

Just wanted to chime in here and tell you again what nice work you do! I think your phone is going to be ringing, if it isn't already. Also, since you're coming all the way up to little ol' Rochester MN, I'd be some kind of an a$$ if I didn't take the short drive down there to see you and the car--and Thriller and whoever else is going, too. Please shoot me an e-mail on how we might connect (if you have a second or two away from your LeSabre).