Thread: Everybody that is currently building a car...

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I've been working on Mike's Buick a bit. Got the rusted panels in the trunk all cut out and replaced and the new panels installed to enclose things the way he wanted. Moving on to the exhaust system to get those upgrades done, plus when my back hurts too bad to be climbing up and down from under the car I've been doing some wetsanding on the body.

My son now understands the highs and lows of bodywork. He understands the time involved n making it right and why he and a buddy got their butts chewed at a show in Tulsa, for leaning in too close to someone's fender while checking out their engine. I told him those wonderful brads on his Levi's are hell on a paint job.

Funny. I finished spraying the main body of the car and opted to finish the hood, endgate, etc later since we used a factory pack. We stood back gazing at the result of the shiny, clean, wet looking paint and then I told him I took the next week off for the final stage. He was puzzled. He didn't understand. Said it looked great and i said it can look better. Then we spent the next four days wet sanding up to 4000. Gotta love those finish sanders with the Hookit system. Then used 3Ms Perfect It system. Turned out real nice. Now if we could get enough decent temperatures (when I'm not on call) to finish up the rest.

El has made a drastic change since you got it home . Our kids need to see the inside of finishing and seem like you locked him right in Stove.

m

Originally Posted by bluestang67

El has made a drastic change since you got it home . Our kids need to see the inside of finishing and seem like you locked him right in Stove.

m

Ha ha. He has a lot of time behind a sand blaster/roll loc to remove paint. I wanted him to get all of the hard labor. I even intentionally painted the jambs separate to leave a tape line for him to work. I've had an ulterior motive behind everything on this car.

After the paint jobs I've done I really appreciate the hard labor our body shops endure to get a quality paint job. Most folks that don't know different just say...."You do such good work....could I bring my car in for a quick paint job next week?" My reply is always....."You can't afford my time and do you really want your car sitting here for the next 6 months!"

David

Man that Elky looks awesome! I feel for you on the bad hardener situation. Last spring I primed my 95 F-350 crew cab with PPG and it took 3 days to dry enough to be able to put the truck back together. I wasn't happy and the guy I got the primer from blamed me as well. That crap was gummy 6 months later when I went to remove it to put new on there. No more PPG for me either. It literally left a bad taste in my mouth.

I had a buddies Iroc for 9 months , worked on it only when I felt like it .


But even in you pics we can see the prep that went down before the paint . Thats the 10 K paint job part no one understands .

A bit of progress on Mike's Buick, had to paint the door jambs and of course there was some rotted out areas on the door shell that had to be repaired. The guy who had the car for some strange reason decided to do the jambs blue, so had to sand all that crud off and repaint them in white. Also got the inside of the trunk done, tomorrow I'll do the inside of the hood then start prepping the rest of the car for a bit of touch up here and there and some clear!

I like the curves on that car Dave. What do you prefer to seal off the back of the repairs....like where the door jambs meet the door skin? I've been using Rust Buster but dont really car so much for the extended waits between coats.

David

I like to strip all the paint, old sealer, etc, do a coat of Phix (about the same as Rust Buster, yeah, it's slow too), then epoxy primer, seam sealer (I use 3M), and onto the finish paint and clear....

The old Buick does have some great lines to it, got the last of the primer on it yesterday so once more around it wet sanding and it's time for the shiny stuff!!! Had a lot of little areas to repair on the exterior, car was originally put together a few years back with not a lot of emphasis on the detail work.... Should be good to go for a few more years, now. Mike, guy that owns the car, wants to drive it a couple years, then a complete re-do and re-power on the car.... His son bought it for him, then died about 6 months later.... Not real sure their's enough money to get it away from him now.....

Well, I can say that I like the odd stuff. Not that a Buick is odd, just that you rarely ever see one. And that one looks in great shape.

My grandpa had a couple old Desoto's on his farm in Duluth back when I was a kid. Wish I had asked him for them before he sold the farm. They, like the Buick, are rarely seen. Around here at least.

Wish I grew up in the 50's or 60's.

David

Mike actually came up on a lead for a matching '60 Buick drop top someplace down in Missouri!!!! He was waiting for the guy to send him more pics of the car, then he'll probably have that, too!!! Mike's just another kid playing with toys, he'll be 70 next month!!!!!!

I'd forgotten how huge these old cars are!!!!! Started wet sanding yesterday and couldn't make it all the way around the car, had to go out and finish it this morning!!!!! Somebody tried to tell me the car hadn't gotten any bigger and that I just got older, don't know if I wanna believe that or not!!!!!!

Anyway, a few little things left to do on the Buick, then hopefully shoot some shiny stuff on it this weekend!!!!!

I am in a bit of a fix: The fellow that built my 318 sent it back to me with the oil pump in a box [not installed]. When I went to install the oil pump, I immediately noticed that one of the rear main studs was keeping me from mounting the pump correctly. I cut the stud down to the nut, almost, but it is still about 1/8" too long for the oil pump to set squarely in place. My dilemma: do I cut into the nut, or build a shim to fit under the pump?
This is a 93 318 with magnum heads, really about 325 right now with roller everything. It is going to be mated with a Torqueflight trans and the rearend from a 89 New Yorker and being put under my '38 [Sarnia built] Dodge 2 door touring.

Originally Posted by Inkitup

I am in a bit of a fix: The fellow that built my 318 sent it back to me with the oil pump in a box [not installed]. When I went to install the oil pump, I immediately noticed that one of the rear main studs was keeping me from mounting the pump correctly. I cut the stud down to the nut, almost, but it is still about 1/8" too long for the oil pump to set squarely in place. My dilemma: do I cut into the nut, or build a shim to fit under the pump?
This is a 93 318 with magnum heads, really about 325 right now with roller everything. It is going to be mated with a Torqueflight trans and the rearend from a 89 New Yorker and being put under my '38 [Sarnia built] Dodge 2 door touring.

No need to double post here on CHR ( Mount a 318 Oil Pump ), and in fact it makes things very confusing for you and everyone else if people start responding in two or more places. Your dedicated thread is all you need.

My dad and I are almost done my 1954 Ford NAA tractor and then we'll be moving on the my 1947 Ford Fordor. It used to be at my dad's place and I only worked on it on vacation but it's at my home now. So far we've blasted the body and frame, made new rocker boxes front to back, new trunk floor cut from a 66 Galaxie. Most of our attention has been on the chassis. We installed a 1992 TBird IRS and a 2000 Crown vic front sub frame. We have mounted the engine/tranny from the crown vic and it fits like it was made for it! Next step is to get the IRS blasted and painted, and finish the rolling chassis. I stretched the wheel base slightly front and back to get the wheels centered in the wheel openings and the chassis sits about 4 inches lower than stock. Love it! Why a Fordor? So I can take my family and cruise anywhere, plus I love suicide doors...