macrover

Some of you may remember my car from a couple years ago in 2010, if not...well, tune in now, it's time for an update.

In the latter part of Summer 2010, I began removing the interior in my '77 while searching for restoration tools and factory interior parts in order to start a GM correct frame off restoration on the car. Well, over time, one thing lead to another and my priorities shifted. Like most hobbies, reality and finances kept me focused on "real life" situations which caused my plans and ideas for my project to go from full fledged flame to sparks, if that.

Time has flown by...two years slipped away while I continued searching for tools and GM parts, purchasing what I could when the funds were available. I'd turn a bolt here and there on my car and talk shop with a few members and fellow Olds Owners to keep myself interested and motivated. All the while, the car basically sat in the garage collecting dust with an occasional start-up, dust off, and/or a possible sun bath in my driveway during the warm months. Otherwise, it simply sat in the garage as I carried on the day to day routines.

Well, a couple months ago (April 2012), I was discussing my car and restoration plans with a colleague. His face lit up when I told him it was an "Oldsmobile". That word alone, took him back to his younger years when he was raising a family and driving around town in his (their) Vista Cruiser. He went on to tell me about the good times in his Vista and how much he misses that Cruiser. With excitement still on his face, he paused from reminiscing and asked me if I wanted to use some of the tools, equipment, and one of the workspaces in his restoration workshop.

WHOA, we need a clean up on the HANES aisle....Did he just say what I think he said???! Really???!

I must be doing something right in this life of mine.

Needless to say, after working out some occupancy details, the offer was accepted. Even though I'm still renovating and sprucing up my home garage, I moved my cars ('77 and '79) from a two month hiatus in a storage facility back to my house (mid May 2012). I drove my 442 straight to it's new workspace a couple days later.

As I drove up, the Ladies and Gents were eyeballing and gleaming with wonder and excitement from seeing a "not your everyday" car arriving in the shop, especially an "Olds muscle car" as they called it. A couple of them mentioned riding in their family's Starfire as a child or owning a cutlass of their own at some point in their lives. Even with my car in it's moderate condition (in my book), the attention sure felt good.

My car has been parked in a work bay for three weeks now and I've removed the majority of the stainless trim pieces to avoid accidental dings and scuffs. Next up on my list, I'm picking up where I started and stopped in 2010...it's time to revisit the interior of the car. Look out floor pans (still in the oversized box in the car) here I come.

Enough already, it's miller (MIG) time and I'm stoked!

Time to build and resto, lets go!!

macrover

I picked up a center console brace/floor pan section from a salvage yard to use the brace as a replacement in my car.

I used an air chisel to carefully separate the spot welds between the brace and floor. Directing the impact toward the floor pan, decreasing my chances of damaging the brace. I could have used a spot weld cutter but the air chisel was quicker.

The spot welds on the brace/pan in my car are likely to be in different locations so I figured I'd lessen the plug welds , if any, needed to install the replacement brace.

After separating the pieces, I cleaned the seam sealer and carpet remnants off. Then, I used an 3" air grinder (50 grit disc) with low speeds to smooth/level out the spot welds joints on the bottom of the brace. From there, I gave the brace a sand bath to reveal it's true identity. To be or not to be....

macrover

Sand blasting the brace...

Dang it, I wore out my batteries in the camera.

More photos in a few.

oldcutlass

Glad to hear your finally getting on with it! Keep us posted!

macrover

I'm glad to be on the move again. I would have said "getting it on again" but the wife may be listening.

If you get bored, take a drive up I35 and lend a hand. Lol

Updates are coming, stay tuned.

droptopron

Good luck with the build. I notice the T-Tops. That is a nice touch on these cars. What is the drive train?

macrover

Thanks, I agree with you. Although I must admit, the Hurst Hatches are cool but wreak havoc on floor pans if the seals are not maintained.

It's still rockin' the original 350 backed by a TH350 transmission. I don't have any engine performance upgrades planned at the moment except adding true dual exhaust. By the time I get to the engine phase of this resto, things could change.

Eddie Hansen

Kelvin it is great to see you back in the saddle ( so to speak lol) I know exactly how feel and obligations not to mention finances get in the way of our hobbies mine has been sitting far too long as well and finally I am making some baby steps. I have always liked the styling of the colonnade cars and will be watching your build with interest good luck

macrover

Hey Eddie, thanks for the encouragement. Every little bit helps.

I'm hope to stay on track and make some progress before my temporary workspace expires. With the few weeks I've been there, it's a nice feeling to get in the zone and get a rush from hearing all of the sanders and grinders buzzing, air compressors releasing air, smelling hints of paint/primer in the air, and watching the welders and plasma cutter lighting up the place.

I keep my camera with me so stay tuned, updates are on the way.

macrover

I'm in Kansas with limited internet access (using my phone to check the board) and I'm having withdrawals. My car is calling my name and I'm nowhere near to offer any comfort.

That being said, here's a verbal update from last week. I worked on the floor brace and repaired (plug weld) a hole about the size of a coffee straw and filled one of the edges. I'll get some photos as soon as I can. They're on my camera so I need to load them from my memory card then upload them.

macrover

Finally, back home and ready to do some work on my car.

Before I left for Kansas last week, I made some progress on the console brace. I know, I know...it's not going to be seen and covered by the carpet. Well, I see it now and I'll know what's beneath the carpet. Details...details...

Here's the brace with the visible hole just above the bolt and chipped edge (spot weld didn't separate from the floor pan) to the left of the bolt. The repairs are pictured as well.

I'll hammer/dolly a couple more spots on the edges and smooth out the surface on other areas as well as test/form fitting the brace in the car before applying primer, rust protection, and paint.

macrover

Turned a wrench and spooled up a few power tools yesterday, picking up where I stopped a couple weeks ago.

Before leaving for my trip, I removed my center caps and grilles (discovered a broken mounting tab ) and stored them...while the hood was up, I grabbed my battery holder to freshen it up.

After that, I placed the clean and blasted console brace in the car (no primer) until I returned to do more work. I had been carrying the brace around town with me in a box (covered) for a few days and it didn't show any signs of rust appearing which caused me to hold off on priming it.

Well, I get to the car yesterday and looked at the brace...what do I see??? Little rust spots starting to surface. Duh, considering the condition of my floor pans, guess there should be no surprise. I knew better...lesson learned

A couple of the tools I needed were being used so rather than sit idle, I grabbed the brace and my rusted battery hold down and headed to the blast cabinet. Blasted each of them and put a coat of primer on the brace.

The nut on the bolt/mast for the hold down was stuck in place (photo below) and would not budge. Hmmm, lets see...ahhh ha, flame on!

I taped the flared end of the bolt to prevent marring and headed to the vise to hold it steady. Then, I heated the nut and used a wrench to carefully loosen it beyond the rusted threads (took a couple of heat treatments to free it up). All the while, making sure the bolt didn't bend, twist and/or break.

Worked like a champ.

macrover

Headed back to the blast cabinet to clean off the heat marks (on the shaft), rusty threads, and nut. Got that done, then applied a light coat of primer on all three pieces for now. The hold down bracket needs a small repair on one of the corners (photo below). I'll source a patch piece of metal (same gauge) and fix it shortly.

Here's the holder after being heated, a close up, and primer coated pieces. Don't worry, I have the washer.

Now back to the plan, removing the console brace to get the replacement pans fitted, trimmed, and installed. It's going to be a ton of work...

macrover

Tried my luck with a couple different spot weld cutting bits. I think I like the smaller pilot point bit the best. The double bladed bit works but too much pressure on the drill and you'll cut right through your panels. Guess I could "feel" the cutting action a little better with the other bit. The spot weld holes are visible in the photo.

I'll admit I'm learning as I go so bear with me...

As seen in the photos, the driver side pan had the rotted hole and separating the brace from the rust...well, I ended up rocking the brace back and forth to break it loose once I cut out/chiseled the welds. I was slightly off on the three spot welds at the front of the brace and chiseled the brace free.

The pan was actually in decent shape beneath the brace, minus my markings.

After an hour or two, I got the brace off and what a relief that was to be holding it and looking at the exposed floor pan.

Brace yourselves, the Rocket is on it's way...

Intragration

Great story, and a cool car. It should be a fun project, it looks to be fairly solid. Don't feel too bad about the timing, I'm still working on one restoration project that I bought, well, a long long time ago. Anyway, you're in-progress now, and that's all that matters.

macrover

Hey Mike, thanks for dropping by. Nice 83!

I'm not going to ask how long a "long long time ago" is, exactly.

I think for the most part, the worst of the body rust is the floor pans and a section up around the Hatches near the windshield.

Hopefully things are all good beneath the paint but we know how that can go. Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I have to discipline myself and complete one section at a time. Otherwise, I'd be all over the place and slowing myself down.

Surprisingly, the "one section at a time" concept actually works! lol

Intragration

Thank you. Yeah, you wouldn't want to know how long. Approximately one third of the world's population hadn't been born yet... I definitely like the one section at a time approach. Having done most of a complete restoration, I'm going to stick to rolling restos from now on, so it only makes sense to get one thing done before you tackle another project. Well, with your car, I'd imagine it hasn't been too hacked up or glossed over, it looked pretty good to begin with, so I doubt you'll find too much hidden bad news. Good luck with it! What are your plans for the motor?

macrover

Oh man, a third of the population? Dang, I don't want to think that was around the time when gas was 79 cents a gallon or less.

I have to agree with you on sticking to rolling restos, it's so much easier when all or most of the pieces are present.

My car is in pretty good shape considering the cancerous nature of this vintage of cars. Like you said, it hasn't been hacked up which gives me a nice foundation to build on.

Hmmm, interesting you would ask about motor plans. I honestly have to say I don't have any. As of late, I've been wondering about the stoutest factory Olds 350 pre '73 and what could I do to mine to mimic it. A street/highway sleeper would be cool. I dunno, it runs and drives now so the engine is way down on my to do list.

lsutigers93

Cool project! I saw TX plates on the Camaro...what part of TX is this shop in, if I may ask?