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here goes! brought home my dream car tonight. real deal 442 that has been sitting in a garage for 30 years. time to bring this old girl back to life. i feel a car like this deserves a true factory restore. all of the parts are here. nuts and bolts are bagged and labeled the 400 was rebuilt over 25 years ago but has never had oil in it and been started, the frame was blasted and painted and is rust free, looks like the rear has been done as well. they pulled it apart 30 years ago and started the restore but hasn't been touched in 25 years when the dad passed, according to the family friend that knew the info. it will be a week or two before i really start to tear into her, but i will be sure to update with pics. not sure it's really hit me yet that i finally have a car that i have wanted for a long time, and it's all there, i don't have to search all the parts and fix a bunch of rust. the protecto plate was there but it's rusted pretty bad. i'm going to see if laser rust removal can bring it back to life without damaging the paper. i look forward to diving in and getting her done.
That’s a great find but something doesn’t jive with the cowl tag. The tag shows paint and top color code is K-2 (Ocean mist and black top) The color of the car and top appears to be Lucerne mist and white top.
That’s a great find but something doesn’t jive with the cowl tag. The tag shows paint and top color code is K-2 (Ocean mist and black top) The color of the car and top appears to be Lucerne mist and white top.
looks like it had a respray at some point in her life look at where the missing molding on the door is and the front cowl that looks like the ocean mist , I love that color btw and the white top sets it off imho
thanks guys. i can't wait to start diving into this beauty. if i can get the protecto plate cleaned, and verify the numbers on the block and transmission to be original to the car, this car will go back 100% original. if not, then i will probably keep the white top, i like it.
That’s a great find but something doesn’t jive with the cowl tag. The tag shows paint and top color code is K-2 (Ocean mist and black top) The color of the car and top appears to be Lucerne mist and white top.
Code K Ocean Mist has some "pearl" in it, I think. It does change color depending on the light. I noticed that with my repainted '66 Toronado (code K).
Code K Ocean Mist has some "pearl" in it, I think. It does change color depending on the light. I noticed that with my repainted '66 Toronado (code K).
looking at the firewall behind the fenders and i can see the original color, i really like it
A few documents I found for the car, a 41 year old registration and title from the family I purchased it from. It’s believed that I’m the 3rd owner. Partial build tag from the back seat. The protecto plate was rusted beyond recognition but just so happened to leave a perfect impression into the previous page, numbers verify original engine. Haven’t found an s-4 on the tranny yet but it’s build date of 7-29 fall inline with the build date for the car of 08A. Let us not forget all of the bolts and door hardware in baggies, with notes as to where everything goes. More pics to come, the car is cleared out but it snowed last night and the car is covered, poor thing spent it’s first night outside in 30 years. Lol
looks like it had a respray at some point in her life look at where the missing molding on the door is and the front cowl that looks like the ocean mist , I love that color btw and the white top sets it off imho
i agree, i love the color as well and it will get resprayed ocean mist for sure, i also love the white top, just a matter now of whether i want a factory correct restore, or a practical "i'm going to drive it" restore.
Overall she looks as solid apart as she did before , little bit of funk on the drivers side front floor pan, looks like a lap joint as well, I am unfamiliar with availability of sheet metal but if available I’d replace that with a piece butt welded in , it will give you a chance to practice butt welding if your unfamiliar, that said underneath there is original lap welds too, pay particular attention with seam sealer etc if you go that route.
Overall she looks as solid apart as she did before , little bit of funk on the drivers side front floor pan, looks like a lap joint as well, I am unfamiliar with availability of sheet metal but if available I’d replace that with a piece butt welded in , it will give you a chance to practice butt welding if your unfamiliar, that said underneath there is original lap welds too, pay particular attention with seam sealer etc if you go that route.
you are moving right along!
thanks eddie, only thing that is going to slow me down is parts. i have majority of the funds i will need to put it back together. i am doing majority of the work myself and with my current work schedule, i can dedicate 3-4 days a week to get it done. my ambition is to have a driving car by august, not 100% complete, but drive-able. i put on a major drive through light show at my local fairgrounds november and december, testing and set up starts right after our fair in august, and i won't have a lot of time to work on the car then. probably give it to my friend the body guy then so he can do the quarter repairs. i will do the floors and inside sheet metal, no worries, but i'll let the pro do the outside metal work. i'm no pro welder, but i'm an above average fabricator, and above novice welder. i have a hard knocks engineering degree lol
yea, i think it's pretty solid considering the car is from northern ohio, it did sit in a barn for 30 years so the pitting on the floor is deceiving, it's on top and bottom and kinda weak in a few spots. if i could get a one piece floor in the next week or two, i would just do the whole floor, but as it stands, the one piece is on back order until mid july, so i am leaning towards doing two half pans. i'll just leave the tunnel and floor braces, they appear to be solid from the bottom, but of course i really won't know until i get the floor out of the way to really know. sad part is, i know where a one piece floor pan with new braces is right now, that was bought 5 years ago by the guy i sold my last 65 to, but i'm not sure asking him to sell it to me would be right, i pestered him for two weeks to sell the car back to me but he wouldn't, hindsight i'm glad, it's just a cutlass, now i have a 442. he's had it for 12 years and doesn't seem like he has done anything to it since he bought it, but it's his now right.
Looks like you've got all the Help you need, LOL! Too funny!
yes sir. i was using their bed to lay on while taking out the dash, soon as they noticed it in the car, they were all on it, it is theirs so what could i say. lol
i'm in luck, i found a one piece floor pan with braces. looks like it's time to brace the door jambs and quarters, this ride is getting a new floor. real soon!!!
awesome! I have never done a whole pan , I repaired a few spots on my floor pan but overall the pans were very clean once sanded down , if I found a weak spot I would just make a piece and weld it in using the old piece as a pattern I would lay a piece of sheet metal over the area and bend and form , leave it larger then required , trim and then secure with screws and cut both pieces at the same time. A right angle die grinder and rolloc disks will be your new best friends. Believe it or not I used the electric body saw from harbor freight a lot, I have two or three air saws but found that little saw was great and at 30-40 bucks a bargain the saw kerf is much smaller then even the thinnest cut off wheel.
anyway good luck with your replacement I saw your other post I’m sure the experts will chime in , but if I had to do the whole floor I would consider leaving the body on the frame for extra stability and alignment , there’s no roof etc and you’ll need to have doors open I would be worried about alignment but again I haven’t done a whole pan and I am a worry wart lol
got word today that i will have my rotisserie soon, floor pan shipped yesterday, i ordered the whole pan and i'm considering replacing from the spot welds at the firewall and replacing the whole pan from there to just in front of the rear seat pan, my body guy is telling me to only cut out the bad spots in the floor, says that i'm opening a can of worms if i pull all of the bracing out for the convertible quarter panel support, i think i'll listen to him. i just ordered my complete Legendary interior kit from Original Parts Group, most of the parts are in stock and are scheduled to ship soon, seat covers are saying april, door panels are saying june, interior mirror is november. lol we'll see. i talked to Mark(cutlassefi) today about building the motor to where i want it, supposed to have his info in a couple of days to pass on to my engine builder. things are humming right along.
You don’t fool around lol , moving along nicely… I already gave my two cents on floor pans and I agree with your body guy , not saying to take any short cuts but if it ain’t broke lol. It goes back to what I was saying about cleaning stripping a section at a time you will review every square inch. I didn’t think your floors looked that bad to start, it wasn’t like Fred Flintstones car
You don’t fool around lol , moving along nicely… I already gave my two cents on floor pans and I agree with your body guy , not saying to take any short cuts but if it ain’t broke lol. It goes back to what I was saying about cleaning stripping a section at a time you will review every square inch. I didn’t think your floors looked that bad to start, it wasn’t like Fred Flintstones car
yea, when i get into a project, i immerse myself fully until it's done, and this being what it is, makes it all that much easier to work on. the floors are deceiving in the pictures, there is a fair amount of pitting on the bottom as well. the rear pans are kinda soft between the rear seat brace and the brace just under the rear bolts of the buckets. while i was removing the top, i could feel the soft parts of the floor flexing. i ordered the entire pan so that i knew i would have all of what we needed, plus, it was only 30 bucks more threw car id to get a full pan, than get 2 half pans from somewhere else. i'd really like to roll this car before i cut anything and give it a good blasting on the bottom, then i'd really know what i'm working with. and as i'm typing this reply, my floor pan showed up. sweet!!
the blue marks are the soft areas in the back, and the big patch in the front. by the time i cut all of that out, weld in the new pans, i could just cut the red line, and have a whole new floor, with the same amount of welding, maybe a little more. am i over thinking this?
Hmmmmm , I see what your saying even some of the braces look dodgy? I would wait for some expert advise , my thought I would leave on frame and brace as much as possible if your not removing the rockers, I understand the concern would be inside the braces and I would want to see that , did your pan come with new braces (I believe I read that ) as mentioned maybe more experienced will chime in , I would actually prefer to replace a brace ( not to welded to old pan ) once secure replace the other ( same way) then replace the floor as one piece and tie into the braces , I just worry about cutting the whole shebang at once lots of potential for all kinds of flexing , it’s why I mentioned to leave it on frame , anyway following along and fingers crossed
i am definitely leaving it on the frame to replace the floor. the car was just sitting on the frame when i brought it home, it is not bolted down. i am considering bolting it down in a few places before i start anything. i picked up some 1x2 tubing tonight that i had laying around our material pile for the light show, so i'm going to start putting bracing in place tonight. i am making some brackets from angle to attach to the door hinge bolts and to the striker pin, as well as some cross bracing between the quarter panel. i will share some pics when done. i will not cut anything, or lift this car on the rotisserie, without proper bracing. i tend to over engineer things most of the time. my pan did not have any braces with it. talking with a friend tonight, we had thought leaving the braces alone and removing the floor skin itself would probably be the best approach. if the braces are still solid, just pitted, i will spray them with rust converter and move on. i'm just going to leave them attached to the rockers, and by leaving the braces in places, that would just be more stability between the rockers while the floor is out. my thoughts are to weld along the inside of the rockers and not pull that seem apart, then cut on the up slope from the floor where it meets the seat pan and make my butt weld there.
Just a thought on colors. Based on your early comment it sounds like you will bring your project back to original. I think the original combination of Ocean Mist (K) and a black top (2) with a black interior 950-B is a very nice combination. I had a 66 Cutlass vert Lucerne Mist with light blue top and interior which I loved but the original combo looks very unique. I will keep up with your progress. Hope everything turns out well. BTW, it looks like the car was in Mansfield, Ohio. One hour south of Medina where I live.
Well that sounds like a good plan! If there’s any braces really cheesed you can replace/repair after ward I’m thinking
that was our thoughts as well, and by leaving the braces in place, it will keep the car solid. i will still brace the everything though. got tired last night and didn't get anything done. about to start now.
Originally Posted by Rallye469
This is coming along well! Glad to see some motivation around here. motivation and ambition are probably my two strongest traits. thanks. when i want to do something, not much gets in the way.
So, what does the bottom of the new floor look like? Braces? Inner rockers? just a blank pan from the advice of my sheet metal guy. he said from looking at my floor, to just buy the one piece pan so you know you get every piece of the floor, and patch what is needed, but i'm going to take it from the firewall spot welds, to the rear seat pan. that way i can inspect the inside of my braces for any holes, if they're solid, they'll stay, if not, they gotta go too.
These floors went in originally from the bottom correct?
the answer to that is above my pay grade lol
Originally Posted by 35tac
Just a thought on colors. Based on your early comment it sounds like you will bring your project back to original. I think the original combination of Ocean Mist (K) and a black top (2) with a black interior 950-B is a very nice combination. I had a 66 Cutlass vert Lucerne Mist with light blue top and interior which I loved but the original combo looks very unique. i agree about the color combination, i kept throwing around the idea of a white top, but i went ahead and ordered the legendary kit from OPG in all black. i am really liking the ocean mist the more i look at it on the firewall, and the softer green needs the darker top for sure. the lucerne mist is a deeper green so the contrasting lighter top looks good. this car will be all original, but i am adding power steering, power disc front brakes, and most likely vintage air. i am adding a little extra to the engine by way of cam, and intake and i will be keeping the 4 speed.
I will keep up with your progress. Hope everything turns out well. thank you sir, i have a pretty solid start, and it's all here, just a matter of time and money. i have the funds i need, now just need the time.
BTW, it looks like the car was in Mansfield, Ohio. One hour south of Medina where I live. yes sir, as you can see from the pics, same family for 41 years in mansfield. this car popped up on facebook on a wednesday night. it had been listed for 30 minutes and the guy already had an offer on the table without anyone seeing it, he told me his offer and i told him that i don't do offers over the internet, but if the car was really what he said it was, i would have no problem beating that offer. i sent him a picture of my cash, spread out on the counter and told him there was more than enough to beat his offer. lol i couldn't sleep that night thinking that someone was going to buy that car out from under me. the next morning i texted him and told him that i wanted to make a deal for that car no matter what, he didn't answer me for two hours so i just went on to work kinda bummed, i was just about to text him and brake my rule of no offers site unseen, and offer him a grand over what he was already offered, then he texted me. "if you give me the same amount this guy is offering, and you can be here tomorrow, the car is yours." i told him i will be there today! lol i was so pumped, i went in and told my car lot manager i had to leave and why, he said get the hell out of here. i was told at 12 i could have the car, i went home, loaded my road trip tool supply, grabbed a friend and a trailer, that car was on my trailer 18 hours after it was listed. needless to say, i slept pretty good thursday night knowing it was parked in my driveway.
Best
Had to take a step back and clear out my shed for spring, which also gives me room to store parts and free up space in my garage, which give me more room to work. Got the car blocked up and leveled today. I bored holes in the 6x6 so it sits flush on the dollie, I didn’t want it to be “stuck” in that position once on blocks, I wanted to still be able to move it around, and the dollie gave me the extra height, versus adding another block. Now time for braces in the door jamb and across the quarter. Should be cutting some metal today or tomorrow. I was also able to go pick up the rotisserie from my friend today.
I agree with the floor pan if that much is being replaced in the long run it will be a cleaner repair.
make sure you add some support braces so the body doesn’t flex and shift I have always heard the horror story’s about convertible body shifting and doors not aligning properly after.
the rotisserie will be amazing and well worth the extra effort. A good friend restored his 69 Buick and super bee currently and I have seen the difference it makes being able to work at a higher arm level and move it around for hard to get areas
These floors went in originally from the bottom correct?
nope, the floor pans were set on the body buck with braces, firewall attached,moved to side frame area 1/4 with inner rocker and cowl layed and welded while in fixture, lined up with floor pan and welded.
looks like a great start to a long project. Will be watching to see it done.
Originally Posted by oldstata
Nice progress so far keep it up!
thanks, my timeline is to at least be drive able by end of summer, not finished, but able to drive to my friends paint booth to be finished.
I work outside and it’s supposed to rain a few days this week. I’m hoping to have the topside welded in and on the rotisserie by next weekend. Then it’s strip the frame time and send it to be dipped and cleaned, . While working on it this weekend, I noticed quite a bit of crud in the frame rails, I’m calling tomorrow to see about getting the frame dipped in a rust prevention of some sorts, I’d rather spend a little extra now and get it right. While the frame is gone, I’ll get the bottom done I should be ready for the frame to return. Electrolysis is 3 weeks behind right now.
March 10th, 2022, 11:07 PM
