Well thanks to CO member Rusty Boltz (Lee), I am proud owner of a Saffron Yellow 69 442. This car is from NV which meant very little in way of rust and undercarriage corrosion.

The car got delivered on Saturday and Sunday I spent most the day gutting the interior and cleaning the car. Below are the things done on day one:

1. removal of both front seats (need new covers)
2. removal of carpet (to be replaced)
3. removal of back bench seat (needs new cover)
4. removal of all existing vinyl top remnants
5. removal of door panels and rear panels (may be salvageable)
6. removal of package tray (to be replaced)
7. removal of headliner (to be replaced)
8. removal of weatherstripping and chrome trim
9. removal of hood

The condition of the floor pans are probably a 7 or 8 on a 10 scale. No holes and only surface rust that will be ground down. The rear window seal has a small gap that over time has let water into the rear of the car but the rust is still pretty minimal for 45 year old car.

In the process of removal of the interior, I was searching for the broadcast card or build sheet but no luck (yet). I will check on top of the fuel tank when I get there.

The car runs great and starts right up but, eventually the entire the drivetrain will be rebuilt but, considering the motor runs smooth and no signs of bad compression, I think this car will be a great resto candidate.

The brakes on the car are shot so one of the next things will be to install a disc brake conversion kit (not sure on front only or 4 wheel).

The trunk is solid and not a single sign of rust. The best part, still has the original jack and spare rim. The spare threaded stud for securing the tire is still in good shape.

The car was only a two owner car and among the documentation that came with the car were owners manual, service records and protect-o-plate!

The photos show the current status. This will be a long process but I will try and update when I can. Photos are not great but hopefully you get the idea.

Sean

 

Nice. I will be following along.

 

Very nice. Should be a fun project.

 

That looks like a really solid car and a great restoration candidate. I had one just like it years ago that I restored. Here are a few photos taken by the person I sold it to a few years after he owned it. The driver's door was not latched all the way. Mine was much worse looking that yours when I started. Post a photo of your cowl tag when you can. I found a build sheet in the one I had and it was behind the plastic cover on the upper seat back of the driver's bucket seat. Here's hoping seeing my old 442 will give you some additional inspiration. I think the Saffron looked good too.

Brian

 

Brian,

Very nice looking car. The new vinyl looks pretty good on the car. I will take the seat backs off today to see if the build sheet is there. The car is a Lansing car so I have heard from others that the top of the gas tank is another place.

Sean

 

Love the Saffron!
I will be following along with the others.....


Ted

 

Nice good luck on the project, mine was originally saffron but it's getting repainted Trophy blue.

 

Great looking car, I'll be following along as well.

 

Welcome to Classic Olds from a fellow Houstonian! Looks like you've got a great starting point for your project. Good luck finding a build sheet or broadcast card on a Lansing car. I'm working on a Lansing-built '72 convertible and didn't find any docs at all. When I did my '71 I found multiple copies of the build sheet everywhere - but it was an Arlington-built car. When I was in high school, my boss drove a silver and black '69 convertible with a 2-speed trans. I always liked that car.
Good luck with your project!

Rodney

 

I have continued with the strip down of the interior and trunk over the past couple of days. While initially the floor pans looked to be in good shape, after grinding away the surface rust I noticed a series of the typical pin holes. Looks like a weld-in job is on the horizon.

I checked behind the passenger and driver seat backs for the build / broadcast sheet but no luck.

That leaves really only one other place, top of the gas tank. I will check eventually.

One cool bit of info is that the car has the original bumper jack and spare wheel and the trunk floor is rock solid.

The next step is going to be pulling the fenders dropping the wheels and getting into the brakes and suspension.

Will post more photos shortly.

Sean

 

Sean great car I will be following along as well

 

Good looking car. Looking forward to the progress reports!

 

Was able to spend a couple hours today on the car. The first thing I need to clarify is that the car is a Fremont car not Lansing. This should mean better luck with the build sheets but so far not true.

Today I dropped the rear bumper, exhaust and gas tank. I checked on top of the tank between under the tar paper for the build sheet but nothing. I also removed all rear lights and ground down the trunk to be prepped for paint.

I also have been working on stripping the front end of the car down to a bare frame. The photo shows the passenger side. Driver side core support below the battery tray is rotted out so I will have to replace or repair.

Next couple of days will be pulling of the drivetrain, jacking the body off the frame and welding in floor pans.

 

The '71 in my avatar pic was a Freemont-built car and I too found a build sheet under the package tray. I found another one inside the back cover of the drivers side bucket seat back. Happy hunting!

 

Welcome Im in College Station, not to far from you. I love the Saffron with a black vinyl top. 69 is also my favorite year, Im building a 67 because I had one years ago I love them too.
Good luck looks like a great build. I have another 67 Saffron 442 for sale if you know anyone interested.
Steve

 

Daily update...

Finally got the console out after struggling with the 4 screws in the base. Going to send the shifter components out for blasting and paint.

Pulled the trunk lid.

Removed the rear window and uncovered some worse than originally thought rust along the lip and recess of the window. Question to anyone out there, how would one repair this section of the body? I would hate to remove and weld-in a new roof up to the quarter seam.

Continued with the motor disassembly. Carb is off and verified as original #7029251

Alternator is also original and 55A. Both carb and alternator are off to Sparkys for a rebuild.

Next steps are to disconnect the steering column, remove core support and pull motor and trans. Also going to disassemble the dash and pull the entire wiring system to restore

Things are moving along at a good pace. I spoke with a number of body shops in the Houston area and got estimated between $4500-8500 to paint and prep the body shell (all trim to be removed). Not too bad.

I will post more photos tomorrow.

 

Joe,

Unfortunately, the package tray was not only non-original but, it was damaged from some water leakage. I will check the seats when I pull them apart for re-upholstering.

Thanks
Sean

 

Sean, congratulations that looks to be a great solid car. Good luck!!

 

Oh great another resto for me to follow , the 69 is also my favorite and what i plan on buying in 11 more months. Till then I will be here daily reading and watching all the resto projects so I can learn as much as possible till it's my turn. Car looks like a solid starting point for you, good luck!

 

Over the weekend I spent many hours in the garage due to rain. But, I got a lot done.

Finally got the battery tray off and the driver wheel well. I then continued with the front end removal. Pull the radiator and will be sending to a shop in Houston for re-coring (about $400 but worth it). The alternator and starter were dropped off at Finch's in Houston and I will pick them up tomorrow.

The entire AC system is pulled and going out to Classic Auto Air for updating for R12 or R134a.

The firewall is bare now and steering is disconnected as well.

I spent the evening taking apart the auto console and giving it a thorough cleaning and painting. The chrome shifter plate will have to get re-plated though.

Sean

 

pics, pics and more pics...we need our daily pic fix

 

Nice, I'm with Allan keep up the pics

 

OK sorry for the lack of photos but, I have been pretty much going full steam and haven't had a chance to take many. Here are are few of the current status of the motor stripped down and ready to be pulled.

One thing that I came across today was the bolt tabs for both grill are broken. Does anyone have experience fixing these or am I just going to have to buy a new set of grills?

Sean

 

Hope you can restore or fix the OEM's.

The grills are repopped for 69 442s. Lowest price is 265 from Parts Place, next is Fusicks at 275.00, then OPGI at 317.00. Highest was Year One at 380.

The repopped grilles sold by the ^^^ vendors are all the same, so factor in what you can afford and shipping. I don't like Fusicks shipping - lately they're quite outrageous. PP is not bad IMO.

You might also be able to find some good OEM replacement from some of the guys here?

 

Today I picked up the starter and alternator from Finch's here in Houston and they did a good job. I have some before and after pics to see the difference.

Also dropped off the PS pump and gearbox at ADCO in town for a complete rebuild.

Sean

 

Today was a big day.

Finally got the motor and trans out of the car after some working in tight spaces. Now that I am down to body and frame, I will start lifting the body off.

The motor will go out to get rebuilt and same for the transmission.

Sean

 

You can get the grilles for 239.00 on Ebay, I think with 15 dollar shipping. That's where I bought mine.

 

One thing that I came across today was the bolt tabs for both grill are broken. Does anyone have experience fixing these or am I just going to have to buy a new set of grills?

Sean[/QUOTE]

I fixed mine and a lot of other platic parts with QBond awesome stuff!


http://www.walmart.com/ip/22268429?w...747996&veh=sem

 

I fixed mine and a lot of other platic parts with QBond awesome stuff!


http://www.walmart.com/ip/22268429?w...747996&veh=sem[/QUOTE]

I think i am stuck buying new ones since i cannot find two of the tab pieces to glue together. Oh well

 

I took it to Thrower amd Thrower here in town and they said it didnt need recoring. Instead they are going to strip it down, flush it, align all fins and paint. I think for about $150. Pretty nice to save money every once in a while. Will post pics this week when it is done.

Sean

 

I think i am stuck buying new ones since i cannot find two of the tab pieces to glue together. Oh well[/QUOTE]

Give the QBond a try it actually allows you to recreate the tabs.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ic-repair.html

 

Very nice Sean! Good to see an old friend on the rebound! Keep up the good work.

Rusty.

 

Tonight I worked on stripping down the motor to a long block.

While the oil clearly hadn't been changed in years (molasses) the overall condition of the inner workings look pretty decent. I did notice that in the oil pump pick up screen a large amount of debris. I think this is bits of the timing gears but if anyone has any other ideas, please chime in.

I have the motor all set to go to the machine shop for a rebuild. I decided to only get the long block built so I can install the rockers, intake and oil pan.

Sean

 

Sean that is exactly what that stuff is. Nylon ring gear bits off the camshaft timing sprocket. On my resto thread I have pics of the exact same stuff. There was tons of it in the pick up screen and only 2-3 pieces in the pan.

 

I sent out all of the front end components, engine brackets and various other brackets for sandblasting and they came back like new.

I have started painting the front control arms and engine pulleys with Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black.

The steering linkage components are all getting painted with the Eastwood Cast Grey.

Still a lot more painting to go but I am making progress...

 

I decided to start taking apart the evaporator box to see what all needs to be replaced and what I could salvage. From the looks of it the evaporator looks like it is leaking (see bottom corner wet area). The blower fan is also rusted and not sure if the motor is worth saving or just getting a NOS one.

I separated the two halves of the box and cleaned with the purple cleaner and it came out real nice. I did not find any factor marking on the box as some others have.

I will send out the evap to be flushed and tested but all indications is that it needs to be replaced.

On another note, I was pulling the rear and noticed that the rear lower control arms are boxed. I am not sure but, was this a factory option in 69 or was this aftermarket?

 

The boxed control arms are part of the FE2 suspension, which is standard on your 442.

 

Only one thing to mention about the control arms. You're going to have to sand out the inside edges of the bushing holes so you can get those bushings in properly. They're already a tight fit and with a layer of paint (yes it does make a difference) it will be all that much harder. The upper balljoints no problem because they'll be bolted, but I'd also clean the pain off the lower ball joint holes too.

Other than that, looks really good. This is one of the reasons I went out and bought a 60 gal compressor and sand blast cabinet....I can control my own production time and besides, I like having stuff like that.

 

I have a nice used OEM evaporator if yours proves to be bad. Came out of a 69 442.

Brian

 

Allan,

Thanks for the advice. I will be pushing all the bushings later this week and I will sand down these areas beforehand. I also just got a 60gal compressor but, have no space for the blast cabinet (I wish).

Sean