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Frame is coming along nicely - everything looks fantastic in black.
I put in a big order over at InlineTube and got a whole set of lines for the car in stainless steel which is fantastic.
Getting very close to test fitting the body on the chassis.
Engine is coming along quickly too, once I have that bolted in I will be able to get a new exhaust made - also stainless!
Great WORK so far. You are taking it to the level I am going to take with my 72 Cutlass Cruiser. I'm no stranger to this craziness as I completed a 72 Supreme body off last year. Glad I came across your feed on this wagon. Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see it completed as are you I'm
sure.
Small update: I wanted to share the restoration work done on the cruise control switch. This was sent to GCar trim and was re-chromed for a total of 29 dollars
I know you haven't been skiing for the past few months.
I've been water skiing!
But in all honesty while a few things have gotten in the way and slowed my progress I do have some updates coming soon!
Tuesday I delivered the car to a painter - I had a real struggle finding paint codes (actually didn't - going to match a paint chip from an old paint book) and finding someone to paint. The people who I've had experience with in the past unfourtunately weren't available to paint this car. I did manage to find a shop that was recommended and I am very confident in them. We've discussed the car and they will be responsible for paint - adjusting gaps and the final fitment of the body to the chasis. They'll even apply the wood grain.
Dumb me forgot to take photos of the car once I pulled it out of the trailer in front of the shop! My rotisierre is at almost max length so it's actually difficult to maneuver. Due to the bevel/slope of the trailer I had to use the forklift to pick up the back end and push the car in as the rotisierre frame bottomed out!
Current step is to complete the frame - Just a few brake lines to be sorted and some misc parts. Then deliver it to the shop so they can adjust gaps before spraying the body. They'll do the underside, interior and firewall first then mate the body, mask and paint the outside. If I'm really on my game I might try to get the engine complete and bolt the Eng+trans in before the body gets mounted but I'm not holding my breath.
Roof has been painted.
Firewall, interior floor and underside are also done (those are black).
I dropped the rolling frame off Yesterday and the shop has mounted the body back down to it for good. Hope to get some photos of that when I drop by with some more parts later.
Do you plan to leave the wood grain off? These cars look so cool without the wood grain IMO.
This will be the finest VC on the planet! You really have gone the extra mile.
Do you plan to leave the wood grain off? These cars look so cool without the wood grain IMO.
Wood grain is definitely going back on! It's one of my favorite features of the car and I spent a long time searching for the right reproduction.
Ended up getting some that was produced in Japan!
This will be the finest VC on the planet! You really have gone the extra mile.[/QUOTE]
Agreed that this is a remarkably good restoration but I believe that VC455’s would be considered on an equal level. It sure is nice to see these very unique/iconic/stylish vehicles have the money, time and effort invested into them. Wagons are actually more difficult to properly restore than coupes based on the availability of wagon specific parts. Although I used to not appreciate wood grain, I have grown fond of it now. I think the wood grain will help accentuate the lines of the car and add another layer of detail. Beautiful vehicle!
wow thats looking great. I dont think ive ever seen a two tone wagon like that ...at least not a green one...i like the green.
i saw you bought some nice woodgrain. I saw an episode of wheeler dealers where they worked on a wagoneer and after paint (from earth tone to vibrant blue) they said they were putting the woodgrain back on
I though awe dont do that the car ? truck? wagon? is blue but they had a guy hand paint it and it looked crazy good (to my uncalibrated eye that is)
anyway your wagon looks great thanks for posting your progress.
i cant find a good pic of their vehicle but here is a poor one this woodgrain was handpainted not a sticker
Last edited by RetroRanger; November 7th, 2019 at 07:21 PM.
wow thats looking great. I dont think ive ever seen a two tone wagon like that ...at least not a green one...i like the green.
i saw you bought some nice woodgrain. I saw an episode of wheeler dealers where they worked on a wagoneer and after paint (from earth tone to vibrant blue) they said they were putting the woodgrain back on
I though awe dont do that the car ? truck? wagon? is blue but they had a guy hand paint it and it looked crazy good (to my uncalibrated eye that is)
anyway your wagon looks great thanks for posting your progress.
That looks like one of the newer episodes of wheeler dealers, after Edd quit? Hand painted wood grain is very cool, also a good choice for the jeeps. A lot of places that sell “wood grain” kits for jeeps just print it onto vinyl and it looks awful. I bought Di-noc from 3M which is a modern version of what they used originally on these cars. It even has grain embossed into it.
I can agree when it comes to putting grain on or keeping it off. It certainly looks bad on a lot of early 70s trucks. But for this car I like how with the wood grain and the wheels it rides this fine line of looking like a muscle car but also just looking like a regular family wagon. I like to think this would be the car a cool dad would drive
You might notice in the 3rd photo the strip of brown at the bottom of the doors.
This is to match the original paint scheme. The inner sill is painted a brown to match the wood grain so you don't see green poking through under the doors. This gives the look that the wood goes all the way down to the trim strip on the rocker.
You might notice in the 3rd photo the strip of brown at the bottom of the doors.
This is to match the original paint scheme. The inner sill is painted a brown to match the wood grain so you don't see green poking through under the doors. This gives the look that the wood goes all the way down to the trim strip on the rocker.
I noticed that right away. Following along for the rest of the build. Looks great so far!
The world being shutdown offers some time to put in some hours on the car. Of course I am waiting on a few parts that are preventing me from progressing futher and supply chains are heavily impacted. Me not having access to the US anymore is a serious issue, shipping to Canada is pretty extreme in some cases so the vendors I have to choose from is severly limited.
For now, I've installed the sound deadening in the roof and restored the heater box.
I installed a new heater core as a precaution - it still had the original in the car. This was sealed up with some 3M strip caulk, like the original.
This part is interesting. Beneath the louvers is a flap that controls the blending between the foot and windhield.
You'll see here the little black screw installed by that vacuum diaphragm. It prevents full motion of the flap - it can't close all the way. The flap has two holes in it, I suppose to let at least a little air onto the windshield at all time, perhaps to prevent fogging. But with this screw the flap stays open a little. I looked online and others heater boxes have this two. I wonder if it was a mid-production change to prevent excess fogging of the windshield?
The inside of the box was absolutely filthy. I recommend anyone who has their car apart and can take the box off the firewall give it a good wash.
In addition I also cleaned up the air inlet piece that goes in the quater pannel
The sealant between the rubber and hard plastic part had completely decayed and wasn't functional anymore. I removed the staples to seperate both pieces for washing and resealed with 3M weatherstrip adhesive.
Last edited by gratsoy; April 10th, 2020 at 01:26 PM.
For sound deadening I use Second Skin Audio products. They're more expensive than Dynamat, Fatmat, etc. but they're truly the best. These are serious products that are made in the US by a small business, so it's definitely worth the added cost. For the roof I've only installed "Damplifier Pro" - the adhesive on this is rated fro 400 farenheit and they recommend installing on the roof. However, this product is mostly for dampening metal-borne noises like flexing and makes the roof feel solid when you knock on it. Most sound absorbing materials cant go on a roof due to weight, this company does offer a lightweight roof insulation which I may try, if I have room under the headliner for it.
I've used these products on my VW beetle, just for the rear quater (deadening and absorbing materials) and the doors (deadening only) and the difference is actually amazing.
I will by added some to the firewall underneath my firewall pad. This should help keep the cab quiet. Later the rest of the car will get it, with specific attention to the wheel wells and full absorbtion mat over the floor.
The rear seats + Cargo area were diassembled for blasting and painting. I was dreading this part as the hinge/foling mechanism on these seats is complicated to put back together. But, I can't justify putting them back in the car without new paint.
The linoleum came off super easily - if anyone else is doing the same you can likely re-use it. I sent some off to SMS as a sample. They have the template to reproduce this, but their colours were off. Its about 87 USD a yard for colour matched lino, if I recall correctly.
Here you can see under the lino - it looks like just standard spray adhesive was used.
Under some of the storage area flaps is this grew cardboard - perhaps to absorb sound? This cardboard just glues on, but underneath there's a lot of recessed areas. I think I will put my sound deadener in the recessed areas and then try to source some new cardboard to put overtop for a factory look.
Here you can see some of the hinging mechanism - so many springs and washers and bushings.
This screw I need to replace - any ideas on where to find something like this? I think it's about 3/4" diameter! I might end up buying some stock material and making an allen wrench version of this on the lathe instead.
The rusted piece is the storage trunk lid - looks like there was water that wicked under the lino and got trapped, rusting the surface. Hopefully it doesn't need patching.
This little screw is preventing me from progressing on the firewall. It's about 1" long and is a 5/16" head. It secures that air duct inlet I posted above.
Does anyone know where to source these? I can't find anything online that isn't metric.
Last edited by gratsoy; April 10th, 2020 at 02:09 PM.
This little screw is preventing me from progressing on the firewall. It's about 1" long and is a 5/16" head. It secures that air duct inlet I posted above.
Does anyone know where to source these? I can't find anything online that isn't metric.
If you have the screw number from the PIM you can always cross reference it with the AMK catalog. Check their online catalogs out and you may be able to visually pick it out, too. Great resto!
Cargo area ...linoleum came off super easily - if anyone else is doing the same you can likely re-use it.
Hi Garrett.
Here are alternates if you are not set on born-with carpet and upholstery--
The first two pictures are of option B39, Cargo Area Floor Carpeting. You use the standard floor carpeting and then send it to a carpet installation shop to have the edges serged. The carpet pieces are glued and corners secured with chrome screws. Option V56, Rear Storage Compartment Lock and Trim also shows in the first picture.
The next picture shows a non-stock way of finishing the carpet for the third seat. You can extend the carpet past the stainless trim piece and under the seat, leaving two strips open for the seat rollers. This covers up some bare steel and allows you to use anti-vibration mat without it being apparent.
The final two pictures show ways of sewing headrest and arm-rest covers that avoid the faux stitching on factory pieces.
Just some ideas. Some may appeal, some not.
Keep on with the beautiful work and be well.
Gary
Thanks for the response Gary - that carpet looks really good under the seat like that! I'm going to do mine like factory to start and see how the road noise is from that area. I might end up using that idea.
I really like the armrest though, especially with how these old plastics can get sticky with age.
June 16th, 2018, 05:55 PM
