I kinda started working on the wagon. I have to really dig into and see how much work its going to need but i would like to make a driver out of it. So far i got the seats out and ripped up the carpet. I would really love to put a 403 and 200r4 in it but its a lot of work, will stay with the 215 unless I get an itch to do alot of work The body is pretty straight and rust free but the floors are almost gone, except cargo area. It was converted to a floor shift with console, and its a 4 barrel version 215. It also has a roof rack
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short video of it idling

 

I got the interior cleaned out and started wire wheeling the floor to see how bad they were, haven't done the whole floor but not looking good. Also pulled the tank to clean it as it has really old gas in it, I pulled the sender and it looked like a greasy engine part

 

Its up on jack stands to do the brakes and tires.
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I put some new tires on the wheels for the wagon, and threw a coat of black paint on them.
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I need to rebuild the wheel cylinders and replace the brake shoes, also need to get the gas tank cleaned out before i bring it back down.
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That wagen looks like its in pretty good shape! What are the future plans for it ?

 

If you can find a 61/63 Buick or Pontiac, the floors are the same. The front floor and rear seat area should be the same, I don't think it makes any diff if wgn or not.
On second thought the Pontiac Tempest may be somewhat different, but maybe useful.
Talk to Joe P. he will have lots of info.

Gene

 

Looks like some nasty holes on the passenger side floor pans, hows the frame holding up? I didn't realize these cars were only 4 wheel bolts.

The exterior of the body looks to be in really good shape overall.

In a way, that primitive design for the dash gages makes it look a bit futuristic.

 

There is no frame to these cars. They are unibody, with a sub frame for the front suspension.

Gene

 

They are a unitized body but you could say they do have a frame, they have a full length stamped steel frame welded to the floor. I believe the frames are galvanized because out of the 3 cars I have none of the frames are rusty, also when welding on the cutlass it fumes like galvanized metal. The Pontiac floors are probably different because they had a transaxle but the Buick is nearly identical.

 

So it would be like early Mustangs? Then the structure of the stamped steel frame and pans provide all the strength. That would make those rotted pans a mandatory replacement just to have it safe, right?

 

For now im just going to do the brakes and get it running and stopping on its own. I dont know what long term plans are, I would love a 403 and 200r4 in it but maybe stay closer to a stock resto.

I would lean towards yes. my cutlass has the floor cut out from the rear seat to the fire wall and you can grab the frame and twist it a little, though the car itself does not appear to twist.

 

I bought a dual reservoir master cylinder, not really sure what its for but I got it out of the bed of a 98 s-10. I wanted to do the swap on my f-85's but I needed one that had the lines coming out towards the engine and not the fender like most. anyways I tested it on the cutlass to see how much of the lip on the frame I needed to notch to get the extra length to fit other than that its a bolt on swap.
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I spent a lot of my day working on the wagon, didnt get as far as i wanted though. I rebuilt the wheel cylinders and replaced the front shoes, autoparts store actual had them in stock but showed the same part number for the front shoes as the rear so I gotta figure that out. Also got the old master cylinder out.

 

You can cross check your brake shoes on rockauto.com get some part numbers and bring them to the parts store or plug them into their www if it's a store like autozone etc

 

rockauto only shows front shoes, i went there first. I was thinking of just getting the relined.

 

If you are talking about the stock brakes, I'm surprised the auto parts store had them in stock. The rear shoes are DEFINITELY NOT the same as the fronts, as the front brakes are 9.5" x 2" and the rears are 9.5" x 1.75". The only place I've found them is at Kanter, or NOS shoes on ebay.

 

Yeah, I know there not the same. I was also suprised they had parts in stock, they did show different shoes for the cutlass than the f-85 for some reason and they were the wrong ones.

 

I got the frame notched to clear the new master cylinder, next time i work on it ill do the new lines.
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excuse the mess, i havent washed it yet.

 

Kanter wants a lot of money, I got my front shoes for 15 bucks

 

I got the brake lines done up to match the new dual reservoir set up. It went great, all i had to do was put some reducer fittings in and reroute the factory lines.
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Sorry for the crap pics, it gets dark too early.

 

I also had to put a plug in the junction block where the rear line came out.

 

Good progress so far. You should probably clean up around and under the hood just a little though. Especially if you are working with brakes.....

 

yeah its dirty, but im waiting until it runs and drives to wash it because it needs pressure washed.

 

I got the rear brakes figured out today. hopefully tomorrow ill get the brakes bled, I need to run a new brake line to the pass. rear wheel cylinder.

 

I had to run one new brake line on the rear end but i got the brakes together and bled. I just need to adjust the shoes now. Also I grease up all the fittings I could find on the front end.

 

I checked my axle code today and if nothing has been changed it has 3.36 gears.

 

On the pic with the MC and the line down to the brass block. maybe use a 90* out the MC, and the the line to the brass block as to keep away from the heat of the exhaust manifold.

Gene

 

Its actually not as close as the pic makes it look, its atleast a few inches above the manifold. Thanks though, next time im there ill double check the clearance.

 

I messed with the wagon a little today, didnt really do much but I did get the headlight switch to work.
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the headlight themselves do not work though

 

small update, I got the gas tank clean and painted. I strapped it back in today and ran some new rubber line. All it needs is a fuel pump and a few small sections of rubber line and I can run it off the tank.

 

plans have changed, im going to put this project on hold. I still plan on finishing the tank/fuel system and possibly doing the floors but im in no hurry. Its already starting to turn into storage space for parts that ive collected for these cars.

 

well its officially on the back burner for a while. I finished the fuel system for the most part, but its in storage now and will be for a while.
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I burnt my finger and now i cant leave for bmt for about a month. I got my 62 driver sold, with that and my extra time i decided to get the wagon back out and work on it a little more. I had to throw my 15's on to drive it home, the tires on my 13's were bad.
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finally pressure washed it and vacuumed it out, looks a lot better.
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I also checked the cowl tag against my 61 chassis service manual and its supposed to be alpine green body and provincial white roof, sounds like a good combo to me.

 

Been thinking about getting the wagon going. Want to make a daily out of it, I blasted the 15's, painted them and put brand new tires on them.
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Looks good!. My wife wants a 62 Wagon now. There was one at the nationals last year and she loves them now.

 

Thanks. I really like the wagons, I'm kinda a wagon guy anyway though. They seem to be really hard to come by.

 

Because you and Joe P has them all.... lol