btrbill

Been on here a while and figured I would finally post on what I have been working on.

First, a little background, and a back story. I had a 1972 442 Convertible that was Matodor Red that I got right before I went into the USAF back in 1985. I got in a fenderbender with it right after I got it, so my Dad and I spent the last 30 days before I reported for basic training getting it all fixed up and painted. He finished the striping and buffing while I was at Basic, and I was one proud Airman when I drove it back to Keesler AFB in Biloxi in June of 1985. I had the car for 5 years, then sold it to my brother, who sold it to a friend, who sold it...

Then, in 2004, while driving through Missouri, I saw a 1971 Cutlass Supreme convertible on the side of the road. I got the number, made the call, and a month later bought the car for my son and I to have a project to do. This is the car we bought...

Allan R

Looks like a nice project. Hope your son appreciates and learns from the resto.

btrbill

Right after we got home, we immediately went on a hunt for parts that would be needed, and people that could help. We went to several yards in the DFW area, but the picking was not very fruitful. At one place, they told us about a guy in the northwest part of the metroplex that rebuilt Oldsmobiles, so we went searching for him.

His shop was easy to locate as he had several late 60's-early 70's cutlass's in the yard. We stopped and talked to him for a bit, and seemed we had found the right guy for us. He would remove the body, do all the body and interior work, and I would take the chassis and my son and I would redo all the mechanical stuff so he would know how to work on it as he grew up. He came to our house to see the car, we agreed on a price, put it in writing , kinda, and he took the car. Gave him an initial deposit of $2000, with at least that much more a few months later. At first, it seemed he really took off, taking the front clip and other things off... then work seemed to stop. I called several times and there was always an excuse... sickness, death, vacation, whatever... But I was told all the interior parts were ordered with the money he had been given...

Then one day at a meeting of the Oldsmobile club I joined in the north texas area, a discussion about this guy came up, and the members started talking about a blue car that had shown up and was being used to take parts from to use on other cars. My son and I looked at each other, knowing they were talking about our car with fear in our eyes. We talked to a lawyer that was at the meeting, and came up with a game plan.

The next day, a friend of mine and I (both of us are pretty big guys) rented a trailer, drove out to his shop, and loaded the car up with all the pieces. I informed him he had violated our agreement by not meeting timelines, (basically not doing a darn thing) and I wanted my money back, or at least the items he had ordered for the interior. He refused, of course. Prior to use getting there, I had called the Sheriff to inform them what I was doing. So after I left, I went straight to the sheriff's office and asked if there was anything further that could be done. He told me I should file a complaint with the Justice of the Peace (basically a small claims court) but that even if I won, I would not recover anything, as he already had several judgements against him and had all his assests hidden. After talking to a lawyer friend, I decided against it and wrote it up as a VERY expensive lesson learned...

But at least I had the car back...

btrbill

After regrouping, I decided we would do as much as we could, but I still had to have someone do the body work. I bought an auto hauler trailer, and made room in my backyard to start the work.

At about this time, I found a guy on ebay that was selling a 1970 Supreme hardtop body shell. I went and looked at the body, and it was PERFECT! I could use this body to cut the quarters, floor, and trunk out of to put on the convertible! I ended up wining the auction, and got the body for less than $250! When I picked it up, he had the frame as well, but did not want to sell it because he was going to build a racecar. Oh well, I had the body...

There was a local body shop that had done some collision work for me in the past and he also did some resto cars as well as time permitted. I asked him to come look at what I had and give me an estimate on harvesting the needed panels from the donor shell and placing them on the vert. When he got there, he told me I should trash the vertible body and use the hardtop body instead becasue it was in such great shape. I told him I wanted a convertible, not a hardtop, so he gave me some of the best advice I have been given to date. He told me it would cost more to to harvest and prepare the donor sheetmetal than it would cost to buy aftermarket and have it installed. I had found a place locally that sold goodmark products, so they ordered everything I needed and it saved me on shipping costs. I took all the new sheetmetal and the car to him, and he began work. Even though it is a little out of sequence, I put pictures here of his work on the panels...

btrbill

So here I was with a donor body in my yard, and nothing else. What to do...

The phone rings and it is the guy that sold me the body... he wants to sell the frame now. We discuss and agree on a price and my son and I head over to bring him some money. Not really sure why I am buying a frame, but it went with the body, so what the heck. On the way home, a guy turns in front of a girl, she swerves to avoid, and plows into the side of my truck right on my door. I am knocked out, and my then 13 year old son pulls me from the truck. I wake up in the ditch with strangers all around and the sound of sirens, and my son holding my head telling me everything is going to be ok... (BTW, he is now a paramedic with the local ambulance company).

(Funny anecdote- He used a bystanders phone to call my wife and tell her what happened. When she answers, she could tell something is wrong and asks hom what happened. He said we were in a wreck and she should come get him. My wife asks how we are, and he says, "I am fine, Dad's alive." Apparently this didn't sit well with my wife! Anyway, we get a laugh out of it now-a-days)

So, we recover from the wreck, get another truck, and finally pick up the frame a few weeks later. At this point, I am thinking... OK, why have one car when I can have two!!!

btrbill

So I have a body shell and a frame with no suspension pieces... My wife asks me what I am going to do with them, so I tell her, buy a another car!! I don't think the look I got was one reflecting agreement with my response.

Nonetheless, in very short order, I find a car on Ebay, an 1971 Cutlass Supreme, blue bucket interior with console, tilt sterring and sport wheel, front disk brakes, with a very rusty body. He claims the frame and all is in good shape. In the end, I lose the bid, but I call the guy and tell him if the deal falls through to let me know. As luck would have it, he calls a few days later, and I agree to buy it for what the winning bid was. Two weeks later, we head out to Des Moines from Dallas with trailer in tow to pick it up. As luck would have it, the car ran, at least good enough to drive it onto the trailer. We tied it down and headed home.


Over the next few weekends, we tore the car down and kept what we could, throwing away the rest. I was able to keep most of the interior, and all the suspension and frame parts. Now, I had the interior for my 70 body, and all the pieces I needed to turn the frame into a rolling chassis, not to mention a rebuildable 350/350 for my second project. The doors where in ok shape, but they were workable for now. After mooching all I could, I took the car shell to a scrap yard and got a little cash. It was in no way a salvagable body, but it gave me almost everything I needed for the other car.


I got all the pieces together for the rolling chassis, then took them to a powdercoater for sandblasting and powdercoating. I was very happy with what I got back, and here are a few pics. The date was now 2007...

btrbill

While the frame and all was being powdercoated, I had a friend call and tell me someone had a Vista Cruiser that he was parting out, and all he wanted was the glass. I went and paid the guy a visit, and instead of parting the car out, he wanted to sell it, sans glass and the hood lock. I asked him what he wanted, and we agreed on a price.

There was some rust in the body, but there was several things on the car I needed/wanted!! from this car, I got two 1971 fenders in great shape (no rust at all), a 455/400 combo, front bumper, core support, and front disk brake set-up. Everything else went to club members, or was sold on ebay. The chassis and rest of the body I was going to give to friend who wanted to race it in a demo derby, but that never transpired. After not getting any further interest (I was not on this forum at the time), I salveged it. That was when I decided to use the 455 instead of the 350 in the hardtop.

I found a local shop that would rebuild the motor, and swapped them the rebuildable 350 for them doing the work on the 455. I had to give a little cash as well, but not that much. I also had the Th400 rebuilt at the same time. When I got them back, they looked great bolted up to the chassis!! Man, this thing was starting to take shape.

My wife asked what year it was going to be. This kinda threw me for a bit, because I have the 1970 title and VIN, but it had a 1971 motor and tranny, and I was going to use the 72 seat covers because I like them better and a 1971-72 rear bumper. I also knew we were not going for a totally stock apperance, because eventually we wanted to add a spoiler and OAI hood, special rims, and a custom (but respectful) paint job. The convertible will be all original, but this one we could do what we wanted... So it will be registered as a 1970, but will look more like a 1972 from the outside...

Of course, big changes were coming...

tinner

Interesting story so far. Things sure don't happen over night & usually never easy. Thanks for sharing.

btrbill

2008 started out rough personally for me. I lost a good friend, then found out a few others had major medical issues, including a family member. Combined with a few other things, and I found myself having to relocate back home to Louisiana in June of 2008. The move took several trips just transporting the Oldsmobiles down there. My Dad and I had a shed built in his back yard so I had a place to store the cars.

By the time I was packing to move, I had the 71 Convertible back from the body shop (where they also rebuilt the 350 Transmissions as well). I took the convertible down first and got it settled in the shed and placed a few parts around it, including the two good fenders from the Vista Cruiser. On the next trip, we placed the donor body on top of the newly powdercoated chassis and brought it down, also placing it in the shed. It was not a perfect arrangement, but it would do until we had time and a space to work on the cars again.

We began to get the new house in order and i was hoping to make enough room in the garage for at least the hardtop so I could work on it. That plan was progressing until the end of August...

Hurricane Gustav formed and we began to track it's progress carefully as Katrina was still fresh in everyone's mind. As part of my job, I volunteered for a position on a hurricane evacuation team that would stay behind in New Orleans until the last possible hour helping evacuate people, then we would be airlifted out to safety, only to return as soon as it was safe to begin rescue operations. Sure enough, Gustav took a direct line toward NOLA and the plan went into effect. Thinking it was safer due to the projected path of the storm, my wife and kids went to Baton Rouge to stay with my parents.

Well, at the height of the storm, it decided to shift westwardly and hit Baton Rouge straight on. I got a call from my son in the middle of the storm saying several trees had fallen in the back yard and he was worried about the cars. Sure enough, after things cleared up, he and my Dad went back and found the convertible under two huge oak trees that had fallen across it. I was literally sick to my stomach at the pictures they sent.

In any case, this a few pics taken a few moths later...

Lady72nRob71

Dang, Bill - sorry to hear about all the bad luck!! I really hope things get better now. It HAS to!
Great story - you write quite well.
What area in Dallas were you at?

MX442

Why do you use btrbill? That is very misleading.

Lady72nRob71

Hehe... That was brought up in another thread. https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...ssii-rims.html
He worked at Baton Rogue airport that is named BTR.
At first I thought he was just a bitter guy!

btrbill

Thanks Rob for answering for me!! I need to keep that link close just in case...

I lived in Flower Mound for about 5 years and was a member of the NTOC for a short time. Aron Nance and I took some body shop classes together out at Eastfield CC. I wish they had something like that around here!!

More of the story coming... been working on the cars this weekend and getting ready to pour some concrete...

btrbill

After the devastation that was left behind in Gustav's wake, I was left really wondering what to do. I still had the chassis and the body from the hardtop, and they were hardly touched during the storm. but you would be suprised at the emotions that come after something like this happens. There was no insurance on them (really didn't know you could even get it for cars being rebuilt), and in any case, without them being locked up, I couldn't have got it anyway.

Over the next few months, I sat back and took a toll on what I had, and which direction I should go. My wife had her dad's 75 Caprice convertible, so we did a little on it, but I was just not into a bunch right then... And for quite a while, wondered aimlessly in my dedication to fixing ANY of the cars...

Then one day, I woke up and said enough, get back to work. I went to Dad's, loaded up the hardtop body, and brought it to my house so my son and I could work on the body some. Over the next few months, we sanded, grinded, shaved, and eventually got the body in primer. But with my son involved in his career, his time was taken up by work and his girlfriend... Most of the time it was either just me, or my Dad and I.

We didn't really get a lot done due to limited finances over the next few months?year, but I was always looking and planning. It was about that time I joined this website. I posted a thread on what I had, and most everybody said to cut your losses on the drop-top, but I just could not let myself do it. Then, in June of last year, I had an epiphiany...

btrbill

During a cruise with his car club from Baton Rouge to McComb, Ms, my dads 1966 Pontiac LeMans convertible (he bought it brand new) blew and engine while headed home. Right before that trip, him and I had a long hard talk about my cars in his shed, and that something needed to be done. I decided I wanted to work on the convertible, and set out to find another body. I found one in Austin, Texas that was in good shape, but would need a little work. I had to go to Dallas for some business, so I took my trailer along for the ride, and on the way home, sdwung by Austin and picked up that body. I brought it home the weekend my dads engine blew.

We set the body in the back yard, then my son and he took out the blown 326 to try to figure out what to do next. It just son happens, a guy in the club was a specialist on Pontiac motors! We brought the motor to him a few day later, and he gave us the bad news that it was damaged beyound repair, and Dad would need a new block.

I called the guy in Austin I bought the body from, and he said he had a 326 block from a 65 Tempest that would work, and was in good shape. So a few days later, we drove back to Austin and got the motor. The work on Dads motor then began, but neither my dad or the guy rebuilding it was in a big hurry. Dad because he wanted it done right, and Gary becasue he had a lot of work to do, and is a perfectionist to the Nth degree. With all that time, Dad would redo his engine compartment but needed something else to tinker with. That is when we started making plans to begin work on the convertible.

We sat down a few weeks later with pen and paper and started to figure what it would cost to get the convertible done versus what it would take to get the hardtop dome. I didn't have enough to finish either one, but it was obvious we could get the hardtop on the road a LOT quicker thean the convertible, and for thousands less. At that point, the convertible was relegated once again to the back burner. I thought of selling it, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I really wanted that convertible done oneday...

We came up with a game plan to finish out the chassis fully, then mount the body, and start getting the engine compartment finished, then the sheetmetal, and the interior last. When we could afford it, we would add a spoiler and OAI hood (aftermarket.) With a little cash in hand, and a signature loan from my work credit union, we ordered parts we knew we would need, and began the work.

This is what we started with after sitting for almost four years...

btrbill

Since Gary had finished with Dads motor by now, early January, and re-installed it in his car, he was free of that project. He agreed to look at my engine that had been sitting up for over four years after being rebuilt, but never started. So the first thing Dad and I did, with the help of my son, was pull the engine and transmission off the chassis, disconnect them, and take the engine out to Gary's. He told me not to be in a big hurry, as he had a lot of other work, and I told him I had plenty to do so take his time!

Upon returning from there, we brought one of the core supports I had up front and began to media blast it to get all the rust off and prepare it for the chassis when we got the motor back. I spent the rest of the weekend blasting, then painting it with Pur15 and thier Chassis black top coat. When all was said and done, it came out pretty darn good!

More to follow...

btrbill

Sorry for the long time in updating this thread. Been doing things!!

After painting the core support, we moved to the chassis. Ordered brake and fuel lines as well as a few other things, and started cleaning and painting misc parts. I decided the powdercoating was very dull, so we repainting the entire chassis with Eastwood Gloss Chassis Black. Then we began installing the lines and other parts, as well as refreshing the brakes.

Here are a few pis of the work on the chassis and my son on a rare day off helping out...

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btrbill

While we waited on the Engine to be finished, we also did some work on the body. Not being experienced in welding or sheet metal work, we did the best we could with what we had.

The previous owner of the body had cut the rear mount for the console out as he intended to sell it with the console when they parted the car. I asked him for the piece and gave him a repop mount to sell with the console. Because of that, we had to weld it back in...

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After that, I washed the underside of the car real good, primered it, and then Dad and I sprayed Rubberized Undercoating on it to protect it, not that I plan on driving it much in the rain. However in the south, you never know when it happen! That is Dad in the first picture...

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At this point, we were still waiting on Gary to finish the motor with the 2bbl carb he had from the Vista Cruiser. I really wanted a 4bbl. About this time, a member here was selling an intake and 4 bbl, along with a complete 455, a few rims, a front bumper, and a few other things. The price was cheap cheap, but I had to drive to Ft. Worth to get it all within a week!! Called Dad and we made plans to drive to Texas that weekend. It worked good for him as well since he was looking at lifts and wanted to see a few at a business there just south of Cowtown.

Next up, the trailer full of goodies and the 455 roars to life!

btrbill

Went to Ft. Worth and met up with browndog9 who had lost his storage. We loaded up my trailer with a complete 455/4bbl, a 455 with no heads, two SSIII rims, a front bumper, a TH400 Transmission, an 4bbl intake and carb, plastic inner door panel liners, a partial weatherstripping kit, and a complete set of 455 headers which I also wanted for my engine!

This is pics of some of the stuff...

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This is the complete engine on a homemade stand that came with it...

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And this is a pic of the same engine with my newly finished 455 complete with headers on Gary's engine test stand right before we fired it up! I have a few videos of it that I will try to upload on the next post.

BTW, got all this stuff, including roundtrip gas and food, for less than $700!!!

btrbill

Well, I have to convert the videos to a .wmv file before uploading, so I will do that later. In any case, the motor ran great, and after a few minor tinkering, we picked up the motor and got it home. After mating it to the TH400, we installed it onto the frame...

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Then we got the drive shaft hooked up to it and got it ready to roll...

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About this time, I got sent to Chicago on business. Just prior to this, I was cruising around ebay and saw a 71 Cutlass convertible for sale that had a rebuilt non-numbers matching 455 motor, new brakes, all body work complete, along with new Nordic Blue paint, which was correct for the vehicle. It had bench seats in it, but they were not origianl, and the front was pretty torn. Basically, it needed a complete new interior. Dad and I decided to bid on the car with a set cap since it was road worthy and alot closer to getting on the road than the hardtop. I called the seller to discuss the car and found out he was a firefighter in Chicago. Since I was going to be up there in a ferw weeks, I asked about getting together for a beer when I was in town. We exchanged phone numbers and made plans.

I bid on the car with 8 seconds left, and slightly over what Dad and I had set for a cap, but more than what the high bid was on the car. As I was bidding, someone else was bidding att he same time. His bid went in with 6 seconds remaining at $xx66.66, and mine went in with 3 seconds left at $x700.00. My bid was rejected because it did not exceed his by $100, and I lost out on the car. So much for trying to snipe!! Anyway, I called the seller and told him if the sale went south, to let me know.

When I got to Chicago, I met the seller, Chris, at his house. He had a 1970 Rallye with a 72 fender on it that he had removed having just obtained a 70 fender. I asked if he wanted to sell it and he said sure. We agreed on a price, I went to the ATM, and we put the fender in my rental car. That is when I found out that he is also on this forum!! (Hi Chris!!) Anyway, stopped at a storage place and bought two boxes and some tape, made a custom fit box, and dropped it off at Greyhound. $71 shipped from Chicago to New Orleans! Not too bad. Anyway, here is the fender...

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btrbill

Back home, I picked out the best 5 rims I had and brought them to the powdercoater to get them sandblasted so I could get them painted. We had decided to paint the car White with Viking Blue stripes, and a blue interior. While that was going on, I picked up some blue paint and ordered some more parts. When Dad went to get the rims, the guy had a set of powdercoated snap-on rims that were never picked up. Bought them for fairly cheap and decided if I could not sell them, I would keep them for spares.

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Got the rims home, set up the table, and got busy. I am very happy with how they came out! Cannot wait to get some rubber on them, get the chrome polished and put back on, and install them on the car!

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Since we are doing all this work at my Dad's, I wanted to mae sure all the parts I had at my house were accounted for. Since I knew it wouldn't be long before we needed this, I got the wiring harness out and placed it in the sun on the driveway to try to soften it up a little.

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Next up, another Cutlass joins the family!

btrbill

When I was in Chicago, Chris and I were discussing the convertible he sold. He made a comment about the guy not really wanting it, but thought it was cool. So he was showing his friend how ebay works and ended up winning the car. But they guy picked up the car the following weekend in order to keep his obligation. I told Chris that if he ever talked to the guy, tell him I might still be interested in it.

Anyway, a few weeks later, Chris calls and tells be the car is back on ebay!! I contact the new seller and tell him the story about bidding against him. He offeres to sell me the car for what he paid, plus the price of gas to drive to pick it up (he lived a few hours south of Chicago). Dad and I talked, and since I was trying to sell a motorcycle for about the same price, we agreed to the purchase. We made arrangements to get the car a few weeks later. At the end of March, we took of for southern Illinois to get the new Cutlass. Had a great drive up, and this is what we saw as we drove in the driveway...

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Good look at the seats. I will eventually sell the back seat since it is in good shape. I have another I can use to recover. Now I just need to order seat covers!!

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After loading the car on the trailer, we pulled out and headed home. I had called a gentleman in Jackson, Ms. on the way up to discuss some parts he had for sale on Craigslist. I told him we would be there that evening, and headed south on I55. Not sure why, but my back started hurting the further south we drove. More on that later...

When we got to Jackson and met up with the guy, we saw he had two FANTASTIC cars in his garage. A 1971 Chevelle, and on of the prettest 1969 Cutlass Convertibles I have ever seen. They looked liked he had just bought them from the dealer!! Anyway, after buying the parts from him, I felt like I had just won the lottery!! For about $300, I got a set of "C" heads, a rear cutout bumper for a 71-72, complete set of rear quarter glass, several door handles and other misc. trim, a NOS wheel well trim piece, a newly reconditoned 3 or 4 core radiator complete with fan shroud and upper radiator support, and an electric buffer! Good luck like this never happens to me, so I was a happy camper driving home that night. Sore back or not.

Back home, we unloaded the car and here she sits at Dads...

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btrbill

After our trip to Illinois, my back continued to hurt and get worse. I began physical therapy again, and talked to a spine doctor and a pain management doctor. I didn't get a lot done on the cars, but did manage a little.

The extra complete engine I had had been left at Gary's, and he put it on the test stand to see how it ran. Without ANY modification or tinkering, it started right up, and just purred for several hours, until the water pump broke! Got a new one installed just in case I need this motor for something...

The new convertible needed new light sockets on the rear and the back bumper was slightly bent. No big deal since I had just bought another one!! We changed the sockets and lights and got them all ready to go. Dad did a little work on the exhaust to stop a leak, but I do want to get a new dual exhaust. It looks like the original is still on it, and it rattles a lot and could look better. I also got my friend Gary to look over the engine and all since it was hard to start and seemed to run rich. He rebuilt the carb, fixed a problem with the starter, and tuned it up. Let me tell you, this car MOVES now, and if you give it much gas at the stoplight, you will spin the tires! Our next task is to order new carpet, seat covers, sun visors (it doesn't have any) and a new top. The paint is real nice and I am very happy with the purchase.

Back to the hardtop... One weekend when my back was feeling a little better, we decided to put the body back on the chassis. I had purchased new bushings, so we got them laid out, lined up the body and chassis, and got them matched up.

Here it is all mated up...

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btrbill

Late May found my back really hurting, and I was missing a lot of work. I decided to get a Spinal Injection since several of my friends said it helped them alot. It ws done Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday I felt like a million bucks!! Still took it easy as I don't like chancing stuff like this. The following weekend, we sanded the inside of the hardtop to get some light surface rust off, and painted it white since that is going to be the color of the car. I left a few spots unpainted since I need to do a little body work right around the base of the front windshield.

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Since my back was now hurting again, we installed a makeshift wood bumper on the back so dad could push and pull it around with the tractor.

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This is all we have been able to do on the cars to this date. I ended up having another injection that made no difference, and since I had not only severe back pain, but leg pain as well, the Doctor decided to do surgery. So 3 1/2 weeks ago, I had spinal fusion surgery with disc caging. That means I will be unable to lift, bend, twist, or pull for 8 weeks. And then after that I have to be extra careful for several months. Combine that with my Mother being in and out of the hospital the last 4 weeks, and you can see why nothing else is getting done!!

In any case, I look forward to getting back to it as soon as I can. I do start back at work at the end of this month, only in Houston. As we progress, I will try to do a better job of keeping things up to date.

By the way, when we got the new convertible, I decided to sell the one the tree fell across. It has been listed here for several months, but no real interest. After things improve, I may part it out for what I can get. Also, that darn motorcycle is still for sale!!



At this point, that is all we have done on the cars.

btrbill

Since it has been almost 4 years since I posted an update here, I thought, what the heck...


Shortly after my last post here, I moved to Houston, still recovering from the back surgery. I wasn't able to do anything really on the hardtop, so it just kinda sat there under the shed.


I did begin working on the Convertible, but something always kinda bugged me about the car. It was never something I could put my finger on, but something just didn't feel right, like I wasn't supposed to have it. But we did a little work to it, and over time, I longed to get back to work on the hardtop. I made the decision to go ahead and sell the convertible, and as luck would have it, a young handicaped man in Baton Rouge wanted a classic car he could have modified to drive, and bought it. His uncle ran a customizing shop, and he looked at the car and described all he would do to make it capable. I wish I could say I kept in touch with him, but big changes were occurring in my life and I didn't.


Not gonna bore ya'll with all the details, but I decided to retire from the FAA and took a job in Iraq in late 2013. I stayed there until ISIS forced them to evacuate us in August of 2014. After a short break back here in the US, I took another job in Abu Dhabi, UAE and worked there until this past November. Also, after 24 years, my previous spouse decided she no longer wanted to be married, so that also came to an end over the last few years...


But I am back now for good, and work has begun again on the hardtop.
I will get some pics downloaded from my phone, and post some pics of what we have done in the few months I have been back.


Thanks for the info you guys have given me in the last few weeks, and for the parts I have picked up as I start working again on this LONG project. As I am currently in the process of buying a house, I don't really have a timeline for completion, but I would LIKE to have it done for Cruisin' the Coast in 2018. We shall see!

oldcutlass

Welcome back, look forward to the pics.

btrbill

Inside painted


inside of Fender painted


Firewall Touchup


Brake Booster and MC installed


Body where I filled about 6 holes...


work area, also showing where the body was repaired. The area over the rear tire needs some work where the body shop screwed it up!


Trunk Lid that was repaird... just haven't cut out the hole for the latch

So, after four years, we finally started working on it again. First up was to make a plan. Since there seemed to be a lot of rust developing on the floorpans, we attacked the inside first. We took everything down to bare metal, then treated it with rust inhibitor, then primed it.


While we were working on that, I had my wire brush going along the rear deck filler trying to clean it up. I had a little rust there, and a local body shop (that I had seen some older cars in being worked on) took it and fixed up right up for me back in 2013... well, all they did was rebuild the area under the rear window with bondo! So needless to say that all came out, and left hardly anything there. They had also shaved all the rear window chrome studs off, so that will be a problem to address in the future. I ordered a new deck filler, and it just came in, so that will come shortly.


Anyway, after cleaning the insides and priming and sealing them, we recently gave it its coat of paint. Pics below.


Also, in an attempt to help me out while I was gone, someone tried to take the yellow fender I had obtained in Chicago down to metal... and let it sit. They also took the vinyl woodgrain from the Vista Cruiser fender off and tried to get it down to metal. Then they set them aside, where they immediately began to flash rust. So that was our next project, we sanded the fenders down, inside and out, and began to prep them for paint. On the Vista Cruiser fender, there were a lot of holes where the chrome and emblems were. And since I am going for a clean, no badge look, I had to fill these holes. Well, I have NEVER welded before, so I used All-Metal to fill them. That worked great, until the next weekend when I went to finish the fenders and all the fillings popped out! And, since the body has all the chrome holes that will need to be filled from the chrome there, I decided to try my Dads MIG welder. I am glad I had an extra fender to practice on... the one that was crushed by the tree a while back. I taught myself to weld... kinda. I made holes bigger, made some almost perfect welds, and learned a LOT about grinding welds down! I am still not very good at it, but I am learning. Anyway, the primed and painted insides of the fenders are also completed.


We redid the core support, sandblasted and painted about 1000 bolts and fasteners, and got the core support mounted temporarily.


I also filled all the holes in the body with the migwelder, and again made some bigger, some perfect, and spent a LOT of time grinding... Oneday I will get the hang of welding. But probably not before I replace the deck filler. Might have someone else do that.


We also touched up the firewall, and mounted the Booster and Master Cylinder, and completed the hookup of all the brake lines. We still have to purge and fill them, but that is for another day.


Lastly, the trunk lid. It was rusted around the latch, and since I was trying to save some money, decided to try to fix it. My father has a lot of scrape sheetmetal around so we got the cutter and cutoff wheels out and went about working on it. We spent 2 whole days working on it, and I have to say, it came out pretty darn good for a beginner! We were we prepared to finish it and use it until my dad decided to sand on the top some while I was working. Now, this deck lid was from the car I got in Iowa, so we knew it had some rust issues. But when he started to sand, the top sheetmetal started cracking! we had done everything we could to clean out everything inside the braces through the openings, and even poured acid (I forgot what type... the kind that kills rust) inside. But I guess it was too far gone. while the cracks are very small, they are there. I decided I didn't want to spend any more time working on something I knew I would have to replace in a few years, so I cut my losses, and have one I will buy from another member here when I travel to Tulsa next month.


So that is where we are at. Plan going forward is to make sure the engine compartment is finalized before we mount the front sheetmetal, then work on the doors and trunk. The body needs some more sanding and prepping, so that will follow. of course, the interior will be last.


I also bought a new wiring harness at Cruisin' the Coast, so we will look to start putting that in soon as well.


One quick question, though... Is it better to go ahead and paint all the sheetmetal separately BEFORE mounting it? I plan to paint it myself, and it will be overall white, with blue strips and lettering.


Anyway, here are some pics...

Michael Amrhein

nice to see how to rebuild with such a patience,........

oldcutlass

Nice

oddball

Paints with a lot of flop or with flake need to be painted assembled on the car (or at least basically aligned) so the paint flows from panel to panel. Otherwise it'll just look 'odd' with strange reflections.
Non-flake/floppy colors can be painted in pieces just fine.