Projects 62 Buick Special, My attempt at a mild custom

blew up heaps of 231s, bottom ends not much good for anything but grocercy gettin,great build and enjoyed the thread. might be a long shot for budget, but try lookin at the aussie holden v6s or pontiacs as americans call them the later model aussie v6s are an almost exact clone of the old 231 buick but alot stronger and put out better horsepower and torque, the later factory superchared ones are insane. late 90s upwards are the best, and the exchange rate is favourable your way. we swapped to a vp holden v6 and never looked back, the speedway guys drop the fuel injection and computer off them and fit dizzys and 4 barrel holleys and they run well , theyll bolt up to borg warner manual or any gm box without to much trouble.

 

I ended up with a low mile Skylark, while looking for a 215 to put in a '27 T Roadster.
I was looking to build a super light T and the 200hp 215 was just the ticket.

 

If you ever do decide to sell it.... Pm me first! It really is a beautiful car I love it just like it is. Great driver.

 

If you want 14 inch steel wheels Nissan 280Z wheels fit and you can keep the 4 lug and use a full wheel cover to cover the wheels. Good luck with the 215 I have had a couple and love them. They have made some cool speed parts for them over the years as well.

 

thanks man that's really nice of you to say.

I have a sweet set of 15" steelies but I can't justify buying tires yet since the ones on the car are good. I will eventually make the switch but they will be the same caps, just bigger.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Just saw your car at myrtle beach car show.... Looks good! I like the grill. Thinking about doing one like yours on my mercury

Ryan


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Thanks! The grill definitely gets some attention. When people walk up to my car that's usually what they ask about. After what is it? and Does it have the aluminum v8?

 

After a bunch of ups and downs and a lot of miles the car is running and driving pretty good.

I am finally going to paint the car this summer and hopefully get my interior done. I will post a new thread when its done. Thanks for all the comments along the way.

 

Well it's been almost a year and a half since the last update, paint took way longer than expected but it was worth it! I didn't set out to have nice shiny paint, we were gonna do a white sealer on the bottom and some type of panel/lace job on the roof but as we talked about it I just couldn't justify short cutting it after all the work that had already been done.

I brought the car to my parents house in July of 2014 and not much happened for the first few months. Dad built an awesome temporary spray booth and pushed his project in the corner to start the final body work.





Then on August 16th this little doll made her first appearance. Needless to say she had my full attention! She still does and always will.

 

After a couple months we got back on it.



When I brought it out to my dads I thought I had it close to ready to paint...... Boy was I wrong!

Dad laying down one of the few coats of slicksand as we inched closer and closer to color







I struggled with the color choices. I knew I wanted a goldish green but didn't want a modern color. I saw a picture of Jivebomber's wagon and I knew that 57 Pontiac Limefire green was it!

 

Oh man, nice color! Lets see more pictures please!!

 

Proud of you and your pops! And sooo tickled for you and Mrs. Foot receiving such a precious package!

Car looks stellar!! Maybe I can sneak a peek over the weekend!

 

Pretty exciting seeing the color in the sun for the first time.



Next up was the interior. Decided to paint the dash and door tops pearl white to match the roof.



I had the top dash trim and radio delete chromed to add a little to an otherwise boring dash. I think it made a huge difference.



From there things stalled a little... Or so I thought

Dad was kicking ass behind the scenes and had plans to surprise me with paint. I showed up for an unexpected visit the day he was shooting!







Holy shit this is actually happening!

 

After the clear was on we decided to put the carpet and seats in. I should back up a little here...

My friend and fellow club member Holly is insanely talented and one of those talents is upholstery. She doesn't take work really, she only does it for very close friends. I was so thankful she was willing to do my interior.

I gave her broken down original seats and got these back!





Lucy dug them too!



Couldn't be happier. We found the old dead stock green vinyl at a upholstery supply place and couldn't believe how close he color was. I bought all they had because I'm sure I would never find it again.

Did some sound deadening via lowes home improvement



Then onto carpet. This is a stock 62 gm 80/20 loop. Worked out really good.

 

I had originally wanted to chrome the glovebox but decided to hold off. I wanted something special on the car for my daughter and decided to sent it to my friend Travis to work a little magic on it.

This is probably my favorite thing on the car! I'll have this forever, even if the car gets sold some day (hopefully it never will)



Then it was time to get to work!





After a couple days it was looking damn good! I also finally got it sitting on good tires and the 15" wheels I've had for years. It raised the car up a bit but I like it.



Got the glass back in with all new seals



Tail lights, bumper, tag and exhaust! Starting to look like a car again!



Then it all came together over one weekend. Before I knew it I had a painted car with a nice interior. A long way from gray primer and Mexican blankets.





After a short electrical problem (regulator) we were rolling!







Words can't express how thankful I am for all the friends that helped me get the car to this point. Wether you busted ass with me or just offered a suggestion Thanks! Kasey, Justin, Holly, Chris, Tim, Porkchop, Mikey B, Jeffrey, Terd, Del, Ron, Skeeter, Jerm, Dustin, Shaun, Cougar Mike, Josh, Tuki, Jason Smith, Ted, Henry Dana, my brother Dennis and some others I'm forgetting I'm sure..

thanks most of all to my wife Kelly, my baby girl Lucy and My dad for taking this thing from a primered mess to an absolute jewel.

Still have some odds and ends like finishing polishing, headliner and door panels. But I'd say its pretty much done

 

Nice job. And Holly did a hell of a nice job on that interior.

 

After all this time, that looks absolutely fantastic! Top job!
The bigger wheels even make it look slightly chopped.

 

Nice! Looks really good!

 

Thanks! And thanks for the multiple photo shops over the years!

 

Looks great! I have the same color for my '59 Edsel wagon.

 

Looks bitchin man love the interior

 

Cool! Ya dont see as much cool stuff like this goin on as you did back in 2010 when you first started this, so thanks for the refresher it looks good!

 

Turned out awesome dude! Wholly shit I love that color!! I may have to paint my Buick that color!

 

Man...you nailed it. 'Really looks good. Take it to Goodguys next month, I want to see it in person.

 

Outstanding! Look forward to seeing it in person.

vic

 

It will be there for sure! I've been following your roadster build on your blog. It's turning out great!

 

Looks great!

 

Very cool
Thanks for sharing.

 

Love what you've done to an oddball car like a compact Buick. They just don't get the love they deserve. The body lines on these things are beautiful and with the color combination that you chose they really pop! Great job! Overly proud of you for getting that sucker back on the road and doing it in style.


BloodyKnuckles

 

Thanks Boobie!