Projects 62 Buick Special, My attempt at a mild custom

Still slowly chipping away at body work. Hood, fenders, trunk lid, cowl cover, splash pan all stripped. All molding and emblem holes have been filled. Por15 on the fenders.




Had my first metal fab class. Not sure what kind of fabricator I will be but I can make one hell of an aluminum salad bowl.

 

Car is looking a lot better!

 

I appreciate that but I don't know if this is necessarily better looking

It is on its way though.

 

I agree!

 

I'm betting neither of you have priced and actual Grand National V6 in a while. Not gonna be the most economical option for sure. The 215 would be cheaper. But I'd still look at the normally aspirated Buick v6

 

I can't believe no one has said 401/425 Nailhead. That gets my vote.

 

401/425 is a ton of work and would be killer. I vote 215.

Car is coming along well. Keep it up.






BloodyKnuckles

 

I realize that the gnx motor is a good power plant but I have no interest in it. If the right deal on a 215 comes up I may grab it. I am gonna use the 6 that's in it for now.

 

Bullshit-M-21 goes right in!

Been there/Done that - although I did end up using a wide box Saginaw when the Muncie went South.

Everybody is correct in the fact that the trans tunnel will get hacked.Fuck it-its extra weight anyways!

Real problem is rear end ratios.Finding a beefy differential to put under there easily will be a chore.

Loved those little 215s

Oldmics

 

Looking good!

 

Thanks man! I am just hoping to have the second coolest Y-Body Buick in the Charlotte metro area.

 

Well I knew the pass side rear quarter was gonna be the roughest part of the car but WOW I didn't expect it to be this bad. I realize compared to what I have seen others deal with mine isn't so bad but I am a total rookie at this so it will be a lot of work for me.

I am sure I can make something work, like I said I have seen others do a lot with much worse. Anyone know of a good 61/62 special/skylark quarter? ....................................... I didn't think so.

Bloodyknuckles If you see me with a cutting wheel in the back corner of your shop after the auto fair, don't worry. I am totally not steeling a quarter off you skylark.

ENJOY!

If your trim doesn't quite line up just gouge the sh*t out of the hole until it does!

The first signs of Bondo mania!



Rust repair Schmust repair.

Same spot cleaned up a little more

and another spot.

If its stuffed with "steel" wool does that make it metal work instead of bondo work?????

 

Just scored a complete grill set from a 61 on ebay. Got the grill, hood trim, inner and outer bezels and headlight buckets. I prefer the look of the 61, it fills in the front end better. Also its aluminum so it should polish up nice. It would have cost a ton to rechrome what I had.

New front will look like this.

 

that's gonna be a cool little car when she's finished. looks like your making good progress, keep up the good work. we'll be watching.

 

Well the car has moved down to the College where I am taking autobody to start on the quarters.


I scored a couple sets of nice 56 and 54 caps today. I like the 56 caps but the 54 are killer looking and they were really cheap.
56

54

 

So I figured I would dig into the driver side quarter since it didnt look so bad. I only have a few classes left at the college so I want to make the most of it. Heres what I uncovered tonight.




Nice huh?

 

It sucks what people do with body work. You're doing such a great job disecting the shitty work and putting it back the way it should be. If you need refference for any reason you know where to come.


BTW...I still have the complete front suspension and rear axle. Both have all new stuff inside. Let me know if you need anything.


Keep us posted.





BloodyKnuckles

 

Thanks Ron, I appreciate it, I am doing the best I can with my very limited skills. I at least want to get all the rust out and fix the dents as good as I can before I use filler. I would love to find a quarter for the passenger side as that one is reallly beat up.

 

hey man try this website after class the other night i was looking for stuff and found this for your car you got to call for details but maybe its a lead on the quarter panel for the pass side http://www.gmsportssalvage.com/?q=node/1111&size=thumbnail

 

Nice, I am doing a '63.
No rust though.

 

also call Old Buick Parts - CARS. Inc at (908) 369-3666 they had all kinds of old buick stuff i saw some trunk floor pans i know yours looks good but maybe they will have the fronts also worth a shot just to call and ask them.

 

Hang in there guy!
It's great you're saving this car, just too bad someone had to to such shoddy work on it before you got it. To think of the time (and materials) taken to mud the poor thing-couldn't have been much more to do it right.

Jim

 

Thanks Jason I will look into it. Desert valley has some but they want $400. Owens salvage didn't have any 2 doors. Of course with the skills we have learned we shoudl be able to whip up our own quarters by now. You go first.

Jeez, kick a guy while he's down Good luck on that 63! I look forward to seeing some pics if you got em.

 

Are you insinuating that my welding is sub par? (it's getting better) The patches shouldn't be too bad to make. We will see what happens.

 

no me never lol i was just gonna let you use my welder i wasnt gonna do it for you. you think your getting work outta me lol naw i was talking about after class or on weekends you know id help you if you needed or wanted it or you can just come pick it up and use it.

 

Well since my last update the auto body class I was in ended so progress slowed down a bit. I decided to put the car back together enough to enjoy it a little. Had a blast driving down to Steel In Motion this past weekend and was really glad I was back to having a driver.


Then came tonight.....................

Pulled the interior out to see some super high quality patch panels. Actually they were crappy patched riveted into the rusty junk underneath. There was also a whole bunch of sloppy fiberglass around the edges.

With the help of CustomsByJason we drilled out all the old rivets and got a better idea of what I had to work with.



Then out came the plasma cutter!!!! I was a little intimidated at first but boy did that sucker work like a dream.

This is where I had to stop for the night.


Just gotta go around and get the pieces on top of the braces off and the I can start making the new panels. The back half looked pretty good and the trans tunnel is good. Because the car is a unibody I am doing the floors in sections. I will post updates as I go, not like anyone cares or anything.

 

Aren't floors soooo much fun!!!! Good work bro, stay after it.

 

Progress has been slooooooooooow but its starting to pick up. I have the car stored at the community college where I am doing the floors. This is great because it gives me access to a lot of tools that I don't have. The negative side is that I only have access to my car and those tools for two 3 hour "classes" a week.

I made a really nice floor pan that didnt end up fitting so I had to start over. I decided to make a small section where the seat mount bracket sits to start and then do the rest in one piece. The floor has some weird bends it in to get it sitting on the rails.

Here is the first piece I made that was a total waste of time. I may be able to cut some of it to fit another spot.

This is the second piece that ended up fitting perfect.

And here it is all welded in.

 

Ouch! Kinda like Bruce Lee's sister, Ug Lee. At least you're able to put your classroom lessons to work and the work you've done looks pretty darn good. I know what you mean about limited access. I just brought my '51 F1 home July 4th weekend after three months at a friends shop, with access only on Saturday mornings. Got more done in the last 8 days than the last three months.