What's up with this
banner thing?
If
you don't see a navigation bar on the left, CLICK HERE
|
|
|
December
22, 2002 More Front Sheetmetal DisassemblyYou'll notice that I've started keeping track of my hours below the date. Sooner or later, somebody's going to ask how long this takes, and I'd like to have an answer for them. It'll also give me an idea of the true cost of a restoration. I usually charge other guys $65/hour for my labor on their hot-rods or to build a V8 Ranger. With that in mind, I'll be able to get at least a rough estimate of how much this restoration would have cost someone else, if they were paying to have it done. As for me, I have the next 10 days off work--every year, my company gives us the week between Christmas and New Year's off as a kind of bonus. I'm counting on getting a lot done on the Buick with my time off, even though Christmas falls right in the middle of everything. We'll see how far I can get. At any rate, today I was able to use my cut-off wheel to cut the weld between the fender and the rocker panel. They did a very thorough job, but with a little patience, I was able to remove the left front fender without incident. I took careful notes on where each bolt was located and their sizes, as well as their orientation so I could reassemble everything correctly. I also noticed that there are quite a few differences between the left side and the right side, especially where the fenders and the inner splash panels meet and the splash panels themselves. Speaking of the inner splash panels, mine seem to be in near flawless condition except for a thick layer of asphalt and mud caked behind the tire area. There are a few bends that will be easy to fix, but no apparent rust or other nasties. The panels are painted a weird olive green, which I doubt is original, but I'm left wondering why someone would go to the trouble to repaint them. Can anyone out there confirm or deny that this may be the original color? Send me an E-mail if you know...
Next up, I pulled the radiator and radiator cradle. After years of working with modern cars and their radiators, I was surprised by the weight of the Buick's radiator. Of course, it's brass, not aluminum, which I knew, but I had no idea that brass was SO MUCH heavier. That sucker must weigh 40 pounds empty! But with the radiator off, I could get a complete picture of the engine compartment and front suspension. There's about a half-inch of crud caked on the front cover of the engine, so thick that the fan belt cut a groove through it. I scraped at it a little bit with a screwdriver just to see what was underneath, and I found bright red paint, so it appears that the water pump is original and has never been replaced. Interesting... So here's what it looks like today:
My next step is to start pulling accessories off the engine block itself and work towards removing the engine and transmission. I decided that I would rather pull the engine and leave the suspension on the car until I can pull the body off. That way, I can just roll it out from under the body on its own wheels. But I'll have to get the engine out first to make it a little lighter and easier to move around--that 320-inch straight-8 weighs 862 pounds! Pulling the engine might come as soon as next weekend if the holidays don't slow me down too much. Previous
Restoration Day E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net This page accessed Thanks, Fidget! |
