Hey guys!!! It’s been awhile lol. I was daily driving a ‘54 Chevy 210 coupe for about 8 years until the engine seized up on my and I just sold it to an 81 year old who already has 5 other ‘54 Chevys as it was his first car. Sold it for $4,000 cash (engine needed a complete rebuild and the body had damage from a tree falling on the car parked next to it with some dents on the roof and scratches on the sides. Not to mention the rust and bondo it had plenty of or the window that were cracked.) I loved her but it was time. The very same day I sold her I immediately went to purchase my latest baby - a 1952 Buick Special sedan. Seller had the motor rebuild and it has less than 400 miles on it. Replaced pistons valves and lifters in motor. New starter and rebuilt generator. New radiator core. New clutch. New seals. New exhaust system. New drum brakes. New gas lines. Original paint and interior. Has some rust but I’m ok with that. Bought her for $6,000. Seller said before he got it it was in a barn for 20 years. Need to put carpet in for the floor and find some vinyl seat covers. New headliner preferably as well. The only seat covers I’m finding for 52 Buicks are cloth - not vinyl. Any ideas? I’d really prefer vinyl covers. Also any ideas for carpeting? How did I do? I loved my Chevy but in my opinion this Buick is so much sexier. That grill. Those pseudo metal trim fins. Those portholes. That sweeping trim. I dig it. My plan is to drive this in town and on hour long trips on a somewhat daily basis when it’s not raining and it’s not winter. Don’t have money to do body work to remove/replace the rust but don’t want to have it keep getting worse and worse either. Any advice or tips on anything for this led sled is much appreciated!!!
Welcome to the Buick club. Dig it man for sure, the ride is so much more refined than the early 50s chevy stuff. Enjoy the floating down the road. Bobs is a good source of parts. Nice find with a 3 speed. I'm stuck here in slushbox hell.
"Slush box hell" "Shroud of Turin" Hahahahahahahahahaha... Nice cars, they are. And that's a pretty good looking one. I had a 51 Roadmaster. I was also in slush box hell LOL. You're avoiding all that grief with the standard three-speed. Awesome. Congratulations. I've seen guys remove and primer/paint rusted areas without filling them back in right away to at least stop the cancer.
Portholes = “ Ventiports”. That Kustoms paintwork on the trunk looks cool/just for Halloween! Great looking car but NEVER park by a ‘49-51 Merc as you car may shed its side trim!
I would convert it to stop it. Ospho rust conversion, spray it all in those areas from inside and out. I know there are other ways like Eastwood Rust encapsulator is more of a paint on, kinda hard to get in the hidden areas where there is still rust.
Any recommendations to try to get the best out of this original tired paint? I tried Maguire’s Ultimate Compound by hand with a pad and microfiber cloth and it shined it up a bit but didn’t make as big of a difference as what I was expecting/hoping.
You will need to hop over to actual foam pads. A medium cut first round with an dense foam pad will get the deep stuff out. Then hit it with the complete compound, maybe a lighter pad. I have been using Griots Complete Compound with great results, it starts off medium then reduces to polish so it takes a step out of the correction process. Click the links below for easier finding. Top 3 are Rainforest website links for pads and compounds. Bottom one is Harbor Freight link. I run chemical guys pads. But this is a good cheaper alternative. Here Meguiars Med Cut. HERE Griots Complete Compound HERE My buffer I use is a Harbor Freight special. HERE
Yes. Cut off wheel, sawzall, tin-snips, plasma cutter, sandblasting, citric acid, etc. Unfamiliar? Do some research. Careful with the cutting tools. Good luck.
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