Projects 62 Buick Special, My attempt at a mild custom

thanks! It's getting there but still has a long way to go!

 

Do you think this might be your problem?

 

certainly not good but I'm not sure how long its been like that.

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Been enjoying driving the car all summer but I have been made aware that it's been in primer for WAYYY too long.

My goal is to get it as straight as I can and get some color on it. My pal and fellow club member Porkchop is wickedly talented and offered to do the roof for me. It will be a subtle lace panel job with some tasteful pinstriping. The bottom of the car will likely be some sort of satin color. I would love to do a full shiny paint job but I just don't know if it's in the cards right now.

I would also really like to try and re make the lower rear quarters over the winter. and finally get some good tires on the 15" wheels I have been sitting on for years. Also going to lose the gas door and fill the holes for the portholes. Now I just need to decide on colors, I have changed my mind a million times.

 

It looks really good and more so in one colour, without the red roof. Might be good to go for a white top and a light coloured body?

 

Definitely leaning toward a lighter color on the bottom, possibly white or cream. The roof color is the one I am wrestling with.

 

I really like the bell flower exhaust tips where did you find them? Bob

 

Thanks, I got them through the night prowlers. The 18" length are the best fit. http://shop.kustomcarparts.com/Dump-Tubes-Bellflowers-Extensions_c374.htm

I would like them to move them a little further under the car but I am afraid they will drag too much.

 

Nice work. I'm a bit jealous.

 

Over the last month I decided to shave the gas door, portholes and a few other trim holes. I also had to re make the A posts and repair the front drip rails. The gas door ended up taking way longer than I expected but that seems to be the way it goes for me. I was hoping to get some color on it for our local Goodguys show but no such luck. My long weekend in October was spent at the Race of Gentlemen Hopefully soon.....

Cut out the existing structure and made a simple patch. I should have been a little more patient here, and made a tighter patch. In the end I had to fill too big of a gap and warped it at the top. Live and learn....


Reworked the filler neck into the trunk. Ended up having to get a non vented cap and rework the vent lines a little. The end product doesn't look much different from this. I felt like I took the tank out and put it back in a hundred times.




Then it was body work body work body work...... took a lot of work to make it look right.


The car had factory fake portholes. For a long time I couldn't decide wether or not to keep them. Eventually I said screw it and filled them. I think I made the right call.

Old picture of the car that shows the "portholes". (don't let that red paint fool you, it was a mess under there)


Before/after


These came out great and required very little work to be straight.


My beautiful wife even chipped in and shot some primer on the fenders.


Back on the car


The A posts on both side were bubbled and wavy. Like the rest of the car it was just rust covered with bondo. This was a pretty easy fix.


Here's the new piece welded in.


The bottoms of the drip rails were rusty. Luckily they were removable with just a few screws. Another easy fix


I also filled a couple emblem holes on the trunk lid.


From there everything was given a coat of fresh primer and reassembled.


then it was off to Goodguys


Had a blast! But of course something had to spoil my fun.... I have a significant oil leak from the rear main (I think) and it falls right onto the exhaust. I was throwing a James Bond style smoke screen every time I hit the gas from a stop. Kind of embarrassing... I think I am going to start looking for a 215 to rebuild and maybe go in next summer, can't justify spending the money to rebuild the v6. Parts are much easier to find for the v8.

 

What about a 231? and put a R4 behind it, or even a T5.
Easy and cheaper.
Mine has a 215, but if it didn't that would be what i'd look into.
Love that body style and looks good......Mine is a boxy '63 'Lark.

 

The 215 is so appealing because its so easy to put in, and I may be able to score a good rebuildable engine for FREE

 

But the 231 is a 215 sans 2 cyls. and uses a modern trans.
and it uses a modern transmission....did i mention that.

215's are not cheap to rebuild from what I hear, and I hope to never find out first hand.

 

nice job, man.

 

I had my 215 done up by Mark at D&D fabrication. The only components that were okay to reuse again were rods and block. I leaned more on the performance side of the rebuild which included 2 new heads cc'd, largest valves he could fit, better valve springs, billet rocker shaft supports, new crower cam, .20 Egge pistons, arp hardware for mains and head studs, high flow oil pump, high flow water pump, converted distributor from points, balanced and micro-polished crank, Marks custom made crank pulley and water pump pulley, and a hybrid clutch set up. With a few other chromed goodies here and there. It turned out to be cheaper than I thought, Mark is very thorough. We must have had about 3 dozen conversations before the engine was done. He'll even talk you through a rebuild if that's the route you'd like to take, save yourself the labor cost! Wow that was a little long winded didn't mean to hijack your thread. If you have any questions regarding Mark or the 215 shoot me a pm!

Keep up the good work

 

Was that Autofair at Charlotte Motor Speedway? I used to go to that twice a year through the 90's and early 00's.

 

If you're asking about the picture at the speedway it was the annual Goodguys show.

 

Got a buddy who has an Olds 215 disassembled. I can't remember if they're the same or not. Factory 4 barrel and and standard bellhousing. I think he was asking less than $500 for it all. I know free is better, but I know this stuff is in good shape. Got it from a guy who was doing a conversion on an airplane. He'd disassembled it to double check everything before putting it in the plane. He said the crank needed to be polished but everything else looked good. Let me know if you're interested. My parents are up in Spartanburg and I could get it that far for ya if you need. Looks great all shaved!

 

Thanks clemsoncrewman that's definitely something to think about.

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wow, just read the thread start to finish. really great what youre doing to the car. need to start chopping up my 59 ford. interested to see what happens with paint cause it already looks killer with primer. you've definetley earned your "less is more" wings. can't wait for more

 

Thanks man I really appreciate that. It has been a learning experience for sure. Still have a long way to go but it will get there some day.

 

Looks Dam nice.
I picked up one of these but need tons of work and not sure what direction to go
can't wait to see your painted

 

Been reading your thread and really enjoy all the things you have done to the car so far. I had one of these back in the early 1980's with the high compression 215 with a 4 bbl carb and the "200 Super-turbine" automatic transmission. It only had 72,000 miles on it when I got it, but you had to run premium fuel in it or it pinged like crazy, and the trans was more like a giant rubber band than a transmission. The rearend went out of it and I couldn't find a replacement, so I bought another car and pulled the 215 for a "future project" and scrapped the rest. Eventually a guy that was building a V-8 trike offered me more for it than I could refuse, and it found a new home.
As I recall, all of the 215 motors from GM had a unique bellhousing bolt pattern that made it difficult to use late model automatic transmissions. That may have changed later, as GM sold the rights to the 215 motor to Land Rover in England, and they were used for many years in the Rovers. The 215 even came with EFI on the newer Land Rovers. My point is that the transmission options are limited unless you can find an adapter to use with a newer trans, possibly one with overdrive. Why not look for a naturally aspirated or Turbo V6/200-R4 combo out of a mid to late 80's Regal or Grand National? That would give you plenty of power, a smooth running even-fire V6, and an overdrive trans so you could get some mileage while you are cruising down the highway. It would probably drop right in on your existing motor mounts. Just a suggestion...Randy

 

Cool! Always glad to see another one pop up. I have some NOS headlight bezels, driver quality grill and a really nice lower hood trim for a 61. I will make you a great deal if you're interested.

 

You can get adapters to run a s-10 700r4 or a t-5 but it can get pretty pricey. Honestly at this point I am strongly considering a small block chevy. I refuse to sink any more money into the v6 and it would be really nice to have a reliable engine that I can easily get parts for.

The car started smoking really bad last week, I haven't really dug into yet but my pal thinks its a broken ring. If that's the case then it's time to do something different. I can't move ahead with paint and interior until it's running right and dependable.

 

Kev,

As much as most consider SBC's "traditional Kryptonite", but for the Buick's era, it was VERY traditional! A nice, simple 283 would be perfect for this application. A tastefully adorned SBC can be rock-solid dependable AND look the part! Add a T5 and you're set for years of trouble-free cruising.

But I'm sure I'm telling you something you already know, right?

I like where you're going with this one!

 

Thanks Brett. I have had a lot of fun with the car as is but I think it might be time to consider another power plant.

 

Picked up a 215 yesterday from a very kind and generous friend for free! This came out of a 63 Special with a factory 4 Barrel! This was also the year they swithced to an alternator, so that's a nice added bonus. This is going to make the car a lot more fun and reliable.

Time to start saving my pennies for a rebuild!



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I had a 63 Buick Special wagon with a 215 in the early 70's, I used Rambler 15" wheels on it, they are 4 lug and narrow.
The 215's share the same bell housing bolt pattern as a 198 also.

 

No big updates lately. The v6 was pulled out for the rear main seal to be replaced. This time it worked and thankfully for now we are oil leak free!!

It is long overdue for some paint and interior. Then I will start saving for the 215 rebuild if I don't sell it. I love the car but I have a model a roadster project that is my dream car. I will likely have to sell this one to help fund that one.

Until then I'm gonna keep putting miles on the odometer.