Projects 62 Buick Special, My attempt at a mild custom

Thanks bro! The support and advice I have gotten from you and the guys has been a huge part of why I dove into this thing.

I will admit I have am***es a decent amount of tools through sheer luck, as far as skills go..... pictures are forgiving. My work is far from perfect but I have learned a ton with this car. That was the idea from day one, I wanted to develope a little bit of skill for a better project down the line.

Thanks man! They are cool little cars. JamesD's photo shop skills are insane. I agree about the quarters and tail lights

Go for it! I am always glad to see another little buick getting some love. Look up ******knuckles 61 Skylark build... pure bad ***.

 

You've made great progress on your Buick. It's inspiring. I've subscribed to this thread and look forward to seeing more! Keep up the great work!

 

Keep it up! You need to teach those Iron Lords a thing or two about mild customs.

 

Hah! Those guys are too busy will Early ford hot rods, full custom 54 Chevys, frame off Mercs, and Historic 55 G***ers and more.

 

I have gotten a little bit done over the past few weeks.

Finally stripped and worked on the rear quarters. They came out ok, In my head I am Brian B*** in reality not so much.









The car has been long overdue for some exhaust. When I got the car the stock exhaust fell off after a few hundred miles. For the last two years I have had this single gl***pack rigged under there. It actually sounded pretty good but the placement led to a lot of fumes in the car.



So today I rolled on down to the exhaust guy and had it done.





The finished product. It took some creativity on the part of the exhaust guy since there is no room under there. I am happy with the way it looks and sounds. Also the fact that there are no fumes in the car is a huge plus.

 

Ummm....Awesome!!!




******Knuckles

 

That's sweet, Kev! Bellflowers are awesome!

 

Thanks buddy

 

My buddy Delton found me a killer set of NOS 13" caps. I still plan on switching to my 15" wheels as soon as I can afford tires. For now though I think they really changed the look of the car.

 

Sweet !

 

Looks really, really good. Can't wait to see it tomorrow.

See you in the morning.





******Knuckles

 

awesome car!! I have a question, I have never had an encounter with these cars, what is the rear suspension? is it coil spring?

Just curious because looking at them i think i want to look into getting one, i love the styling of them

 

Hey just checking in....Car looks killer, Kev Man, keep it up

 

Yes coil springs all the way around.

 

Thanks! Still messing with it here and there but I am collecting parts for a roadster project. Probably going to sell this one to fund the model a.

 

One word defines me for the past year SLACKER! Well not really, I've been working two jobs and hardly put any effort into the car. This past weekend a few of my clubmates came over and we yanked the motor and trans out. Plan to get everything cleaned up, new valve seales and replace every gasket and seal I can. The car has always run great but recently started smoking and developed a bunch of leaks that got worse over time.

I also stripped the remaining red paint off the roof. I found a couple small dents and a little bit of rust just below the quarter window.

Plans are to get the car in some kind of color, reseal the engine and trans, paint the engine bay, get the seats redone, make new (nicer) door panels, new carpet, headliner and.....................airbags out back. I love the way a negative rake looks but don't want to s****e everywhere.

 

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Niiiiiice!

 

You will love the one I just picked up! Looks like the orange one that was photoshopped. I'll post some pic's when I get home....
FYI-The Wheelsmith,in Corona,Ca, carries 14x6 and 15x6 wheels with the 4 on 4 1/2 bolt circle. Just got me some 14" chrome ones for mine.

 

That's awesome! Can't wait to see it

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Here's the "BEFORE" pic's....

 

I have made some changes since these photos...
Lowered it(3"-front,4"-rear)
White steering wheel
White door panels
Removed the stupid Skull brake light in the rear window
Shorter Bellflowers(18")
Chrome wheels(14")
New tires(175-85-14)
Removed the 3" bullets from the grill
Removed the tri-bars from the headlights

AND it's For Sale! Well...soon,haha

 

lookin good lose the gas door

 

That thing is wild bob. I'd love to see the chrome 14'S.

I was on the fence about it but your probably right.

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Won't get them for two weeks. Have to be made. $375. for four with baby moon caps. Don't know if i'm running the caps yet.

 

Wow that's a good deal.

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Gonna work on today when I get home...then I might start my own thread,to cover the changes.

 

Well it certainly has been a little while since an update. I had all intentions of starting on all of this over the winter but life got in the way and it wasn't until March that I tore into it.

For the past three years I have driven the **** out of this car and it has never once let me down. But over the last year and a half it has developed some serious leaks. The engine bay was always pretty ugly too, so with the help of my club members we decided to pull the engine and trans, re seal everything and give it a little makeover.

A little alcohol and some good friends made this a lot more fun


Isn't that just the cutest little v6 you've ever seen HAHA (in hindsight I should have just put a v8 in)


and here she sat, just like this for a few months....


I cleaned up the stock valve covers and had them chromed by a friend of a friend who knows a guy




In the meantime while sourcing all these obsolete gaskets I decided to get the last of the red paint off the car.



Aside from one or two little dings the top of the roof was in great shape. The a pillars need some love but we will get to that later.



I cleaned up the engine bay and gave it a little satin black paint job.


Then it came time re ***emble and paint the engine. I took it over to my good friend and club member Kasey's house. Kasey was a life saver and helped me out a TON. We used POR15 olds gold to make it a little different. I think if I did it again I would reduce it and spray instead of brushing it on. I am still pretty happy with how it turned out.







After some more gasket hunting and re ***embly at Kasey's we loaded it up and brought it back to my house.

Kasey and **** trying to work in this ******* of a transmission





Getting ready to go back in




And it's in!





Then came the fun of remembering where everything went (remember when I mentioned alcohol being involved in the removal?)

 

The first ride was great! No leaks and running like a champ. I was so stoked!!!!


And then I came out in the garage the next day and for some reason smelled transmission fluid.....



It seams that after it sits for a day or two the fluid flushes back from the converter and pukes out the base of the dipstick tube... not quite sure what to do here. Kasey thinks the internal seals are shot. Because this trans is such an oddball we are currently working on alternative plans.

Untill then I am gonna enjoy it! I just have to keep a pan under it and carry a gallon of fluid with me at all times!


I cannot thank my club enough for all the help. And my boy Jason who came in at the last minute helped get her purring like a kitten.

Before (when I got the car)


After (click for video)

 

Very nice build!