"Fly Low" 1964 Buick Skylark revival

[tim222]

Here is the story behind this project, my 1964 Buick Skylark:

The Buick had lived "version 1" of its life as a family car until the factory engine gave up and the car was retired "out back".
My Grandpa found it while looking for a car for my Mom to use while she went back to college.
So he bought it and installed a replacement buick 300 and had a family friend repaint in the original 2 tone paint scheme.
The car came back from paint 2 weeks later with the base-coat only and the clear was still in the trunk "you can put that on" he said...
This would be "version 2" of the Buicks life, Mom put on about 100k in the 5 years she drove it until her new job in real estate dictated she upgrade to a newer car.

At this time I was a senior in high school and it was a perfect candidate for me to hot rod, the year was 1992.

This is what she looked like when I negotiated a deal and bought it from my Mom:

[tim222]

During "version 3" I may have been pretty rough on the old girl.
I ran the car thru every sort of shenanigan from 1992 thru 1997 very much embodying the reason for high teenage male insurance rates.
I ended up replacing the engine and trans over the years until shelving the Buick sometime in 1997.
It was relegated to the back corner of the pole building until a few weeks ago.

This is what I found after digging the Buick out of home renovation remnants and kids bicycle parts:

[tim222]

First Order of Business, Clean the car to figure out what all is going on.
Stinks like mice, not good start.

Outside after a quick rinse:
141010

[tim222]

What I know so far:

1. Rust in trunk pan.
2. No Brakes
3. Right Rear brake frozen
4. sway bar knocked loose from frame
5. right rear lower control arm bent
6. quadra jet non-functional
7. 20 year old fuel
8. mice have been at interior
9. mis-match wheels
10. missing wheel studs 4ea.

Not real sure where to start just yet so I took a scotchbrite pad to the primer to clean out some of the misc. debris/chemicals from 20 years storage.141011

[tim222]

Rolling the car around on 3 wheels and one caster dolly was pissing me off so I decided to pull off the wheels and make car roll.
Plus I found some bitchen' 1990's wheels on CL.
The car now rolls!
141012

[tim222]

Time to see whats going on with this drivetrain.
Engine code indicates 1972 buick 350, that's pretty much the same as I remember from the old timer who built it for me in the early 1990's
I wired an electric fuel pump up to a can of gas and got it to fire
141013

[tim222]

Not sure if I will be keeping drive train, so on to interior.

Pulling it out:
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[tim222]

Interior Floor Pans really quite good.
Look closely and you can see the reason for "fly low"

Remnants of 1995:
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[tim222]

Gas smells quite bad after 20 years, so I decided to check out the tank.

I had forgotten that a had "farm fixed" my gas tank after a rock liberated my fuel on a back road many years ago:
141016

[tim222]

This gets us caught up to about a week ago.
I have been working on the Buick about a month in the evenings after the kids have had dinner, household chores etc.

Gut Punch, the frame is broken at the joint of the upper control arm x-member passenger side:
141017

[tim222]

Anybody who is good at this will have to forgive me, I'm learning as I go.
I dont think you can fix the frame with the body in place so....

Front clip is loose:
141018

[tim222]

Lots of penetrating oil and dirt in my eyes later.

Body is loose from frame:
141019

[tim222]

This gets me current to today.
I have never had a car this far apart before, I hope I can get it back together!

Looking for suggestions in the Spokane Washington area for frame blasting/coating?


Body Off:
141020

[64G-lark]

Hi Tim,
Welcome to the forum. Looks like a great starting point. Glad to see another Skylark.

[chpr1972]

nice history! While the car and frame is separated put on new fuel and brake lines. Use the small brake lines . I made the mistake to use the large 1/4 bigger brake line to the rear and with Wilwood brakes I had to redo the lines. Also if you plan to later go big motor or fuel inject the car, put at least a 3/8 fuel line on it. I would put a 3/8 return line on it also. Point is think ahead on what you will do at a later date. Also when you have the frame repaired, have them weld all the rear mounts at the rear reinforced and welded solid.

[tim222]

Got the frame out where I could inspect it.
Sorry for the blurry picture

All damage appears to be limited to crossmember, it is totally separated from frame on right end
https://youtu.be/G9UIsYDhURA

Anyone care to chime in with similar findings on A-body frames?

141037
141038

[Dr. Evil]

Just keep at it. Always glad to see another early skylark on here.

[tim222]

Cleaned the frame a bit to find extent of damage:
141235

[tim222]

Talked this over with a race car builder I know about stiffening repairing the frame.
He had some food insight, and concerns for metal fatigue where the crossmember had been flexing.

After some brief searching on ebay and CL for a new crossmember I decided to proceed with repair on existing parts.
I tried all kinds of abrasives to clean the frame, on every sort of tool.
What worked best for me was a 4-1/2 angle grinder with a norton blaze rapid strip abrasive.
These things are great:
141236

Once the frame was clean I welded all the cracks and cleaned them up:
141237

Now that the frame is back in one piece I will need to beef up the weakened areas.
141594

[tim222]

I think that plating over the entire area where the flexing occurred is the best plan.
So I used some wrapping paper and a carpenters pencil to make a rough template of the repair plates.
I taped the paper to the frame and determine how far repair will extend.
Plates will leave enough room for weld bead to be just inside bend radius:
141238

[tim222]

I was able to buy 18"x60" of 10ga steel from local steel warehouse for $30 this is more than I need.

My plan was to cut it out with a 4-1/2 grinder with a cut-off wheel, but a buddy was kind enough to plas cut the parts:
141239

Since I planned to bend them with a bench vise and a BFH, he also put the 90 bends in!

[tim222]

All this welding justified a Fathers day gift to myself, Lincoln Power MIG 210MP!
One thing leads to another, so this gave me a good Saturday project, running a 220 circuit for the welder.
141240

[tim222]

I gave the Lincoln a bit of a workout and burned in the plating
Driver side:
141243

Here is the passenger side that was broken after I hit it with a wire wheel:
141242

2 layers of 10ga over the damaged areas should be overkill.
I know my welds arent the prettiest but I wanted to keep the heat up for penetration.

[tim222]

Now that the back of the frame is fixed I moved on to the center non-boxed section of the frame.
There seems to be a few options out there to address the inherent weakness of the A-Body frames.
The inside of the channel on my car seemed to vary between 2-1/2" to 3" on the inside.

I decided to slit the remainder of the sheet of 10ga. I purchased and have some bends added.
The kits I found online were anywhere from $400 to $800 for a couple formed channels. (too much $$)

By forming the channel to install over the existing frame it adds a fair amount of work fitting the part.
This is mostly due to factory variance on frame.

141531

I make a quick sketch to verify dimensions:
141532

[tim222]

Fitting the part to the frame rails took me probably an hour per side and the welding was painfully slow.
To not risk warping the frame I tack welded every 6" the whole perimeter before doing any longer welds.
Then I proceeded to weld it up 1-1/2" at a time moving from one end 1-1/2" then the other side 1-1/2" and so on until complete.

141533


The result is a 3-3/8" wide boxed center section.
Getting close to being done with the frame work!
141534

[tim222]

Measuring in a x-pattern from body mount hole to hole puts the frame within 1/8" of square.
I hope to not have to have the frame put on a frame rack, but we will see after I am done with repairs.

On the brighter side my welding now looks much better than when I welded to braces inside the rear x-member
I cant wait until its time to primer and paint the frame so I can start re-assembling this car!

[KB Camaro]

awesome build!

[tim222]

Stripped off all the rear suspension over fathers day weekend.
This allowed me to flip over the frame and begin stripping down to bare metal.

While cleaning the frame I found that the rear crossmember had come loose at the drivers side lower weldment as well.

I ground it clean re-welded the factory weld, and plated over it.
Now both sides are matching as well, however I wasnt expecting to find the weld broken on the drivers side.

These a-body rear crossmembers take a brunt of the force from the drive axle and are not designed for high h.p.

Re-welded factory weld:
141592

Plated over weld joint:
141593

[rixtrix1]

Looks great so far; good choice to start with beefing up the frame! I have 2 friends with 64 skylarks and One with a 65 SportWagon. My first car was a 63 Skylark.

[tim222]

Continue to make progress on frame, everything has been removed.
I primered "complete" areas so I dont have to keep chasing light rust.
At current rate the frame should be done and ready to start suspension assembly in 3 weeks.
I believe this frame could use some additional bracing, and am working on incorporating the transmissions mount.

So many suspension options out there, had to choose a path...
I decided to go with UMI for rear control arms and front and rear sway bars.
I believe I will build this chassis with air bags in place of coil springs.

Seems like progress comes slowly...pictures are easy:
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Suspension parts I have picked:
141771
141772

[Paraman1]

Continue to make progress on frame, everything has been removed.
I primered "complete" areas so I dont have to keep chasing light rust.
At current rate the frame should be done and ready to start suspension assembly in 3 weeks.
I believe this frame could use some additional bracing, and am working on incorporating the transmissions mount.

So many suspension options out there, had to choose a path...
I decided to go with UMI for rear control arms and front and rear sway bars.
I believe I will build this chassis with air bags in place of coil springs.

Seems like progress comes slowly...pictures are easy:
141770

Suspension parts I have picked:
141771
141772

I run a complete Stage 4 UMI suspension system on my 64 El Camino and am very happy with how it handles.

[davidford1]

Great work. I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome. I have a 64 LeMans convertible that I am just starting work on. Keep the pics and detailed narrative coming.

[skylark guy]

Love this build so far! Kind of scares me though. I'm planning high horsepower and might just need to pull the trigger on a new frame.

[Motown 454]

It looks good nice job.

[tim222]

Progress on the Buick has been slow, but I have a few updates:

I was having a hard time deciding how to coat the frame, I was really set on powder coating.
So it stayed primer until one day while I was walking past my flatbed trailer it occurred to me just how well the Rustoleum paint had held op over the years.

Not only had it held up well to all the abuse, it is really easy to touch up.
And it was decided just like that, Oil Based Rustoleum applied with foam rollers
Black

147068

[RMMiller]

That frame was hurting, did you ever run air shocks? My GTO was still in great shape other than frame damage from a wreck and I was not kind to it. It ran high 11's weighing in at 3,900 lbs and the worst that did was bend the stock stamped lower control arms.

I like the choice of paint, Was planning on that for the bottom of my junker. Side not.....when you get ready for brake lines drop by Inland Pacific Hose on Trent, they will set you up. They can do custom stainless braided flex lines in house.

[tim222]

This car has never had air shocks, probably the neutral drops etc?
Hard to say, but it did not have the frame reinforcement braces factory

Back to the timeline:
This was about where I stalled out, move forward plan was looking for $$ outlay.
The decision to replace the suspension conponents was expensive.
So I worked on stuff that cost less for a bit.


Since it was getting close to winter I decided I needed to build a car-t
Had to stuff the body back in the corner of the shop to help make room in the shop for the camper before it snowed

This is how I rationalize keeping scrap iron around I suppose LOL

147075

[grendel]

You can't go wrong with UMI

[tim222]

More opportunities to "stiffen" the frame here and there.

Not sure how much this adds to the end product but it was easy to complete.

I formed a Bracing between rear coil packets with 6 bends for stiffness.
I designed it so the weld would fall just after the radius (lost the actual dimensions)

Part Sketch:
147085



Then I wire wheeled my fresh paint where the weld would go (+1 paint!)
Welded it up and capped the bottom:
147083

[tim222]

One last Post should get me caught up to current.

I finally bit the bullet during the "Black Friday" sales

The condition of the rear components necessitated replacement.
The rear lower control arms had been bent in a previous life, also the flange had been compromised by exhaust wearing the lower flange thin.
The damage I repaired to the cross-member may have resulted imperfect mount locations, so adjustability seemed appropriate
These thing landed me at the "replace rear control arms decision"
Only seemed logical to match the front control arms with UMI as well...

Here is where I landed so far:
UMI: 64-72 GM A-Body Front A-arm Kit, ½” taller upper ball joints
UMI: 1964-1967 GM A-Body Rear Control Arm Kit, Fully Boxed Lowers, Adjustable Uppers
UMI: 1964-1967 GM A-Body Control Arm Reinforcements/Frame Braces
UMI: 1964 - 1972 GM A-Body Solid Front and Rear Sway Bar Kit
UMI: 1964-1966 GM A-Body 2” Lowering Spring Set, Rear

Aldan American: Coil-Over Kit, GM, 64-67 A-Body, 55-57 Chevy, Front, Single Adj. 450 lb. Springs

I hope this nets me the stance I am looking for.
I certainly want it to be as low as before I disassembled, but I dont know how to compare with 2" lowering coils???

I will have to spend a bit more time digging thru the other Skylark threads looking for stance nuggets of wisdom:dunno:

Required Picture:
147084

[RMMiller]

This car has never had air shocks, probably the neutral drops etc?147075

My poor high school car had it's share of neutral drops! I had picked up a 396 so we were trying to blow up the mighty 283. Our choice of weapons....neutral drop to low and WOT til the crank came out. We learned about governors that day and how hard a TH375 would hit second when it over rides the gear selector! The 283 lived for what it's worth.

[tim222]

The guys at work have been giving me some flack for my lack of progress, but I did manage to spend a few hours in the shop.
I disassembled the factory front suspension to reuse the spindles and steering arms.

The 50 year old grease on the parts was removed with a 8" Brass Wire Wheel I picked up from Harbor Freight on my bench grinder.

This got me to the point where I could start mocking up the front suspension assembly:
147522

[tim222]

Now its time to start mocking up the the 11" Wilwood Dynalite front brake kit.
147669

I find I need to drill out the top mounting hole to 37/64 and tap 5/8-18
For whatever reason I actually have the tap , but have to run to the hardware store for the bit.

Not the best clamp, but it worked:
147670

There is a reason to "Make a couple turns, then back out" when tapping...
Immediately after snapping this picture I broke off the tap buried all the way in the hole.. :pat:
That will teach me for tapping the last 2/3 of the hole without backing out
147671

[tim222]

After 45 minutes screwing with the broken tap in the blind hole I determine the spindle is junked.
Breaking the tip off of one of my punches helped convince me the car needed a time out, and drop spindles.

Couple clicks on online and 3 days, brings some Right Stuff Detailing 2" drop spindles.
(BTW, no drilling or tapping required, should have done this before breaking a tap, a punch, and buying a special size drill bit:screwy:)

Not sure where this will get me for ride height, I might pre-load the coil overs a bit.

147672

[tim222]

Inch by inch, so long as progress keeps happening.
The 11" brake kit did not have .050 washers for the upper mount location, so I tried with less .032 shims on the lower bolt location.
No luck, the caliper is not centered over the rotor, I will have to disassemble and re-shim to try and center the caliper on the rotor.

Wilwood kit mocked up on the spindle:
147741

[tim222]

Have not determined drive-train yet, so I have been cleaning the BOP 10 bolt a bit while I decide.

These are not known to hold up with to much power.
Things I have found on it so far:
1. Brakes need completely replaced
2. Wheel studs need replaced
3. Passenger axle was broken by me sometime around 1996 and the replacement was done super Hack-Job (cut off and ground on etc.)
4. Gear ratio is something like 2.6 or 2.7:1 based on eyeballing revolutions
5. Gears and carriers are available but too much $$


Carrier #312
147805

A lot of wire brushing and a little Paint:
147806

[Paraman1]

I have the rear diff out of my 64 El Camino sitting on the side of the house complete with brakes. Its a 3.08 non-posi but if you find yourself in Boise you can have it! As a matter of fact I can ask my buddy when he might be going to Spokand on business soon and might be able to get it to you that way?

Its not an uber cool 9 bolt setup but it's free and functions if your interested?

[tim222]

I have discovered that so long as I sit down for dinner with the family my better half doesn't freak out if I sneak out to the shop afterward!

Spent a few more hours working on the rear axle and discovered that I had made an error on a prior post.
Very few stampings on this housing, and difficult to read.

On the Passenger side near the top, C71- stamp appears incomplete:
147983

Front of the housing 13?6191:
147981

Ring Gear Specifies 14 tooth / 39 tooth (39/14= 2.78 ratio):
147982

[tim222]

I also managed to push in new UMI upper mount bushings and re-assemble the shafts into the housing.
End-play and spline engagement on the funky replacement axle is better that the side with the factory shaft.
I also pushed new wheel studs in, I may use this axle temporarily at least to get the frame back on the ground?

If not I can always pass it along to someone needing an a-body axle later.
This housing has the least re-enforcement flanges of all the early a-body axles, but has bolt in axle shafts so..

Anything I find indicates the axle a capable of handling 350-400 ft/lbs type drivetrain.
It really depends on how your driving it :drive2:

147984

[tim222]

I removed the spindles and front brakes so I could work on the front sway bar mounts
In the end I used new hardware with nuts inside the frame rails, not the best solution if I have to work on it later I know.


When assembled there is a bit of an odd angle on the sway bar end links.:squint:

At this rate it will be a year before I can see where this suspension sit with a complete car on top of it.
148006

End Link angle:
148007

[tim222]

I got the rear suspension reassembled and torqued to spec.
All the UMI pieces have assembled easily, I am not sure what length to set the adjustable upper at for a starting point?
I think I will measure the factory uppers and set them to that length.

I am assembling the car with the original axle for now, I will likely change later.
I can only handle one axle project at a time and I just sent my camaro axle in to be rebuilt.
This axle still does not have any brake components other than the backing plates.
The drums are damaged, but I put them on simply to get the actual track width.

I may look for some CL 16" tires for the rear that are closer to the size I will run so I can verify fitment to the wheel well.

Also built some platforms to raise the chassis to fit my harbor freight car dollies so I can move it around the shop.

I seem to spend lots of time chasing hardware, good thing the hardware store is only a couple miles.
Every other original fastener is mis-matched or damaged, so I have been replacing.
Rear Suspension Assembled:
148118

[tim222]

I guess it did not occur to me that I had changed the wheel stud size to 1/2-20 with the wilwood kit.

Ran and got some new lug nuts to mount the wheels.
Adjusted the Aldan coil overs to the middle of the range
Spend some quality time with a micrometer and shims to get the disk brake mounts parallel to the disk

bolted everything back together and set chassis on floor!
TBH it took everything I had not to sit where the drivers seat would be and move vroom-vroom noises :drive:

Back on the ground:
148180

Clearance at front crossmember:
148181

[skylark guy]

Everything looks great! You're making me antsy to redo my suspension, brakes, and rear end..........and the rest of my car.

[tim222]

Slow progress is better than none?

Decided on Pro Forged steering kit, they offer 2 choices 13/16" and 7/8"
Was not sure which was correct or what exactly was being measured?

Decided that my power steering car must be the 7/8" after spending 15 minutes on the phone with summit.

Turns out the difference is the size of the pitman arm joint and I ordered the wrong kit:hand:

CPP 500 series power steering box and Pro-Forged steering components:
148846
Also: note lack of clearance between ProForged idler arm and UMI front sway bar
You have to offset front sway bar to the passenger side for fit.

[64G-lark]

Great to see another Buick in the group. I will be following your build.

[tim222]

I spent way too much time deciding how to power this car.
Combing thru specs and estimating costs, chevrolet performance, Blueprint engines, etc etc.

It struck me that I would spend an easy 20k to go fuel injected ls and have 600ft/lb.
In 5 years it would still be an outdated engine and BBC's are timeless in 60's cars

That led me to a decision; I wanted easy to drive and lots of torque.

As it happens I knew where to find a fresh 496bbc that should lay down 600lb/ft
Mark 4 454 block with Mark 5 heads
Scat Stroker crank, forged Icon pistons, forged rods
Chevrolet performance roller cam with Howards roller rockers and triple springs
Also came with an Air Gap manifold and a Thunder series 800cfm carb, and some 2" headers
Not sure if I will stick with that, it's a little small.

Anyways I believe I got an excellent deal for $4500
153804

[Bygblok]

Cool to see another Buick. My 66 will be off my trailer soon and spending my cash! I think I’m going 5.3/4l60 at this point. This one is for my wife to drive!

[tim222]

The 496 was built with the same camshaft as the Chevrolet Performance 502ho with some upgrades, another point of compression, more stroke, and less bore.
This leads me to a 2600 stall speed paired with a 4 speed TCI transmission for highway driving

TCI streetfighter with a TCI breakaway converter will make this brute quite streetable
154129

Now it is time to get the motor mounts and crossmember sorted out so I can start assembling the drivetrain!

[tim222]

Update Time!
I used the summit racing transmission crossmember to save some time, knowing I would be chopping it up.
In the end I ended up taking about 2.75 off each side
This fits between some angles I added inside the frame rails that I will clean up after final fit-up

Picture shows angles tack welded in place and crossmember fittment:
154470

[tim222]

Next I mounted the Engine / transmission combo to the frame.

I found the Corvette oil pan provided with the engine does not fit the A-body frame and will need swapped for a specific Chevelle Oil pan.

I left it on the frame anyways so I could feel progress:yeah:
154471

[tim222]

I might have been pushing it with 2" drop spindles and the coil over sprigs I selected?

I think I have another 1.5-2" upwards adjustment and I need it:
154472

[tim222]

One small piece of the puzzle at a time.
Decided on the Dougs D322 headers and the Miodon Low Profile Oil pan.
Everything arrived but I still need to swap the oil pan, oil pump, and pickup.
Not sure if the frame stands I have currently will work or if they are dimensional different than the BBC units.
May need to change/modify those as well depending on header clearance.


Headers are beautiful though!
155033

[tim222]

While I was changing the oil pan to a A-body pan I decided to change out the pump to the Moroso Bluprinted oil pump.
This pump offers additional support to the pump vanes and relief grooves machined into the pump body and cover.

Balanced and Bluprinted pump on the left, M77 on the right:
158238

[tim222]

After the corrections to the oil pan and new headers I needed to start fitting up the body etc.

I had a feeling about ride height...
158241

Probably not going to work:
158240

Thats what I get for going BBC!
No big deal, I changed out the Aldan Coil-overs to 550lb springs and got 3.5" under the headers with the 24" tall tires that are on the car currently

[tim222]

I have always thought the 1965 skylark had nicer tail lights.
After seeing a sequential LED '65 skylark tail light mod on this board I made up my mind to ditch the 64 tails.

Finally found someone parting a 65 near me, got the tail lights and tail pan with inner support braces.

Due to the way the guy had cut apart the parts car I found it easier to remove the inner supports from the parts car pan and cut my car to fit the bigger lights.

Using a sharpie and a square I drew all the cut lines and cut with my trusty dewalt 4-1/2 grinder with a cut off wheel:
158242

Then I drilled out the spot welds holding the inner brackets to the donor tail pan.
To fit the 64 tail pan I had to cut out all the existing braces on the car, they are in the way.
Then the bracket fits pretty well, test fit:
158243

Lights fit nice, I will weld up all the holes around the outside for the 64 trim before welding the inner pans in place.
158244


On another note the passenger side light has a chipped off piece of the aluminum casting, anyone selling a passenger 1965 skylark light assembly??

[tim222]

I got about half the trim holes filled in the tail pan last night.
It is getting closer, I still have the harder outer holes near the factory lead work.
When I start tacking in the hole plugs the heat may cause the nearby leadwork to melt.
Once all the holes are filled I can do the final fit-up for the light supports and weld them in.

158301

[skylark guy]

Would you happen to have some spare lenses for the 65 tails? I have to go back and check but I think I need a passenger side brake light lens, as mine is cracked in half.

Also, car is looking great! I'm WA too. We should bring the Skylark's together sometime.

[tim222]

I have 2 passenger side tail assemblies, both slightly damaged.
I think my "extra" has a cracked lens also, I will have to check.

Its free for the taking if its something you can put to use.

[tim222]

Made some small progress on the Skylark over the Turkey Day holiday.

Continuing in the trunk pan I found that the factory assembly of the passenger side inner wheel well had a gap to the tire.
Over the years the build up of dirt and water had rotted the bottom edge.

In order to replace the body support mounts behind the tires that had to be cut to take the body off I needed to repair the wheel well.

I cut off all the scaly rusted area and traced it onto the sheet metal, cut the perimeter and bent it over my bench vise, came out pretty close.
158624

It was easy to cut out the body mount channels and clamp & weld in the new ones.
The center section of the trunk pan took me a bit because I refused to overlap the joints for whatever reason.

Im sure most guys just overlap these, seal seal, and a dab of filler, I guess I felt better about but jointing them. :dunno:
158626

[tim222]

I had to go to .025 wire to mig the forward side of the Left and Right floor sections in.

In the end I welded the entire perimeter on the topside and 70% on the bottom.

Where I warped the trunk pan I used a very small amount of short strand body filler.
I actually should have used some filler along the front seam in the center as you can spot the weld.
I seam sealed with the SEM seam sealer and gave it a top coat with the NAPA brand trunk paint.

I still need to touch up around the wheel housings and give it another coat of trunk paint, but it is good enough for now.
158842

[tim222]

I made some progress over the last couple weeks.

In order to keep the scope within reason I am choosing to keep the carb set up for now.
There are a number of advantages, I have the carb and the fuel pump to run this engine already.
I figure I can always switch later after the car is back on the road.

I bought the cheapest tank on Summit, it was $87 and I wont feel bad if I pull it out down the road.

With the trunk pans finished up I was able to run the 3/8" fuel line and install a new tank.
I suppose they just plan on you cutting down the tank straps, they were 4" too long.
159116

[tim222]

With 496 cubic inches I wanted 3" exhaust with a x-pipe.

I went with the pypes system with the dumps so I can install the electric cut outs later.
The system fits real nice, but my repairs to the rear frame crossmember covered the holes for the rear hanger.
I still need to weld it all up, but I think I will pull it down so I can tig all the joints except the muffler connections so I can remove it easily in the future.

You can see the 3/8" open frame style fuel line on the inside of the passenger frame rail.
Where it normally is inside the frame I mounted it to the new boxed plate, and let it jog out for the factory mount.

I will clean up the floor pans later when I pull the body back off.
159117

[tim222]

Finally solved my rear end dilemma, I scored a nice 1965 Chevelle posi 12 bolt Saturday! :yeah:
Getting it set up now with a set of 3.73 gears I had set aside for my camaro.
Got a reasonable deal on it as well, $700 for the housing, axle shafts, and posi center section.

She's not the prettiest, but I will clean it up after I get it back from the Bill Johnsons shop.
I stopped by yesterday expecting he would be able to get to it in a few weeks, but he is working on it this week!

Only picture I got is from the ad, super beautiful:
159135

[tim222]

I may go back on this later and add a/c but I needed to get the accessories hung on the engine.
I looked at lots of options but most of them are pretty spendy.

I even went so far as picking up a complete parts bbc with a serpentine set-up.
It is a truck engine and all the brackets are cast iron and super heavy and bulky.

I turned back to trolling the online parts websites and came across a pretty cool set up.

Low Mount ICT Billet alternator and ps pump brackets:
159149


Doing this stuff after work/kids homework/sports/family obligations/etc etc, it sure is a slow process!

[tim222]

Im super stoked, I picked up my new to me axle last night.
New bearings, seals, and the posi unit rebuilt.

I knocked off the surface rust and crust and threw a quick coat of satin black on. (still wet in pic)
I chose to use paint as opposed to powdercoatoing because I can touch up paint easily.

I have a nice moser diff cover and a disk break set-up for it before I put it under the car.

Now I can cross off the "Get Axle" line from my to-do list!
159170

[1989GTA]

Nice job. I like the conversion to the 1965 tail lights that you did. I do like the sequential tail lights conversion. I do have a spare 1965 tail light assembly. The chrome parts have pitting. However the parts are heavy and I really do not want to ship them.

[tim222]

Got the axle a little further along over the weekend.

Gear Pattern (You can see where the 488's backed out and scarred the carrier)
159279

[tim222]

I also got the brake lines done sunday evening.

Because I had ordered the lines for my old axle I ordered the drum kit.
I had the tools to cut and flare so rather than returning and reordering I just cut down the drum kit.
159281

[therobski]

Our builds have similarities with the work on the RUST and some mods. Getting towards the finish on a 7 year 64 F-85 "post car" Great JOB. I stayed Olds power BB 400E from a 67 442. I like that Buick...

[tim222]

I had a little time last night and got the axle stabbed underneath the car.

I must say I have a lot of respect for those of you who are able to build these cars your self in your garage and achieve perfect results.

Myself I have scratches and marks on nearly every component from assembling them a dozen time trying to get it how I like!

159375

I am hoping to have this car on the road by spring with the current drivetrain.
This engine in current state and placement is putting too muck load over the front tires.
I am already contemplating swapping this engine into another one of my cars and using something lighter in the Buick.

[tim222]

I have not seen any examples of modified 1964/65 Skylark hoods that added to the look of the car.
Although I had fit everything as low as possible I was afraid that I would not get the big block to fit under a hood with an Air-Gap manifold.

I trimmed 1/4" off the air cleaner base and shimmed the rear of the hood up slightly for clearance.

Its tight but it fits, I used all poly motor and trans mounts so hopefully it wont lift enough to dent the hood.
159604

One more thing off the list, hood fits without cutting it up.
Ignore the wetness from cleaning off the dust.
159605

[tim222]

Managed to get a little bit of work done on the car over the holidays.

Pulled the body off the frame to do a little work on the frame and run the brake lines.
159848


You can see the 3/8" rubber cushion clamps I have been using for the fuel and brake lines.
I just pinched them down for the smaller brake lines with pliers.
Just so I feel better about it I will move the fuel line a bit further from the exhaust, it is about 1" from the pipe above the axle.

I think it is safe to say my rear cross member will not fail again, here you can see
1. plating at the ends of the cross member to the frame
2. box channel between the shock towers
3. the "V" bracing between the box channel and the cross member
4. UMI performance control arm reinforcement braces

159849

[tim222]

One last thing I wanted to do to improve frame stiffness.

I am running a tube from the lower control arm frame brackets to the transmission cross member.
There will be smaller tubes from this tube connected to the frame box channel I added previously.

I have fitted and welded the main tube and some pads to bolt to the cross member.
I will work on the smaller tubes that connect this tube to the frame rails
159907


I have the driveshaft at the shop to be shortened and the rear U-joint changed, and I took out the X-pipe to TIG weld.
Hoping to get the body back on in the next week or two so I can begin re-wiring with the painless wiring kit.

[tim222]

My tig welder was not available so I tig welded the exhaust x-pipe, and I am not the greatest when the gaps are not tight.
I grount the high spots off the welds and used scotch brite "brown" cloth to bring back the matte tube finish.
When I welded the pipes I made the exit parallel and had to "clearance" the mufflers for the UMI reinforcement braces.

I also got started welding in the support tubes to the frame reinforcement under the interior, I may only add 1 more per side.
159986

On Saturday I went to the Pull-and-Save yard and scored an Astro van Hydroboost for $13 that I need to start planning for.

[tim222]

Small Update

Driveshaft installed, 3" tube clears the Pypes 3" exhaust by appox 1/8" under full droop
Frame reinforcement bracing is completed and painted.

Current state:
160094

When it started:
160095

[WildCherry66]

Man, you have done some awesome upgrades to this A-body. I have been thinking a lot about what bracing I'd like to do to mine as well. Just got the body up in the air this week. Nice to see someone else has gone the DIY approach, too. All of those bracing kits can really add up the $$$! I'd rather save that money for things I can't do myself too with some cutting and welding. Great job!!! Can't wait to see how it drives for you.

[tim222]

Wild Cherry - Looking forward to some driving impressions of the Sniper kit on the BBC in your '66, that may be on my list after I get some drive miles on the Skylark.
I have to get this thing running first!

[tim222]

I have been working on the firewall and all the associated bits.

The insulation behind the dash has been worked over in some areas by mice and needs to go.
Radiator core is shot as well as the squirrel fan and the housing is fairly rusted.

This car was also equipped with column shift that wont be going back in.

Easiest solution might be to yard everything out of the car and go from there.
I got busy friday night prepping the engine bay side:
160267

[tim222]

Started to patch up some of the many holes on the firewall last night.
I just used a straight edge, cut the pieces out whole, traced to good metal and went to town.

All the original heater equipment was non functional or rusty, so I wont be going back to it.
I haven't settled on the final unit I will be installing but it wont use the original firewall cut outs.
160424

[tim222]

This project is still going, I have been working on the underside and learning some sheetmetal repair.

After the welding on the firewall I began the rough bodywork in that area.

To "shave" the ugly joint across the firewall I began with Short strand fiberglass body filler to fill the deep recess:
163030

[tim222]

I have about 5 coats on the passenger side and the base coat of filler on the drivers side.

Not a fan of body filler dust but I find the dust is bearable if I run a couple box fans with household hepa furnace filters right next to me.
163059

[tim222]

I used a brass wire wheel on an angle grinder to clean off the underside of the floorpans.

This was exhausting work, and not very fun when you are laying under the car.
While I was at it I repaired any defects I could find.

I could only bring myself to do about 2 hours at a time, the work spanned about 8 days LOL

163079

[tim222]

Once I got the floor pans reasonably cleaned I wiped them down thoroughly with paint thinner.

I custom mixed some tractor paint to a blue that is reasonably close to what I will use on the exterior.
I wanted a good paint thickness so I used a foam roller and did not thin the paint.

Lots of people just undercoat the bottom side but I prefer paint for this particular car given the intended use (not an all seasons car)

Paint is still wet in this picture but you get the idea:
163080

[WildCherry66]

Looking great! I am right behind you on all of that stuff. That brass wire wheel looks like it did a heck of a good job cleaning up the floors. I may have to try that. I was trying one of those paint/rust removing wheels but it wasn't doing much. There are almost too many contours for a flap disk too.

I am also thinking about trying to copy the Hellwig Frame FX kit myself using some more leftover steel from another project. I plan to mock it up in cardboard based on pictures of that design and then trace the pieces onto metal, cut them out, and then starting tacking away.

[tim222]

I got the firewall where I wanted it as far as smoothing out the rough areas.

It really helped to block sand with a durablock hand sander
this was my final result before painting:
163244

[tim222]

Struggled a bit with my harbor freight paint gun painting the firewall.
The gun paints ok, but is impossible to clean and the last time it was used there must have been some area with a bit of paint remaining.

After fighting with the gun for 30 minutes I finally got a decent pattern out of it and shot some blue on the firewall.

This paint was blended to be satin or semi gloss but laid down fairly glossy out of the gun.
I hope that it flattens out quite a bit as it cures.
Excited to go back to assembling the car, I will have to cut some new holes in the firewall for wiring and such later.
163285

[CSG]

I kind of feel bad doing it but with the coupon it is cheaper to buy new HF guns than to clean them. I keep a couple around all the time

[tim222]

While I had the body apart I cleaned out all the body mount captive nuts with a tap.
From the factory they had rubber bumpers on a 4ea without a bolt and they were full of crud.

I added bolts to all those spots, 2 over the axle and the 2 just in front of the axle.
There are now 16 bolts holding down the body plus the 2 under the core support.
163308

[tim222]

I robbed the rallys off the back of my 68 camaro project to check for tire clearance.

The 275's are known to fit these cars if your wheels have perfect backspacing, but the rally wheel backspacing was wrong.


I recently bought one of those super sweet dewalt quick clamps that also works as a spreader. (just flip the jaws)
The one I have is rated for 600lbs force, more than enough to "push" the quarter panels out a smidge
163316


I worked my way back and forth inside the wheel tub and moved the outer tub out just enough to clear the 275 tires.
I think I pushed each side out about 3/4" or so?

Probably only took me 15 minutes per side and you wouldn't notice unless it was pointed out.
There is still nearly an inch on the inside of the tire, I should be able to stuff a 295 or 305 now with the correct offset without mini-tubs

163317

[tim222]

I hung the nose back on the car and I am having some trouble getting the side body line to be straight.

To be honest Im not sure how straight it ever was, but it sure is not straight now.
I added extra shims under the core support, but it is still out of whack

The front of this car has a bit of sag if it is not riding on the front suspension
I have to be careful how the car is supported when lining up the fenders to the doors.
Not to mention the passenger fender is chock full of a horrid bondo repair from the early 80's


On the bright side the flared rear wheel wells are hard to see but look good if you happen to notice
163403