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June
26, 2003 Whoa! That's A Lot of Stuff!For the first time in the project, I felt truly overwhelmed this evening. For the most part, there's nothing on this car that I don't understand or can't fix or for which I can't find a replacement. But after seeing how many tiny screws, rivets and pins hold the door hardware together, how complex the weather-stripping is, how many parts are assembled with rivets instead of bolts, I felt intimidated. How will I ever know how all this goes back together again? I took a lot of pictures, drew dozens of diagrams and labeled virtually every part, but I still feel like putting the doors back together will be a major project. Why? Because there are parts that I simply don't recognize when I see them. I recognize a connecting rod or a lifter or a rocker arm, so the engine doesn't scare me. I understand how the body is held together and recognize every part of it. I even understand everything going on with the wiring and dashboard. But weather-stripping and window regulators are so tiny and delicate that I worry about reassembling them properly. To give you an idea of the magnitude of what I was facing, here's the pile of parts I had after the past three days of working on the Buick:
That's a lot of parts! I used up two boxes of Zip-Lock baggies (that's 80 bags!) tagging the little parts coming out of the doors, and I even grouped some things together to save bags! I also have that pile of trim, glass and weather-stripping, window risers, access panels, braces and dividers and a bunch of little clips that hold it all together. I drew pictures of each item and its placement in the door and stuck the sketches into the baggies with the parts so when the time comes, I'll at least have an idea of where things go. I also realized that I should probably try to restore most of this stuff before I move on--the window mechanisms in particular. They're riveted together, so I'll probably have to do it by hand instead of just blasting the individual parts. I'd rather do it now than have to hurry up and get it done later when I'm reassembling everything. The good news is that I picked up my Steele Rubber catalog and glanced through it. Now that I have everything apart, many of the parts that I knew I needed but didn't know where they went now make much more sense to me. Window channels, bumpers, and even the little wheels that go on the window risers are available from Steele. That made me feel better. The only thing I didn't see that I know I'll need is window channel for the rear quarter windows on a sedanette--but I know it must exist because many people have restored these cars before. Perhaps I will have to buy some bulk channel and install it myself as a custom job. That should be easy enough, right? Right? I also discovered that the driver's door latch mechanism has been cobbled together by some hack (maybe the same guy who installed all the trim around the windows). I don't know what happened to it, but there were two extra springs holding it together that clearly didn't belong there. Fortunately, there are NOS door latches on Ebay right now! I guess I'll have to bid on them. Fortunately they don't seem expensive. Yet... I'm going to take inventory on Saturday and regroup. All these little parts should be grouped and boxed, and the bigger things will be restored before I move on. I'm going to continue to work towards pulling the body off the frame as soon as possible, since blasting and powdercoating the frame may take a while, but I don't want to neglect this other stuff just because I'm excited to get to the fun projects. Remember, it's all about enjoying the journey, not just the destination itself. That always helps to refocus me. Well, usually... Previous
Restoration Day E-mail me at toolman8@sbcglobal.net This page accessed Thanks, Fidget! |
