BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

Thanks for the responses and replies guys. I’ll reply to you all when I’m done work and back home again tonight.

I’ll also be laying out the game plan for what’s coming up next in the grand scheme of things. It may not be what you expect...

Injectedcutty said:

It's awesome to see primer laid down over all that meticulous metal work Donovan! The body lines already look crisp, and I'm sure after blocking they will look really good when the final paint gets sprayed!!!!

Well done on getting it done today, I know you've been grinding hard lately, and the results already speak for themselves buddy!

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I have to take a minute to thank Scott on a personal level.
For those of you that don’t know, he and I talk quite frequently, almost on a daily basis at times, despite the fact that he’s roughly 1800 miles away. Scott is and often has been my barometer and sounding board as I tell him about and send him pics of the car during our chats. He has often also been my source of sanity when I get super frustrated with a particularly troublesome problem. He’s never once complained and is always positive and encouraging.

So thank you for that my friend, I really and truly appreciate it.

Yes, it’s awesome seeing some primer finally after all these months of work. It’s been a really big push to get to this point these last few weeks. As you noted, the body lines are clean and well defined, they will only continue to get crisper once I start blocking it out. I had a good look at my body work when the primer was still wet, and was extremely happy with what I saw. It really shouldn’t take much to get it laser straight, I’m thinking maybe only one reprime after the first round of block sanding. That makes all the hours fussing over the bodywork all worth it right there.

Thanks for commenting my friend!

O. D. Showtime said:

You guys really kicked butt Donovan, looks great!

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Thanks Kevin.
As I mentioned in my response to Scott above, it’s been quite the thrash to get it into primer lately. Not enough to cut corners and rush things mind you, but it’s definitely been a great motivator to get that stage completed. Thanks for looking in on the progress sir!

Northernregal said:

Oh man. That looks so good. 6 weeks and hopefully I’ll be getting to get close to that step.

Here is hoping you get to keep chipping away so I get more paint tips. Haha.

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Appreciate it Duke.
It’s taken me way longer to reach this point than I ever anticipated it would, but I’ve also come across and repaired quite a few unexpected things along the way. Couple that with a few last minute decisions (modifying the marker lights to flush mount etc), and the snowball kept on getting bigger.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for ya that the same thing doesn’t happen to you and that you’ll be able to meet your deadline. Any time you need tips or advice, don’t hesitate to ask me or the other guys on here, we’d be happy to help in any way we can. It’s what we do.

liquidh8 said:

Looks great, alot of work but it'll pay off in the end!

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Definitely words of experience and wisdom there Jim!
I know you’ve gone through this process with the wagon, as have I many times on past projects. The work that I’ve put into it up till this point has been the lions share tho. Putting in the effort to address all the little details and make sure the metal and bodywork was right beforehand like I did will pay dividends on the next steps.
Thanks for the encouragement!

Canon_Mutant said:

I like those rear quarter lines better than my 87. Oh, I think I'll keep it but . . . just sayin!

I was actually in the process of making actual progress on both the 67 and 87, went to town, and caught the damn flu!

Forgot my full body condom . . .

Looking good D!

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Thanks Garth!
Get well soon and get rocking back on your ‘87. I’ll be continuing to watch for the updates.

Texas82GP said:

The car is looking great Donovan. I'm glad to see you have the help. That's a good friend. Savor the victory my friend. Days like you had today are why we do this.

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Thank you Jared. Well said my friend.
Often times we’re so busy looking to the future or next step, we forget to just appreciate the “now”. It is much easier to do at a major milestone like this tho!
Mike has definitely been a welcome extra set of hands since his arrival back on the scene, I cannot say enough about my appreciation for all his time and contribution to the car already. He is a very good friend indeed.
Thanks for the comments and encouragement.

Slowpoke said:

Looks good..i used a high power pressure washer and that stuff came right off. A lot less work too. Albeit a bit soggy.

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Thanks man.
However your suggestion wouldn’t work for me for more than a couple of reasons tho.

First off, I don’t own a pressure washer, so it’d have to be done at a car wash, and we all know how popular that would be.
Secondly, the car is currently not able to be started. Back in October I pulled the QuadraJet off it and gave it to my boss (a former Red Seal journeyman mechanic and self professed Q-Jet “expert”) to get overhauled and rebuilt with a kit I picked up. I still haven’t got it back yet, so no bueno there.
Thirdly, even if I was able to start it and pull it outside to pressure wash those areas, it’s 20 below Celsius here, and the two foot snowdrift behind the big door might have something to say about it!


So as you can see, manually scraping all that old stuff off was our only real option. Thanks for sharing what worked for you tho!

Thanks for the comments and encouragement guys, I’m going to outline the plan of attack now that this stage has been reached right away next, stay tuned!

Ok, so.

Getting the back half of this old girl into primer was a HUGE deal for me. I’ve been working on the car near non stop since the beginning of June last year, and it’s SO nice to finally see it all in one colour again, even if it is flat grey. It’s been quite the all encompassing journey, working the roof and quarter panels has taken me from the base of the windshield (A pillars) to the very rearmost part of the car, the bumper pockets, quarter extensions, and trunk jamb.
Similarly, it’s taken me from the very top of the roof and AstroRoof to the lowest pinch weld under the car and inside the wheel wells. And everything in between, quite the undertaking!

But now that it’s finally at a point where I can move on, I’m going to outline where I need to focus on next so it makes sense to y’all.

You might expect that I’d move on to the next sections, the doors, rocker panels, door jambs, trunk etc, but that’s actually not where I’m going next. They will definitely get done, but it’s just not going to be my main priority at this point.
My self imposed priority is actually going to be to get the car weather tight and sealed up again so that I can actually drive and enjoy it this season, primer or not!

Starting on the repairs to the body in June of last year ruined my entire cruising season, and I refuse to let that happen again. After all, that’s the whole reason I bought this second Cutlass, to have something that I could cruise in and stay active in the hobby outside of working in the garage.

So with that being said, things should be a little more interesting and with more frequent updates as I start knocking little things off the list. In order to get it weather tight again, I’ve got to get the rear quarter windows back in it (among other things), which requires having the quarter window trim finished and installed first. It also means having the B pillars painted, as well as the areas under the trim. So you can see where this all will lead.

Starting tonight, I’m going to be completing the work done so far, the insides of the quarter panels need the welds ground down and a coating applied back on to restore it to its pre-repaired state.





Similarly, there’s a spot on the inside front of the lower quarter panel behind the seatbelt box that’s going to require the same treatment. That’ll get me started anyways, and then I can go from there.

So anyways, thanks for checking back and listening to my thoughts and ramblings. As always, your thoughts and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated!

Till then,

D.