BUILD THREAD 1987 Olds 442 Project Build

All done and ready to go on the shelf and wait for the day it goes back in.

I put my web logo on the bottom of the speedo. I also found a granny cluster with no hole on the lens to compliment my trip od delete.

I polished the lens using a headlight resto kit. Looks like glass now.

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I think I'll post some pics of the lens clean too.

Hutch
 
This is what I did to polish my gauge cluster lens.

I used the orig lens to test the results.
Rally_Gauge_21.JPG

It doesn't show as well as in person, but this thing had a lot of small scratches and a few big ones.

I used 3M's Headlight Restoration Kit
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The kit comes with 3 sanding disks: 500, 800, and a Trizact 3000 disc. I sand with 500 then 800 by hand.
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Here's what the sanding results look like. Check with your fingernail for any deep scratches you didn't get. Keep sanding evenly until they're all gone.
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Then on to the Trizact 3000 grit foam pad
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Use plenty of water for this. Wet down the pad and the lens. Once a "slurry" develops, make multiple passes. Clean and check. I repeated about 3 times.
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After the 3 sessions the lens is a little cloudy, but all signs of scratches in the plastic are gone.
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On to the buffing pad and a little Meguiars PlastX. Mist the pad with some water for best results.
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Lastly, finish up with the synthetic wax from the kit.
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All done. It doesn't show as well in the pics, but this was a night and day difference. There were 2 bad horizontal scratches that were half covered by the tape. You can see they disappeared past the tape line.
Rally_Gauge_35.JPG


Hutch
 
Last edited:
Brilliant idea using a headlight restoration kit Hutch! One of those things "why didn't I think of that!?!"
:blam:
I used some Meguires plastic cleaner and polish on mine as well, but just by hand with a soft cloth. The results were good, but not nearly as good as what you accomplished.

I'll have to try that method on mine the next time I have it out again, thanks for posting the tip and method!

The entire gauge cluster turned out fantastic, I love the personalized features such as the rocket logo and the "rocket fuel only". Great subtle little touches, you should be proud.

Any interest in doing up another for a certain forum member here (hint hint)?
Lol, just kidding.

Nice job sir, well done. Love it.

Donovan
 
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And if anyone's interested in hearing a jackass ramble on about his Rally Gauges in a video, I did a 3 part series on the resto.


Hutch
 
Good job on the lense restoration, looks good.
 
Finally got some time scheduled with my body man in a couple of weeks. He gave me some homework to do. I got a lot of undercoating and rust stripped off the underside of the body. I also drilled out the spot welds and removed the Rear Seat Cross Member Bracket that was rusted to pieces on the ends.
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The ends literally fell apart when they came off.

I ordered a new cross member from G-Body Parts. Nice piece.
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There is a bit of a gap end to end than the original. Still, I'm just glad someone's reproducing them.
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Hutch
 
Thanks for bringing this over here- I've been keeping tabs on the other site but this is better-easier... Really great work and keep posting- huge help for all of us.. Thanks pal
 
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I posted this in Events for my Spring Carlisle post, but I'll post it here too since it concerns the 442. I picked up a nice 87 Monte SS rear spoiler.
87_Monte_Spoiler.JPG


Hutch
 
Scored a manual seat track a few days ago at a local yard. The seat motor in my car has a dead spot where it won't work. If I can't get it fixed, this is the backup plan.

Manual Seat Track 1.JPG

Manual Seat Track 2.JPG


Hutch
 

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