84' Cutlass pro touring build

[Tony1968]

Vinyl top, no rot? Yup, lucky.

And what I don't understand is there was no lead in the seam. Just pink body filler. And the vinyl was as cracked as badly as I've ever seen. Strange days indeed...

 

[Northernregal]

And what I don't understand is there was no lead in the seam. Just pink body filler. And the vinyl was as cracked as badly as I've ever seen. Strange days indeed...

My Regal was all filler. Not pink though, it was orange or beige? Been a few years....

 

[Rktpwrd]

And what I don't understand is there was no lead in the seam. Just pink body filler. And the vinyl was as cracked as badly as I've ever seen. Strange days indeed...

My Regal was all filler. Not pink though, it was orange or beige? Been a few years....

That’s not/wasn’t/isn’t body filler, it’s a form of seam sealer that GM was using at the time. Body filler is porous and will absorb water. You think vinyl top rot is bad now? Imagine if they had’ve actually used body filler.
Also, you guys may have noticed that it came out kinda crumbly when you were grinding it out, that’s a dead giveaway.
Body filler would’ve come out as dust.

 

[Tony1968]

That’s not/wasn’t/isn’t body filler, it’s a form of seam sealer that GM was using at the time. Body filler is porous and will absorb water. You think vinyl top rot is bad now? Imagine if they had’ve actually used body filler.
Also, you guys may have noticed that it came out kinda crumbly when you were grinding it out, that’s a dead giveaway.
Body filler would’ve come out as dust.

Makes sense. I was warned by a few guys here to beware of the lead so that's what I was expecting. I guess they rolled the dice on assembly lines back then.
Would you reinforce the tack welds at seam somehow or just send it?

 

[scoti]

I thought the lead ended mid 70's? I would of expected these Metric chassis cars to have a sealer vs lead since they started after '78.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Makes sense. I was warned by a few guys here to beware of the lead so that's what I was expecting. I guess they rolled the dice on assembly lines back then.
Would you reinforce the tack welds at seam somehow or just send it?

Up to you in the sail panel area Tony. If your running a fairly powerful mill and plan on actually getting traction (ie slicks or sticky road race tires), I would consider reinforcing the area somehow. These cars are known for being weak in this area and flexing with power. The Juggernaut has twist wrinkles in the sail panels from that big 455 of mine hooking up at the track.

Have a look through Olds Cools’ thread when I was working on that area to see how I did mine. I welded and shaped the critical corners and edges, then filled the rest with short strand fibreglass “kitty hair” filler.

I thought the lead ended mid 70's? I would of expected these Metric chassis cars to have a sealer vs lead since they started after '78.

GM still used lead in certain areas on our cars, depending on if it was going to be visible or not. The sail panel areas were a “roll of the dice” type thing. If it was going to be a vinyl roof car rolling down the assembly line, they slapped in seam sealer and sent it because it was quicker and cheaper than leading and finishing out the area perfectly. (Hidden underneath the vinyl). But if it was going to be a non-vinyl hardtop car, then they had to do it properly.

You’ll still find lead in areas like the “A” pillar to roof transition areas in all our cars because these areas were never hidden under the vinyl tops.

 

[motorheadmike]

Up to you in the sail panel area Tony. If your running a fairly powerful mill and plan on actually getting traction (ie slicks or sticky road race tires), I would consider reinforcing the area somehow. These cars are known for being weak in this area and flexing with power. The Juggernaut has twist wrinkles in the sail panels from that big 455 of mine hooking up at the track.

Have a look through Olds Cools’ thread when I was working on that area to see how I did mine. I welded and shaped the critical corners and edges, then filled the rest with short strand fibreglass “kitty hair” filler.



GM still used lead in certain areas on our cars, depending on if it was going to be visible or not. The sail panel areas were a “roll of the dice” type thing. If it was going to be a vinyl roof car rolling down the assembly line, they slapped in seam sealer and sent it because it was quicker and cheaper than leading and finishing out the area perfectly. (Hidden underneath the vinyl). But if it was going to be a non-vinyl hardtop car, then they had to do it properly.

You’ll still find lead in areas like the “A” pillar to roof transition areas in all our cars because these areas were never hidden under the vinyl tops.

Yup, seam sealer on my Monte's donor body along the sail panel pinch weld. I welded it up and added a filler piece because of the potential for damage from...

 

[pagrunt]

GM still used lead in certain areas on our cars, depending on if it was going to be visible or not. The sail panel areas were a “roll of the dice” type thing. If it was going to be a vinyl roof car rolling down the assembly line, they slapped in seam sealer and sent it because it was quicker and cheaper than leading and finishing out the area perfectly. (Hidden underneath the vinyl). But if it was going to be a non-vinyl hardtop car, then they had to do it properly.

This must of been a GM pratice from as early as the late '60's. My '72 Monte had the pink stuff instead of lead under the vinyl top

 

[melloelky]

Makes sense. I was warned by a few guys here to beware of the lead so that's what I was expecting. I guess they rolled the dice on assembly lines back then.
Would you reinforce the tack welds at seam somehow or just send it?

Tony if you have the means to do some welding it won't hurt but if you don't it's not the end of the world either.you've upgraded to a stiffer suspension/add on chassis items and aftermarket body mounts,all these measures will firm the ride substantially over stock.by the time you're done it'll flex less than before.

 

[Tony1968]

Tony if you have the means to do some welding it won't hurt but if you don't it's not the end of the world either.you've upgraded to a stiffer suspension/add on chassis items and aftermarket body mounts,all these measures will firm the ride substantially over stock.by the time you're done it'll flex less than before.

I agree and I'll blow the dust off the welder and tack on some pieces. Just because I don't want to take the chance that she'll crack in the future. I saw how MotorheadMike did his and will find D's thread for more information