Bernadine: 1978 Buick Regal Restoration/Build

[78Regal350]

November 14, 2022: More retrospect (early September). Once the whole frame was bare metal again and the dust was cleaned off I sprayed black Rustoleum rust converter inside the frame rails & other hard to reach areas (fro t spring pockets, front control arm mounts, back side of rear crossmember, etc.). Then I flipped the frame back over, bolted on some 2x8 “bumpers”, and got it set on some makeshift sawhorses/stands. From there I got the frame into primer. Unfortunately my lack of picture taking happened around this point, so I don’t have any shots of the frame fully in primer.

 

[78Regal350]

November 14, 2022: More retrospect (September). The entire frame was in primer by about September 7th, which is about when I turned my focus to prepping/restoring all the parts that needed to go back onto the frame. This was also when taking pictures really shut down since I was in probably the most arduous part of the restoration (thus far, anyway). All the control arms, trailing arms, coil springs, spindles, etc., got cleaned in the parts washer. Then blasted in the blast cabinet and/or sanded by hand. Then all the control bushings & ball joints were removed. Then all the parts were prepped for primer & paint. Then primed. Then painted…. I think you get it. haha

Another HUGE time consumer was restoring all the suspension & frame hardware. Every single bolt, nut, & screw was cleaned in the parts washer, wire wheeled with the bench grinder, and refinished using the Caswell black oxide kit.

Spindle before & after:

Hardware refinishing:

 

[78Regal350]

November 14, 2022: More retrospect (September 27th). With a lot of the parts now ready to get put back on the frame I was finally able to the frame painted. I used Rustoleum Professional semi gloss black, and lifted the frame with an engine hoist & ceiling-mounted electric cable hoist so I could easily paint the underside.

Frame lifted with the hoists:

Bare frame after paint:

 

[abbey castro]

That frame looks really nice!

 

[78Regal350]

November 15, 2022: More retrospect (early to mid October). Once I had most of the suspension & steering parts ready the reassembly process started, beginning with the front end. I used the original springs & lower control arms, new Moog upper control arms (since I damaged one of the originals trying to remove the bushings), rebuilt the original calipers, added new brake dust shields, new rotors, and fitted all new steering linkage. I also rebuilt the original power steering box, which was a good learning experience. New front brake hoses, a new proportioning valve, & new brake lines from Inline Tube finished up the front.

 

[78Regal350]

November 15, 2022: Even more retrospect (late October). Based on the date of pictures I started working on the rear end on October 20th. I got it cleaned up pretty well and documented whatever original paint markings I could reasonably make out. I don’t really know what any of the markings signify, but I wanted to replicate whatever I could. After disassembly & a fresh coat of semi gloss black paint, several days were spent getting the rear set up properly. Using the original 7.5” housing I installed a Torsen-Zexel carrier with 3.23 gears, 28 spline Grand National axles, and all new Timken pinion & carrier bearings. New axle bearings & seals, new brake backing plates (painted gold to resemble the original gold cad plates) & wheel cylinders, new AC Delco drums, a NOS GM diff cover, new bushings, and new Inline Tube brake lines buttoned up my first rear end rebuild. I also opted for new zinc plated diff cover bolts because by this point I had little interest in washing, wire wheeling, and black oxide dipping 10 more bolts. haha

NOTE: I know many will scoff at me rebuilding/reusing the 7.5” rear end. But the truth is, the engine going in this car will be putting out 350-400 hp, the car will never wear slicks, it’ll never get raced, and I won’t be dumping the clutch at 3500 RPM.

Some original paint markings from the rear end. The fading makes the colors hard to discern in the pictures, but I’m pretty confident I replicated the colors correctly.

Some installed shots of the restored rear end.

 

[78Regal350]

November 15, 2022: Last retrospective ramblings (end of October to present). With the rear end rebuilt, I installed it along with the original/refinished springs & trailing arms and new AC Delco shocks, which I painted grey to resemble the factory shocks from the 70s. After repainting & installing a stock g body rear sway bar I installed stock Grand National tailpipe hangers (eBay score from earlier this year), followed by a restored 34mm hollow f body front sway bar (junkyard find a couple years ago) & refreshed F41 front frame braces. Lastly I cleaned & repainted the original trans crossmember, and installed it using NOS GM insulators.

Also, the #2, 3, 4, 6, & 7 upper body mount cushions on the frame are repro p/n- 348080 from Classic Industries. I shot them with aqua spray paint & added the yellow paint daubs to replicate NOS bushings. And the #5 cushions are NOS GM pieces.

 

[69hurstolds]

Every time I read "NOS" in your writeups I got slightly aroused.

Looking great! Keep up the good work!

 

[78Regal350]

Update November 21, 2022 (part 1): Since getting the frame done and finally updating this thread, I been feeling some nervous/anxious energy about what direction to go in next. With the winter months here in southeast Indiana being pretty cold I definitely don’t want to do anything requiring open garage doors (like bodywork or paint), and I’m obviously not gonna mess with the interior yet. Over the past week I’ve decided I’ll finally tackle the engine next.

Background on the engine:
I bought the ‘71 Buick 350 for this car 19 or 20 years ago. Soon after disassembly I took the block, heads, and all the aftermarket parts I had already accumulated to BES for machining. At that time the block was bored 0.030” (but not honed), decked 0.010”, and the heads got a surface grind and full competition valve job which included new hardened seats, bronze guides, and cut for 1.92” intake valves (stock are 1.875”).

Being 20/21 at the time, I ran out of money before having the block honed, getting cam bearings installed, having the crank turned/polished, etc., so the block has been sitting on an engine stand ever since.

 

[78Regal350]

Update November 21, 2022 (part 2): I’ll be taking the block for hone (and the connecting rods for resizing) maybe next week, but needed to address a couple things with this block first.

My engine block didn’t have a provision for the bell crank pivot ball, and since I’ll be doing a manual trans conversion using stock mechanical clutch linkage I got that hole drilled & tapped today. I also ground off any flashing and miscellaneous casting junk around the lifter valley & main webs.