1972 Estate Wagon Limited Coupe

Well, I hope nobody is on dial up...

Cause this may get ugly.

The top is in both better and worse shape than I thought. Not nearly as heavy as I thought, it also wasn't laying on the ground like I thought. It was sitting on a wrought iron fire escape we bough from the old hospital they tore down years ago.

Anyway, turns out most of the internals are aluminum and not steel. They look new. The glass is fine. The bigger rubber seals need treated but are intact. The manual crank on the motor works so the internals are still free. The sliding door is not only there, it's actually a full sheet of aluminum, too. Amazing.

Bad things; the area I cut out of the outer roof is pretty poor, but if you're only going to use an inch or so of it then it won't be a problem. Everything will need bead blasted. But that's not really a problem since it will all be hidden anyway. Bead blast, high build primer, some decent finish work and it's fine. BUT, the passenger side rear corner at the back drain is apparently where this thing held water. That area, probably 10 inches around the curve under the gasket will have to be rebuilt. Again, it's hidden so it doesn't have to be pretty, just strong.

And two posts of pics...if it works right...

 

Oh, cool, they show as thumbs! No massive dial up killing files. Here's the rest... (Rusted out area is visible in the first pic, gasket is pulled back out of the way.)

 

Thanks for the condolences. The funeral was today and went as well as such things go. Hopefully I won't have to do another for another decade or so...

Correction on the rust spot, that's the driver side rear of the unit, not the passenger. More pics on request(once the battery on the camera recharges).

 

Found two more, one close up of the motor and another angle of the rust spot...

 

This is just too cool, FMC. As just a car guy like Wix but not having anything to do with his build....I thank you.
This is a true car guy gesture that many would never understand. A hundred thumbs up to you.

 

I really didn't think much about it. I just thought "Hey, I'm never going to do anything with this(obviously), why not let someone have it that might?" I was sort of worried about the reaction. Some forums don't like noobs, and they don't appreciate intruding ones at all.

I almost didn't do it, too. When I registered it took 2 days for the registration email to arrive and I had just about given up.

Regarding shipping, I can attach a plywood or luan sheet directly to the frame over the glass and pad that, then build a frame and cover it with 1/4" plywood(not oxboard) and pad inside that. So structurally it should be rock solid shipping and to bust it they'd have to beat the hell out of it. I'm still just not sure WHO will ship it...

Oh, Rev, I did read the thread and realized it was a joke at some level. Still, wix seems like the sort to take on the challenge for real based on the stunning panel work he's done. Any good body guy can make the rest of it look smooth. Even the tailgate is within the range of the average guy. But that panel insert for the door conversion is absolutely amazing. I fully expected to see some irregularity over the seam once it was in primer but, wow. That's smoother than a factory coupe. I need him to do the work on my Deville...and my Eldorado. Especially the Eldo. :banghead3:

 

Maybe there are people from IN (I know at least one) and people from TX (I heard of several) who will attend the GSCA Nats in Bowling Green, KY. I know it is a long shot, but you can always give it a chance with a thread on v8buick.
Where exactly in IN are you from FMC?

 

Linton, IN, SW part of the sate 50 miles below Terre Haute. I could theoretically make it to Bowling Green with the Fleetwood, if this will fit in the FWB's trunk. The truck goes in for new 4.56's and springs shortly and probably won't be back on the road for a while...

Such an arrangement would seem to fix both the shipping issue and make it damn near free to boot. Hard to beat that.

 

Wow, I like what I see! I just need to see it bigger!





















I think this will work perfectly. I thought it was going to be still in the roof, and would need to be trimmed down, but it is already trimmed the way I was going to.

David

 

How much does this thing weigh?
It might not need a big wood framed box. The luan sheet is probably a good idea, but I bet a heavy cardboard box,
with styrofoam panels on top and bottom, and taped up big time.

Just might work. Fed-Ex or UPS is probably a good way to ship it.

Let's bat this around a little. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

David

 

I haven't weighed it yet but I am restricted on what I am allowed to lift and I got it in the truck by myself, and wrestled around for the shots(the wife would kick my ass if she'd seen that). So I'd say...50lbs?

There was method to my madness regarding how it was removed from the donor. Two decades later I'll be damned if I remember what that method was but this was the right way. All that extraneous steel was more problem than it was worth...for some reason.

I am scared of packing it too lightly. If that piece of glass gets smashed it's game over. Well, actually a steel panel can be used in place of it. I had a Boattail that had the solid panel roof. But still, I'd hate to see it broke. I'll do some measuring and get some info from UPS and chat up the girl that drives the local truck and see what I can do to get it babied.

Today started my wife's vacation. We'll be gone Monday and Tuesday and part of Wednesday. By then the store will have some ideas for me and I'll post 'em up here. The only disadvantage to a heavy pack is weight. I have the materials laying around. So it'll really just depends on what you want to spend. I'll build it as heavy as we think is needed.

 

Throw some of those styrofoam worms in between the glass and aluminum, and a huge "GLASS, HANDLE WITH CARE" on both sides.

 

OK, back from Little Nashville and Brown Co.

Wife thinks this thing will ship UPS without the freight premium. If so it may be only around $50. I'll know more tomorrow.

I'm thinking now: Luan or light plywood sheet with nothing between it and the glass, then cover it all in cardboard packed with styro of some form(maybe some of the smurfboard I have around from construction work). Leaving the space between the wood protection and the glass empty leaves a void for an impact area. If I fill that with packing a hard impact would just smash the packing material into the glass... It's not like the glass can move anywhere in the metal frame, it's just a danger of something going thru it... Even that's only a danger from one side...

 

Ever thought of a newer roof from a late model or something who's gonna know it has to be grafted in anyway?

 

Size. They just ain't this big. Even the ones from something like a Navigator are smaller.