1958 Buick Caballero

The compound itself was evidently slippery enough, so that further subsrtances weren't necessary. I don't ever remember detecting compound residue, after having removed glass from various cars using rubber gaskets. So, it must be a modern method, to use a sealing compound, for extra measure

 

I think you're right; I know that he adds the bedding compound in the gasket channel to ensure no leakage past the gasket.

 

This has to be the best blog ever.
Your attention to detail is astonishing.

 

I'll say!
I am constantly impressed with the attention to detail on this car. You're upholstery skills are very impressive. I don't know if you have ever said previously, but you must have spent your career doing upholstery. It would make restoring a car to a high level pretty appealing knowing you could do so much of the work yourself. As always fantastic work and thanks for sharing.

 

With the pillar trim done, carpeting and folding seat mechanisms come next. Most restored Estate Wagons & Caballeros have the rear seat stanchions bolted on top of the carpet, but all the photos of original, unrestored wagons I've seen clearly show a simple slot in the carpet and the stanchion protruding up through the slot in the carpet. Like this:


The folding seat frames can be adjusted in just about every direction, so it took quite a bit of measuring and trial fits to get the seats to appear level and even in the car.




Initial cut around seat stanchion.


I spent hours making vinyl "sleeves" to trim out the openings around the seat stanchions.


In the end, I decided that the sleeves didn't help and they weren't part of the original design, so I removed the sleeves and will make the slots look as good as possible.

No matter how I positioned the rear section of the carpet, I couldn't get a consistent position of the carpet openings in the rear door openings.

57BuickJim lent me his new carpet to compare to mine. The length of the rear door opening on his carpet was more than 1" shorter than mine.

To determine why the two sides fit differently, I folded my carpet over at the center line and found that the left and right pillar cut-outs did not match.


Trimming the passenger side pillar opening allowed the door openings to line up properly on both sides of the passenger pillar and door openings.



I wasn't comfortable trying to sew this on my machine, so I hand-stitched the binding back on to the re-cut edge.


The floor carpet is a typical 2-piece design. The rear section of carpet goes from the middle of the front door opening to the rear edge of the floor pan, under the rear seat. The front section of the carpet goes from the firewall/toe panel to the middle of the front door opening.

This is the pre-cut jute underlayment for the front carpet. Minor trimming was required at the bottom of the A pillar, at the center relief cut and below the steering column. Holes had to be cut for the dimmer switch and the accelerator rod.


Front carpet positioned.


Next comes the rear (underseat) heater installation.

 

Looks great!

 

Yes, I am retired but my career was primarily in manufacturing and product development of automotive seating and interiors. I've been playing with cars for nearly 50 years now.

 

Indeed! The detail work on this interior is fantabuli! (And I don't find many situations that warrant using that word!) Thank you for sharing in detail all your work. Look forward to the report on the underseat heater. Here's some study material for us readers/followers to help get ready:

https://www.hometownbuick.com/1958-buick-heater-air-conditioner/

 

I just read the entire thread and WOW what can I say? You Sir are a true craftsman....Excellent, excellent work! I can't wait to see the final product and photos of you and your family enjoying the wagon. Congrats!

 

Thanks!
I'm excited - getting close to the finish line!

 

This is what the rear seat heater looked like when I acquired the car:


Mostly mangled aluminum fins, but the tubing looked good.
I had the local radiator repair shop pressure test the unit; it passed with flying colors.

It took a couple of hours to get the fins to this point. I used tweezers, a fin comb, surgical hemostats and very small needle nose pliers...and a LOT of patience.




I worked on the fins until I could see air gaps between every fin, then a final cleaning to prepare for paint.




Painted heater unit with mounting brackets, attaching screws and newly fabricated gaskets:


In-cabin installation is quite simple. Each mounting bracket required 2 screws and there is one center clamp.


I'm going to wait to connect the underfloor hoses until I have the car up on a lift.

Now, back to interior bits!

These are the components that will become the rear door "dogleg" trim panels. They close out the rear door opening, from the rear edge of the sill plate up to the roof rail molding.


Top: stamped steel substrate (original to this car, with some corrosion repairs already completed)
Middle: 1/8" thick non-woven pad
Bottom: trim cover and windlace, already sewn together.
The trim cover and pad patterns were developed using the original "crispy" pieces that came off the car.

Trim cover and windlace after sewing and before attachment to the steel panel:


One edge of the steel substrate has pre-formed lance tabs to puncture and retain the windlace. The opposite edge is bonded with trim adhesive.

Binder clips make great clamps for this kind of work...


Ready!

 

I think Wow just sums it up. This car is going to be such a labor of love... I truly hope that this winds up being a legacy piece in your family. I know they know the labor and sweat equity you have in this car. I hope you have generations of your family that hold it in he same esteem of which you’ve built it.

 

Amazing work on the under seat heater. I think I would have run out of patience long before the task was finished.

 

It would have been even more stressfull, if you had to get it done, before driving with your date to a drive-in movie that night. What did those naughty Buick engineers have continually on their minds, between 9 and 5?

 

You totally amaze me. Thank you for sharing your achievements. I too am impressed with the rear heater.