1984 Grand National build thread...complete restore

[Toby_Goodmk]

more progress made. Did alot of repair on the mechanics of thedrivers seat bottomas well as bun material using a certain type of poly fill made for upohlestry

The seat back was taken back apart to shove more fill into the center seat pads because there is not enough fill. I think I have the seats the way i wanted them to look now.













I cannot decide if I want to put the ash tray in the back. It looks clean without, but not proper without.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

I think I will hold off on the ash trays for now, can always put them in at a later time.

Here is an actual seat finished with tracks!!! yea! Finally.

The before and after amaze me.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

switched gears a bit.....no pun intended.....lol.......to work on my new 3:42 posi basket case. Ordered a master bearing and seal kit tonight as well as a Moser Alum girdle. This week it gets sent to be setup and all the items installed properlyclearanced.

Second thing i did this eve was to replace the control arm bushings. I was able to do this in 15 minutes with this tool, check it out. I am going to post for others in another thread. I have removed these the hard way, and will NEVER go back....this was toooo easy.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Dutweiller hot air headers arrived...now these are as rare as the Holy Grail....huch worse than an 8.5 posi 3:73 or a mint console

New rubber put on some 16x8 GNX wheels.





quarter panels are nearing completion with teh block. Will see primer Friday

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

well the GN did not see primer this weekend. For some reason I started working on the steering column to decide to replace it. One thing led to another and I found myself with a rats nest under the column. I found most if not all the functions in the cluster not working so I tackled it because it bugged the shit out of me. I guess it needed to be done sooner or later. So at least the instrument panel and all the lights, lens, turbo boost gauge and rpm gauge have all been replaced, cleaned and updated. The steering column has been painted proper slate gray, new steering button collar and new steering wheel installed.





Installed the new turn signal stalk. Talk about a huge pain in the ass fishing this wire down the column!



Got the 8.5 posi rear back from being setup with all new timken bearings and national seals new clutches, shims, etc. I also took some time to make the Moser girdle have a little signature standout. I cleared the entire rear end to make sure the aluminum cover as well as the paint is washable with high pressure.







And finally I got the quarters and teh weld lines, body lines and curve of the body where i wanted them, and they are now ready for paint. I cannot wait to put the rear end in with the newcoiloversto let the car lower down finally on its new wheels andtires.










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tobyp
Royal Smart Person
Posts:1898
Joined:Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:33 pm
Location:Cincinnati, Ohio
Re: 1984 Buick Grand National coming back to life!
bytobypon Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:13 pm
She is under primer!











and I dyed an instrument panel surround that was tan to the right slate grey color

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

BACK IN BLACK!!

finished the final blocking



laying some rock guard













tomorrow will be taking care of a little fish eye

and laying a final coat of base coat, then 3 fresh coats of high solids clear coat

overall nice crisp body lines and no sign of where I welded in teh new sheet metal seams.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Clear coat!









God love the iwata super nova

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

its on the ground. A little too low though lol. Need to raise the front end a bit











onto dye the dash and the rest of the interior now

before dash board



after

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

windshield is in

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Thanks!

THe car has 16x8 GNX wheels with 245/50/16 V ratedtires. I did raise it just a little to keep thetiresfrom rubbing a bit.










it has a respectable rake now. I have to keep in mind the entire interior needs to go in and therefore will need to make ajustments again.
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tobyp
Royal Smart Person
Posts:1898
Joined:Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:33 pm
Location:Cincinnati, Ohio
Re: 1984 Buick Grand National coming back to life!
bytobypon Sun Feb 23, 2014 10:25 pm
put some glass in tonight to see how dark the windows would look....omg....

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Finally starting some different stuff, dye the interior starts today

UsingGbodyparts.compaint which is specially made for him and the color match is good.

Following up with some SEM low sheen clear for protection of the dye. I only had to substitute a couple panels that I didnt have inSandGray.





and yes, the daughter is learning the trade!



excellent factory sheen using this type of system

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Door panels put on this evening.






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tobyp
Royal Smart Person
Posts:1898
Joined:Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:33 pm
Location:Cincinnati, Ohio
Re: 1984 Buick Grand National coming back to life!
bytobypon Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:41 pm
Back seats in, carpet is infrontpassseatis in, sail panels are in...getting closer!














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tobyp
Royal Smart Person
Posts:1898
Joined:Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:33 pm
Location:Cincinnati, Ohio
Re: 1984 Buick Grand National coming back to life!
bytobypon Sun Mar 02, 2014 1:07 am
Refinished my console this evening and applied the custom applique to the center console. I decided to two tone the center console to accent the dual colors of the 84 GN stand out even more







And the other seat was installed

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

It will probably start to get boring after this point posting about the GN since most of the transformation has been finished. I still have to do a final wet sand, finish the moldings and line up the body. Ill still post some of the results, but the wow factor for the most part is finished. I cannot wait for spring to see the sky throught these TTOP sections being taken out!!

Finished more fine detail on the interior, as in adding some gauge pods to the center console, finishing the kick panels, wiring lights up, putting the HVAC back in, adjusting the glove box...all the simple tedious things that take a whole day to finish up....









Oh, and yes.... the signature sand color...to match....floor mats

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

The paint is starting to look nice now, love theMatrixpaintsystem.

I am getting used to wet sanding the black as well

Reflection shows no urethane wave, its nice and flat and the color is deep. The reflection is nice and smooth.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

TTOP are put in this weekend. It took me all weekend to put the moldings in, dry fit the ttop seals, re-work and add locks to my ttops and get everything adjusted to fit correct. It was nice seeing that the tops fit correct after all the fabrication and replacement of everything, The seals fit well and the gbodyparts stainless steel plate kit was very nice to install. Putting the T bar back in was a little chore to put the rivets into the T bar with the seals in the way

A peak of the suspension lookin gout on the front

Loved putting this emblem on!

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Well engine seems to be toast...loud knocking after a 10 mile trip. Cut open the filter...dropped the pan...shavings everywhere. Pulled 3 main caps....doesn't look too bad not too good either. Oh well stay tuned...looks like engine mods are going to come sooner than expected
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tobyp
Royal Smart Person
Posts:1898
Joined:Sun Jun 12, 2011 9:33 pm
Location:Cincinnati, Ohio
Re: 1984 Buick Grand National coming back to life!
bytobypon Tue Mar 11, 2014 6:55 pm
pics of the bearings....what is odd on the main thrust cap there seems to be w

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

r on the sides from the bolts...or something. Never seen this before
ATTACHMENTS

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

So the engine went bye bye for a bit. I guess Ill take some time to clean up the bay again. It was really nice but all the painting etc has made havoc of it again.



Found a new hoodliner for my hot air turbo for $50....a steal and even local. So I put that on so it would not only look better, but also keep the hood cool



the old one



Came across a NOS grille for the front end to look nice and uniform. Having the old one with everything being new bugged me.



old one



Got all the rest of the interior items dyed and cleared, just need to install them



The wing was repaired of its crack, epoxy primed and painted black. Just need to wetsand and buff



Only one quarter left to wet sand and buff! Here is the drivers side buffed and sanded 1000,1500,2000,3000 Abralon, Bodymagic Synthetic compound and Mirka Polarshine, andmeguiars26

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

well today I believe more in karma than ever. I spent most of the day on sat working on other peoples car for my cost for time. Painted afrontbumpercoverfor a guy i know till 3 am, and wrapped some Lear siegler seats for my dude Skyler

SO I scored a Webber 109NA converted block with Wiseco forged .40 pistons, 206 cam, New built transmission, intercooler, 2 sets of heads, one old, one set brand new old stock, new torque converter, intake, fuel rail, injectors. Block had 150 miles on it before it was pulled. $1200.00

I think I stole it.

The bill for the build alone was 2800.00

















I think it was me doing good things for people that this came my way.

 

[Toby_Goodmk]

Got a bit of small tedious work done over the past week

Wing is installed





Drivers side and passenger side wet sanded and buffed.





wheel well moldings installed



NOS grille installed





Took the windshield out and installed the correct clips installed the windshield again and put the moldings back on





installed all the interior plastics on the ttop







Some misc pictures of the interior finished