| I haven't been
able to find
a garage for the winter. For some years by now my father, whose firm
builds
construction site huts, suggested he would bring me one for
my car. But my wife's comments were always something like "over my dead
body". However, this time I was able to convince her, but on one
condition
- it wouldn't stay longer than this winter. So my father found an extra
wide one for me - it's 3.3 meters wide (as opposed to 3.0 m) by 6
meters
long, made of urethane elements, has good lighting and heating, and
without
front fenders and doors, will easily hatch my Buick over the winter -
JUST
PERFECT. Thank you dad, I truly appreciate it!
The picture was shot October 20, and the white stuff on the tires is snow, so this was perfect timing. |
Over late September and early October, I installed a pile of sound
deadener
matting all over the firewall and floor. I also installed new pinchweld
seal and reveal moldings around the window apertures, replaced the tack
strips around door perimeter, and assembled some of the bits and parts
back to the firewall, wiper towers and so forth. This is really the
kind
of work I've been looking for. |
 Being
too cold to work outside, I decided to create a complete wiring
diagram,
before routing a single wire on the car. I created this schematic using
Micrografx Designer, and it's very sharp in its actual size of A3 (like
a magazine centerfold) The diagram is loosely based on a 1946 Buick
wiring
diagram, but with modern additions. Circuit numbers (and colors where
feasible)
follow the 70's - 80's GM diagrams. This is a system with OE dash
controls
and gauges, but with 12-volts, alternator, H4 headlights, solenoid
trunk,
solenoids for rear airbags and pump, etc. |
 |
| Originally I
was determined
to get wire wheels from Wheel
Vintiques,
but the more I saw pics of classic customs, especially the Barris
Custom
technigues Vol 1 thru 4, the more I fell in love with the 47-52
Cadillac
"sombrero" wheelcovers. So I got myself a set of 1948 Cad sombreros, or
actually 3 of them, a year ago. By the way, you can get repros from McVeys,
either in polished stainless of chrome flashed stainless.
I had already come up with a few ideas on how to modify them to fit non-Cadillac wheels. Until just recently, when I typed "sombrero" on the eBay Motors search engine to see the current offering, I ran into a full set of these 1952 Buick "sombreros". Now I'm having a hard time deciding upon which ones to wear on my Buick! Although both wheelcovers are for a 15" wheel, the Buick wheelcover is slightly smaller and reveals part of the wheel rim. |