Fixing up a '71 Grand Safari

That's interesting. I wonder what the reasoning there was.

 

The GM vinyl top cars I've had of this era (60's-70's) all had lead in them. As far as I know GM used lead until the early 80's on all of their cars to join the roof to the body pillars. The difference was how finished the lead joint was - painted top cars were finished and looked nice. Vinyl top cars were just had the lead slathered on and then the top glued down without any paint! Hence why they rotted underneath them...

If I were doing a car I'd go with modern fillers that are made for joining body panels, no reason to use lead anymore.

 

Probably depended on the plant. My experience is with Fremont, Southgate, and Doraville cars. There was a cursory color and maybe some primer. Most of the driest SoCal cars with vinyl tops have had nothing but bare metal underneath them when I pulled the top off!

 

Hi there!

I'm from Germany and I own a '75 Grand Safari. This one here blows my mind, simply amazing work.

Is it possible to remove the marked trim without removing the side window?

Thanks in advance.

 

It was lead well into the late 80's and with vinyl tops not well finished and no paint on the roof. Hence the bubbling and rusting under the top. Unless the car was stored in a climate controlled garage they will all have rust when you peel the top always more than you thought. Just replaced on on a 1985 limo.

 

Hi Bambus, thanks. It is possible to remove that trim without removing the window, however you'll need some different sized phillips head screwdrivers. The trim screws in my car were not very tight and weren't rusty, however if they were tight it could require more work than I had to do. I had a very short, stubby screwdriver and it was still a challenge. I believe a flexible screwdriver such as the one in this picture might would be very helpful.

 

Well, I have not forgotten about the wagon by a longshot. I started a new job a while back and we have two little girls and other business matters which leaves just about enough time to get the lawn mowed each week with just a few hours to devote to anything else. I've had a litany of projects that have taken up all of this year and some of last on the weekend.

All of the sheetmetal is back from the paint shop. It's all stored in a bedroom in the basement of my parent's house, which fortunately for me, they don't use anymore. I have less than zero room in my garage. I still need to buy all new hardware and then I can begin reassembly. I'll also need to cut out and replace a couple small places of sheetmetal in front of the rear tires, and once that is done I believe the car will be 100% rust free.

We inherited a '97 Lumina from my cousin that passed away. It's a pretty good car, but as with them all, I've had to do some work to get it back up in shape and we now use it as a daily work commuter. I finally finished replacing the kitchen wall. A few more weeks and I think I'll be on track to get started back on the wagon. We both can't wait to drive it again. The sad part is, I don't think either of our kids even remember riding in it.

 

Soon as it's done, you'll give them new memories. My condolances on the passing of your cousin. I had a cousin pass away about a year and a half ago; she was very troubled.

 

Sorry to hear about your cousin passing. I'm glad to hear that you haven't forgotten about the wagon, but it sounds like you;re a busy guy and your priorities are in the right place. I'm looking forward to more updates in the near future.

 

A buddy of mine's dad had that engine set-up in a 71 Grandeville. His older brother took us for a spin far enough away from the house. He got out and flipped the air cleaner's cover, so that everyone could hear the golfball-sized secondaries roar (GM used to stamp their air cleaner covers, as if they knew owners would discover that it fitted just as well upside down. Perhaps, they were waiting for lazy owners to simply flip the covers, without first wiping off road debris, hoping to sell parts needed to compensate for wear caused by scratched pistons, rings and cylinder walls. Who knows?). Then, brake torqued it. The tires smoked like a steam engine. Look forward to yours doing likewise and please send us photos.

 

Hi there!

I just did some research in your thread about another problem I have with my '75 GS and found a pic of your door.
I have four of these handles, two longer and two shorter ones ...but no idea where to attach them to the door.
Should they be attached to that marked sheet of metal? I only have four big holes there...

 

There should be sheet metal nuts on the inner door skin that the screws go through; have you removed the door panel to see if they're there?

 

I did. Basically there is only a lot of ...hole. But I cannot find hints that there was sheet metal cutted out in this area. It's a bit mysterious.
I can take pics the next time I'm there.

 

Yeah, the stamping will make holes where needed, then the stamped nuts are inserted before the door panel's installed. Vetteman, didn't you get an extra door or two when you got the repair parts?