Restauration of my 1979 Pontiac Catalina Safari

Discussion in 'Station Wagon Projects' started by tenner21, Mar 9, 2019.

  1. Darcane

    Darcane Well-Known Member

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    Gutter or drip rail would be appropriate.

    Don't worry too much about if you are using the right word. You use enough description and pictures that it's easy to follow even if you use terms that are different from what we might normally use.

    Mike
     
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  2. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Hello @Darcane : Wow, thats really pretty little. I think, germany is one of the most expensive countries. They means to do everything for our environment, but in reality the just only fill their own bags. But I think, it's the same wherever you go.
    Whatever...

    @OrthmannJ : The pictures I had postet are chronologically in the right order, but in reality it's one month ago.


    It continues:

    The last day, I worked at my Catalina, there are some little, but difficult parts to fix.
    At the rear door at drivers side, there were a little rust pimple, maybe with an area of 6spare mms. But after stabbing in a srewdriver, the little pimple grows up to a hugh hole.
    The problematic: ecause the rear doors are still installed to the body (because I had not enough space in the trunk).
    After welding and grinding it looks like the picture shows:
    [​IMG]

    And just take a look to the inner side...
    [​IMG]

    At the front drivers side, nearly the same place with the same signs: Just only a little pimple. But here the rust bytes a trace much harder: So not just the outer sheet was rustet, rather the inner main frame of the door too.
    [​IMG]

    So I had no other choise as remove both sheets and rebuild part by part. The last rusty traces are not a problem, because there were two reasons:
    1.) Because the high welding temperature, all water and oxigene in this area will removed.
    2.) After painting, the outer and inner sides of all doors will capsuled with paint or void preservative (I hope thats the right noun for "Hohlraumkonservierung").
    Just take a look to the repaired outer sheet (the inner was welded too)
    [​IMG]

    At last: All weatherstrips has removed from the doors. Problematic are the channel weatherstrppings, because the rubber was hardened like plastic and broke/cracked multiple by pulling them out.
    [​IMG]

    This photo shows you, like all side window sill seals looked
    [​IMG]

    Meanwhile I could order all weatherstrippings and window sill seals. But I was not able to find the right sill seal for the tailgate. I show you a picture, where you can watch this part. It's the seal between the bottom inner chrome molding and the brown plastic paneling of the tailgate.
    [​IMG]

    If you have any idea, where I can get this sill seal for my 1979 Catalina, please tell me as fast as you can.


    Best regards - Maik
     
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2019
  3. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Ok - thank you. I got it in my brain ;)
    Please, even if that's unusual, try to correct my if you want. Because that's just the only way to learn by doing ;). That's the first time for me to make a report in englisch.
    But just only if you want ;)


    Best regards - Maik
     
  4. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    It would be really helpful, if you could tell me, how the needed seal for the tailgate is called. I just only find trunk seals, but nothing for the sealing the window.
     
  5. Darcane

    Darcane Well-Known Member

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    As far as the terminology, I think you are referring to the window sweeps (or "felts"), if it's the weatherstripping at the bottom of the glass. If you mean the bottom of the tailgate itself, I think it is just "tailgate seal".

    This site may help with the terminology: https://www.1aauto.com/content/articles/weatherstripping

    Also, what you call "carrier" we would typically call a "pillar" (A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar, etc). That may come up in finding some of these seals.

    As far as where to get it? I'm having some trouble finding weatherstripping specific to these wagons myself.

    Mike
     
  6. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Hello Mike,

    ok - pillar. Be sure, I will use this ;)
    Any people told me, that these weatherstrippings, in this case called from you as "window sweep", are so rare as dust of gold. But I will try again. Somewhere they are in stock - just want to find 'em ;)


    Best regards - Maik
     
  7. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Dear Longroof-friends,

    the Catalina was brought to the painting station.
    In the reflection of the daylight you can clearly see, that anybody has unprofessional painted the side walls of the trunk - and that in such a worst condition, that you can see the spray mist at the top (under the side windows) and no clear reflection at the middle and bottom. Really bad work..., unfortunately.
    [​IMG]

    For the first 3 days, the painter has done a good job. Most of my rough grinding would be covered with a thin layer of Epoxy spatula. Looks like a homogenousely surface...
    [​IMG]

    Just take a look to the inside af the A-pillars:
    Because in german frums there are ever any people, who have the opinion, that a rusty part of a sheet wil rust the whole car. To clear this dispute, I especially appraised the inside of the A-pillars, to detect rusty sheets.
    But to my surprise: There was no rust inside of both pillars. Justonly a little rusty tracec at the surface, but no "crispbread"... or loosen rusty parts. So I think, that this rust removal carried its fruits ;)
    [​IMG]

    The painter has a special rost converter and rustproofing, what need a little rusty surface for doing its job and build a hard surface of an anodic coating.
    At the bottom you see my repairing sheet ;) Hope, it never rusts again, but hope dies last ;)
    [​IMG]

    The doors got their injection spatula (is this the right noun for "Spritzspachtel"???)
    but a few days after painting, there was a bad surprise...
    [​IMG]

    At the time, the photo was taken, I had the choise, to let paint the whole car (without tailgate) or the whole car without talegate and side walls of the trunk.
    For demonstration, that the original paint was faded, but able to shine, the painter got a polishing machine and polished a part of the d-pillar. So the last both pictures are a direct comparison for a polishing time over 20 seconds...
    [​IMG]

    (Take a look to the mirrored windows)
    [​IMG]

    At this time, I began to order many new parts for my Catalina. Because it runs smooth, but most at a too high rpm in idle, I ordered for example:
    - most new vacuum parts of Emission Control System
    - new vacuum hoses and pipes
    - a new distributor cap, its ignition finger, ignition cables and sparks
    - new clips for all moldings at windshield, behind the windshield, trunk window and side windows (very expensive for this small plastic parts)
    - cellular rubber mats for caulking the tail lights
    - used door pull straps (from buick electra - in a wine red, but that's not important)
    - Oil pan gasket and crankshaft gasket
    - a deluxe gasket and repair set for the TH350 automatic transmission
    - some special tools for mounting and unmounting seals, bushings and gaskets af the TH350
    - all new door- and window-weatherstrippings, which I could get
    - and some for a little show and shine: Chrome valve covers, chrome hold down tabs and a chrome oil plug.

    By ordering the rear Wheel Opening Moldings from the online-shop of "Bob's Impalas", unfortunately I came upon a fraudster. I had payed the money with Paypal but they won't send the items and won't react to my mails.
    So I had to contact Paypal for clarify this dispute.


    Best regards - Maik
     
  8. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Hello friends,

    the painter introduced me to the decision between an expensive full-body-painting and a little cheaper nearly full-body painting - even without the side walls of the trunk. The first choise would have cost 3.000 Euros, the second choise 2.400€. I decided to the first one and as if God wanted it, this decision turned out to be right.

    After removing the moldings from the side-windows of the trunk, both side-windows felt out. Just only in the last second, the painter saved them with his feed.
    The side-windows were mounted with a kind of adhesive, I never had seen before. It wasn't hard like rubber from the windshield, rather soft and malleable like dough. I searched for that and found rolled up window-adhesive, but don't know how it's called now.
    So this kind of mounting a side-window has not worked.
    [​IMG]

    As if that has not been enough, the bottom of the frame was rusty. Welding at this place was a hard work, because anybody has brazed metal sheets to the side-walls with brass solder. You will see that at the yellow traces.
    [​IMG]

    In many places, the frame was fully rusted. Because I had to take care of my little child (I'm in parental leave for 11 month), I was not able to weld this, so the painter had repaired this parts.
    [​IMG]

    One look to the frame of the side-window at passengers side.
    [​IMG]

    Because many of the mounting points of the moldings are missing, the painter welded new one to the frames.
    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    On the one hand we cursed about this new rusty parts, on the other hand we are happy about the dicision for painting the whole car.


    Best regards - Maik
     
  9. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    In English, ''spritzspachtel" would be 'body filler,' more commonly known by its brand name 'Bondo.' Not to be confused with 'primer,' which is a type of paint that prepares steel to have a coat of paint. Although, I think there is a primer called a 'filler primer,' which is thick enough to fill in scratches and shallow dimples.
     
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  10. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    As for the painting decision, that was a Godsend that you made that decision to remove the windows. Having one fall out on the Autobahn or even just a secondary road could have been a disaster.
     
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  11. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Hello @Silvertwinkiehobo ,
    you're right, there you are right in any case.

    The painter means, he applied body filler to the painted surface, but I think he menas to apply filler first.


    Best regards - Maik
     
  12. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    One important question to all:
    The plastic side panels in interieur, especially lower frames of arm rests and side panels in the trunk, are damaged from UV-beams of sun. Therefore the surface is no longer light brown, but nearly white. The white surface tends to trickle down by touching it.
    My way would be, to bush the damaged surface away with a wire bush, primer the surface and paint it with a special plastic paint. But firstly I want to ask, how you handle problems like this.


    Best regards - Maik
     
  13. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    I build models, including model trains, and when I do, I use primer on them to give the paint a surface to stick to without flaking, just like steel. So it would have to be a plastic, not metal, primer, that you spray on after cleaning the surface. Just be careful that the plastic hasn't broken down to the point of brittleness (Sprödigkeit).
     
  14. tenner21

    tenner21 Member

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    Hello,

    you're a modell builder? I am also one, build scratch RC-models, especially boats and cars with a size about 3.5ft and flying wings between 4ft and 12ft.

    The plastic does'nt seems to be brittle. So I hope to find the right note of color. But I think, a little brighter or darker will not hurt the ambiente.

    Best regards, friend - Maik
     
  15. Silvertwinkiehobo

    Silvertwinkiehobo "Everything that breaks starts with 'F.'"

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    Just make sure to test your paint or dye on a backside of a plastic panel, to make sure it won't aggressively attack the plastic. I build model kits in small scales (1/35th scale military vehicles, 1/48th scale military vehicles (Bandai out of Japan, long out of production) and aircraft, and 1/87th scale American railroad trains, pre-1970.
     

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