Restauration of my 1979 Pontiac Catalina Safari

Hello there,

at first I want to thank you for your very kindly entrance.

I had bought the Catalina in December 2018 and got it in January 2019. With the restauration I startet one month later, but I have to realize, that it's a hard work, because I'm not a mechanican.

The main reason, why I startet the restauration, were the rusty A-carriers. At passenger side it looks still harmless, but through every of this brown spider webs I could prick a screwdriver.


So I had removed all sick sheets of metal...


The brown coloring looks like rust, but it isn't. Inside of the A-Carriers was a brown foam injected, and after removing any parts adhered to the metal. I donÄt know the reason, why the car-builder has injected this foam, because this was full of water from the roof.

The same time I removed all body glue, because among them are rusty traces and the glue partially cracked.


So I made a new sheet with all its curves and weld this to the body.



On the drivers side, it looks a little harder - and that it was in form of a hard work, too.
The welding machine makes a good job and opens all thin sheets where I was not able to cut out (because it was to closely).


Now you see, how the new sheets are designed, because I don't have a press for forming the curves and to form with a hammer - no way.


After welding...



Best regards - Maik

 

Maik, It looks like you have quite the project on your hands. It also looks like you know how to repair the areas that need it. I'm looking forward to seeing how this project progresses. Keep up the good work!

 

Looks good. When you don't have the equipment , you have to be creative and make do, and your doing just that. Keep up the good work.
Ken.

 

Hello friends,
thanks for your replies. I do my best to make a good work...

During unmounting the panels of the front doors, I had seen much rust inside of the door at passengers side. After screw off the door, I had also seen why: The underline lower edge has in the middle a diameter of 6mms and not 2-3mms like front or end - and there was a crack visible.
The reason: 1/4 inch of putty at the front side. Somebody had repaired it, I want to mean because it was rusty or from an accident.
So I removed the biggest parts of these putty with a screwdiver and hammer, the rest with an angle grinder.
After that - removing the sick sheet and installing a new one:



I had beaded the lower edge and drilled 6mm-holes inside for point-welding.




The carburator was the next place of work: It leaks fuel and make the cold-startup to a desaster:
- Push the pedal to the medal for closing choke
- Starting the engine only with 1/4 gas
- After 3-5 seconds the engine stops
- Starting the engine with a little gas - runs within 2-3 seconds, than it stops again
- Starting again with a little gas and hold the gas by an higher rpm-idle for 20 seconds, that it even runs with the higher idle
- waiting further 20 seconds to chose a driving stage. Chose it to early, the engine will stop again.

So I had replaced all seals (like repair-kit contains) and - runs clearly better and even won't stop again.


But next time I have to change ALL pipes/hoses and the whole Emission Control System, because the engine runs most time at a higher rpm and won't came down to a smooth idle rpm.

You see the EGR-Valve behind the carburator? Find the error...


At last for today:
The series exhaust tailpipe looks to the pedestrians side and this looks a little crappy. So I removed the original end of the pipe with its ellbow and installed a straight one and a stainless tailpipe-tip. Contemporaneous the original muffler has been removed and I installed a Flowmaster Super 44. Because the exhaust pipes only has a diameter of 2 inches and moves with a single lane, the muffler won't sound so hard like from an Firebird, but it sounds a little - more like the original one

The Flowmaster Super 44 only came with a 2.5" connection, So I had to install adapters first.




I wondered: The Chassis has so much of rust, but the underbody is free of that. Don't know why...


One question: Do you have to pay FCC-Taxes? If yes - how much is it, for example for an Catalina 301cui?


Best regards - Maik

 

As the Painter visited the car for an offer, he found some more rusty parts I didn_t had seen before.
I removed all of rust and the body porous body sealant for paint it with a special rust-prevention-paint.


To prevent damages, I removed the taillights precautionary.


But inside the next shocking situation:
A fully rusted sheet of metal...


But in my opinion I saw no other possibility as weld a ne sheet of metal over the sick one.
In the same way, I removed all of superficial rust and so much of body sealant like possible.


The other side lokks much better. A little part of superficial rust was not a problem, because the painter has a special rust converter, which one converts it to an hardly oxid like anodized.


The next part was to remove both front fender and the hood. The hood is really heavy - the good old metal - but at 1 o clock in the morning there was nobody by my side at the workshop. So I had to lift this alone...


At last step for those day, I had removed the windshield. For this, I had to convert 2 old screwdrivers to really sharp chisels for removing the window-adhesie outside the windshield to get a deep flat edge.
Afterwards I put a cutting wire round the windshield, stabbed t through the adhesive, fixed one end at the dashboard and pulled the other side around all corners.
Lasts a little, but works well.
At last I only had to remove some little rusty places, but all in all harmless



Best regards - Maik

 

Wow Maik, you are really moving quickly on this project!
What are your plans for the wagon once the work is completed?

 

For not being a mechanic, your restoration seems to be moving along at a rapid pace. I'm starting to get concerned that I'm going to find nasty rust surprises on my Buick.

Are FCC taxes the Carbon Footprint taxes you pay? (euros per 100cc of displacement and euros per g CO2)
While every state is different, we don't really have a comparable tax in the U.S.A. We do have a Gas Guzzler tax on new cars (not trucks or commercial vehicles) that have a combined average worse than 22.5mpg (about 10.5L/100km). It ranges from $1000 (21.5-22.4mpg) to $7700 for 12.5mpg (about 19L/100km) and under.

 

Hello friends,

@Darcane : Thank you very much. It took me 1 week for unmounting and derosting the parts.

Yes, in germany we had to pay Carbon Footprint taxes per 100ccm of capacity. But one of the most decisive factor is the polutant class, that reachs from 1 to 6 and 6 is structured from 6A to 6F at this time. E-mobiles are free of taxes for the first 3 years and Euro 6-cars (Euro is the synonym for the polutant class) for the first 1-2 years.

Wow - 7.700USD taxes just only to drive a gas Guzzler - that's nice, because if you want to drive such a car, you have to pay the price for it.
It would be really great, if our government would tax the cars with a high-fuel-consumption, but they will not. To much influence to the politics.

For cars older than 30 years we have an exemption, is called "Oldtimer-Einstufung", in englisch "classic car grading". It doesn't matter, what capacity or polutant class - every owner have to pay a tax of just only 192€. May Catalina is 40 years - you know...

 

So that means you don't have to worry about a thing then?
Nice.

 

Just a little. To tax and assure this car would cost something about 800€ a year, with a H-registration just less than the half. So its able to drive the car of my dreams without getting a nightmare every rota.
Now it's time for bed. I will write again tomorrow.


Best regards - Maik

 

$7700 is only on the worst offenders, Lamborghini Aventador, Bentley Mulsanne, etc. It's a pretty low standard to meet, for example, a non-turbo 911 wouldn't get any Gas Guzzler tax. And this is a one-time fee when you buy the car. Your Carbon Footprint taxes can quickly exceed the Gas Guzzler taxes because they are collected yearly.

My yearly cost to renew the tabs on my Buick wagon is about $75 per year in taxes/fees, and about $250/yr to insure it as a daily driver. My classic Mustang costs $0 per year in taxes/fees and about $50/yr to insure it.

 

Wow - that's pretty low. And I also thought, that you also have to pay these Gas Guzzler taxes frequently yearly.
So I think your right and our taxes could be really expensive.
For example: Do ya try to tax an old 460cui V8 without any Emission-control (like catalysts), you have to pay 1.500€ yearly. And if its a diesel engine, it will cost 2.500€ every year you will tax it

 

Ok, so I continue:

The bottom of the passenger side from A-carrier was ok.


But the drivers side had to look horrible. That was only rust.
So I took the flex and removed all sick metal.
In the first stage I'd installed a ground plate to complete the continuously sheet of bottom windschield frame.
In the second stage I formed a sheet of metal to a new end of frame and welded it to the existing part.
Look at the picture above to compare both frame-bottoms...


The restored drivers side of the a-carrier gots it conservation with Owatrol Paint.


During drying-time I had removed all rusty traces on B-carriers...


... and from the bottom of rainwater gutter (I hope, that's the right noun).


Just only at the second look visible - some rust pimples again.


At the doorlock-pin at the drivers side (carrier C) the original color just only were carried from the rust. By viping with my hand over the paint, it peeled away. Here again: Removing all rust (just only superficical), paint with Owatrol and remove all body sealant, underneath pust traces including.


Best regards - Maik

 

Looks like you're making great progress Maik.

 

Our licensing fees don't take into account engine displacement. I have Classic plates on my Mustang, so it's $0/yr regardless of whether it has a small 6 cylinder or a 429 big block. If I had conventional plates, it would still only be about $75/yr regardless of engine. This varies by state.

Insurance is separate, but doesn't normally change based on engine displacement either.