Fixing up a '71 Grand Safari

Best idea so far. DO NOT think it cannot happen. I didn't make it a year and a half before my second wagon got totaled in front of my house! Lived here 20+ years! the occasional egg or loogie on the side of the car, and well one paint job. But 2 total's in a year and a half DAMN! Saving every receipt for the newest ride! EVERY SINGLE DIME!

 

Exactly.

 

Dad brought his four wheeler over to help me move The Clam in front of the garage. It was a multi-step process. With the wheels fully turned it takes more than two people to push this car around.




And at last it was finally in position to begin demolition. From this angle it looks like a complete car.


Dad helped me remove the hood, which is definitely a two man job, and sit some pieces around back. Old bent hood and old dented hood, which will soon be turned into an old usable hood covered with Verdant Green.


When you're doing a large project, it's funny what you look forward to. The spare tire well at the bottom of this fender is supposed to be black. I have some black chip guard I'm going to use to paint this area, but I can't fix it until I prepare and finish the inside of the spare tire compartment. It's not rusted through as many are, but there is some surface rust. I plan to strip it and repaint it. After that time, because of the drain plug in the bottom, I can then paint the exterior, but I can only do all of that once I get the rear window seals to stop leaking. As a result, painting this part black will represent the final step in a long road of completed tasks and progress and I really look forward to the time I'm far enough along to paint this area. It will symbolize a near completion of my original job of restoring the car.


I was glad to see the rusty rocker trim bracket I sand blasted and painted is still holding up with no rust


Then a big summer storm moved in all of a sudden and halted all progress.


I had to stop midway through removing the drivers fender. I plan on replacing all of the hardware this time around, but I'm still labeling everything so I'll know what type of bolt goes where.


It rained almost the entirety of the weekend. Monday, I started fresh. It was difficult to get some of the bolts out of the front because they were all crunched together and inaccessible. It also took a little prying to get the fender pulled away from the core support and inner fender.


The driver's side grill is still good but the passenger side is smashed up pretty good. Fortunately, both of the mounts in the center, which are broken on the new grill, are in tact and I can use them for measurements when I make repairs to the new one.


The inside of the passenger side fender where I previously cut out the rust and installed a patch panel is dirty but shows no sign of rust which means the process is effective and gives me confidence for the new one, which I will fix the same way.


Despite sandblasting, primer and painted the battery tray, it has once again acquired some surface rust. I'm going to send this, and all other parts like it, to the powder coaters for better durability.


The core support on this side was pretty crunched up and I had to take a long pry bar to bend it in some places to gain access to certain bolts or to give them enough space to come out


Making sure to bag and tag everything takes a lot of extra time and removing the front end took most of the day but eventually it was all gone except the core support.



The cowl drain had come all to pieces and was already stopped up with decomposed leaves. Dumping the water over the fender brace is a bad design and so I'm going to come up with a better idea when I replace this.


No wonder the passenger side fenders rust around the brace, the cowl drain dumps water and debris right onto it. Though this side's rubber is still in good shape, I plan to reroute the water to drain in a way that won't be so damaging.


Finally all off.



This is all the way torn down and is now ready to start rebuilding. After digging in I found that the radiator didn't appear to be damaged. I don't think I'll have to remove the radiator hoses so that means I can save all the antifreeze, which has gotten pretty expensive. I went to the body shop where they straightened the frame on The Caprice and he said that they don't keep measurements for these old cars and the best thing to do, and the most cost effective, is to get a rough measurement to determine if things appear to be square and then bolt on the body panels. If they fit, then it's good. If they don't, or the tires have problems with alignment, then they'll bring it in and set it up on the jig to start taking measurements. Because the core support appeared to be the weak point and bent at the frame horn rather than bending the frame with it, it appears at this point there is no frame damage. I'll take some measurements later to make sure.



Now I have a bench full of Clam parts.


And with the head to the '31 being apart, the '37 unfinished, the motorcycle in the back needing a rear tire, parts from the parts car front clip and now parts from The Clam, the garage has become more stuffed than a Christmas turkey.

 

Nice update, thank you. You might want to look into KBS Rustseal and POR15, the latter which I read is an older formula by the same chemist who made KBS Rustseal. They're both humidity-cured coatings which take a degreaser then a metal etching formula before painting the metal and I've been using KBS on my Suburban. It's not winter yet so I can't say how well it's held up. There are other coatings too, I was going through Google and found another one that's supposed to be even better than either ones I listed.

 

Nice update. You certainly accomplished a lot is a short period of time. I hope the process continues to go well for reassembly.
I'm looking forward to seeing this thing back on the road soon. Good luck.

 

Seems to me, if you install something simple, waterproof and durable inside the bottom of the fenders, it should make them rust-resistant for a long time. After you weld up the patch panel and dress the welding, perhaps after the primer you brush in a couple coats of bedliner. It would be chip-resistant and waterproof.

 

Thanks guys. The last time I did this repair I coated everything with Honey Coat. It seems to have held up well, but I still don't like the idea of dumping soiled water on an area where it will easily be trapped is a good idea. It would probably last the way it is for a long time, but I'd prefer to do it correctly. I'm sure the designers weren't concerned about what the bottom of the fenders would look like in 10 years.

 

WOW what ever you do, Do NOT roach that engine man! I was looking and they want 1600 to 1900+ for NEWER rebuild able blocks! LOL I'm only asking 2500 for mine I think it's too damn cheap! It's drop and GO!

 

I really wish this engine hadn't already been taken to .030 over, requiring me to go to .060. I'll probably have to find a replacement 455 eventually, but for now I'd just like to get this one going.

The next step for The Clam is to get the new passenger fender in shape to send to the sand blaster. I want to get all the unneeded holes welded shut and the new holes drilled before taking it to the sand blaster. This means measuring all the holes in the old fender to transfer them to the new one. I was able to use the back half of the old fender for measurements, but had to use the driver side fender for measurements for the front of the fender because the old passenger fender is all crunched on the front. I found that a metal tape measure did not bend sufficiently to measure around some of the curves on the fender and holding it myself was a challenge.





I used some of the newspaper end rolls I got years ago, cut out strips and used the straight edge to measure distances, which I marked with a pencil, using the crown of the fender as a reference point. Fortunately on this car this body line is very sharp and pronounced so it is easy to get an exact reference. Some fenders have a more rounded, gradual bend and finding the top can be more subjective depending on the lighting.





Then I measured those markings on the table with rulers and tape measures





Then I transferred all those measurements to paper. I try to take all measurements from a static point rather than from a point I have previously measured. In the same way that a copy of a copy gets worse and worse, a very slight variation in a measured spot can produce a very inaccuracy if you attempt to take your next measurement from where you just measured to, and by the third or fourth time you do this you can be very, very far off. Because of this, I try to measure the distance to the center of all holes from the same original location.

I also copied two diagrams from the Fisher Body Manual that shows all the pieces of woodgrain. I scanned them and put them together on one sheet. This will allow me to identify each piece and label it when I remove it so figuring out where they all go won't be the huge hassle it was last time. I'll have to wait to locate and drill the bottom rocker panel bracket holes after I've welded in the new patch panel, which will be after the fender returns from the sandblaster.





For some reason the Fisher Manual didn't include diagrams of the front fender so I had to make my own on the back.





I used a few different methods to take redundant measurements. One way was to create a template of the old fender using newspaper endroll. I had to use more than a single sheet so that the paper would lay flat over the compound curves of the fender.





One thing I was not looking forward to is welding all the side script emblem holes closed and relocating new ones. Without holes to put the emblems into, the emblems will stand about 2 inches away from the mounting surface, which makes it very hard to line up straight when trying to locate new holes to drill. Also, the mounting studs are staggered, rather than in a straight line, compounding the problem further. After looking I noticed that it appeared that the Pontiac designers had simply kept the SAFARI emblem in the same space and simply mounted the GRAND emblem over it. I had assumed that they would have lowered the Safari emblem to accommodate the spacing of the extra GRAND emblem, but I was happily wrong. I measured to make sure and confirmed the holes were in the same place. This meant that I could take a piece of cardboard, put it on the backside of the old fender, trace the holes with a pencil and then transfer that perfect spacing and alignment to the new fender, which saved a lot of work and time. I used this cardboard method as well as the paper template to double check that everything was where it should be.





I transferred the template from the old fender over to the new fender using the very top, rear corner and the top body line in the fender as a reference point





When I tested to see if my template was accurate I found all three of the SAFARI emblem holes aligned perfectly.







Fortunately, at an estate sale a while back, I obtained a much more robust selection of drill bits. This allowed me to match the size of all the holes perfectly. As a side not, this will also allow me to drill slightly undersized holes which are used in taping threads to the correct size.





After marking all the holes I removed the template and put a dot in the center of all the holes I had drawn and then triple checked the alignment of all the holes with the various measurements I'd taken.





The emblems turned out great. The only difference is that the holes for the SAFARI emblem on the new fender were very slightly larger than the old holes so the emblem has a small amount of play. This may cause it to look a bit off here, but when I put clips on the back it will pull it up tight and align nicely.





I used a round file to get rid of any burrs and smooth the edges of all the holes.





I then bolted on the front 1/4 extension to help verify the alignment of the measurements I'd taken for these holes.





The 1/4 extension after drilling the new holes. This part is fiberglass and has had some damage. It has been repaired in the past but it will soon get a proper repair.





Now it was time to weld the unneeded holes closed. Fortunately, there were only two thanks to the SAFARI emblem alignment situation. I laid the fender on it's face, on top of a piece of aluminum, and filled the holes from the back.





I forgot to clean the front side of the fender before I welded the holes closed. I'm not sure what kind of cancerous effects the terrible smell of the melting paint has, but it can't be good.





I ground down each hole a little at a time making sure to use compressed air to cool the area to prevent warping. After getting each area smooth I repeated the process, filling in any small pinholes or imperfections that could trap air or moisture and cause paint issues later on.





After about three passes of welding and grinding they were finally completely flush.





They turned out pretty well, with the front being better than the rear. I dug out a bit too much while grinding on the rear and there is an ever so slight divot. It's barely noticeable when you run your hand over it. This will be fixed at the body shop.





I also ground down the rear and smoothed the backside of the fender to prevent the potential of trapped moisture or air under the primer.

 

Some great work you're doing there. Now I know why I'm not a body & fender guy.

 

I'm just going to post it all. The first part is all about the wagon. The second part is about why I haven't been able to work on the wagon.

I wanted to have the patch panel for the fender cut and ready to go as soon as it comes back from being sandblasted. I still had the old trunk that I used to cut a patch panel for the fender from the first time I restored the car. Here you can see where the old patch panel was cut and the new panel sketched next to it. I used the panel I cut out of the fender as a template for what will be the new patch.





After tracing and cutting out the patch I found it fit very well. I won't weld it in yet because I want to have the brace behind the patch sandblasted so that I can repaint and coat it to prevent future rust. I didn't sandblast the patch because I want the factory coating on the back of it for protection.





Then I began removing the old woodgrain. It's not a simple process, but it's much easier than removing the 45 year old stuff that was originally on the car last time.





After removing the woodgrain I used a rag and adhesive cleaner to remove the glue. This is a time consuming process.





I compiled all the parts from the original car and the parts clip and determined what would be used and what was damaged and could not be used. In the event I had two good parts I chose to have the part from the parts clip blasted and powdercoated, that way if I ever need a replacement I'll have an extra, already in good condition, that originally came from the car.





I made sure to document all the small parts to ensure I get them all back from the powdercoaters.





Other than sheetmetal and fiber header panels, this is all of the steel and metal that holds the front end on the car. It seems that there would be more. I want to make sure I get all of these back from the powdercoaters as well.





I borrowed dad's small trailer to haul all the parts.





I inspected the bumper and contrary to what I had expected I found it wasn't bent. The top lip on the passenger side is, however, rolled down a slight bit. I'm going to have to measure the bend and determine if it is something that will need to be repaired and then find a way to repair it.





I removed the inner structure from the bumper to have it powdercoated as well.





Everything loaded. I did some predrilling on the inner fender wells so I won't have to do any drilling after the powdercoating is complete.





Hopefully the next time I see the hood it will be bare metal





Rose went with me and enjoyed looking at all the old cars that were on the lot







Somehow I missed something very obvious. The Grand Safari is based on the Grand Ville, however it does not have the Grand Ville front nose. The Grand Ville and Bonneville had a front nose that was about 3 inches longer than the Catalina, but this nose was not used on the Safari wagons. The Grand Ville grill was used on the Grand Safari. Because the parts clip was a Safari, and not a Grand Safari, it had the standard grill. This means the grill I have doesn't match the grill I bought. My driver side grill is still good, but I'm going to have to find a passenger side Grand Ville grill.







I was walking into the house and noticed a large puddle under the rear passenger wheel of the '79 Caprice. The next day I was walking in the house and noticed a large puddle under the front of April's Suburban. This left us with only one driveable car, the '57. I had to put the wagon on hold and I tackled the Suburban first. I crawled under and found a steady drip coming from the bell housing. It appeared to be oil. Later, it turned out to be antifreeze that was discolored from the dirt it collected. Because the Suburban had been sitting for several days without use for the first time since we have had it, it lead me to first suspect it could be a pan gasket leaking as the oil leaked down into the pan. I found the leak to be coming from above the starter. I could feel the leak on the backside of the block between the firewall and head, but could not see anything. I eventually relented and removed the starter. I was able to trace the leak to the very rear of the intake manifold where it meets the valve cover on the passenger side. I was afraid it would be a valve cover gasket or intake manifold. Then I noticed that there was a very slight dampness running along a valley next to the intake and when I traced it back I found it was coming from the heater hose fitting on the front passenger side of the intake.



On the Suburban the heater hose connects to the front passenger side of the intake manifold. GM designed a quick-release fitting made of pot metal and had a special hose with plastic clips that could snap into the fitting. The design is known to be faulty and has caused a lot of problems on the Suburbans and Trucks of these years. This happened to our last '99 Suburban (the one that burned to the ground) so I was already aware of this situation. These fittings are notorious for breaking off in the intake. The last one I had came out without breaking, which is rare from what I have read from others' testimonies. I was not so fortunate this time and with very little force the fitting broke off almost flush with the block. I had to take chisels and screwdrivers and remove what was left of the old fitting.





Rather than replacing the bad design with another bad design I replaced the pot metal fitting with a standard heater hose fitting, the way GM should have done it in the first place. It took most of the day to remove what was left of the old fitting and install the new one. Because the threads were bunged up pretty bad and I didn't have a 1/2" NPT tap I had to tap the hole with the fitting itself. I would have to screw it in until it got hard to turn, use a breaker bar to turn it about 1/4 of a turn, back it out and clean off the threads of the fitting as well as the threads inside the intake with a pipe cleaner attached to a drill.





This is the special quick-release fitting on the end of the original heater hose that presses into the pot metal fitting that screws into the intake. After cutting the hose right above the quick-release there was enough slack in the hose to reconnect it to the new intake fitting with a regular worm gear clamp.





The rest of the week was taken up with the numerous misfortunes of the brakes on the '79. I started out by changing the wheel cylinder on the afflicted wheel.





As you can see, it was pretty crusty, but everything came apart OK.





Dad was going to come over and help me bleed the brakes after replacing the wheel cylinder. These calipers haven't been removed in almost 30 years and I found that the bleeder valve was practically welded to the caliper. It twisted off like butter. I attempted to drill it out to no success. I knew at this point I was going to have to replace this caliper.





While I was at it I went ahead and tested the remainder of the bleeder valves. This meant I had to take all of the wheels off because they were all difficult. Because the wheels on the '79 are a universal style wheel that are aligned by the special lugnuts, taking the wheels and tires off of this car is a long process compared to normal wheels. The front driver side bleeder valve was very stuck as well. Using a torch and copious amounts of BP blaster I was eventually able to get it broken loose. After replacing the rear wheel cylinder and then the front passenger side caliper dad came over and we bled the brakes.





After bleeding the brakes again the brakes seemed to be fine and then we began loosing pedal and the brake light came on. It turns out all of the brake bleeding had ruined the old master cylinder. A new master cylinder must be bled off of the car, before installation, in order to get all of the air out. This is called bench bleeding. Once I did this, I installed it.





I actually don't like installing new parts in the engine because they look out of place when they're all shiny and new. After installing the new master cylinder dad came over and helped me bleed the brakes, again.





After having the brakes bled everything seemed to be OK, but then about halfway through the first trip into town the brake light came on, but would go off if you pumped the brakes a couple times. Also, the brakes were clearly sticking slightly. It turned out that one of the brake lines had collapsed. I ordered and replaced both front brake lines and since I had gone this far decided it would be unwise to not replace the remaining caliper and wheel cylinder on the driver side, so I replaced those as well. Both front brake lines had been on the car longer than I've been alive and were a huge pain to remove because the nut on the brake lines was frozen solid and would not spin.





Also, the rear driver side wheel cylinder brake line was rusted and wouldn't come off even with a torch. I was finally able to get it removed after a lot of work. Wheels off and back up on jackstands, again. After that, dad came over and helped me bleed the brakes, again. I now have all new brake pads, both front calipers, both rear wheel cylinders and brake hoses and a new master cylinder.





All week it looked as though it was going to rain and finally, after everything, it began to rain just minutes before we finished for the very last time. We readjusted the rear brakes and after this, at long last, the brakes held pedal and worked better than ever. After flushing a total of two quarts of new brake fluid through the lines, I finally put the wheels on for the last time and was glad of it.

 

When it rains, it pours, eh?!

 

Literally

 

Yeah, I hate rusted brakes, especially when it's a customer's car. Break anything, and you pay Hell explaining why their POS will cost more to fix.

 

The old oxy/ acetylene torches have saved my butt with frozen line fittings and bleeder screws on more occasions than I care to remember.