Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

SethGalley · Joined: 29 Dec 2014 Posts: 5

1984 Buick LeSabre Limited 4dr Sedan
Olds 307 5.0L V8
140,000km Original Kilometers

50+PHOTO'S LINK: https://www.flickr.com/photos/130357890@N02/with/16134009746/
*NOTE - I do have the original hubcaps but in the photo's i had them removed a stored because of their great condition.
The car is on are on ALLOY rims.

Condition: It's not rusted out. it's honestly beautiful, and just on the verge of starting to rust in TINY TINY little bits that I can't notice unless
I am looking for rust.

It was driven every Canadian winter for 30years, but only from 2 blocks to the previous owners job as a barber.
2 blocks every year for 30years and UNDERCOATED every year for 30 years.

The interior has little details here and there that you notice after driving it for a while.. everything inside the car is original so chrome is peeling, the steering wheel is peeling.. and the door covers are somewhat sun bleached.. but all is expected from an older car.

Hello! This is my first post.
The above is a quick bio of the car.. I had always loved and admired the olds back before the 90's.. I was lucky in my mind to have had the chance to buy this car as my first, with only one owner its whole life you can tell he took care of his daily driver as if it were a second house.

I've seen other '84,'85 LeSabre's online and I really don't want this to be a pimp-mobile.. It's classy in my eyes and I wouldn't dream of ruining it with
giant rims and 'bling'.. I'm 20 years old and I purchased the car for $2,500CAD as my first car.

My post is about what I should do with this Old Buick of mine.. The first thing on my mind is restoration because it's in such good shape! I know that this might sound contradictory but hear me out.. If I can restore the car now I figured it would save it from the decay of time.. I've been taking excellent care of it and since I don't own a garage.. I built a shelter that works for now.. I have to use the car as a daily driver until October of 2015.
That is the only date in time when I would have a savings to do something with this car.
Around my part of the world, these Olds 307s were used in Derby's for their reliability to never stop running no matter how beat-up they got, and I will drive the engine as far as I can until October of 2015..

What would any of you fine Buick Owners suggest I undergo with such a car? I believe in holding onto the past quality and mechanical engineering these cars had, the feel of an old car is rare in appreciation.

I honestly love this car too much to watch it succumb to time, Next winter I want to store it.. And pick up a Crown Victoria as a daily driver...
But I need ideas, and I need help of course.. I am entirely new to the sort of things required.. and I don't have the tools to undergo a FULL-RENO myself.
Not to say that's the only option I have! That's why I'm here asking for the help of you fine and knowledgeable people! If this were YOUR car, what would you do?
If you need any info about the vehicle at all! I will give you the information as quick as I can.

*NOTES
I had to replace the starter after a month of ownership, and it completed the full safety test required by law here in Ontario for it to be road-worthy.
*THE SPEEDOMETER reads 10km/h slower than actual speed.
*No vinyl roof.
*The interior roof liner is sagging.
*The interior driver door panel is bleach.
Both front power windows didn't work *FIXED
*Washer Pump wasn't working *REPLACED
*Coolant holder was cracked *REPLACED

''i will add more note's as i find or remember problems.

Thank You! Sincerely, Seth.[/i]

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7215 Location: Edinburgh

Hi Seth,

Welcome to the forum.

There are one or two north American forum members here but most are the other side of the pond from you and I can't recall another '84 Buick mentioned.

A life of short journeys is not ideal for engine life but with 5 litres you probably won't notice the loss of a few horses. As to the body it sounds as if the car is structurally sound and would run for many more years without problems.

Once rust starts to show it can tend to accelerate its progress due to trapping of moisture so perhaps you should investigate to see if you can protect such areas with a product such as Waxoil until you are able to do more extensive repairs. Be aware that the ingress of moisture may be from the opposite side from the painted surface and can often result from build-up of mud under the wings (fenders).

HTH

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22811 Location: UK

Welcome to the forum,

I don't own a car like that, but I'd be inclined to run it for a while and draw up a list of jobs that need doing. Maybe give it a polish all over with a proper wax polish, that should help preserve it, and as Peter mentions attend to any un-protected areas underneath, after making sure there are no build-ups of mud anywhere (arch lips, behind the sills, etc).

Interest in well-preserved original cars is growing all the time, so if it doesn't need fully restoring, then I'd not bother myself.

RJ
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SethGalley · Joined: 29 Dec 2014 Posts: 5

Thank you Rick and Peter for your insight!
I have invested in a wax coating over the paint and in undercoating the car..
The only major issues i see are many many minor things that i have made lists of, If i can't tick them all off now i will in October.

There is only rust growing under the paint of the car.. It dose not look like
it was painted over to hide it, Because the rust is so minor i literally had to
squint my eye's to notice it, one spot looks like little bubbles forming under the paint beside a blotch of rust..

Thanks again for the comments! I look forward to more from the community.

roverdriver · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 10:37 am Post subject:

Hello Seth,
It sounds as if you have a very worthwhile car. I echo Rick's comment that the interest in totally original cars is growing. Remember it is only original once, and no matter how accurately a car is restored, it is no longer original.

With your car, I would be sure to look towards preservation rather than restoration. The small rust areas, as Peter says, can grow. You need to get some solid advice on how to deal with any that you know about and deal with them very soon if possible. Bubbling paint could be, as Peter suggests, caused by rust having worked through a panel from the other side, in which case the rust area could be more extensive than you realise, and early intervention could prevent the rust going further.

I'd like to see some photos of your car, they can be posted on the Forum.

Good luck with it Seth,
Dane. (In Australia)
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

SethGalley · Joined: 29 Dec 2014 Posts: 5

HERE IS A LINK TO 50+ PHOTO'S OF THE CAR TAKEN BETWEEN SEPTEMBER
2014 - DECEMBER 31st 2014.

LINK: https://www.flickr.com/photos/130357890@N02/

''AS REQUESTED''

NOTE* I TOOK PICTURES OF ALL EXTERIOR RUST.
AND ALL INTERIOR PROBLEMS.

* I TOOK THE ORIGINAL SPOKE HUB CAPS OFF FOR THE WINTER AND
PUT ALLOY'S ON FOR RIMS.

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7215 Location: Edinburgh

Hi Seth,

With areas like these you might need to remove the adjacent trim as the moisture ingress may be starting from a fixing or simply relative movement rubbing the paint off.

In this one it looks as if water lying between the two metal skins is the problem and injecting an oil or wax product via the drain hole would help.

It's difficult to tell what started the problem at the bottom of the door. Perhaps paint was chipped off or rubbing or it might be rusted from the inside in which case you will find that removing the blister will reveal a hole through the metal.

It would be worth getting the engine compartment and underside steam cleaned. It will give you a better idea of areas needing attention and reveal any oil leaks.

HTH

Peter
_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

roverdriver · Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 11:00 am Post subject:

Seth, while your car is a little modern for my taste, I think that you have a particularly nice machine there. Thank you for the photo link.

That is definitely a car to preserve and not restore!!

The rust spots, as you say, are small, however they do indicate problems within. The bottom of doors, and the rust areas on the bottom of the mudguards (fenders) are in places where water and mud can collect on the inside and remain. They are areas of relatively thin metal, so as the rust starts, it works its way through the metal, and bubbles the outside paint.

To preserve the car and put things right will be a balance of your skill, money, and willingness to work at it.

The ideal would be to cut away the rusted steel, and weld in new pieces, but unless you have had experience, and have the necessary equipment to hand, that would be a job for a body shop. The car could be off the road for a while while the work is done, and it would cost a bit.

As a relatively low-cost stop-gap, you could grind away at the bubbled/rusted areas (sanding disc on an electric drill) until you remove all the rust. Inevitably this will reveal holes where the rust has worked through the steel. Ideally remove the door liners so that you can get to the inside as well. Use an Epoxy type body filler to fill in the holes. The filler can be applied, allowed to cure, then you can sand it back to re-create the original shape. If needed other layers of body filler can be built up on the first layer. The final sanding would be done with very fine grit wet and dry sandpaper (400 grit or finer). When satisfied with the surface, then apply a primer paint and finally a top coat of a colour that will blend with the original top coat colour. The inside but sound areas of metal should be cleaned of any dirt, then coated with a rust-preventing paint. The inside of the fenders should also be so treated as far as possible.

The advantage of body filler technique is that you can do it in small bites- say one door at a time, and provided any bare metal is protected with paint in between times, the car can remain in daily use. This method will reduce the risk of further rust attack, and keep the car in good condition until you can afford to replace the bad areas with proper welded-in steel body panel pieces. Having said that, I have a car that was so treated 10 years ago and is only now showing signs that more work needs to be done.

I strongly recommend that you do some investigating and reading about small-area body repairs and re-painting before you start. It is a subject worth the study and a skill worth acquiring, but also a subject that can be quite involves especially when getting to the preparation for painting and the painting itself. Carefully applied brush painting can look quite respectable, and certainly can help to arrest rust. Rattle can spray painting works well for small areas.

You might find a product called "Penetrol', which should be available in Canada as we have it in Oz and it comes from USA. It is a mix of oils that can be applied to almost any surface for later finishing. I have used it on areas where I have sanded away rust, and after it has dried, I've used body filler over it. I have also used it to 'pre-coat' lightly rusted areas such as inside of doors.

I hope that helps. Be aware that what I have offered is not necessarily the greatest solution, others will no-doubt offer their suggestions, however I believe that it will help you to maintain and preserve you car until you can go to the next step.

Good luck,
Dane.
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Dane- roverdriver but not a Viking.

SethGalley · Joined: 29 Dec 2014 Posts: 5

I will have about $10,000 saved according to number crunching on the calculator by October..
And i recently figured out i live one hour away from The Guild! Restoration Garage.
I will do as much research as i can into doing the little bits myself with your
suggestion's, Since I don't have a garage and it's minus 10 - 20 outside now, If i hurry and study i could be doing the little bits myself until October in mid March.

As always! Thank you for your thoughtful replies, I really do appreciate all that you've contributed so far! Smile

Do you guys think 10,000 Grand is enough to finish the car in it's current condition? and keep it's originality?

And dose anyone here know anything about The Guild?

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7215 Location: Edinburgh

peter scott · Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 7215 Location: Edinburgh

Sorry Seth,

Just joking. I really don't know the cost of repairing your car.

Peter Embarassed

_________________
https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

52classic · Joined: 02 Oct 2008 Posts: 493 Location: Cardiff.

10K is great and MORE than enough money. But I wouldn't spend it on a restoration at this stage.

Originality is priceless and your car has plenty.

Stop it deteriorating by Waxoyling all of the vulnerable areas, like those door bottoms. Indeed, you could Waxoyl the chrome for the winter and then clean it off again (with paraffin) when the good weather comes back.

Start hunting right away for the parts you need. Service items, new or better chrome and bits of trim.

Get a good relationship with a local body shop where they will respect the car for what it is, then programme to get specific small areas done properly rather than attacking the whole car. Colour matching should be OK with white.

In that condition the car is a caracature of its era and well suitable for showing. Imagine how rare it will be in 5-10 years time!

SethGalley · Joined: 29 Dec 2014 Posts: 5