The LeSabre & Bonneville Project -- New SSEi Progress: Pg 8

[gweg_b]

Ha, yeah, this thread kind of fell off the radar for me! Twice actually. The Buick has never been forgotten, as I see if every time I step out of the house, but now that I have access to a garage, there will be more activity here. Just can't wait to get started.

[gweg_b]

First item on the agenda to getting the LeSabre restored was to get it into the garage. That turned into an interesting adventure. After loading and unloading Tim's Cutlass in the freezing rain last Saturday, we attempted to load my LeSabre. I couldn't get the car to start, so after some investigating, I pulled a few fuses to see if I could bypass a lot of stuff that is currently disconnected. At that point, it almost completely cranked over, but then when I tried again - nothing.

Well, stupid me pulled the fuse for the PCM/VATS, and well, the anti-theft system was activated and now the car's disabled. Pushing that car onto the trailer wasn't going to be an option, so, with the help of a really nice guy and the wench on his tow truck, we got the car loaded.

The car now sits in the garage, waiting for me to actually start on it. I'm going to get to replacing the fuel and brake lines, then bypass the VATS, and hopefully see if I get the engine to at least start and run. If it does, then I will take care of minor things to make the car a little useable. If not, well, I may just start the big project.


Got the LeSabre loaded with the help of a tow truck:


Arrived at the garage, and unloaded from the trailer:


Sleeping soundly in the garage next to Tim's Cutlass:


Progress will be slow (at least until spring/summer), as I have a lot to learn, and this garage is 40 miles from where I live, so it's not something I can get to easily after work (as I also have a 26 mile drive from work). But, something is better than nothing, and I can't wait to get this going!

Oh, and by the way, I think the driver side axle broke (or something) on the Bonneville last night. The wheel keeps locking up and hoping every time it moves or stops. So, there goes more money...

[gweg_b]

Progress is slow right now, as I only get to spend about 2-4 hours in the garage a week, but I'm hoping to change that in the near future. What I've managed to do is get the LeSabre on jack stands and evaluate the situation.









The rocker panels are toast:


The rust is layers thick:




Not pretty:


The worst of it seems to be in the back and on the passenger's side. Of course, there are other areas, and also the engine cradle, but that can be replaced. Most of the upper body of the car is still in great shape. Looks like I have a long road ahead.

May have to stock up on beer and have Matt visit often...

[xxdabroxx]

That thing looks like it's been at the bottom of the ocean underneath.

[gweg_b]

Yeah, not pretty. That's 15 years of salt/brine that was not properly washed off, and for 4 of the last 5 years, it sat in grass, and that's just about as bad as leaving it in the ocean. I'm afraid to see how bad that really is once I take a wire wheel to it.

[xxdabroxx]

That road salt you guys deal with is nasty stuff, glad I don't see it around here.

[MattStrike]

Looks like those rear frame legs are going to need to be cut out and completely replaced. Same thing I had to do with the '93. Most of what I see in the photos is weld flange rust, which can be easily cut out and welded together with a piece of rod. But you'll need to strip the entire interior out in those areas.

You might invest in some evaporust for the smaller parts, that stuff works wonders!

[gweg_b]

Thanks for the info, Matt! I'm sure I'll be questing for more once I dig deeper into this project.

I plan to rip the interior out anyway, so that's on the list. Right now, I need to get the brake and fuel lines done, then need to figure out why it fails to start. After the car is moveable, Tim and I will work on his Cutlass, then I will start ripping my LeSabre apart.

[xxdabroxx]

What's your end goal with the car?

[gweg_b]

The goal for this car is for me to restore it and use it as a show car and cruiser. There is a member here, Pat (2003 SSEi), that takes his 03 Bonneville to car shows, and has won several awards. I want to do the same with my Buick, because you never see a 90's LeSabre in shows like that.

[gweg_b]

The goal for this car is for me to restore it and use it as a show car and cruiser. There is a member here, Pat (2003 SSEi), that takes his 03 Bonneville to car shows, and has won several awards. I want to do the same with my Buick, because you never see a 90's LeSabre in shows like that.

[xxdabroxx]

Right on, so are we talking a bunch of shined up parts or back to factory original? It's an interesting idea, glad we're along for the ride.

[gweg_b]

There's going to be some shiny parts, a lot of factory restored parts, factory parts from other GM's of the same generation (the car already has many Park Avenue bits on it), and just a handful beefed up modifications (nothing crazy, but some engine and suspension work). That's the main plan.

Yesterday, I started looking into why my interior lights no longer work, but discovered the multimeter didn't have a battery, so that's on hold. And, almost had the car running. Either it's out of fuel or the pump isn't working, so it won't fire, but it was cranking - more than it was doing when Tim and I tried to get it onto the trailer. Lesson I did learned is not to connect the fuse for my amp, as it results in strange high-pitched noises from the Maxi-fuse center.

[gweg_b]

UPDATE 9.11.15

Things have been very, very slow with me working on the cars. I've managed to get a few things done this past summer, but nearly as much as I wanted. So, I'm just going to post pictures of many of the random projects that I've done for both the H-bodies.

The garage motto, all printed and framed:


My Buick service sign:


The brake lines removed from the LeSabre:


Working on new lines:


The Bonneville retrofitted with HID's. Many thanks go to Carl for sweating over these!!:


Another shot of the HID's (also replaced all outside bulbs with LED's):


The Bonneville with installed Aurora mirrors (these were very hard to find in black):


They fold!!:


I tore down all the audio in my trunk and did rewiring and clean up:


Nasty rust in the spare wheel well:


Organizing all the wiring (plus rust clean up):


So much cleaner in the wiring department:


Cleaned and painted the roof rack channels (paint was flaking off and starting to rust):


Doing amp re installation. Mounted the amps to wood, then mounted the boards to the braces behind the back seats:


Gives me so much more room in the trunk (correct wire management will come next spring):


With the sub and box:


Work started back on the LeSabre. This is removal of the busted driver side fender:


The passenger fender removed (rust repair in these areas will start soon):


The removed fenders. The passenger will be repainted, and I have a spare driver side that is primed and prepped:


I removed the rear spoiler and rear taillights, checking for rust:


The parts removed from the trunk lid:


And, recently, Tim and I just got the gas tank out:


The area above the tank isn't too bad. I thought it'd be worse:


Tim working on the strap bolts:


Tim fighting with the stripped passenger side bolt:


The tank, straps, and filler tube. The fuel sender is shot, but the pump is still good (not pictured). I will reuse that:


A couple of other things I've done to the Bonneville that aren't listed here is installation of a shift kit and transmission cooler. Tim and I also repaired and sealed up the hole underneath the battery. That is something that always bothered me, but won't anymore.

The electrical system in the LeSabre isn't working correctly anymore. When the battery is put in (and even plugged in), I only get the check engine and temp lights on the cluster, and nothing else powers on. Occasionally, a loud buzzing will come from one of the relays under the hood. So, I've got that to figure out. I still need to make new brake lines, and the next project will be to remove the old fuel lines and get ready to replace them with nylon. I'll also need to order new brake and fuel components, but no money right now.

So, things are moving, just not as fast as I'd hoped. I'm going on a junkyard run in a few weeks, so I'm hoping to make a few scores.

I'll update more when I can.

[MattStrike]

Nice to see you're getting some traction on the project now!

How bad are those bottom frame rails though? They look like they could use some attention this round of fixing things.

[gweg_b]

Yeah, things have been slow, but we're getting there.

Those frame rails are bad, several layers thick of rust. Some of the worst areas on the car. I haven't come up with a plan for those yet, but I intend to bring my brother to the garage one of these days, and see what he can say about that (I'd have to borrow his welder anyway). But, I can't say when I'll get to that part of the project yet. Time moves slow in my world it seems!

[gweg_b]

UPDATE: 12.19.15:

A few more bits here and there. Work continues, and still at a slow pace.

Started on the front wheel hardware:






The sad part is, the rotors and pads weren't more than 6 months old when I stopped driving the car. They look like hell now:


Removal of the front bumper:




This is what's left of the radiator lower support (which also supported the hood latch):


Rear bumper removal (much more difficult than the front, and similar, yet different than the Bonneville):


Chunky:


More rust, of course:


I'm going to be starting on the interior probably after the first of the year. Also, looks like major rust repair is going to happen next summer. After I get this body repaired, it will be time to dig into the engine. Not sure what I plan for that yet. Wanted to originally stick with what's in there (rebuilt), but I'm starting to wonder if I should Series 2 L67 (built and modded) swap it. But, that's a different worry for a different time. For now, I just need to kill all that rust.

[BonnieBoy08]

Things are progressing nicely here. Slow but steady. I look forward to following along here as you rebuild. A modded Series II will definitely make its way in there if you keep hanging around us lol. Especially once Austin gets his dropped into the '88

[gweg_b]

Yeah, seeing Austin's swap at this year's meet might make the final decision for me in terms of what I go with for the engine in this car. I love this L27 as it's been a trooper, and would hate to get rid of it. I've thought about this, but I'd almost be willing to get something late 80's/early 90's (maybe even a LeSabre) and drop this L27 (rebuilt) into it, just so I can keep it around. But, I have enough projects on my hands right now.

[BonnieBoy08]

You could always turbo it instead