Michel's Formal Coupé

[MichelHaak]

Hi Guys!

I'm Michel Haak from The Netherlands (yes Holland in Europe). I'm 17 years old and i'm a student on what you Americans may call highschool. I'm almost 18 years old and then I can ride my Buick! I bought this beautiful car 2 weeks ago. Need some work but I think that won't be a big problem for me. I work after school at the local Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealership were I can work on the car.

It's the 72 coupe with the 'W' 455 (225 sae hp). Not many electrics on board, but it has climate control, AM radio and speed alert. It was shipped in 1997 and they installed a LPG gas installation. I don't know much about american cars so I will have to learn much in the coming years.
Interior is great! Looks like new. I installed new roof rails rubbers and some other rubbers. Other things that are not good: rust on the fenders, 2 holes in the trunk, bad belts for airco etc. The underside of the car needs some rust prevention stuff. I will also install some new brakes and a new fuelline. I will keep you guys informed ;)
Here are some pictures:

[EEE]

That's a beauty, welcome aboard :beers:

[The German]

Hello Michel, it´s a very fine car for young drivers :xyxthumbs: !

Do you know that there is a great meeting of Buicks in the Netherlands this year ? Read what the Buick-Club of NL wrote to invite to this event:

This year, 2007, the 3rd Dutch Buick Club Buick Meeting will be held on the 15th, 16th and 17th of June.
The weekend takes place in beautiful Bakkum, near the North Sea.
The camp-site address is;
Kennemer Duincamping Bakkum,
Zeeweg 31, 1901NZ, Castricum aan Zee.

Website of the camp-site;
http://www.kennemerduincampings.nl/nl/bakkum/index.htm

We have a separate field, near sanitation.
From the camp-site it is a 10 to 15 minutes walk to the beach.
The costs for the camp-site are €7.50 pp per night, exclusive 1.05 pp per night tourist tax (for people from outside of Noord-Holland). Payment of the camp-site costs at arrival on site (report to the reception, this is your own responsibility!). The organisation will pass on the number of camp-site spots in advance, depending on the number of applications.

Costs for visitors are being informed, just like permitting cars of visitors on the site. (will probably not be a problem)

For camp-site guests the car is allowed on the site, beside the tents. In the area NO animals are permitted. Because the camp-site lies in the middle of a dune area, no fire can be made there, however, of course the traditional (gas) BBQ can take place.

For people with a bad back or camp-site stress there is the possibility to rent a cabin on the camp-site for spending the night, (they are however quite expensive, prices on the Internet site) or in hotel Borst, near the camp-site:

http://www.hotelborst.nl/

Both the cabins and the hotel booking must be done by yourself!

Just like previous years the arrival is on Friday ( from 13:00). Set up Tents. At night we will eat at Johanna's hof (http://www.johhof.nl/ ), just across from the camp-site so we can walk over there!
This is at your own cost!

The next day arrival of guests be sure to be on time for the tour!
At around 11:00 we start the tour and at about 18:00 o’clock we hit the BBQ.

On Sunday the 1st real Buick dive (for members, not the cars... ), in the sea!

Just like previous years we will be able to provide breakfast in the morning’s, with tea and coffee.
Also the meat and salads for the BBQ and lunch during the tour.
Costs for now based on prices of last year: €2.50 pp per day for the breakfast, €13.50 pp for the BBQ, €9 pp for the tour (lunch etcetera). These are estimations, real prices might differ, depending on amount of participants. MORE EXACT INFORMATION WILL FOLLOW.

You can submit an application via email but please include the following information:
- How many persons
- how many nights
- camp-site, hotel or cabin.
- participate in breakfast yes/no
- Eat out Friday evening yes/no
- Tour yes/no
- BBQ yes/no

What further do you have to bring along yourself:
- table and chairs
- tent
- own drinks, snacks
- cooler
- a good mood

The Dutch Buick Club is not responsible for damages, speeding or other tickets, due to the voluntary character of the club. To go along and have fun therefore is at your own risk

So send your application for this unforgettable weekend ASAP, but in any case before the 18th of May!!! http://www.dutchbuickclub.nl/EN/index.htm

On behalf of the organisation of the weekend ,

Frank and Fleur, Mariette and Kees, Arthur and Margo


I´m sure you could find several new friends with the same interests there. I don´t know up to now if I will have free time enough to visit this meeting, but if it would be possible I will come too (I´m from Germany).

I wish you good luck with your beautiful Gas-Guzzler !
_______________
Rolf

[Smartin]

Welcome to the board!! Beautiful car you have there...

[Robroy]

Encouraging seeing such a young man with good taste in cars!:)
Welcome Michel!

[dewbers]

Welcome Michel! I'm with the others when I say nice ride and it's great to see some young blood among us oldies! I've got four kids myself and my 13 yr old is dying to get his hands on my ragtop..... it's not going to happen anytime soon ( I can still whip his butt ) :Brow:, but I am thrilled he's showing an interest!! Your big beauty will be a nice addition to this board. Use these guys as much as you can for their knowledge and expertise! They are a classy bunch of lunatics!!! :xyxthumbs:

What's the drinking age in Holland??
:beers:

Steve

[MichelHaak]

Thank you guys for the compliments. Drinking age is 16 in Holland.. lol.
Tomorrow night i'm going to a 'saturdaynightcruise' in 1,5 hours riding from here. There will be around 200+ old USA cars there. Should be fun!

[kungphuphil]

Good stuff, Michel, welcome to the site!
I'm sorry to say I didn't learn any Dutch when I visited in '92, but it was beautiful (Leiden especially) and I really enjoyed myself. The cost of gas must make a Centurion an expensive exotic in Europe, kudos for getting the LPG conversion (Hank Hill would be very impressed). Now THAT'S a love of big cars! Someone else said it above, but I think you'll find the folks here to be your kind of crazy.

Cheers!

-Philip

[MichelHaak]

Good evening!

Here is just a story for the people which are bored just like me now... Don't get mad at me because of me bad english..:user:

As some of you guys know I had some troubles with the yearly road test. We call it the APK (Algemen periodieke keuring), translated as: general yearly inspection. That's still needed for cars above something like 1960 I thought.
I didn't had much time the last couple of months and I knew there was some work on the car. I work at a car dealership so I did some extra work on the car (just stupid and bad work but yes, it's something :Dou: ). The header gaskets were leaking badly. I putted some exhaust kit on it so that won't be a problem. I did some other things too like adjusting the headlights and do a brake test. And THAT was a big mistake. At our garage they have a 'plate braketest' machine, for the people which don't know what it is: It are four plates in the ground, you drive with 7 miles or something onto them and then you brake and they will move a bit so the computer will register it. The main problem was that the TV with the results was very close to the front plates, so I had to brake fast so I won't drive into the tv installation :p . The brake test showed I didn't had rear brakes, but the mechanic said it was ok, probably the rear plates didn't register enough for a good test result. I pulled on again for the parking brake, that was ok (75% differerence though). So then I went to the local simply APK test centre which isn't to hard with giving an OK to old cars. First thing the mechanic did was testing the brakes on a roller brake test (you only test the front and then the back on the rolls). Front wheels were ok with only 5% difference, but the rear brakes didn't worked at al when he moved on with the rear... **** I didn't expected that to happen! :Dou: He looked at the car and he didn't mentioned anything about the exhaust. The brake and fuel lines were a bit rusty but he said it was ok for now. Suspension and tires were ok too so it was a NO GO because of the rear brakes. Since I bough the car in april I guess I didn't have rear brakes since then... Hm oke, good front brakes then because I never had narrow escapes on the road.

Anyway, I had two weeks to repair the brakes. So after that inspection I went back to our garage and a mechanic looked at the underside. The brakecilinders were not stuck at all so what next? He pulled of the rear brake line at the combination valve (front rear distrubitor). No brake fluid at all out of there to the rear, we didn't looked further and the next day I was on the search for that part. I went to some of the best USA car shops in the Netherlands (1,5 hour journy) and asked for the part. He had one! It was an original combination valve from a 72 Riviera which went total loss 4 weeks before on the highway... :bawl: . Anyway, it looked good and it was only 20 dollar...
Next thing to do: install it today. The brake lines on the combination valve were very stuck but after some serious pulling they were al loose. We installed it and then we went to the master brake cilinder. When the mechanic Nick looked into the reservoir it was only dirt and rust he saw under the brake fluid... Oops, so we disassembled the master cilinder and it was just full of smudge and dirt. So we cleaned it up and hopefully it won't get damaged after the first brake attempt with removing the air from the brake lines. We installed it again, and I brake to remove the air when Nick was under the car and worked on the niples at the brake cilinders. The master cilinder was still ok.. But nothing was coming out at the rear brake nipples.... arghhh what was it now? After a big search it were the brake lines from the mid of the rear axle to the rear brakes with were blocked up with dirt. After we blowed the clean with some air it was all oke and than we filled the whole system up with new Dot 3 brake fluid. We went to another garage for a good brake test on the rolls. Yes it was braking! 5% difference on the front and 9% on the rear... :laugh: :beers:

Finally happy, I paid Nick some money for the 4 hours work and monday I will go to the test center for a re-examination. That must go well now...

Just a hard story about a Centurion and me, a student which doesn't have the money to restore the car at the moment so he has to repair like this, the old stuff.. :rolleyes:

Happy Halloween! :beers:

Here are some pics taken with the mobile phone:

[MichelHaak]

Here are the pictures (badly but it's something).

[RFortuna]

Michel,

Your car is beautiful! I love the antique gold color. It really shows off the beautiful body lines of the Centurion. Good luck at the re-inspection.

Randy

[MichelHaak]

Finally I could pick up the wheels in the east of the country which I bought from Ted Nagel 3 months ago...(Wildcat65). The chrome looks excellent! Can't wait to have them on the car. I think I first will put the old tires on them. Maybe in May some new tires (which size do yu guys have on the back?)... I also need the special chrome nuts. Could someone give me a picture of those nuts for the rally wheels?

By the way, thanks again Ted, wheels looks great and the service was excellent!

[centurion 455 ragtop]

Nice:xyxthumbs: It will surely add to the beauty of your Buick!

[The German]

... ... I also need the special chrome nuts. Could someone give me a picture of those nuts for the rally wheels? ...

Geat wheels, Mike ! My log nuts are looking like this one (picture) and I bought 4 anti theft nuts at Mc Gard (from their German shop), where they have normal and special log nuts also:
http://www.mcgard.com/search/default.aspx?PrimNavID=1&NavID=11&GroupID=44

http://www.mcgard-europe.de/

Good luck !
____________
Rolf

[RFortuna]

The chrome wheels will look great on your car Michel! If you want to sell the wire caps afterward, I need a set.

Randy

[Robroy]

If you want to sell the wire caps afterward, I need a set.
Hey Randy,
check out post #2 on this thread ;)
http://www.buickcenturion.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3252#post3252

[RFortuna]

Thanks Per,

I have a set of 73 wires. I need a set of the 71-72 style. They're completely different.

Randy

[MichelHaak]

Hi Randy, sorry but I won't sell the caps. Everything that will come off the car I will keep in storage, you'ill never know if you need it sometime...

Anyway, saturday I made a phonecall to gravity customs which will restore the backside of my car! Price is ok and they deliver good work, now they are working on a 1972 Riviera body off resto which is a beautiful project.

What they will going to do:

Weld trunklid
Weld around both rear wheels at the rusty places
Weld the trunkfloor
Then they will make the whole rear ready for the paintjob and the car will sent of to paint. This for the price of 1200 euros inclusive paintjob! Not bad, because after that I only need to paint the whole trunk black and then I can put some carpet in it. The whole rear is rustfree then! The car will go to gravity customs in the beginning of 2008.

I started with taking some moldings of, I started with the stainless molding at the trunklid but that didn't want to come loose so I let that thing for what it was... I dismantled the plate at the underside at the backwheel, the attachments on the side behind it were just gone so I have to made them myself at school:

[MichelHaak]

By the way can onyone tell me how I can remove the moldings at the trunk lid and the strip on the edge of the vinyl roof.

[Smartin]

The trunk lid moldings are screwed onto the underside of the lid itself. The chrome pieces on the quarter extensions are held on with two speed nuts and one small philips screw. The extensions must be removed to get access to the nuts.

[MichelHaak]

I already removed the screws from the moldings but they are still very stuck. Are they clicked over the edge, can you slide the two sides to the outside or is it just the rust and stuff which keeps them stuck?

[Smartin]

they are pressed on, but should only require minimal effort to remove. Try using a rubber mallet and lightly tap downwards on the top of the moldings....or use a piece of wood to lay on top of the trim, and hit the wood with the hammer.

[MichelHaak]

I removed the moldings yesterday, lots of holes under the paint. :error:

By the way, the are not stainless? Magnet sticks to it, or is it the chrome?

[Smartin]

They are stainless steel on the trunk, and pot metal on the quarter extensions.

[MichelHaak]

a little update about the big boat which is getting better by the day.

a couple of weeks ago I pulled my car out of the garage for a little drive, but after a while the brake light turned on and the brake pedal was very soft. When I got home I thought it was maybe the combination valve again which was stuck or something like that. Because the car will go to the bodyshop soon for the holes in the body I wanted my brake to be ok. When I checked the underside of the car last sunday I saw what the problem was with the brakes. The brake line to the rear was just leak! I knew I needed to be replaced but it's really leaking now... So now I ordered as much brake parts as I could, see the tech forum. Saturday we will make a new brake line, from the combination valve to the rear axle. Why not all the brake lines? That's because the mechanic which will gooing to do this with my help doesn't have much time at the moment. :Dou: So when the brake are a little bit better saturday the car will go to the bodyshop and will be prepared for the painter.

[wildcat65]

I'm glad you like the wheels! :xyxthumbs:

[MichelHaak]

yeah they are awesome. When i got enough money for new tires I will put them on in the spring. :beers:

[MichelHaak]

Little update, we made a new brake line from the brake control valve to the rear axle. The brakes are ok for now. 26th of january the car goes to the bodyshop and will be prepared for paint. When the car will be ready (I guess the end of february) We will finish the brake lines and install all the new brake components. Then the mighty Centurion will be equipped with the mighty Buick rally's :Brow:

[Smartin]

You going with the same color?

[MichelHaak]

Yes, but they will only spray the rear side of the car where the rust is located. I guess they will paint it completely to the backside of the doors so you will see no difference in colors (I hope).

[MichelHaak]

Good news, today the car went to the bodyshop. I exspect to have the car back in 3 weeks, can't wait to have it back and post pictures of the rustfree body.

The guy which will going to restore it has a Ford Ranchero pickup with a Lincoln 460 with alot of performance parts (453 hp on the dyno) and also a 62 Mercury wagon. There was also a car in his garage (73 Mercury Cougar) which will going to be equipped with a 32 valve Lincoln mark 9 V8! :Brow:

[MichelHaak]

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_2722.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_2715.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0018.jpg

[MichelHaak]

some news from the welder...

The trunklid is bare metal now. He said the whole underside on the back is rotten and even the inner fender on one side has holes in it. It will going to be a big job for the man. lot more work than we exspected. Hopefully I won't hurt my wallet more...

[MichelHaak]

Again update

The guy which is working on my car in the evenings, has been working on the trunklid for 2 weeks and that's finished right now. Next week: trunkfloor, week after: rear fenders! And then some paint...

He discovered that the trunklid has been done a long time ago, which was done pretty good he said.

The whole rear will be repainted, check the pinstripe! Fenders are really rotten.
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/IMG_1727.jpg

The trunklid on the inside, big holes!
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/IMG_1731.jpg

The whole edge is replaced, this is the left side:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/IMG_1740.jpg

This guy not welds over pieces of metal but replaces the original steel, good work but hard to keep the original shape:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/IMG_1742.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/IMG_1744.jpg

[EEE]

nice work!!!

[MichelHaak]

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3481.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3474.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3480.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3475.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3473.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_3472.jpg

[Robroy]

Sure looks like major rust repair, are you still keeping within the budget that was agreed on before starting?

[MichelHaak]

I think it will cost me 300 dollar more... More work than exspected so he will rise his price a bit. He already worked 2 weeks on the trunklid without asking more for that so he's not so bad.

[gr_speedy]

Seems body work is much cheaper in Europe than in the USA..... i'll come back :beers:

[MichelHaak]

The complete price for this body repair is over 2000 dollar, I don't think that's cheap at all. :Blasting:

[MichelHaak]

It's getting worse and worse....:Dou:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0240.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0241.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0242.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0243.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0244.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/SP_A0245.jpg

[MichelHaak]

Update! In 2 weeks my car is ready.

This is the left without bondo (just epoxy for rust prevention). Very nice so almost no bondy will be needed, a real old school sheetworker!

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto030.jpg

The wheels are ready, new tires, new chrome wheel nuts and also NOS centercaps! Whoo.
:beers:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/wielen.jpg

[wildcat65]

Those wheels look sehr gut :D
Nice job on the repairs!

[MichelHaak]

Some new brake parts are in, rear brake cilinders, brake hoses, master cilinder and new rings for the brake calipers:

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_8559.jpg


I will also order the MSD sparkplug wires which Adam advised me a while ago (the chevy 454 type wires), edelbrock timing chain and sprockets, new oil filter and a new 160 degrees thermostat.

[Smartin]

The MSD wires I recommended are not all the right length, most of them will be long. If you want to have them look correct, then you can get a set of Taylor wires which require cutting and installing the ends. Per has done this with his car, and so did I..not too hard to do. I think they are a little cheaper, too.

[MichelHaak]

Yeahhh it's ready for paint! Maybe it will be ready for next saturday, when there will be one of the biggest USA car meetings in our country... Good deadline right? :laugh: So everybody can see the beauty.


Trunk with new kit, replacing the old one (rust gets under your kit!)

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto050.jpg

Rechts also finished, epoxy onto the bear metal for rust protection.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto051.jpg

Little bit bondo to get everything smooth, the bare metal was already perfect shape.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto053.jpg

I also decided to do the underside of the doors, there were some minor holes in it (this picture is after the reparation)

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto057.jpg


Right finished in primer
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto055.jpg

[Robroy]

Hey Michel, sounds like it won’t be long until you’re back making the Dutch roads unsafe again….;) :D :beers:

[EEE]

That is really cool...

I don't want to know how much it was.

[The German]

Looks very good, Michel ! How will you save the inner sides of the new parts from getting rusted again ?

I sprayed into these hidden spaces at my car a special corrosion protection oil and after some time a grease which I warmed up a bit so that it could flow into place but cools down soon and give a perfect rust protection : the oil flows in every little space also between existing rust and the grease forms a flexible hat over it. This will be an active system against the rust for a very long time and could be washed away easily with hot water if once necessary.

[MichelHaak]

Rolf,

yes I think I will going to do the empty rooms in the bodywork with something like a special rust prevention which you can insert with a little tube and sprays around in the closed rooms.

I just heard the bodyworker can not find one piece of the trunklid stainless moldings... **** I hope we can find it again because this would really a sad thing. It's the piece above the right taillight.

[The German]

Wish you to have a super-nice birthday ! :beers:
And I hope that one of the presents for you would be that your car-bodyworker will find the missing moulding !

Good luck, Michel !

[MichelHaak]

Yes guys! The moulding is back, it was hidden between the rear seats or something like that... The car is now at the paintshop and will be ready for me thursday or friday...:D

[MichelHaak]

update....

Car gets a whole repaint...:confused::eek:


Buick has developed such a complicated color, the experts can not remake it with the paintnumber I gave them... They resprayed the back but the glow was a bit different when they rolled it outside... So the front will get the new color also... On the first hand I thought: Oh no! I want my original color back!!!!!! But on the other hand when I saw the pictures... I get a totally resprayed car back for the same money (it's the painter his fault so it won't cost me more...). I will post some pictures of the resprayed back if someone is interested.

[EEE]

Shooting the whole car seems like a good idea, I had a corner on my green car that had a different color to it, and it's very hard to get it exactly right. I'll be spraying the whole Wildcat once it gets back together. It will give you the best result..

[Centurion]

Michel, we would definitely enjoy seeing your photos!

[Robroy]

Shooting the whole car seems like a good idea, I had a corner on my green car that had a different color to it, and it's very hard to get it exactly right.
I’m with Kimson; it’s in general very hard to repaint parts of a car without seeing the difference in color. However some colors like silver and white are more forgiving than others
Both the hood and the trunk lid on my silver colored VW Passat have been repainted and it’s very hard to see any difference.

[MichelHaak]

BLING BLING this is the rear, on the second pictures you can see the difference in 'glow' between the front of the door which has the original color and the rear part of the door, where the new paint begins.


http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto066.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto067.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto068.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto069.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/Foto070.jpg

[Centurion]

Michel, the car looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing your photos.

[MichelHaak]

test

[MichelHaak]

next page

[MichelHaak]

New paint, new wheels from Ted Nagel, and a rustfree body... what do I need more?

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0715.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0716.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0719.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0722.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0723.jpg


http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0725.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0731.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0734.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_0735.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/avatar-1.jpg

[wildcat65]

WOW:xyxthumbs:

:beers:

[Robroy]

Congrats Michel, looks great!:xyxthumbs:

[Centurion]

Wow, the car looks terrific!

Thanks for the update. This might very well be the nicest '72 Formal Coupe on the planet!

I have always loved the Antique Gold / Sandalwood color combination.

[72tunaboat]

Nice work! your car looks aweosme! In the 6th pic it looks as though your frontend might need to be aligned, otherwise your tires will wear unevenly and you will experience poor handling. Nice paintwork though, and the wheels make the car.:beers:

[centurion 455 ragtop]

:shocked::xyxthumbs::xyxthumbs:

[Smartin]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!

[MichelHaak]

Thanks guys! I'm glad that you all like the car how it's standing right now... Especially the people which really want to keep their car original. For those who don't know, it's not the precise color (antique gold), but it's even better I think... A little bit more modern and cooler. :D

[Smartin]

Yeah, I noticed it has a little bit more of a grey look...but just as nice, that's for sure. Congratulations on getting your car back to its original glory:beers::beers::beers:

[Richard Dunn]

Super job. You should be very proud! Your Centurion is a beauty!

[The German]

Congratulations, Michel, looks really very good with this new color ! The touch of grey brings a very special appearance and the pinstripe is done perfect also - very nice !

[RFortuna]

Your car looks awesome! I love the antique gold. Great job.

Randy

[MichelHaak]

Tomorrow I will going to order smaller license plates... with USA measurements.

The next important things I want to repair on the car:

more brake parts
other exhaust manifolds
fix the taillights (bad connectors, sometimes the turn signal is hard to see)
fix the rear window leak, and repair the vinyl on the corners
remove windshield, remove rust en but it back in...

Al though jobs, only the taillights are easy.

[MichelHaak]

Well, this summer I bought another set of exhaust manifolds, which were alot better then the manifolds on the car. These were leaking and were in bad shape so last week I decided to bring the car to a friend which also did the bodywork.

He mounted the other manifolds so everything is quiet under the hood now! I will pick up the car thursday, and then I will bring it to the road inspection. If the car is ok, the next inspection will be in 2010!

[Greg Duesler]

hey Kid Welcome aboard...
I am restoring a 73 Buick Centurion Convertable. I am having fun doing it. I know have it in primer and am blocking out the body and getting ready to paint the car. The color is going to be Milli miglia red(73 buick color)
Its great to see the younger generation admiring these types of cars. good luck with it.

[MichelHaak]

Today I bought a second hand Edelbrock performer intake, I will make a few adjustments for the intake, I will take all the stuff off which is there now:

Original intake
Rochester quadrajet
IMPCO 300 LPG mixer

I will swap this for:

Performer intake
Proform throttleplate with adjustable secondary
IMPCO 425 mixer
Original aircleaner

This should mean the car will run a bit better and also the fuelusage will be a little bit better. This means I can not drive on gasoline anymore, but the last 2 years I never drove on it, so I guess that part can be removed. :xyxthumbs:

[Gum,beest]

Hi Michel
could you shoot some pictures under the hood when you have installed the IMPCO mixer with the original aircleaner and the placement of the tank as well please
I think i would like the same setup as i mentioned in this post http://www.buickcenturion.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1035

[MichelHaak]

If you will build in a LPG installation, I recommend the 425 mixer with big enough lines from the tank to the front. The 300 is just too small and also, the sits in the way for a good flow... With this new setup it should run as good as on 98 octane!

That's allright, I allready got the tank picture for you:

Note that this is a 85 litre tank but a 120 litre will also fit.

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC_2560.jpg

[Gum,beest]

Thanks Michel
Just was curious of how much trunk space was left and where is your filler opening
And i want to keep the stock look under the hood as much as possible
If i have a LPG installation in my car the trunk space will be a lot smaller
Because i have a convertible remember
Have you ever seen an installation with two tanks in the quarter panels?
That would be a good option for me

[MichelHaak]

I don't have pictures of the 2 tank option... By the way, the filler is located behind the license plate, besides the gasoline cap.

[MichelHaak]

Last week I checked the Sonomatic AM radio. It didn't work since I owned the car and now I had some time to fix it. I took it out and checked the connections etc. I noticed it was plugged into the speaker which is located under the dash (central position) but that one didn't work. My car also has 2 speakers under the rear window but are not connected to the radio, the wires only ran from the rear window to the front bench. I made new connections and removed the front carpet, now I could plug the rear speakers into the radio. I tested it and it works! Perfect sound and pretty good receiving.

I also found a paper under the front carpet! I will make a picture of it tomorrow. It's something out of the factory about checking the outside of the car (dents, etc).

By the way, I'm attending an oldtimer show tomorrow. I will try to make some pictures and post it tomorrow evening.

[Gabe]

Awesome looking Centurion!! Like the color alot!!

[MichelHaak]

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00256.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00245.jpg

[MichelHaak]

And here it is on the Saturday Night Cruise, there were a few other Buicks (59 Le Sabre, 59 Electra, Buick Century Special, Wildcat, 73 Estate, 74 Electra, 76 Estate, 71 Riviera, 73 Riviera)

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00276.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00275.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00286.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00288.jpg

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff298/Michelhaak/DSC00290.jpg