1967 buick special wagon
 

I picked up an all original 1967 buick special station wagon last year with the plan to body swap it onto something cool. Well I picked up a sweet donor car last Thursday.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I picked up a wrecked 2009 pontiac g8 gt with a host of modifications and upgrades. Coil over shocks, headers and full stainless exhaust, and a bunch of other goodies. Upon initial inspecting, the left rear lower control arm is bent, the radiator is cracked and an a/c line that no one makes anymore is broken off at The condenser.

The wheel bases are 115 inches on both vehicles, so cutting away everything in the way on getting the wagon to slip over the g8 is all that's left to do.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I removed all the bolt ons and Started measuring to a where the wagon will find its new home. The blue t-square is where the windshield frame might end up. Everything under and in front of the t-square will technically be outside and will need to be plated and sealed up.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Nice looking wagon....your a glutton for body swaps..!!!!

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Watchin this!

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I replaced both lower rear control arms. The left one was bent from the wreck.

I got two 6 foot lengths of 2x2x1/4" angle iron and made sub frame connectors to minimize flex when I cut the roof off. I welded nuts to some old lawn mower blades and slid them into the front sub frames to secure the angle iron

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I measured from the back seat frame to just under the a-pillar and marked it. Then I cut out the b-pillar and the roof and remeasured. The picture I posted is after the cut. So far, nothing has moved. I'm happy with that.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I spent the morning rummaging through a few local junk yards. I found an a/c line that no one makes anymore, a few brackets and a pair of 2010 cadillac cts tail lights. They're close enough to the size and shape of the quarter panel.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I replaced the radiator and both upper and lower hoses. I also replaced the a/c line from the condenser to the evaporator that was broken in the crash.

I finished removing the trunk sheet metal and the driver's side Rocker panel. Now to cut the floor out of the wagon

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I started tearing into the wagon. Someone caulked all around the windshield and then stuck the stainless trim back on. The whole windshield frame is rotted out. Luckily, since it's the same parts on a chevelle, they make replacement pieces to repair it.

I pulled the grille and front bumper with no issues.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I went back to the junk yard and found some different cadillac tail lights that fit the profile of the quarter panel of the wagon better. These are dts lights.

I pulled the front clip and set if on the g8 to see what is in the way and what works

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I pulled the brake booster, wiper motor, a/c blower box, evaporator box and dash assembly.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Quite a project. Following along to see how this one turns out.

Marc

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I pulled the heater core box off the fire wall and removed both bench seats. The floor is totally trashed. When I was kneeling on the floor to remove the back lower bench seat, both my knees punched through what was left of the sheet metal and I was kneeling on the shop floor! I cut the studs off that held the rear seat back, because the nuts were so corroded, I couldn't get a wrench or socket to fit.

Once I get it over to the lift, I'll make the braces to pick the car up by the rocket panels and I'll cut the floor out

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I pulled the pontiac away from the lift and put the wagon up to remove the rear bumper and rear body mount bolts. Then I made a rail bracket out of one inch square tubing to lift the body off once I cut the floor out

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Ok now I’m here for the **** show. Wait I’ll just swing by next weekend

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I cut the floor out of the wagon and raised it off the chassis

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I cleaned up the rocker panels on the wagon and painted the inside black (no picture). I bought some 11gauge steel to box in the rockers on the pontiac. The outer rocker panels of the wagon will attach to the same panel

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I measured and trimmed the new rocker panel and drilled what feels like a thousand holes. I painted the inside with epoxy paint and plug welded it to the car.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I'm liking this project!!!

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Well, after getting the proclaimers stuck in my head, singing " I would drill 500 holes, and I would drill 500 more......" I got the driver's side all set up and I started plug welding and I ran out of mig wire.....To be continued

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Yesterday, I removed the dash pad while I was waiting on the welding wire. Today I finished plug welding the driver's side rocker panel

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I rolled the pontiac under the wagon body and started the process of lowering the body until something hits, cut away obstructions, repeat. I know there's a lot more work to do before I mate the body to the floor pan (windshield channel repair, wiper motor placement, etc.), but I'm really excited seeing where and how things are lining up. The outer rocker panel looks like it'll end up centered in the rocker panel I just welded on, and the rear section of the wagon floor is pretty damn close to where the pontiac trunk floor is.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Peaked my interest.

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I adapted the pontiac wiper motor to the buick linkage. I modified the buick linkage to fit the pontiac splined motor. I welded brackets inside the wiper cowl and articulated the linkage to check for clearance. It touched at the very bottom of the coal, but since it's angled, I shimmed it with a few washers until it cleared.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I welded in the lower windshield channel and both pillar channels. I was welding the underside of the passenger channel when the welder stopped working again. I think the wire melted to the sheath inside the Stinger. So now that's on order

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

So my new welder stinger came in today so I finished welding the windshield channel in place. Then I patched a few holes behind the dash and then mixed up some all-metal filler to seal up the pin holes around the windshield channel and below the dash to keep water out of the interior. I need to pick up more all-metal tomorrow, but she's coming along

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I've been body working around the windshield. First, a layer of all-metal, then duraglas, followed by featherlight filler. I also did my best to seal any possible pinholes in the wiper cowl to prevent problems later of any leaks behind the dashboard

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I ordered a new wiper transmission because the original was seized with rust.

I finished body working the a-pillars.

I made block off plates for inside the ends of the wiper cowl. I'm waiting on epoxy paint to come in to coat the inside of the cowl so I can install the new transmission and seal the cowl to prevent water and debris from getting inside behind the dash.

I took the tail gate apart because everything's rusted shut. I soaked all the mechanicals in pb blaster. The left side tailgate release rod corroded into a few unusable pieces, so I'll have to find new ones

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I lowered the wagon down to weld up the holes for the luggage rack. Knowing about where the car will sit on the pontiac, I rolled an extra wheel under to see about what the stance will be

After I welded the holes up, I sprayed the wiper cowl, a-pillars and the ceiling in satin black epoxy paint

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I installed the new wiper transmission and sealed the wiper cowl.

I'm using a spreader bar because the wagon floor is 59 inches wide and the pontiac is 61.

Break out the neosporin! The cutting wheel kicked back and hit the floor and bounced into my knee as the fiber disc came apart

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Well I was wrong. I thought I could spread the wagon body 2 inches to straddle the pontiac floor pan. But as I pushed on the b-pillar, things just got worse. The front doors wouldn't close and the rocker panels bowed in the middle. I even made relief cuts on either side of the wiper cowl, but the front under the windshield wouldn't budge.

So the new plan is to cut off the rockers that I just put that solid plate on and recess each side one inch and weld it back together.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

That sounds scary, did everything come back to normal with the pressure off?

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Yes, it relaxed back to the original dimensions. The rockers were bowed pretty bad under the b-pillar, and might need a little tweaking, but I'll address that later

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I removed both front seats. I used a length of scrap 1 inch square tubing to mark my cut line and I removed the passenger rocker panel. I cleaned it up and mocked it in place with clamps and measured to make sure it was exactly an inch shorter, then I welded the top back on. I still have to weld the bottom and make a plate to fill in a gap at the rear, but at least there was enough material and space behind the rocker to make it possible. I also measured front to back to make sure the floor didn't flex when I removed the rocker.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

Looks like you are making good progress. :metal:

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I bet it doesn’t even run anymore

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I cut off and recessed the driver's rocker panel. To get the front below the a-pillar to clear the pontiac, I had to trim the hinge pockets off. Now I can set the wagon body down enough until the wiper cowl hits the dash. I need to measure and cut off enough to set the wiper motor just above the brake booster.

With the side picture, the body has to drop 7 more inches up front and 6 inches in the rear. Then i can start welding things together.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I cut away as much of the dash as possible to get it as low as it'll go.

Then I used an old beat up fender to mock up to see what it'll look like. I'm probably gonna have to flare the fenders if I can't find a wheel that tucks in another inch, but I'm liking how it's looking.

Josh

Re: 1967 buick special wagon
 

I pulled both rear cargo windows or for better access for the wheel tubs and stuff like that. Apparently someone has already been in there patching holes with old license plates. Since I want to delete the side chrome and make the cargo glass flush mounted, this will give me the opportunity to make the necessary mods to move the glass out a bit.

Josh