Allan R

I bought my 1995 Olds Regency Elite at an auction back in 2003. What a bargain!! Less than $3000.00 and less than 72k (kilometers) = about 45k (miles).

After I got it home, some new tires ($650) and a transaxle seal/brake line repair (240) it was "good to go".

Went to change over to my winter wheels and rims, got out the trolley jack and put it under the car. Went right through the rockers!!! They were totally rotten from one end to the other. Long story short: decided to fixit. Cost: $4000.00 I know. I'm nuts! My wife thinks so too.

Anyway, the car's been really good ever since, you know the usual $500 bucks here and there for new exhaust or intake manifold, or new rear air suspension etc.... I can't afford to throw it away.

Now, it's got the rear quarter cancer I've seen on a lot of these big cars. Holy Rustholes Batman, lets get it to the body shop. Hmmmm,
both me and the wife are thinking: How much is this gonna cost????

Bob says: 2295.00 tax in and it's guaranteed NOT to rust there again. (This guy doesn't lie and he did the first rust repair and did a great job. Just like he said, the rockers are still like new). Now the story has changed. I need new quarters and the 2295??? Not any more. So, GM doesn't make quarters for these cars, and we couldn't find any on the aftermarket. Got the next best thing: a donor car we cut the quarter parts we needed. Cost? All of 32.00 at the picknpull. WAHOOO!!! While I was there, I found 4 new doors (in perfect condition) so I thought WTH, if I'm doing quarters, my doors are already starting to go. SCORE AGAIN!! Each new door with NO RUST AT ALL 35.00 - including the 5.00 core charge.

Here's where I'm at:

2blu442

Man I hate rust, but being able to replace panels rather than going to the work of patching them sounds like the way to go! Good score on the parts, very good prices!

Allan R

More Pics
The doors are really nice. They're outside for now, and will not need a lot of prep time to get ready for painting. The things that look like fender skirts? Replacement (gm direct fit for the rustout areas). Came off a 1991 Regency elite. Don't look like they've ever seen a winter. Oh yeah, the doors include all the glass, wiring and PW/PDL and tim panels. I'll have to change the trim panels to my own. Great! Now I've got spare parts just in case.

Allan R

Pics (again) +
So one thing I forgot to mention earlier, the car had about 72 k showing? More bad news, it was involved in a speedo rollback in 2001 and then shipped out west. Found out about it with a CARFAX report and a buddy at GM who tracked the repair history on the car. Anyway, the bad guy is in jail and can't be prosecuted again. This car apparently "slipped through the cracks". I was some pissed.

The extent of the rusting is on both sides. But the funny thing? The passenger side, which usually is the worst? It's in better shape than the drivers side. Both sides are shot, and so is part of the inner liner that they attach to. Bob's also going to strip the inside bumper supports and shoot them with rust inhibitor and new paint.

I'm planning to keep shooting pics of the progress whenever I can. Hopefully this car gets done in the next 2 or 3 weeks.

Can you tell that I'm Olds through and through? This would probably be in the boneyard if someone else owned it. One consolation: Bob promised me a total paint (BC/CC) at his cost due to the fact that I'm a good customer and have been really patient. I also refer him a lot of business. So I'm hoping that my repair will be under $4000.00 when all is said and done. I've been waiting for about 2 months right now. Too bad Olds never made buses and trains

Texascarnut

It will all be worth the effort. Those years of Oldsmobiles had a far better ride and better handling characteristics than their Cadillac counterpart.

Allan R

Thanks, I agree that its a great ride. It's not so shabby at handling either and has some really decent pickup. Gas mileage around town? About 20-24 mpg (but then I dont have a lot of stop and go driving). Highway with this car? I set the cruise at 65mph and it gives me a God honest 38mpg. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was built in Scotland!! LOL

She's a really good car. I have no regrets and it's way less money to fix her than go out and buy something to replace. ($30k+) And you know what? There's so few of these cars on the road that when it's all clean and sparkly, some people think its a new model. Good for laughs.

Man, I'm sure glad the front fenders and bumper are plastic = nothing to rust there.

Allan R

So today I got over to see Bob. He had just got the car into the shop and was working on the right side quarter. Even though there was not much surface rust, there was quite a bit of ugly stuff underneath on the wheel liner. Pics show the inner fender liner damage.

He's got a really nice lift that makes it easy to work on the car without having to crawl around underneath on his back. Anyway, here's the progress to date. Hopefully the repairs get done by end of next week. I'm really missing my 98.

Joeypete

Wow that is totally awesome...so glad you are taking care of it! My '85 Toronado is at the upholsterer getting the sim conv. top recovered. I miss her...no toys to play with over the weekend

Allan R

Went by the shop last Thursday. Man I was both upset and disappointed! Nothing had been done for the last week. Car was still sitting in the same place. No one around to talk to. Gone for lunch. Couldn't stick around. I don't have time until June 24 to get over again. Sure hope I'm not going to be disappointed. Might be time to start hassling the shop. 3 months without my 98 is not fair. Taking the bus and train to work isn't that expensive, but it's not as comfy or fast as my car.

Heeeaaaaaavvvvyyyyy Sigh..........

jensenracing77

they don't make them any more so i am glad you can do your part to keep another oldsmobile on the road.

Oldskeeper

I feel your pain,I bought a 93 touring sedan for my wife a few years back from my uncle who got it new.
My wife doesn't like it so I drove it for a bit then gave it to my daughter to play with.
Well she took the car to school and did the bodywork and repaint,she got the highest marks in auto and the award for top marks.
Now she is looking for rims you know 22 inch foose style,whats a father to do?
At least she is an olds girl!
Steve

citcapp

Sounds like you will have a donk (large wheels) in the family. But like you say at least she is a Olds girl. Bet your a proud papa for the high marks she earned.

Allan R

I would be curious to see what she puts on. My car came with 15" aluminum wheels, but for winter I got a set of aluminum 16" from the wreckers off a 1990 Touring Sedan ( great deal - 25bucks a wheel). Put on 225/60/16 ice radials. They "Just fit".

So, I'm thinking she won't be able to put 22's on the 98 unless she's willing to ride on just a 1/4 inch of rubber. Got any pics of her car?

Allan R

Got a call on Thursday. The replacement panels are in and the quarters are being prepped with filler. Should be ready for paint next week. Going down on Monday to take a look at what's done. Will post some pics.

2blu442

Looking forward to the pictures, hope he's doing a good job for you. John

Olds64

That is very AWSOME! Must be a great car if you put that much time and money into it. I know my VW Beetle isn't anything like that. The moment I finish paying for it I am taking it to the dealership to get rid of it.

Allan R

Thanks Jesse.

It really is a great car.

Anyway, here's the latest. I could only drop in for a few minutes today on the way to the Doctors office. (Lower back problem L5S1) Gotta say, I liked what I saw. Both quarters were replaced, inner liners were replaced and the quarter was in primer. No bondo!!! Just glazing putty. That' how good this guy's work is. Anyway, it looks like I'm going to do the doors at home because if I let the shop do everything the total bill was going to be $8000.00. Just about had the big one when Bob dropped that on me. So I told him to shoot the quarters, fix the right door ding and put everything back together. Total: $3000.00 That's about 700 more than the original estimate, but the damage was much worse because of the time delay getting the car in. I think I will be picking her up next week. Can't wait.

Allan R

Well I got a chance to finally get down to the shop and see what's been done since last week. Some progress!! Yea!!!

The quarters have paint on them now, and the paint guy was polishing the doors and quarters when I got there. Told him to keep on going, do the whole car and he said he would.

Little disappointed that the rear of the car hadn't been cleaned and painted like it was supposed to be. So that' on the list of outstanding items too.

HERES THE GOOD NEWS!!
The rust is gone. New patches installed and the whole rear is solid metal again. Inside of the wheel well is rustproofed to withstand a hurricane. Compare these shots to the before ones and you could say I'm really happy with the results. Got a promise that the car would be ready next week. Beginning to feel like 442much (Ken) when he had his 442 in for a paint job. As of now, I'm at the 4 month waiting time.

BTW Bob also fixed a couple of nasty dents in the passenger front door. Could have just filled them with bondo and taped/sprayed. But he does quality work which means taking the door apart and doing it right.

Allan R

This is the side that had the absolute worst rot you've ever seen. Again, look at the before and compare to after. Still has some finishing to do inside the trunk compartment to finish sealing everything up.

Sniff! My baby's almost ready to come home.

Found out something else about the 98 and Park Ave. The "flagship" models for Olds and Buick were the only ones that had the plastic style front fenders. Lower models, like the 88LSS have metal front fenders. Who woulda thunk it?

Allan R

Got a call to pick up the car on Thursday. Yahoo!!! It's done. Took the train downtown and the wife picked me up for the drive to the shop. There it was, waiting for me, nestled in between a mini van and a buick. Ready to hit the open road.

My heart stopped for a minute, then it started to race a little. Yes, it was done, but, but, but.... my eye was picking up something about the quarter chrome......it looked totally f"*#$%# up. How can you be a professional bodyman and not take the time to tack weld so you can see how things line up before you mig it all down??? The quarter contour doesn't match the doors. *(*)$#$*%#&!!!! Course the body shops closed, and it's not going to do any good to curse at the cashier.

So I paid for the car ($3012.50). God, that's what I paid for it back in 2003!! It was a nice ride home; the car was running sweet and it was nice to be back in the saddle again after a 4 month wait. I have such mixed feelings about the work. I know that almost no one will touch rust, but when someone says they specialize in rust repair, you expect them to do a good job. Especially when they brag about their work and you see it in car shows as quality winning stuff. And $3000 bucks doesn't just grow on trees. I'm starting to get worked up again as I write this. There better be some good warranty on this because I can cancel the VISA payment if they don't do anything. I haven't seen Bob do crap like this ever. So he better understand that I'm not going to accept crap either. BTW the paint looks good in the pics, but it's cratered everywhere with "orangepeel". So I want it wet sanded and polished to a smooth surface.


The car will be going back, but I'm giving them a time deadline: They can have it for 2 days, and it better be right. Went to change to my summer tires just a couple of hours ago. *&#*$%%#$ !!! Had to let the air out of the tires just to get it out of the wheel well. That's how incorrect the line up is. Talk about being pissed. Took me over 20 minutes per side just to get the "stock" wheels and tires off.

Took pics of the left side of the car and then the right. I used a 3 foot level to show where the line up on the stainless is really out to lunch. Found out one of the reasons: they put the plastic trim that holds the stainless on the wrong sides, it's wider at the top than the bottom. Thats one thing. The other: they busted the clips that hold the trim on and it's barely clinging to the car. It looks like it's ready to fall off in places. Bodyshop says they can't get replacement clips. I'm going to the wreckers tommorrow and find some. Not going to let them get away with this.

citcapp

Thats pathetic workmanship, I can't believe that got by the final shop inspection. I would fire an employee for letting that out the door. Hold their feet to the fire and make them fix it right. Best of luck in getting the fixed right.

Allan R

Hold onto your socks citcapp, the guy who did this is the Autobody manager and chief technician. Like I said earlier, I thought most bodymen learned to line things up right before they did the final welds. Looks like this was done late at night, with no lights on, and after a few too many beers. He'll have a chance to explain himself on Monday. Better be good, because when he phoned to let me know it was done, he said it looked like a million bucks. I think he's been smelling paint fumes too long.

In the meantime.......pretty much sums it up.

Allan R

Some names in the following "dissertation" have been changed to protect their identity.

Called Bob last week and told him how unhappy I was and he agreed to look over the job again and make it right. So I booted on down to the shop and showed him the "issues". Gotta give him a lot of credit. He didn't lose it, call me names, ask what I expect for a lousy $3000.00! He stayed calm. You could see that what I was pointing out bothered him, probably because I pointed it out, but also from a "How the hell did this happen?" point of view. Heck I even offered to bring my coveralls and work with him to make it right. I've never been one to shuck working on a car and get some good hands on. Bring it back Monday morning he said. We start right at 8:00.

07:59:45 I wheel into the parking lot and mosey up to the body shop door. Surprise, it's locked. Tracked him down in 3 minutes flat. Gave him the keys and in it went. Now normally, once that happens you go somewhere and have coffee/breakfast/coffee/lunch/coffee etc until it's time to pick er up. Not me. I was allowed to stay in the shop and watch all the work being done.

The drivers side? Just like I thought. All it needed was to have the metal pushed out (hydraulic spreader using wood inserts to cushion the force over a wider area). Budda bing, budda bang, budda boom! Fixed! Now the door doesnt line up. Readjust it up, in/out, and pressure fit the gap to specs. Ta da! No problem. Now why won't those winter tires fit? After about 20 minutes of cursing, Bob goes and gets hopalong (the owner) and shows him the problem. "Jack it up another 2 inches" says hopalong. Budda bing, budda bang, budda boom.. on goes the tire without touching the side. Holy crap! Now I have to carry a spare 2X12 to jack the car up on so I can do this too.

Now the left side: Turns out the chrome has a bend in it. So I'll get another piece from the boneyard and do that myself. I am not concerned about it that much.

Now that Bob figures he's off the hook, I casually ask WTH happened to the paint job? How come the paint's all orange peel and you can see sanding swirls and strokes? He comes over and looks at it. You're right he says. I'm expecting the "So what do you expect?" line, but it doesn't come up. He calls the "happy spraygun" over. We need to massage these panels says Bob. Ok says the happy spraygun. Brings over a 5 gallon pail of water and a wad of 2000 wet sand paper. Took him about an hour to wet sand down the panels. Then it was rubbing compount time to "help the clear flow" and fill in any imperfections left. Happy spraygun went to it. Took him about an hour and a half and then he polished it. OMG, it worked. And to boot, that paint has a glaze that would make the Playmate of the Month look like she's got sandpaper for skin!

Soooo, overall I'm a happy guy. I have my 98 back and it's running beautifully. Not to mention looking beautiful. I couldn't help doing one more thing: At the body shop, I asked: "How much to pinstripe it?". Oh about 125.00 was the answer. Never mind, I said. So that afternoon I dropped by the Parts store and bought a roll of chrome pinstripe. 45 minutes later, she was looking ready for a date. So, what the heck. I got the keys and took her......for a ride.....on the highway.....with a full tank of gas. What were you thinking????

Now, the only thing that's rusty is...stuff on the bottom. And I'm going to POR the heck out of it. The metals still solid, and I'm not spending this kind of money to fall through the floorboards next year.

Here's what she looks like now.

Olds64

Allan, that is a beautiful car. I am glad that you were able to get the problems fixed.

You did the right thing. You jumped on them like a sleazy lawyer on a 4 car pile up.

citcapp

Glad it turned out ok, sounds like the shop backed their product. Thats good because now I don't have to break anyones leg for you

Allan R

Ya mean that's all it woulda taken? citcapp my friend, I know lots of guys who could use your sevices.....

Thanks Jesse! Don't mind saying it really tried my patience for a while. I'm so glad it turned out really nice. Now I also know how to wetsand and polish. So I'm going to buy a polisher and do my wifes car. That's a standing joke at our house. She hasn't EVER put in gas or washed it in the 13 years we've owned it. She says that's my job. Small price to pay to keep the home fires burning warm. Every time I wash it, I usually tell her that I bought her a new car, or that I just got back from having it painted. Doesn't really matter, she appreciates it a lot, if you know what I mean.....

Haven't met too many sleazy lawyers, but if that what it takes to git 'r done, so be it. Thanks for the comment on the car.

2blu442

Glad to see the happy ending Allen. From the previous posts it wasn't looking very promising
John

Allan R

Well it took a while to find the fasteners I need. (mostly because these big Olds 98's are not that common in some boneyards). The clips that hold the rear trim are VERRRRYY brittle with age and you have to be careful taking them off.

Found out also that if you put the clip onto the car upside down, that's why the trim looks like it's on wrong! Gives a difference in elevation by about 1/4 inch. That's a lot, but also explains a lot. Watch out for low flying trunk lids when you're doing this. Ended up with a nasty 6 stitch gouge in my scalp right down to the skull. Hurt like a .....you know.

Also scored a trunk deck liner (seems like it was only available on the 91 Touring Sedan then was discontinue). But there are holes in the trunk lid to put it in. LOL the plastic plugs that hold the liner in cost more than the liner did from the boneyard. But it looks cool. Now I have to figure out how the torsion bars get adjusted to compensate for the extra weight.

Anyway, if any of you have some of these clips (see attached pics), please LMK. Or if you know where to get them, LMK.