Make over time

I did my research online about the best trunk kit that is offered for our Buicks, and hands down it is the kit offered by Kirban's Performance. I bought this 9 piece kit a month ago and decided I will give it a shot last night. I took my alky tank out the the trunk, along with my 5ch amp and rear speakers. What you see below is just a test fit / mock up. I am going to tear it back down, make a mounting spot for my amp behind the rear seat, route my wires to it, put back in my speakers, then spray glue the side panels that cover the wheel wells, along with the floor and the piece along the tail lights. Then install my alky tank back in. My assessment overall is that this is worth every penny and fits like a hand in glove.

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TTypeWhite,

The trunk kit looks killer!!!
Thanks for posting up the mock-up pictures!
Another great addition to your very detailed car!!
You may have sold me on getting one in the near future! :cool:

Enjoy!!!
 
TTypeWhite,

The trunk kit looks killer!!!
Thanks for posting up the mock-up pictures!
Another great addition to your very detailed car!!
You may have sold me on getting one in the near future! :cool:

Enjoy!!!

Thank you, you will be very pleased with this purchase when you do pull the trigger on it. It also comes with a install DVD that gives you a break down on how to tackle it. Spray glue doesn't come with the kit, you have to purchase that separately. Fortunately for me I have a couple cans of 3M Adhesive spray glue on the shelf.
 
Thank goodness this only has to happen once. To say that I struggled with this install is a under statement. The trunk kit itself is easy, mounting the amp was a bitch. You have to jump inside the trunk and lay on your side and back with your feet hanging out of the trunk. What a nauseating feeling that is. Had to bail on it a couple of times. What would take most guys a hour with proper planning took me 3 hours due to feeling dizzy flipping around in the trunk to find a comfortable position to work in. All in all, it's done and looks like a extension of the rest of the car.
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Gosh Mike back in the day I really had the disease. But man you are really sick. What more can you do, you really may have the best Buick on the planet, Joey is up there however I think he finally got well.
 
Gosh Mike back in the day I really had the disease. But man you are really sick. What more can you do, you really may have the best Buick on the planet, Joey is up there however I think he finally got well.
Believe it or not, It's necessary maintenance at this power level. With a solid roller my spring pressures put a lot of strain on the timing chain. So I'll replace that along with rings and bearings, then I have a couple things I want to address while I'm in there to make more power. This is the whole other side that people never see or talk about. Without this preventative maintenance the damages that can and have resulted to me in the past are catasphafic and so unnecessary.
 
Gosh Mike back in the day I really had the disease. But man you are really sick. What more can you do, you really may have the best Buick on the planet, Joey is up there however I think he finally got well.
Believe it or not, It's necessary maintenance at this power level. With a solid roller my spring pressures put a lot of strain on the timing chain. So I'll replace that along with rings and bearings, then I have a couple things I want to address while I'm in there to make more power. This is the whole other side that people never see or talk about. Without this preventative maintenance the damages that can and have resulted to me in the past are catasphafic and so unnecessary.
Mike, in the last year you have done what I NEED to do. I believe you and I both built cars to be finished and driven and not be just some never ending project. However, after 15 years or so of constant fair weather use, some track visits, and general trouble free driving enjoyment it's now time for me to do a "makeover" as well. I have a spare virgin block to build and just swap out to minimize down time. But nothing prevents the weathering and standard slow ware and tare on the paint and finishes. This is the hard part for me. I couldn't do it unless I could do it like you have. No band-aids or quick fixes. Only a full breakdown and reassembly would satisfy me.

Unfortunately, this is not a good time for me and I don't see it happening for another few years. Hopefully my enthusiasm remains intact throughout this time. It's been 27 years.

Fortunately, my ride still looks and drives as good as it always has to most observers and in all the photos I have posted. But not to me. It drives me absolutely nuts to watch you do this. I was in the garage on Saturday staring at the engine and scrutinizing my paint. I almost began to cry. I had to leave.
 
Mike, in the last year you have done what I NEED to do. I believe you and I both built cars to be finished and driven and not be just some never ending project. However, after 15 years or so of constant fair weather use, some track visits, and general trouble free driving enjoyment it's now time for me to do a "makeover" as well. I have a spare virgin block to build and just swap out to minimize down time. But nothing prevents the weathering and standard slow ware and tare on the paint and finishes. This is the hard part for me. I couldn't do it unless I could do it like you have. No band-aids or quick fixes. Only a full breakdown and reassembly would satisfy me.

Unfortunately, this is not a good time for me and I don't see it happening for another few years. Hopefully my enthusiasm remains intact throughout this time. It's been 27 years.

Fortunately, my ride still looks and drives as good as it always has to most observers and in all the photos I have posted. But not to me. It drives me absolutely nuts to watch you do this. I was in the garage on Saturday staring at the engine and scrutinizing my paint. I almost began to cry. I had to leave.
I hear ya, it's a marathon, not a sprint. My daughter actually gifted me with this opportunity to address all these things with my car. She was awarded a 4 year full ride scholarship at LIU university to compete in NCAA women's gymnastics. So that freed up some money for me to play and has taken a lot of things of my bucket list.
 
I hear ya, it's a marathon, not a sprint. My daughter actually gifted me with this opportunity to address all these things with my car. She was awarded a 4 year full ride scholarship at LIU university to compete in NCAA women's gymnastics. So that freed up some money for me to play and has taken a lot of things of my bucket list.
Mike, in the last year you have done what I NEED to do. I believe you and I both built cars to be finished and driven and not be just some never ending project. However, after 15 years or so of constant fair weather use, some track visits, and general trouble free driving enjoyment it's now time for me to do a "makeover" as well. I have a spare virgin block to build and just swap out to minimize down time. But nothing prevents the weathering and standard slow ware and tare on the paint and finishes. This is the hard part for me. I couldn't do it unless I could do it like you have. No band-aids or quick fixes. Only a full breakdown and reassembly would satisfy me.

Unfortunately, this is not a good time for me and I don't see it happening for another few years. Hopefully my enthusiasm remains intact throughout this time. It's been 27 years.

Fortunately, my ride still looks and drives as good as it always has to most observers and in all the photos I have posted. But not to me. It drives me absolutely nuts to watch you do this. I was in the garage on Saturday staring at the engine and scrutinizing my paint. I almost began to cry. I had to leave.
Hey Joey glad to have you back, some of us were worried about you, as you have not posted lately. Hope you are doing well Ray
 
I hear ya, it's a marathon, not a sprint. My daughter actually gifted me with this opportunity to address all these things with my car. She was awarded a 4 year full ride scholarship at LIU university to compete in NCAA women's gymnastics. So that freed up some money for me to play and has taken a lot of things of my bucket list.
Congratulations to your daughter and you! I know that feeling of pride.
Hey Joey glad to have you back, some of us were worried about you, as you have not posted lately. Hope you are doing well Ray
Things are tough right now. I’ve got some catching up to do with other projects (work and personal). I love threads like this but Threads like this are few and far between these days. And I’m not interested in discussing all these pop-culture issues other board members seem so interested with.

I just have a lot of things to do. But as always Ray your concern and kindness is much appreciated.
 
Oh my!!! My heart has slowed down now! Thought maybe you were going say you're putting a LS into it! :LOL:
 
Tore down my engine and everything looks really good. Time to take some measurements and start ordering some parts to rebuild this engine. Going to raise the compression, so if anyone is looking for 8.8 to 1 forged .20 over Diamond piston with coated skirts hit me up. That compression was made with a 3.625 crank, 6.35 rod, .40thou head gasket and a 46cc head (standard deck height block).

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Just thought I would share something that I tried out after seeing it online. While my motor is apart and waiting on new pistons, I have been cleaning up the parts that have come off. My TA SS headers are showing their age and not looking that good although they are performing well. With time on my hands I was contemplating sanding them down to get that hideous look off it. So I looked online for ways to clean stainless steel exhausts. I saw this guy use a toilet bowl cleaner that seems to be only offered in the UK, so for shits and giggles I ordered it. 2 days ago it came in. I put a small dab on the end of a rag and just spread it over one runner on my header, then waited 5min and watched it changing color. With a used scotch bright pad that is not abrasive I rubbed it in and wiped it off. Holy crap!! It works.

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So I spent 15 min on cleaning the drivers side.


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Then a before and after of the passenger side


 
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