The Buick Gets a Vinyl Top

While we were back home in Berwyn for Bobby and Julie's wedding on the 15th, Romy wanted to get a new vinyl roof put on the gold Buick. A few years ago, he got a completely new paint job, including body repair, and the vinyl roof was one of the last finishing touches to the exterior of the car. It was his grandma's car, and she bought it brand new in 1969 off the showroom floor and paid in cash. Romy took it to Ogden Top & Trim, a shop in Berwyn which specializes in doing custom upholstery and interiors of old cars. It turned out really nice! Not all the trim is on yet, because a few pieces are still missing (we suspect Scott must still have them somewhere, the guy who did the paint job). Here are some before and after pictures:

BEFORE (no vinyl roof):








AFTER (brand new vinyl roof):

Picking up the gold Buick

The gold Buick LeSabre 4 door, which Romy's grandma purchased in 1970, has been kept in Romy's family. Over the years, it has had a few coats of paint put on it and some rust developed since it was kept in Berwyn. Romy decided to start restoring it and part of the job included getting the body work done to get rid of the rust and then get a new paint job. Romy contacted a guy up in Green Bay Wisconsin who paints old Buicks and other old cars to do the body work and paint (Scott Scheffen - dscheffen@aol.com). He did a great job!

Romy also has a second 1970 Buick LeSabre, but it is a green (actually multi-colored) 2 door, which he also decided to get painted by the same guy, Scott. So on Thursday afternoon, we all packed up the 2 door Buick with camping gear and spare parts, and headed off to Green Bay. We didn't have any problems getting there, except that we arrived after dark. Scott let us camp in his huge yard, so we set up our tents and were very excited to see the car in the sunlight the next morning. Scott also made a nice fire in his campfire pit, and we had some drinks and sat around the fire.

Here are some before and after pictures of the 4 door gold Buick:



The Gold Buick before it was painted in the garage.


The 'new' Gold Buick after Scott did all of the body work and paint. It was painted with the original color, Cornet Gold Poly, and had a metallic sheen.


The rear of the Gold Buick. The black vinyl roof will be put on soon, but for now, Scott just sanded it and primed the roof in preparation for the vinyl roof to be put on later.


Romy put a rebuilt 455 engine in before it got painted.


The Gold Buick on Scott's lawn.


The Gold Buick shines in the Wisconsin sun.


Romy gets the Gold Buick ready to hit the road back to Berwyn.


The Green Buick will be painted by Scott next.


Camping out in Scott's yard.