🔧 BUILD Taws697's 1963 Biscayne Build! the anti-swap. Engine updates on page 5

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After reading the thread on user participation, I decided to start a build thread. I got the car back in 2018 but never made a thread because 1, it’s not a turbo LS or blown coyote and 2, because I move so slowly on it. I may fail miserably, but here we go.......

1963 Chevy Biscayne 2dr post. Laurel green with a fawn interior. Straight 6 with a 3 on the tree. 40,000 mile car completely untouched with plastic covers on the seats. This thing is bare bones. It has 1 option which is a push button radio, nothing else. No side mirrors, single speed wipers, no reverse lights, manual steering and brakes. The original owner down in Kentucky passed and his buddy sold it to me out of the estate. I got the original owners manual, accessory book, dealer ice scraper and even the statement of origin. These are pictures of when I picked it up.

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taws697

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So, my main goal was to get the car drivable at this point. I went through the whole brake system, cleaned the fuel tank. Replaced the fuel pump and starter. Rebuilt the carb. Replaced cap, rotor, points, condenser, plugs and wires. I had a spot on the radiator brazed due to a leak. Once I got it running, I noticed a lifter tick, so I threw lifters in it. I also put some cheap tires on it because the ones on it were date coded for ‘78. At that point I started cruising it.
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taws697

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Awesome, one day I'm going to do a 63 or 64 Impala.

My family has always been real big into x-frame cars. Prior to my existence, my dad ran the northern Illinois chapter of Late Great Chevys(58-64). My dad and I started a frame off restoration on a 60 Belair Sport coupe when I was young. My parents wound up splitting and dad moved to Florida. It’s been in storage for 15-20yrs. I plan to continue working on that one more this spring. This photo was me next to it in maybe 96?
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And it still looks similar lol
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I also picked up a 64 Biscayne wagon in Kansas recently and brought it down to the Florida keys for my dad.
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taws697

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In the fall of 18, I decided to tear into the interior. It was apparent that mice had done some serious damage. I determined that they had eaten through the rear seat cover and pulled all of the stuffing into the headliner. So I pulled all of the seats and pulled up the vinyl floor covering. I was upset to find that mouse urine was rotting the floors out from the inside out. At that point I decided to replace the floors, some braces, and some bad spots in the inner rockers. I also took the opportunity to install the hump for a 4 speed

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taws697

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I spent a lot of time tracking down correct material for the interior. Everyone makes stuff for Impalas but not so much for Biscaynes. I removed the rear seat cover and then sandblasted the frame. I then had a new seat cover made from NOS material and installed it with new foam. I got a new package tray and covered it with the correct vinyl and also had a new headliner made with NOS material. I ran into an issue around the rear window because GM used this plastic trim that had completely disintegrated. After some research, I found that Canadian cars used a different style metal trim. So I got a hold of a set of those and painted them. I also replaced the windlace at this point

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taws697

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At this point, I decided to target the external appearance. The original lacquer paint was in somewhat decent shape. I spent a crazy amount of time hand buffing the lacquer while trying not to rub through it. Most of it shined up decently. It has quite a few bumps and bruises, but I like how it looks. There were 2 main bad spots I had to take care of. The drivers lower front fender which is notorious for rotting out, and an ugly spot on the roof. I’m assuming a towel was left on it for 30yrs or something. I have no body work experience so this was a learning curve for me. I started with the fender. Cut out the bad area and POR15’d the inner structure. Then welded in new metal. Used a little glaze and primed it. I worked with a local paint shop who mixed up some paint for me. It took 8 adjustments to the formula before I was happy with the color. The shop actually put everything in a spray can for me.

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taws697

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I was pretty happy with how the fender turned out, especially because I was told that blending a base/clear setup into 55yr old lacquer was not possible. So I moved on to the roof. I sanded down the bad area, filled in the pitting with some glaze and then primed. I tried to fade the base color in and then I cleared the whole roof. This was my first time using a spray gun. I definitely need more practice with that. It’s been tough to achieve the correct sheen while buffing the clear. It wound up way too shiney. Even brand new perfectly buffed lacquer was not nearly as shiney as clear. I’m in the process of using a fine scotch brite pad to cut the sheen some.

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taws697

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As seen in some of the photos, I put some wheel vintiques chrome reverse style wheels on it. I’ve always liked the look and this is the first car I’ve had that they work on. They are 15x6 front and 15x8 rear with 275/60-15’s. They barely tuck up in there. I’ve gotten some grief because it’s still a straight 6.........oh well lol. I guess it’s a reverse sleeper at the moment.

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