GM Futurliner Progress Photos GM Futurliner Restoration Project National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States

GM Futurliner Progress Photos
GM Futurliner Restoration Project
National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States

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2003 - Progress & Work Photos - 2003
The Way It Looks 1/1/2003 Bottom Half Painted Work Session 1/21 Carbs Session 1/28 Kalamazoo Swap Meet 2/1 Session 2/4 Session 2/11 Session 2/18 Session 2/24 Final Paint 3/4 Session 3/11	Session 3/18 Paint Progress Session 3/25 Session 4/1 Session 4/8 Lady In Red Ready for Trim Adding the Trim GM Letters Session 4/21 Session 4/22 Session 4/29	Session 4/30 Session 5/5 Session 5/6 Session 5/12 Session 5/19-20 Session 5/24 Session 6/2-3 Test Drive 6/9 Wheel Falls Off 6/9 Prepared to Travel 6/16 Eyes on Design 6/23 Lowboy Trailer 9/30	Light Housing 10/21 Wiring 10/21 Weather Seals 10/21 Electrical 10/28 Session 11/4 Session 11/11 Tire Mold 11/18 Session 11/24 Session 12/8 Last Session for '03

Work was focused on getting the letters (GENERAL MOTORS and PARADE OF PROGRESS for each side) ready for the final buffing operation. Most of the crew took the same operations that they did last week with again Ryan doing the instructing and being INSPECTOR GENERAL. Those doing the hand filing were Paul, Del, Dick, Don and Marty. Next Fred, Bud and Ryan were using small air tools to prepare the edges of each letter. Marty also was bolting the individual pieces on plywood so the belt sanders as well as the DA sanders could be used. Once the final sanding was done the individual pieces were taken to Ron. At the end of the day each letter was completed through the sanding operation. Ron has a stack of letters waiting him for next week.
Bud Dinger, Paul Prinzing work on buffing aluminum pieces of the Futurliner lettering.	Del Carpenter and Howard Sullivan work together on sanding down one of the bigger pieces before final buffing.
Finished buffed trim	Finished buffed trim
Fred Carpenter working on a piece of trim.	Aluminum letters before buffing.
Don Mayton and Paul Prinzing doing some detail work on small pieces.	Marty Reed doing some hand sanding.
Del Carpenter doing some detail polishing on a piece.	Group working in the shop on sanding and buffing. Art Meidema, Dick Saddler and Martin Reed working together on letters.
Dick Saddler filing off some rough edges.	Art Meidema., Conrad DeJong, Ed DeVries enjoy a little sunshine and fresh air.
The front and rear rubber bumpers are about 4" thick, 12" high, and 60" wide. They were mounted to the front and rear center of the Futurliner and have a curve that matches the vehicle itself. When we received our Futurliner all the rubber bumper sections were missing. The front is made up of two large sections and the rear four sections that make up the dimensions listed. Fortunately the donated Futurliner that Brad in California disassembled for us had most of the missing sections except one. Today, Ed, Connie, Art, and Stan constructed a frame to shape the rubber bumpers to the correct arc. They then mounted steel plates to the rear of the bumper and then using a mechanical press shaped the correct arc in the front bumper. They still have a lot of repair to make on this front bumper section. Jim continued to work on the rear bumper. He has a made a drawing and plans to fabricate one one bumper section that we are missing by stacking various thickness' of rubber.	Jim Baker and Art Meidema contemplating over one of the sections of the rear rubber bumpers.