Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

It is Thursday, March 26th, early PM. The garage crew was recalled to another job. We have been having rain on and off this morning, and thunderstorms are expected this afternoon. Yesterday, there was only one guy so little really got done. I talked to the owner and he promised that there would be four workers all next week. He slowed down because he want to put in French drains around the outside of the garage. They are going to dig down a foot or so and install drain pipe covered with a sock and then covered by course gravel. This should take care of any water running into the garage. He wants to avoid any possible damage to the garage if the worker bees get too much done. Today they got a few more of the upper braces done before they were chased out.

I pulled out the rototiller to see why it did not start last fall. Well, I found out the answer. It took me about an hour to get to the carb, clean out the fuel bowl, blow out the jet, and put it all back together. The fuel bowl was littered with little gobs of goo. D*** gas. I even had Stabil in it. Oh well, it starts easily and runs good. Looks like I am all ready to get the garden ready next week.

John:

I assume you had ethanol gas in the rototiller? Would Stabil for ethanol have been any better, or is that what you used? Maybe some of this Thread's "Brain Trust" could chime in on this too.

Use Seafoam!

Anyone bored with the garage construction yet? It is Friday, March 27th, PM. It was cold day, only got to about 48 degrees, and only going to be 38 or so tomorrow. Snow flurries are expected. We did get over an inch of rain last night that left everything in a mucky mess.

Only one guy came today, but he did bring over the little excavator to dig the drain lines around the barn. But it was too muddy for him to do that. So he spent the day putting in wall bracing and starting on the base that will become the form for the concrete floor. They are pressure treated for seawater so will never go bad. They are 2 x 6s. He also leveled the floor gravel to make sure it was smooth and ready for concrete. Of course he almost slid off the hillside with the Bobcat and was a foot or so from sliding down the hill and into the garage. That would not have been pretty. But he was able to pull it out with the excavator bucket.

Trusses are still scheduled to go up on Monday. Weather looks great all week.

I was by Home Depot so stopped in and bought the 200 amp panel with 40 circuits. It also included the main and five additional ones for various circuits. It was a good buy at $111 out the door.

I also stopped by the county permit office to see about an electrical permit required by the electric company. They said I did not need one as the building is classified as a AG building. So called the electric company and told them that a permit was not needed. They said OK.

Here are the garage pics of the day. Don't go to sleep on me.

It seems that the lama is quite interested by that construction!

Bored? No, but I can see where one could be challenged to find their patients within their impatience maybe expecting/hoping for more expiedant results, I can see where it might be tuff at times. The good news is that it will be great to have it ready to us as the warm weather really shows up. Still what a great work/storage space it will be...

Man, that agricultural exemption is great! Down the road from us, very near the headwater of a creek, digging a big pond.....no permit needed, wetlands and all, because the guy raising cattle, thus ag exempt.

Of course, even without permit and inspection, the last thing one wants to do incorrectly is electrical/wiring!

Ok, John, when do you start renting out car storage?!?!

It is Tuesday, PM, March 31st. I wish I could report that the garage was going full speed ahead. Alas it is not, or not yet. On Monday they dug the trenches for the French drain that goes around the garage. This will take the water coming off the hill and divert it to the pasture. Today, they brought in 20 yards of drainage tile. It all goes in tomorrow. They did a few more board on the structure, but no trusses have been put in yet. Maybe Thursday is the day.

I did get the Jaguar out and took it out for a spin. Not only did the turn signals and gas gauge not work, all the dash electrics are out. So I pulled all the fuses. On the main fuse block there was a white floss on the contact base, cleaned it off, put back in the fuses, and everything came to life.

I think we all have a sigh of relief for you when the Jag came right. Xclnt.

I am far from bored, indeed I am intrigued with the shed you are building, as it is a bit different to how we do them. Diagonal bracing is essential here for seismic (and perhaps wind) capacity, but so far you have none. Maybe that is still to come and maybe the cladding does this job. We would probably not put the trusses up until some diagonal bracing is in, because the frame is still pretty flexible across both axes and a good bump from a truss on the crane could upset things.

We would also thicken the slab around the edges, but maybe that is still to come too. By doing that you give better capacity to handle large loads near the edges of the slab with out much cracking as well as the ability to handle a little loss of support if anyone digs a hole beside the slab, which would allow the soil to move sideways a little.

I am enjoying watching the construction but the regional differences in construction style are apparently more than I realized. I live about a 5 and 1/2 hour drive south of there and I have never seen that style of construction either. In my area I would expect a foundation to be poured with bolts installed in the edge of the foundation. A treated bottom plate would be installed held down by the bolts. The walls would be tied into that bottom plate. The bottom plate and the walls and the top plate of the walls and the roof trusses all have to be tied together here. Of course, I expect you don't reguarly get exposed to the hurricane force winds that we do, and we don't normally get exposed to the snow that you get.

Matt, what you describe is what I was used to in Louisiana for erecting a building. You always poured the foundation first, and built on top of that.

When I moved to Virginia in the late 80's, I was first exposed to the build it first and pour foundation later methodology.

I recently talked to my brother in Jackson, Mississippi (that's spelled M-straight letter-crooked letter-crooked letter-straight letter-crooked letter-crooked letter-straight letter-humpback-humpback-straight letter, for those of you not so taught!), and he states that the method of pouring after building up is now starting to be seen more and more in that area....

I wasn't gonna say anything - I just figured it was some newfangled building system from Sweden or something. Kind of like IKEA.

It is April 1st, PM, Wednesday. Well, the garage project is moving ahead, bit by bit. Today they almost finished the drainage project. Only the downspout connections to be built and buried. Then they can get back to the garage itself. Here are the pics for the day. The drainage system looks like it will be great for many years to come.

On a side note we went to dinner at our little hamlet down the road. We were talking to the new owner and asked him about hosting a Cars, Motorcycle, and Coffee. He thought that it was a great idea so we will be having a little event on Sunday, April 12th, from 11 AM to 1 PM. The place will be Orlean Market, in Orlean, VA.

It is Thursday morning, April 2nd. We are going to hit 70 degrees today so good progress should be made on the garage. I intend to wake the Avanti from her slumber today too.

In the meantime, for your reading pleasure, we have a report from Greg.

"In like a lion and out like a lion. Hopefully March is out of here. And maybe with the trend toward warmer weather I'll be feeling more productive. But I've been getting a few things accomplished. The old saying is "time is money".

Well, money can buy time. During this past winter I've been making "car payments", mostly on the Overland project. While the seat restoration is in the works I've been farming out work that I can't do or don't have the time for. I'll have to get everything together for a group shot.

For tonight I'll include a pic of the brass plating that just arrived. Overland shift and brake lever components and the spark and throttle quadrant. Done by Acme Brass Plating in Kansas City. Great attention to detail (even masked the threads but plated the ends) and I don't think they lost a thing.

With today's call from "trimacar" David Coco that the ebay lamp we bid on had arrived, and with the pleasant day at hand, I decided to patronize the Seabiscuit and make the trip to Winchester after work. A brief visit and then with the highway still calling, we zoomed off for Jefferson, Md . Burchill's establishment. The lamp at hand to be screwed to the '10 REO. Now to find a mate for it. Yes, it looks a bit brighter than the rest of the brass, but Mother Nature should take care of that.

Then with Rob's help, I finished the Stoddard's horn installation (functional now) and tightened some screws.

Not quite dark, it was time to head South. Still a cloudless sky and a very scenic sunset over the Harper's Ferry Potomac the Avanti and I plunged into the starry dark. Cruising along at the speed limit, two thousand rpm and the exhaust humming and the supercharger whistling ......the hour and a half drive seemed only a few minutes. You know what I'm talking about Rhodes. They just don't build automobiles like that any more. (My opinion)"

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Just received another little chirp from Greg. The video is a good one. That is one scary beast of a car.

" Some thoughts on the video clip:

1. A member of the ground crew either lost his balance and took a header or dropped dead.

2. That first launch really was the best as it ran smoothly through the rpm range. What a low gear ratio.....

3. Looking over the hood reminds me of a locomotive.

4. They are really carrying the mail during that landscape shot.

5. Must have sounded awesome as it motored along that wall.

6. Mr. Pittaway has truly captured the spirit, belching smoke, fire and spewing oil. No oil control rings in this baby.

7. As fast as it is, that pheasant was faster.

Watch The S76 Fiat Belch Fire And Smoke As It Is Driven At The Goodwood Estate | The Old Motor

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Fantastic!!

Ben

P.S. Wife wants one.

Still Thursday. Well, the construction guys left for the day. They got a lot done. All the structure minus trusses, windows and man door framing are done. The drainage is all done and the downspout connections are ready. The concrete forms for the floor are all done except for the three openings for the cars, which will be done just before the pour. They are picking up the two windows and man door tomorrow and will frame them in. The garage is looking good, finally.

They delivered the insulation that will go under the metal roof. While it does have some R value, its primary purpose is to direct condensation from the underside of the metal roof panels to the outside.

The contractor owner stopped by and said that he will have a four man crew here on Monday to finish the building. I am hoping that the building will be complete by the end of the week to include prepping for the concrete.

The large opening left open at the end of the garage is to slide the trusses through rather than taking them around the garage and into one of the bay openings.

i may have missed it, but any thoughts about adding a HVAC system for year round comfort?

Kerry, I am going to install three large ceiling fans for summer comfort. Hopefully, if the money holds out, I will be installing a Moline "Hot Dawg" ceiling propane furnace, 125,000 BTU for winter use.

The building will be insulated as well as the doors.

Anyway, that is the plan right now. No plan for a AC unit.

Have you looked at a combination heater A/C ? I realize we are in different climate zones but I have one in my garage and it works well.

Monday, April 6th, PM. The workers have left for today after putting in a hard day. All the trusses are up and half of the roof panel support structure is in. They were like acrobats up there. So lots got done today.

I also awoke the Avanti from her winter nap. She started right up. Topped off all the fluids and did a quick inspection. Am going to take her for a run after supper.

I also started some clean up work on the 1989 Taurus SHO. Tore part the trunk and uncovered lots of water in the spare tire wheel well. So pulled all the rug and jute material, washed them and letting them dry. I have some surface rust on the jack but nothing major. Got all the water out of the wheel well. No damage, everything looks fine. No rust. Can hardly wait until I can get it in the new garage.

It is Tuesday, April 7th. We headed off this morning to get the electrical easement paperwork notarized. Got home and sent in all the paperwork to the electric cooperative. Of course we had to send in a construction check of $4500. That hurt.

More work accomplished on the garage. Half of the roof is on, and it really looks good. They first put down a foil backed bubble mat to wick away the condensation that might form under the metal roof. Hopefully, the bad weather will hold off for tomorrow so they can continue. Expect the roof to be done by close of business on Wednesday.

Goodness, things are a lot different there compared to NZ. We would have diagonal bracing up to the apex on the end trusses, from the base of the next truss. This helps with wind load. A friend's roof blew off because that bracing had been put the wrong way: from the base of the gable end truss to the apex of the next one. The braces would be tension members, often a strip of galvanized steel nailed to the top of each purlin it crosses and wrapped around the top of the end truss and the base of the next one.

Spinneyhill, raining here this morning and looks to be a wet day so I do not think roof construction will continue. But based on your observance (which I appreciate) I asked about diagonal bracing. The builder said that they would be put in once the roof is on. Right now they have several load straps under high tension going from the bottom of the posts to the upper structure. I will take pics of them today for you. He said that they are temporarily there to ensure the garage remains square as they put the roof on. He said the straps will come out when the roof is complete and the bracing is put up. The roof is rated for 110 mph wind as I remember, but will check.

I noticed a tie in a couple of the photo's this morning (nearly 11 p.m. here now). Frame is looking good. The purlins are certainly beefy, I suppose because of the large span.

Our shed is 12 m x 8 m (39.4' x 26.2') and is steel framed with the gable ends on the long sides. This was to enable a tall door for a motorhome. I'll look at its diagonal bracing tomorrow to see how it differs. Our condensation barrier under the long-run steel has netting under it for support - yours looks to be a different product. The steel roof is wonderfully noisy in rain, a very comforting sound.

Interesting idea to put diagonal bracing in after the roof is on. They'll be working over their heads, which is hard yakka. I would have thought it was easier to square up the frame and to work underhand to install the bracing! Another point of difference.

Our floor was put in first and the steel columns bolted to it. I have seen pole sheds built here in a similar fashion to yours - poles first, floor later - I did the geotech engineering for one. I think the poles went in first, then the roof went on, then the floor went down, before any other framing went in the walls. The cabling and plumbing ducts would have been done first of course.

Interesting how building aspects differ. And here are the load specs on the garage from the builder. Wind Load is 90MPH…miles/hr, Ground Snow Load 30# psf, and Roof Snow Load 25.2# psf.

It is Thursday morning, April 9th. Rained hard yesterday so the garage crew called it a day, in fact they never came. But today they are here bright and early. Weather looks even more unsettled than yesterday. They hope to have the roof on today.

Got an email last night from Dave who I correspond with from time to time. He has a XK120 OTS and lives about an hour and a half away in Vienna, VA. Anyway he wrote that Jack R, the third owner of our Jag was coming for a visit and wants to see his old car. Jack owned the car from 1965 to 1979. Told him about the Cars and Coffee event on Sunday, and if that did not work to come to the farm in the afternoon. Will be great to finally meet Jack. He gave me the entire history of the car since its birth. He has been following it all these years. He must be in his 80s so it will be great to get him behind the wheel and take his old car for a spin again. Of course I will take lots of pictures.

Still Thursday, but PM. Just got word that there is going to be the first ever, three day old car parts swap meet in Luray, VA May 14, 15, 16. Luray is a little country town over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nice part of Virginia for sure. Here is the link to the AACA forum discussion. http://forums.aaca.org/f213/mid-atlantic-pre-war-swap-meet-389271.html I will be heading over there on Friday for sure. Here is information on the mountains if you are interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Mountains

Houston! We have a roof. Well almost. The roof panels are all on and secure. The ridge cap remains to be done. With the roof on the inside of the garage is just HUGE.

Today was cooler, just got to 50 degrees. Tomorrow, 80 degrees and thunderstorms in the PM. Siding starts to go up tomorrow.

It is Friday, AM, April 10th. Wow, cooler this morning, only 40 degrees and a cold mist. We are suppose to get to 80 degrees by the PM with a few thunderstorms coming in.

Garage update: Crew arrived at 7 AM and now have two windows framed as well as the man door. Have also started to do the final gravel level in preparation of the pad for concrete. Just talked to the head carpenter, and they do plan to start hanging metal this morning.

Hope to get the Jaguar and Avanti out of the trailer/garage so I can do some cleaning before the Cars and Coffee event on Sunday. Tomorrow I want to get the 1923 McLaughlin Buick started and begin the clean up for the AACA meet in Virginia Beach at the end of the month.

Will give a PM report on the garage.

Now almost noon, and the wall panels are going up. Goes really fast. They may get it done by quitting time.

Pictures include man door and window framing.

Oh forgot, they told me last night that all the trusses will be bolted to the posts where they intersect. Currently, they are nailed.

They have cleared the driveway into the large bay so this weekend I can drive a couple of cars in so we can see how things look.

All the old cars have been wiped down, ready for the show on Sunday.

John when you get Buick in an open spot, we can fit side curtain fasteners!.....unless it's one of those last minute deals where I have to ride in the trailer and fit them on the way to the show!

David, come on out any nice day. We are almost always home.

It is Saturday, PM, April 11th. I spent the morning putting in the plywood mounting board for the meter panel. The building siding will go over the plywood and then the panel will be bolted through the siding and plywood. I used two thickness of 5/8 th plywood, and used long coated decking screws to fasten everything together. It is not going anywhere, and will hold the base just fine.

Here are a couple of pics of my little Kubota tractor and the contractor's Bobcat machine in the garage. Oh, and that little person just inside the 10 ft bay is me. Gives you a perspective how large the garage is.

Tomorrow is our first ever Cars and Coffee. We are hoping for a good turnout. We are thinking of a once per month event for right now. Will take an informal poll and see how everyone feels.

It is Sunday, April 12th PM. We have a Greg report for your afternoon reading.

"Now that the weather is shaping up, not enough time for the things to do. Yesterday Barb and I did the Universal/Carnegie deathmarch. Early morning departure for next to Pittsburgh to retrieve two radiators, my Overland and Peter Jakab's Model T.

Although it is a nice drive through the wilds of West Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia again to Pennsylvania, to then reverse the direction and make it home made for about a fourteen hour road trip. Today we are paying the price with aches and pains from sitting on hard pickup seats.

This morning we were to meet with the Unimog crowd to get some cars together, we just didn't make it. So I worked for the boss. It's something when drilling and tapping holes, cutting and welding is easier than going out to play.

Enclosed find a photo of the Overland cooler. Cleaned, tested, a few leaks repaired, the rusted steel core's face lightly bead cleaned and painted. Making the brass shiny brought out a few dings and things, but you know what, that's provenance and proof that it isn't a repro. It's very nice for over a hundred years old.

Also find a pic of the buffed and coated horn parts awaiting assembly. Most of my life I was opposed to clearcoating, knowing that the time would come when the brass would tarnish underneath and it would have to be stripped and redone. Now I've matured to the opinion that it will be the next guy's problem."

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Still Sunday and still PM. We had great weather for our first ever Cars and Coffee at the Orlean Market, Orlean, VA. We had a total of about 35 cars come out. It beat our high estimate by a bunch. Everyone had a great time. The market went the extra mile with a moon bounce for the kids and an outside coffee and pastry area. A lot of drop in came too. So it was quite a crowd.

I also met with Jack Richards, the third owner of our Jaguar. We had a great time discussing the Jaguar during his period of ownership from 1965 to 1979. He told me lots of stories and pointed out some nicks and scars, and the reasons for them

What a great day. And Alice drove the Avanti too. Both cars were well received.

Here are some of the pics we took to include Jack back in the Jaguar.

The rest of the pics.

Wow, great turnout, hope to make the next one, missed this one....great pictures!

It is Monday, PM, April 13th. For those interested in the garage build, here is today's update.

The two man crew was on the dot at 7 AM. Today work included putting on the roof ridge cap after laying in some special plastic mesh material that keeps out birds and insects. The mesh is about three inches deep and four inches wide. With the cap on and secure they put molding around all the garage bay openings in preparation for the siding installation. Finally, they installed two bolts through each of the trusses and posts. These connection will provide for the 90 mph wind resistance.

I think tomorrow they are going to install the windows before the siding goes on. Hopefully, they can begin siding tomorrow too.

It is Tuesday, PM, April 14th. It is raining hard, and as the result the workers did not even show up. Sure glad they are not being paid by the hour.

But I took the opportunity to order some tools for the new garage. Kinda like putting the cart before the horse. I ordered a 20 gallon oil drain canister, a telescoping transmission jack, and a telescoping support pedestal. So when the garage is done and the 2 post lift installed, I will have all the tools to begin work.

And I received this note from Greg. Our fiend Paul is selling a set of 15 inch wire wheels for an Avanti. Here is the note: Paul asked me to mention to you that he has a set of knock off wire wheels for sale that came on his Avanti . 15", he says they will also fit some Fords, Chryslers, and AMC cars. Says he doesn't want a fortune, just getting the word out before they go in the Valley Trader. You'll see him at the Va. Beach national.

So if anyone has an interest let me know and I will give you Paul's contact information.

It is Wednesday, April 15th, late AM.

I would have never thought this little blog of sorts would reach 250,000 views. It will be interesting when it peters out. Right now it still gets about 200 views per day.

Garage info: Yesterday I had our local broadband provider come over to see how I can get to the Internet from the garage. He told me that he would install a another radio in the house connected to my existing service and beam the signal to another radio in the garage with a wifi router to broadcast in the garage. Good deal, no wires to bury. We discussed where it should go and its electrical requirements. So this morning I mounted a little shelf to hold the receiver and the router. All set and ready to go.

I also decided to mount the meter panel. That was an easy job. It is only loosely held in place as the siding will go on first and then I will mount it permanently.

The construction crew did not show up this morning, and it is an OK day. So wrote the construction owner a "what's up" and this is taking forever email. Hopefully, that will make them press ahead and finish the job.

Heck, John, you know that building a structure is JUST like restoring a car, takes longer than you think and goes over budget.

Coming along well! I'll email you, want to come see you next week on the Buick.

Congrats on a quarter of a million views! (that sounds like more than 250,000!)