Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

Looks real good.

Al

John,

I don't care what your age is but I'd still have to imagine that you've danced around with excitement like a little kid at least a few times when no one's watching (maybe when they are who knows). I'm both happy and excited for you too just as other have already expressed. This is a project a lot of old car guys dream of doing, it's great that it found a way of coming to life for you. Looking forward to more updates as it all comes together. Scott...

Oh, that is Ernest, the neighbor's pooch, who visits us every and stays with us almost every night. He is watching the work from the rear hatch of the Trailblazer.

Does Ernest get better food at your place than at the neighbor?

For the building, I can, like most of the others, just dream about it!

It is Tuesday, PM, March 3rd. Well, the pad is done. Eight loads of gravel and much digging, grading and compacting gravel. I am happy with the finished product, but they will come back after the building is done and the mounds of permafrost has melted to do the final grading. The permafrost will go in front of the pad and be level with the cement so I can drive over the grass to the furthest bay. Alice does not want everything to be gravel so will plant grass. It really is not going to be an issue as the last bay is going to be for storage of two cars. They have put in a nice gravel driveway to the first and second bays where most of the car work will be done.

The building has arrived and been off loaded onto two flat bed trucks. The are going to wait until we have some good weather to start construction so it looks like next week. We have heavy rain tomorrow and then snow on Thursday, and of course, freezing on Friday. But next week looks like it will be good and temps above freezing.

I also called the electric company. They are coming on Tuesday AM to figure out how they are going to supply power to the building. I am holding on to my wallet, I know it will not be cheap.

Here are pics of today's work.

Still Tuesday. Just received a pic from the contractor. Here is the garage on the flatbed and another load on the ground. Now that is alot of lumber and metal.

It is Wednesday, March 4th, early PM. It is above freezing today, but expected snow storm is to start this PM. They said we could get up to 12 inches by tomorrow PM. So decided I better put back on the rear grader blade on the Kubota. Have her and the snow blower all fueled and ready to go. If we do get a bit of snow I plan to use the snow blower to get it off the pad rather than having the sun take care of it over the weekend. I want it ready to go for Monday. Here is hoping that the contractor decided to get it started.

The contractor came back today and picked up all the equipment. Ah, room to breath again. The pad looks really good. The weather looks great for next week so I hope that they will begin construction of the garage early in the week.

I also called the local electric company. They are sending out an engineer on Tuesday to determine how they are going to run power to the building.

Talked to the propane folks to see how much a 500 gallon tank would cost. How about $2500 plus propane. I think not! Going to spend the summer looking for a used tank.

Here are some pics from this morning. Diamonti, the llama, loves the pad too. Just stands there and looks around. He must like the view.

It is Saturday, AM, March 6th. Not much progress around here, but thought I would give just a short update for those that check in every day. We had our big storm a couple of days ago and dumped 6 inches of snow on us. And it has been below freezing since then so nothing is thawing. It was 7 degrees here this morning. I did move snow off the pad and that part of the pasture where the garage materials are going to be placed. Looks like we are going to have several days above freezing for the next week so I am hopeful that the garage construction will start. But I have received no word from the contractor other to say "send a check for $40,000".

Greg stopped by a couple of days ago. He need to borrow a spare trailer tire so he could take his son's car to a repair shop. He said that he does not know how to work on modern cars and avoids doing anything on them. I asked him about the Matheson engine. He said that he is waiting to the shop area it is in warms up before he starts again. He thinks that he has all the piece parts to finish it and is satisfied that he now has a good ignition/sparking system for it. He has lots of parts farmed out for the Overland car and hopes to begin some sub assembly work on the body soon as he hopes the reproduction woodwork will be back soon. The hand power horn for the Stoddard Dayton is done, and he and Rob fitted it to the car a few days ago. Pilot holes have been drilled, but he needs some special tool to attach it to the cowling. No work on either the Maroon or Black Avantis. Both are in cold storage.

$40,000? Is that full payment? If so, only send $10,000 - so they keep coming back!

Chris, I wish that was the final amount. I still have the concrete, insulation, electrical (outside and inside), lifts, water, inside furnishings, special tools, and heating/propane. I figure that I am a bit more than half way.

unimogjohn, I have sent you an email through the the AACA site, just letting you know here too so you will know it's real ! John B

John ,winter sort of breaking here,will send you some pics,concrete this week if the ground thaws,Its been a long winter in OHIO.Best of luck with your build.

John:

Thanks for keeping us informed as to progress. Joan and I were wondering what the Llamas thought about this upheaval in their lives. We see that at least one is taking things in stride.

It got up to 50 degrees yesterday so I started and ran both the 1925 and the 1937 Buicks for about a 1/2 hour.

My alley is still too sloppy to take them out.

Larry

Larry, the cars look great. And they started too. I am impressed.

Progress continues to be made on the garage, err well sort of. Gave them big bucks for the building. Talked to the owner of the company, and he said that it was still too wet to bring up materials. But next week looked very good and would begin next Monday. Can't wait.

And David Coco sent me a note that he has started on the side curtains for the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. He sent me a pic of the panel that goes between the front and rear curtains that go over the doors. Looks good. But don't tell David that I have run out of money. The garage is sucking me dry. Just kidding David, I have money in a special fund for you.

That's OK, we can always put it on account....on account you're out of money!

You're constructing what I wish I had built a number of years ago, a good storage building. Alas, too late now, retired, and I don't know why they call it a fixed income, mine seems to be broken......

These two pieces of the curtains have "left rear" and "right rear" tags, will find out when we have car in front of us and install snaps. For those interested, John stated that the old curtains fit fine, so I'm using them to get measurements for new curtains, then will fit them to car, hopefully on a warm day!

It is Wednesday, March 11th, AM. The electric company designer came yesterday. We discussed options for powering the building. We settled on running a 290 foot line from the power pole in the back of the house to the garage. This will be new service. They will use a vibrator to run the line to the building. The estimated cost, $2000. I am happy with that. If the garage had been any further from the pole I would have had to put in a upgraded transformer. That would have doubled the cost. The timeline is about four weeks from the time I send in the money. So I am probably looks at a month from now, maybe a bit longer.

And here is a good video on Daylight Savings Time.

I know this thread occasionally veers off to some antique aircraft topics and thought this might be interesting. The below link is to a short documentary about a few seconds of footage of a successful "crash landing" of WWII Spitfire found in a deceased relatives possessions. This prompted a successful hunt for the original pilot who was still alive and well, and then the culmination of listening to his fascinating WWII exploits and showing him the footage that he had never seen. This has been out there for a while but its great stuff that's worth a watch if you've never seen it.

Tom, thanks for posting the link. That was a great story. Enjoyed it.

It is Thursday, PM, March 12th. The big melt is on. Yesterday it was 65 degrees and all the snow and ice was melting off the roof of the run in shed. Diamonti, the llama, enjoyed the sun shine on the new garage pad. Today it is 55 degrees and the pastures are starting to dry out. You sill sink a bit into the loam, but at least it does not suck your boots off.

Saw a nice aluminum open storage unit for the enclosed trailer on Ebay. It is made by a little independent shop. Not much money. I got it yesterday and am very happy. It is of excellent quality and will hold oil, cleaning supplies, etc. I think it is a very good value. I will hang it in the white enclosed trailer to get stuff off the floor. Here is a link to the Ebay listing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221327445401?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The garage is still on for Monday.

Oh, and came out this morning to find a very flat tire on the white enclosed trailer. Filled it with air and could hear the air hiss out of the valve stem. So now to get it off and to the repair shop. Not that easy. The wheel nuts were on like they were glued. I broke two 3/8 to 1/2 inch adapters trying to get them off. I had to use a five foot piece of pipe over a 1/2 inch breaker bar to get them loose. Thanks to leverage I got them all off with out any more damage.

Good morning, it is Friday, March 13th. Just got word that the garage construction is to begin on Monday with the placement of the garage on the pad, the marking and digging of all the post holes. I am more than ready to watch it go up. I have huge mounds of permafrost dirt slowly melting. The outside is finally turning back to dirt from blocks of dirt, but I am sure the inner stuff is still frozen solid. Going to put some of it in front of the garage area to build up the level of the garage so I have a way to use all of the bays.

And good news, we have a Greg report.

"The weather is trying to turn. Soon the roadside snow will have melted enough for the daffodils to push through. Today was sunny but not warm enough to work outside, so I decided it was a good day to clock out early, grab some tools, awaken the 'biscuit and treat the Avanti and I to a spur of the moment road trip. A good day for some quality time with the Studebaker and the Stoddard Dayton, with its horn installation awaiting completion. I brought along a die grinder with cutoff wheel in order to shorten the flexible hose and get it stuffed in its receptacle. Satisfied with the progress, I will now finalize the brass screws, nuts and washers, get them buffed and get them installed. Then a suggestion to follow Rob to a nearby restaraunt for dinner. He's debugging and fine tuning a customer's Oldsmobile, so I followed and enjoyed the journey though the Maryland back roads and crossroads village of Burkettsville on a very pleasant evening.

A sign of things to come."

=

Still Friday, but PM.

The front lawn has dried a bit so decided to take the Jaguar out for a run. Would she start? Yes, fired right up.

Off we went, about ten miles or so. Ran great, but I noticed that the turn signals are dead and the fuel gauge is intermittent, well mostly off. I must have disturbed some wiring while working under the dash. When I got home I checked the fuses, all were fine; and the wiring to the turn signal relay. Looks fine, everything nice and tight. I will look at the wiring diagram tonight and see how they run.

I also noticed some brake fluid on the floor of the trailer and the fluid container was down about an inch. Looks like I might have a leak in the right rear. I checked the repair invoices from the previous owner. The brakes had been done about ten years ago with SS sleeves in the cylinders. I will order a kit, and when the garage is done I will tackle the brakes.

Speaking of the garage, I put the Jaguar on the pad. I think that the garage is going to be big enough.

Here are pics of the broken socket adapters from yesterday's post, the ruts getting the Jag off the trailer, and then the Jag on the pad.

A fun morning and afternoon. All good things must come to an end. The Jag is back in the trailer and a rain storm is on the way. I can take rain at this point, not snow and ice. Then the weather is suppose to be great and in the 50s all next week.

Just a quick Monday morning, March 16th, update. The garage construction is starting today. Pics tonight. We are soooo excited.

Got a note from David Coco, Trimacar on the forums, that the side curtain construction is moving on. The black panels are done and he will be putting in the "glass" plastic over the next few days.

Ordered two "rear brake seal kits" for the Jaguar. Not much money so decided that it is better to have them on the shelf when I need them.

The big thaw is on, still have snow where we mounded it up, but it should be gone in a few days. We are starting to see green here and there, Spring is coming.

It is Monday, PM, March 16th. Construction of the new garage has begun. They hauled up equipment and one huge load of wood, trusses, and steel. All off loaded, and placed around the pad. The garage was laid out on the pad, and red paint marks where all 19 poles will go. The holes for the poles will be dug tomorrow and some will be put in and set with concrete. Another load of materials will be brought up. This will be the second of at least three loads. On Wednesday the walls start to go up.

Here are pics of today's activities. Oh yes, the load was so heavy that the trucks spun its wheels half way up the driveway. Had to use the Bobcat to pull him up the rest of the way.

It is Tuesday, AM, March 17th. Day 2 of the garage build. Going to be a nice day. Hope that they make a lot of progress.

David Coco (trimacar) send me a pic of one of the side curtains for the 23 McLaughlin Buick. He said they they are almost done, and will now be putting in the windows. He is really moving along now. Great work David! For some reason I could not get the pics to load. Maybe David will do it.

It is still Tuesday, early PM. The garage crew started making holes in the ground at 7 AM. They had all 19 completed by 11 AM. All went down without a hitch. Each one is four feet down. Only one hit sandstone, but it went through like it was butter. All the holes look good.

They also brought up all of the remaining building components. The crew left for lunch and to pick up the bags of cement and rebar for the poles. They did not know if they would be back this afternoon or not. They are sure that all the post components will be in tomorrow. Then on Thursday the main structure should go up. Things will go pretty quick as soon as the posts are set.

Went to pull out the little Cub Cadet mower. A no start from sitting this winter. I could also see smoke coming from the solenoid. It did start with power directly to the starter. Took a look at my mower spares and it seems I have two used ones and one new one. Guess I better get busy and replace it this afternoon.

Bad and cooler weather is coming in tonight. Today it is suppose to be 71 degrees and then tomorrow in the 40s. We expect to get a bit of snow on Thursday/Friday. Looks like I better get the stove ready for a few days of heating.

Here are a few pics to include the garage sign that my daughter-in-law made for us.

Nice sign! Front (shown) and rear curtains are done, will put clear plastic windows in middle curtains tomorrow and then, with exception of fitting snaps to your car, they'll be done.

I left the protective sheet on each side of the clear plastic, as shown in picture.....clear plastic is only perfect once, and as soon as those sheets are removed, it's only downhill from there!

I put the original tags on the curtains, the little gold and black tag shown, which tell placement on car. They're very fragile, though, so plan to cover them with a small piece of clear plastic.....

It is Wednesday, AM, March 18th. Well, the garage crew arrived this morning at 7 AM. The trailer had a full pallet of concrete/cement. They expect to set all the post studs today.

And we also have a report from Greg.

"Played hookey from work today. My friend Glenn Miller made his second annual visitation today. Attending a conference of museum types in Williamsburg with his wife Jeannie, he was able to slip away and make the two and a half hour drive to hang out. After a brief walk through our shop, I had plans. We'd go play in the traffic and I'd introduce him to some of my old associates, most of them graduates of White Post Restorations. Like me, Glenn has a life long appreciation of the restoration trade. Since he's said that we went to different schools together, I knew how to entertain him. I'm very proud of the fact that WPR has spawned an entire industry of world class tradesmen servicing the old car hobby, leaders in their chosen fields. Most of them have stayed in the area, the Shenandoah Valley is just littered with talent.

Our first was a brief stop to see Thetan Ogle, near Winchester. Before he opened his own home shop he'd been with WPR for I think thirteen years or so doing their panel forming and metal repair. Now nicely equipped, he's currently on a Ferrari restoration as well as the reconstruction of Rob Burchill's '33 Chrysler "burn victim". In the photo you see he's constructing the buck for the forming of the door panel skin. A very difficult proposition that's in very capable hands. I've always considered the "panel beaters", those individuals skilled at taking flat sheets of metal and forming them into difficult shapes the highest form of restoration artwork. We're lucky to have him.

Back on the road, we then found our way up the Valley to Craig Naff's shop which is nestled next to a ridge in the countryside outside of Woodstock. Craig had been forming metal for us at WPR, then left to pursue his trade at a couple other shops, one was Boyd Cottington's where his skill was recognized . His talent was responsible for a custom job called "Cadzilla" for some outfit known as ZZ top. Whoever they are. Returning to his roots in the Valley, he's doing world class metal shaping and remains the kind of guy you just admire and like to be around. After he and Glenn compared friends they had in common, it was time to go.

Next stop....Brillman's. Farther out the road is the establishment of John Brillman. He has a home business supplying the restoration trade with period type electrical wiring , connectors, some component repair, etc. We were surprised to learn that he is recovering from a disastrous fire , damaging not only the building but also inventory. Now he and his crew are working in temporary structures to keep orders at bay and he took time out during these difficult times to tell us how it happened and how he's trying to turn it into a positive thing for his business. We wish him the best.

Back on the road again. Nearing lunchtime I made a quick call ahead to our next stop, Classic and Sport in Edinburgh. We'd meet for lunch before our tour of the shop. David Carte, another WPR alumni. He eventually departed to concentrate on Ferrari restoration and he and his crew are now on top of the game. An encyclopedia of serial numbers, facts past and present of Ferrari intricacies as well as others. Like the wonderful '54 Maserati (photo enclosed) with race history that greets you as you enter his shop.

As Glenn was facing a long trip to Williamsburg, then back to Michigan, we cut our visit short and made our way back to Warrenton. We had more places to go but simply ran out of time. So it was a great day, spending time not only with Glenn, but also darkening the doorsteps of so many talented craftsmen that I'm pleased to have worked with and call my friends.

Then I had some time with my oldest son Nathan. Like I said. Great day and I'll look forward to Miller time visit next year."

=

Just a very quick update. Been just above freezing all morning, but I did get out and do a couple of things. Put the repaired tire on the trailer. Yes, it was the valve stem. Boy, that tire is heavy. Replaced the solenoid on the Cub Cadet mower. That fixed it. Only issue was that I had to remove half of the cowl assembly to get to it. The old one had self destructed, melted one of the posts into the plastic housing.

The two guys are going strong on the post installation. They have about 15 of them in now. Looks like they will be all in by this afternoon. I was bored this morning so I made chocolate chip cookies, took a half a dozen big ones out to them. The have to bribe them to keep them going.

OK, it is the end of the day. All the posts are in! The building structure goes up tomorrow.

The posts are three pressure treated 2x6s with a hole in the bottom for the rebar. Then two bags of concrete are tamped over the rebar and post. This acts as a foot so it cannot be pulled out of the ground easily. The boards between the posts are just there to hold the posts level during construction. They will be removed and reused as the building goes up.

Here are some pics of the day.

Still Wednesday. My oh my, David Coco sent an email and said to send a check if I wanted my "hostage" side curtains for the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. He said they are done with the exception of the final fitment and installation of the snaps and buttons. David worked hard to make sure they were ready in time for the AACA meet in Virginia Beach the end of April. Now the heat is on me, I have to modify the rods that go into the door. Going to work on them next week.

Thanks David. Great work.

Cool, think I'll start calling it "Hostage Upholstery" and open up an off-shore account!

It was a fun project, lot's of detail work in a set of side curtains.....

IF I may, I have a suggestion regarding those side curtains.

I have been a boater most of my life and most have much bigger side curtains which the sun and chemicals used in washing down the boat hasten their life. To extend their life I found that keeping them out of the sun really helped but, how to store them without scratching and sweating with the plastic touching and stored below.

I found that rolling them up using flannel (think soft babies blankets) to avoid the plastic touching kept them like brand new for years (and saving a huge replacement cost!).

Naturally I had the added cost of having a toneau cover made for about 300 bucks keeping the top and curtains out of the weather when docked but it was worth it.

Dad made the mistake of folding the curtains up and storing them under the seats of the Overland and since he drove her a lot, they have yellowed badly and are scratched. (but we did had fun )

Thanks Doug....I was going to discuss storage with John, the flannel is a good idea....

Doug and David, I will get some flannel. I figured I would store them flat. I will have to figure out how to display them at a show.

It is Thursday, early PM, March 19th. Snow is suppose to start tonight and go until Friday afternoon. The "boss" for the workers came by this morning and said they would not be working tomorrow due to the weather conditions. Fine by me. Next week looks great. I am in no hurry right now. The boss is also concerned about rain water intrusion getting under the pad so we discussed trenching and installing pipe and rock to take the water away from the building. He is also concerned that the drop off at the end of the building is way too high, and may result in the end of the building failure at some future point in time. So we discussed installing a concrete retaining wall at the end of the fill. I agree with him and will go ahead, but I cannot stand to many more surprises, read $$$$$$$s.

Here is what "Stonehenge" looks like early this afternoon. It is a struggle for two guys to lift up each post assembly, but they are doing it. Boy, they are really tall. Alice will freak out for sure.

And my neighbor's are getting into the hobby too. Alan dropped by with his 2007 Porsche.

John:

How did the work crew ensure the posts remained in an absolute vertical position overnight? I usually see freshly cemented posts with temporary angle bracing attached to them after the crew has set them using a level. Or have those already been removed before you took the picture? Just curious.

Joe, last night the little post "studs" were all joined together so they did not move. The now much taller poles will be braced tonight before the crew goes home.

OK, here are the final pics of the day. All the posts are in and temporarly braced. Snow is coming tonight so there will be no work for the next three days. The ends of the building are the final height. The trusses drop in the slots on the other beams. That work will go quick as they are all made up.

A suggestion for displaying the curtains place them on the back seat and install one on the car, this is to prove that they belong to this car.I have seen curtains that didn't belong to the car they were displayed with.

You might be ask to remove them from the seat. Placing them on the ground behind the car is acceptable but is not recommended as someone might step on them.

A suggestion for storage have David make a pouch to store them flat.

Al

Al, thanks for the suggestions. David and I will put our heads together and let you know what we come up with.

The garage build continues. Today they spent the day putting in the cross bracing near the top of the structure. They did this to make sure that the top of the posts are still level and plumb. They also put in the headers for the garage doors. Tomorrow they will hang the five trusses and build out the ends. Still only two guys working on the garage.

It is Tuesday, March 24th, PM. Well, the workers have left for the day. I wish I could say that there was a lot of progress, but alas, not much in the grand scheme of things. They continued to put in the horizontal bracing and truing up everything as they went with straps. They also put in many more long nails in the posts to make sure they were tightly together. Boy, the structure is just rock solid. No word on when the high lift crane will be coming to put in the five trusses. Oh well, I am glad that the workers are here every day and working.

For me I gave the Kubota tractor a grease job and adjustments. I put it to work moving debris that we have been taking out of a forest area that Alice wants to make into a garden area. Hard work for me and the tractor.

John ,looks like a great start.I may have missed it,but appears to be 12 foot ceiling?BTW our concrete was poured this past Thursday,80 yards,inside only,that hurt.Time for that lift,Love ours.

Wow, 80 yards. That floor must be huge. I figure 30 yards for mine. When it is poured we are heading off to Delaware to pick up the lifts.

And some bad news. The electrical engineer called back with the final design. Said that the distance from the power pole to the garage is too far to run lifts, AC, heat, air compressor, etc. Lights OK, but nothing else, if I just go with the transformer on the pole. So they have to put in a new transformer midway between the pole and the garage. So my cost went from $2K to $5K. I was crushed. I am going to take on side jobs of changing oil in the neighbors cars and trucks, and selling cool-aide on the corner. Oh well, it is only paper.