Roger Zimmermann

October 19, 2009 No, I did not sleep the whole month. Quite the contrary: the assembly from the model is near complete. Obviously some are still not there like the rear window, emblems and headlamp doors. And, of course, the heavy job is still ahead: new wheels, tires and wheelcovers. Here are some latest pictures, the second one with closed side window and the next one with open window.

September 05, 2009 Bumpers installation and other details Once the body is on the frame, it’s time to install elements which could not be installed before this important step. The rear bumper was not an issue. 4 screws and it was done. The original car had more bolts, but not practical to install on the model. Once the back bumper is secured, it’s time to have a look at the front one. 6 bolts and it will be done, a small job. Well, it went not so easy : when I tried to attach the front bumper, it was without the radiator and other minor parts. Without too many difficulties, I could install 2 bolts. The 2 other ones securing the main supports to the frame are near the radiator and the nut must go between the radiator and the frame. On the right side, I had the impression to have more space which was true once the horn was removed. I did a special wrench to maintain the nut for a short time. Fortunately, the nut did bite immediately. For the other side, I had to remove the battery and use a thinner wrench. After a while, the nut was willing to bite. Both screws attaching the bumper ends to the front fenders could be screwed but the torque was not very important because the radiator was in the way, therefore the screwdriver was not square at the screw heads. Time needed for that bumper: about 3 hours! The LH door is just installed for the pictures. I have first to finish the installation of the side windows. It’s now obvious that the wheelcovers are far from mint! Since the previous post, I installed the master cylinder and booster.

Wishing you good luck with the recovery. In your case, smoking is certainly not helping a lot!

It seems that this process is time consuming. When I restored my cars, I did the short way: I gave the hundreds fasteners to a company which sandblasted them and plated them with zink. A few were lost and they were not so well looking than you washers.

How did you remove the rust from the washers?

The drilling hole: the nominal diameter x .8. For M3: 3 x 0.8 = 2.4 mm. With a 2.5mm drill, you were not that bad. In fact, you succeed! Remember, I'm using sometimes M 0.5 but into brass which is a material not as hard as steel. Anyway, when the tap get out without problem, I'm happy!

September 03, 2009 Another great day! It went however not without pain: today, the body was attached to the frame. Almost everything was at the right place, the screws at the frame torqued. I did know that the cooling fan could not be installed on the engine because the shroud was in the way. I believed that I could slip the fan between the pulley and the radiator; to my dismay, I realized that it was not possible. The correct process it to place the fan into the shroud, taking care that it stays there, then lower the body on the frame, looking that the emergency brake’s cable stay in place too and, finally, the screw the fan into the pulley with its central stud. I could not resist doing some pictures. If the engine compartment is not yet ready at 100%, the dash is now in place definitively. The steering wheel will be installed later.

Thanks Detroit_Electric! July 30, 2009 For me, the summer season is not ideal for modeling. As this afternoon was overcast, I decided to finish the ceiling with all associated parts. On a French forum, there was a concern that the blotting paper could turn yellow. As you can see, it’s not the case, but it could get black if I continue to hold the body by putting my fingers on the ceiling! The quarter trim panel is not yet installed; this is the reason of the excess leather at the window opening. The small white lever just under the dash is the hood opening lever. August 07, 2009 Carpet installation Prior to that, I had to install the console definitively. Then, the 5-pieces carpet was glued on the floor. It’s a difficult material: black velvet which is far from having some stability where it’s cut. Seat and dash are only there for the fun because the dash cannot be installed before the windshield: windshield wipers are attached with a nut from inside the model. (4th picture) The seats will be installed only when the body is definitively attached to the frame. The door’s sills are still missing: they will be done later. August 18, 2009 The windows As it’s a task I don’t like, I postponed and postponed the installation of the windshield. However, as long it’s not put in place, I cannot finish the dash as the wipers are screwed from inside. I’m not a fan from silicone, but it’s the best way to glue windows. Once it was done, I had to glue the side and upper garnish moldings. I had some difficulties because the lower molding, glued with instant cement, was not correctly positioned; there was a gap between the molding and the body. What to do ? The wipers did hide the problem partly, I was not happy. With a cutter, I could separate the molding from the window. This required some cleaning and a new procedure to glue the moldings. First gluing with silicone the molding at the RH A pillar and the upper one. Those elements are held with tape during the time of curing. Then, I glued the lower molding with the instant glue and finally the LH A pillar molding was installed with silicone. As 24 hours are needed for the silicone to set, the model will stay that way overnight.

Sorry to read that you have health problem. I hope for you that the situation will improve.

Gerry, something is not quite right: 1954 was still the first generation Hydramatic, but not the Jetaway which came for 1956. Have a look at the identification plate. Jetaway don't have a torque converter but a fluid coupling and, effectively, a second fluid coupling for 2 and 4th speed. There were specific shop manuals for those transmissions issued by Olds and Pontiac. On Cadillac, this was included in the regular shop manual. Have a look at what I did on a '57 Cadillac transmission: http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=150731.0

I used the one from Dupli-color for this model; then I had a clear coat made by the French company which prepared the blue metallic for the Mark II. I'm almost sure that you can take any clear coat.

May17, 2009 One of my side occupations is overhauling 1956 to 1963 Hydramatic transmissions. For the moment, I have 2: one from 1959 and another one from 1956. In between, I did sand and polish the Avanti body. I’m sanding with 1200 paper just to cut the orange look from the clear coat. That sanding paper is not very aggressive but anyway is removing material. My fear while doing that is to go past the clear coat which would be real bad. A spot repair is very impractical and both paint cans I have are almost empty. Yesterday I painted the body sill reinforcements using both cans: one has a slight tone difference. Therefore, minor differences are always possible with spray cans. The buffing from the body is then done with the various products I have for real cars. I have also added some chromed parts. June 08, 2009 The headliner The headliner from the real Avanti is not quite conventional with a structure. For weeks I was searching a solution for that, knowing that I would not be able to reproduce it exactly. One night, I got the idea to use blotting paper. It’s about the same color and has some structure built in, of course not identical. The brass hooks at the joint will be used to attach the safety bar at the roof.

May 08, 2009 Not the last batch of chrome The last one will be the one with the wheelcovers and two small moldings I forgot to add to the tree. Those moldings can be installed anytime; therefore this not a problem. There is another small tree: the molding for the rear window and the basket with the separate letters. I opened this morning; the result is half good : some letters are stuck somewhere; I will have to be careful by totally opening that cage otherwise I could cut one or more hidden letters.

May 07, 2009 THIS IS THE DAY! YES! Today I painted the body. This time with unrelated surprise : the dog gave back his breakfast. As the incident was on a carpet, I did the cleaning between the color coat and clear coat. It was ideal to avoid rushing to spray the clear coat! You will certainly appreciate the spray boot, in fact the kitchen which has not yet been cleaned. Due to the shape of the car, I had to spray the paint up, on sides and from under. I found the solution to this problem by looking in a forum a modeler painting his model on a construction allowing the various spray directions. I copied the idea by using the base I had while building the Toronado and welding a tube. A steel sheet attached to the body and a bolt, welded to the sheet metal is allowing the model to be turned on the tube. I’m satisfied at 95% ; there are small issues and dust. A sanding and polishing will be done after the paint is completely dry. The same day, I pick-up the third batch from chromed parts.

April 20, 2009 Paint! It’s only the beginning : painting the engine compartment. It will be done alone because with its complicated shape, the model must be held in different positions to be sure that all surfaces are getting some paint. When the body will be painted, the hood will be installed and closed and masking paper will be used at the underside to avoid that paint dust will go into the engine compartment. The whole model is covered with newspaper. After 13 grams of paint plus clear coat and a sag (will not be seen, the engine will hide it) the engine compartment is ready. Once the masking paper is gone, it’s not bad looking. The rods at the left in the compartment are for the battery. April 25, 2009 For a long time, I was undecided about the paint job itself : paint the body without doors and trunk lid or paint the jambs and gutter, assemble the doors and paint all in once ? Finally, I opted for the second solution as metallic paint may have variations if elements are painted separately. Therefore, I had to continue with the preparation. The body is masked, there will be less surface to sand.

March 30, 2009 New batch This batch has the rear bumper on the right, the front central bumper bar almost in the middle, the name plates, etc. With that batch, the parts which were not well chromed are included. I had to polish them again and attach them to the tree. The second batch was perfect; I hope this one will be good too. I expect that this will be the last batch of parts to be chromed. However, 4 parts will have to be chromed, but much later: the ones responsible for all that work: the new wheelcovers. They will be done when the model will be practically finished. March 30, 2009 What is the purpose of this strange thing? Yes, it’s related with the model. During the effective construction, I asked the people to offer suggestions. There were some who responded; one even found the solution. Since years, I had the letters O L D S M O B I L E ready, but I had no idea how to let chrome them. They were too small to be attached with a wire ; while I was at the plating company I asked how the screws from the watch industry were plated. He said that they are put into a basket ; if some are getting lost, it’s not a problem, there are enough. As I did not do more letters as necessary, I did a closed basket. The letters will have a nickel plating which is not too disturbing. Will the result be good ? The answer will come soon !

January 31, 2009 This is a critical job: sanding the body. Usually, there are 3 steps forwards and 2 ½ backwards. It’s incredible how many imperfections and errors I’m discovering, even not so minor. Then, after the shape is satisfying, I have to sand with a 1000 sandpaper to have some gloss which allows seeing unwanted waves at the light. This is at this moment when unwelcomed surprises are seen. The kitchen is the perfect boot to sand, without dust as the water is near! Second picture: one of the various corrections. March 11, 2009 There is almost nothing to show lately, unless you like to see the sanding water! I’m getting slowly satisfied with the general shape, but I still have a couple of corrections to do. While the various products are drying, I’m doing something else. For example, the script “Studebaker” which is on the trunk lid. I did a new one for 18 months but I had the impression I could do better. The first script is the one I did 40 years ago, still glued on the lid as you can see the excess glue. The new ones: the one I did 18 months ago is on top; the new one is in the middle and the last one is indeed the support to do the real one: I soldered a thin bit of brass on a thicker one, allowing the required actions without destroying the part. Once satisfied, I separated both parts.

January 25, 2009 Drying time It’s always frustrating. Even if the filler can be sanded after 24 hours, I prefer to wait longer. Anyway, I’m not without work: I could begin to finish the front seats. It takes a long time and stressing: the bit of leather to be glued must be positioned with precision and done rather quickly as the glue is getting dry rather quickly. One of both seats is almost finished; the other one is far from ready. In between, I do continue with the body shell. The other day, I had a shock : the flange between windshield and hood is too low on the left side by about 1mm. I saw it only when the primer was sprayed on the surface. What can I do ? As I’m far away from the final paint, it’s still possible to correct it witch is requiring modifications to the hood, body and left door. The needed modification is done with a 2 components filler which is almost yellow on the picture. January 30, 2009 The second serie of the shiny chromed parts is back. Chromed parts are always difficult to photography, especially if the chrome is well done which was not the case at the first serie. The fourth picture is showing the parts which I was not happy with: they had a lot of tiny pits; at first I was thinking that I would let them that way, but the more I looked at them the more I was unhappy. They will be back to the plating company as the third batch, together with the rear bumper, the center bar from the front bumper and other parts. January 31, 2009 The parts from this second batch are very well done. I believe that plating parts is a difficult art and the results are not always predictable. Yesterday, I assembled the door’s locks. they are made with 4 main tiny parts which can be as slippery as a soap! Fortunately, nothing was lost and the locks are functioning as intended. After that, the last chromed parts for the engine were assembled. On both engine’s picture, you can see a spark plug! The blue belt is still a problem; I’m sure a solution will come one day.

December 30, 2008 Some days ago, I tried to put the body on the frame to trace down eventual issues. It was a good idea: I noticed that I could not install the brake module: the booster is making an interference with a screw from the rocker cover! The sole solution is to do another booster support to raise it for about 1.5mm. Not more because another other interference with the hood is programmed! This situation is happening when some parts are done too early. I hope that I will get no other bad surprise… January 18, 2009 As the frame is almost complete, I had to remove all the elements installed in or on the body to finish it. I did some corrections: the floor under the rear seat was too far away from the reality; the trunk lid was bulging too much; it should be practically flat. I could not correct that much, but now it’s better. Before the correction, it was looking almost like a dog doing its business! Small imperfections from the polyester are corrected with filler. It’s easy to apply but takes a long time to get dry, especially to fill pores: it’s dry at the surface, but not through. If the body is sanded too early, the solvents will continue to evaporate and the surface will have a small depression. What can I do during the waiting time? Parts to be chromed! There are still many to do. The bright work was rather restrained on the Avanti, nevertheless there are many plated parts. Anyway, not quite like a ’58 Buick Limited! Here is the second batch to be plated. You can recognize the air cleaner, the wipers, the side window frames, the front bumper ends and many more. The tree will go to the plating company soon because the roads are beginning to be cleaner after the snow and very cold weather. January 19, 2009 Once the parts are ready, I can continue with the body. I sanded the single stage filler and finished the underbody. People who know Avanti models well will recognize the « hog trough »; those parts are the reinforcement parts at the sills. On the original cars, they have the tendency to rust from inside out. Like Corvette cars, there are some structural parts made with steel.

This is absolutely correct, many show cars are just ...for the show. Thanks for the comment!

Don't remember where I wrote that the model indeed never produced in this configuration: R1 engine (the supercharger was the R2), 3-speed transmission, no power steering and no A/C. I wanted to be just basic. Later, I saw how it's easy to be lost into the details like I did on the Mark II. Pat, my goal was always to fool people if I wanted to let them think it's the real thing!

My inspiration? First of all, I'm an automotive engineer. Which does no means that I cannot have two left hand. But, from youth, I had the ability to do something with my hands. Further, before I went to the engineer school, I worked for two years in a body shop. When I left that shop, I did not think a lot about it. But, in the long term, it was a fantastic schooling.

Fortunately, it's only a push mobile!

December 17, 2008 I’m lucky : the crane to place the engine on the frame did not collapse ! As I wrote earlier, cylinder heads and accessories will be installed later. In fact, the cylinder heads will be assembled on the engine with the exhaust manifolds and the fist exhaust tube; this is the only way to assemble the elements with the appropriate nuts. There will be no gasket between the block and the heads. Imagine the engine in black! With the black frame, there would be a gob of black paint. On those pictures, don’t you have an impression that something is not right ? I don’t speak about what’s laying around the frame but AT THE FRAME. No, nothing? Well, I’m disturbed by something: the wheels. If the tires are just acceptable, the wheels are now totally inadequate with the frame. I took the decision: when the model will be ready, I will do other wheels and maybe other tires. On my small lathe, it will be a lot of work; ideal when there is snow outside! December 21, 2008 According to what I wrote 11 years ago, it was snowing this day. It’s a real pleasure for me not to have to go outside! The assembly could continue without regret. The assembly from a scale model is almost like the same duty for a car scale 1:1 like: Oh! I forgot that or: s.it, I have no more the things for this or that; I must quickly do 2 or 3, and so on. The following pictures will be the last for the year 2008. The air cleaner and other parts for the ignition system are not yet installed because they are not yet chromed. The fan belt is a funny one ; who saw just once a blue belt ? The exhaust attachment at the rear is not yet done; I forgot it while I was doing the frame. As I cannot make holes at the proper place, I will have to improvise. The carb is also not very detailed; in fact, it’s just a piece of brass on which the air cleaner will be attached. I will do spark plugs because, depending the angle one is looking at the engine, there is just a hole. A shame!

December 12, 2008 When I did this report in 2008, nobody did an objection about the engine color. As nobody argued about this very important topic, I had to decide myself: the engine will be metallic red. At first, I wanted a solid color, because the metallic paints are needed a clear coat, rendering the work a bit more complicated. But metallic paints are so much better looking ! I tried first the water pump. After a while, I wanted to spray the clear coat. Bad luck, my old can is too old and probably the gaz is gone. Back to the town to get a new can. As the water pump is good looking, tall the other parts are getting their red paint. On the first picture, the oil pan is at the LH top corner; the flywheel on the top right corner, the block is at the left, plus other smaller parts. December 15, 2008 Hard week-end ! It was devoted to the assembly of the block and the transmission. Cylinder heads and intake manifold will be installed when the engine is on the frame, because, as I’m alone for the job, the weight of the engine without accessories is what I’m able to carry. Oh sorry, its’ a wrong explanation : we are not dealing about a 1:1 engine, but a scale model! The reason is another one : If the heads would be installed I could not screw the nuts at the front engine supports. Maybe some of you will notice that there is a mix with screws with hex heads and other with cylindrical heads which are far from usual on engines. The reason is easy: I discovered last year a store in Germany which is selling small hex bolts and nuts, when most was already done for screws with cylindrical heads. Many of them are 0.7mm; dimension which does not exist with hex heads. I should go to the smaller diameter, requiring plugging the already done holes. I’m a fool, but there are limits!