SeventhSon
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Posts posted by SeventhSon
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August one already - before you know it the chill will be in the air. Can't wait. I had to rush out to the field on short notice yesterday, so no trip to the storage unit. So today I headed there at lunch, eating a frozen something or other on the way. I picked up 4 gallons of cheap spring water, some Dawn detergent, a scrubber pad, and some steel wool pads (just in case). Since I have no running water at the storage shed I had to bring my own. Now that I bought a few gallons I have some plastic jugs I can fill up at home.
At the storage unit I got right to it - I dumped a gallon of water on the hood, put some Dawn and water in a bucket and went to town on the hood. Scrub-a-dub-dub. First soapy water the old car has seen for a few decades, I'm sure. I only got to scrub the hood and rinse it off before I had to run back to work. But, it's a start. Every time I go to the storage shed I'll take some water and clean another section of the car. When I'm done with that I'll wipe the car down with a good cleaner - I'm thinking about Goof-Off. But I would have to research that first - don't want to damage anything.
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Over 4 gallons of oil!! Egad!
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Pat - I think the main difference is in the attachment to the body of the car. The torque box on the Avanti gets riveted to the floor and the existing side rail under the rocker panel (provided there is anything left of it). The tricky part is removing the bolts on the outriggers and the main body bolts at the front toeboard and rear bumper bracket. Sounds like fun!
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John - I thought I had read on your thread that your side emblems were drilled out, and that was what I was going to try on mine. I agree about the color - it's gonna be all chrome, hood, sides, front and back. Decision made!
Ernie - I may give the razor blade a try, at least to remove the top layer of Earl Scheib paint :eek: We'll see how it goes!
On the hog troughs, Classic Enterprises has a set that they claim can be "installed without disturbing the finish of a newly painted Avanti". I think I'm going to take them up on that! They are 5 piece units that become one piece when installed. They come in steel and stainless steel - pricey, too. But worth it if I can get them installed and check that off the list. That fun will be quite a while in the future - gotta save some pennies up for that!
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Well, the rear bumper shipped off yesterday - now I can turn to other matters. Like going for a drive! I stopped by the storage unit today, and since it's been over a week since the old car has seen the road I decided to take her out. Fired her up and headed out on the highway - she liked the run, even if it was only 15 miles or so. I got into it a couple of times just to see if she still has get up and go. Yep! After too short of a drive I took her back and started having a look at things and what I am getting myself in for with the body work. First and foremost - a thorough cleaning of the exterior. Probably have to go over it a few times to get all the dirt and grease, etc. off.
One good thing that I won't have to deal with, at least topside - rust! In my limited experience with auto body work, rust was the number one P.I.T.A. I ever had to fool with. But, I suppose a fiberglass body has its own little issues to deal with. Ah well.... There is some rust on the body, on the door hinges, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem to get rid of. It's the big, jagged holes of lost metal that are so disheartening, oh wait, those are waiting for me underneath on the hog troughs, at least the left side. In due time I shall address those as well...
I took some pictures of the cracking paint and dirt, oxidation, etc., we even have some fiberglass showing through on the driver's door. Hopefully I can seal that over and get it smoothed out so you can't tell it had an issue. We'll see - I can't wait to start getting the old girl looking better. She deserves it. I also took a couple of pictures of the hood emblem and one of the side emblems. Studebaker International says, in their catalog, that the "S" emblems prior to serial #4879 were gold colored. Mine sure look chrome colored, and my serial number is quite a bit earlier than 4879. Could the gold color have faded away? I might even like the gold "S" on those emblems, I have seen the gold "Studebaker" and "Avanti" emblems - I don't like those, though. Too "blingy". I'll have to do a little research on the gold vs. chrome "S" and see what the deal is.
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Thanks Ernie, it's definitely going to be a learning experience for me. I just hope I can make the old car somewhat presentable, which I think an old classic like the Avanti deserves We'll see...
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Hehehe - good one!
Ernie - "what's the worst that could happen?" I'm about to find out!
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Ernie - ramble on, you are a wealth of information and ideas. I am intrigued by the Duplicolor idea, sounds like just what I am looking for. I must confess, I don't know how the razor blade deal works - I would be afraid that I would sink the blade into the glass a couple of hundred times. Is the paint softened before scraping with a blade?
A couple of decisions I have made early on - no electric sanding and no rattle cans. I don't have a compressor or spray gun, but I might be able to rent those. I know I can rent a gas powered compressor, not sure about a spray gun.
Thanks, John, for the info. I'll definitely be checking out the Eastwood link along with the bodywork 101 site, which I have already been looking at a little bit (hence, the no rattle can rule). One thing I have been looking at on the car is what appears to be Bondo along the top edge of the fender lines - not sure if that is normally seen in those spots or not. I know some work was done on the left front because I can see the remnants of fiberglass matting left behind. No telling what I'll find once I get into it.
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Ernie - it's such a cool car that I wouldn't be able to not drive it. I'm already working over the plans in my mind on how I will be able to drive it while working on the body. I guess I'll just fire it up and take it out! It'll be like when we bought my mother's '63 Hawk and were bringing it home on the "Beltway" (basically a big race track in those days that encircled Washington, DC, but now known as a "parking lot") and an Avanti flew by and honked it's horn a couple of times. That was 1971 and the Avanti was several different colors of primer. So, they go fast in any color
So today I thought over what to send the bumper to Georgia in. Well, I already have this box that it just came from Georgia in. Looks like I already have my box. So I stopped by an office supply store at lunchtime and picked up some bubble wrap, strapping tape, and a small box (which was too big to fit in the other box). I left work a little early this afternoon and headed home to unbolt the brackets and rubber strips from the vertical pieces. Surprisingly the nuts came loose fairly easily (thanks Kroil!) and in a few minutes I had the pieces ready to box up. I wrapped each piece in bubble wrap and put them in the box I bought. Like I mentioned, that box wouldn't work so I looked around the garage and spied a Summit Racing box. Perfect! Pretty soon that box was pressed into service and the vertical pieces were ready to go. I wrapped the large bumper piece in bubble wrap and put everything in the large box. Almost ready. I taped everything together with strapping tape and other shipping tape, until I had no tape left. I guess that'll have to do!
I'll take the box to the shipping place this weekend, I hope, and send it off. So I can move on to more pressing things. Ernie posted earlier about getting some of the small pieces re-chromed as part of a bundle deal. I'm not sure if I have anything else I want to have re-plated. I know Studebaker International has most of the pieces in reproduction, but I'm not sure of the quality. The main pieces I would want to replace are the hood emblem, the "sail" emblems, the "Supercharged" fender emblems and the tail and backup light surrounds. And the "Avanti" emblem on the nose. All of mine are pretty much toasted. I know the "new" frame of thought is to have patina on the old cars and I understand that, but I also feel that the car companies built the cars to look a certain way, nice finish on the body and chrome accents all over. I want to try to reach a middle point, to have a car that is old but still has some of its original "glory". Who knows if I will be able to achieve that.
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John - thanks for the tips!
Yeah, yeah - I heard all about the painting while the glass was out. However, I would have to have both windows out of the car, then while the windows were out I might as well replace the dash, then while that is out, let me have the clock and tach re-done. Since the car is half torn apart I might as well pull the seats and have them re-done. Meantime, I can't drive the car, it's taking up space in the home garage, months go by with no fun driving it and I end up discouraged. Nah, not for me - I want to be able to drive the old car around as I work on it. I'll never have a show car or "trailer queen", so I'll do the work as I go and drive it as I go. I'll have to decide on the various chrome pieces as I get to them - I have to keep in mind Ernie's very recent post about money spent on a "hobby" - gotta watch what is going out since I am on shaky economic times myself.
P.S. Unimogjohn had his Avanti painted without removing the glass and it turned out pretty darn nice. Just gotta watch how you mask it and have the guy spraying it pay attention to those areas in particular.
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Rust. Never. Sleeps. Tonight I got the ball rolling on getting the bumper to the re-chromer. Which means I had to spray some Kroil on the nuts holding the brackets and rubber strips on the vertical pieces. Hopefully the rust will give up the grip with the soaking of Kroil repeatedly and I won't have to tear things apart. I'm getting new rubber strips, so I guess it won't matter - assuming the rubber pieces have the studs that come through the vertical piece and hold the bracket as well. Looks to be the way things go together, anyhow. So, the threads are soaking, the sooner they come apart the sooner the pieces go to the re-chromer. I also removed the tag light (with the help of a small sledgehammer) and scraped the old Studebaker Driver's Club sticker off - just about ready to go.
I'll probably have a look at the local Home Depot and see what is available in the way of crate making materials. I can probably throw something together to ship this thing in - I'm not as worried about the bumper going as I am it coming back. Want to keep it nice once it is all shiny. Once I get that shipped off I can turn my attention to cleaning the body of the car really well so I can start sanding on it. I guess I'll wash the old girl with a good detergent, then wipe it down with a good "surface cleaner". Adhering to my "first, do no harm" deal, I will have to research the best cleaner to use that will remove grease and oil, etc. without harming the fiberglass. I must proceed carefully. Once I get it clean I can start sanding on the body. And when I get bored with that I can pull one wheel off at a time and work on cleaning and painting those. My plan is to spend the rest of the year working on the body and wheels and hopefully have her ready for paint by Christmas. 5 months? Maybe I can pull it off.
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Attended the Earlton Steam Show this weekend. It is more farm oriented but still had some neat cars. The Group photo shows cars that belong to the one family. They're into farm drainage and even have some antique trenchers. The 1922 Velie runs just like a top.
That P1800 looks just like the one I had, maybe a little earlier model. What brand of motorcycle is that? I was going to say Indian Chief but I don't see the Indian head on the fender. Must be an H-D?
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Ahem - nice weather we're having, eh?
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Thanks for the advice Roger. I think I'm going to take it! You're right - never know what's going to happen when you start cutting and pasting! I'm going to call Jerry Forrester and send him the bumper I just got for straightening out and re-chrome. I'll see what he says - he might fix it up pretty nice.
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John Byrd - you always come up with the best ideas! People probably wouldn't believe such a story, though. However, they do believe the Ford motor thing, so you never know
Ernie - I'll ask Jerry Forrester, the chrome guy, about that. If he could attach the left side piece to mine I would much rather do that. Keep the original bumper with the original car. All it takes is money to make it happen!
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Thanks John, Paul and Roger (sounds like a band;)) - I stopped by the storage unit to measure the rear bumper, mostly for grins. 59 and 3/4", almost an even 5 feet. I measured the recently purchased bumper and it is.... 59 and 3/4 inches. Imagine. Haha - oh well, I never thought I would say it but I think I like my bumper better! I might cut a piece of the left wing off the one I just got and affix it to mine. I wonder if that would work??
Paul - I think I did hear that old mechanic's tale years ago - I seriously doubt that bottle of STP is a "lump" anymore, the old girl was running 190 degrees when I was driving around yesterday after the oil change!
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Thanks Roger - I'm not sure how to de-chrome the bumper, but I have a feeling it I will find out soon. Before I proceed I need to take some measurements. Explanation below.
I headed out early this morning to the storage unit. I have been noticing in the new plastic overflow tank some pretty rusty water. I figured it was just a by product of the years of sitting that this car did. When the car first saw the road again you might remember that the car was running hot - real hot. That has subsided and my theory is that the old coolant had evaporated years ago and left a crusty, rusty sludge in the radiator. That was causing it to run hot. As I drove it here and there (and especially after I put anti-freeze in it last fall) I believe that the old coolant was being "re-animated". So, when I started to see the rusty coolant in the overflow tank I decided to drain a couple of gallons of coolant out and replace it with distilled water. I figured I would do this a couple of more times before fall, then flush the system and put an anti-freeze mix in. So, this morning I opened the petcock and started to drain some coolant. However, the coolant was pretty green, not rusty. Hmmm...why is there rusty coolant only in the overflow tank? Maybe the rusty stuff is lighter than the anti-freeze and rises to the top? Dunno - I closed the petcock before more that a quart got out and just cleaned out the overflow tank. If rusty coolant keeps showing up there I'll keep cleaning it out. Then, this fall I'll flush the whole system.
After the coolant fun I added some Seafoam to the tank, grabbed the oil filter that unimogjohn gave me quite some time ago along with a bottle of STP I picked up a while back, headed to the gas station and got some premium. Then I headed for home to change the oil. Once at the home garage I decided to compare the rear bumper that I just got to the one on the car. It almost looks like it's different - my thoughts started to turn to how Studebaker was kind of flying by the seat of their pants with the Avanti. Stories abound about ill fitting windshields near impossible to get into place and rear windows flying out of their mooring at high speed. Could the bumpers each be "one of a kind"? I don't know, that's why I want to take some measurements, specifically the total "beam" across the length of the bumper. I can't wait to see if there is a difference, or if I was just not seeing things correctly (been known to happen!)
Without measuring the bumpers (don't ask me why I didn't do that) I proceeded to drain the oil and remove the oil filter. Before long the drain plug was back in place and the new oil filter was, too, and I was pouring fresh Valvoline Racing Oil in the crankcase. Along with a bottle of STP (hey, I'm sentimental). Next came vacuuming the floors and running some Armor All wipes around the interior. By that point I couldn't stand it anymore - I had to get out on the highway with the old rocket, especially since it had clean oil in it. I fired her up, watching the pressure gauge. After a couple of seconds (an eternity) the needle jumped up to it's usual spot and I eased her back out of the garage. I pulled the parking brake and climbed out to check things out (OK, just to listen to her idle, purring). Two things about fresh oil (in my mind, anyhow), the sound of the engine idling with clean oil and the feel of the engine running at speed with fresh oil. Brings a sense of satisfaction - like you're treating the car right. I headed out on the road and had another nice drive - she loves to run, especially with, well, you know.
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We went out today for our usual "get out of the house" few hours and when we returned I was happy to see a large box propped against the front door frame. Ah, the bumper! I carried it into the garage and cut into the box. It was about what I expected, especially since the seller (the Solanki brothers) gave me a pretty good description of what to expect. There is a ding in the right side of the bumper about where the backup light would be. More disappointing, there are a couple of dents on the left "wing", which is where mine has rusted through. The wheels began to crank in my mind as I mulled over which way to go with this thing. I think I can straighten the dents out, or better yet, have a professional do it right before they re-chrome it. If I can find the right person (how many times I have said that in my life, especially the last couple of years).
So, I have a replacement bumper, such as it is. I just have to evaluate the best way to move forward - I think I will give the newly acquire unit a good cleaning (stay tuned!) and fool around with straightening the dents out. Keeping in mind - first, do no harm. A little later, after leaving the bumper in the garage, my wife spotted me perusing the Studebaker International catalog, where I was searching for the little rubber strips that mount to the vertical bumper pieces ($39.95 each).
Upon seeing me she said, "Uh oh, Chris got game again".
Hehe - yep, Chris got game, time to start up the fun again - hopefully the weather will cool down a little and make it a bit easier.
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I came home at lunch today, forgoing any visit to the storage unit due to this brutality we call "the weather". I worked in the field yesterday and had planned on working in the field today, but I said the heck with it. Not worth keeling over just to get a little something done, even though the site I would be working at is a hospital. So, if I keeled over they could just cart me into the emergency room and put me on ice.
When I got home at lunchtime I found a case of Pennzoil in the foyer. 'Dang, I didn't order any oil, certainly not Pennzoil', I thought. The heat must have gotten to the UPS driver and he dropped the oil on my doorstep by accident. I checked the address label, there was my name and address. I had a look at the return address - ahhhh, I know what these are, my bumper pieces! Just disguised in an old oil box. I opened it up and there were the rear bumper vertical pieces. Hmmm, just about in the same condition as the ones on my Avanti - I hadn't really expected any different. After all, they're 50 years old, just like the ones on my car. I am more concerned with the bumper itself, which is supposed to be en route to my house.
As I looked over the vertical pieces I began to have thoughts of maybe dipping my toe in the re-chroming scene. I would just do the rear bumper pieces, I swear. Right, after I saw the rear bumper re-chromed I would fee bad for the front bumper if it was all cruddy and not re-chromed and before you know it I would have well over a grand to pay off. And with my "consumer confidence" not what it used to be, I think I'll just consider the rear bumper for now. But first, I have to have a look at it once it gets here.
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Wow! That last car is especially nice. Fancy! If I was rich I would have one of those, for sure.
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Well. it's been a week since I had a visit to the storage unit. I sure wish I had a 3 car garage - maybe it's time to bring the old car home and park the daily driver outside. Nah, can't bring myself to do that either. Well, it's not too bad having the Avanti a few miles away - what is bad is this relentless heat. All of June was tropical, now we're being hammered by a heat wave. Well, it supposed to break on Saturday, so I hope to bring the car home on Sunday and do a few things to it. I was supposed to bring it home last Sunday but I got a case of laziness and just laid around having coffee. I felt guilty later.
I want to send a thank you to unimogjohn - a couple of weeks ago he sent me a link for some Avanti parts for sale. I checked it out - turns out the seller had a rear bumper. I called him and we made a deal, I sent a check, now I'm waiting on the bumper. I will post pics when it gets here, of course. I need the replacement bumper because of rust through on the left side of mine.
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Hmmm...after checking out the restaurant link I really do wish I was there!
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John, I second what Paul said! Have fun - I wish I was there :cool:
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A British Typhoon fighter coming in for a landing at an air show last week in England. Wish I had been there!
Avanti Rescue
in Our Cars & Restoration Projects
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Thanks John - I will forget about the Goof-Off idea.
Bill, glad to see you are still hanging in there with your Avanti - keep at those brakes and you will be driving it soon. For some reason the Avanti is a @#$&*! to bleed the brakes on - I had the guys at Alan Hime's shop do the final brake setup on mine and Alan told me they had such a time that they finally thought they had a bad master cylinder (and it was brand new!). But they finally got it done after 8 hours or something. Regarding the wax and grease remover, I want to wipe the car down before I commence sanding on it so I don't sand any grease, etc. into the base. If I start as clean as possible I might end up with a fair job in the end - not holding out too much hope for a super job, though, being inexperienced and all.
Keep on plugging away Bill - you'll be tooling around in the old Avanti before you know it!
P.S. I hear you about the lottery!