unimogjohn

It is Sunday morning, Jan 22nd. Brrrrrrr. Cold this morning. All seven cats are inside and curled around the stove. Looks like Alice and I were right about coming straight home and not taking an extra day. Here is Greg's great report about his trip to Ohio. "Well, I don't know how to tell the tale without naming names and dropping clues. It's a good story and since it involves someone else's acquisition, I shouldn't be the one to make the announcement, he should. And there are some other players involved . But I'll try to describe Friday's epic. Long story. PROLOGUE I've made a lot of good friends. A life in the old car hobby and a career in it and then cross training into pioneer aviation results in exposure to some incredible people. Some of them are keepers. In the course of my work I've made an acquaintance in a position that's not only scholarly, but of authority. He's been invaluable in assisting me in my research, providing me with some incredible favors. The other day he asked me for one. Not known as an old car guy, he had one nonetheless. He'd mentioned that he had a Model A Ford, but that was all I knew. Not long ago he called and asked my advice. Should he sell what he's got and step up into what he really wants. I made arrangements to view what he's got. A sedan that needed everything. Some new parts included. He'd had it for years, bought it right, and best of all, no sentimental attachment. He wanted to replace it with something up and running. Could I help? I called on Trimacar to do his ebay magic. Sure he would, and within three phone calls after the Buy It Now, the car was gone. Our man was happy. Next to find a replacement. He began scouring the net for classifieds, finding some that appealed to him. He'd forward the link and I'd look them over and relay my opinion. He really liked the one. A '29 roadster. It really did photograph well. Turn key and ready to enjoy. While considering the car, it was sold. More links came, but I could tell he really liked that one best. Late last week let me know that the sale had fallen through, they'd hold it for him if he could see the car Friday. About five hundred miles from here, winter weather a real threat. THE MISSION So what, let's rock! He picked me up at 6:00 Am Friday morning. I didn't tell him I don't do Dawn Patrol very well, but I was ready. We headed West and North. Weather held as we crossed the Allegheny Mountains. I've not spent any time with my new friend except in a professional way. This was a time to find something to talk about, tell stories and ask each other questions. there was plenty. Arriving at the place by mid afternoon, we were greeted by the seller's son. Nice guy. Glad to show us around until the father could join us. Looked the car over, kicked the tires, shook the spindles, etc. THE ROAD TEST Then the main man arrived. A hard charger. When I mentioned that my evaluation of the car wouldn't be comfortable without some roadwork, things got a bit tense. It had been snowing, roads had been salted, a bit of a problem. It was suggested that we road test the car on his driveway. Hardly the place to see if it wandered. Short, straight, and snow packed. Of course it dead ended on a rural highway. Didn't have much choice. It was decided that I'd drive it first. Now I haven't driven a Model A in probably at least twenty years, but sliding in behind the wheel, it felt like slipping on an old tennis shoe. Dad got in beside me. The spark, throttle, choke, all fell to hand. Started nicely, I slipped it into reverse and gingerly slipped the clutch on the slippery slope. Turned it toward the driveway and urged it to move along. I was so pleased with my exchange of gears that I wished Bob Pierce had been there to see it. But NO! No!, No!, I was doing all wrong . Faster , faster! Here I was in someone else's car, on a slippery driveway headed for a dead end on a highway. At the end of the drive I was ordered to turn it around and relinquish the wheel. Dad took over and showed me how it was done. He jabbed that thing in first and floored the accelerator and let'er rip. Through the gears he went. Charging toward the end of the driveway, he got to within several car lengths of the street and he stomped the brake pedal. I knew those skinny tires on slippery snow would put us across the road and in the ditch. The thing ground to a halt. Then, seeing that the roadway was pretty dry, he proceeded to show me what it'd do . Speedometer numbers steadily climbed until he found a turnaround. My turn again. This time at a more moderate pace. Did I mention it was about twenty degrees? Returning to the garage, then it was time for the potential new owner to take over. I felt bad about letting him have it, I'm sure that if he had even ever driven a Model A, it was probably a lot longer than I had and he'd be in for a real driving lesson. He took it up the driveway and out onto the road. Upon their return the undercarriage was hosed while they tended to the business of the transfer of ownership. I am pleased that our man had bought the car of his dreams. A rare thing. THE RETURN After a brief lunch and a few minutes sightseeing, we were headed home. Charged up, our new roadster owner got behind the wheel of his really modern really nice car. He'd been driving since five o'clock that morning and was ready for more mileage. It was decided that I would take over when we departed the Pa Turnpike at Breezewood. I could take it down the mountain, old familiar territory for me. THE SKIING LESSON That's when I slipped behind the wheel. I got a minimal checkout of what does what and we started out . That's also when the snowstorm started. My driving lesson was taking place white knuckled , forty miles per hour, thirty miles per hour, twenty miles per hour. All the way to Winchester. By now it was after midnight. I was dropped off at the Warrenton address and we congratulated each other. New car owner and trip survivors . EPILOGUE Two thirty in the morning and glad to be back, off came the coat, hat and shoes, but before I could turn off my phone...it rang. Why was he calling me? On with the coat, hat and shoes. He was crossways in the driveway, stuck in the snow. Time to push. Today he relayed that the remainer of his trip had been at thirty miles and hour for an hour and a half. He's already begun his transformation . Car guy. Next he'll have the '29 as his screen saver. Congratualtions, man! Old cars are fun!"

It is Saturday, Jan 21st. It snowed only an inch last night, but then we had freezing rain on top of it. So nothing is moving outside. Animals are even staying in the barns. So it is a slow day for everyone. Have not heard from Greg. He is probably stuck in Ohio. Decided to clean and polish one of the 1953 VA license plates that I will use for the Jaguar XK 120. Came out great. I don't know if you can tell in the comparison pic of the two together. I put some blue paint on the other plate, but it is not a match so will go back to the hobby store to see if I can get closer to the right shade of blue. At least I did one car thing today. I have a good car cover for the Avanti when she returns home. And home will be the barn with a new wood floor to keep her off the damp earth. So I started to look for a car "bag" to put her in to protect her from top to bottom. Here is what I will probably get. Seems like a small investment (around $350) to protect her. Here is a link. Let me know what you think if you have an opinion or comment. Classic Car Cocoon rust prevention of classic cars and motorcycles

It is Friday mornning, January 20th. We are home. Drove straight through last night as major snow events were predicted for Friday. So we arrived at about 10 PM last night. 1157 miles R/T. Mileage for the trip home was 9.7 mpg. So the mpg is about the same with the trailer loaded or unloaded. We did stop at the Air Force Museum. What a place. You just have to see it! You could spend a couple of days there and not see everything. We spent about three hours before it really started snowing outside and we figured we better get going. You can see all the pictures that I took at the museum at https://picasaweb.google.com/unimogjohn/AirForceMuseum# The snow was really heavy from Dayton to Columbus, OH and then we drove out of it. But it was following us and lots of plows and sand trucks were positioning themselves for the snow that was coming. So not wanted to be stuck on Friday and heavy snow predicted we looked at each other and decided just to head home rather than stopping for the night. Unlocked the trailer this morning and peeked inside. Everything looks just fine. Glad to be home. Don"t know if we will unload today as it is very cold and a winter mix is expect tonight. Maybe a couple of inches. We will just have to wait and see. Here are some pics of airplanes at the museum. Sorry about the picture quality. It was really dark in there.

It is Thursday, January 19th. Late in the evening, but here is Greg's report. "Ok , just a quick update. I've had a couple good suggestions on how to overcome my email/camera pic problem. An external floppy disc drive for one. I'll have to order that. Other suggestion is to load the pics on a flash drive and transfer them to this computer that's email friendly. Bought the flash drive and don't know how to use it. So.....day job going well. I've poured all the babbitt inserts for the v eight engine and a set for the four I'm working up. Today I' ve noticed that the camshaft journals need to be ground, so it's packaged and on it's way to Delta. They said my Studebaker cam is done. I've ordered a new fuel gauge sending unit for the black Avanti also. And tomorrow is a road trip. I've been asked to evaluate a Model A roadster that a friend is interested in purchasing. Not looking forward to tomorrow's early start. Heading out for upstate Ohio and maybe into the jaws of Old Man Winter. We'll see. Might pass the Fesers along the way. Got some things to do yet tonight. Signing off."

It is Wednesday, January 18th. Well we made it to Muncie, IN. Twelve hard hours of driving. Wind, rain, sleet and snow. It was tough going for half of the way. Going home does not look any better as more snow is expected the entire way. But we survived and arrived at 5 PM to pick up the Jaguar. We got it loaded and strapped down. Now in the hotel for the evening and then to the Air Force Museum tomorrow. Oh, with the trailer empty we got 10 MPG at about 60 to 65 mph. Going to take two days to get home. Here are a couple of pics of the car in the trailer. And here is Greg's report too. "Got the wasted tank out of the black one tonight, made a special trip for the camera to record the destruction. Then I decided to make some progress on a favor for Andrew. He brought me a sample of some hardware for an aircraft restoration he's doing. I think it's a Kinner Sport. The things have been here for a year or two or three. Time to get it out, so I began. Grabbed the camera to record that progress for proof. Then I remembered. The only computer here that still takes the floppy discs (that my camera uses) had been on the sick list. Cliff the computer expert diagnosed the problem yesterday. It wouldn't light off , power pack problem. He brought in a replacement pack, made the swap and the computer is up and running again. Except now it won't let me on my email account. I guess I'll just have to describe the photos until I can figure something else out. All I know about computers is that if in the course of action a strange warning appears, I throw up my hands and carefully back away from the keyboard and run for help. Photo 1. front of rusted out fuel tank. 2. rear of rusted out fuel tank. 3. special bolt being machined in lathe....threading operation. The pictures really turned out nicely. Great composition, nice colors and contrast. You'd really like them." =

It is Tuesday, Jan 17th. Got the barn almost cleaned out of all the hay bales. A local kid came over and moved everything, about 200 bales to other places in the barn. So now the 20 x24 foot bay is all clear. Best $20 I ever spent. Next week I will be able to start on the new floor for one of the cars. I also got a call from Chris at the body and paint shop. They found several places where the body needs to be re-glassed. Stress fractures around the tail lights, bumper mounts on the front fenders, antenna, etc. While metal cars rust, fiberglass cracks. Just about the same result, $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Told them to go ahead a fix everything. I am in just too deep to start worrying about pennies at this point. This time tomorrow/Wednesday we will be on the road to pick up the Jaguar XK120. Leaving about 5 AM. Weather looks OK so it should be a nice drive. Will be home on Friday. Going to stop at the Air Force Museum in Dayton for a few hours too. And here is Greg's weekend report. "It was a good weekend. Friday I finally contacted the Mallory tech rep to discuss my toasted ignition coil problem. He remarked that I was using the wrong combination coil and resistor. Gave me the part numbers and after calling and driving around, I couldn't find any Mallory agents in the area. I then tried an over the counter stock coil and a well used original resistor. The car ran fine. Another instance of trying to upgrade and getting bitten in the a$$. Sunday we drove to Rob's and Seabiscuit/maroon Avanti seemed to enjoy it. Found a new glitch. The gas gauge had been loitering around a half tank, so I filled it up. Then it registered a tank and a half. The needle stayed there until the switch was off. The return trip was with the needle plastered, still past the full mark. I've never had that problem on any of my Studebakers, but oh well, it is getting older all the time. Today's day job was one of fits and starts. When the crowd left and things were quiet, I stayed over to get some things done . After some downtime and dinner, I was looking for something constructive to do since I was getting a late start. I know, the gas gauge. Why don't I pull the sending unit out of fifty-fifty-four/black Avanti? I've found that Mother Nature wants her things back. Men dig the ore, smelt and founder it, bend it , shape it, make it into things. She wants them back. She'll eventually get them , sometimes after a long battle, but she'll get them. Case in point: I started unscrewing the back seat panel that covers the fuel tank compartment. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Didn't like what I found. Over the years I've found that there are places in the Avanti that mice seem to really like to call home. Under the back seat. The vanity in the dash. And especially on top of the gas tank. Perfect location. Dark, cozy, no human traffic. I found what must have been the lost colony of mousedom. Completely filled with cotton stuffing that they'd been harvesting somewhere else in the car, or maybe one of the others in the garage. When removed, I found what Mother Nature had sent them to reclaim for her. The fuel tank. While removing the debris the top of it fell in. RUBAR. (rusted up beyond all recognition). So I began the tank removal process. If any of you Avanti guys want something to lie awake at night to worry about, there's always that cozy space on top of your fuel tank that might be harboring the mother of all mouse nests. PS. WANTED: Avanti fuel tank in good condition."

The data plate on the passenger side firewall would say GM of Canada if it was a McLaughlin Buick.

Fuses, could be. They are all located under the dash, passenger side. Pretty easy to check.

Chris, re your original fuel sender. Why not put in a battery or use jumpers to your battery wires to energize the car by turning on the ignition and hook up the old sender outside of the tank. Then you can manually move the lever and see if it registers on the gauge in the dash.

That is the coolest Buick ever. Good luck with her. Will be following you with much interest. Give us more pics too!

Still Sunday and still cold. Jim Davis also produced a little video dialog with Greg on all the engines in the shop that he is working on. All of which are documented in the blog. So it is nice to see "moving" pictures. Here it is for your enjoyment.

Chris, here is a pic of my old and new fuel sender. Does your new one look like mine? Got it from SI also. I think that you could lay yours side by side and adjust the new arm to the same angle as the old one that you have to give you a full reading on the gauge. I could not do that as the old wire was so thin it just drooped and would not give me the correct full angle to measure from.

And for you that are interested in the restoration of the very first Avanti. Here is the latest from the museum web site. Click on each month for pics. LeMay Museum > Avanti 1001 Progress

It is Sunday morning, Jan 15th. Enjoy a ride with Greg and Jim in the Maroon Avanti. "Got in a little shop time today. Fitting the R-3 pistons in the black Avanti engine. The Paxton spec sheet calls for .009" piston to wall clearance. I chose to file the knurling until I could get the piston into the bore with a .007" feeler gauge. That should be adequate. And friend Jim Davis stopped by. Always glad to see him, when it comes to aviation history, he's the walking encyclopedia of who did what. He had his video camera with him, so he recorded things here in the shop that interested him. He's a master at making his subjects feel ill at ease and speechless. Enclosed is a good example. Steve, this one's for you."

Chris, I also bought the SI gas level sender. I tried adjusting it, but ran into the same problem as you. Mine reads 1/4 lower than it should be. So my full tank reads 3/4 of a tank on the gauge. On the plus side I know that when the gauge reads empty I still have a 1/4 of a tank left. Better than the other way, I will live with it.

JosR, well I have been waiting to see if you would get a reply. None so far so this is what I would do. The chances of finding the coolant neck is near on impossible. So I would fabricate one. I would go to your favorite exhaust or auto parts supply house. I would find a flat exhaust flange that would fit over the two studs. They look pretty standard. Then I would have them bend and weld an appropriate sized pipe to the flange. Make yourself a gasket, paint the pipe the engine color, attach the hose and you are done. I would not bother putting a lip on the pipe where the hose attaches. There is no pressure on this joint so just a clamp will work just fine. It will probably cost you less than $50 to make one. You might have to some grinding on the flange to make it fit in the space. Good luck.

It is Saturday, Jan 14th. Not much going on today. Just too cold. Have not heard anything from Greg for a couple of days. I did take the wood shipping container with the Avanti bumper inside to the local UPS store. It is going "ground" and will arrive in GA on Wednesday. The weight was 70 lbs and the cost was $65. I did not think that the cost was that bad. So now everything is in the shop. The waiting begins. I did get a small box of rubber and emblems from Studebaker International today also. I will have to make one more small order for little parts when I start the re-installation process. Getting anxious to head to Muncie on Wednesday. Wish we could leave tomorrow, but prior commitments preclude it. On well, will just have to cool it and wait. When the Avanti comes back home it is going to live in the barn. To that end I am putting in a new wood floor for it to sit on. It will be 10 feet wide by 20 ft long. So over the next week or so I have to move 200 bales of hay to other parts of the barn. That is about four tons of moving and stacking. Not looking forward to it, but nobody is going to do it for me. We also figured we need to buy about 40 2x6x10 pressure treated wood for the flooring and support, and then about 8 sheets of plywood for the decking. And of course we will need about 150 metal hangers too. At least all the construction will be done on the ground.

Roger, I had never heard of it either. Here is a short explanation from Wikipedia. "Knurling may also be used as a repair method: because a rolled-in knurled surface has raised-up areas surrounding the depressed areas, these raised areas can make up for wear on the part. In the days when labor was cheap and parts expensive, this repair method was feasible on pistons of internal combustion engines, where the skirt of a worn piston was expanded back to the nominal size using a knurling process. As auto parts have become less expensive, knurling has become less prevalent than it once was, and is specifically recommended against by performance engine builders." As I read Greg's narrative the pistons are now too large for the bore so he has to remove some of the knurled metal to get it to fit to the recommended tolerances. I believe that the knurling was done as the pistons had become too loose in their bores after the bores were cleaned up. Greg did not want to bore out the block and put in larger over-sized pistons. Wanted to keep his R3 components.

Still Friday. The rain and snow held off, but the ground was semi-hard from the freeze last night. So hooked up the trailer to the little tractor and off we went down the hill. The tractor went a bit sideways at one point, but the 4 wheel drive pulled it around the steepest part and back up the hill. Here is a pic of the hill/pasture. Got it back on the flat and hooked the trailer to the Suburban. Only about twenty feet to the road so we will not have a problem getting to the road. Checked all the tires and made sure they were topped off, 45 psi in the trailer tires; Suburban 35 in front and 45 in the rear. Filled the Suburban with gas yesterday so we have a full tank. Planning to leave at about 5 AM on Wednesday.

Joe, thanks for the advice. The box has been back and forth several times to GA with no damage. But will check with the shipper. It is Friday, January 13th. Glad I got most of the work done on getting the enclosed trailer ready to get the Jaguar. Raining hard again today and snow expected. A hard freeze tomorrow so will make my first attempt at getting it out of the pasture. But Greg was busy on the black Avanti's R3 engine. Engine work! Here is his report. "I picked up that Allen wrench/socket thing and was able to remove that oil gallery plug. So then Mitch called and said "Let's do it". Gathered the R-3 pistons and off to meet him at his shop. He had rescued a piston knurling machine from a shop where he used to work. A thing of the past, it was going for junk. He gave me a lesson on it's operation and he even let me try my hand on a few. As for results, we found that knurled surface could be raised at least .025" (on the diameter). That's way more than I need. So we brought them up about .020 which makes them too large to fit into the bores. The next operation will be to file the crests of the knurled surfaces until each piston is a proper fit in the hole. I need to double check my specs to determine what clearance I will use. I learned a long time ago, too loose is much better than too tight. It was a great excuse to go visit my old friend and recall old stories."

Chris, I think that you could also use JB Weld on the vent tube. Also we put in a note to the next owner and taped it to the tank of ours. Figured it would brighten someones day down the road.

Everything depends on condition. But an Avanti in a non-running condition is worth in the range of around $3K to 4K. When you show us pics and describe it better we can give you a better idea, plus or minus. You also might ask in the Studebaker Driver's Club forum. Free to join. Lots of Avanti owners participate in that forum. But you better have your ducks in a row when you post. They are not as tolerant as the AACA folks. Here is a link. General Studebaker-Specific Discussion

Still Thursday. Well got the 28 Buick out of the trailer, across the soggy pasture and into the garage. So now the trailer is empty and ready to go, but still in the pasture. Am going to hook it to the little Kubota tractor, which is 4 wheel drive and push it back through the gate, about 50 feet or so. It is a little uphill, but should make it ok. Then it will be on a dirt access road for the neighbors property. I plan on asking the neighbor, who is a renter, if I can just leave it on their side of the easement. If not I can back it back in facing the opposite way. Then the Suburban will be able to pull it out on the flat with 4 wheel drive. Plan on doing that this weekend. Want to have everything ready to go by Monday for the drive on Wednesday. Tuesday is my "back up" day. Greg lent me his wooden shipping container for the Avanti bumpers. So packaged them up and will take them to the UPS store tomorrow or Monday. They are going to Jerry Forrester's Chrome in GA. So, the green Avanti is in the shop for body and paint work, interior is being worked on, and bumpers are off to GA; check, check, check. So with all this work progress I am done for now. Next will be the re-assembly in a couple of months. That will be fun.

Look at the plate on the passenger side of the engine firewall, let us know the numbers for the model. Should read 27-XX. We can then proceed from there. Describe the car to us, interior, exterior, etc and provide some pics. The range for these mid 20s Buicks range from about $6,000 to $13,000 for a driver depending on condition etc. Fully restored cars can go for around $20,000 or more. My cars run great on their original Marvel carbs and Steward Warner fuel vacuum pumps. They just have to be cleaned to work properly. And they are very simple to work on. Fun actually.

Thanks Chris. Just talked to the interior folks at the shop. They talked to Studebaker International (SI) yesterday and, determined that they cannot replicate the interior seats for the price of the SI interior kit. So they will use that kit, rebuild the seat foam, and install. They are also going to repaint the door panels using the color matched vinyl dye from SI. I also ordered the little roof sail emblems from SI yesterday too along with other little rubber bitc for the re-installation of the bumpers, radio antenna, etc. The emblems are fastened by the little PAL nuts that can only be reached if you rip into the interior of the car. So the shop is going to drill them out so they have a flat surface to work and paint on. They will use adhesive to put on the new emblems. The old emblems are OK for a driver, but they are a little pitted and have stress fractures in the plastic. So this little trouble and expense will be worth it in the long run. Talked to Greg about what foam material to use for the vent flaps. He said that it has to be very soft. I told him that SI had a kit. He said get the kits and be done with it. Finding the right foam at Home Depot is a crap shoot.