unimogjohn

It is Monday, Sept. 26th. Greg made it home from his trip so his report is included. We took both the 23 McLaughlin Buick and the Avanti out to a community get together. Alice drove the Avanti on her own. She pronounced it "fit as a fiddle". Here is Greg's report. "Gee, long time no see. The whirlwind trip to the midwest is over, saw lots, did lots, now it's time to catch up. A very nice visit with Art Bergstrom, the patternmaker. He claims to be enjoying the Wright Brothers V8 project, even though he's been in the business fifty years, done some really difficult and unusual jobs. They are turning out very nicely. Finishing them up, he'll deliver them to Hershey. He also escorted us to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago where among the fine exhibits, there is an original Wright vertical four on display. Serial #38, that would make it summer of 1911 manufacture. Some sightseeing in Chicagoland, then the road home. Back yesterday, I spent some time getting reacquainted with the '21 Dodge, which I left with it's gizzard hanging out. Checking the rods, I have tightened three of them, one to go. Today with visiting Bob from Denver (not Bob Denver). He, Barb and I were able to hook up with the local HCCA tourists in Maryland for lunch, then drove on to Rob's garage where we aired some flat tires and tried a Stoddard start-up. With success. Now it's back to business. Enclosed photo of Dodge guts. Sorry the one proves to be out of focus. Too bad, I'm not driving back up there to for a retake."

Remember a few months back we got to take our 1920s Buick to the "J Edgar" movie. Well, the movie trailer has finally come out. Here is a link. The movie is scheduled for release on November 11th. Guess that we will be first in line at the local theater.

Just Google frame webbing. Lots of it around. Here is just a sample. Body to Frame Webbing

Don, sure sounds like a very dirty fuel filter. Probably one of the first things I would change out.

HIGH WHEELER EVENT - Annual high wheel vehicle race. FRIDAY 11:45 AM. Located in stadium, free to public. Q) ICE - Chocolate Field Tram Stop #3. (E) From the Speedster on-line magazine.

Don, what a beauty! You never see a 50 or 60s Lincoln anymore. What a rare find. Congratulations. Pls do keep us posted.

Bob, great progress on sorting things out. Soon you will not have anything to do and will get depressed. On the horn and before you decide to take off the wheel, just check the little relay that is beside the solenoid. When you press the horn arms on the steering wheel you should have power coming to that relay. If you decided to check the steering wheel you have to use a puller to get it off, and it will come off with a pop for sure. Keep the reports coming.

It is Thursday, September 22nd. Greg called me and said that his boss was sending him out of town for a few days and would be out of touch. But he just did manage to send this "work" report. Us? Not too much on car stuff. Been running back and forth to the vet as one of the llamas was attacked and chewed up pretty bad. We do not know what got him, probably coyotes. His flanks are the worse and has bites to his face and chest. First attack in twelve years of owning the farm. Anyway, here is Greg's interesting "work" report. "Reporting from beautiful downtown Monee, Illinois. A call from Art Bergstrom the patternmaker who is working up the patterns and core boxes for my Wright Brothers V8 airplane engine project resulted in a road trip. He preferred I view and sign off the work already done, or suggest revisions. The drive out was at times harrowing, dark of night, pouring rain and misdirection by a newfangled GPS. Today's visit with Art was well worth the trip. A beautiful example of a dying art, I was instructed in the method of moulding the exterior patterns and the sand core fabrication and assembly. A really neat job. Art says that he is enjoying the project, it is even making him think even though he's got fifty years of experience. Photographic evidence show that they split 90* from the customary method. That's the way he's doing them. Now he will finish them and have them packed for a Hershey delivery in early October. There is a chance that I will get to inspect the Wright vertical four in the Science and Industry Museum collection in Chicago. Art says that since I am so close, he will escort us. Your domestic correspondent."

Jerry, make sure you save the sleeve for the cable. If the sleeve is gone or rusted you can use a sleeve that is used on bicycles. The actual cable is thin piano wire. Make sure that your lever in the tank is still functional and not rusted out, and the cork float is still floating and not fuel logged. It can be dried out and coated to make it float again. Use the 1080 carbon steel, which is called music wire. Sorry, I do not know what diameter wire you should get. Maybe someone else will chime in. Here is the link to the wire. McMaster-Carr Hope that this helps you.

Here are a couple that I have used in the past with great results. The Classic Preservation Coalition Fuel Pump Rebuilding Kits - Then And Now Automotive

It is Monday, Sept 19th. On Friday I filled the recovery bottle in the green Avanti after letting the glue dry for three days. Must have missed a spot because it still leaks a bit. So pulled it again and re-glued everything. We will see today if I was successful or not. Spent the weekend in upstate PA. What gorgeous mountain country. In the hamlet we were in the Amish were gleaning applies from the trees in the community. Our friends still had lots of apples on their trees so let them pick what was left. We had a good time talking to them. They use the left over apples for the making of cider. One group had a wagon full. Here is a pic. And Greg was busy as usual. Here is his report. "It's been a busy weekend , got in some old car action too. The last time I started the '21 Dodge, I noticed that the engine was getting noisier. There was a rythmic slight knocking sound heard near the top of #4 cylinder. About piston speed. Today I found time to drain the oil and drop the pan for an internal inspection. That was all I had time for. I will check the bearings for excess clearance first. Hopefully tomorrow. Yesterday I took care of a couple tires that had leaked down. Exchanged the old tubes for other old tubes. No time for photos. All for now."

Bob, the Avanti looks great. You should be very proud of her. Great job! I noticed one thing in the engine bay. The throttle bar should be under the flat bar by the firewall. The manual says that it is important to properly adjust the transmission. Here are a couple of pics.

Roger and all, thought you might enjoy this link. The City That Time Forgot

It is Thursday, Sept. 15th. Well, I will be repairing the Kubota tractor. Sprung another leak in the hydraulics so will be attempting to take off that hose and get it in for a new one. The fittings are tucked way back into the engine compartment and are awkward to get to, so I am sure that it will be a fight. Here is Greg's report from last night. He took a break from the black Avanti. " No photos tonight. I took time after work to deliver some items to Rob's Garagmahol. I also got in some quiet time with the Stoddard. Now the steering box is filled with grease and the filler plug tightened. I'm scheduled to have the car at the Rockville, Md show on Oct 15. Rob came stumbling in after a hard day at the office, we got in a few minutes work on the '28 Chrysler depot wagon, and I was on my way. Pleasant evening."

It is Wednesday, Sept. 13th. I actually did some car stuff today. A break from my farm chores. I bought some 3M headlight re-finisher and decided that I better try it on the 2003 Passat W8. The headlight lenses were almost opaque and I was having a hard time seeing at night. So a good cleaning was in order. After about an hour I was done and could not believe the results. The lenses were perfect and so clear you could almost put your hand through them. I had some product left over and decided to also do the rear lights on the Suburban. They were very faded and looked terrible. But they too came back to life and now look great. Then Greg asked me to come over and help remove the black Avanti transmission. I took over my "big jack" (I think it would lift a house as I can hardly lift it) to help out. I can tell you that the transmission was very heavy, and that was without the torque converter. Glad that Greg took it out. Greg tells the story in his report. I did take a couple of pics too, so you will see those first and then Greg's. The first four are mine. Here is his PM report. "Thanks to the help of "Big Jack" Feser, we were able to wrestle my transmission to the ground. Nothng broken, no injuries. Glad that's over with. Thanks John!" =

Sandy, agree with what everyone is saying, but check your spark plug wires. One might be loose or you might have a couple on the wrong terminal/distributor cap.

Rick, are there no spaces available? From the Hershey chapter web site: Q: How do I get a car corral space (s)? A: Same as above to request a registration card. There will be a (2) space limit during summer car corral registration. Spaces are approximately 10’ X 20’. Cars must be at least 25 years old, AACA recognized and driven onto the car corral field. Street rods are prohibited. Car corral spaces will be sold for $125.00 per space and space is limited. Assignment of spaces will be in order of post mark on mailing envelope. If available car corral spaces will be sold at the fall meet starting Wednesday during show week at 7:00a.m. There are no guarantees of available space (s) on days of the meet.

Roger, just saw this on Ebay. Thought you might like to read about it. An early model 1920's Buick 1/4 scale. ANTIQUE 1921 BUICK 1/4 SCALE MODEL CAR HAND BUILT ONE OF A KIND | eBay

It is Sunday, Sept 11th. Pulled the overflow bottle that I just installed on the Avanti. Seems that since it was made in the 60s the glue that holds both halves together gave way with age. So it leaks pretty good. Glued the seams back together, and it is drying for 24 hours or so. Then a five minute re-install. And Greg is busy also. Wonder if he found any money under that old carpet? "Yesterday (Saturday) was IDYSD. International Drive Your Studebaker Day. I'm not making that up. A beautiful day, some time spent working on one, some time spent driving one. I pulled the rotten carpeting from 5054 (black Avanti), not a pleasant job. More time spent removing other trim. Then a pleasant ride through the countryside to Middleburg, Va. 'Ol Seabisuit (Maroon Avanti) ran fine. Found a nice lunch on the main street and then a pleasant drive back. Nice day to be out. Today was just another IWOYSD International Work On Your Studebaker Day. Tidying things in the engine compartment, removed the heater assembly,the wiper motor assembly, and then underneath to pull the driveshaft and get things unhooked from the transmission. It is almost ready to come out (John). Another pleasant day. Also a day for reflection."

Sid, this looks like it might be your filter. But pls do your own research. I cannot tell you how many times I have bought the wrong part. CHEVROLET OLDS PONTIAC BUICK CHRYSLER FORD GMC NICE | eBay and it says that it takes a C3 filter. Here is one on Ebay. FRAM C3 OIL FILTER NIB | eBay

Sid, the car looks good and sound. A real nice find for sure. I am sure that you will have lots of fun bringing her back and driving it. Congratulations!

Sid, that is a later after-market oil filter. Someone should be able to identify it to get a filter number. Worse case you can take the filter out, take some measurements, and then go to the Fram site to see if you can make a match. Is that switch to the left of the filter do anything? A kill or disconnect switch? It is not original to the car.

Bernie, the grease fittings are on Ebay in the USA all the time, new and used, for not much money. If shipping is an issue or you need multiple packages, you can have them sent to me in Virginia, and I will be happy to receive, re-package, and sent them to you. Just let me know. I do this for others so you will certainly not be the first and will not put me out. 1920s/30s Alemite, Pin-Type Grease Fittings-New, Unused | eBay

Still Friday. Finally finished farm chores so I had some time this morning to play with the green Avanti. The car initially was overheating after I got her running. Turned out it was a bad thermostat stuck closed. An easy fix. Now she runs at 180 degrees unless it is very hot outside and sitting at a long series of stop lights. But I remember in my youth that I always put on a coolant recovery bottle as an accessory. Many cars of the 60s did not have such bottles. I always thought that it was a good idea to keep the air out of a coolant system for better cooling and rust prevention. I figured that I might be able to do this for the Avanti. So off to Ebay to look around. I found a NOS after-market unit like the kind I remembered so bought it for $12 including shipping. I thought it might work in the very limited space in the Avanti engine bay. I played with the installation last night and this morning I put it in. It fits perfectly in the little cup between the horn and the radiator support shelf on the passenger side of the fender. I had to make a wood plate for it to sit on and to allow the hose to drop below the plate so it would not be pinched. This plate also gives the bottom of the plastic tank some support. The little plastic tank fits perfectly. No clearance issues with the hood or hood hinge. Looks like it was made for the Avanti. I have it just sitting there with no fasteners. It does not have much room to move around and held in place with no place to move to. Perfect. The radiator cap that came with the unit does not fit the radiator tank. I think it might if I bent the tabs, but I believe that my cap on the car will work. We will see. Here are some pics of the installation.

It is Friday, September 9th. Here is Greg's Report from last night. "I'll get this report off while I clean upholstery. Tonight I removed the door panels and the rear armrest panels. It seems I always have to drill through the nut that retains the escutcheon around the trunk release handle. That in order to loosen the left armrest. (Two for two) They are getting the detergent treatment, and you can see the one door had suffered a temporary (seventies) attachment with duct tape. I'm trying some of that goo remover , soaking it now. I also find that the rear panels had been mistaken for door panels by some vagrant mice. I don't think I will need to replace them, but hopefully repair them. Somewhere I have some of the black vinyl that was removed from the front seats when they were recovered way back when. That might make good donor material that matches." =