unimogjohn

In general, yes. But it all depends on condition and desirability. And of course, a willing buyer.

This is a very recent video of the Hershey flooding. This is southern entrance to the park area just coming off the freeway before you enter Hershey proper. A lot of water!

Barr, yes. If you do not intend to have it judged you can also have it chromed for much less polishing and durability. But you will take a deduction in points for any chrome piece on the car. My 23 parts were chromed before I bought it so I have continued with that choice. I think I lost about 10 points total out of 400 for the various chrome pieces. The cost of plating is the same I would think.

It is Thursday, Sept. 8th. Soon there will be nothing left of the Avanti but the shell. Here is Greg's report and pics. "Thought it would be a good night to tackle the seat removal. No piece of cake. Some of the fasteners would unscrew, but a bunch of them wouldn't. Mean old Mr. Rust. Resumed drilling through the stubborn screws. Start with a small bit and keep enlarging until the head would yield. About half of the screws including those holding the buckets to the tracks got the treatment. I've given the front seats another scrubbing with mildew detergent, sponge and washrag. I need to get a bristle brush and go over them again sometime. They look pretty good with little to repair. I do need to drill and rethread the seat bottoms, repair the loosened nutplates in the floor like I did on the maroon car. Those black seats really eat the soak up the light from the camera flash."

Still Wednesday. Waiting for a package in the mail, and it finally came today. Sometime you score on Ebay. More often now you don't. It was much better a few years ago before the big guys started flooding your search for parts. Must be lots of folks in China producing HID lights and car covers. But, as I said, sometime you score. I won a 1928 generator and distributor as a spare for my 1928 standard Buick. These are becoming very hard to find. And when you do they are usually some rusted hulk of metal that are only good as an boat anchor. But this is the exception. It is clean, everything turns freely, and looks like she will work right out of the box. I will clean and inspect, and put it with the other few spares that I have for the car. I really do not have many spares, ignition parts mostly and a water pump. I have owned the car since 1984, and I have not had to replace anything, only a carb cleaning now and then. Great car. Here is a pic.

Most excellent work! Thanks for all the pics. Keep us posted for sure.

It is Wednesday, Sept. 7th. Rainy day here today. Rained so hard this morning that it woke me up at 4:30. So I am up. A neighbor want to use our enclosed trailer so have to move things around this morning. I have the 28 Buick in it so have to offload and move her back into the garage. The green Avanti goes back into the temp tarp garage for a week or so. Hope that I can get the trailer out of the wet pasture. It could be ugly as the pasture is not exactly flat. Asked Greg what his plans are for the black Avanti. He said a full restoration just like the Maroon Avanti. It will be a body on restoration. Greg never sells anything so I do not know it future. I would guess it would go to the collection up in MD for display and occasional use. Here is Greg's report from last night. "Just realized it wasn't Monday. Got in some time on the hill tonight. I'm continuing with removal of exterior stuff. The mirror put up a fight. Ultimately I used vise grips to extract the screws and well-nuts. Take that! Proceeding rearward, the taillights, backup lights, they gave up without too much hassle. The license bracket, another story. I had to drill the heads of the bolts so that I could break them off and then poke the wellnuts through. Then the fun part, back bumper. Rusted hardware did put up a fight. I could unscrew everything except the outer bolts. With victory so close, I used a hacksaw to cut them. Sorry for the sorry pictures. That's about as light as it gets in there. At least until I take time to put up some decent lighting. After all, the time changes back in the near future. The one photo of the trunk lid is so you can remind me which bolt retains the clip for the back up light wiring. Except for the Studebaker script, I'm ready to begin gutting the interior so that I can get to the wiper motor, heater, supercharger scripts, pirate's buckles on the rear quarter panels, door handles, etc." =

Here is a place in CA. I am sure a search of the web will find many more. Caps BHC - Porcelain Enamel Coating

Here are the last of the pics. We counted cars and figure that there were about 50 cars in attendance. Pretty good turn out considering the threatening weather. Also met quite a few of Greg's car nuts, which was quite fun and interesting. Lots of stories. We had a lot of folks stop by and admire our green Avaniti. Most said do not paint or restore it. They loved it as a survivor.

We had a great time at the Kern Motors car show yesterday. It is fun having a convoy of Avantis. One car sped up to see the cars and filmed us going down the road. The cars are a hit whenever we take them out. Here are a few pics of the show. And it did not rain until we were three miles from home, and then the skies opened up. First time I used the wipers for any period of time. Worked great. And the car did not leak! So dry carpets this morning. Oh, one story. Bruce Kern stopped by our car. He told us a story of him working at the family dealership, and seeing an Avanti for sale on the lot. He decided that he would take it out for a drive. He was fifteen at the time and did not have a licence; nor did he have permission from his dad. He said that he drove it about three miles and decided to "punch it" to see what it felt like. Well, he said that it threw him back into the seat and scared him to death. He almost lost control of the car as the rear wheels broke loose. Needless to say, he slowed the beast down, regained control and headed back to the dealership. To this day he remembers that ride. And what is more interesting is that it is Greg's maroon Avanti.

It is Tuesday, September 6th. Here is Greg's report on the Labor Day car show in Winchester, VA. I will post my pics later. "Got an early start this morining. We met the Fesers in their Avanti and proceeded to a small car show hosted by Kern Motor Company in Winchester, Va. They had invited brands of cars sold by them. I recall seeing Packards, Kiaser-Fraisers, Hudsons, Metropolitans, Nashes, American Motors, Jeeps, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, a few Buicks, and of course Studebakers. A nice turnout on a very threatening day. A treat for me was hearing some stories about my car, of the two Avantis sold there, mine was the one with the manual transmission. They didn't forget that. Upon leaving the show, we had to cruise the downtown for old times sake, and lingered long enough to get a couple pictures of the car parked by the old Kern Motors, where I first saw R2724 in 1963. A pleasant ride home....until the sky opened up. Now Barbara knows what I mean when I say Avantis leak. Photo enclosed.

It is Monday, Sept. 5th. Lots of rain coming this way from Tropical Storm Lee. Suppose to rain for three or four days. But I got the green Avanti ready for the car show today. Greg is to call this morning to say he is going or not. So we are waiting at 6 AM. But here is Greg's report from Sunday. "More disassembly of old 5054, black Avanti. Front bumper brackets, parking lights, transmission cooler, wiper arms, that kind of thing. Now for the quiz mystery. A few years ago we were invited to Air&Space to see them take apart the Wright Vin Fiz machine. The engine on it virtually NOS. I'd noticed that it had an unusual feature about it, one I'd never seen before on a Wright engine. Took a couple pictures, but didn't document it because I couldn't authenticate the thing. Now that we are studying the Wright Model R machine of 1910, closeup examination reveals that same item in abundance. A call downtown to find the current location. In a glass display case with no hope of getting to it with calipers. I'd rather it had been on an airframe thirty feet in the air. Peter Jakab took it upon himself to contact other departments in hopes that another sample could be located. From the restoration facility still at Silver Hill came news that there were some on hand. New Old Stock. A fast trip resulted in the loan of one to aid in the production of some accurate copies. Enclosed are photos of the sample, a typical Wright method, and the artifact in use. You'll see that normally the Wrights used wire , two wraps around a hose and then twisted tight. Somewhere along the way they used an unusual manufactured hose clamp. Neat find of a trivial piece of pre WWI hardware." =

Jim, Greg told me that he has to be there by nine, so expect it to be around ten or so. He said that it is at Kern Motor Company. Where that is I do not know as am going to follow Greg. He did send me a note last night that he was not comfortable in taking his newly restored Avanti out into the bad weather. So have no idea if we will go or not, depends on the weather right now.

Here is Greg's report from today, Saturday. "Had a nice visit from Jim Davis and Ken Peppard. I always enjoy time with them. Then I had some one on one time with R5054, black Avanti. With the right front wheel off I could work on removing some of the stuff that is hidden in the fender well. That would be the supercharger coolant tank, electric pump, cooler, breather hose and other hardware. Dark and lonely job, but someone's got to do it. This system is a close copy of the type used on the Bonneville team Avantis. I strayed from their method of fluid feed to the blower. It looks like I used the vintage John Erb method of directing the oil to the drive elements via a rifled shaft and rotating coupling. I haven't forgotten about the item quiz from the other day. You might get that story tomorrow." =

It is Saturday, Sept 3rd. Greg called and asked us if we wanted to attend a orphan car show on Monday, we said sure. So we are off to Winchester, VA on Monday. And here is Greg's report for Friday. "Found some time this evening for more finishing touches on the Maroon Avanti. Buffed and installed the knobs and stainless trim for the seat adjustments, also buffed and installed the stainless trim that helps retain the door sill plates. The plates themselves are far from NOS, in fact they are a bit tattered. I had scrubbed them, then brightened them up with some aerosol black rubber coating. They will do for now, until I cough up the money for the reproductions. That money better spent on the black car. This coming Monday I'm supposed to take it to a display at Winchester's Kern Motor Company. A homecoming, that's the dealership that sold the car new. A couple times. I think the Unimogs will follow along in theirs. I've a copy of the original invoice in the window. Kern will be showcasing the brands that they have handled over the years. Packard, Hudson, Edsel, Studebaker, Indian,..... a list of losers as long as your arm. Should be fun. Enjoy your weekend. GREG." =

Well, it does look similar to mine, but the quality is way below what McLaughlin used for the wheels. Here is what mine looks like with its controls.

Scott, glad to see that you are still following along. Who would have thought that we would have hit over 80,000 hits. Here I thought I would do this blog for a couple of weeks and it would die. Who knows now how long it will last as Greg continues to pull treasures out of storage. And I do, like you, continue to follow Bernie and his work on the Packard, Roger on his magical model work, and once in awhile Dean still posts too on the Ford. Like getting letters from old friends. Speaking of Greg, here is his last night's report. Remember that nasty roll bar cover that he was working on a few days ago. Well ......... "Chipping away at the upholstery issues remaining on the maroon car. Chose tonight to work on the panels over the rear quarters and the rollbar cover. There are a few more trim items to do, maybe this weekend."

It is Thursday, September 1st. Heading into town this morning in the Avanti to run errands. Perfect day for it. Here is a report from Greg on his Avanti work. "Nice weather. I didn't feel like coming down from the hangar on the hill. Seabiscuit, the Maroon Avanti, has been living up to it's namesake. Last night I used it for the trip over the ridge to Mother's house. That's where Barbara met me and we all went for Barb's birthday dinner. Then another pleasant drive back. I did make a discovery, there at 65 on I66 in the dark. I've been wondering what's been wrong with the instrument lighting. Especially the clock. Can hardly read it. Same clock, same bulb (in fact the clock uses a clear bulb, all the other bulbs are dyed red). Voltmeter shows 12v in the socket...... I for some reason wanted to get a closer look at the speedometer, and I just happened to have my 1.5 magnifiers in my pocket. Slipped them on to check mileage or something, and accidently glanced over at the clock. There it was. Ohhhhh, there's the problem. Today I also used it for a business trip, destination: the other side of the DC beltway. Ran like a champ. Unless we got stopped in snarled traffic or a long light. And there was some of both. The day being on the warm side, and all that asphalt ..... I didn't need glasses to keep track of the temperature gauge. It would start creeping beyond 180*. When it would get toward 190*, I would use that old trick. I would find myself surrounded by traffic with windows rolled up and air conditioners full on. I was the guy with the windows down, coolant valve open and heater full on. It does help. I did keep the temp below the danger mark, but when it gets that warm the car starts gagging and gasping. I'm blaming the gasohol. Once you get rolling again and back to 180, it is ready to rumble. Tonight I took the time to install the "horn button" retention hardware that just surfaced. Still don't know what I did with the center medallion. So I tightened the steering wheel nut (the wheel hasn't been restored yet) and snatched the medallion from the nearby black Avanti. Does that count as time spent on black car disassembly? I also took a few minutes to install the trim piece over the fuel filler pipe. I'm not impressed with the fit, it does need some adjustment, for now.....it's mine. Photos enclosed: Steering wheel center installed, The rear seat trim piece. Your whatizit quiz? =

Sounds like the fuel system needs a cleaning and inspection. The vacuum units work just fine. I would take off the tank and top and inspect the gaskets. They are available for a few dollars or you can make your own. You may have a vacuum leak and thus are unable to pull gas from the main tank. Also the main tank has a metal cloth filter, and it might be clogged with rust, etc. Here are a couple of web sources. Vacuum Tank Rebuilding Kits - The Classic Preservation Coalition and here is a very good discussion by Grimy in this AACA forum link. http://forums.aaca.org/f120/nash-marvel-update-stewart-warner-vacuum-295881.html

Sid, a pic of your filter would help so we can tell you if it is original or not. John

Bob, you seemed to have looked at the engine side so I would do one more thing before I would recommend that you pull the radiator and have it checked out. When the engine is hot and running shine a flashlight on the lower radiator hose to make sure that it has not collapsed and restricting the flow. This is why so many lower hoses have springs in them.

But Roger, your Avanti is a couple of years old now. About time for a re-fresh at least don't you think? I follow you every day. All I can say is "amazing"!

From "Seventy Years of Buick by George Dammann". The 4-cylinder line received some welcome redesigning, and the appearance was much improved over what it had been in 1922. The Model 23-35 Touring, which was now priced at $885. It weighed 2,520 lbs, and used the 109 inch wheelbase chassis. Buick built 36,935 for domestic sales, but only 63 for export. Your car looks to be generally unmolested except for paint, which is incorrect. Do you have the bows and top for the car? A close up of the wheels are needed also. What does the interior look like? We need that information to give you an idea as to it value. Here is a side shot of an almost correct model 35. Not sure about the paint color. But you get the idea. 062 Gateway - 010 - 1923 Buick Model 23-4-35 restored 03781 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Looks like Greg found some daylight to see what was going on with his engine pulling job on the black Avanti. Here is his report from Tuesday, August 30th. "the right combination of leverage and verbal abuse, the engine came out. It seems to have been hung up on one of the alignment dowel pins. So what should have happened last week is now done. Next will be disconnecting all the transmission attachments, linkages, wiring, cables, driveshaft, retention hardware, exhaust and crossmember stuff in order to lower it down and out. Enclosing photos for your interest and my reference files."

Yes, agree with you on the need for replacements. I have one of their sets on my 23. They are of very good quality and in fit/finish.