unimogjohn

Still Friday, I asked Greg what is up with the Peerless work, and why everything was in 3s. Here is what he said. Maybe we will find out more in the future. He always has something brewing. "You asked about the Peerless project. My friend in Idaho is the mastermind behinnd an effort to restore several Peerlesses. I don't know many details, but I do know that it is a combined effort that stretches at least from from Canada to Australia. My involvement is helping him out with some tasks. You know, the ones that all the other guys turn down."

It is Friday, June 10th. I ordered eight new trailer tires yesterday. Should be here by early next week. So the enclosed car and llama trailers will get new shoes. Since Greg did not send any pics of his work today, I will attach pics of the enclosed trailer tires. The wear you see is a result of me not checking the tire pressure. The one that was worn out was only 23 lbs, the rest were 30. Should have had at least 45 or so. On the good side, the tires were old, almost worn out and needed to be changed. Glad that Greg did not have any problems with them. Here is Greg's very short Avanti report. Oh, and when he was working, it was still about 88 degrees. It got to 101 yesterday. "Took last night off, now back to the Avanti windlace installation. Worked on gluing the upper portions of the windlace in place. I got a late start, sun was already down and stormy, so it was like working in a dark cave. The chrome dash endcaps are in place, we'll see how good I did when next in daylight. IOU photos."

It is Wednesday, June 8th. We are shearing llamas as quickly as we can, and Alice is down to 4 left out of 18. Yesterday we took one to the vet to be given a "mellowing out" shot so we could work on him. On the way home one of the horse trailer tires split on the sidewall. Guess it is about time for new tires as they are original to the trailer, eleven years old. I think I will also get new tires for the enclosed car trailer, might as well be safe than sorry. Will keep you posted as to what I get. Also asked Greg what the story is on the Peerless parts. Here is is report from last night. "The Avanti has had a couple days off, so I spent a little time on it tonight. Lots of things to do to it yet, so looking for something that wasn't very complicated, I began the installation of the door trim. I've new windlace for the front edges. Located it, did some cut and snip, then glued the lower halves of them to the body. When it's cured, I'll work on the uppers. That's where it gets complicated by tucking under the header upholstery and squeezes by the dash. Then, wanting to keep the Peerless ball rolling, it was time to get back the the dash oilers. I'd done a good job of keeping the parts together while I was distracted. Now I know where I left off. Buffing in my future. Lots of it before I can begin the fitting and assembly of parts. Dark and lonely job....someone's got to do it."

It is Tuesday, June 7th. Here is a work report from Greg. He has a lot of catching up to do after his little vacation. "I'll bet you forgot about the Peerless bearing nightmare. With one last machining operation to go, I was reminded of an old saying in restoration work. "There's always time for that last minute awsh*t". I cut through the babbitt when boring the inside diameters. Somehow I found another rabbitt in the hat. I was able to flow new babbitt inside without melting out that on the faces and the couple hundred dollar CNC racetracks remaining intact too. Now that they have been rebored to size (four different) and cleaned up, they are ready to be packaged for shipment out of my life." =

It is Monday, June 6th. Greg sent me this video link of the car at the Springfield, Ill. race track. He had that girl really cranked up. Larue Vredenburgh was the race car drive who lost his life in a Stoddard-Dayton at this track. He also brought back the Suburban and trailer yesterday. He went approximately 2400 miles, used 247 gallons of gas for an average of 8.8 mpg.

What a superior looking car. You must be a very proud Dad. Great work. Enjoyed the journey with you.

It is Saturday, June 4th. Greg called yesterday and invited us to head up to Rob's place in MD. Rob was hosting a Orphan Car tour stop. So we hopped into our Avantis to drive on up. Both cars ran great and looked awesome together. And guess what, three other Avantis showed up. Here are some pics of the show.

It is Thursday, June 2nd. Cooler today, only going to be 88 or so. Here is Greg's Avanti report from last night. Included are a couple of pics and one of the 1923 McLaughlin Buick award from the local AACA Winchester show. "Worked on Avanti doors again. Buffed the handles and got them ready for installation. The passenger window adjustment is fair, so the handles went on. Driver side adjustment needed tweaking, removed the door panel and turned more screws. I was able to eliminate the daylight at the top of the vent assembly. Snugged the screws, readjusted the rear channel so the glass could be coaxed to go up and down. Reinstalled the door panel, put the handles on and shut the door. Make that tried to shut the door. The new adjustments are fine for the front of the door, now crowd the rear of the window where it closes against the rubber on the B pillar. What you gain on the potatoes.... So I decided to shove the door closed and will wait to see if the rubber relaxes or I have to go into it yet another time."

Bernie, I have had great success with NOS Early Ignition 1900 to 1950. Not inexpensive, but he seems to have lots of stuff for the real old iron. Has more than just caps and rotors, to include condensers, gears, points, bushings, coils, brushes, resistance units, etc. The more you buy, the better deal you can get, errrr sometimes. No web address, but here is his contact information. C. Bouteiller 427 Monterey Road Gt. Barrington, Mass. 011230 Telephone home: 413-243-4496 Telephone shop: 413-528-2815

It is Wednesday, June 1st. Even Greg has a day off. Here is his Avanti "driving" report. "This evening I ventured out in 'Ol Seabiscuit. Warm and no forecast for rain, I pointed it towards the Blue Ridge to the Shenandoah Valley where it spent it's entire service life (except for the time on this side of the ridge getting a makeover). Even though it was running well, I stayed off the interstate and took the old roads that it was well familiar with. It certainly wasn't content on that lonely stretch of Rt 17 where the speed limit has been devalued to 45, but it seemed to like the pull up the grade to Ashby Gap on Rt 50. And it cackled down the other side until we crossed the bridge over the Shenandoah River when I gave it back some throttle. On to Phil Ritter's house, enticed him to go for a ride since it has been a long time since the last one. Three old friends, Phil, Seabiscuit and I. What was missing was long time friend Steve in the driver's seat where he spent so much time. Residing now in California, he'll just have to beat it back here to give it a shakedown. Some time at Mother's and then the road home. It is sure a joy to be back in a machine that makes the distance enjoyable, going and coming. No pictures tonight."

It is Tuesday, May 31st. A hot one yesterday, over 100 degrees. Good thing the pool is filled and ready for the season. It was a nice 78 degrees. But no pool time for Greg. Here is his holiday report. The Avanti is looking really nice. "The three day holiday went faster than the usual weekend. I was able to spend more time installing Avanti details. Door panels are fitted, might have to come back off for more window adjustments and hardware, but in the meantime I'll be finding, cleaning, and test fitting things like interior handles, escutcheons, carpeting, sill plates, etc. It never ends. Antenna is now back in place, the inner parking light amber lenses and gaskets are in, etc. While I still had possession of Unimog's trailer, to give our guys more needed space in the hangar, I took the Stoddard back to Rob's. That was on Saturday. It was such a nice day and while there we had a nice evening drive to nearby Middletown for dinner. It was a parade of a '28 Chrysler roadster and Rob's new '35 Dodge phaeton. Otherwise we delivered a set of connecting rods to Mitch, some work in the shop, etc. And a nice Memorial Day indoor picnic."

Mark, great job. Really enjoying the videos. Very professional. The car is looking great so far. Might want to give us a full view of her when you get those front fenders on. Engine sounds good too.

Well, if I had this problem I would do the following. Attempt to get a illustrated parts book and shop manual for this car to determine what broke and what you need. If none is available, get a universal repair manual for the approximate year (ebay is good source) to get an idea on what you need and how to remove the parts. here is an example for Chev as will be close to your car. And you might contact the seller also to see if they have your car. Chevrolet 8.5x11 Shop Manual 1918 1919 1920 1921 Chevy | eBay And here is a book that might help also. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Willys-Knight-Repair-Manual-1915-1916-1917-1918-1919-/360319029287?pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&hash=item53e4b01027 Do a Google search on the car and contact any clubs you see for parts and information. You should get close to the parts in question and take some good, closeup pics also. Most of the cars of this era used the same or similar parts in the suspension. You may have to obtain similar and have a machine shop modify to fit your car's steering. Also post your question on the Willys forum on this site to see if anyone can help. http://forums.aaca.org/f185/ Good luck and keep us updated. John

Still Thursday. Pool is all setup, new pump installed and now filling with water. Water is a coolish 66 degrees. It will take a couple of days to fill the pool with our well water. Can only run it for about twenty minutes at a time, and then let it rest for about three hours. So it takes awhile to fill. I bought a pocket style HD video camera a few months ago and have really not used it. But I had a request from Dave to do a "walk around" of the 23 McLaughlin Buick. It came out OK, so decided to put it on Youtube. So here it is if you have an interest.

It is Wednesday, May 25th. Here is Greg's report from last night. Me, no car stuff, getting the pool ready for the season. Of course the pump, which is over twenty years old, decided to go south and start smoking. Time for a new one. "Catching up where I left off. And more. I've run out of excuses, so the last couple nights I've found some time to devote to all the Avanti vent and door window adjustments. Vent window assy is to go up, make a nice line along the A pillar trim and then get adjusted inward against the rubber over the doorway. Yeah. Lots o luck! I got it up as far as the factory adjustments will allow and in for a nice line, but so far it is a fair weather car. It looks like I'll have to shim the over the doorway rubber down a bit. Of course it's already screwed and glued in place. And why did it take two nights to get the vent window assemblies in place? Last night I got to the part where the threads were stripping in the cast frame. Tonight was Heli-coil night to restore the threads. Now that the vent windows are in place I need to read the service manual description of how to set up the door windows. I think they are supposed to go up and down. I have yet to get Unimog's Suburban and trailer back to him. Day job has kept me hopping too. Pics: 1. Drilling and tapping the vent frames for the heli-coil inserts. 2. Some connecting rods that were dropped off by the big brown truck. Time for rebabbitting. I'll hand carry them over to Mitch the Babbitt King. I think Glenn Miller can identify them. And almost forgot. We downloaded the camera cards from the trip and there is some good video to share. Today I left them with our world famous Paul Glenshaw who is to edit the clips."

Doug, from what I can see you have lost the ball joint that goes into the steering knuckle. It is usually held into place by a threaded plug with a cotter key for safety. The ball is usually held in place by a plate that holds it into the knuckle. Your pics are not clear or close enough for me to really see on yours. This is how it is on my Buicks.

And even more.

and even more fenders pics. They really look great.

Still Sunday and Greg has send me pics of his Stoddard Dayton front fenders being constructed. "While I've been offf galavanting, Theton has been working on Stoddard fenders."

It is Sunday, May 22nd. I am inside with hay fever. I do not like this time of year. But as usual, Greg is back at work. Here is his weekend report. "OK. Saturday was unloading, wash the dirt off the SD and put it away. Then tear into the neglected Avanti. I've never ever had the front brakes on one squeal. Jacked it up, pulled the wheels and took a look. Everything looked ok, so I removed the pads, gave them a quick sanding and chamfered the leading edges a little. Then went to the parts store, got some of that disc brake anit'squeal goop and reinstalled everything. Also, in the hundred miles or so that I've driven the car, the four speed (which I had overhauled) has been getting stickier to shift. While it was in the air, I drained the gear lube to check the quantity and look for grit. Fresh gear oil and a dash STP for luck. Phantom had sent the new clips for the crash pads, so I took a few minutes more to get them in place. A quick trip around the block to see if I helped anything. Brakes worked and didn't complain. Shifts ok, but not as easily as it did with the worn out synchros. Guess I'll just have to wear them in. Barbara has been a good and faithful sidekick, but she needs to realize that there's more to life than old cars. Time now for an evening Tango lesson."

More great photo's of Greg, Barbara and the Stoddard at the Engineer's Club, Dayton. Orville Wright would have been jealous. No wait. He would have wanted a ride. No wait. He would have wanted the car. Photos by Paul Martin.

It is Saturday, May 21st. Greg just sent me a short video of the Stoddard Dayton running on the Illinois Fairground's race track. It was shot by Paul Martin, Springfield, Il. Wow! Looks right at home and moving right along. Could have easily been 1912.

It is Friday, May 20th. Looks like Greg is homeward bound. Here is his report. "Yesterday was a busy one, but good. While in Dayton, I spent some time at Carrillon Park, an area dedicated to their local heritage. Great displays of mechanical contributions like typewriters, bicycles, and automotive examples. Next we found our way to visit Ron Taylor, an old friend who has an incredible collection of Stoddard factory material. I spent time going over some, like many pages of employees documented, which told of their department, employee number and wage rate. (Patternmakers were near the top of the food chain at .35 1/4 cents). Literature that would take years to study. Deciding it was time to head East, a slight squeak under the hood of the Fesermobile was diagnosed as a dying belt. A garage diagnosed the problem, the idler pulley had gone away. At first told they couldn't get to it, we were then sent to walk the shopping center across the street. Before we could each down a milkshake, we were called to come and get it. Unbelievably good luck. Last night we pushed on through the pouring rain until we decided to dock in Zanesville, Ohio. Much better this morning, about ready to strike out for more Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, more West Virginia, and down the grade to Virginia. This trip has been a blast."

It is Thursday, May 19th. Just received a letter from the regional AACA Shenandoah chapter that the 1923 McLaughlin Buick receive a First Place award for the 1920-1929 class. She looked great that day!

Ok, here are the words of the song. "Take me on a Buick Honeymoon" Published 1922. Words by: Ben Black; Music by Art Hickman Boy and girl their head's awirl please let us marry dear, said he she replied, I'll be your bride if you do this for me Roadster fine Sedan fine I'm wild about that new coupe no regret, if you will get a B U I C K Chorus: Take me on a Buick honey-moon, dear soon dear, where we can spoon, dear Let us roam the plains and lanes together the motor will not be missing. Neither will the sweet sweet kissing Then side by side, on-ward we'll glide What could be sweeter than to be a Buick bride? We may have a run-a-bout by June But it's got to be a Buick Honey Moon, Moon