unimogjohn

It is Monday, Nov 22nd. Received a quick update from Greg. Answers a burning question. "As usual, the winner of tonight's Authenticity Quiz is Dick B...... The master cylinder cap was supplied painted black. Thanks Dick!"

It is Sunday, Nov 21st. Greg continues to move forward. Here is his weekend report. "Got some time in on the Rude Stude this weekend. Crawled under the front end and tightened brake tubing, engine mount hardware, front hub cotterpins and dust caps, exhaust pipes, and while the wheels were off I even shot some fresh undercoat in the front wheel wells. Dropped the steering column and slid that foam seal in place. Stuck the ignition switch back in the dash. Brake action continued with the overhaul of the booster bracket. The swinging arm had frozen to the pin and that required a torch and heat to brake loose. It used to work. Paint remover, bead blast cabinet, polished the pin, primed, painted, and then reassembled using that nickel anti-sieze stuff. Found some missing hardware for the steering column and speedo cable just in time. Continued by mounting the bracket to the firewall, then the booster and master. Progress was impeded slightly by the four missing bushings for the booster. Got back into the fast lane when I contacted Unimog Feser for dimensions. He countered with pictures almost immediately. It's like he waits at his computer just to see what I've misplaced this time. Tomorrow I'll get some vacuum hose and new clamps, and another brake light switch if I can't find the one I recently bought and put away. As you might think, I'm going to have an extra car if I ever find all these missing pieces. I've contacted my Avanti historian and detail advisor about the proper finish for the master cylinder cap. Gave the ignition shielding a quick buffing and stuck a couple of the pieces on. I remember going shopping at Standard Surplus with shopping carts, especially the harware by the pound department. Every year we'd get to the bin of the capnuts for the shielding, and scoop up a handful, then another just for good luck. I'm still using them. Gosh those were good days!"

I would think you should. There are a lot of options, but I am going to assume that you want to keep it original as possible. Do you have a muffler now? If not you need to get a long round muffler. There are several places that sell them, Waldron's is just one example. You just have to make sure that you get the pipe sized to the muffler and get it placed correctly under the car. Waldron's Exhaust, car exhaust, truck exhaust, exhaust pipes, mufflers Once you determine the correct size you want to can check what your local auto parts may have or can also look on Ebay too. Putting on the exhaust system is not too tough of job. Good luck.

It is Friday, Nov. 19th. Opps, my bride asked me what I was doing with the Avanti? Getting ready to start painting I said. Then she reminded me that it is the backup car in case in rained on the Christmas parade on Dec. 5th, and we could not take the 23. Oh well. But Greg keeps in "cracken" with his projects. Here is his report. "Late breaking Avanti news: I reasssembled the master cylinder. Gee am I glad that's over with. Talked to the seat upholstery shop about the Avanti seats. There was a glimmer of hope that they might have them ready to bring to Reedsville. They actually had started cutting material, but they won't make it. So I won't either. Matheson cylinder heads are now clean enough to inspect. Buried under the paint was a crack that crosses the top of the water jacket and through a bolt hole. The previously brazed head was also cracked in the same way. I'll send it along to cast repair man to deal with since he's got the cylinder already. (edit note: I think that this is the guy that repaired Greg's R3 Avanti block a few months ago) I'm also going to send the replaced head for him to look at. It's had some major repair to the jacket. I'm prepared to go with the replacement head if need be. Photos for your viewing pleasure. *One of the master cylinder complete with proof that I wasn't lying about assembling it. *Matheson head with cracked jacket. *Matheson head with repair to cracked jacket. Random thought for today. You're never too old to learn something stupid."

It is Thursday, Nov. 18th. If I get the chance today (between farm chores) I will start taking stuff off the Avanti to get it ready for painting. Suppose to get an estimate tomorrow from the painter who looked at it a week ago. Also the propane guys came yesterday and scoped out the generator installation/plumbing job, and now the installation is scheduled for Dec 3rd. Electrician is coming on Saturday to see if he wants the job to hook up the power from the generator to the transfer switch, and then into the main house panel. Greg is making progress too. Here is his report. "This week just hasn't been anything to brag about. Trying to make progress, but don't have much to show for it. The Avanti master cylinder still unfinished. It snickers at me every time I walk by it. Still need to secure those brake tubes and tighten fittings. I also want to install a foam seal that goes around the steering column which means dropping the steering from under the dash. I need to do that chore before I deny myself access to the steering box when I install the brake booster and master cylinder. No word on the seats. I'll need at least a driver's seat (and steering and brakes) to be able to ferry the car back and forth to this shop space to work with heat and electricity. I'd like to find a way to dress out the wear left in the seat tracks by the ball bearings. The balls left indentations wherever the seats were adjusted to. These are deep in a narrow channel. On the Matheson engine. The heads have had lots of paint removed from them, now to be finished in the blast cabinet. Anybody whose dealt with blast equipment will tell you that sometimes they just refuse to work. Fought with this one all evening. Had enough. Pictures enclosed. First cylinder head cleaned. Factory number markings. Second head also factory markings. Has had a braze repair. A good one, no way to tell when it happened."

I have only seen them with the tank painted gloss or semi-gloss black with the top not painted.

It is Wednesday, Nov 17th. Rain, did I say rain, we got over two inches yesterday. I think the drought is over. Here is Greg's non-car report for yesterday. I have seen the engines, and honestly you cannot tell them from an original. "Here's some pics from my day job. Since I'm woefully behind in supplying functional copies of Wright Brothers engines, our guy Scott Rawlings is using his many talents to provide display engines made from MDF and casting resin. He's a maniac for details. When he's done they won't just look like castings (he mixes Bondo with acetone to dabble with a brush), but they'll have gaskets, oil smudges, etc. He tried moulding and casting the spark plugs, but tiny bubbles caused voids. One of the pics shows a small Craftsman drill press that he disassembled and inverted to serve as a centrifuge. It's fun to watch him create. He's an artist."

Now don't you dare tell us you do your own plating also. You put us all to shame. Great job. Really enjoy your work and progress.

Tom, I had Bob's Automobilia rebuild my 23s combo switch. It was just worn out and would not maintain contact internally. I remember that it cost about $250 or so. Well worth the cost.

It is Tuesday, Nov. 16. Rained hard last night and still coming down. Cold too. Have to hurry as I am taking the VW Passat W8 in for an oil change and new battery. I have always changed my own oil, but this W8 engine is a different breed. It is actually a high performance engine in its own right, and it is really fast. Greg has been busy as usual. Here is his report. "Well, the weekend was an exercise in lost motion. When I last visited the '10 REO, one flat tire wouldn't take air. Figured the brass stem at fault. Saturday I returned with a new tube for a vocabulary refresher course. Dismounted the tire and tube to find the tube just fine. I think it grinned at me. Reinstalled the tube, tire, side ring and lock ring with the aid of the usual hammer, screwdrivers (couldn't find the Rob's tire irons), vise grips, channel locks (water pump pliers for you old guys) and whatever else it took. Held my mouth right and it took some air. Then there was the wrinkle finish episode. Got a job that requires it. I'd picked up a can of aerosol black to do a job for the boss. It turned out just beautiful. Same can of paint + my parts = total disaster. I stripped parts, recoated, stripped parts, went through three cans of black and one gallon of paint remover. Today I tried a different brand of paint and it is working. Also this evening I blast cleaned the Avanti master cylinder and then primed it with epoxy. Now it is honed and ready for assembly. On the Matheson front: I've scraped and hosed paint remover . The heads will require one more treatment and will be clean. I have yet to inspect them, but we can see that there's been some repairs made and one has been replaced. To be continued." =

Scott, the pad is 95% gravel, but just happened to have a few sacks of sand so put a couple on top and allowed the sand to trickle down into the gravel for a better "lock" when the generator weight and vibration are applied. Well, that is my thinking. Beautiful day here today, about 65 degrees. I took the Avanti out for a ten mile drive to heat up the oil. It is great to have the window down and cruise along the back roads at about 35 to 40 mph. The Avanti engine just has a low growling sound; it is so good. Got back home and changed the oil. This is the second change so far. And yes, I did add a bottle of ZDDP to the Shell 5W-30 wt detergent oil.

Scott, glad you still enjoy the posts. Sometimes I think that I should sign off, but then what would I do. Kinda makes me do things around the farm to make this interesting. Appreciate your comments, and the pics looks much better. And I did get a few email asking me to post pics of the generator. I usually do not post non-car stuff. But it does have an engine, and it is 36 HP. So here is the installation of it today. It took most of the morning. Tried to lift the generator with the bucket of the loader, but it was too small. Ran to Wayne's place and borrowed his crane for the tractor. My little 16 HP tractor almost did not have the poop to lift the 450 lbs. I gave it max power and got it to lift the generator. So now it is in place.

Leif, this vendor was at Hershey, and had lots of NOS stuff. The problem is that he wanted top dollar. For example, $250 for a 1918 distributor cap. But he had only three remaining. He does not have a web site. But here is his contact information. NOS early ignition C. Bouteiller 427 Monterey Road Gt. Barrington, Mass 01230 telephone: April to Oct. 413 243 4496 home 413 528 2815 shop Oct to April 352 793 9122

Jon, from my 28 standard. Cannot imagine that the master is different. It is basically just a loop that holds the rod in place with screws holding each end of the loop, which hold it onto the cowl.

It is Thursday, November 12th. Our whole house generator arrive yesterday thanks to Wayne. At least it is unloaded. Have to pick up a crane for the tractor to lift it, weighs 450 lbs, and place it on its pad in the back of the house. Gas folks coming on the 17th to hook it up. Just another project. But I do plan to pull the Avanti out today, warm her up and change the oil for the season. In the meantime, here is Greg's report from yesterday. "Veteran's Day. To those of you, thanks for what you did. Shame we can't thank those who didn't come home. The parts store had two sets of seals. I took them both and one set actually fit. Seals installed, smeared more grease on the bearings and now everything but the cotterpins are tight. Remind me to get them tomorrow. Carried the master cylinder to Lee's so that I could use his Sunnen hone to touch up the bore. A quick measurement before and after indicates the bore is now about .012" oversize to get the rust pits out. While I was there I mentioned that I'd heard veterans get a free meal at Appleby's Restaruant. Later in the evening while working in the chill, a hot meal sounded like a great intermission. The restaraunt web site verified a free dinner if you had proof of service. Dawned on me to find my fatigue jacket with my name for proof. The place was packed. I was told a wait of forty-five minutes. Without hesitation, some guy saw me as he was getting up from a table near the bar. Came over, shook my hand and sat me down in his place and told the waitress I was next. A few minutes later I saw someone else in the same situation, so I invited him to take a seat too. Said he'd been on the road all day. Then Lee and his son walked in..... so the result was not only a steak dinner for me, but some good company too. Nice gesture courtesy of Appleby's and the other establishments . Almost makes getting shot at worthwhile. Matheson job? Started stripping the paint from the detachable cylinder heads. Most heads didn't come off in those days. Looking for any trouble, it will take a couple days to get the finish off. Pic of Matheson cylinder heads soaking. No pics of the Avanti brakes, look at last night's and imagine the inner seals installed. While wearing my old jacket I found a couple pictures in the pocket. Same jacket. My bunk area was one of the few in Viet Nam that wasn't decorated with Playboy centerfolds. Nearing the end of my tour, while home on leave I bought my first Avanti shortly after these pics were taken.

It is Thursday, November 11th. Another nice day. I did a lot of car stuff all day yesterday. Replaced the rear brake pads on the W8 VW Passat, changed the oil in the 23 McLaughlin Buick, repacked the water pump and ran her up and down the country roads. And changed oil and filter in the Kubota tractor. And Greg is moving right along too. Here is his report. "Why don't I get it? The rotors came in today. That's good. Repacked the wheel bearings with fresh grease. That's good. Remembered to check the fit of the new grease seals before I press them into place in the hubs. That's good. They don't fit. That's bad. They've only been lying on the bench for a month or so. I know to CHECK EVERYTHING. Maybe I can plead insanity. Got the car to prove it. Anyway, took them back, new ones will be in tomorrow. Maybe the right size. Meanwhile, took the time to set up the brake calipers. They need to be acurately centered over the rotor discs. Had to make a few shims, but got it done. Tomorrow I'll have to take it all apart to install the seals. I guess I'm gaining on it. When I look at these front brakes I recall an incident from once upon a time. Maybe I've already told you about it. Steve and I must have been to DC for the day. We were barrelling back on Rt 50, me in the black Avanti, he in his maroon car. I was in the lead and somewhere around Aldie I think, noticed his headlights weren't in my mirror. Pulled over, waited, turned back to find him along side the road and under the car. He had been at cruising speed but found that the more gas pedal he gave it, the slower it went. Ground to a halt and he noticed a red glow under the front of the car. The discs were red hot. The car was equipped with a hill holder and when the linkage fell off, the thing gradually applied the brakes. He secured it with a piece of wire. Full of memories, this car. Also enclosed are a few pictures of the Matheson camshaft. A busy thing. It operates the valves via rocker arms. It operates the ignition make and break action. It has a gear on each end. One makes the shaft go around. The other makes the dash oiler pump oil. Closeups of the camming will show the lobes for the valve operation. Also the blade that triggers the ignitors. Notice the cam profiles. Remember this was built back in the days when cave men worked on these things with rocks and sticks. The pointy lobe is for intake valve operation, the blunt one for exhaust. Too bad they didn't know anything about valve duration."

I asked Greg about the rotors. I thought that he had all done, but here is his response. The rotor saga: Original discs had been turned to undersize thickness. So new discs purchased that required removing old discs from hubs and substitution. Trial assembly and placement on the spindle resulted in .015" runout when checked with dial indicator. Hubs taken to Mitch to have the mating surface trued on brake lathe. Final assembly when checked with indicator showed .010 runout. Rotors then taken to CarQuest where they were sent to Winchester to be turned to eliminate the runout. Saga won't be over until they find their way back to me.

It is Wednesday, Greg is still busy. I am confused about his waiting for rotors comment, so sent him a note. But anyway, here is his report. Really coming along on the Matheson engine now as it will soon start to be reassembled. "The Avanti rotors might have been on the "night truck" to the local parts house. I'll know in the morning, if not they surely will make it in tomorrow. Meanwhile I took time to install the backing plates and caliper mounting brackets (with new grade 8 bolts). That should expedite things. As for the Matheson, scrubbed the paint from those cam bearing brackets and have them hanging in place on the cylinders. The brackets are of cast aluminum. Pics for those interested. My intention is to temporarily install the camshaft which services both the valves and the make and break ignitors. I'm also trying to familiarize myself with the Bosch low tension magneto. This one utilizes a stationery armature and a rotating inductor. This offers four power pulses per revolution compared to the two generated in a typical mag. Although it appears to run crankshaft speed like a typical magneto on a four cylinder engine. It would be interesting to see if I can watch the ignition contacts make sparks inside the cylinders before the heads are installed, in fact before the cylinders are painted and buttoned up."

It is Tuesday, Nov 9th. Greg continues to roll along. Here is his report. "Back to work on the Avanti seat tracks. More bead blasting and light coat of aerosol to protect them. Then for the rollers. Movement happens because of the ball bearings contained in the track. Photo show the casters overhauled with new balls. Other pic is of the Matheson camshaft brackets and bearings being stripped of paint."

It is Monday morning, Nov 8th. Cold last night and 26 degrees this morning. There is a bite in the air this morning. Will get to Greg's question that he asked today too. (question is below) Despite the cold Greg is moving ahead. Here is his weekend report. "I hate it, but preparing for winter. Drained the Stoddard and flushed it with antifreeze. Pumped up some tires on it and the REO. Poured in some stabilizer in the SD fuel tank, the REO is empty. Drained the Avanti and poured some antifreeze through it. The IHC remains indoors so it still has water in it (but I must be careful of power outages). Checked it's tires, no air in them, thank goodness. (solid rubber) Then proceeded to the Avanti. I hung the power steering pump, and installed a new belt. Loosely installed the hoses because I'm not sure of the routing. The supercharger is now off the floor and in it's place. Worked toward reinstalling that back seat panel. Adjusted and tightened the fuel inlet and tank connection. Found shiny new screws to secure the rear seat speaker. John Feser: Could you verify the routing of the power steering hoses for me. The ones from the pump to the control valve. I know that there's supposed to be an insulated hose clamp that secures them to the inner fender apron by the voltage regulator, but then how do they go? Then I need to find someone to tell me about the way the clutch pedal rod attaches to that bellcrank under the brake booster. ( John's is an automatic.) All to report for now.

Keister, I do not recognize it. Certainly not a part on my Avanti.

Still Friday, but PM. Spent the afternoon with Wayne and his Corvettes. While waiting for John, the painter, we pulled the engine in his 1964. Now he can pull the body off the frame, and but the body on a special dolly. The dolly and the body will then go off for final body work and paint. John the painter arrived and went over the car and pronounced it ready for prep. Wayne wants this to be an original resto and is going to great lengths to make sure that it will be correct. He does have the original engine and has plans to rebuild it. After John got done with the Corvette he turned his attention to the Avanti. He pointed out several areas that had been repaired that I had not noticed. He has a great eye for the fiberglass cars. We talked a long while. Since the Avanti is going to be a driver, he recommended that we not strip the car. He said that any bondo would have to come out, and the body repaired. He said that then I might as well open up my wallet real big. So I will remove whatever trim I can, and he will work on the rest as required. The body will then be sanded, repaired, two coats of primer, and then blocked and painted. He told me that he just finished an Avanti II a few months ago that almost sent him to the looney bin as it had been stripped. He said that mine looks new compared to that Avanti. I liked John so will call him in a few days for an estimate. If it is reasonable then I think I will let him paint the car. I also exchanged email with Jerry Forrester of Jerry's Chrome in GA. He will do my bumpers with a 8 to 10 week turn around. Greg still has a shipping box for the bumpers so at least I do not have to make a box. I have a number of other car and mechanical projects to do before winter sets in so it will probably be a couple of weeks before I can start taking apart the Avanti. Stay tuned. Oh, Wayne has three Vets, the 64, the 73, and the 07 with 13K miles. The 07 is quite the car. He just got it last week. It looks super fast just sitting in the garage. Here are some pics.

It is Friday, Nov 5th. Rained hard last night, 1.25 inches and it is cold. Today Wayne (has the two Corvettes, 72 and 64 and is the one that wants to soda blast them before paint prep) may have a local painter coming over to his place. So if he does I am going to drive the Avanti over to see what he says. I will try to remember to take the camera and take a couple of shots of the Corvettes. Greg is working on his Avanti, but it is starting to get a bit too cold now. But here is his last night's report. "Busy day on the job, worked late. Found no time for the Avanti project, did clean the remaining pair of Matheson cylinders and got a first coat of epoxy primer on all four for rust prevention. Can't find the camera, so you'll just have to imagine the cylinders in a nice shade of gray."

Bob, it has been a couple of weeks. How is the Avanti reconstruction going? Making any progress on the brakes?

And here is Greg's report for Wednesday. "Avanti: Rainy and cool, so I just looked in on the car. Still there, so decided to work in the shop. Bead cleaned more seat track parts. Originally cad plated, but when clean I'm just giving the the rattle can treatment. Found a shade of aluminum that looks close. Not a show car. I might have gotten the two remaining parts done, but being the ones with the adjustment handle, they are more complicated. The chrome knobs need to come off. Held on by set screws that take a teensy weensy Allen wrench, and of course it's lying on the floor of the car, so I'll get it next trip. Also, do you notice anything odd in the photo? I didn't at first. Both knobs have the setscrew pointing inboard. Matheson: Spent the evening staring at two of them through the window of the blast cabinet. One photo shows the fittings. One fitting is for the drip oil to the cylinder bore. The other must be a compression release. A ball bearing is held tight against its seat until the screw is loosened. Body of fitting has a relief drilled through its wall."