unimogjohn

It is Wednesday AM, June 23rd. Got a call last night from our hay farmer down the road, said that he had about 30 bales of hay down in the field, and that had no chance to load them before the storm hit. If I could come in the Unimog before the storm I could have them at half price. So the race was on. 3 PM and storm clouds looming, and 95.4 degrees outside. The things we will do for hay. We rumbled to the field, and Alice drove in first gear (walking low) and I pitched them in. In 30 minutes we were done. Got home, covered up the hay, and jumped into the pool, then the storm came. Close, but we made it. Here is Greg's report from last night. "On the Avanti saga: Got a lot going on in an attempt to get things off dead center: I got the cam sent to be renewed, Spent a few minutes this evening cleaning the spring dampers and retainers (see pic). Ordered a new set of springs. Ordered seals and gaskets for the heater and steering column. The out of stock vertical window runs are supposedly being formed. Made contact with the guy who made some carpet sets for us forty years ago Retired but still doing a few favors. Sounds the same over the phone). Asked him about the warranty. The last set was in storage and I need him to fix me up with the two pieces that attach to the inside of the firewall above the toeboards. Said he'll get right on it as soon as my sample arrives his place by UPS. So, not much to show for the last few days."

It is Tuesday, June 22nd. Did I say it was hot yesterday, 94 degrees. Going to be more today and lots of humidity. Heading out early to water the animals and put the regulator back in the Avanti. Gives me the chance to clean up that portion of the engine bay. Here is Greg's report for Monday. Must have been a battle. "Longest evening!! Accomplishment: two defroster hoses."

Well, Greg said I could use his spare until I found something, but I hate to borrow stuff. So until I can fine one I have ordered a 35 amp unit from a 1976 Honda Civic. Suppose to be an exact fit and use the same connections and regulator. $45 to my door. Pics when I get it.

It is Monday still, but PM, June 21st. Ran to Greg's house this AM and picked up the regulators and alternator. Came back home and replaced my regulator with his known good one. No change in the charging, still in the negative. So removed the alternator. Got to Bill's (the re-builder) about 1:30, he was there, working away. He stopped what he was doing and took the time to put the alternator in the testing fixture, once he got it hooked up and attached the wires to his electrical meters he knew without spinning it that something was wrong. So he tore it apart in about a minute, the strator and its windings looked fine (they were new in the previous rebuild a few months ago) and then tested the rotor itself (the big red hunk of metal in the pic), it had a ground short, the wiring inside it was bad, and to make matters worse the ear on the front broke off, must have had a stress crack so when I removed it, it just fell off, so it is no good. Bill said it is only good now for parts. Will now go on Bob Johnstone's web site on Avanti and see what I can do for a quick replacement, looks to be a 70s Toyota or Honda alternator. At least the regulator is fine. Here are a couple of pics of the alternator. Will let you know what I decided to do in regards to an alternator.

It is Monday, heading over to see Greg, he said he had a spare regulator and alternator. So will replace the regulator first to see if that is the problem. If it still does not charge then will pull the alternator and take it back to the re-builder. Oh, and I noticed that one of the mounting ears on the alternator is cracked. Does not seem to be an issue with mounting right now. Also filled up the gas tank last night, it was reading a bit less than 1/4. Put 12 gallons in it. So the gauge reads about 1/4 lower than it actually is. So when it reads empty, I still have about 5 gallons in it. A good safety margin. At least it works. But it is too bad that when you buy something, from a major Studebaker part house, that is suppose to function like the original and be calibrated correctly out of the box, one is a bit disappointed in the vendor.

It is Sunday, PM. Had a great time at the car show. More than 230 cars registered; and lot of folks came to see them all. We had lot of people take a look at the Avanti and come talk to us. The most words I heard was "Look! It is a Studebaker!!!!!! And it is an AVANTI! It is surprising how many people know of the car. Needless to say we were the only Avanti there. There was a 1941 Studebaker there too, but it was powered by a Chev 350. Here are a few pictures of the show. The blue Caddy Convertible won the best of show. And we are a farm community, so Alice had to stop to pet a very hot little pig. Had an issue coming home. The amp meter went to discharge most of the way home, came back to charge for a minute or so, then went back to discharge. I think I can hear a noise in the newly rebuilt alternator that was not there before. Will have Alice listen tomorrow as it could be just my imagination. Will probably order a regulator from Dave Tbow anyway just in case it is the old regulator. When we got home had a message that a neighbor's blue Corvette had spun a wheel bearing. I just happened to have the car trailer hooked up so went down and got him, and took them both home. My good deed for the day.

We will be there in our almost done 1923 McLaughlin Buick model 45 Special Export (one of two known to exist). Stop by and say hi. I am also redoing the 63 Avanti that is documented in the Restoration forum. Going to have the 23 judged to establish a baseline and to document what the judges say must be done to complete the car. Arriving Wednesday PM, hopefully around 6. Staying in the alternate hotel. And will be in class 17b.

30 Hubb, yes, she is all original, including the grease on most of the mechanicals. Greg wants to keep her as fresh from the barn as she can be. He is having problems with crud in the gas tank and is working to clear that without disturbing the tank and plumbing. And, here is what he said about the making of the steering panel for the Avanti. "Coordinated efforts on the part of Phil and John via phone and email resulted in enough information to fabricate a missing garnish moulding for the steering column. The moulding was probably the first part to come down the conveyor belt and the car was built around it. Steering column goes through it. Probably missing because the last guy to have the steering column out FORGOT TO PUT IT BACK until after the steering was in the car. With no spare to be found, I made a replacement out of 20 gauge steel. Primed and ready for paint."

Still Saturday, but PM. All ready for the car show tomorrow. Greg called in the early afternoon and need some measurements on the metal panel which seals the steering column to the firewall. So I took a couple of pic of mine and sent them off. A while later Greg sent me a some pics of what he had made. It is different from mine as he has a four speed transmission while mine is the automatic. He does great work, and it looks even better than factory. Here are the pics, mine and Gregs.

It is Saturday, June 20th. We took the Avanti out to a neighborhood farm party last night. Lots of great food, good company, and a great blue/grass band. Fun time on the farm. But I digress, here is Greg's report. He sent a pic of the Avanti work and I am including a pic of his IH. "No Tango lessons tonight so Friday night spent cleaning the fuel tank of the '14 IHC. Might take the old Cornbinder out this weekend. As for the Avanti, the rubber gaskets for the vent window came in today. With that project on hold until I can find new window runs, I whittled away the time trimming the flash from the new vent seals using the old ones as patterns. I also spoke with Delta Cams about renewing my R2 camshaft. They assured me a one day turnaround time. If I replace the R3 dual valve springs with R2 singles, some adjustment will have to be made. The heads have been counterbored to accept the duals and I'll have to machine some kind of spacers to maintain the placement of the smaller singles. I guess we'll get into that later."

John, the cap should be vented. To check, wait until the engine stalls, run to the gas cap and take off slowly. If you hear a wheeze/hiss when you open it, then that tells you that it has pressure inside, this is a no, no. I would recommend that you put in a temporary see thru plastic filter just before the carb so you can see what is happening to the fuel flow when it stalls out. If you still have fuel in the filter then you probably have a carb issue. If no fuel, you have a pump or glogged fuel line or tank problem. These filters are only a few dollars at any auto parts store. Just make sure you get the one that fits your fuel line.

What a beautiful car. Great job. Thanks for saving her. Bet she drives and cruises really nice. Thanks for sharing.

Marvel, circa 1927/28, Buick standard car. Buick used the brass bowl early in 1928 and then switched to a pot metal body, which is prone to cracking as the carb ages. I believe the same carb was used in 1927. Yours is missing a few critical parts.

From your description I am going to assume that you have a hand operated wiper. The only thing you can do to correct the wobble is to re-bush the hole where the wiper goes through the windshield. Not a hard job. You just have to make sure that you get the correct size and length of the bushing. I drilled out the old bushing, and then used JBWeld to cement the new bushing in place.

Friday, June 18th. In my project I have mentioned Shadow, our black lab, and the llamas as helpers. An artist down the way decided she wanted to paint Alice and all of our critters in one scene. I think she has titled it "Saint Alice of the farm" or something like that. The artist is very good, and we have a couple of small things in the house. I have included a pic of one of the paintings. I found out last night that she has a blog and has posted pictures of her progress on the painting. Pretty interesting. Here is her website if you are interested, and then click on the blog heading. The pics are on the first page, and then click on older posts at the bottom to see the llama and the complete picture. You can see how she sketches it out before she starts the painting process. Maybe she will do the Avanti and Alice? Linda Lawler- Artist And here is Greg's report. "Trying not to step on any toes here. I'd ordered some parts earlier this week. First shipment arrived today. Or should I say some if it. I requested bulbs for the instrument panel. Avanti meters are lit in red (aircraft influence), the bulbs are painted red. When you paint them yourself, during the MISERABLE installation process, you scratch them and they don't glow red any more. So I ordered them already coated. Some arrived unbroken. I did have enough to service the dash instruments, so this evening I lay under the dash. Note: No photograph. If I couldn't see what I was doing, why should you. Also from the same supplier I ordered the long door window runs to replace the old ones. Didn't come. Evidently they are out. Called and was asked to call back Monday to talk to the parts department. Might be out of stock which would require fixturing to prepare more . Sometime. And by the way , the "other place" has them, but rumors are they don't fit. It sure was a joy to restore these cars forty years ago when factory parts were available. Now it is a nightmare. Also, I've gathered some used camshafts (two R2 and one Golden Hawk), and a set of used R2 springs with dampers and retainers. The camshaft decision will be forthcoming. Then it will be up to that cam grinder, even if it is to just "touch up" the stock cam for me. He's probably packing for that cruise to Alaska right now. These delays are very frustrating. On a big project like this, it's hard enough to keep up the enthusiasm, even when things go well."

I see in the catalog that Bob's Automobilia has some for your year. Look under the suspension category, page 9 in my catalog. You can download the catalog from the web site. Bob's Automobilia

It is Thursday, June 17th. Our Avanti is all washed, cleaned and ready for the Father's Day car show in Warrenton, VA. It is a pleasure now to just turn the key and immediately feel and hear the rumble of the 289 with just a little whine of the supercharger in the background. This is what it is all about. But, Greg is continuing while waiting for engine parts. Here is his report. "Finished the cleaning and lubrication of the trunk latch mechanism before returning it to its place in the car, then primed and painted the release handle. Pictured is the handle, you even see the paint drying."

More on the oil question, in particular zddp and diesel rated oil. To John, the engineer, from Greg: OK, since you opened the diesel oil, I've been requested to ask: 1. Why not use straight diesel oil? 2. I understand they are going to devalue the diesel soon. Does that alter your approach to your Mustang oil changes? Response from John to Greg: 1. Why not straight diesel oil? I'm too cheap, it costs more, and I like the 10W30 weight better. 2. I don't know what the plans are for diesel oil; I'll find out. It would make sense to reduce some of the additives since diesel exhaust aftertreatment is a hot topic these days. They don't use catalysts but thermal reactors, and I'm not sure what the issues are. I'll get a hold of a friend in Texas to help with that one. I have not reviewed the ZDDP info yet but ZDDP additive packages are a legitimate way to get good engine protection (costly because they have a captive market), but may be the only way to go in the future.

It is Wednesday, June 16th. Greg continues to press ahead on his Avanti. Here is his report from last evening. Me? Well, I attached the car trailer to the Trailblazer and pulled it out of the pasture. Went over everything and made sure tires had correct pressure and everything was in good shape. Had to replace a couple of running light bulbs. Getting ready to take the 23 to Louisville at the end of the month. Greg's report: "Looking for something to accomplish, so I spied the new trunk release cable in its box. Remembering the advice given, hooked a wire to the free end of the old one before it is withdrawn from it's snake like path through deepest darkest Avanti. Did that, got the old one out and the wire through. Hooked the new cable on the wire and fought it through. When trying to secure the handle end in its place I found that it wouldn't fit. The boss on the mounting flange was too big to fit into the hole in the body. Crap. Take the cable back out and back to the shop for alteration. The boss is a nut that retains the cable to the mounting bracket. Not much material available to remove from the outside diameter. Took what I could safely remove. Reassembled, cable reinstalled, still won't go in the hole. Back to the shop, file some flats on the sides , back to the hangar, still won't go. More trips, more filing. I also noticed that the stem on the repro was much longer than the old one. Cut it down and filed a flat for the handle setscrew. I finally got the cable to fit and seat. I have the trunk latch soaking in paint remover to lift the carpet glue. Next I'll throw that handle in to get it stripped for fresh white paint. Moral of the story: The new cable was quite expensive, from the major supplier. Didn't fit, doesn't have a key to keep the handle from rotating, will be prone to rusting solid like the old one should the car live outside like a lot of them did. If you need one, try T-Bow. I know his is stainless and much cheaper. Don't know how it fits, likely better than this one. Or......get the original one out, soak it in penetrant, clean it up and put it back. Saves a lot of time and swearing."

It is Monday PM, Greg is working late as usual. He has been busy cleaning and scraping. Getting ready for the engine install. He still has lots to work on so he not missing that engine being ready right now. I know that he has the brakes, suspension, and lots of little things to do. Greg sent along a pic of the redone cross-member and I included another pic of what it looked like a few weeks ago. Quite a difference. Here is Greg's Monday report: Spent the evening degunking and painting that removable crossmember. Real glamorous. Screwdriver Puttyknife Wire brush Paint remover Garden hose Air hose with nozzle Shop rags Rattle can primer and black No progress on other issues.

More on that slippery issue between the retired Ford dyno engineer and Greg. From Greg to the engineer: John, OK, so what if I dope up the ND oil in the Stoddard with some STP? How do we find out the chemical composition of the new vs old formula? This to see which has the most zddp. Is there any detergent in STP? My engine certainly isn't broken in yet. Would the addition of STP hamper ring seating? OK, we're off to lunch. Too bad you're not coming along. What kind of oil do you like on your salad? GREG. Reply from John, the engineer: Greg, If I were having pasta salad, I suppose Shell oil would be appropriate. STP old vs. new, I don't know what they did. I'll see if I can find out. The old was basically an oil base stock with heavy additives. It has viscosity improvers to thicken it up, zddp for wear protection and detergents, and rust inhibitors. Here I need to drift off and get into detail. The change in oil formulas from GF3 to GF4 was to cut the additive package just about in half, at the same time improving the base stock oil considerably. The thinking was that the phosporus in the zddp compound would "plate out" on the front face of the catalyst and delay light off time of the catalyst, thus increasing emissions on the EPA test cycle. I did tons of testing on this and could never confirm it really happens, but the decision was made and here we are. The plus side is, the improved base stock oil in GF4 formula is very good oil. Now I leave hard data and will guess a little. Did the STP guys reduce zddp for the same reason? I don't know. Stay tuned. In the meantime, there is an oil formula on the market that did not reduce additives, in fact has twice the additive package of the old GF3 formula. It is the oil used in diesel engines. The high pressures in a diesel engine need wear protection, so they get a big dose of zddp. Remember that '65 Mustang I drive? I mix 4 qts. of 10W30 GF4 oil and 1 qt. of 15W40 diesel engine oil for all the wear protection I need. Give you any ideas? John >

Wow, now that is a sludge engine, it is a marvel to see how it was able to run. It is Monday, June 14th. Hit 92 degrees with high humidity yesterday, but Greg was at it. We are still shearing llamas. This is Greg's Sunday report: We interrupt the conversation about oil for this special report. I did a little work on the car. Today I sanded and painted the radiator support. The attached pics are very poor. It actually looks a little better in real life (a dark hangar). The engine repair is on hold until the cam and lifters are here. The lifters are out for regrinding, supposedly this week. I also want the same firm to regrind the cam and give me explicit instructions , his choice of assembly lube and oil to break them in. This might take a while. The cam grind hasn't yet been decided upon. This shoots all my plans to the double hockey sticks. Hoped to have most of a car by Fall. In the meantime, to detour to other issues, I'll have to order parts, etc. I called Phantom Auto Works about the ordered upholstery panels. They have been delayed by their supplier. The quarter windows can't be secured until the quarter panels are in, so that's another holdup. Maybe there's a Popsicle in the freezer.

Chris, starter/generators rarely need repair except for brushes, a new battery, and/or lubrication. With that said, why do you think that you have to remove it? What is wrong?

It is Sunday, June 13th. Greg and John the engineer continue to have a discussion of HD and non HD oils in the prewar cars. Good information that I have not heard before. Here is their latest conversation. From Greg to John the engineer: Hey John, I hope that you aren't too busy to enjoy the Mustang, and that my stupid questions don't bore you. As for Mr. Sharon's motorcycle engine, knowing of his qualifications and his understanding and respect for machinery, I'd think he'd been on top of things. I came away from his seminar thinking that the lower number of the multi-weight might not have the ability to lubricate well enough in some cases. Concerning the low mileage driving issue: I have a newly restored Stoddard-Dayton car. A fifty horsepower ohv four cylinder. I recently changed the oil for the first time. Drained the twelve quarts of ND 30. That's what I put back in it. It is a roller tappet system and I don't think zddp an issue. When asked why I didn't go with HD, I just answered that I didn't really know why, other than a bad previous experience with another car. I did'nt know that it had spent it's entire service life on ND and I used HD. Trailed smoke and empty oil cans until I retired it. I've been told that HD cleans and suspends contaminants for the oil filter. The oil filter in my Stoddard is a sheet of steel in the oil pan with some holes punched in it with an ice pick. Knowing this car will remain a low mileage piece, cold weather operation not likely, and with annual oil changes.....am I to be scolded for using ND? I've detoured from the Studebaker because of the early cars I own, all of them have roller tappets except one. My '10 Overland as I recall doesn't have rollers. It uses (get this) square tappets in square bores. No rotating them. As if roller tappets were something new, even the novice engine builders the Wrights used roller tappets starting in Dec 1902. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm enjoying my education. GREG. From John the engineer to Greg: Great questions. Let's get into them. The detergent in oil (phosphorus, as in zddP) will clean and suspend dirt and combustion by-products. ZDDP is a compound that has both zinc (anti-wear) and phosphorus. It is a package deal. If you use ND oil (non-detergent) you get base stock oil with no additive, no zinc. For any new or newly rebuilt engine you should be using HD (detergent) oil. For an older engine that has run for years on ND oil, the switch to detergent oil (HD) can break loose the accumulated sludge and plug the pick-up screen. Don't switch unless the engine is rebuilt. Do switch with a new (rebuilt) engine. It will add years of life. A little disclaimer here. I don't have much experience with engines from the 1900 - 1920 time period. Clearances were big, bearings were copper lead or babbit with the ability to imbed metal particles. Modern aluminum bearings are hard and do not imbed, so metal particles can destroy the oil film on bearing surfaces. Modern journals are machined to closer tolerances than older engines. Don't bet the farm on my advice for a pre WWI engine. I've had cars with no oil filter, or a partial system like on my 57 Chevy. Change your oil once a year or every 5000 miles and you should be good. John

Bill, the Unimog is a model 404. Used by most of the NATO European armies in the 60s through the 80s. Over 60,000 were made. They were all powered by a 90 HP gas engine. They have 6 forward and 2 reverse speeds. Has shift on the fly, 2 wheel, 4 wheel, and 4 wheel with lockers. They are rated at 1 and 1/2 tons. They come in many variants; cargo carrier, troop carrier, command box, radio box, ambulance, fuel/repair, and a few were even converted to gun platforms. Top speed is about 55, but really she runs best at 45 or so. MPG is about 12. You can get a nice restored driver in the US for about $10 to 12K; a fixer is about $5K. Parts are very easy to get from US sources and are not that expensive. Our DMV classifies the truck as a pick-up, one ton. It is easily licensed for the road. Insurance is about $200 a year. We have had ours for about ten years, imported it from Belgium directly from the army, and we use it on the farm to haul hay, feed, supplies, etc; and to get is off the mountain when the snow hits 3 feet or so. It is about the only vehicle moving. Here is a couple of pics.