unimogjohn

David, thanks. I found them today also. I will check them out if I decide that I have to scrap my current block.

Sunday, September 18th. Farm stuff like mowing and cleaning barns today. But I did clean the area on the 1928 engine that has the water/coolant seepage. Tomorrow it will be slathered with JBWeld. Looks like there is a lot in there already. Then will let it cure for at least 24 hours.

Chris, I am assuming that the new block will have to be bored over the standard and also the old engine pistons are standard and therefore will be too small for the new bore. But I will not know until I disassemble the old engine and see what is in there.

Hi all, a while back (and now I cannot find it) there was a discussion about using Jeep amuminum pistons in a 1928 standard engine. Do any of you recall the conversation? My current engine has several cracks in the water jacket. They have been fixed by using JBWeld. Now I have another crack. I am thinking I should just bite the bullet and replace the block. I have a good block that I bought a few years ago from Dave G. in Maryland. But I am sure that it might need an oversized piston once it is cleaned up. I have no idea what size is in the current engine and I do know that it has been opened up at some point, so it could have either steel or aluminum pistons. Does anyone have any knowledge of this subject? I know that Egge will make me some, but at a significant cost, like $2000. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Saturday, September 17th. Here are a couple of quick updates. Avanti: The upper gasket set came in today. Lots of different gaskets for a valve job. New head gaskets, exhaust, intake, etc. Not bad for a price of about $60. And now I have valve cover gaskets, yahoo! 1928 Buick: Greg Cone got back to me and recommended a machine shop in Winchester, VA. Only about a hour away. I think that I will take the block for them to look at next week. A while back there was some discussion on the Buick pre-war forum about using Jeep pistons in the 1928 standard Buick engine. The Buick engines had cast iron pistons, and they are unobtainable. An aluminum piston is much lighter and more available. Egge will make a set for me, but I was told that it would be around $2,000 for a set of 6. I have heard of rebuilt engines costing in the neighborhood of $7,000. I really do not want to go there. Heck, that is a price of a Jaguar engine. So I am going to ask around and call folks to see what my options are. Took the ten year old 6 volt battery off the charger, only registers 4.3 volts. It's done. So I ordered a 6 volt Optima starting battery/red top for $112. I have one in my 1923 McLaughlin, and it has never let me down. I think that I will probably switch them and have the newer one in the 23. I think that battery is about four or five years old. 1923 McLaughlin Buick: Spent an hour with my can of Rustoleum gloss black paint and hit all the nicks I could find. I declare the old girl ready for Hershey.

Got her done. The engine is as clean and bright as I can get it in eight hours of wheeling away. I am covered in grime from head to toe. The block is in good shape other than rust and scale in the water jackets and the busted bolts. I think the machinist should be able to clean everything up and give me a serviceable block again. I have asked Greg Cone for a recommendation of a local shop. The block in the car now has a number of 205679-4 2/28; the new block has the same number but 4/17. These must be the date code. The engine in the car now is probably original, but it has certainly been opened up. I can see that the casting plugs have been changed, and a bunch of JBWeld on the water jacket. In addition they used blue RTV as gaskets for just about everything. I will look for a gasket set at Hershey, if I cannot find one, I can order a set from Olsens Gaskets in Washington. As a final note, I put back on the glass fuel filter. Tomorrow will put the battery in to see if it will turn the engine and put in fresh fuel. I just want to see if it will start and run for a minute or so. I would like to get the block warm before I put the JBWeld on the crack. Here are pics of the cleaned up block.

OK, now I am using various tools to get the old grease and oil off the block. There is still some Buick green paint on the front of the engine under all that grime. Using a wire wheel to get the rust and gunk off. Working OK. Pulled off the final two fittings external to the engine, of course, one bolt broke. There are a total of eight bolts that have broken off in their holes, most are to attach the head, I will let a machine shop handle that. The deck looks pretty good, some pitting, but I think that it can be planed down to take most of the pitting away. The cylinders themselves look really good. I think that with a minor scuffing to clean them up, they will be fine. No ridges or scoring on the walls. I used WD40 to clean a couple of the cylinders, and they are still nice and shiny. I have a mechanical caliper that is not too precise, but used it to measure the piston opening, it measured 3 1/8 inches. I will have to check my manual to see if that is within spec. Meanwhile, I have to quit to let the air compressor cool down. It is working really hard.

Next up was pressure washing the block to see if I could get all the old gunk off of it. Sprayed it with engine cleaner and then washed the heck out of it. I am soaked. Even used the washer to clean out all the rust, or some of it inside the water jacket. Most were plugged. Now will dry it off with air and do some more cleaning.

Still Friday, taking a mid morning break. Finished making the fuel bowl gasket. I could buy one, but why? It is such a simple make. Done, and ready to go back on.

It is Friday, September 16th. Just a couple of things before I get started on my day. I pulled the 1928 cylinder block from the storage shed. Bought it a few years ago for $200 in a "just in case moment". I guess it was good that I did, it may be that moment. It looks to be in good shape. Today I will pressure wash it and see if I can clean it up a bit. The cylinder walls look good too. I will have to borrow a gauge from Corvette Wayne to measure the cylinders. The previous owner has put on heavy grease on the walls, which is still there. I can see no rust. It does have several broken head studs, but I am sure that a machinest can get them out. Going to use some carb cleaner on the engine block in the car in the area that has the crack. When I laid the car up, water was leaking in drips from the area, so I know the crack is not a large one. And if the battery charges up will attempt to turn over the engine. And of course will put fresh gas in it. And when Brownie the van comes home it will be treated to new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor.

Now for a report on the 1928 Buick. First, a pic of a wheel that needs to be restored/cleaned and rubbed with tung oil. Second, smelled the gas. Awful, so I pumped about four gallons out of the gas tank and a pint or so out of the vacuum fuel tank. Some nasty stuff, but very little debris in the fuel glass bowl and screen filter. The gas was the color of coffee. I think that it was turning back into oil. Now I can put in some fresh, real gas. Third, pulled the battery so I could clean and charge it. I bought it in 2006 and seems still to be good. I will put it in the car tomorrow and see if it will turn over the engine. If not, I will get a new one. Fourth, took a look at the engine were I think it is leaking. See the little rust spots in the pic. Had to use a mirror to see the underside of the head. Notice that there is lots of JBWeld on the block's water jacket. This does not bode well for a repair. However, I will smear on some more JBWeld to seal the crack. It is under no pressure as the coolant is not pressurized. Fifth, pulled my spare block from its hiding place in the shed. Purchased it for $200 about five or six years ago. It is dirty, but the cylinders look good. Will clean it up tomorrow and give a report. That is all for today. Where is that beer.

Thursday, PM. Done for the day. 1923 McLaughlin Buick: It is done. Spent about an hour digging out the broken post in the bow. I did not make too much of a mess of the wood, but had to go deep enough to get a grip on the end so I could screw it out. Now all I have to do is finish the charge on the battery, put the top down and move it into the trailer for its trip to Hershey in two and a half weeks. Here are the pics of the operation.

Still Thursday. Seems like I have a lot of irons in the fire. So here is what is going on. Avanti: Wanted to get a set of valve cover gaskets. Way too expensive at over $30 plus shipping. But I can get a full upper gasket set which includes the valve cover gaskets for $63 from Rock Auto. They have been ordered so now I will have lots of gaskets for the upper end of the engine to include head gaskets. A much better deal. I am also sourcing a duel master cylinder kit. I am really unhappy with the braking of the car now that it has the Turner front disk brake setup. Just too little poop from the little original master cylinder. The cost of the kit is around $200. 1928 Buick: All cleaned up inside and outside. Looks very nice with clean glass too. Filled the tires with air, they were all 20 psi or so, they need to be 32 psi. The wooden spokes of the wheels need a few coats of Tung oil as the finish has evaporated over time. Now I can get to the engine to see what is up with the cracks. 1923 McLaughlin Buick: Engine bay has been detailed, see pics. Charging the battery. Vacuumed the top, looks great. The car is ready to go back on the trailer as soon as I fix a couple of lift-the-dot posts, which broke off on the last trip out. I have to dig them out of the wood as the screw portion of the post is still imbedded. 1979 Chevrolet Sports Van: Still at Daniel's shop. On the back burner. Nothing done this week except to cut out the passenger side rear corner. I delivered three more rattle cans of body paint. Daniel has lots of other work now, so Brownie has taken the back burner for a few days. Also include are pics of an original 1947 Harley Davidson Knucklehead motorcycle. It is all original. Daniel's job is to get it running again. It has been sitting untouched for 30 years in a basement. And he is putting in new wheel arch panels and rear valance to a Mustang. Enough for now, back to the garage.

Still Thursday, a few years ago, John Lee of Australia fame, sent me a couple of very old period pics of other left hand drive 1923 McLaughlin Buick's in Australia. Turns out there is one known left hand drive 1923 McLaughlin Buick in Australia (Richard Brenner). So mine is one of one in the USA, and one of two in the world.

Thursday morning, very early, like 3 AM, September 15th. Just a little more history on the 1928 Buick. I met the daughter and her son when I went to look at the car. She said that it was her mother’s car. In the 1930's she remembered that they took it from their diary farm in Burlington, WA to Seattle, WA during the fall to sell produce, mostly apples, pears and cherries. She said that they removed the rear seat and stacked the rear of the car with boxes of produce. Back in the day it probably was about a 4 to 5 hour trip, one way was about 70 miles. During WW2 the car was put on blocks as there was little gas for a pleasure car, and the fuel that was available would be used for farming. After the war the car was put back into service around the community for five or six years. Then, its useful life up, it was put on blocks in the milk barn. There she sat until I bought her in November of 1987. There is a oil change sticker on the driver's door jam. It says that the oil was changed on February 21, 1950 @ 40,533 miles. The car now has 43,425 miles. So between then and now, the car has only traveled 2,892 miles. Or about 43 miles per year. I have not been able to find any mileage records of when I bought the car. Our longest trip was in 2000 when we drove the car to the Buick Nationals in Richmond, VA. A round trip distance of about 250 miles. Here is a pic of the sticker and the car at the Richmond Buick Nationals. Boy, we were young back then. Here is a pic of the sticker.

Still Wednesday. I have been fussing over the condition of the 1928 Buick with its broken engine. I talked to Mitch (a engine rebuilder/machinist of all things older than dirt). I told him about my cracks in the block, and he said that he has fixed many blocks by stitching the metal and would be happy to do mine. So that is what I am going to do. So today I uncovered the old girl and cleaned the outside and vacuumed the inside. Only the engine bay and windows left to go. I hate working on a dirty car. Here are pics of the car. I bought it in 1987 from the daughter of the original owner. I paid the grand sum of $5,000 for it. The car is still mostly original, the fenders, hood and the lower portion of one door were repainted by me, as well as the replating of the radiator surround. The body color, Harbor Blue and Black around the windows is still original, as is the top material and the interior of the car to include the carpet in the passenger compartment. At some point the wood for the battery cover broke, you can see how it was repaired, the tin is on both sides. Here are a bunch of pics to include the box of spares that I carry with me.

Wednesday, PM, September 14th. With Alice's help we got the top up and secure on the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. I will vacuum it tomorrow and then put it back down. It will not fit in the trailer with it up. The top is approaching maybe ten years old, and it still looks brand new. It has been in a few rain storms and several trips on a open car trailer. David Coco, our own Trimacar on the forum, did it for me. And as a side judging comments. I was chided at the cars first AACA Hershey showing a few years back for not rolling the leather straps for the top and the rear tire. The chief judge was kind enough to roll them for me before judging started. Now we do it every time. Here are the before and after pic of the loose and rolled leather straps so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. Only the engine bay to clean now, approaching the end game.

Oh, I penned an article for the Buick McLaughlin Club of Canada back when I first bought the 23. Thought you might enjoy the history of the car as known to me.

It is Tuesday, PM, September 13; and it is hot, hot, hot....... so I turned on the AC in the garage to 74. Ahhhhhhh, perfect. Spent about seven hours cleaning the 23 once I got it up on the lift. Up in the air I was able to get to places I had not seen since I had put the car together many years ago. Now the undercarriage is clean, the wheels, and the body. All ready for Hershey. Only the top left to do and will do that tomorrow. A good vacuum of the top should do it. I do have to do some touch up painting. Nothing major, just stuff the judges will see and knock off a point or two. The pics are before cleaning.

Who knew, Avanti top five muscle car according to FOX. http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/09/12/top-five-luxury-muscle-cars/?intcmp=hpffo&intcmp=obnetwork

Monday, September 12th. Finally, a day under 90 degrees. Nice as the humidity is way down also. So I spent the day in the garage. Cleaned up the Avanti and the Jaguar from a weekends worth of driving, and then drove the 1923 McLaughlin Buick out of the trailer, around the hood, and after a few miles bouncing down our country roads, into the garage. I did have to prime the vacuum tank to get it running. So I spent a few hours cleaning her up. I am going to get it up on the lift as I have to adjust the brake on the left side of the car to get it in sync with the right hand one. The car only has two wheel rear brakes so it is very important that they work together. And I have to spend some time detailing the underside of the car and the wheels also. Will be great to work on everything with it up in the air. I also opened up the front window for some more air while driving, air conditioning at it finest. The big Hershey AACA show is coming up in early October, the 5th thru the 8th. I will trailer the 23 up on the Wednesday before the show, which is Saturday. Then on Sunday we have the Hunt Country Classic British car show on Sunday. It will be a very busy weekend.

And how long did it take you? Great car.

and the band played on. The MP4 file is large and will download to hear the band playing. So if you are still on Dial-up, don't bother. P1070977.MP4

Sunday, September 10th. Late or really early, can't remember. Down a back track of a dirt road, we drove the Avanti over three miles over the hills of Virginia. We finally came to a big tract of woods called Gratitude House. The land and buildings are all owned by Dos, our Ford Model T friend. First time we had the honor of going to his place to see his collection of "stuff" and to attend his annual Model T and friends. He is on over fifty acres of property, mostly woods with lots of shops and run in sheds for all his cars. He has over 24 Ts and As in various states of rebuilding. And he has lots of other stuff. Jeeps, Jeepsters, TR6s, motorcycles, etc. You name it, he has it. He loves to build Model Ts and has parts to build over a 100 of them. He must have 5 or 6 under construction. He never sells them either. Oh, and he built everything himself, no contractors for him. Here is a taste of what we saw. The Model club was there in force. They are a touring group, no trailers please. They drive everywhere. They just returned from a 75 mile jaunt through the backwoods. Only one fatality, our Paul Rose of Vintage Motorcars, either broke a crank or rod as his T came to a dead stop with lots of smoke. Good thing he owns his own shop. And with over a hundred guests, we had a great dinner and good conversation with lots of folks we did not know. And a country band too! It was just a great afternoon.

Joe, for the time being I am just going to rattle can the repairs. Bought four cans of the correct color paint. All I want for now is that it is one color with no holes or rust. I plan on prepping a section at a time over the winter, and maybe in the spring I will have it sprayed, or I will spray it. After all, what could go wrong. I really want to get new front seats. Maybe we can take a trip to a junk yard when you are here in October and pick out a couple.