unimogjohn

It is Tuesday, October 6th. Loading the Jaguar this morning for its trip to Hershey tomorrow. I plan to spent the day looking at old car parts and cars, and visiting with some old friends. Will be a very nice day for sure. Weather looks to be great. Here is some great information on the Wright Brothers model EX airplane of 1911. No one said that flying was easy during this time or healthy for one's life. Here is the link to the Vin Fiz transcontinental airplane.

It is Monday, October 5th, PM. Spent most of the day repairing the driveway. Pushed a lot of gravel with the little Kubota tractor. But I did take a couple of hours to do fun stuff. First, I mounted my new air hose ratchet system. Boy, that guy is heavy. Put it higher than my head so I do not walk into it. The hose is 50 feet long so it should enable me to reach almost everywhere in the garage. I have it mounted in the middle of the front wall. Then I turned my attention to Brownie the van. I have a water leak in the moon roof, and the water is getting inside the van. I think that it is coming from the glass seal itself. So I removed the glass frame assembly, removed all the old sealer, cleaned the glass, and will re-seal it tomorrow. I don't think that the frame mounted to the roof is leaking, but if I continue to get water in the van I will remove all the old sealer and re-seal it also. Here are a couple of pics. One of the pics is of the cleaned glass ready to be re-sealed.

Kinda. I think it is 50 x 25, but it is not insulated or heated. Wayne said that it will be a month to get the engine done and back into the car. So we are starting to look at cold weather. We do not like cold anymore.

It is Sunday morning, October 4th. Rain, rain, rain, but not the eight inches forecast, just two. Headed over to Caramo Steve's place yesterday morning. Corvette Wayne was already there, beat me by an hour. Anyway, we jumped right in and removed the Caramo's engine. Then we proceeded to gut it and get it ready to take to the machine shop. The entire job took us about three hours. No problems with the take out except that the top two bell housing bolts were a little tough to get to. Upon visual inspection the innards of the engine looked fine. It had been obviously rebuild during its first restoration. It had aftermarket pistons that still look very good. We boxed everything up and Wayne will take everything to the machine shop on Monday. The plan is to make the engine a reliable street performer. Wayne plans to build the engine with our able assistance. It looks like the decision has been made to do the work in my new garage. In a couple of weeks we will put the Camaro on the trailer and bring it over. I certainly have the room for the work, and heat too.

It is Friday, PM, October 2nd. It has been raining pretty good all day. 3/4 of an inch so far, but it is really raining hard now. Temp is only 51 degrees. One of my winter projects is to rebuild the front end suspension of the Jaguar. Looking back at all the maintenance records and oral history from previous owners I believe the front suspension to be all original. Upon inspection, one of the shocks is leaking fluid, and most of the rubber parts and bushings are either age cracked or starting to turn to mush. A full suspension kit is about $300 not including shocks. So I have decided to start acquiring parts over the next couple of months. The first thing I have ordered is a pair of front shocks. GAZ is the manufacturer. The shocks are a quality shock made in England, adjustable, and reasonably priced. Shipped to my door is $218 for the pair. Here is a pic of the shocks.

Chris, we have a 20K whole house generator connected to our propane supply. Good for about a week of running full time. The Trailblazer is still on the trailer. I keep hoping it will heal itself. But after Hershey the Suburban will be available to haul her into the local Chev dealership. Sure glad the hurricane took a right and headed out to sea. Dodged a bullet.

It is Thursday, October 1st. Waiting for a Nor'easter storm tomorrow and Saturday. The weather folks are saying 8 to 12 inches of rain and high winds in a 24 hour period. The locals are cancelling all the Fall festival events for the weekend. That new had the crowd and vendors at the Fall Carlisle show running for the hills. I went up with Corvette Wayne and Camaro Steve. The weather was OK, no rain, but cooler, 50 degrees. But it really was not too bad walking around. But the crowds were way down and the cars for sale maybe numbered less than 100. Usually, they is like 400 cars offered for sale. We walked about five miles and then decided to call it a day around 2 PM. Saturday we are going to pull Camaro Steve's 350 engine. Wayne has the rebuild all planned out with some minor upgrades to include a 3/4 race cam. It is going to sound like the Avanti for sure. Here is some information on what a Nor'easter is. We can expect not only rain, but lots of wind. All the trees are still in full leaf so many branches and some trees are going to come down. Massive power outages are expected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor%27easter

David, 30 x 60, so 1,800 square feet.

Monday, September 28th. The day of reckoning. I always told you that I would share the cost of the new garage. So here it is. It does not account for our labor in putting up the wall board and insulation; some of the electrical labor; and lift pickup and installation. Garage costs: Building and construction: 43,177 Site Work: 10,680 Site Drainage: 4,500 Concrete Work: 11,556 Electrical: 8,517 Wall board and Insulation: 2,131 Car Lifts: 4,050 HVAC: 8,100 Cabinets: 700 Tools: 700 GRAND TOTAL: 94,111 I had originally estimated that it was going to cost us about $72,000 to $80,000. I was way off on site prep/drainage issues and the cost of getting power to the building. Hopefully, this will help you all in estimating your dream garage. I got mine, and I am a happy boy.

It is Sunday, September 27th, PM. Camaro Steve and I started work on his engine at 9 AM and quit around 3 PM. After looking at the condition of the engine and discussions with Corvette Wayne, Steve has decided to pull the engine and have it rebuilt. Just too many unknowns about its condition and little issues. I agree with him. The engine had three burnt valves, two in one bank and one in another. Piston tops looked OK, but there was some obvious scratches in one piston relative to all the others. The scratches did not look like honing to me. Steve only wants to do this once so a rebuild it is. We have it down to disconnecting from the transmission and disconnecting the motor mounts. That is about it. Everything else if off and put aside. The engine is original to the car and has had a least one refresh/rebuild. It has 104,000 miles on the clock, which we believe to be original based on the documentation provided with the car. So in the next few days we will put the car up on blocks, brace the transmission and pull the engine. Wayne is going to take it to the machine shop. Then Wayne is going to give Steve and I a lesson in building a 350 Chev engine. We also decided that we are going to the Carlisle Fall Show on Thursday for a walk around. Being retired has its benefits.

Still Saturday. Boy was I surprised by all the clattering coming up the hill to the farm. What the heck! It is our neighbor, Dos, in his Model T Ford pick me up truck. He rolled to a stop and asked for water. He explained that he was out for a drive and needed water to fill his radiator. We were happy to oblige. While filling up the radiator, he explained that he has about 17 Ts and is fixing them one at a time with all the parts he has. He is getting them all running and then going back to the first ones to do the cosmetic stuff. This was a pretty nice example from what I could tell. Great living out in the country, you never know what will be coming up the driveway. Oh, and Camaro Steve just called. He did a compression check on his 350 in the 1967 Camaro. Oh no. Little compression in one cylinder. Looks like a head problem and probably the reason for the engine to be running rough. More on this issue later as we figure out what needs to be done.

And here is a good article about the Jaguar XKE's that are being manufactured. I call them reproductions, but that is just me. There are also some YouTube videos on the manufacturing of the new cars if you care to do a search. http://www.wsj.com/articles/jaguar-brings-the-1964-e-type-racer-back-to-life-1436469390?mod=ST1

It is Saturday, September 26th. This morning I finished up detailing the Jaguar. She is all ready for the Hershey show. Only thing to do now is to load her into the trailer and head off into the sunrise. I plan on taking her up on Wednesday, October 7th, and then walking the fields until dark. We will head back up early Saturday morning for the show. And this morning Greg sent me this link. It is all about the Wright airplanes that we moved all over the field last month. http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/02_on2015-wanted-wright-collection-home-180956606/?no-ist

Spinnyhill, great idea, but I really do not want to start replacing all that felt. But I did a version of it. Headed into town this morning and picked up some brown felt at the local fabric store. They only had one shade of brown so my choice of color was very limited. I removed the screen cover and decided that I would just put fabric over the speaker itself sans cover. That did not work out as there is nothing to hold in the fabric. So in the end I decided to just cover the speaker grill and glue it in. Worked great and is reversible if I find the right color of felt. But this is OK. It looks much more brown in the pics, in real life it blends in. Hopefully, the judges will not take off too many points for this little "cover up". The car does have an original radio, called a Radiomobile, made in England.

Still Tuesday and this is the garage and car stuff I did today. Not too exciting, but progress none the less. I still had the shipping legs from one of the lifts and a couple of 2 x 12s. So decided I would make another table. So here is the result, a new 6 ft long work bench. Cost: Nothing. Here are pics of it upside down, finished and then one in it's place. Now my work space is complete except for a couple of hanging cabinets. Here is a pic of Brownie the van with her new shoes. She looks very happy. And I also spent about three hours detailing the engine bay of the Jaguar. It is about as good as I can get it. Here are some pics. But I do have a problem. I do have modern style speaker covers on the back shelf of the Jaguar. These certainly are not correct and will result in the ire of the AACA judges at Hershey. If I take them out, there will be big holes in the shelf. I think my only option is to somehow cover them in a similar material as the shelf. The shelf is a real light mohair type fabric. I also could just cover them with something that does not look like a speaker cover. These are the shock strut covers from the 89 Taurus SHO. I could just glue some fabric on them and call it done and hope for the best. I certainly welcome any ideas.

We have a report from Greg on this day, Tuesday, September 22nd. Here is his final trip report from the Old Car Festival in Dearborn, MI. "OK, I'm getting complaints from the Peanut Gallery about not concluding our Greenfield Village event coverage. When we left our intrepid party, we were with our 1910 REO, in the dark, in a traffic jam at an uphill intersection; and I might add in a REO that had faltered and quit with a bang. No, not a tire this time. A backfire signaled the need to get out, get help and get it out of the way. Pushed across the street and into a driveway, I pondered what course of action to take. A cell phone, the Paul Rose clan, a '23 Buick and a tow rope to the rescue. We finished our third lap of the gaslight parade in tow. Deposited in our designated parking place, old REO spent the night under the stars. I thought part of the problem might have been a weak battery, so the next morning Nathan and I went shopping for a new one. Back at the Henry Ford we hopped a ride with Rob and Paulela in their REO to get started on ours. A morning's work and lots of help to no avail. I resigned myself to the fact that it was done and we were going to do other things without it. I was really disappointed that Nate wouldn't be tooling around in it. After seeing some of the exhibits and hopping a few rides, I was notified that the class judges wanted to see me. They wanted to present an award to a dead car? The Paul Rose Towing Service to the rescue. Actually, Paul and I both had earned a Curator's Choice Award for I guess the best Unrestored Car in Tow and Unrestored Tow Car Award. I think everybody enjoyed the show. Now that we've been back in Virginia I've had time to roll the old car out of the trailer and start the autopsy. It would run briefly on the fuel squirted into the priming cups but wouldn't continue. This seemed to me that the ignition was working, nothing had jumped timing, was getting plenty of fuel to the carburetor, had compression.....just wouldn't use the fuel it was getting. I took a night to dismantle the carburetor and manifolding. Gaskets looked fine except one of them, obviously ancient was discolored . Fresh gaskets cut and they happened to be ready when the next evening I was favored with a visit from a friend who I'd never met. Bruce Van Sloun, a REO, Overland, Ford, and Autocar guy from Minnesota rolled up his sleeves and joined in the fun. With everything back in place, he pulled the crank and seems its health has been restored. Seeming to be on good behavior, we did take it to a show in Manassas where it was noted to be the oldest car in attendance. Now that I've returned the Fesermobile and matching trailer to John and Alice, I guess the REO will rest comfortably. And it still has air in the tires. Moral of the story: If you like early cars, do attend the annual Old Car Festival in Dearborn. There's nothing like it." Photos: Paul hooking me up. A couple shots of being towed through the reviewing stands. Bruce making some hot laps (Note to self: add water next time). =

Bernie, I think that we all understand. Keep us posted on the sale progress. You may decide to do"just a bit more" while waiting for a buyer. I will miss your posts for sure.

Monday, replaced the borrowed flex fuel line and did a two hours cleaning of the underside of the Jaguar. The judges at Hershey take no prisoners. I really have to work on the engine compartment and make sure it sparkles. The interior is already gleaming. I also took off the rear tires of Brownie the van and replaced them with new ones. She is now fit for the road again.

If it is Sunday, it is the Jaguar Concours. We were up and at em at 5:30 AM. Hit the road at 7 and were in line for the pre-safety checks at 8:15. I think that we were in our position by 9:00 AM. The car ran great, and we were cruising along at about 65 to 70 mph. The new tires are great. I think there were about 50 Jaguars there. Way down from previous years. Fewer and fewer of the early XKs and many more modern Jaguars. Times they are a changing. But we had a great time talking to folks, and Alice was the gracious hostess inviting one and all to sit in our Jaguar. We were awarded a second place in the Driven Class of XK120/140/150s. First place went to a beautiful pastel blue XK150 Coupe. He should have been in the Champion class as I think he would have won that class. Here are the pics I took. The 1950 XK120 (green with spats) took first place in the Champion class. It was the cat next to ours. It was a very nice car. Had been restored 15 years ago, and then sat for the next 13. They just got it serviced and running last week. I sure hope they plan on using it more. And of course we had some excitement too. A 1975 Cadillac that was in the show as a guest caught fire. Sure glad we all had extinguishers. It was quickly put out, but the car had to be towed away. It was a carb fire, which caught the rubber lined air filter on fire and spewed out a huge flame out of the filter housing causing some of the wiring and insulation to catch on fire.

David, he spoke highly of you and your Cord at the ADC Museum a few years ago. One day we will all have to go out and have lunch with him. Interesting guy for sure. I would like to see his other garage also. And thanks Dave! I put in the new flex fuel line and no leaks. The cat fired right up. I used two Italian made hose clamps from the era. I hope the car won't mind. At least they look period. In actuality I am not suppose to have the rubber line. It was all copper to the flex line when it was born. At sometime in its life it was cut apart. After the Jaguar Concours and the AACA Hershey Show I plan on putting in a metal fuel filter tucked onto the frame. It does have a fuel filter before the electric fuel pump now so I am getting filtered fuel. Here is a pic of the installed line. And Joe in Washington sent me a pic of his 1955 Buick Special on his new lift.

Still Friday, but mid afternoon. Picked up the new tires for Brownie the van. They will go on today. Next I have to take off the rears and get them in early next week. New shoes all around. Hopped into the W8 Passat and headed off to Dave H.'s home to get the Jaguar flex fuel line. Got it! Will install when it gets a bit cooler outside. Dave lives about an hour away from us. He has a big four plus car garage that is jammed with parts and cars. He has a 1964 Mercury Caliente, 1937 Cord that he as owned since 1953, a couple of Ford Model A, and a completely original 1954 XK120 OTS, which he has owned from the mid 1960, said that he paid $400 for it back in the day. He told me that he has other cars in another garage nearby. One is a MGA Coupe. Here are the pics I took.

Still Friday and AM. Forgot to bring in the camera last night from the new garage and was too lazy to go get it. Hence no pics of Brownie with no shoes and the Jaguar flex fuel line. So here are the pics. Note that you can see light coming through the flex line in the pic with it in a vice. And in another shot I am pointing to where the hose had broken. Hope to pick up its replacement today. Of course it has special fittings for attachments so you cannot just make something up without damaging things down the line. Of course it has already been buggered up as the copper line had been cut and a rubber extension inserted. I guess that it was for a more easier installation sometime in the distant past.

It is Friday morning, September 18th. If it is Friday then we must have another Greg report from the Henry Ford Museum. This is only part 2 so more can be expected. "I'd better get back to the Old Car Festival story before the trail grows too cold. Having driven the REO very gingerly to its display area, we set out on foot to see the sights and to catch up with old friends. Glenn Miller made a special effort to make sure Nathan and I got our rides on the demonstration copy of Henry Ford's 1901 racer, the Sweepstakes. As is the theme there, with so many examples of old transportation passing before our very eyes, it wasn't hard to flag down any with empty seats available. One, special to me, was the magnificent Stoddard-Dayton seven passenger touring car. Lucky for me the owner could get it stopped because I'd run out in front of it waving my arms. Huge. Paul Rose was intent on wearing out his Buick. Too many to mention (I understand there were over nine hundred applicants), we made the best of our time until our appointment with Dave Liepelt, a museum staffer. That was for our personal tour of the railroad roundhouse. Then another special event. Nearing darkness, we hurried back to the REO to get it started for the gaslight tour. An annual event for cars with lamps lit, it has also been referred to a gaslight traffic jam. Barb, Nathan and I began our lapping of the village circuit. Once, twice, and then on the third circuit......as we approached the most difficult part of the course where after passing through the covered bridge, the street winds up a hill to an intersecting T in the road where a stop is required. I noticed the car was faltering a bit and then just as it was our turn to stop......bang. More to follow. Photos: Nate on the Sweepstakes The big Stoddard-Dayton Paul Rose again Railroad repair shop A cold and blustery day, Barb trying to warm in the back Nathan amused about something"=

David, I am sure also. We now have a station in Marshall, VA that carries real gas, but only regular. Corvette Wayne has a stash of real gas race fuel. I bought six gallons from him and put three into the Jaguar and three into the Avanti and filled them both with real gas. Only using real regular gas in them now. All my mowers and gas tractors get real gas also. I was so tired to rebuilding carbs and fuel pumps on the farm equipment. It seems like the non-gas stuff turned to muck in less than 30 days. I am still using Stabil year around also, figure that it cannot hurt.

It is Thursday, PM, September 17th. Busy day. It began with taking Brownie the 1979 van out for a run of about 30 miles. More than she has gone in the last ten years. She ran great. So I decided to take off the two front tires and take them down to get new air stems. The old ones were about ready to fall off from rot. I looked at the tires date code and it said 2001. So the tires are 14 years old. They still look new, but are cracking between the treads. I told the tire place to put on new tires. I will pick them up tomorrow. I will then check the backs and if they are in the same condition, I will replace them also. Then I decided to start up the Jaguar and position it so I could put it on the lift. Hit the start button. Humm, the electric pump was pulsing and the electric SU pump was clicking away like crazy. So I stopped the cranking to investigate. Wow, about two pints of fuel on the ground. What is going on? Had Alice come out after I had put the Jag on the lift. Had her get in the Jag and turn on the key so I could see what was going on. Fuel spewing from the flex hose. I removed the hose and could immediate see that it had failed. The rubber was cracked under the wire flex tubing. I ordered a new one and hopefully it will be here by Saturday. But just to be on the safe side I contacted an old Jag mechanic to see if he had one. He did, one that I could borrow. So I am going to pick it up tomorrow. I did head into town to see if I could get a fitting that would accept a rubber hose, but none were to be found that would work. I went to a dozen places. So hopefully I will have the Jaguar running tomorrow PM. I was worried that we would not make the concours on Sunday.