unimogjohn

Update on the Avanti battery situation. Disconnected the battery from the car and charged it up. The charger went to fully charged at 13.28 volts. An hour later it was 12.64 volts. So it has some internal short. I found the NAPA commercial warranty, 24 months, how long have I had it, 25 months. The cost for a new 3EE battery now is about $130. This is my second new battery since I bought the car in 2009. Looks like they last no longer than 2 years. So have decided to move the battery to the trunk. Bought a complete battery relocation kit from Summit Racing for $165 including shipping. I have a couple of spare batteries so I do not have a new battery expense at this point. This will also get all that weight off the fender apron and the front of the car. Another Avanti project to schedule before winter really sets in.

It is Friday, October 11th, AM. Heading out to get the Suburban fueled up. Gas is at a very low price of $2.95. I got 10.5 mpg towing the trailer to Hershey, and 15.3 mpg coming home without the trailer. Here are a couple of pics of the Hershey program page and my windshield placard. We will be leaving at about 4 AM to be on the show field at about 8:30. That is the plan anyway. A light rain for the morning is expected. I did work on the Avanti yesterday. The battery seems to be kaput. It will charge to 13.2 volts, but within a hour it drops to about 10 volts. I am going to charge it this afternoon after I disconnect it from the car to make sure that something on the car is not draining it. The engine will still turn over very slowly, but will not fire. So looks like I am off to NAPA on Monday. The Jaguar is still in the trailer, all ready for the show on Sunday. Of course, rain is expected. This will be the last show of the year for us. We are burned out.

Bernie, thought you would like to see your car's big brother. This was at Hershey, PA today.

Here is another set. By the time we left the place was really crowded. Everyone was really upbeat because of the nice weather.

How about some more?

Lots of cars available for sale. Most seemed very high, but did see a couple of bargains. A few cars were marked sold.

It is Wednesday, October 8th, 6 PM. Just got home from a day at Hershey. Up at 4 AM this morning and Wayne and I were off at 5 AM. We dropped off the trailer at about 8:30 and then headed to the show. Picked up our show folder at 11. So we are all set for Saturday. Beautiful day and temps in the low 70s. Perfect for walking the fields and looking at parts and cars. Here are just a sample of the cars that I liked. Will take a couple of forum post to publish them all. We left about 2:30 for the long drive home. I am a zombie and pooped. But glad we have the car up there so we will have much less hassle.

It is Monday, PM, October 7th. No cars stuff today, just "getting ready for winter" farm chores. But heading to Hershey, PA tomorrow morning at 5 AM. Will take lots of pics of interesting cars and flea market finds.

Bernie, are you going to do both cars or will one be a donor car?

It is Monday, early, October 6th. Went to start the Avanti yesterday to go to a neghborhood car party. No start. Had to push it out of the way with the tractor so I could get the Jaguar out of the garage. Now the Avanti is in the garage and will go up on jack stands today. And of course, the new battery seems like it is starting to give out. I really do not want to buy another of those long and heavy batteries. I am considering moving the batter to the rear of the car.

Mark, thanks for the valuable information. I was able to find out the adjustment procedure from two sources. I used two books from my collection, Dyke's Automobile and Motor Encyclopedia 1919 and My Automobile, Its Operation, Care and Repair 1924. Both gave detailed general instructions. As a result I was able to finally adjust the brakes correctly with great results. It now stops straight with both wheels now stopping the car. A great feeling as the car only has brakes on the rear. Once you know what adjustments must be made and work from the back to the front of the car, you are all set. My problem is that one of the rods was way over tightened and as a result the lever to apply the brakes could not clamp all the way down on the drum. Once it was correctly set, I had great brakes.

Still Saturday, but PM. Alice helped with the final adjustments of the brakes. Both work equally and actually stop the wheel. I took it out for a two mile test drive and she stopped easily with no wandering as before. So the brakes are finally adjusted and working correctly. I am ready for the big show. I ran the car back onto the trailer and strapped her in for the trip.

It is Saturday, October 4th, early PM. Figured out the brake adjustment procedure with the help of two manuals that I have in my collection. The "Dyke's Automotive and Motor Encyclopedia" of 1919 and "My Automobile - Its Operation Care and Repair" of 1924 were both very helpful in figuring out what the procedure for adjusting mechanical rod brakes. It turns out that one control rod, which controls the length of the pull against a lever was half on. This had the effect of limiting the amount of pressure that could be applied to the shoes, and therefore it clamping and stopping ability. I have released the tension of both control rods so that the levers are in the relaxed position or full off. I then readjusted and check the brake shoes to make sure that they are correctly positioned around the drums. There are three places where adjustments can made to keep the shoes 1/32 off the drums. The final step now is to adjust the two main control rods so they just engage the main brake clamping lever. This will take up all the slop in the rods and make the direct link to the pedal. I will have Alice work the pedal as I make the final adjustments to make sure the brakes are fully engaged and are able to stop the car.

It is Friday, October 3rd, AM; and of course it is raining. So will not be taking out the 23 McLaughlin Buick this morning for a brake test. I think I will lube the steering box. I have a can of gloss black paint and will be doing some touch up painting on the front suspension area. I fiddled and fiddled with different brake adjustments and finally got the two shoes on each wheel to work together. Their are three adjustments on the wheel itself, and then the rods that transmit the force from the pedal to each wheel. Getting them in sync is rather difficult when you do not know what each really does in relationship to the other levers, which actually cause the shoes to grip the brake drum. Not as simple as it looks. On a fun note. We went to the Big Apple Circus last night. Our big night out. The circus performers were great and we had a great time at the little show. Maybe not as grand as the big Vegas style shows, but the performers were excellent and we were able to get up close to see all the action. Well worth the effort to go see them if they are in your area.

Al, OMG! But I do want to thank you for the help. Looking forward to meeting you. Thursday, October 2nd, PM. Worked for five hours adjusting the brakes. Found out that only one side was doing the braking. Now at least I have both shoes on both sides clamping down. One side is better than the other. Found a nut was causing a linkage arm to not travel it full swing. Tomorrow I will take it out for a run to see if it is better than before. I will post pics later on tonight. We are going to the Big Apple Circus in a few minutes. Looking forward to it.

Steve, if the plating and wiring are good on the lighters, $100 to $125. Trouble light is from $50 to $75. And the little signal dash light $25 to $50. Just what I would pay.

I am attempting to adjust the rear brake bands and control rods in order to get a firm pedal and actual braking. Currently only one shoe on each wheel appears to be working. I am working from the back adjustment screw to the front adjustment mechanisms. If any one has done this before do you have any helpful hints or suggestions. My shop manual was of no help.

David, thanks for the offer, but figured it out. The rubber stem is long, almost three inches. So decided to just deflate the tube and see if it would push in far enough so the dust cover fit closer to the rim. With no air in the tube it does push in so only about an inch is exposed. Just about perfect. So put on the cover, it fits now with just about 1/8 inch gap. I can live with that for now. I do have another tube, but I have to get it to the repair shop as it has a leak in it. A job for another day. Going to put the rear of the car on stands and do a brake adjustment. As I said before I think that one side or the other is not working correctly. I need Alice to work the pedal while I look at all the rods and levers to see what is up. This is the last thing I need to do to the car before the show. After the brake adjustment I plan to strap her down and lock up the trailer.

Al, I figured. It is on the spare so it sticks out like a sore thumb. I think I will see if I can deflate the tube and push the stem in far enough to fit the dust cover. Its a shot anyway. If not, oh well. I know I could change the tube.

Thanks David. I am trying. Spent the last two hours hand applying Meguiars Leather Cleaner and Conditioner to every inch of leather I have on the car. Really worked it into the leather, Seats, door panels, etc. My hands are sooooooo soft now. Everything looks really nice. The leather looks nice and buffed rather than a dull mat finish. I will go over everything tomorrow to make sure all the high gloss is knocked off. Found two more Phillips head screws, where are these things coming from? Also discovered that the tools, jack, air pump are not judged. Also the robe rail blanket needs to come out during judging. Things are getting a bit easier.

Joe, the car has been judged once before at the Lexington, KY, AACA regional meet a few years ago. It was not as complete as it is today; and I was a novice as to what could or could not be on the car. As I remember it received a 2nd place award, if that is such a thing. It is Thursday, October 1st, early PM. Headed into town and picked up five gallons of fuel for the 23 McLaughlin Buick. That should give me about half a tank of fuel for a three or four mile run. Should be plenty. I did treat it with Stabil. I arrived home to find the FedEx truck had brought my two tire tube dust caps. Now every tire has one. However, the spare has a very long rubber stem and the special dust cap does not fit all the way down on the stem. I am just going to leave it. At least it is there. The judging rules says it must have one, it does not say that it has to fit. I received two carpet samples from LeBaron Bonney; one was reddish brown, and the other a darker brown. I think now I am just going to look around Hershey and see what is available there. If I find some that will be great and will put it in the car, if not, will just skip it for now.

I just got my 1923 McLaughlin Buick ready for the show on Saturday. It is a left hand drive, export model, model 45. Delivered to Ethyl Edith Hickmott in Maidstone, England. Only one of two known to exist. The other is in Australia. Stop by and say hi on Saturday.

Mike, thanks. From the notes I have from the previous owner, the color is from a 1969 VW Karmann Ghia. I have been looking on the www at what the code might be. VW did not have a burgundy, but several reds. I think this color is L554 Cherry Red, code DBC71511T. To be sure I would have to get and compare a color chart. I do have a small can of touch up paint so have been using that for minor stuff.

It is Tuesday, mid PM, September 30th. I think that my arms have fallen off. Done polishing and cleaning. I declare the car done, err well almost. I still have to take a look at the rear brakes to see why one is dragging. That is the job for another day. Alice and I put up the top this morning. I keep it covered with a queen size fitted sheet so it was pretty clean. Just a few stink bugs managed to get under the sheet. Joe Hopkins told me to buy a few of those clothes rollers to get off the dust and grime. Bought a couple that had 3M sticky tape. It worked great. David Coco (trimacar on this forum) did my top and back seat. Everything still looks as new, and I think that it has been five years or so ago. Thanks David! Here are a few pics of the car.

Still Monday, went out after dinner and went through my spares. I am going to take a couple of small tubs worth of stuff. To my surprise I have collected four distributor caps, two new, two used. They are impossible to find and if you do you will pay at least $250 for new ones. I have one set of new points, and two rotors (one new/one used). I will try to find another set of points at Hershey. I see a new rotor on Ebay for $150 starting bid. Some folks are converting Volvo caps to fit the 1923 Buick engines. I have spare plugs, coil, water pump packing, light bulbs and leather fan belt; and some miscellaneous other odds and ends. I am missing two dust covers for my tire filler stems. One for a rear tire and the other for the spare. If I do not have them I will lose more points during the judging. So I have ordered a couple from Universal Tire. I was going to wait until I go to Hershey, but may not be able to find any so thought it wise to get them. So $60 shipped to my door. I cheated on one dust cap. It has a rubber stem, not a threaded metal stem, so I siliconed one to the bottom of the stem. I think it will hold, pretty solid, and should be OK tomorrow. Here are some pics.