unimogjohn

Paul, Here is a Google pic of one like it. It is a heavy duty piece of steel for sure. They also use it to drag and smooth out their gravel driveway.

It is still Thursday PM. Well, I met Wayne at the paint shop. We had to wait for an hour or so until the paint guy came with his special camera to read the color. We had him read two places, one in the trunk/boot area and the other on the rear fender. They are going to give me two pints. The painter told me that he will be able to make me an exact match for what I want to do. While waiting around the shop I had the opportunity to talk to the owner, John. John was a racer in his youth and was a mechanic with the Jaguar Group 44 professional race car team. They sold all the cars in 2013. You can Google Group 44 racing if you want to know more. Now John owns his own little shop and works primarily on Corvettes. He had several in the shop in various stages of restoration. Looks like they do a great job. Wayne is working there two days a week so that gives John some extra help as he has only one employee. Like I said it is a small shop. Wayne is working for some barter time for work he wants to get done on his latest P/U truck project. Besides he like to be around cars, and this fits the bill. John had a Jaguar 12 cylinder in his office. Neat motor. He said that it has been rebuilt and tuned, 5.3 liters, about 400 HP. Here are some pics I took. Got home and was going to work on the Avanti, but was told I had to go and change out implements on the JD tractor, so off came the bush hog and on went the arena groomer. Man, these things are huge.

It is Thursday, July 17th, AM. For today we have a Greg report. I have not had a chance to get back on the Avanti fuel pump installation. Will probably be tomorrow. Just too much farm stuff going on that has to be done. For example, we heat in winter with a wood pellet stove. So we buy them when they are on sale, before the heating season begins. Last year, we used two and half tons of pellets, only one 40 lb bag left from last year. It was a hard winter. So this year we decided to get three tons to be safe. So that is 150 bags that we have to transport home on three pallets, load individual bags onto the tractor bucket, 10 at a time, and move them to the raised back deck, remove them from the tractor bucket and stack them. So yesterday, we broke down two pallets of pellets and moved them twice. Lots of lifting, moving and transporting those 100 bags. We got it done, moved a total of four tons yesterday. My arms feel a little longer today. Over the next day or so we will do the last ton. Heading out this morning in the Jaguar up to the paint place where they are going to "shoot" the paint to see if they can match it. That will take six hours, so the work day is shot. Anyway, here is the Greg report. "There has been a lot going on since Saturday's jaunt to fetch the Paul Rose Avanti. He's since found that the carburetor quite gummed up and step rods stuck, etc. and now he's now beginning the chore of dumping old fuel, changing out filters and such. He'll give it a good going over, he's been doing this kind of work most of his life. The car is in good hands. As for me, Sunday was spent studying for Monday's rectal exam. Barbara saw to it. My first experience at this, the worst part was gagging down those liters of Drano, not the lost sleep. How did I do? Well, the doctor did find that pencil eraser I swallowed in the first grade....and now I guess they are still looking for that lost Malaysia 777. Tonight saw some action on the Black Avanti 5054. Time was spent tightening the fluid cooling lines to the transmission. This includes that auxiliary front mounted cooler. While working up front, I've also gotten the radiator hoses clamped and alternator belted and secured. More check marks on the big list. Might hear this thing run yet." =

Still Monday, but PM. A huge storm just ran past us. Lots of lightening and thunder. We got about an inch of rain out of it. A power surge blew up the telephone so we need to get a new power supply, it let go with a zap. Scared the heck at of everyone. The afternoon UPS truck brought the two Avanti fuel pumps. I had planned to put the original one back in the car tomorrow, but while I was working on the Avanti this morning I took off my glasses to see the underside of the door a bit better. Of course I rolled on the glasses and broke the frame. Off to Costco tomorrow morning for replacement. Never a dull moment. I did get a note from Paul Rose. He talked about his new Avanti. It seems that the carb, which is not original, was totally gummed up. He cleaned it up and got the car running OK again. He plans to go through the fuel system to include rebuilding the fuel pump, draining the tank, and putting in new fuel filter. He is on the hunt for a correct Avanti R1 carb. He says that the car is about 95% correct as it left the factory. It is a no AC car. It is a four speed.

It is Monday, July 14th. early PM. The sins of others. Spent some time yesterday with the Jaguar and the battery compartment. Wanted to see how the new battery covers might fit. The battery compartment is behind the seats. You have to move the storage tray up and away, and then open up the compartment. You will then see the two holes for the small 6 volt batteries. I have a single 12 volt, the smallest car battery that you can get (fits only the Mazda Miata). So the plan is to mount the two covers so I do not lose any judging points for not have them and take a deduction for the single batter. By the way, a normal 6 volt battery will not fit correctly in the boxes, too tall. You have to buy special imported batteries that actually fit correctly. I noticed that the open box had developed some acid corrosion so decided I better get the baking soda out and clean it up. Did than and found that the rubber coated the previous owner/shop put down over the metal was bubbled. So I dug it out and found a rust hole. I explained the problem to Wayne and he said to just use a step drill down to good metal and then put in a rubber grommet in it for now. Good idea, I think I will try that, so ordered a step drill, needed one anyway. I fitted the cover over the empty hole. Turns out that the side brackets for the compartment have been turned opposite from what they should be and will not permit the cover to be secured. So will have to fix that. On the side that has the battery it also is too tall and the modern cable ends are too large for the cover to go over it. So am going to have to do some mods to the battery to get the cover to at least fit on top of it. More on that later. Also thought I would take a pic of the XK120 Match Box model that we found last year, which is painted in Pastel Green. And of course, Bella was helping me out too. This morning I decided to spend some time with the Avanti. I bought some door seal rubber a few months ago so it is time to work on that project. The rubber on the car now is probably original and is perished. Some is missing, other parts hard as a rock. So have worked about three hours and got 95% of the rubber and old glue off the driver's door. Going to finish tonight when it cools down and then use cleaner on the door to make sure the 3M adhesive works good. The other rubber on the door and window are still good. Of course the vent wing windows will need new rubber. If I am lucky, the Avanti carbs will be here today.

It is Sunday AM, June 13th. Some great new from Greg. "Today was a memorable one. Barb and I again met with Paul and Preston Rose for a special trip. After a determined Avanti search, Paul was really serious about one, and we were to go see it. Three hours away in the heart of "darkest" West Virginia. The car looked spectacular in the forwarded photos, and the details warranted the trip. Having most of the features on his wish list, there was a special reason to make the journey over the Allegheny Mountains. The car had only accumulated eleven thousand miles since new in 1963. This is the "newest" fifty year old Studebaker I'd ever driven. Talk about tight....what a creampuff. Near flawless interior, original wheels and Firestone tires stored for safe keeping (with less than ten thousand miles on the tread they were like new). After a brief drive, it didn't take Paul long to decide it was going to Virginia. Following the transaction, he and Preston were off. sitting all those years wasn't kind to the car's fuel system, but it did very well. It was doing better, however, until Paul decided to put the super tune on the carbureter in a McDonald's parking lot along the way. Note to Preston: Take that pocket knife away from your Dad. The resulting deprovement made for some anxious moments for them in the Winchester traffic. Save the carburetor adjustments for the privacy of the home garage. Ps. Paul J.....check out the lubrication stickers on the door. Small world. Neat day! =

Chris, will be here. Will have the Jaguar out and will give you a ride. Worked a bit more on the Avanti this PM. Of course I left the lights on with the battery and walked away to chase a neighbor's cow, which had escaped from its pasture. When I got back to it, the battery was flat. Got the charger back on and charged enough to check out that both high and low beams work on both sides. They do, success. I now just have three wires to soder and shrink wrap, and I will be done.

Still Thursday, PM. Just plain hot. Have the Avanti about half done with its new wiring. It will have to wait now until it cools down a bit. And I got a call from Dave Tbow. The pumps are done. He said that the new pump had a metal shaving that had bound up the pump. With it removed it now works. He also rebuilt my old pump. He said that the vacuum side was leaking and had allowed oil in to the chamber. So it now has all new parts. They will be shipped today and will be here about Monday. He told me that he would advise putting in a fuel filter before the pump to keep any debris out of it. I now have a spare pump or if Greg or Chris need one, it will be on my shelf. The cost of the rebuild was $120 including shipping. On, and I got the new battery covers for the Jaguar. I need to pull the Jag out of the trailer on Saturday as we are going to a local party and old cars are invited. I will see what they look like on the car. Hope they fit. And Wayne took the Pastel Green paint sample into the shop to see if they can match it. Later update: The thermo ceramic paint came in the mail today too.

Chris, will take you up on your offer for the line. Will get it from you at some point. It is Thursday, AM, June 10th. A huge storm last night, we got maybe two inches and lots of wind and lightening. No damage here that I can see, but I did hear lots of chains saws working late into the evening. This morning am going to repair the Avanti headlight wiring. Hope to have both high beams working today. And I got a short note from Greg. Here is his report. "I have been dabbling on the black Avanti 5054. I'd ordered new braided stainless cooler lines from a place in Winchester, VA. Finally shipped to me several weeks later, and they were all screwed up. Drove them back to find out they don't make them in house, details sent to a hose company in Cleveland (!). Hoses returned, and they gave me a refund. Now I'm making them up myself from components catalog ordered. The Fourth weekend was spent in solitary with a head cold. Still trying to shake that. Paul Rose is making great strides in shaking out R2 4 speed Avantis. Quite a list he's accumulating. Several even close by. He'll find one that talks to him."

Bill, I am going to attempt to touch-up the Jaguar exhaust manifolds while they are on the car. Plan to knock off the rust with my trusty Dremel grinder and dab on the paint onto the bad areas. May not be perfect, but it will look much better for sure. In between storms so decided to see what is up with no high beam headlight on the drivers side. At some point in it Avanti life, the wiring harness shorted out, so the owner put in new wire, but not the same colors as the original. The passenger side works so it is just the drivers side. Got my meter out and started checking. Opps, found the issue. I hooked up the wrong wire from the harness. So when the storms pass I will do some rewiring. Only problem is that I do not know what the other wire goes to, maybe it is the horn wire (I don't have a horn on that side). More checking to do. I also received a call from Dave Tebow. He is going to work on the fuel pumps today. They should be on their way back to me tomorrow. Yahoo!

A quick search of images on Google came up with a 1949 truck. Note the clearance lights on top of the cab. Here is the pic. You might also find this link interesting. http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1949-reo-speedwagon-pickup-the-hunting-trophy/

Bill, glad you are getting everything back on the road. On the brake, is the spring on the left in the pics, too loose to pull the shoes back when you step off the brake pedal?

Dear Reo, a picture of the truck would certainly help. Or at least find the data tag and gives us the data from the tag. The tag is usually on the firewall in the engine bay.

Chris, I did get a short note from Dave on Monday. He said that he was working on them. I hope to hear something in the next couple of days. After the storm tonight it cooled down to 80 degrees. Cool enough for me to have some fun and get under the Avanti to route the new gas return line. Well, now I know why the old line was below the frame. There is not enough room to run a hose or the steel return gas line through the small space between the frame, the main fuel line, and the body. It looks like the original metal line was about 1/4 inch in diameter to make it through there. I will head to the local parts store and see if I can pick up a section of the small diameter steel line. At some point in the cars life the small line must have broken so they replaced it with a larger line that would not fit in between the frame and the body. So I will have to do some work to make it all work again.

Steve, easy if you take your time. And no need to remove the water pump. I am gong to assume that your 4 cyl set up is like my 6 cylinder. Disconnect the battery. There is a pin on a collar in between the starter shaft to the water pump. You have to drive out that pin and then push the collar forward to the water pump. This separates the shaft. The collar is usually rusted in place. Use lots of penetrating fluid. Tap it forward with a metal drift pin. Lightly now, you do not want to damage or break it. If you look close at the pic you can see the collar just forward of the distributor. Then remove the cover over the flywheel. You will then see a couple of bolts that hold the starting gear to the case, remove them. Disconnect the wiring, marking each where they go, make a diagram too. Remove the bolts from the underside of the S/G that hold it to the block. Have a helper hold and lift out the S/G. It is very heavy. The S/G is really a simple machine. It is easy to take apart and regrease the bearings and replace brushes. There are a couple of fiber bushings on the control arms, do not lose or break them as you will have to make new ones out of nylon rollers. The S/G will not work without the bushings on the arms.

This is what I am attempting to correct on the Jag. Pic of the exhaust manifold, lower shelf of the firewall and you can also see the red plastic wiring, and the large rubber grommet that needs replacing. The red wires hit your eye immediately. I also have some canvas type sleeve from the 20s cars that I can also use to enclose the wire that should look period. I may try that too.

Still Tuesday and hot. Too hot to work outside so spent an hour or two looking for a paint code for Pastel Green, which is the Jaguar color for the XK120. I have a small bottle of touch up paint, which has turned to gum, and it has a number. So looked it up and found out that it is a DuPont paint number. I have asked Wayne to check with his painter to see if he can mix me up some. I also found some extreme temperature black paint and bought a pint. It may not be gloss enough, but at least it will cover up the rust spots on the manifold. Here is what I bought. It says it will take temps to 1500 degrees. I will take a pic of the manifolds and post them for reference. $40 to my door.

Sure glad that Chris and John are adding to the blog. It has been so hot lately we cannot work outside for long. But it is Tuesday, July 8th, AM. I was out at the Avanti by 7 AM and since her nose is pointing to the sky I decided to change the oil and filter. Well that is done for the season. Put in Shell diesel 30 weight. It has more detergent than auto oil and a bit more zinc. I also put in a bottle of zinc supplement for cheap insurance. After attending the Jag picnic last weekend and talking to the judges for the concours, I have decided to put the XK 120 into the Champion Class on September 21st in Reston, VA. For the past two years we were in the Driven Class. The Champion Class is much more rigorous. It includes the chassie and engine bay plus many details not judged in the Driven Class. So with the concours in mind I have budgeted $500 for a few upgrades. The first thing I have decided to do is to add battery covers. In the judging they will look at the battery compartment behind the seats and under the package tray. They want to see the battery covers, two of them, and two 6 volt period looking batteries. I have a single 12 volt battery setup. I am not going to change the battery so will have to live with that major deductions. At least I will not lose points for not having covers. I found a set for $120. Normally they are about $300 from a Jaguar supplier. So it was a good deal. Here is what the cover looks like. I am going to get major deductions in the engine bay so that is where I am going to concentrate my efforts. The bay is original and has not had any painting, so as a result there is major flaking on the firewall. I am going to see if I can have some paint mixed and do a couple of areas that really show. Other areas include bad rubber grommets, a couple of frayed hoses for the heating system, incorrect worm gear clamps, wire not cloth covered. Fixing those items should help and will not cost an arm and a leg, but they will eat up the rest of the budget. And of course the exhaust manifolds are porcelain, and they show pitting and galling, so there will be another major deduction for sure. I will also get a major deduction for an alternator versus a generator. For sure I am not going to change that.

It is Sunday, July 6th, AM early. Got an early start this morning to beat the heat. Got the seat support all fastened down. It was somewhat difficult to put the large washers on the underside of the bolts to give the fiberglass floor some support. If the washers are not there, they can pull through the floor. Not much room to work with fuel lines and a muffler in the way. But got her done and the seat is back in and secure. Oh, and I gave up on replacing the dash lights. Just no way that I can see to replace the speedo and tach lights without removing the dash. So the Avanti beat me for today. Then saw the return fuel line mis-routed outside the frame. And it is partially squished to boot. So will fix that this morning also.

It is the fourth of July, Happy Birthday America. And here is a link to the latest "airlift" Avanti story, with Greg's Seabiscuit on display. http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2014/July/02/avanti-airlift-reunion Been raining hard for two days, big storms rolling through and high heat. Finally, today we get some relief. I think we are heading to a local car show and lunch. Not taking a car for once.

It is Tuesday, early PM, June 1st. Not much going on here. The heat index is over 100 degrees so we are sticking inside this PM. But looks like Greg is already back from the Studebaker show. Here is his report and pics. "Our plan for today was an early meeting with Paul Rose and son Preston. When I say early I mean that I didn't realize that there are actually TWO four o'clock s in the course of a day. Pleasant trip to Dover, Delaware to the Studebaker National swap meet. Picked up some of the chrome plating being done for 5054. Paul spent the day kicking tires and picking the brains of those in the know...on his search for an Avanti, supercharged and four speeds. Upon my return I was able to get the taillights assembled and installed on the black Avanti. Photos of crossing the Bay Bridge, a couple of the pics are closeups of the landscape shot, Sandy Point. Also the taillight assemblies and the vent window frames." =

It is Monday, June 30th, PM. Well, two more make ten. Raven and Bella arrived at our home. We are their new caretakers. Bella feels right at home, and Raven is a little more aloof, but she lets us pet her. Looks like they will fit right in with the rest of the pride. The more the merrier I say. Spent the morning mowing. Love making designs in the lawn that look like some deranged hospital patient did it. Actually, I really enjoy it. By 1 PM it was just too hot, but I did get most of it done, maybe two acres or so. I then decided to test fit the new seat bracket for the Avanti. It looks like it will bolt up just fine if I just apply a little pressure to make sure that it hits the floor hard and flush. I think that I will put in a couple of small bolts to make sure that it lays flat and then put in the pop rivets provided. Here are a couple of pic. And of course, pics of Bella, who is three, and Raven, who is five.

Bill, come on down. We have friends that moved from PA and upstate NY to get four more months of good weather before the cold winter sets in. They love it. Your cars would fit right in too. Still Sunday but PM. Just got back from the Jag picnic. Had a great time with lots of folks and Jaguars. Good car talk. One of the concours judges encouraged us to enter the Champion class in the upcoming Concours in Reston/September. I think I will. We have been in the Driven class and have scored 2nd both time. Maybe it is time to step up to the "big boy" class. Here are some pics of the picnic.

Still Sunday. Just in a great report from Greg. "Saturday was a playday. Barbara and I set out in Seabiscuit for a special event to participate in a photo shoot. We were pleased that old friend Paul Rose wanted to ride along. (Brief commercial: Paul wants leads on a nice R-2 fourspeed). First a bit of background. In 1962 when the Avanti was first introduced, it was debuted to Studebaker dealers by having them assemble and seated on bleachers in hangars in select major cities.....Avantis were delivered by Fairchild C-82 's, offloaded and then sent screeching to a halt in front of them. They must have been sweeping up eyeballs for days. Anyway, it has been determined that the Fairchild Museum in Hagerstown, Md owns the very fuselage (still stored in Wyoming) and a functional sister ship. After legwork and negotiations, one of our most active Avanti club members (codename Gunslinger) was able to arrange a gathering of cars and permission to photograph. The museum staff outdid themselves in moving their C-82 out of the hangar and allowing access to it. That included the recreation of offloading a car. My car was selected. About a dozen Avantis of all descriptions were staged and since the photos are to appear in the media I will only include these few teasers. We then gathered at a nearby Airport Inn for a good meal and visiting, then a very pleasant drive home. PS. Thanks to: Bruce, nice job of arranging this event. Bob and Paul, great job of guiding me up the ramps. I knew I was in good hands." =

It is Sunday, AM, June 29th. Started work on the Trailblazer at 8 AM and wrapped it up at 10:30 AM. I ended up having to cut off the ends of the new tubing to make them suitable for the new rubber hose. I used a small cutter so I did not get any debris in the lines. I did put on a slight flare on the ends of the steel lines. Got everything lined up and put everything back together. The transmission fluid was down about three quarts. Started her up and checked for leaks. None so buttoned everything up and declared a success. It is easy to see the new rubber hoses so will check them frequently for any leaks. Here is a pic of the new lines and attachment. Oh, and I spent a total of $130 on the repair. Pulled the Jaguar out of trailer and will check it over before we head out to the Jaguar Club picnic in a couple of hours. I hope that everyone brings their "cats". It is an overcast day and the temps will be in the low 80s. Just right.