unimogjohn

Matt, I would just measure the battery box and make a note of how the negative/positive posts are orientated. You want to make sure the posts are in the same position as the cables so you do not either have to cross them or stretch them across the battery. And of course, you will need a 12 volt battery. If your car is a driver then I probably would head to Advanced Auto or similar and pick up a battery. Probably will cost you less than $100 for a quality piece. Post a pic of your new ride too.

It is Monday, March 10th, AM. Looks like we may hit 60 degrees today. Going to be an outside farm day for sure. I ordered two new tires for the front of the Kubota tractor. The old ones are both losing air and one has serious side wall dry rot. They are not that old, maybe four years old. I got new, made in the USA, tires and they will go on today. And Greg has a weekend report for us too. "Busy weekend, it flew by again. Saturday saw me and my trusty sidekick Barb make the annual pilgrimage to the Studebaker parts meet in York, PA. Hard to believe it's been a year since the last one. There we picked up some items I'd ordered for 5054, also to drop off some trim pieces for rechroming. Main reason to go was to see some faces and spend a little time with Studebaker people we only see annually. That pretty much devoured Saturday. Sunday, the nice day that it has been, was a good day to spend in the tin barn getting some time on the Overland Model 42. The rear seat woodwork is pretty shaky and the metal work has some rust damage. Photos enclosed of efforts to remove the metal skin from the wooden structure. Lots of nails have been removed and next is the removal of some half oval mouldings. It had been installed with lots of woodscrews that were then soldered over. I'm pretty leery of playing a flame to expose the screw slots.....might wind up with a fire consuming my wooden patterns so I've begun drillling the screw heads to loosen the mouldings. Mother Nature and Father Time have sure taken their toll on the old Overand. Otherwise, this is the weekend to begin trying to reset my internal alarm clock with the time change. And oh yeah, if anybody happens to run into Jay Leno, you might thank him for me. Now that he's off the air and getting more done in his garage, I'm getting more done in mine." =

Chris, welcome back. My "Green Hornet" Avanti is still asleep in the barn. Too wet and cold for me to get her out. Maybe tomorrow, before a wintry mix on Wednesday.

It is Sunday, March 9th, AM. Headed out with Wayne to pick up his engine. He told me that it is a Chev 396 big block. We drove and drove, which seemed like hours, but we finally made it to Soggy Bottom Hot Rod Shop in Timbertown, VA. It is way out in VA farm country. Came to a nice shop and was greeted by Mike the owner. He showed us around his shop. He specializes in Chev Pickups all set up for max horse power. His metal work to include welding up frames looked to be first rate. His shop is only open on weekends and he has another full time job in town. All the pickups were in original color with their dents and scratches, and some with surface rust, which was clear coated. They do not believe in repainting trucks, but to leave them as found. He told us that he sells all his builds before they are finished. Anyway, Wayne's motor is toast. Water got into a cylinder at some point and ruined it. Well, at least Mike had completely disassembled the engine so Wayne does not have to do it.The cam was shot, a couple of bearing were spun. So Wayne gave Mike his money back, and after a nice long visit, headed back home. The highlight was a white, white tailed deer with several other in a field. Never saw one before. So Wayne and I had a good boys day out. It was fun.

It is Saturday, March 8th, AM. Heading off to the south today to help Wayne pick up an engine, a mini road trip. And we have a report from Greg this fine morning. "It is Friday. Got more Matheson engine work done tonight. I'm pretty good about holding up to long term projects, but this one is starting to feel like a career. Since I've got to get the old DeVilbiss paint gun limbered up, I felt it was a good time to lay the paint on some of the parts that have been waiting. Rocker arms, rocker stands, the fuel pump driving gear and cylinder heads. Two coats of gray and now to dry overnight. I'm also enclosing an awesome photograph. Relayed by Andrew King of the skies, it's his 1939 Taylorcraft on skis. Make that under skis. I'd like to give him credit for the photo, but he must have been at the controls." =

Paul, we dodged a bullet last night and this morning. We had nothing but a few clouds. But it is cold. Still freezing and lots of snow and ice still on the ground. When we went to take a look at the TBird it was about 10 degrees. It was sure cold walking out in the fields to get to the barns. Gus is the owner of the crusty TBird. Turns out that he has about ten cars that he is working on or restored. We got to see a couple. They were really nice. Here are the pics I took.

It is Friday, March 7th. Tomorrow the big thaw starts. Going to be almost 60 most of the week. Wayne is almost done with his 64 Corvette, and I am almost in a maintenance mode on my cars. So Wayne, being newly retired, decided that he and I should go in on a car project. He only lives about a half a mile from us and has a complete garage for car work to include a lift. He wants to get a 55 Thunderbird and do a frame off. I said OK. So off we went on our first look about. The first one is not promising. We are passing on this one, but thought you might like to see the pics.

It is Tuesday, March 4th. We had a nice little snow and ice storm yesterday. Maybe got 6 or more inches out of it. It was out of here by about 2 PM and the skies cleared. Figured I better get the little Kubota tractor out and plow us out before the stuff got hard. Boy, was she hard to start, took about two hours to finally get her to go. I had the battery booster on and she just would not cough to life. Ended up finding a heat lamp and heating the fuel supply area for an hour. That did it, started right up. I figure some water had turned to ice and plugged up something. In a couple of hours it was all done. We can get in and out. Not that we need or want to. It is -1 degree here this morning. The coldest I have ever seen it. And Greg was working in his shop like Santa's helper. Here is his report. That Wright V8 reproduction engine is sure coming along. Remember when it was just a bare block casting? "The good thing about being snowed in at work is that everybody else is snowed out. Our snow event is less than the significant storm that they called for. The very fine powdery stuff did accumulate maybe four or five inches. Bad road conditions even kept the boss away, and he lives a short walk from here. So it was a good day to attend to details. It was also a good night for some Matheson engine time. Rob had left some thirties taillight parts to be primed and painted, so while I've got my painter's hat on, I might as well do some of these engine parts that are waiting on color. With some vintage Dianna Krall playing in the background, mindless scuffing and taping of the rocker arms and stands was a great opportunity to let my mind go on vacation. Where did I go? Not sure. I went in search of this Global Warming. I want to get me some. Outside it's a few degrees below zero and I can't even get the door open. Frozen shut. I also went to Charlottesville, Va. to stop by a newspaper archive. Searching for any clue to the ancestry of my REO, I'd been directed to the on line Daily Progress newspapers that date from 1893 to 1923. What a wonderful thing they've done, I think UVA and contributing libraries. So far I haven't found any mention of an REO agency, but in the 1910 to 1913 period I have found references to the Levine-Way-Hill company that handled the Chalmers 30 (yes, Russ, I'm sure you just wet yourself) and the Maxwell AA. Also the EMF and Buick were sold by the Charlottesville Hardware Company. They later picked up the Ford. Another story of interest was in the June 6, 1921 issue with the report of a robbery at the Jefferson Garage. Burglars used a large rock to knock unconscious the aged night watchman, then "tied him fast to a nearby car with wire". They got forty dollars and stole a Buick for the getaway. The night watchman later succumbed to the blow. That was Mr. J. M. Davis, our Jim Davis' G. G. Grandfather. As you can tell, there sure are a lot of ways I can spend my time. Also enclosed are a couple pics of the dormant Wright V8-60 project. Reasigned to our Cussed Curtiss Department, I did get some time erecting the Wright for a show and tell. Wright engine connecting rods and pistons are on my Christmas list."

Big snow storm coming tonight, Sunday, March 2nd. Actually, it is suppose to hit us early Monday morning and last all day. We are expecting 12 inches or more. Sitting here with Alice watching the Oscars, waiting for the freeing rain to start before the snow. So what pops up, a report from Greg. So here is his report. "Sunday evening, all's quiet while the next winter storm bears down on us. There's been some progress made during the past week but not as much as I'd like. The day job has been demanding too. Matheson: I've finished the head gaskets. That's good. Avanti Maroon: Rob called this past week to say that it was ready to come home. That happened Thursday with combined help from Rob, Mike Zerega and Jim Davis. Meeting in Leesburg (about half way), Old Seabiscuit then brought me home again. The newly rebuilt front end and sway bar upgrade felt great. Avanti Black: I did find time to look into the chrome situation. The door vent window castings , exhaust extensions, tail light housings all need to be redone and I hope to attend the York SDC swap meet and there might be a chrome plater there to accept delivery. Don't think I'll have the bumpers ready to go though. That's the latest." =

Still Monday, cold all day, I don't think it got above freezing. But it was sunny. More snow coming in a couple of days so have to get outside and do something mechanical. What to do everything is frozen. Then I remembered the new old dump trailer that I just bought. The previous owner than mangled the tongue jack stand. I know I can get a new one for not much money, but what the heck. Maybe I could fix this one and save myself $30 or so. Here are some pics. The end was really mangled and mistreated for sure. I did find an equally abused trailer wheel in its battery storage box so what the heck maybe it will still work. It is a little bent up but the neck looks fine. So used the Sawsall and cut off the damaged end off, did some clean up with the grinder on the drill, and put it back together after drilling a couple of holes to firmly attach the wheel. Done. Looks OK, is functional and only cost me about an hour of my time. My hands are frozen. Think I will head inside and call it a day.

It is Monday, February 24th, AM. Over the nice weekend I was able to remove and replace the driver's side hub on the 2002 Chev Trailblazer. The old hub was shot, easy to rotate and very rough. Whereas the first hub took me about 8 hours to do, this one took 4 from start to finish. But the truck is nice and quiet now so I am happy. My next project will be the 2003 VW Passat with its leaking valve cover. I will be taking the opportunity to do the valve covers, new plugs, two new sensors for the cooling fans so they work correctly and a new accessory serpentine belt. Of course you have to slide out the front of the car to get to the belt. And Greg has been working on his Overland. Here is his report. "The pleasant weekend that it was, and I did get a little work in with the playtime. The local aviation community took great delight in visiting with our Weldon Britton to help him celebrate his ninety-first year. Good food and great company. Birthday cake and champagne. Rob reports the maroon Avanti is all but ready to come home. Awaiting a small part that's to arrive by mail, he test drove it nevertheless. Even though he's got the Chrysler logo on his pajamas, I don't think he minds driving it. As for getting other work done, the '10 Overland was calling my name. Years ago (like twenty-five) I tore the body down to reglue joints in its wooden framework and I also formed and installed new sheet steel panels on the seat platform. I remember at the time its unusual method of skinning. Each side was made of three separate panels that would butt joint and then reinforced with a steel backing, everything spot welded together and then covered with a skim of lead body solder. So I had gotten things tacked together. Removing the platform from storage proved that our humid weather wasn't kind to it. Even though the sheet steel was epoxy primed, rust was forming. With a quarter century to think about it, I came to the conclusion that the panel butt joints should not only be spot welded but the seams welded too. We hauled the platform to the shop for access to our TIG welder. The resulting welds aren't pretty, the hidden corrosion , escaping wood smoke and occasional spurt of flame contaminating the weld. But they joined well enough to be secure and will be a good base for cosmetic bodywork. The panels need to be sandblasted to stop the corrosion. The weld joints will then be filled and sanded. I'm not sure if I will resort to body solder or perhaps to keep the heat away from it, I might use a more conventional filler. We'll see." =

It is Friday, February 21st, AM. We are suppose to get a line of thunder storms this afternoon with heavy rain. That should really help to get rid of the snow. Heading off in a few minutes to get the Trailblazer parts so I can continue with the front hub fix. Greg sent us a report on his windowless black Avanti, and his maroon Avanti is still at Robs waiting alignment, if the snow ever melts and the salt is off the road. " Finding time to chip away at Avanti glass. Side curtains on the vintage cars sure are easier to do. Tons of winding, sliding, swinging and rollings things in those doors. Lots of small, fill in jobs that don't require any real concentration. Disassemble, degrease, bead clean, repair, prep and paint. For the parts that were cadmium plated, I'm substituting an Eastwood aerosol zinc spray for fuel tanks. Looks like cad and should hold up to any weather or car washings. The parts that were black enameled are getting bead cleaned and a couple heavy coats of Rustoleum rusty metal primer followed by their " Appliance Epoxy" which is a durable rattle can enamel. As for the door vent window assemblies, take a look at the parts required so that you can swing that little triangular vent window. A ton of work, screws, rivets, rubbers....what a nightmare. Otherwise, hoping that the old 'Biscuit will be getting ready to return to the barn. That front end makeover took longer than anybody thought." =

Larry, would be great if some of those parts were still at the house and available for purchase.

It is Thursday, February 20th, PM. Well, there is still about six inches of snow on the ground, but the big melt has started as we have patches of land poking through the blanket of the white stuff. I managed to get the Passat out of the garage and the nose of the Trailblazer in. Today was the day I am to start replacing the front hubs on the Trailblazer. Lately the rumble in the front of the car continues to get louder and louder. So decided that the hubs must be bad. So bought a couple and started the rebuild process this morning. They are sealed hubs so the bearing cannot be serviced. Really the hub came off pretty easy except to get it released from the threaded axle shaft. Finally got it off, but banged up the axle nut so I have to run into town tomorrow and get a couple. The hub fits into a big hole and is held in place by three large bolts. I was surprised that they came off pretty easy. I was expecting a tug of war. But I did notice that the hub face where it when through the mounting hold was filled up with rust from the hub. So it took quite a bit of scraping and grinding to get back down to the original surface. Assembly of the new hub is going smoothly with the anti lock sensor line installed and the hub back on the axle. While looking around I did notice that there are black scuff marks on the back of the brake rotor. Could the rotors be out of round causing the pads to chatter? I think that I will get a couple of new ones tomorrow and just see if that is a source of the rumble. They are cheap, and I can always go back to the performance rotors. Anyway, I looked at the old hub and it seemed to be in fair shape with 175,000 miles on it. I could not feel any roughness when I rotated it, but have replaced it and will do the other side over the next day or so. And on the 1923 McLaughlin Buick I removed the wheel bolt that had stripped. Here is what it looks like. It is done for. I do have a few replacements so I will pick the best one and put it back on the car. Good to be able to work on the cars again. The temp was about 50 so it was not too bad.

If you decide to remove them, I would send them out to be resized and sleeved with stainless. That way you know that you will have a new surface and will probably never have to worry about them leaking ever again. White Post and Apple Hydraulics do hundreds of them, and I am sure that there are many others that do them also.

It is Monday AM, February 17th. Well they say one more inch of snow tonight and then almost a week of temperatures in the mid 50s. The big melt begins. And now we have an issue with the 2003 Passat W8 rocket wagan. I was following Alice to the inspection station for its annual check up, and noticed a cloud of smoke trailing out behind it. But in a couple of miles it went away. When we got it back home (it passed with flying colors) and really could see nothing obvious amiss. Got on the Internet and found that the engine is prone to oil in the plug wells as they go through the valve cover and into the cylinder head. Sure enough I can see some oil on the driver's side of the engine. Oh well, at least I know the source of the smoke, oil on the exhaust manifold as it drips off the valve cover. So I have ordered new plugs, gaskets and the special VW sealant to affix the gasket. Really the only issue is that you have to take off the intake manifold and a bunch of wiring to get to it. Another job for warmer weather. But Greg always seems to move ahead on his projects. Here is his report on his black Avanti restoration. "Some jobs are just a chore, but they've got to be done. Take for example freshening the stainless trim on the Avanti door windows Dull and scratched, the only remedy is to sand and buff. Repeatedly. Sanding isn't too bad, but introducing the window assemblies to a high speed and high powered buffing wheel isn't much fun. Snagging anything can ruin your day, the stainless and glass as well. And myself. Glad that's over with. But after two days of sand and buff, the windows are ready to be set into their channels. I'll get around to that after the new rollers, clips and glass bedding tape arrive. Then on the shelf until warm weather arrives." =

Still lots of snow on the ground this Sunday morning, February 16th. We are all ploughed out thanks to our trusty little Kubota. But it did have a flat front tire and I had a big job getting it back onto the rim to get air into it. Took about an hour or more to get that done. Now they are saying we could get two more snow events early this week. I am getting tired of this stuff. And we have a report from Greg on his high flying adventures. "Not just snow falls from the sky around here. Twelve inches of the white stuff brought out Andrew King in his '39 Taylorcraft and Charlie Maples in his Piper L-19, the boys enjoying some ski flying. The unbroken snow of our runway a prime target. That's something you don't see everyday." =

Paul, re Greg and his IH high wheeled truck. He has one like it in the picture. He lives above his work so his commute is pretty short, maybe twenty steps. So his comment was a bit "tongue in cheek" as they say. The picture was from his historical archives.

It is Thursday, February 13th. Snowed hard last night. I think that we have about 18 inches so far. Before and after pics. And Greg also wrote this morning and said that he was able to make it into work with no problems. Here is his pic also

And here is Greg's second report for the weekend. "I found some time this weekend to devote to the '10 Overland . You know, the one that I haven't got time to work on . I'd been toying with the idea of detouring my first Social Security check (due in next week) to capable hands so that progress could be being made while I devote my time to currently unfinished projects..... But I just can't help it. I've been trying to learn and practice the restoration trade for about fifty years and with the equipment right here at hand, might as well do the door skin fabrication myself. You will see in the photos that to get an accurate copy of the bead lines pressed into the doors, I must do some detail work. I used a two part "Repro rubber" which when mixed can be applied to a subject and allowed to cure. We use it in museum artifact documentation. Comes off without problem without using a mold release agent. After copying the inside and outside of the original bead form, I cut a paper template to use when lathe turning the male roller. Then I transfer the male to the female roller after doing the math (using .032 thickness mild steel). I know Temple Baldwin maintains that the female follower doesn't need an accurate concave form, just a groove of proper width....but that's because he isn't as good as I am at freehanding the radius. A couple test pieces run through the rollers offers some hope. I also have tried tipping the upper edge over in our folding brake to see if that will work. Looks promising. Can't tell but the photos might not be in order." =

It is Monday, February 10th. Not much going on for me in the old car front. Just too cold. But Greg is working away in his shop. He sent me a couple of reports. Here is the first installment. "Another week locked in overdrive. I've worked in some project time even though I was called out of town on a work trip. Kitty Hawk, NC isn't much fun in the dead of winter. Otherwise: '63 Avanti: Still at Rob's . Evidently the groundhog predicts it will be six more weeks before it gets a front end alignment and returned to me. '64 Avanti 5054: Newfound NOS outside door handles look fine. They did not have the lock cylinders included and Myers Studebaker had new ones in stock. Evidently cross overed to Chrysler, Jon included new Studebaker key blanks so that I won't have to carry around that Chrysler pentagon symbol. Sorry Rob. Myers also stocked the metal channel that retains the door window glass. The old ones succumbed to collecting years of moisture. Now both window supports either replaced or repaired and ready for assembly after I locate the proper glass setting tape. I also will buff the stainless window trim . Matheston engine: Didn't get much done on it last week what with my road trip. I did however get to spend some time with a treatise on the history of engine ignition up through make and break, this a sent to me by Bill Prine. A nice work that will take some time to wrap my head around. Gets pretty theoretical. I'll continue with some Overland work in Part 2." =

Wow! Great job. It won't be too long and you will be running down the road. Can't wait.

Ernie, I did some adding up of probable cost and quickly zoomed up to $20K minimum to finish the car. I agree with you that if you cannot do the work for whatever reason then it is time to sell to someone who can. That aside, Custom53 also has contacted the forum on the Studebaker Drivers Club forum. He is getting a lot of advice on restoration shops in his area. It will be interesting to see what he is going to do and what will become of the Avanti.

It will be fun for you. You'll be the local expert. Probably the first thing I would do is put in the wiring harness in the engine bay and interior, and get it hung correctly; and then move onto the components, one by one. My preference would be to start in the engine bay and start completing the engine. The last thing I would put in would be the radiator and its shroud. Do you have a new wiring harness? Or are you going to try to use the old one? The old ones are brittle, and have known to cause fires. My harness had a fire under the dash at some point in it's life. The previous owner had tried to repair it, but was not fully successful. I had to cut into the harness and replace lots of heat and fire damaged wires to get it back into a safe mode, and that took me almost two weeks to accomplish. Are you missing any components that you are aware of? Everything left rebuilt or refurbished? Or do you have to do some rebuilding of the component parts? Oh, and we also know the various parts vendors. So make sure you ask before you buy and we can give you the right information and our recommended vendors to consider. You are going to have such fun. Are you going to keep it in primer until you get it running?

I know of no master manual other than the normal shop manual for the Avanti, which will be of great help to you. I would get the car home and then decide what component to tackle. Take little bites and do not try to eat the entire elephant. Chris and I have unmolested Avanti R2s so we can then certainly take pictures of our components to give you a much better idea as how everything goes together. And most importantly, Greg, Chris and I have touched most individual components and can give you some first hand advice on how to proceed. You can either contact us off line, but it will be fun for others to follow along with the restoration on this forum. By the way, that is one good looking Avanti so far. Is the engine and transmission in the car? Is it auto or 4 speed? Is the wiring harness in? Welcome to the fourm.