unimogjohn

It is Friday, October 18th, AM. Spent an hour or so under the Jaguar cleaning all the mud and grass from the rear wheel wells. Did not do a great job as the car is so low to the ground. But it is packed and ready for the Rockville, MD car show tomorrow. Also played with the Avanti a bit. Wanted to see how much the power steering was leaking. My firming of the hose connect worked and is holding. But I have a few other seeps and weeps. At least it has gone to a tinkle versus a gusher. I got my annual collector insurance premium for the five cars yesterday. I realized that I still had on the $12K value for the Avanti. That was the value I put on it when I bought it in 09. I have a a much better car now and a lot more than that it it now so increased the value to $28K. If something happened I think that I could replace it for that. I have $32K into the beast now. This morning we have an interesting story from Greg. So for your morning coffee here it is. " From: gregcone@msn.comTo: gregcone@msn.com Subject: FW: "Top" notch Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:50:10 -0400 From: gregcone@msn.comSubject: "Top" notch Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:47:45 -0400 Thursday turned out to be an interesting day. On a parts run out of town, I found myself near Thetan Ogle's (tinsnips) shop. Couldn't help but stop to see what manner of sheet metal he was beating into shape. Surprised as I entered. There was old friend Joe Patterson adjusting the top material on a freshly restored '16 Ford. I've known Joe since the sixties when he was sewing upholstery for most of the local hot rods. He's still at it. Thetan's been handling the restoration of the T and as you can see, it's nicely done. Got another surprise while there. Mentioning a mutual friend, Thet inquired if I'd heard from him. Has he finished yet? Finished what? We were speaking of Dave Liepelt (you know, Ford Museum steam engineer Dave). It's top secret. He's racing a Tesla. Tesla Model S, the Motor Trend Car of the Year. The "Proof positive that America can make great things" , "truly remarkable automobile" EPA approved Tesla. Well, the race is over and I found it on the net, so the secret is out. Dave and associate raced the Tesla alright. With a 1915 Ford Model T. From Detroit to I think Long Island. As I understand it, a contest sponsored by Car and Driver magazine. Well, Dave lost. They drove in shifts and did something like 775 miles in 23 1/2 hours. An hour behind the Tesla. And they took a longer route due to traffic concerns. Put that in your Tesla ads. And can hold it's own against a hundred year old flivver. Good on 'ya Dave! Nice work. I wonder how long your ears will be ringing and your vision blurred. See, I keep telling you. Got some neat friends out there. Photos relayed from T.O. showing Joe hard at work. The one shot of Joe reminds me of Buster "Stoneface" Keaton. A forum account of the race." http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/395337.html?1382023343

You might contact Fred Rawling. He has a lot of 20s Buick parts and may have some other years as well. Fred.Rawling@live.com He is a very busy guy and make take a couple of days to get back to you, but he always does.

John, yes, it does pain me to have stuff out in the open especially the cars. Now the chance to get them inside. Hope it all works out. Will keep you informed. And it is Thursday, October 17th, AM, early. And we have a report from Greg. "Checking in. Had a pleasant interruption last evening. I'd gotten a mail from 'Ol Bill that a B-25 Mitchell bomber would be expected to arrive at the local airport, 1800 hrs. As luck would have it, I was looking things over in the tin barn and sure enough, the drone of two radial engines proceeded it. I stepped outside to catch sight of it, cruising in a direction towards the Warrenton-Fauquier airport. The sight and sound of it truly an emotional thing. A veteran of the days when the B-25 brought hope and inspiration to our nation when it was on it's knees after Pearl Harbor. The mount of Jimmy Doolittle and his crews as they returned the favor with the Tokyo raid. Then back to business. Seabiscuit, the maroon Avanti, had been standing idle, so I decided to take it out for a run. Funny thing. We wound up at Warrenton-Fauquier airport. The crew was putting the medium bomber to bed. It's an H model, the gunship. It wasn't for just carrying a bomb load, it was bristling with machine guns all over and also a forward firing cannon. Tonight I was determined to get something done on something on the black Avanti. Alternator time. I'd gotten a replacement pulley and it needed to be installed. The bore too tight, I needed to chuck it up and take a skosh out of it before it would go on. That done, I got it hung in place on it's mount. While there, I needed to deal with a master cylinder issue. I'd opted for a new one and it was obviously an "offshore" component where the metric and inch conversion will never meet. I elongated the holes so that it would fit the mounting studs on the booster. That's done now also. That's enough for today." =

It is Wednesday, October 16th PM. I reluctantly told Greg about the paint problems on the Avanti. He was not happy. He thought they did a crappy job, but did not want to spoil my high when I brought it home. I did contact the shop, and Tom, the owner, said to bring it in. So I will do that on a nice day next week. Yesterday was a nice day. So Alice and I decided to paint gates together. She on one side, me on the other. We painted and talked, talked and painted. One topic came up again and again. Where were we going to store the cars. Build a bigger barn and finish it off, or maybe expand the existing garage to hold four cars. Above the existing garage was finished floor space so why not just expand the garage out 24 more feet? So we decided to see if we could expand the garage and make a full functional, one bedroom apartment above the garage. We only have a one bedroom home, so this would give us extra room for visitors and in our old age it might be good for a live-in caregiver. We want to stay on the farm as long as possible. We are a long way from needing any help, but it is always in back of your mind when you reach retirement. So when we finished painting, I got on the phone and called the architect who designed our house. He is still in business and agreed to come and see us today. We met this morning and discussed our preliminary plan. He agreed that it is doable, and is going to work up a rough design and estimated cost. We told him that we did not want to delay and would like the design to be completed this Fall, get all the permits over the Winter, and maybe find a builder to start in the early Spring. So stay tuned. On the Jaguar side, it is all ready for the car show on Saturday. The weather looks good too, no rain, and temps in the mid 60s.

Great job Scott. Boy, she is sure looking good. You may not get it painted before winter, but think what the spring will bring. And during the winter you will be able to shine up the little pieces sitting in the front room in your easy chair. (Ask me how I know). Congratulations, you have come a long way.

A correction from Greg. "For you who know......I mislabeled the Underslung roadster. It's an American."

Still Sunday, and we have a Hershey and Avanti report from Greg. And finally, no rain on weather radar. " So much for last week. I took off for parts Hershey on Tuesday. That's the day the antique auto flea market opens for traffic. It's also the day that the vendors are slow getting started. Nevertheless I had my shopping list and started walking. For those of you who've never been, it's immense. The length of it is about one mile, as for the breadth?? Seems like the ones on my list to visit were no shows. It wasn't a big list this year, so the time was mostly spent visiting with old friends. Jeff Brown was there and I did manage my first ride in his 1906 Wayne. I also begged a ride in that 1907 Ford Model K that was featured in that Greenfield Village video footage. Thursday morning's rain showers led me to return to home base (where there was work to do) with the intention of returning for Saturday's show. Friday night's weather forecast and film footage of Hershey flooding and the pouring rain here was my reason to cancel. Of course I got calls on Saturday describing the delightful day they were having up there. Probably the only sun shining on the East Coast. Still raining here, it's just another example of the 50/50/90 Rule. As for progress I did try to get in some Avanti work. With the supercharger yet to be looked over, I decided it was time. They have a tendency to go bad if abused, or allowed to sit. When in use, it was the best I'd overhauled. Lots of miles without a problem. I remember the one before it lasted eighteen miles, but it died a noble death . I'd overhauled the blower in Winchester, drove to Stephens City, then to Route 81. That downhill stretch to Kernstown was the end of it. Fastest 5054 ever went for me. Pulled off and yanked the drive belts. I rebuilt it again with a few Bonneville Team upgrades and it served me well. Now I'll send it out for a professional overhaul. My rebuilds don't come with a warranty. Photos enclosed: Supercharger inspection. (seen at Hershey) Hupmobile 20 Pierce Arrow Regal Underslung roadster." =

Matt, thanks for the report. I am sure glad that the rain gave up for the show. It is Sunday, PM, October 13th. We got up this morning to heavy rain. The weather radar looked daunting, but what the heck, so we headed out in the Jaguar to the Hunt Country Classic, All British Car Show. It was only about 15 miles away so it made for a short drive in the rain. Speaking of rain, I pulled the car from the trailer to the front of the house. What!!!!! The wipers do not work. So opened the bonnet and banged on the wiper motor. Now it works. Ah, Lucas electrics. We arrived at the show about 9 AM. The show field maybe had twenty cars. Not good for a show that typically has 400. But folks trickled in throughout the morning and I estimate there were probably 75 or so cars in two fields. We were in the previous winners class called the Prince of Wales class. Kinda of a best in show thing. We hoped that it would stop raining at some point, but it didn't. It did vary in intensity, but it just poured most of the day. But folks were real troopers and stayed the entire time. The fields got really muddy and folks had a hard time getting in and out. We made it in and out, and had to keep the power down as the wheels started spinning and grinding to a halt. But we made it OK. The car is a little muddy and very wet and will take some time cleaning it over the next couple of days. Oh, and we were awarded the Mayor's Choice Award, and the Prince of Wales, Best of the Best Award. Oh the good side no one spent any time cleaning their cars before the judging started. We were all just trying to keep it dry inside. Oh, and I did find out that the Jag's dash leaks like the dickens from behind. I will have to see where it is all coming from. Here are some pics that I took. The show was held at a big farm, and the manor had an old log cabin addition at some point. Real nice construction so took a pic of that too. And the pics of the show field was early in the morning so there are relatively few cars. But you get the idea.

Chris, glad to see you back at it. And here are the PAL nuts with rubber inserts you are looking for. http://www.rubbertherightway.com/clips-pal-nut-1-8-54069-prd1.htm

Bob, your transmission takes 600 wt oil. It is available in quart can from most Ford Model A vendors. The transmission takes about 3 Qts. The cost is about $10 per can. You can use modern 90 wt oil in the rear end. In the steering case everyone uses wheel bearing grease. Just pump it in from your grease gun.

I have not heard directly from anyone on how the Saturday Hershey show went today. I have read that the numbers were down, but there was little or no rain. And the show field was not torn up too bad. So it looks like everyone who decided to come had a good day. The Jaguar is all packed for the show tomorrow. Suppose to rain in the morning and then clear. We will head out of here about 8:30 AM and should be on the field NLT 9:30. Have the chairs packed and two large umbrellas for us, just in case. Wayne dropped by this morning and gazed on the paint crack on the fender. He said that the substrate primer is pulling away from the fiberglass or the original paint. He said that it was probably due to incorrect preparation for the new primer. So I will call the shop next week and take it in for them to take a look at. Wayne also found a couple of other spots that looked like they were about to crack on the same fender. It has been only eight months since the car was painted. Speaking of the Avanti I ordered two rebuild kits for the power steering. One for the ram and the other for the valve assembly. I figured since I was going to replace the pump and lines I might as well go the entire route and rebuild the other two components. Not much money, they were about $20 for each kit; and the labor will be my time.

Larry, I have been reading the forum posts on today's wash out at Hershey. It must have been daunting at times with the hard rain. I cannot believe all the rain that has come down here at the farm either. We had 2.25 inches last night and today another 1.5 inches and it is still raining at 10 PM. I think in total we have had over 6 inches of rain in 36 hours. Our pastures are holding for now, but when you walk on them your boots go down about three inches. It does not take much to make mud. Even the llamas are drenched and hiding in the barns and under trees. I have written to a couple of Buick folks to see if they are still going to take cars to the show tomorrow. I am sure the car numbers will be way down. I have not heard from Greg, but I am sure that he is toughing it out and is still at Hershey. We have the big British car show on Sunday. It will be held rain or shine, but the show field are the pastures. We are still planning to go even though they say showers in the morning. I just don't think that the fields can drain quick enough, but we will see. I have Wayne coming over tomorrow to take a look at the paint on the Avanti. He is a fiberglass and paint expert so I hope he can tell me if I have a paint or substructure problem.

Chris, it really looks good. Would you call the color grey or champagne? Can hardly wait to see the car in person.

Thanks Chris, I will take a look at the reinforcing item. Had not seen that before. Looking forward to seeing some more bling going back on your Avanti. Raining really hard here this morning. We got 2.25 inches last night and maybe have another half inch this morning. I took a look at the Hershey weather, and it said drenching rain, not good. Sure glad that I went up yesterday.

And some more.

It is Thursday, October 10th, early AM, like 5 AM. Raining, in fact rained hard all night. Should I roll over or go to Hershey? HERSHEY here I come. It did rain all the way up, a 3 hour ride, but it mostly stopped at Hershey. It did spit off and on, but I just kept wandering the isles looking at lots and lots of car parts. Attendance seemed to be down, but not by much. The rain did not keep many away. I was also able to get a great parking spot so I was able to return to the truck at noon to make a deposit and then go to the the car corral. I would estimate that about 75% of the vendors were open for business, and the corral was pretty much packed with cars, maybe 95% full. I wanted to meet a couple of guys that have been on the forum, but they were no there, their spots were empty. I was able to make up a complete tool kit for the 1923 McLaughlin Buick from several vendors. And even picked up a Buick hat in the correct script. I left about 2 PM and got home just about 5. I am pooped. It rained hard all the way home. Here are some pics that I took of the corral. Most of the cars seemed to be way, way overpriced, but then it was the first day. Most were 50s and 60s cars. Very few old timers, which I like.

It is Wednesday, October 9th, early PM. It is actually cold here this morning, about 55 degrees. And I can see lots of rain coming on radar. We are suppose to get about three inches of rain this afternoon and through tonight, and it is suppose to continue to rain tomorrow. No gate painting today. Hershey is looking really bleak for me right now. I will get up early tomorrow morning, like 4 AM, and see what it is like. I want to be on the road by 5 AM to get there NLT 8 AM. I do have some folks that I want to meet, so I am still leaning on going. Heck, I have rubber boots and an umbrella. I often wonder if I am going to have something half way interesting for the forum. It never ceases to amaze me that I have so many problems or successes that I can write about. Today is just one of those days that I thought I would not post, but issues have hit that be of interest. I had to do something this morning I decided to wax the Avanti. I have not put a coat of wax on her since it was painted last year. So I got a nice coat of wax on all the flat surfaces, hood, top, and trunk. The wax polished off really nice and everything looked great. But then I spied an issue. The driver's side fender is cracking! Here are a couple of pics of the problem. It is about five inches long. The pics look worse that it is, but it is a problem. I do not know if the battery weight is causing an issue or not. I do have a couple of long splits in the inner fiberglass under the battery. I will have to ask Greg about it. But if anyone has any ideas let me know. And a success, the power steering canister is still full from yesterday. Yahoo! I am sure things are seeping, but at least I do not have a bleed out. Oh, and a PS. Just got a call from the event staff for the Rockville, MD car show, which will be held on Saturday, October 19th. The Jaguar has been selected to be in the special display area for the event. There will be two XK 120s, our FHC and then a pastel blue, OTS (open two seater). I understand that this is quite an honor to be selected. If anyone plans to attend make sure you look us up. He also said that they expect over 500 cars for the event.

David, that is a good name. I will pass it on to Greg. It is Tuesday, PM, October 8th. Busy day. And by the looks of the weather report, more rain is headed our way and will last from tomorrow until Sunday. A big change in the forecast from last week. It was suppose to be overcast and sunny, with no rain. How can they be so wrong. Well, the first thing I jacked up the Avanti. I was determined to get some kind of wrench on that fitting to snug it up. In addition to it being up into the frame it is surrounded by two other fittings. One you cannot see is behind it and no way are you going to get a wrench on it. So I found my smallest vice grips, about four inches long, and after considerable frustration was able to just grasp two sides of the offending fitting. And it moved! In about fifteen minutes I was able to get the fitting to turn maybe 1/8 of an inch. It is now tight, I just hope that it is tight enough. Took the car out for a long run. So no fluid loss, but then again it did not seem to lose a lot running, just sitting. I will give a report in the morning. Here are a couple of pics; one of the little wrench and the other of the valve assembly. The offending fitting is at the very top. Then after lunch and some other chores, started paining the gates again. Got another one done today. Including pics of the before and after, and then of one gate all done. The gates are about sixteen years old and have lost most of their original blue finish. They are mostly all surface rust. Oh, and I have learned my lesson, all my new gates are zinc coated. And it looks like Hershey is going to be a very wet one. Sure glad that now all of it is on asphalt, versus dirt and grass. Only the parking is on grass. Thank goodness the Suburban has four wheel drive.

Gary, you do have options, from cheap to very expensive. If you decided to go on the cheap side, be prepared to jump to the next level if you find problems like pin holes and or split/leaking seams. Your options are (in my opinion). You can get some sealer from Eastwood, Bill Hirsh, etc (many vendors out there), follow their instructions for cleaning and coat yourself. Probably cost you less than $100 and some of your time. Note: if the tank is not prepared correctly the sealant will not adhere and will come off in big slabs. No warranty. You can take your tank to a shop that specializes in radiators and have them boil out your tank, and then seal it. Cost about $150 or higher if they find problems after the cleaning. Warranty usually 30 days, depends on shop. You can go the Renu way and they will clean, use their specialty coating on the inside and outside. They also cut open your tank to make sure the baffles are secure in good shape. The cost is about $700. Warranty is forever if you are the original purchaser. I consider it prepaid insurance. The warranty is not transferable. Several of my car friends have done the sealer with some good and bad results. I had the Avanti tank done by a local shop, so far no problems. I have the 23 McLaughlin Buick done by Renu, and the Jaguar XK120 was done by Renu by the previous owner. All the anticipated costs are based on my experience, yours and others may vary. Let us know what you decide to do.

It is Monday, October 7th, AM. Rain! Finally getting some all day today. We are parched and everything is bone dry. And the October heat wave is breaking too. Going from 90 degree days to 70. Been spending my time painting metal gates, a bit mind numbing, but three dollars to paint them versus $80 to $120 for a new gate is worth it. They look brand new. Have several more to go, so am not done yet. On the car side I have been taking out the Avanti for runs. Boy, she is a pleasure to drive. Smooth and powerful, she just rumbles down the country lanes. I still have a badly leaking fitting that I cannot get a wrench on. I am going to see if I can modify a small wrench to get on the nut. I am tired to filling up the canister every time I take it out. Also spent some time on the Jag. Did the final cleaning so she is all ready for the British car show this coming Sunday. Going to be put in the previous winner class to compete for the big dog bragging rights. Should be fun. And we have a weekend report from Greg too. Looks like he got in some down time to wander the wilds of Maryland and Virginia, even West Virginia. " Nice weekend that it was, got in a little bit of work, little bit of play. A streak of warm weather allowed me to do some paintwork on Saturday. The overhauled brake booster and new master cylinder for the Avanti 5054 that have been waiting for attention. Prepped and painted and allowed to dry overnight. Although to be removed for the initial engine startup, today I mounted them under the hood just to get them off the shelf . That left some time today to sightsee. A pleasant drive through the Va countryside, crossing the Potomac on the ferryboat Gen. Jubal A. Early, lost on backroads of Maryland and back to the ferry. Otherwise, I've been getting in some time managing squirrels. The day squirrels are getting comfortable enough to help themselves to the peanut bucket, climbing on my leg as I sit there. The night flyers, they are getting bolder or at least more familiar too. I've noticed that since I whistle something on my way to the feeder that they too have started singing for their supper. When I step out they start chirping like little birds. There's usually one or two scampering on the feeder tree and then others are on final approach. Barb swears that one grazed her hair on his flight to the tree. Even with me standing near the feeder, they go at after the nuts and even each other. Musn't disrupt the pecking order. One was perched on the roof of the feeder chowing down and another jumped it from behind. A scuffle ensued, one of them leaping from the feeder and slammed onto my chest, tail in my face. Wasn't expecting that. Jim Davis left his night vision movie camera to catch some of the escapades. Hopefully I've got something for him to work with. And of course, this coming week is the annual Hershey swap meet so I'll be out of touch starting Tuesday. Day job OX-5 Curtiss disassembly. Took several days to remove a damaged crank gear. They weren't meant to come off. Photos tonight: *Crossing the Potomac *Squirrel cafeteria. They are very hard to tell apart visually (they all look alike, you know). Usually tell them by their personality, but these two have distinguishing characteristics. The one with the torn ear is Rip. He actually will respond to his name. The other has a pock mark on it's side. As of yet unnamed." =

Sweet! Boy she sure looks great. Now the fun begins as you start putting the shiny bits back on. Congratulation on the great color choice too.

Chris, great news. Hope you take lots of pics of the great reveal. We are all looking forward to it. Bet she is going to look fantastic.

Still Thursday, but PM. Some bad news. Wayne got held up at work so we are not going to Carlisle tomorrow. So will work around the farm. Still may make the trip on Thursday to Hershey. Got right on the Avanti this morning. And with Alice's help we were able to get the front bumper back on and secured. I even took the time to put the grill back on also. And since the car is up in the air decided to go ahead and change the engine oil and filter. If I decided to change the transmission fluid and filter tomorrow I will put it back into the garage and put it up higher on jack stands. Here are a couple of pics from today's work. Bumper back on and then will the grill.

It is Thursday, October 3rd. The Avanti is up on ramps and everything is ready to hopefully put on the bumper today. The last couple of days got away from me doing farm stuff and helping out the neighbors with farm issues. The days just fly by. Tomorrow Wayne and I are heading for Carlisle for the Fall meet. Should be interesting to see all the modern stuff. But Greg continues to work on the Matheson engine. Will it ever end? It is one complex machine. "Working on the Matheson parts. There sure are a lot of them. Made the new insulators for the magneto (dynamo, whatever you want to call it) and last night I made a new aluminum cover for the windings. The old one being scratched and not very pristine. It has a felt pad beneath and rivetted in place. Spare felt from the Avanti glove box restoration worked fine. Tonight I prepped and painted the drive gear for the fuel pump. I'm still trying to learn my way around this new camera. Not as convienient to use at the old Sony . The photos need to be unloaded into the computer and filed in order to mail out. Lots of pictures taken and loaded if I can find the power cable when I need it. Trouble is that I don't know where the photos wound up . If they turn up someday, I'll send them along." =

My Avanti, 63R 2502, was built in January of 1963 so it probably did not have a grill guard initially. But, one was in the trunk of the car when I bought it, but it was never installed. No holes in the opening. I did mount it and had it on. Had to take it off to to take off the bumper to have it redone. I will probably put it back on when I get the bumper back on. I did take the Avanti out tonight. It sure runs good and just rumbles down the road. I do not feel the rear wallowing now that the replacement leaf spring is in. And the brakes work good too. It is truly a real pleasure to drive.