unimogjohn

Still Tuesday, getting hot outside so moved fans into the garage so I can continue working. But I had to take time out to jump on the tractor and mow the front 1/4 acre in front of the house. Have to keep the homestead presentable. Mounted one of the lights on the light horn. The other one has a broken socket. Used some JBWeld to put it back together. Will let it cure overnight and see if it holds. You will not see the repair unless you look under the light. Can you guess that this is not a show car? It is a great driver. I also have to spend some time under the car cleaning the frame and suspension. Just dust and cobwebs from the winter.

It is still Tuesday, but early PM. Been working on the 23 McLaughlin since about 9 AM, just quit at 2 PM. Done for the day unless I get a notion to put on the headlights. Cleaned up everything on the front of the engine and then mounted the radiator to the car. The radiator must weigh a good 60 or more pounds. Put it on the square pads and everything lined up. Even put a bit of plastic mat under the radiator to help protect the frame paint and the bottom of the radiator itself. I then remounted the headlight horns. While looking over the rubber pieces I spied a couple of pieces that I had put into a baggie. Low and behold they are an exact fit for the headlight horns and the fender. So put them on for good measure. Alice help me start the radiator hold down bolts. It is not a one man job. Trying to wiggle the wedge bolts under the frame rail was a bit trickie, but we did it and the radiator is secure. I then hooked up the radiator hoses, braces, and temp sensor bulb. And finally I have the front end a coat of wax and some elbow grease to shine everything up. A good job for today. I still have the headlights and hood assembly to put back on, but think I will clean up the engine bay before they all go on. With the hood off you have a lot more room to maneuver. Here are some progress pics.

It is Tuesday, June 11th, AM. Going to head out this morning to replace bolts, washers and nuts on the front end of the 23 McLaughlin Buick. Then will do some serious cleaning and waxing before I drop the radiator back in. Oh, and we have a late night Monday report from Greg. "Trying to get something done during the Monsoon season. The new brake caliper cylinders for the black Avanti arrived today. This evening they were assembled to the bracket castings, pads and keepers installed. While I wait on the new stainless crossover and inlet piping to arrive, I decided to get started on mounting the calipers to the spindles. This takes a while as they must be shimmed for proper alignment. The initial shimming done and while I wait for the piping to show up, I'll do something else. The front shock absorbers have been cleaned, primed and painted. I want to renew all the rubber bushings before I return the units to the chassis. A trip to the local NAPA left me with the realization that I need good old Rob to research the part numbers if I'm to stand any chance of getting them . Other than running into Mr. Unimog at the hardware store and lunch with Mr. Davis, it was an uneventful day. That's about it for tonight. PS. If any of you Avanti guys want in on the Dunlop caliper piping, Classic Tube will be in production next week, and they gave me a good price. Now would be the time. =

Larry, good job on your 25's engine. I hope to be able to drive mine down the road by the weekend. I have a ton of cleaning to do, some parts to put on, and adjustments to be made. Looking forward to South Bend.

Pat, no on nickel, it is chrome. The previous owner chromed almost everything that should have been nickel, so I continued with the radiator. That was my doing. And yes, I get a serious deduction when it is professionally judged at the Buick Nationals. It is what it is.

It is Monday, June 10th, PM. Waiting for big storms to hit in a couple of hours. Only time will tell if we get hit or they don't get over the mountains. This morning I headed off to our local mom and pop hardware store. A much better selection of little things and much higher quality than Home Depot. Had to pick up some new bolts and washers for the radiator mounting assembly, front fenders and the light bar. While I was running out Greg was coming in. He was on the hunt for some rubber grommets for the black Avanti. Got home and put the hood protection lace on the radiator shell and glued down the ends to stop them from flapping around. Look more professional, aka factory. Also put on a good coat of chrome polish to give it some protections. Looks great. It is ready to go on tomorrow. Here are some pics. Also I took a look at the mounting plate for the radiator. It is actually three pieces that come together and all meet under the feet of the radiator. It is uneven and about 1/4 difference in height. I did not put anything in there, aka shim, when I put the radiator on many years ago. The car came to me in boxes, maybe about 25 to 30 of various bits, some small, some large. Right now I have put all the spare small parts in baggies and have two boxes full of screws, nuts and bolts. I went through the baggie file this morning and found some body mount rubber. I have several rubber round type and two squares that seem to match the foot of the radiator mounting feet. So I think I am going to use the squares. Here are some pics. Tell me if I should use the round type. Rubber will not hold any water so whatever the choice it will be good. Will spend a couple of hours tomorrow AM cleaning up the front of the engine too before remounting the radiator. Oh, Karma the cat is doing well. We have her crated during the night but is free to wander around the bedroom during the day. She is on pain medication, but does not seem to be in any distress. But like all cats, she still wants out. This pic is of the outside of our bedroom door.

It is Sunday, June 9th, early PM. Yesterday it was overcast most of the day, but then by 4 PM it looked really nice. Nothing on radar either. So with no storms forecasted Wayne with his 72 Corvette and me with the Jaguar headed out to a BBQ at Steve's place. Remember Steve? He has the 67 Camaro. Well the Camaro is going back into the shop for non operational turn signals on the right side. Steve has done everything he knows to do to include replacing the mechanism inside the steering wheel. We had a nice dinner, great conversation, and an overall super time. Wayne left early but Alice and I decided to stay for another hour. That was a bad decision. About half way home, about six miles to go, we got hit with a super thunderstorm. No matter, not afraid of a little rain, but it came down in buckets, and hard too, big drops. Turned on the wiper and only the passenger side worked. The driver side was slipping on the post, bummer. So we limped home, but made it. Pulled the car into the trailer, wiped her down and fixed the wiper. This morning I got out the aluminum trim ring for the radiator and commenced to polish it by hand and with the Dremel buffing wheel, using two kinds of cleaner polish. After three hours got her done. The trim ring was in OK condition, not good/not bad, but fine for a 90 year old car. Got the radiator, trim ring, and the surround back together. I still need to put in the mounting screws that hold the surround to the radiator. I have to do some pushing on the bottom to make everything lined up again. It is pretty close to being a good fit, but the radiator is a little out from the bottom of the surround. Going to work on that this PM, but it may be that is the way it is. I do not to push too hard on the radiator. So, here are some pics of the radiator. Put the dog bone cap back on. It looks pretty good. I have to make a couple of rubber pads for the feet to protect the frame, but that is a few minute job. Also have to run to the hardware store for some new bolts to replace a few crusty ones that are on there. So far so good.

I would ask over on the Jaguar Lovers forum. That is where a lot of experts hang out. There is an XK and XK engine forum. Costs nothing to register to answer your questions. Looks to be the same engine that is in my 53 XK 120. My engine number is W7042 8S Here is the link. JagFORUM - the world's No 1 online club for Jaguar enthusiasts

Leslie, I have always used Fort Wayne Clutch. Here is their web site. Fort Wayne Clutch & Driveline NEW & REBUILT / REMANUFACTURED CAR and HEAVY DUTY TRUCK CLUTCHES - CUSTOM DRIVESHAFTS

Also, Fred Rawling fred.rawling@live.com may also have some. Send him an email, he usually responds within a day or so.

Still Saturday, but PM. Done for the day. No rain and hot in the sun. But I got the oil changed in the Passat and rehung the belly pan. I made sure that it would not come off unless I want it to. Err well, I hope. Cleaned the 23 McLaughlin Buick radiator and gave it three light coats of Eastwood's Radiator Black. Looks like new. Also took some new chrome and metal cleaner to the Boyce radiator dog bone cap. I removed the period correct Masonic topper for the show. A couple of years ago the car was at the Buick Nationals in Boston. I got a couple of points deducted for having non-factory accessories. Won't happen this time. The cleaner is called Quick-Glo. Works great. Am also going to use it on an aluminum trim piece that goes around the radiator and tucked in behind the chrome shield. Will let you know how that works. Going to do that tomorrow. After that is done I can reassemble the radiator. On the radiator surround. It is chrome rather than nickle plated. In fact all the trim pieces that have been redone have been chromed. This was done by the previous owner, but I did the surround in chrome to match the other pieces. I do take a major deduction for the chrome. So 400 points is way out of reach for me. About five weeks before we head to the Buick Nationals in South Bend, IN. Have lots to do in the interim.

It is Saturday, June 8th, AM. The rain has stopped finally. Everything is a soggy mess, but at least all the green stuff growing around here got a good drink. Today looks like Passat day. Have to fix the splash panel and while I have it up in the air I might as well change the oil and filter. She takes 9 qts. If it warms up today will clean up and paint the 23's radiator. And Wayne sent me more pics of his 64 Corvette paint job. They have it all buffed and polished. They are going to help him install the headlight pods before he brings it home. Going to be a stunning car when he gets her all done. Wayne told me that he has most of the wiring done except for the main harness to the dash pod. All the gauges have been rebuilt and are ready to go back in. He has the carpet and new seats ready to go too. Only thing that has not been started is the top mechanism.

Chris, 101,000 and it is an 03. Nice and smooth power delivery too. 275 HP out of a little 4.0 W8 engine. Excellent build quality.

Still Friday, but PM. Been a very wet day, rain, rain, rain. But I got the call that the 23 McLaughlin Buick radiator was done. So after farm and grocery store chores, Shadow and I headed over the mountains to Winchester and Dickies Radiator Shop. But a quick run at speed was not to be. I had the all powerful VW Passat W8, and we got on the freeway. Of course I had to get up to speed to merge. Well at about 90 something let loose and was dragging. No place to pull off in the driving rain so headed for my exit to the mountains. Got out and took a look. The plastic belly pan had broken loose and was dragging front end down. If I catch the lip of it, it will be ripped off for sure. Nothing to tie it up with, but found a couple of those plastic grocery store bags in the back seat pockets. So I made a rope of sorts and was able to at least get the lip off the ground, but the middle was dragging. But going 40 mph all the way into Winchester we made it to a Pep Boys. Bought some bungee cords and tied it up. Not pretty, but it worked. But no 90 mph for me today going home. Anyway we made it to the shop and we were greeted by Mr. Dicky. He said he had not painted it as he wanted to go over the repairs. He fixed the bottom tank, making it flat again and attached it to the tubes. Fixed a couple of other leaks and a very bad stress crack up near the filler neck. We had a good conversation about the old cars. He said that he has been in the radiator business for 55 years. Does not know how many more years he has at 71, but he still enjoyed the work, and it paid the bills. He said that he is the last of the radiator repair shops in Winchester. He did great work, a lost art in today's world. I was expecting to drop a big number for payment. At the end of our conversation I asked how much do I owe you. He said $280. Are you sure I said? He stated that it was fun to again work on an old Buick radiator and that I did not bug him to get it done. He said that it was a fair price. So I thanked him, shook his hand and we were on our way back home. So it was a good day. I will paint the radiator tomorrow and get it ready to go back into the car. Hope that the rain quits so the paint will dry. Here are some pics for you.

It is Friday morning early, like 3 AM, June 7th. Rain beating down on the roof woke me up. Started raining last night and still coming down. Tropical Storm Andrea is headed this way too. They say we could get up to 8 inches of rain over the next couple of days. No word on the radiator for the 23 McLaughlin Buick yet, so am going to call today to see where they are at. Also Greg stopped by yesterday evening and dropped off three long tire spoons. So now I have no excuse for not starting to change the tires. And to continue our "what is happening on the farm" saga. Karma the cat used up one of her nine lives and tore her back leg ACL. Took her to the vet and and an operation ensued. Here is the result. Going to be a four month recovery time. She is not going to like it much being kept confined for ten days and then in the house for months. Better than having a bum leg for the next 15 or so years. No idea how she did it. Wayne sent me a pic last night. His 64 Corvette has been painted. He said that he had the lower section of the car painted just one shade darker to enhance the look. He get to bring it home next week. And Greg has a report for us. "I know, not much out of me lately. Just aren't enough minutes in the day. One day this week I stole some time. A day for an Avanti ride. Found myself at Rob's Auto Repository. That led to a test drive in a Model A roadster he's working on. Tough assignment. Since I'm hoping to take the '14 Harvester out this summer, I snagged the battery to test and charge. The old cornbinder has been neglected for a couple years or more? Meanwhile back at the ranch, Avanti 5054 has been getting some attention. One nasty job I've been putting off is the replacement of the forward fuel line. That was a couple nights of vocabulary. Attached to the frame, it's not meant to be changed with the body on the car. I did it anyway. The 3/8" stainless line was installed with little preforming, most of it done as it was snaked into place. It's not over yet, a few more clips to be installed and bends tweaked. I'd also ordered more front brake components. The calipers had arrived but I was disappointed to see that my vendor had sent units that had been sleeved and I was expecting new ones. The exchange is in progress. Tonight I did grease the front wheel bearings and mounted the brake rotors. That's a few more parts off the shelf and on the thing. The front shocks are being stripped for repaint.....I'm at the stage where I see all that I'm not getting done. Steering wheel needs repair, there's work under the dash that should be taken care of ( tach sender repaired and installed, instrument bulbs changed, heater installed, defroster hoses installed, insulation and carpeting in place) before I can put the steering column in place. I need to redo the rear quarter upholstery and repaint the headliner prior installation so that the rear window can go in. Dash and front trim work before the windshield can go in, And these are things that come to me without even thinking about it. Interior and carpet, exterior chrome, getting the front end tied together, exhaust \, need the brake booster overhauled and a new master cylinder and flex hoses for the brake system, clean and touchup the undercarriage....on and on and on. I'll be lucky if I can get this thing near done by next fall (not this one). And the day job Wright connecting rod project , I'm now boring the wrist pin holes undersize. Signing off."

Chris, great job. You are slowly eating that Avanti elephant. Enjoy watching you work through most of the stuff I had to do on mine two years ago. Keep taking those little bites.

And finally, here are pics of our fellow Jaguar owners. We spent a lot of time talking to them. Rick, the steel blue XK120 OTS, and Jake, the black XK 120 OTS, have been at many shows with us. Jake won the class at the Gunston Hall show a few weeks back. Rick's car has just been restored and is really a first rate done car. And we met Alan for the first time. He has the XK120 black Drop Head Coupe with the rear spats over the wheels. It was a pretty much original car. He told me that he had about 35 British cars in a warehouse nearby. He sat with us for a couple of hours telling car stories. There was one other Jaguar fixed head couple there. It was a black XK 150. It was HUGE. Like the Ford Thunderbird it had morphed over the years to become a four seater. No longer a nimble sports car, but a tourer. It still sported it original green interior. A very nice unrestored example. We also met Ben for the first time. He had the Mark II in the two tone green colors, one being pastel green like our car. He had just bought the car a year ago and is in the process of getting it back on the road. He told us that it had a Chev engine and transmission in it, but he had just bought a correct Jaguar engine and transmission and was going to take it back to original. Overall, the interior was still very nice, and there were only a few rust spots showing on the body. A nice restorable driver. We stuck around for the awards and to our surprise we were awarded first place in class. We got a nice round of applause too and that made us feel good. At about 3 we headed for home and dodged the big black clouds forming. It did not rain until we hit the driveway to the farm. Got a good sprinkle, but that was great. When I got it in the trailer I was able to give it a quick dry so it is now ready for the next run. About an hour later we got hit by the big one. Lots of wind, and rain with pea sized hail. What a racket. But we did not lose power and that was sure surprising. The car ran great, did not miss a beat. Purred right down the road. A super day for sure. So here are the pictures of the Jags.

And some more. Just a note. We only saw one trailer. Everyone drove their car in. I was impressed.

Still Monday AM. We headed off to the Lily Pond 36th annual British Car Show in Adamstown, MD. Took the 60 some miles on the back country roads and we arrived about an hour and half later. We got there about 9 AM and the fields were kinda sparse. Rain was projected for the end of the day, but it was very overcast and gray clouds around, threatening rain. But by ten o'clock the cars came pouring in and the show fields started to fill up. I think at the end there were 350 or so cars. We had a great time showing everyone the Jaguar and I think that the front seat was worn out by all the folks that sat in it and had their pictures taken. We have even had one guy who was 6'5" squeeze in behind the wheel. That was some challenge, but he wanted his picture taken in the car. It was fun to see him contort his frame to get in. We also had one teenage boy who had a disability come look at the car so we told him to get in too. He grinned from ear to ear. His mother told us that "you just made his day". Glad we could do that. We took a look at all the nice cars and as usual I took some pics. So I will post a few of the really good ones. Enjoy.

Larry, somehow we missed the PA cars. Did not know about the display hall. On my 23, it did not have seals on the front and back of the pan either. So I glued on some felt on the rear and cork on the front. Seems to work just fine. Someone did tell me that the engine did not have seals in those locations, but could never verify it. That RTV stuff seems to be in every old engine. In my 23 it had turned to goo and was floating around in the pay. There is some on the 28 that I am still trying to peel off. Oh well, anything to keep the old iron running. It is Monday, June 3rd, AM. And we have a Greg report for the weekend. Sort but sweet. "Crammed as much as possible into the weekend. I'd located more of the front braking components that I'd cannibalized from Avanti 5054. That meant time standing at the blast cabinet. The caliper mount castings , rotors and misc hardware were cleaned and found to be ok. Ditto the bearings and seals. Appropriate parts were primed and painted. Saturday a gaggle of us traveled to Carlisle, Pa for the AACA Spring meet. Rob was debuting his '28 Chrysler and it was a hit. Saw a few other cars I'd bring home including two nice Avantis. One, a late '64 was a nicely preserved original, the other a '63 on it's first time out. I was impressed by the detail of the restoration. Running late, time to go." =

We took two full turns around the show field by 11:30. We were done. And hot too, there was little shade to be found except for the grandstand. So we headed on home. It was 95 degrees by the time we left, and was 100 on the way home. We had a great time.

And here are some pics of other cars that I thought were interesting. Restored and otherwise.

It is rare for me to see a Stanley steam car actually running and driving down the lane.

And I really like these two MGs. One was produced in PA, 1 of 2000. Never knew that.

We saw two Avantis at the show. Both were nice, a 64 with square headlights, and a 63 with round eyes. We were able to talk to one of the owners/the 63 and he informed us that it was a frame off restoration. It was beautiful. A great looking car.