unimogjohn

Still Friday, PM. Lots of junk coming this way, about an hour away according to radar. The TV weather folks are now going non-stop with reports and warnings. Reporting lots of wind, up to 60 mph, and big hail about 1/4 inch size. The clouds are really building around the farm. Here is a pic of the radar. We are in the middle, the stuff is to our south. Reports of tornadoes on the ground to the north east of us. Some schools are in lock down to our north. But the Jaguar NOS German made fuel pump arrived. Boy, the quality is impressive. Looks to be a direct replacement for the SU unit. I am going to keep it as a spare in the trunk with the tools to install it. Am really happy with my $50 purchase. Here are some pics.

Still Friday, but early afternoon. We have had some squalls rolling through the past couple of hours. We can see lots of stuff coming up from the south. Now the weather folks are calling for severe weather including tornado's and high winds. We were out this morning and saw that the power folks were staging their electrical power crews. I have everything put away. I did take the Jaguar out for a run before she was put in the barn. Ran great. Clock is still ticking away and keeping perfect time. When I arrived home the UPS guy had arrived. He brought me some rubber grommets for the Jaguar and Avanti; the suspension kit for the Suburban; and a battery cut off switch for the Avanti. I will need to make a mount for the cut off switch. The bump stop suspension kit looks to be a quality piece. Much more robust than the factory stuff. Just keep adding projects to my "to do" list.

It is Friday, June 1st. We are suppose to get huge thunderstorms this afternoon with tons of rain and high winds. Time to put stuff away. The Jag is going back into the barn garage this morning. And Greg is hard a work on the maroon Avaniti that was rescued yesterday. Here is his progress. " Getting started on the Avanti clutch caper. One photo shows the no mileage bracket on black Avanti R5054. Cars with automatic transmissiions have them but don't use them. Mine broke at the zig zag. All I could find around here was a scrap piece of hot rolled plate of 1/4" thickness. I've band sawed a chunk and have heated and bent the zig zags in it. Enough for tonight."

And Greg has already figured out the problem with the maroon Avanti. Here is his report. "Everything in life has a cost. Take the Studebaker Avanti. The enjoyment of the four speed is equal to the suffering of the clutch linkage. Some time ago I lost the clutch release about fifty miles from here. Drove it home from "out in the country". Troubleshooting showed some worn and weakened parts which I repaired/replaced with new or even doubled in thickness. Things were working great. Today, while in Metro traffic, I eased onto an expressway and when about to shift back in to fourth, thump goes the clutch pedal to the floor. I was able to drop it into high and cruise while I surveyed the situation. I'm an old hand at driving with a broken clutch, but in the DC area I decided to just find a good place to shut it down and call for a tow. Friends Frank, Dave, Lee, and then John Feser were called and a plan made. Feser dropped what he was doing and with trailer in tow, was on the way. Safely delivered back to the hanger, I thought it prudent to take a minute to explore the problem. The previously beefed items up were in good shape, the steel bracket (nearly 1/4" thick) had broken off. The one that is welded to the car's frame. I guess fifty years was it's USE BY date. Getting up in there with the engine in it looks like a problem. I can take a better look at the bracket on 5054 while it's engine is out. I'm exploring the possibility of making a doubler bracket and bolting it in place. To be continued....."

Still Thursday, Oh no. Got a call from Greg. He was on a trip to pick up the Matheson engine parts at the plater and the clutch pedal of the maroon Avanti went to the floor. So just after noon Greg gave me a distress call to assist. No problem, just pulled the trailer out of the pasture with the tractor, hooked it up to the Suburban and off we went. Found Greg on a bike path. So we started to winch the Avanti onto the trailer and my battery went flat. Decided to remove the Avanti battery and use it. Worked Great. Got the Avanti all tied down and off to the plater to complete the mission. Greg picked up the parts and we headed home. Round trip it was about 60 or so miles. Greg thinks that the bracket holding the clutch mechanism broke. Just really no way to get her home without being able to shift. I am sure that he will get under it tonight to see what is up. Oh, and mileage with the new filtering system. 13.5 mpg with just the trailer and 11.5 pulling the Avanti. These are freeway miles at about 60 mph. So this is about 2.5 mpg over the stock system. Here are a couple of pics of the rescue.

It is Thursday, May 31st, barely. Up early, 2:30 AM, woke up really early, even the cats are still sound asleep. Maybe I am becoming Greg? Here is his report from yesterday. And I have one more new oil line to install on the Jag. It is the line that goes from the oil filter assembly to the oil pressure gauge. The line is also prone to breaking with age at the most opportune time. Should be a bit easier to install than the cam oil lines. At least I will have more room to see what I am doing. "This week has been a lightning round. With losing a day for the holiday, ain't no chance of catching up. And, I've been taking some classes in Winchester in the evenings, so by the time I get back here to get started on some of my stuff, it's eleven o'clock. Last night I was able to install that missing cam bearing on the black Avanti engine, and then get the crankshaft and main bearings set in place and all but torqued. Didn't forget the new rear main seal or flywheel bolts. Tonight I was all set to drive the crank gear in place, but being a living example of the 50/50/90 Rule, there are only two ways to install the bearing thrust plate before pressing the gear on. As much as I searched in the service manual, I couldn't find it in print which way the oiling groove was to face. I think it goes toward the bearing. Instead of the 90% chance of getting it on the wrong way, I'll call tomorrow for reassurance. Day job on the Wright 8-60 engine is still progressing. I've gotten the bronze bearings milled and drilled for the gear shafts. Now I'm making a fixture to drill the mounting bolt holes accurately. Word from the foundry's machine shop is that the crankshaft is perhaps 3/4 done. The Matheson engine plating order is ready, and I must find time to go retrieve it. And I need to get some primer on the front of black Avanti 5054 if the humidity is down. I also need to buy more time. Busy days are good days." =

It is Wednesday, May 30th. Stormy last night, and we got over a half of an inch of rain. Lots of wind too, and as a result, lots of branches down. Started work on the Jag at 9:30 and just called it quits at 2:30. Forgot about breakfast and lunch too, just too busy. Started off by deciding to heat up the engine, why I do not know, just love the sound of it. But before I hit the start button I heard a faint tick, tick, tick, tick. The key is off, so it cannot be the fuel pump and besides it is really quiet. My oh my, the electric clock has decided to start working. Another miracle. So set the time and she is still running. Decided to replace the cam return oil assembly. The one on the car is original, and they are prone to cracking with age and fatigue. I slowly and gently broke the three banjo bolts loose, and managed not to strip or remove threads. I then installed the new hose assembly. Took a while to do as you have to get your hands behind the engine and firewall to get the bolts to start. And of course I had to drop washers about a half a dozen times before I got them on. Started the engine, no leaks. Then I thought I would either tighten or replace the washer on the oil filter assembly. Tightening did not work, it got worse. So decided to just remove the oil filter, the hold down bolt, and replace its washer. Well the best intentions got more involved. I had to remove the oil filter, which looked really old and used up. Just so happened I had a new filter so decided just to replace it, and change the oil too. The change takes 14 quarts plus a little bottle of ZDDP. So now the Jag has new blood pumping thru her. Also just snugged up the big bolt that holds the canister, and guess what, no leak. I could not get it out anyway to replace the washer as the bolt hits the intake. No way was I going to take out the intake to remove the bolt and put in a new washer. So the work on the Jag is done for the day. The fuel pump seems to be working fine. It ticks away and then stops as it reaches full pressure of 4lbs. The fuel filter is half full. And the surprise of the day. Just picked up the mail and in it was a letter from the Shenandoah Region AACA. The 1928 Buick Town Brougham received a 1st place award in class 17SP at the Apple Blossom Show in Winchester a few weeks ago. Quite an honor for the old girl. She still presents well in her original state. Sure glad I spent the day polishing her up. Was worth it.

Don and Chris, yes, it is a gamble due to the age. And I am sure that the fuel could be an issue at some point too. But will try it and see what happens. Yes, the pumps do have a composite diaphragm and it goes up and down with the with the turning off and on of a magnet. The on and off is controlled by a set of points. Seems pretty complex in a way.

Still Tuesday. Beat the storms home. The Jag started easily and ran great. No issues with running. But then I got home and took a look at the fuel filter. Only about 20% full. I do not know if I should be concerned or not. Anyway, I saw a Hardi (German made) NOS fuel pump, made under license to SU, on Ebay a few days ago. So I bid and won. It is a direct replacement for the SU fuel pump on the 120 now. So I think I will put the Hardi pump on and see if it performs better. So the $50 spent on the Hardi fuel pump may be ill spent or the best deal ever, only a test and time will tell. A new SU pump is around $440. Here is a pic of the pump. A number of folks told me just to put on a low pressure Carter electric fuel pump and be done with the SU. They are about $60 to my door. But they do not have the look like the square bodied pumps and do not go tick, tick, tick.

Still Tuesday, the weather folks say that we can expect heavy thunder storms this PM. On weather radar it looks like the storms are forming in NW PA and are going to drop down to us. But I did get out and check the fuel flow volume on the Jag. Suppose to get a pint in 30 seconds. So disconnected the fuel line at the filter and let it pump into a marked glass jar. Alice turned the key and timed the 30 seconds. It pumped almost a pint, so looks like it's volume is fine. I then decided to check the two little filter screens in the intakes to the carbs. Both were clean, however, one has a messed up spring for the screen and will get a replacement. Here is a pic of the fuel filter with the engine idling. It is half full. So I guess that I am OK to get back on the road. Will take a test drive this PM.

It is Tuesday, May 29th. Going to be another hot one today and it is suppose to match yesterday's 95 degrees. Had a PM yesterday asking for pics of the Suburban's bump stop failure. So here are a couple of pics. I hope this morning to do a flow test on the Jag fuel pump. Will report out on that when it gets accomplished. And we have a report from Greg too. " Long weekend shot. Don't know where the time goes, but when I find out I'm going to get me some. It was a good weekend for work and play. 'Ol Bill stopped by in his Stearman long enoughj to clean a few spark plugs. Then I spent a good part of Saturday sanding on 5054. I've got most of the front end from windshield forward ready for primer. Dirty filthy job, especially lying underneath the front opening , but everything has a cost. It was pretty humid, so I didn't spay any prime coats. Sunday found us on a road trip in Seabiscuit. Parts pickup at Rob's Auto Emporium. Had a nice visit, a couple pics enclosed of some progress going on there. The Stanley is an old project that's coming together, the other is that '28 Chrysler depot hack that is also making strides. A very good weekend well spent. Hope yours was too."

It is Sunday, May 27th. Nothing from Greg, I think he is taking a break. But I am fooling with old and modern cars. So here is my update. Got my 02 Chev Trailblazer with the messed up front diff back from the shop yesterday. The diff main carrier bearing let go and it also ate an axle. The shop put in a used diff and new axle. They said it was the hardest job they had every done. They dropped both sides of the suspension, dropped the oil pan, dropped the steering rack, and many other piece parts in order to remove the diff. The diff is actually attached to the oil pan. Anyway, they said they lost their shirt on labor. So got her done for $1600. Went out yesterday and found a bump stop on the driveway. Looked at the rolling stock and and found that the 03 Suburban was missing one. What a cheap part, just foam glued to a base plate. The foam had just deteriorated over time. So did some research and bought a product that will last the life of the truck and provide some actually suspension enhancement. Here is what I bought. Should not be too difficult to install. Knock on wood. Timbren Kits, Timbren Suspension Kits, Timbren Load Booster, Timbren Overload Springs, Timbrens - TruckSpring.com Finally, I started up the Jag. Fired right up. Looked at the plastic fuel filter and I can see fuel pulsing/flowing into it, but it is only about 25% full. I think that it should be at least 3/4 full. So I am going to do a flow test. It is suppose to flow 1 pint in 30 seconds. Will report what I find out.

Chris, tons of those temp sensor guns out there for not much money. Here is an example. $28 if you have Amazon Prime with free shipping. Amazon.com: HDE Temperature Gun Infrared Thermometer w/ Laser Sight: Home Improvement

Still Friday, but PM. Drove the Avanti over to a "hood" farm get together. And when we returned I found Greg's Friday report. So for your enjoyment, here is Greg's work from today. "While waiting for the gear drive bearing castings to arrive, I decided to rough out the magneto base plate. Sawn out of a piece of aluminum sheet, the thickness was reduced until the fit of the gears is almost right. Then the length and width was cut and milled. I've left some material to allow final adjustments. Made a mess of the milling machine, cleanup can wait. As I close up the shop, I find that UPS has indeed brought me something. The manganese bronze castings look up to Bob Eagan's usual standard. I've got all weekend to decide how to approach the machining process. Otherwise, no plans for the Memorial Day weekend other than enjoying the freedom paid for by so many brave souls. Maybe I can happen onto some hot dogs and hamburgers?" =

It is Friday, May 25th, PM. Just got out from under the Jag. Yesterday, I removed the fuel pump, cleaned everything with compressed air and blew out the open gas lines. So everything should be clean from the engine bay fuel filter to the gas tank. I also used a little aviation gasket sealer on the cork gaskets for the fuel pump to make sure that I had a good seal. So put in five gallons and started her up. The pump quickly primed and then clicked a few times to fill the lines. I hit the starter button and she fired right up. I then got under the car to check for leaks. No leaks found and the pump would click about every four seconds or so rather than the rapid fire clicks I had been getting. We took her out for a spin of a couple of miles and everything seems OK. I am going to put in another five gallons of fuel tomorrow and take it on a longer run to make sure that everything is OK. I also am going to put in some Seafoam fuel cleaner to see that that dissolves the little black sand like nodules. I was surprised to see some caught by the see through plastic fuel filter even after the clean. I suppose these could have been in the fuel pump chamber as I did not take that section apart. But it does look like I am back on the road. I will run through a tank and check the plastic fuel filter for any more debris and if the Seafoam has had any effect on the nodules.

It is Thursday, May 24th. I am going to clean the Jaguar fuel pump today and blow out all the lines with compressed air today, if it stops raining. Got dumped on last night, 1.5 inches. And Greg even stayed in the shop to work. Here is his report for you. "It's been a dark and stormy night so I stayed in and amused myself. The car on the hill can wait. A recent conversation with my Idaho connection leads me to believe that I'd better get started on a project he sent some time ago. Making some parts for his Lunkenheimer regulator. So, between storms I got some lathe work done. The photo shows that the aluminum bowl has given up, a result of it's occupation. Collecting condensation from exhaust gas. I've begun machining a new one, threads are cut for a proper fit to the body casting, then an arbor has been threaded to fit to anchor the new bowl during the fabrication. Otherwise, today I did get the rollers fitted to the 8-60 cam followers for the Wright engine. Made some about fifteen years ago and the trail had grown cold. The first one reminded me that I have to buck the tail of the rivet hot. Otherwise the shank of the rivet swells in the hard steel bushing and being brittle, the brittle bushing breaks."

Still Wednesday, but late PM. The Jag fuel saga continues. The car is still on the trailer so I can get under it. Decided to start it. Started fine and ran about 30 seconds and died, would not refire. Waited about an hour and then she started up. Enough of this. I pumped out 15 gallons of fuel and then ran the engine until it quit, about five minutes. The gas tank drain has two bolts, one inside the other. Removed the little bolt and just a little clean gas came out, no debris. Tried to remove the bigger bolt from the bottom of the tank, it is a no go. So left it alone and moved on. I then disconnected the gas line to the fuel pump. Lots of debris came out. It is like grains of sand, but when you rub them between your fingers they dissolve with pressure. I then blew into the line to the tank, no resistance felt. I then disconnected the outlet fuel line and let it drain, the little fuel in it came out clear, no debris. Then I removed the fuel pump and then the bottom cover, debris there, but nothing on the brass screen, but the screen is puckered in the middle and debris might be getting through there. I will have to check it. Removed the top cover, no debris, everything looked good. I then blew through the long tube on the bottom end and the little valve on the top end did not move, kept blowing and it finally rattled free. I will use compressed air tomorrow to remove all the debris and make sure that the little valve is clear and moves freely. Then I will put everything back in and see if anything made any difference. If this still does not work, I will move onto the carbs.

David, Here you go. Only mine has a plastic tube versus aluminum. I did buy it used off of Ebay. 77-3023KP - K&N Intake Kits, Performance Intake Kit direct from K&N David, found mine in the catalog. http://www.knfilters.com/search/product.aspx?Prod=57-3023-1

Still Wednesday PM. Decided to visit the Smithsonian's Air and Space Annex with my son, Chris, and grandson, Evan. Evan was impressed with the magic boxes, aka elevators. I have been several times, but wanted to see the space shuttle Discovery up close and personal. Gave me chills when I saw it. What a shame it will not fly again. One awesome machine. Here are some pics. Also since this was the first time on the freeway for the Suburban with its new K&N filter system that I installed a few days ago, I decided to do an economy run. So for a sixty mile round trip I averaged 17.1 mpg at a steady 60 mph. So it looks to be about a 3 to 4 mpg increase. My usual average with the stock unit was 13 to 14 mpg. The sound is about the same unless you stomp on the pedal, which is not often. I also ran a few miles, about five, at 55 mph, and got an average of 20 mpg.

It is Wednesday, May 23rd. Storms again last night, another inch. The pastures are full of grass, but everyone is complaining that it is too wet to cut for hay. I am sure the sun will come out so everyone can make hay. I did cut apart the Jag's fuel filter. No big parts of debris, but the paper media was as hard as a rock, almost a ceramic coating. The previous owner owner only drove the car less than 600 miles in ten years. So maybe the filter was filled with old gas, varnish, and debris; and just plain old. Here are a couple of pics. The pump only pushed about 4 lb of pressure at max so no wonder gas would just not flow through the filter anymore. And Greg sent in a report from last night too. Here is his report and pics. "More suited for the desert climate, I hate rain. Got in a few minutes in that tin barn between storms. I dressed the blister repair that I did last night. It looks good, shape is fine and the thickness ok. A bit of sanding, ground and filed the slot for the bumper bolt, and just a touch of Bondo to fill some scratches. I'll wait until I can roll the car out into the sunshine to finish sand it. Working in my own shadow doesn't produce good results. Also included is a pic of Scott Rawlings plastic rod for the Wright engine, he'll do another tomorrow. I've got plenty of time before I can fit them to the crankshaft since it is still under construction. Meanwhile I've got cam followers underway. I should be able to rivet the rollers in place tomorrow after I make any adjustments to the shape of the beam. Only used on the exhaust valves, time spent on them is cut in half."

Still Tuesday, but mid PM. Greg is busy, so much so, he has given us a mid day report. "Camera disc is full, I'll unload it on you. The Wright 8-60 work continues. * pic of grinding the cam follower bushings for a slip fit in their rollers. *Scott cutting the rubber mould open to free the sample 6-60 connecting rod. *measuring the displacement of the rod to determine how much casting resin to mix. *Pouring the resin *Opening the mould . Back to it." =

Click on the highlighted "rod shims" in my previous message. It is a link to Snyders.com and the shims.

It is Monday, May 22nd. Rained hard last night about 1 and a 1/4 inch. But rain does not deter Greg from his work and hobby. I am going to head into town this morning to get electrical wire for the fan that will go into the Jaguar. Here is Greg's report. " No complaints today. Had a surprise visit . Thetan the tinman. Fought him for the lunch ticket, he won. I'll get him next time. Day job. The Wright engine 8-60 needs a set of cam followers. Today I started assembling some. There will be some spares, enough for another four cylinder if they all turn out. Got the hinges installed and rivets peened. Tomorrow I should work on getting the rollers and bushings fitted , maybe even begin their installation. Looking forward to the time I need connecting rods so I've enlisted the aid of Scott. He started the process of making the rubber moulds for copying the 6-60 rods in plastic. Photos show him pouring the moulding rubber into his form box to cover the sample rod. Otherwise, damp and miserable in the hangar on the hill. As good a night as any to begin the repair of the broken rear bumper blister. Mysterious damage, about half of the blister was broken. I saved the fragments for just such a night. Of course I've misplaced them, so I started without them. Layups of mat and resin, it's coming along. Next I'll take a look to see if my patch is as thick as the parent panel. If not, it's a simple process to keep adding layers." =

You can either make your own as was done on my 23 Buick or you can use some ready made shims, just make sure they fit the contour of the mating surfaces. Rod Shims

It is Monday, May 21st. Has been raining all morning, and humid too. But let up a little about noon so headed out to tackle the Jag fuel issue. Decided to see if it would start before I did anything. Of course it did. The little Jag gremlins must have repaired it overnight. But I went ahead and decided to replace the can type fuel filter as it is the easiest thing to tackle. To my surprise the canister was almost plugged, I could hardly blow through it. No wonder I was starved for fuel. So I replaced it with one that I have as a spare for the Avanti. Then re-fired the engine and she started right up. There is suppose to be a filter screen in the main gas tank drain. I think I will drain out the fuel and check that little filter also. Here is a pic of the can, then two pics of the fine debris that came back out of the filter when I blew out the gas. I am sure that the can is loaded too, I may cut it open just to see.