Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[unimogjohn]

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."

[unimogjohn]

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.

[r1lark]

Ouch, that is a project for sure! John, how much snow/ice/freezing rain did you have last night and today? We have somewhere between 2 and 3 inches here in Winston-Salem. A lot of people without power (luckily not us). Turned to rain mid to late-morning, and now everything is a slushy mess......

[unimogjohn]

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.

[SeventhSon]

Some people have all the fun.

[unimogjohn]

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."

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[unimogjohn]

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.

[Landman]

I wouldn't mind that Plymouth parked alongside my Chevy.

[unimogjohn]

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."

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[John Byrd]

John, in reference to your Kubota's front tires....two dealers told me that the recommended pressure ( 26 psi ? ) was not enough to keep them from doing exactly what yours have done,- - the cracks running round about the center of the sidewall. I don't remember if yours has the front end loader, mine did, but you might ask a "professional" about that air pressure. My tractor went to my brother-in-law when we moved here in 2010, and the tires are still on it and in good shape he says. I had bought it new in 2000 and always kept the pressure up after the 1st time I lifted a good sized load and asked my tire guys and the dealer. Keep up the good work on your projects and tell Greg that at least one fellow here REALLY enjoys his "adventures". Thanks, jb

[unimogjohn]

Thanks John, will keep those tires at full inflation for sure.

It is Thursday, AM, March 13th. Wow, what a blow last night. They say we had gusts up to 60 MPH. Sure glad that there were no leaves on the trees or we would have been in big trouble. Lost power for a couple of hour in the late PM, but it was on by this morning. Cold too, the temps have dropped to 20 degrees, 40 degrees from yesterday's high of 64.

Looks like Greg made it though the storm too. Here is his report.

"The wind is howling outside. Good opportunity for trees standing in soggy soil to give it up and take out some power lines, etc.

With the rumor of more pleasant weather to come, figured it was time to do some pre-Spring maintenance on Old 'Biscuit. With Rob done with the front end work and it back in it's stall, better get the oil and filters changed and that sort of thing. Picked up a case of oil at lunch today, filters ordered, etc.

I need to look up the odometer reading from the time when I got it roadworthy this century. I'm thinking the engine's got about nine thousand miles on it now. So tonight I pulled the spark plugs for the first time. They look terrific. Ordered a new set anyway. The valve covers came off for a valve adjustment sometime in the daylight. After I'm done poking at it I'll also do some Spring cleaning, after all it is a Studebaker and prone to being less than eco-friendly.

After playing Avanti I turned my attention to the Overland back seat. Drilled the remaining heads off the half-oval trim screws to expose some of the nails that retain the sheet steel skin. Next focus will be on the decorative wooden moulding that sandwiches the skin in the upper rear. At this point I'm not sure what holds it on. Might be evidence of wooden doweling, no obvious screws. If it's glued on there might be a struggle to get it all off intact. Time to get Scott the wood wizard to eyeball the situation before I wreck something.

Photos: Avanti underhood shots illustrate why I'll wait for daylight to do any serious work on it.

Some pics of dismantling the Overland seat to remove the steel from the wooden structure. Both need help. Notice the rust that has been trapped behind the half oval mouldings for the last hundred plus years. "

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[unimogjohn]

Still Thursday. Boy, it is very cold outside. Only about 25 degrees and the wind is whipping about 25 mph. It about freezes your ears off in seconds.

So what to do. Look around YouTube for interesting videos. Here is one I found on Harley Earl that you might enjoy.

And of course my favorite designer, Sherwood Egbert, father of the Avanti. Here is the Avanti introduction, everything you ever wanted to know about an Avanti.

Edited March 13, 2014 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, PM. A real nice day before another big storm coming Sunday night and all day Monday. The weather folks say that we are in the eye of the storm and to expect 6 to 8 inches of SNOW. But it is nice, but windy, here today so took the time to uncover the Avanti, which is in the barn, and check all the fluids and then see if she starts. Well, after about five seconds she fired right up. Could not resist and took her over the pasture and onto the road. We had a nice ten miles ride. First road trip of 2014.

[unimogjohn]

Early Monday morning, March 17th. Snowed hard all night, and only 25 degrees. Will step outside with my measuring tape to see how much we got.

Oh, that is cold, the stick measured 7.5 inches on the railing. Looks like it will be an inside day for sure. Will wait until it stops snowing to see if I want to plow us out with the Kubota tractor. We are not planning to go anywhere so ............

I see a big black lump in the living room this morning. It is Ernest, the neighbor's dog. He decided to come in and spent the night. Too snowy for him too. A very nice, friendly dog, who has adopted us. Comes over every day and stays for hours. He usually stays outside as he is a farm dog, but if the weather is bad he uses the dog door to come in and sleep. I really do not mind, but today he smells like skunk. Oh well, what is a little burning of the eyes. I just don't get too close.

But Greg has a yesterday evening report for us.

"Well, it's doing it again. Snowing.

Saturday wasn't too cold so I spent some time getting the maroon car ready for the day it can go play in traffic. Fresh oil, new oil and air filters, valve adjustment and headbolt torque were checked. It's getting close to being good to go.

Today I took a few minutes to strip the tin from the Overland seat, then broke the woodwork into sub assemblies. A cold and wintry night is a good opportunity to take some rough dimensions to have on hand for the day I look for some new ash lumber."

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[r1lark]

Wow, 7-1/2 inches! And we thought winter was finally over.......

We only got rain with a little ice and freezing rain mixed in.

[Bill Stoneberg]

skunks and dogs,reminds me of earlier days. I had an German Shepherd that chased anything and he got sprayed by skunks twice before he figured out little black and white animals were not to play with. now when I smell them I think of him.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, March 24th. Only 20 degrees this morning, brrrrrr. And tomorrow we are to get 1 to 3 inches of snow. Oh Boy. I hope that this is it for the last gasp of winter. We have been doing farm chores for the past couple of weeks. I have a lot of pasture management to do so spreading lime and fertilizer and doing a general cleanup of the winter debris. I get get to the Jaguar and check her out and did a general service. She started right up in the trailer and I pulled her out onto the ramp. Did not go any further as the pasture she is in is still too soggy to drive her out. Next week we should be good to go.

But Greg got to take a nice drive in his Avanti. Here is his report.

"Not much new to report here. Last week's hour sitting in the doctor's waiting room and about half that before I got my checkup was long enough to drive my blood pressure up and find some stray germs to bring home. The resulting cold was reason enough to stay out of the shop and hibernate evenings. Nevertheless, looking out the window at Saturday was an excuse to pull the maroon Avanti out of the barn and go for a spin. I knew it had been low on fuel, so earlier in the week I did a Google search for NON ethanol fuel and found some almost locally. Grabbed the gas can to get five gallons. There is an implement supply that now carries it......93 Octane.

That was enough to get me to Winchester to top off with real 87 which even with a splash of octane booster is a lot cheaper to operate on. We'll see how it runs on this even though it has been tuned for the dreaded alcohol forced on us. I will say that when giving it some throttle it certainly responds better with the real thing. Doesn't pop and crack.

On the way to get the gas, I stopped by to visit with an old friend Gary. Gary had the good fortune to court and marry the daughter of a founder of the old car hobby in my hometown. E. Earl Shade. I am fortunate to have known him. While a youngster exploring the world and still confined to a bicycle, I happened onto his place of business, an old established International truck dealership. Sneaking a peek inside his shop I was totally taken by the sight of an ancient car sitting on its shredded white tires, the cords splayed in all directions.

The old thing had been made into a tow truck and did service in Charles Town, W. Va. and still had Weller Bros painted on its hood.

Mr. Shade had been in the auto business since the early days and had a fondness for gathering old things. This included any local history items. There were other attractions in that shop and the yard out back. The '37 Terraplane sedan caught my eye, but the almost rusted away Model A coupe more likely for a twelve year old.

Finding the local Shenandoah Region of the antique car club led me to more adventures than I can recall, but with this group of really wonderful souls I was able to make friends and mentors. Some my age. The Jackson clan took me into their family. Can't say enough about that. Young (at the time) Johnnie and I did some travel on our bikes. Often we'd do the miles to Mr. Shade's country home . With a wonderful collection of autos and artifacts, we would be contented for hours and we could tell that he enjoyed our visits because we wanted to be with him and he knew that, that we weren't there because we were after anything . Just to spend time . To many he was ornery and cantankerous , but John will agree that those visits are remembered warmly. We lost him a long time ago.

So stopping by his place to visit with Gary meant a walk through and a trip back in time. The old Weller truck, a 1913 Cadillac remains unchanged as does most everything else.

Still adding to the collection, one new acquisition really pleases me. Gary's son Eric went to a local farm sale and couldn't resist bringing home the bones of a '21 Oneida truck. Don't know if its on their ToDo List, but it is do-able. It's huge and they're still out there.

Back out on the highway, I finally got to feel out Seabiscuit's new front end overhaul. It does feel much better. Solid and precise. Thanks Rob.

So after a good day on the road and nearing the barn, a fresh valve adjustment and a load of real gas, I felt it was time to try all four barrels for the first time since the engine overhaul.

Romped on it in first gear. I had forgotten how as the throttle opens, the supercharger boost comes on as the engine RPM, the gas gauge and the pulse rate all try to get away. As John Erb used to tell me, "The faster you go, the faster you go." He's still right. Got off it real quick. I don't need to break anything or do anything stupid.

Stomping on the gas and the resulting crescendo was another step back in time, a time when it was a daily occurrence. Sure not used to that anymore. And no need to be."

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[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, March 30th, PM. What is up with this weather? Rain for the past two days to the tune of 2.5 inches, and today a rain and snow mixed. Where the heck is spring?

The only thing on the old car front is that I scored a dozen 1923 Buick wheel rim bolts. They are NOS and extremely rare. So I snapped them up. I need several so these will work great. They have some surface floss/rust, but should clean up nicely. I am a happy camper.

And here is a report from Greg.

"This week has flown by just like the month of March. Sure glad Spring got here. I think it was on a Wednesday.

Work still going strong. One day spent on a research trip to the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy facility. Jim Davis met Scott and I along the way. A closeup inspection of their unrestored Curtiss JN4-D was the excuse, Malcolm's tour of the artifact forensics lab and the restoration area a bonus.

Miserable weather has interfered with any work in the tin barn, I did get in some shop time this weekend. The underseat panel we did for the Harvester had curled like it was meant for a rocking chair. Some poplar from Home Depot and time alone resulted in another one. Maybe this one will stay flat, but wood does what it wants to.

Today was a good day to overhaul a Stewart Warner fuel pump. The one mounted on Seabiscuit Studebaker quit working and I'll swap them out sometime.

Pics of the museum trip. Davis was really taken with the Sikorsky flying boat. Not just a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, it eventually got airborne to look for the Jap fleet. Armament was a Marine with a rifle.

Planing, sawing, nailing together the Harvester seat panel.

S-W fuel pump rebuild."

[trimacar]

Where is spring indeed? Snow in Winchester today, but no accumulation.....cold and windy though....had a nice visit with Greg when he came to pick up fuel pump kits I'd acquired for him...he got to inspect the 1915 T that I'm doing a little work on, not mine, wife won't let me own a Ford.....

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 7th. Spring has sprung. So took the opportunity to take the Jaguar out of its winter hibernation and do a quick service. Getting it ready for the driving season. Everything looks great so Shadow and I took her out for a very long drive. We had a great time.

And Greg is working on his projects too. Here is his report.

Since I don't have much to report, I'll send along this note from Jim Davis.

Over the weekend I did start a carburetor overhaul, a spare for one of the Avantis. Still pining for some good old time warm weather.

As for the day job, plugging my way through Curtiss OX-5 cylinder overhaul. Part of that process is refreshing the valve seats. I hate doing valve seats. But since there so many for me to do (sixteen per V-8, two or three OX engines to do and the Wrights use the same valve size) I decided to invest some of the boss' money on some valve seat cutting tools. Neway cutters. I tried my hand at them on a Wright eight cylinder and it actually went well. I'm not supposed to be investing time on it, but I think I'd better hone my skills on the 8-60 before attempting the Curtiss jugs. Good excuse as any to proceed with it.

From: n1014

Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2014 07:10:39 -0400

Dear George (also copied are some others that may be interested),

The pictures of Sikorsky's amphibian (military designation JRS and civil S-43) were taken at NASM's Udvar Hazy restoration facility at Dulles. Greg Cone and Scott

Rawlins invited me to tag along on March 26th last while they did some work on "their" Wright Flyer and examined/measured a JN4D.

This "boat" really caught my eye ... it is to be restored shortly ... I think a Curtiss Helldiver, a B-26 Marauder (Flak Bait) are ahead of it. Please let me know if

Hawaiian Airlines' last amphibian was of this type. Did you tell me that one of the Hawaiian's pilots that flew it is still around? If so please let him see these pictures.

This very airplane took off from Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 in search of the Japanese. It was armed with a US Marine (with his rifle). Four people were

aboard as I recall. It's sister ship was destroyed and taken out to sea. NASM and its technicians have much history about this airplane in their records. They even

have a distant photo of a sailor painting it on December 8, 1941 (its prewar colors were too bright) ... many artifacts remain inside this airplane. It was Sikorsky's

answer to the Consolidated PBY.

Sikorsky made 53 of these aircraft ... they were in fact 15 passenger airliners. 15 were for the USN/Marines. One went to the Vanderbilts and one to Howard Hughes.

Hughes planned an around-the-world flight in his which was stopped by WWII. He wrecked it in Lake Meade and restored it. Kermit Weeks is well on the way to

restoring the Hughes S-43 (can be seen on the internet). The Vanderbilt plane no longer exists.

Regards,

Jim Davis

youtube channel: www.youtube.com/n1014f

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[HotWheels]

I know this is a bit off topic, but thought this just about the best thread to share the below Pebble Beach video that was sent to me of a very unique engine in the only remaining Adams-Farwell, this one from 1906.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y0XbqHUAI-0?feature=player_detailpage

[unimogjohn]

Thanks for the video Tom. I was amazed at the lack of vibration even at idle. There was no to very little body shake as I would have suspected.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 14th. Oh boy, we have a report from Greg. Speaking of Greg, he stopped by yesterday and I got to take his Maroon Avanti out for a spin. What a beast! With the upgraded suspension and larger sway bars she corners like a race car. He also has Knoi shocks on it. I must admit that I had a hard time driving it. It is more a track car versus a cruiser. It does not like to be lugged for sure. It was a good ride, but I like my cruiser Avanti much better.

Here is Greg's report. "Nice weekend. Of course I spent most of Saturday searching, ransacking actually. Can't find my W-2 form. I know a lot of places that little slip of paper ain't. They'll print out another one tomorrow.

Then I got in a little time on Seabiscuit, the maroon Avanti. Supercharged Avantis are always a sweatbox in summer. This one especially. I found some holes in the firewall that let rods and things pass through that would leak engine compartment heat. Got them closed off.

Frank Gable did stop by with his friend Mike the Britt, visiting from London, sorry Surrey, we had a nice visit. That led to a meeting for lunch. Afterward as Barb and I were driving back from town we found ourselves neck and neck on the dual lane with a '57 Chevy and the driver (Frank) wearing an evil grin. Of course this led to an impromptu sporting event. Don't worry, traffic laws weren't broken.... bent a little maybe. Even Barbara was grinning. Great fun.

Today I couldn't help myself and put in some time on the Wright V8-60. Officially my day job is working on OX-5 Curtiss bits, cutting fresh valve seats in my future. Hearing of the Neway cutter system, and since the Curtiss and Wright share some valve specs, ordered some. Feeling that the best place to learn how to use them, I decided to practice on the unfinished V8-60 cylinders.

That went well and as a result I was able to loosely install the valves, springs, retainers and keeper nuts. Gets them off the shelf and some check marks on the list of things to do. Today I rough cut the push rods to length which allowed me to hang them and the rocker arms and pins. Starting to really look like something. Other than some incidentals, rods and pistons about the only things lacking.

Then I got in some time on 5054, the black Avanti. I need to get the quarter windows installed. The door ventwindow castings are out for rechroming and I probably won't see them until June.

A timeout gave us time to go darken the Feser's doorstep. He drove me around a block in his neighborhood.

And also included in tonight's visual presentation, a long lost pic of our old friend Bob Metz. This taken on a Saturday in '73 I think. Writing for a sports car newsletter and he was the official road test/writeup contributor. This particular victim was a new Cosworth Vega. As I recall, after the wringing out we gave it the write-up earned him not just a total ban from that dealership, he wasn't even allowed to drive by it.

Bob, nice outfit! Were you unwrapping a sandwich or trying to figure out a washcloth? Looks like Rhodes sitting in the car. Photo setting looks like the gas station across from Winchester Electric on Millwood Avenue.

Hope this is the beginning of a lot of good weekends."

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[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 21st. What a fun day yesterday. Got the Avanti out of the garage, and Alice and I headed to friends for a nice Easter dinner. Had a great time and the car just purred along the country roads. A great ride.

Couple of nice days so took a break from farm chores to work on the Suburban. Changed the spark plugs and wires, and then took her in for an AC checkup. Greg and Barb are going to use it to head to Cape May, New Jersey, in early May with their International Harvester. Greg is taking the old girl on its first tour. I have included a full picture so you can see what IH looks like in full view.

Here is Greg's report of his getting ready progress.

"A nice weekend, Saturday being on the cool side, I worked in the shop.

Old Harvester being on the ready line, got long overdue attention to its seat upholstery.

Originally covered with imitation leather and stuffed with excelsior (look it up) and horsehair, it not only looked shabby but was in danger of further damage. I decided to protect it.

Although I'm a purist and think tacks the way to go when duplicating vintage upholstery, I decided that staples would be a less invasive way to secure new covering.

Using a modern drapery lining material I held the old in place (underwear) and then used a convertible top material (Haartz cloth) as the top cover. This should preserve the original. I hope Malcolm approves.

Plans are to haul it to Cape May next month to participate in a tour for one and two cylinder cars. It will be the first tour for the old termite truck.

Today was a nice day to be out on Easter Sunday. Barb and I had a nice drive to dine with the Rob extended family and friends, then on across country to visit with my Mom. All making for a great weekend."

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[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, April 22nd. Oh, we have a report from Greg. And I am off in the Avanti. Going to pick up Suburban parts in town in order to finish the ignition work.

Looks like Greg and David Coco are having fun with a road trip. Here is Greg's report.

"Greg and David's Big Adventure.

My internal alarm clock allowed me an extra four minutes this morning, bounced me out of bed at 6:34. Way too early to like old cars, but nevertheless I was out of the apartment by 7:00 to meet with the infamous David.Coco for a road trip. Playing hookey from work, I took off with him to see the progress on his '10 Buick Model 16. He too is trying to proceed with the restoration by farming out some work with Walter Higgins Restorations, not far from Philly.

Arriving at David's, we both hopped into his Suburban after loading the front seat from my '10 Overland. It was going along in the anticipation of leaving it with Walt. Maybe he had the time to work on it. An assemby of wooden structure with sheet steel skin applied, it wasn't in bad condition, but the glue joints had failed, some of the wood was questionable and there was some rust evident on the sheet metal.

It's a pretty good haul from Winchester, but Dvd kept me entertained with stories, like recounting his recent trip to the ER for repairs. The Buick's axle had rolled out of the car trailer and crashed his leg. I'm sorry I wasn't there for David's explanation why he needed six stitches inflicted by an errant car part. Would have been a hoot to've seen the look on the doctor's face when he got the answer to "Have you had a recent tetanus shot?" "Must've gotten one when I got hit in the head with a tire iron...." If you've never changed a clincher tire you have no idea.

Before I can go into Buick progress (copyright infringement issues, you know), I can state that Walter looked at the Overland seat, made all the right observations, said all the right things, got the job. For me growing up's hardest lesson is to relinquish work that I would like to do myself, in order to expedite it. Not easy finding the right help either.

And speaking of the right help, I didn't go straight home. I stopped by Thetan Ogle's shop to see what he was doing. He's a panel beater. I've always considered the forming of metal sheet metal shapes the highest form of the art of automotive restoration . Not just making sheet steel bend in ways it doesn't want to go, but it also takes a good eye . There was plenty to see. He has undertaken the resurrection of the body of Burchill's burnt to a crisp thirty-three (I think) Chrysler convertible cabriolet. Working from burned and smashed steel and some borrowed samples, it's coming along.

Then we talked about my Stoddard-Dayton progress. Since the car is up and running in race car clothes, it's been back burner. Thetan had been helping with making the tooling and forming the rear fender components. Then we both got busy on other things. It was decided that I would take the fender components and get them mocked up on the car and ready to tack together. Then the running board/toolboxes will be resolved and that will determine the final dimensions of the front fenders for him.

Tonight I'm enclosing pics of:

The Overland front seat.

Chrysler progress at Thetan's.

The Stoddard=Dayton rear fender parts. Notice the nice bead work on fender panels, the very nicely crimped edge wiring (he uses his Pullmax die forming machine, I've always been reduced to rolling the beads and hammering the edgewires) and the intricate shape of the fender skirting and the different ways it has to bend.

So with that, I'm out of space and time to close up this pop stand. David, Walt, Thetan.....thanks for a very good day."

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[unimogjohn]

and we have a follow-up from David.

"Greg does a good job of protecting the guilty in his emails, and didn’t show Buick progress.

Attached are pictures of 1910 Buick Model 16, seats in primer about ready for paint, and fitting of hood and scuttle dash…..it’s coming along nicely…. this car (like the Chrysler that Rob is working on) was a fire victim, it was under the carport of a Doctor’s office when the office burned to the ground, July 4^th, 1976…….I’ve been working on it off and on for many years, now making a push to finish it….as Greg mentions, I also like doing things myself, but my skill set is much more limited than Greg’s and Walter’s, so sometimes you just have to let go to move forward…. dc"

[unimogjohn]

Wow, what a busy weekend. I will need a few down days to recover.

Friday we started on with a visit to the Spring Carisle. Never have been before so three of us decided to head to PA for the day. We left at 6 AM and arrived at about 8:30 AM. The place was packed. So many folks you had a hard time moving around. It was like that all day. We had a great time looking at all the cars for sale. Lots of what I would call "junk" for lots of money. There were a few nice cars, but not that really interested me. We did see a couple of Avanti IIs for sale. Bought a couple small parts, but nothing of importance. At least I crossed it off the bucket list.

On Saturday Wayne came by with his 64 Corvette. Looks great. It was its first run. Wayne says he has a few more items to install like windshield wipers and some little trim pieces.

Spend the rest of Saturday getting the Jag ready for the big car show on Sunday. That done I took it for a long drive. Everything was great. Then pulled the Avanti out and we headed down into town for a fuel fill and little run. She also ran great.

We headed off to the big British car show on Sunday. Beautiful day. Lots of nice cars, about 200 or so they said. We had a great time putting folks into the Jag and talking, talking, talking. It was a fun day. At the end we were awarded a first place in our class.

Headed home, which took a couple of hours, and as we ran I could feel the rear end getting a bit mushy. So when we got home I noticed the left rear was almost flat. Dodged a bullet by not having a flat on the road. Filled it back up, but this morning it was down by 5 psi, so off it comes.

Here are pics of Wayne's car and a few pictures of the car show.

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, May 4th PM. Just a little update. Been working on the enclosed trailer and Suburban, getting them all ready for Greg's road trip to Cape May next week. But found the time to go to Cars and Coffee event locally. They had a special Jaguar section so I decided to go. A beautiful day for it. Arrived about 8:30 AM with many Jags already there. In all, 36 Jaguars of all years were in attendance. We were the oldest, and more new cars than old. But I was excited to see a Jaguar XJ220 arrive. Only 275 produced in two years. And very expensive, over $600,000 when new. Beautiful car. Did not see the owner, would have liked to talk to him. There were over 300 cars at the little event. Enjoyed seeing all the cars. Here are a few I really liked.

Tomorrow will do a quick wash of the Suburban and it will be ready for Greg. And will detail the Jag too. Going to the Winchester, VA Apple Blossom Car Show on Friday and Saturday. It is sponsored by the local AACA group.

[Landman]

Oooohhhh that Mark 9!!!!

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday AM, May 5th. Heading out to wash the Suburban, but first Greg has a weekend report for us.

"I know it has been a while since my last visit. Things have been going ok, even better since the weather is trying to warm up.

The neglected black 5054 Avanti project is coming out of hibernation. Since the door vent window castings are at the plater's for new chrome, any progress on the window installation is delayed. I did get the quarter windows ready , disassembled, buffed the stainless and replaced the rubber seals. After fighting with the upholstery panels I was able to get the windows and latches secured. A special touch will be the renewal of the vintage STP decals. On the car when I bought it, I always thought them sortof tacky, but for old times sake I'm replacing them thanks to Coco's ebay skills. Also back in place is the supercharger after some John Erb magic.

The maroon Avanti 2724 has been well behaved lately and a real pleasure to drive. Perhaps its new diet of non ethanol fuel helps.

Matheson engine project, been getting time in on it too. Still sorting out the ignition timing, voltage and coil combination. Actually I'm feeling pretty good about it now, having test run the ignition system with that sewing machine motor, it's got over four hours of operation with all ignitors sparking. I forsee the day when I can replace some of the hardware with freshly nickel plated fasteners and fine tune the timing. Then the heads can go on and reassembly of rockers, cam drive, etc can continue.

Saturday saw the reawakening of the the old Harvester. We're taking it to participate in a gathering of one and two cylinder vehicles , hauling it to Cape May this week. Resting since its time in Greenfield Village last Summer, it started easily and a quick spin (delete the word quick) around the neighborhood proved it to be running as well as it ever has for me. I sure hope we get some decent weather. I ruined one car on a rainy tour (Overland) and learned my lesson about wooden cars in a soaking rain.

That's the latest."

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[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, May 7th PM. Well I hauled the trailer out of pasture and hooked it up to the Suburban. Greg came by yesterday and picked it up. He looked very excited to go on the old timer tour at Cape May. I told him to take lots of pictures.

Today I tackled the replacement of the tube in the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. It has been sitting on the back porch waiting for me for a few months. Today is the day. It really breaks down easily once you get the two splits in the rim to overlap. I have a tire spreader to pull one end of the rim over the other. That done you can just push the rim out of the tire at the rim collapses on itself. So with a half a box of corn starch for lubrication the new tube and the protective rubber liner went back in. The hard part of the job is getting the rim back in position so it closes on itself. I used the spreader again, only pushing this time. But it does take lots of time. I think I worked on it for over an hour. Anyway, it is full of air now, 65 psi. So we will see if it holds. If it does I have to repaint parts of the rim and then put it back on the car. I can hardly wait until I can fire her up and take her down the road.

Also had time to detail the Jaguar. Going to the Apple Blossom Car show on Saturday. May take the Avanti on Friday and go on a little tour they have lined up.

Greg was going to leave early this morning so he must be getting close to Cape May. He did send me this little report on Monday morning. It has some updates on his project so I thought I would pass it along. Better late than never.

"Good morning John, I think we need to let the ground dry out for a while before the trailer moves at your place or mine. We will depart for NJ on Wednesday, so there's time to let the ground dry out. I hope. The weather has been dismal, hasn't it.

I haven't had much to report. I have been working with the Matheson ignition and I've almost decided on how it should be adjusted , the voltage and coil combination to use. The last few nights I've been testing it. Got over four hours of running time on the ignition.

I've also gotten in some time on 5054, trying to get the quarter windows in. Got the upholstery panels positioned and glued in the window openings, the window assemblies apart for cleaning and stainless buffing, and almost got the frames reinstalled but I didn't have any sealer at hand. None to be found in the Warrenton area so things came to a halt until I got some from Winchester. Got some now so when the weather allows me, I'll get back on the hill and get the quarter windows in. Door window progress dormant until I get the vent chrome back and that could be a couple months yet.

I sent the carb to Dave Thibealut to overhaul, the John Erb overhauled supercharger came home yesterday. Need to get it mounted and find belts......That kind of stuff.

Otherwise, no excitement to relay.

GREG.

[unimogjohn]

Friday PM on May the 9th. From Greg.

"A quick note from the Cape. We Harvestered around town yesterday, the weather partly sunny and almost warm. Probably put about twenty miles on the old thing with no problems.

Rob and Mike began working the bugs out of his '09 REO, running better all the time.

Today's tour route a bit more arduous. Will have to add up the mileage but we played in the NJ traffic to see the Bonham's auction selection of old cars and parts. That was at the airport, then off to the Zoo.

Cool, windy, and even though we were running the shoulders and bike lanes, the traffic was pretty patient with our 15 miles per speed.

Old Tetanus Truck started when asked to do so, didn't lose a drop of water, and used maybe a couple pints of oil. We ran though patches of misty rain on the return route, but IHC and Barb didn't complain.

Arriving safely back to the hotel, I as usual when shutting it down, I switched the ignition back to the Battery side to check that system out prior to the next startup. Not wanting to run on that setting, I needed to check the battery condition and mechanical components. I found that the rather choppy NJ roads had shaken the timer apart. I have spare parts on board, but a small spool had lost off. Of the parts along, no spool.

We'd not planned to do tomorrow's route anyway, so we'll be heading back later in the day with only a slight repair for the hard duty we put that old thing to.

REO Rob also made the round trip successfully with only a minor glitch.

More extensive report and pics to follow.

GREG.

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Edited May 9, 2014 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Still Friday. Wayne and I just got back from the AACA tour. We took his 1964 Buick Skylark convertible, which really ran great and easily kept up with traffic. Here are some pics of the cars.

We went to Steve Peiper's home garage and car collection. He must have thirty cars. Quite a collection, from hot rods, to classics, to race cars. In his youth Steve was a racer. He raced at internationally at Le Mans, and of course regionally. This is his private garage, with its own machine shop, metal fabrication, and upholstery areas. He was a great host. It was a fun little tour, maybe 30 miles each way.

Tomorrow is the car show. Wayne is dropping by at 7 AM and we plan to be there by about 8 AM. Wayne is bringing his 72 Corvette to the car corral.

Edited May 9, 2014 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Here are a few more pics.

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, May 10th, PM. Just got home from the Apple Blossom car show in Winchester, VA. Wayne, in his 1964 Buick Skylark, and me, in my Jaguar, headed over the mountain to the show. We arrived at 8 AM and were among the few arriving early. In fact it looked like a meager turnout until about 10 AM when the majority of the cars arrived. It looked to be a great turnout considering the impending weather coming in. I figure that by noon there were about 300 cars on the field. So it turned out great.

The weather started coming in by about 1:30 PM and the skies opened up. What a gusher. Lots of folks headed for the exit, but I could not leave as I was told that the Jaguar had won the Outstanding Foreign Car Award. So I hung around and let the committee do its thing and was presented with the award. The Jaguar seems to be always a hit.

Anyway, headed home in the downpours. On the plus side I found a gas station with real gas, so took the opportunity to fill it since I was just about out. Honestly, I could not feel any difference in engine or drive-ability, but at least I felt better paying 20 cents more per gallon.

Here are some pics of the cars I liked. A good day for sure.

[unimogjohn]

and here are a few more. The little 64 Studebaker Lark was R2 Avanti engine powered with a flight-o-matic tranny. He said 1 of 5 built. It was nicely restored

[Landman]

It must be a real mover.

[Woodfiddler]

John - Thank you so much for maintaining such an excellent thread. Your dedication to your cars and devotion to all those that love antique cars is highly commendable. Congratulations on reaching 100 pages and please, keep driving on. Also Happy Mothers Day to Alice - your best buddy! :-)

Chuck

[KenHupp20]

Congratulations on reaching 100 pages John.

Great projects,information,and entertainment.

Thanks,Ken

[unimogjohn]

Chuck, glad that you are still enjoying the little adventures. Seems that there is always something to write about. I would tell you about the little black bear invasion and the neighbor's bird feeders, but that is a nature story, and we boys are car nuts.

And lucky for us Greg just sent me the first of his Cape May reports from his touring weekend.

"Our Cape May getaway might take a while to relate.

The dotted lines still disappearing before my eyes. Four days on the road and yet another one today to visit with Mom....... I'll try to recall the Cape May trip.

Got there Wednesday evening and so did Rob and Mike.

Thursday morning Rob's REO (red touring in pic) was unloaded. Before loading it, the fresh engine, transmission, brakes and lots of other stuff had not been tested due to lack of hours in the day and the rotten weater we've had. That it made it onto his trailer was all that he knew. Any adjustments or faults to repair would have to be in the hotel parking lot or along side the road.

Thursday afternoon a gaggle of us did some local touring to see WWII gun emplacements, a lookout tower and what remains of a WWI ship that was made of concrete (!). It had run aground in the twenties and broke up with little of it remaining to see.

The day's further excitement was due to my lost camera. After my lengthy search, we drove modern to the Walmart in a neary town to buy another. After examination it was found to be less than desirable, a return trip to exchange it for a better one. As predicted, Barb found the lost camera the next day, in plain sight of course.

With no instruction and no time to learn, I began taking pics with the new camera the next day, but now I find that the images are in supersize mode . I'll have to send a few at a time. I know there must be way to reduce the images to be email friendly but there again, no time for this old dog to learn a new trick. Sorry.

Friday was our longest run. We found that even though the Harvester was running very well, the hard rubber tires and low ratio sprockets held us to about fifteen miles per. That's not even considering the problem of the New Jersey segmented roadways. Even though the old thing rides like a baby buggy, with the solid tires you can run over a dime and tell whether it's heads or tails. Rolling over the roadway joints was like running over bricks. Was really jolting us. This made us the slowest of the participants, making us Tail End Charlie and a one car tour. Barbara was taking this whole thing like a real trooper, facing into that fifteen mile per hour gale.

To be continued....."

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Edited May 12, 2014 by unimogjohn (see edit history)