unimogjohn Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 Still Friday, taking a mid morning break. Finished making the fuel bowl gasket. I could buy one, but why? It is such a simple make. Done, and ready to go back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 (edited) Next up was pressure washing the block to see if I could get all the old gunk off of it. Sprayed it with engine cleaner and then washed the heck out of it. I am soaked. Even used the washer to clean out all the rust, or some of it inside the water jacket. Most were plugged. Now will dry it off with air and do some more cleaning. Edited September 16, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 (edited) OK, now I am using various tools to get the old grease and oil off the block. There is still some Buick green paint on the front of the engine under all that grime. Using a wire wheel to get the rust and gunk off. Working OK. Pulled off the final two fittings external to the engine, of course, one bolt broke. There are a total of eight bolts that have broken off in their holes, most are to attach the head, I will let a machine shop handle that. The deck looks pretty good, some pitting, but I think that it can be planed down to take most of the pitting away. The cylinders themselves look really good. I think that with a minor scuffing to clean them up, they will be fine. No ridges or scoring on the walls. I used WD40 to clean a couple of the cylinders, and they are still nice and shiny. I have a mechanical caliper that is not too precise, but used it to measure the piston opening, it measured 3 1/8 inches. I will have to check my manual to see if that is within spec. Meanwhile, I have to quit to let the air compressor cool down. It is working really hard. Edited September 16, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 16, 2016 Author Share Posted September 16, 2016 (edited) Got her done. The engine is as clean and bright as I can get it in eight hours of wheeling away. I am covered in grime from head to toe. The block is in good shape other than rust and scale in the water jackets and the busted bolts. I think the machinist should be able to clean everything up and give me a serviceable block again. I have asked Greg Cone for a recommendation of a local shop. The block in the car now has a number of 205679-4 2/28; the new block has the same number but 4/17. These must be the date code. The engine in the car now is probably original, but it has certainly been opened up. I can see that the casting plugs have been changed, and a bunch of JBWeld on the water jacket. In addition they used blue RTV as gaskets for just about everything. I will look for a gasket set at Hershey, if I cannot find one, I can order a set from Olsens Gaskets in Washington. As a final note, I put back on the glass fuel filter. Tomorrow will put the battery in to see if it will turn the engine and put in fresh fuel. I just want to see if it will start and run for a minute or so. I would like to get the block warm before I put the JBWeld on the crack. Here are pics of the cleaned up block. Edited September 16, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) Saturday, September 17th. Here are a couple of quick updates. Avanti: The upper gasket set came in today. Lots of different gaskets for a valve job. New head gaskets, exhaust, intake, etc. Not bad for a price of about $60. And now I have valve cover gaskets, yahoo! 1928 Buick: Greg Cone got back to me and recommended a machine shop in Winchester, VA. Only about a hour away. I think that I will take the block for them to look at next week. A while back there was some discussion on the Buick pre-war forum about using Jeep pistons in the 1928 standard Buick engine. The Buick engines had cast iron pistons, and they are unobtainable. An aluminum piston is much lighter and more available. Egge will make a set for me, but I was told that it would be around $2,000 for a set of 6. I have heard of rebuilt engines costing in the neighborhood of $7,000. I really do not want to go there. Heck, that is a price of a Jaguar engine. So I am going to ask around and call folks to see what my options are. Took the ten year old 6 volt battery off the charger, only registers 4.3 volts. It's done. So I ordered a 6 volt Optima starting battery/red top for $112. I have one in my 1923 McLaughlin, and it has never let me down. I think that I will probably switch them and have the newer one in the 23. I think that battery is about four or five years old. 1923 McLaughlin Buick: Spent an hour with my can of Rustoleum gloss black paint and hit all the nicks I could find. I declare the old girl ready for Hershey. Edited September 17, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeventhSon Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 That's a great price for all those gaskets John. Just curious, why don't you use the pistons out of the current engine that has all the cracks in the block? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 (edited) Chris, I am assuming that the new block will have to be bored over the standard and also the old engine pistons are standard and therefore will be too small for the new bore. But I will not know until I disassemble the old engine and see what is in there. Edited September 18, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 18, 2016 Author Share Posted September 18, 2016 Sunday, September 18th. Farm stuff like mowing and cleaning barns today. But I did clean the area on the 1928 engine that has the water/coolant seepage. Tomorrow it will be slathered with JBWeld. Looks like there is a lot in there already. Then will let it cure for at least 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidAU Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 John, JP Pistons in South Australia list pistons for many vintage Buicks including 26 - 29 Standard Six if thats your model. Also your US $ buys 25% more down here. http://www.jp.com.au/JPPistons.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 David, thanks. I found them today also. I will check them out if I decide that I have to scrap my current block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 (edited) Monday morning, September 19th. Ten minutes and it was done. Mixed up some JBWeld and put it on the area of the block where it was leaking. Will wait at least 24 hours before I mess with it. The new battery should be here tomorrow or Wednesday. When that is installed, I will put some fuel in the vacuum tank and see if the engine will start. If yes, will fill it with coolant and check for leaks. Wish me luck. Edited September 19, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 (edited) It is Tuesday morning, September 20th. Talking to the guys about going to the Fall Carlisle event next week. Looks like we will be going on Thursday. I will be looking for Bownie the Chevrolet van parts and maybe I can find an Avanti/Studebaker vendor or two. I spent the morning going thru the myriad of paper stuff I have for each of the cars. In the 1928 Buick box I found a Buick Bugle magazine from April of 2008, which had the article that I wrote on our 28. Thought I would go ahead and post it here. Also the cover of the magazine shows a 1928-29. The same model as ours. But it is not our car, but looks just like it. Pretty neat that they had articles on the same model in the same issue. Edited September 20, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Still Tuesday. The Optima battery for the 28 Buick arrived. I immediately installed it. I do not want to start the car as I want to wait at least another 24 hours for the JBWeld patch to fully cure. But I did crank it over without the ignition on and built up 20 lbs of oil pressure. I was so happy that the engine was not stuck. She cranked over really good. Tomorrow, fresh fuel and then we will do a start up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Tuesday, dinnertime and a report from Daniel on his progress with Brownie the van. "I have all the LMC panel's on the pass side welded in and plastic work done on the pass side. I will start on drivers side long panel, door to rear wheel in the morning, get that welded in, plastic work. Then have the bottom of the doors to fix, and primer." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeventhSon Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 (edited) Great article and as usual great progress on your toys. Looking forward to seeing how old Brownie turns out. A question, what draws you to old Buicks? As opposed to, say, a Packard or Studebaker, etc? Is it build quality, ride, reputation, or other? Edited September 20, 2016 by SeventhSon (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) Chris, short story. I was looking at a Ford model A for sale at a farm, next to it was a car under several tarps. I said "what is that?" He said, my Grandmother's 1928 Buick, want to look? I said yes, and he peeled off the tarp to expose the radiator, from that moment I had to have it. I was hooked. Love at first sight. So from then on I was into the Buick's of the 20s, and I wanted an open touring car, like bad. Hence the 1923. So that is my story on the Buicks. And I really only like the teens and 20s. But you cannot take them on modern roads so now I have the fastest productions cars in 1953 and 1963, the Jaguar XK 120 and the Avanti R2. Edited September 21, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Just a couple of more pieces of trivia on the 1928 Buick. Found some more information in the box of papers that I was sorting through. I sent away for a registration search for the number of model 29 remaining in the USA. That search came back with the number of 23. I have come across only one model 29, Town Brougham, in all these years. It was also an original car and lives in Winchester, VA. As I remember, I think I remember seeing six registered in the Buick Club, but that was a few years ago. Also found a Washington State registration form 1978. The car had 40,800 miles on it then. Here is the section on mileage from my previous post for reference. " There is a oil change sticker on the driver's door jam. It says that the oil was changed on February 21, 1950 @ 40,533 miles. The car now has 43,425 miles. So between then and now, the car has only traveled 2,892 miles. Or about 43 miles per year. I have not been able to find any mileage records of when I bought the car. Our longest trip was in 2000 when we drove the car to the Buick Nationals in Richmond, VA. A round trip distance of about 250 miles." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) Still Wednesday, AM. Headed out to the garage with lots of water and filled up the 28s radiator. Decided I better check the my JBWeld patch. Whoa! Captain, more JBWeld. Now that the block is filled with water I found two more pin hole cracks in the block. The same area that I did my repair on. One is near the patch, just forward of it, and the other is on the front where it had been repaired before. Both are dripping and will contaminate the oil if I let it go. So drained the water, will let it dry out a bit, and put more JBWeld on both those areas. I could see no other water issues. I cleaned the block in those two area and will mix up some JBWeld in a couple of hours and do the repair. Should only take five minutes top. Then I have to wait 24 hours for the stuff to cure. In each of the pics you can see the drips coming out of the block. Update: Wed mid-day. OK got more JBWeld on the cracks. Will fill it with water tomorrow morning and see if there are any more leaks. Edited September 21, 2016 by unimogjohn repair update (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 What about using one of those leak sealers one puts in the water? They work on exposure to air I believe. e.g. Soldrit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 On a funny note. Alice loves her pastel green Jaguar so she is now painting the house this color too. Actually, just the front door. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 Spinneyhill, great idea, that is why I love the forum. So bought this today, will be here on Friday. CRC 401232 Permanent Head Gasket & Block Repair with Nanotechnology, $16. And I took ten minutes and put fuel in the 28s vacuum tank and 5 gallons in the main tank. Am using real gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Thursday morning early, September 22nd. Filled the 1928 Buick radiator with water and then checked for any leaks on the block. None. I then turned on the fuel, pulled the choke, and pushed on the foot starter. Nothing for a few anxious turns, but finally the engine caught a couple of cylinders and then they all got fuel and roared to life. I have some moca in the oil so am going to change it before I do anymore engine running. First time I have had it running in about five years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Still Thursday, but late AM. Changed the oil and filter. I use a modern filter painted black instead of the original felt filter as they are no longer available. Works good, and only the Buick owner's know the difference. Painted all black it blends right in. The oil was a nice moca blend. Depending on how the oil looks after a good run cycle I may change it again. Oh, that is oil you see running down the side of the block. I am going to wait a couple of days before I put on the side covers on the engine. I want to make sure that all the leaks/seeps have been caught. Olson's Gaskets wants $30 for a gasket set for the covers, and with shipped it would probably be near $50 to my door. So I decided to make myself a pair. Cost: $0. Only about an hours work. The gasket really does not need to be leak proof, it acts as a dust shield more than anything else. And cork gaskets are correct; glad I got rid of that blue RTV stuff. I hope to get the 28 Buick on the road this afternoon for a little trip. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 (edited) Thursday, PM. I ended up not taking the 28 out, will have to do that tomorrow. I had to run into town and get 20 gallons of real gas. I did not want to get on the road and run out of fuel. Tomorrow is another day. I did start it up again, cranked right up and ran smooth. After about fifteen minutes I shut it down and check the oil and the block for water. Both were fine, I don't think I will have to change the oil again. I then took a few minutes and installed the side covers and the cover for the spark plugs. Looks like a complete engine now. I am going to go over to the Carquest machine shop in Winchester, VA and talk to them about doing the spare block. I would like to get it done if it not going to cost too much. Then I plan to move the white trailer out of the pasture and up onto the roundabout. If I have time I plan to load the 23 and strap her down for the trip to Hershey. Then I can move the 28 over to the two post lift and give her a good checkout. I want to change the tranny and rear end fluid, and do a complete lube job. I also want to put tung oil on the wooden spokes on the wheel. I have the 600 weight oil for the tanny, I will use regular gear oil for the rear axle. I have sure glad the 28 Buick is running again. I am a happy camper. Edited September 22, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 Friday, early morning, September 23rd. I received a progress report from Daniel on the 1979 Chevrolet van. He has completed with the large patch on the driver's side of the van. The entire section was rusted out. I had purchased a replacement from LMC truck, and it is now on the car. Only one small patch on the rear wheel arch to do for the body. And the doors have a little rust at the bottoms, but not thru except for the sliding door has one little corner rusted thru. Getting close to the end game. Here is a pic of the long panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 23, 2016 Author Share Posted September 23, 2016 It is Friday, September 23rd. This morning I went to the big machine shop and talked to the foreman. He took a look at the block and shook his head. He said not worth doing. It would cost at least $1000 to $1500 just to get the studs drilled out, and he would not offer any guarantee that the block would not crack. He said to go look for a complete engine. So that is what I am going to do. I do see them from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 If the broken studs are the only problem with the block, I would be willing to bet that you could remove the broken studs yourself. A quick google search will show you many ways to do it. Here is one of the many links that describe how to do it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 Matt, thanks will take a look and see if and how to proceed. But now it is Saturday, September 24th. Brownie the 79 Chev van is about done. I should be able to pick her up early next week. Then I can get started on all the mechanicals and interior work. She will not be a show truck, but will be presentable again. And she will be under cover for the first time in her life. And I got some small parts for the Avanti yesterday. Rear brake springs, throttle springs, and special retainers for the steering post pad. Little things to make the car a bit more complete. I moved the 1928 Buick over to the two post lift. Going to put it up and do a good inspection. While it is up I am going to change the transmission and rear axle oil, and do a good lube job. I figure that this will take about three to four hours. I have to heat up the 600 weight oil to get it to flow into the transmission. Will use a hot water bath for that. And I have to fix that sticky back up light switch on the transmission. Here is a pic of Brownie the van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 (edited) Saturday PM. Spent about six hours cleaning the 1928 Buick. Starting to look pretty good again after sitting idle for a few years. I actually vacuumed the undercarriage after I got it up on the two post lift. Lots of spider webs and other things. The tires were all crudy, both sides. So wiped them down with Fantastic and then put a coat of tire dressing on them. I also washed down the spokes and hub with Fantastic. They look fantastic! I then changed the rear end oil. The oil did not look or small bad, heck, I think I changed in in 1984/85. Tomorrow I will do the transmission. When I bought the car it did not have much of an exhaust system left. So I headed down to the local muffler shop, bent some pipe and put on a muffler that was very similar to the rotten one on the car at the time. They said it was from a tractor. They also decided to put a chrome tip on the end of the exhaust. I guess to dress up the car a bit. But it has been bothering me for 42 years, the bling was obviously wrong and not period correct. So today I got out the grinder and cut it off. Ah, now I feel so much better. My goal for the car is basically to do no harm and keep it as original as I can. So far only the fenders, hood, front and rear valances, and half a door have been painted. The body paint is still original, top and the interior are all as left the factory. Oh, and Alice finished the painting of the pastel green doors, and then we hung them. And there is also the little bag of parts I got for the Avanti. Here are pics from my day's work. Edited September 24, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeventhSon Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 (edited) Good stuff John. Now the '28 doesn't feel neglected next to the other cars. Edited September 24, 2016 by SeventhSon (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) Still Saturday, but late in the evening. Daniel is working late. Brownie the van, is done and in primer. Daniel also said that it might be done on Sunday if he gets a few minutes to spray the body color. Don't laugh, he is using four little rattle cans of Cardova Brown that I bought. We will see how it turns out. Now I am excited to get it home so I can begin my work, the mechanicals! A bunch of us are going to the Fall Carlisle show in PA next week, just one day. Hope to find some Brownie parts. Edited September 25, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 Sunday, PM, September 25th. Farm work in the morning, but then I took some time to work on the 1928 Buick. Changed the transmission oil. That 600 weight oil is some sticky stuff. More like honey than oil. To make it flow better so I could pump it, I put the cans in front of a little heater for about an hour. That really made a big difference in being able to pump the oil up into the transmission. It took about two and a half quarts. I also had to transfer the oil from the cans to a plastic bottle with a pump on it. Here are some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) Still Sunday, Daniel just sent me a note. Brownie the van is 99% done, and I can pick it up tomorrow afternoon. Yahoo! Just in time. I have about a morning's worth of work to do on the 1928 Buick so the timing is perfect. Brownie will go into the garage bay with the two post lift so I can do some maintenance work for the next couple of days. Edited September 25, 2016 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 26, 2016 Author Share Posted September 26, 2016 Monday, September 26th. Brownie the van is home! First thing was to wash him, and then I went to clean the interior. Looked under the back seats for the first time in many years. A treasure trove of oil, tire chains, and other bits. No money. I even found the time to drill out and put in plastic plugs where the spare tire was mounted. The truck was really dirty, inside and out. Now I can move onto the maintenance items. Brownie really looks good with all the panels replaced. Here are some pics. First thing to do is improve the windshield wiper function. It works, but it is slow. I looked under the air intake screen and the area where the wiper mechanism lives, is full of debris. I have to take off a panel to get to it and remove the wipers themselves. I have to get a puller to get off the wipers. Tomorrow it goes up on the lift. Going to change the engine oil, lubricate the steering, change the rear shocks, and change the rear axle fluid. The brakes work good, but I will inspect them. Tires are new so OK there. On other issues, I had a flat tire on the open trailer. Another valve stem failure. So decided I would try to replace it using my Harbor Freight tire changer. It worked, but was a struggle. Not easy. But made it work. So I saved several hours in getting it done at the local shop, and $30 to boot. I also put in the coolant sealer in the 1928 Buick engine and radiator. I have to wait until tomorrow morning to flush the system with clean water, drain and then refill with anti-freeze. I also took the Buick on a run, maybe about ten miles. It just ran great. A real pleasure to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 Tuesday, up early on September 27th. Oh boy, I get to work on three cars today. The Avanti, the 1928 Buick and the 1979 Chevy van. Going to spend an hour on the 28 flushing the cooling system and then refilling with anti-freeze. I am going to declare victory and then just drive it for a couple of weeks before it is put asleep for winter. I will probably change oil in it again just to make sure there is no water in the oil. On the Avanti, just a couple of little things. New and correct throttle springs, and a couple of decals. I have the Turner disc brake system on the front and just do not seem to have good working pedal, in other words, it does not stop on a dime. So have decided to replace the little single master cylinder one with a dual. Bought a kit from a Stude vendor. Should be here in a couple of days. Here is a pic. On Brownie the van, she is going on the lift today. I also ordered a wiper removal tool to get it off its post. These have never been off so I need more than just a pry screwdriver. I needed another little tool so this is great for only $11. Camaro Steve needs it for his Barney, the 1953 Ford p/u. Also ordered a pair of front shocks, have new rears. So I have a few days work to do on Brownie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 27, 2016 Author Share Posted September 27, 2016 Tuesday, early PM on September 27th. Worked on the 1928 Buick this morning. Filled the radiator and engine with water, and let the water get hot, drained it and refilled with water. I will put in the anti-freeze mix before winter sets in. Put in the new throttle and return springs for the Avanti. The carb did not have any spring when I got it so used what I had around the house at the time. Now it is correct. Also cleaned and put on the fan shroud. I then turned my attention to Brownie the van. Got it up on the 2 post lift. Did an inspection. Other than some dirt and rust here and there he looks pretty good. Only the shocks and front sway bar bushings need to be replaced. Sprayed down the shock mounts with WD40 and managed to break loose the bottom nuts of the rear shocks. I bought some rear shocks a while ago. So they can go on immediately. The fronts are on order. Then I changed the oil and filter, and gave him a lube job. Looks like I last changed the oil on September 20th, 2014 and 155,043 miles. He now has 155,294 miles. So I have only gone 251 miles in two years. This afternoon I may try to repair the fire damage in the interior. It won't be perfect, but should look better than right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 It is Wednesday, AM, September 28th. When it rains it pours. Everyone is bailing on going to the Fall Carisle. Rain, rain, rain. Suppose to get over two inches today, and three tomorrow, or more. So it looks right now that we will not be going tomorrow. Oh well. More time to work on Brownie the van. Speaking of Brownie, I am going to finish replacing the rear shocks this morning and also see if I can patch up the burned area inside the van for at least a little bit. I did order new front sway bar bushing as well as a transmission service kit and rear end gasket. One good thing about having a reasonably old, but still new car are that parts are still available and cheap as vendors are getting rid of stocks. As an example, the transmission service kit, which includes a filter and all the gaskets was $4 and the rear end gasket $1. I also ordered a couple more cans of metallic cordova brown and clear coat rattle cans. I have a lot of little rust areas that need to be looked after. Oh, he also has a sun roof, I have to pop it out and reseal it. So bit by bit, I will get Brownie back into shape. With all my other cars done and on the road, Brownie gets to live in the big garage instead of the barn. But at least in the barn, Brownie is under roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 Wednesday at noon. Done my garage work for this morning. Brownie the van has new rear shocks. It was a little tough and used lots of WD40, but got the bolts off without breaking them. So they got reused with a liberal coating of anti-seize. I also am pre-lubing the bolts for the front shocks and sway bar. Hopefully, the WD40 will make it easier to do that job when the parts come in. The frame and underside of the body are rust free, it looks really good. The suspension pieces is another matter. Lots and lots of surface rust. With the shocks done, I turned my attention to the fire damaged interior wood panel. Patched everything up with stuff I had on hand. So everything is back in place. Does not look too bad. For now it will do just fine. Also I use a led headlight for work under the car where I need my hands free. This unit works great as it has a high intensity bulb/diode in it. Here are some pics for your morning enjoyment. And includes a big mud wasp nest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 Just finished another couple of hours in the garage. Done for the day. I removed the sun roof from the van. The seal around the glass frame where it mates with the roof is rock hard. It will have to be replaced. About 1/3 of an inch in width. Also the sealant around the frame and the roof need to be resealed along with the roof gutters. I guess that 37 years have taken it toll on the van. I also took a couple of pics of the 1928 Buick now that it is done. And I threw in the new carpet that will be installed on the floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted September 28, 2016 Author Share Posted September 28, 2016 A question for those of you that are following along with the Brownie the van refurbishment. What would you use to seal around the sunroof and the roof drip rails? I was thinking of clear silicon. But is there better stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now