Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[avantey]

Until last December I drove an 01 VW Golf TDI as my daily driver.  I loved the car, especially the diesel and five speed.  I got it in 05 with 106k and sold it in April with 318K, still ran like a top but had issues starting to crop up.  Some electrical gremlins, AC was compressor dead and starting to miss a little on the 5/reverse tranny gate.  Put it on CL and it went to MD in a week or so.  My only complaint with VW is the price to fix and maintain them.  Seemed most things I broke were factory parts only and very expensive.  It was the deciding factor in not buying another VW even though I loved the car- was very comfortable for a big guy like me and a blast drive with the turbo diesel!

[Buicknutty]

 Reminds me a bit of my wife's Jetta. Nice car, quick and economical, and reliable,  but a serious pain to do certain things to. Now she has one of the new Buick Envisions' and loves it! Plus it has factory warranty for 4 years, so I don't have to worry about getting dirty fixing it for a while.

 Keith

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, June 27th.  The BMW Z4 came without a binder and all the manuals that come with a new car.  So I have been on the hunt for one, looking on Ebay every morning.  They have been going for in between $250 and $500.  Too high for this kid.  Then one came up for $90 and I grabbed it.  It is correct for 2007.

 

Alice and I spent a couple of hours at the DMV this morning with all of Dexter's paperwork.  The little Morris Traveller now has 1966 Virginia truck plates.  Alice worked her magic and convinced them that it was an English delivery truck.  They bought it.

 

 

[SeventhSon]

On 6/26/2017 at 8:36 PM, avantey said:

  "Seemed most things I broke were factory parts only and very expensive.  It was the deciding factor in not buying another VW even though I loved the car"

 

Exactly my sentiments about my 2000 Passat!

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, June 6th.

 

Been doing farm chores, but did manage to take the BMW to the dealer to order a new key, ca-ching $200.  I have to wait a couple of days for the key to come in from Germany.  I have also ordered more belts for the Cub Cadet mower to make it functional.  The tractor itself is running great.  And I stopped the leak in one of the rear tires, it was the valve stem mechanism.  The tires are about shot, but I think I can get another year out of them.  

 

And as luck would have it, Greg has sent us a report.

 

John,

         I've been pushing hard here at work, another OX-5 Curtiss engine to finish and test.   I'd run it on my test stand to check for function and any obvious problems and with five minutes time on it,   Nate and I took it for dynamometer evaluation.  That took most of this past week out of our schedule.     It performed well and with more documentation to add to our growing OX  file,  it is now being readied for shipment to the customer.    It is really quite remarkable to have the opportunity  to study  a hundred year old engine and also compare  them  against each other.  I was really fortunate that Nathan could take time off work to help me with this,  and we were also joined by my good friend Glenn Miller who with his son Dan traveled from Detroit to assist.    Glenn not only has a lifetime of experience with all manner of antique machinery,  but made a career with Ford's Power Train development doing some unbelievable projects.

         

Some photos enclosed.

 

 

 

 

[SeventhSon]

John,i'm going to get you a calender. it's June 30.

[pacerman]

please ask Greg how much horsepower and torque was generated by the OX-5?

[unimogjohn]

Pacerman, I asked Greg the same question.  Here is what he said.

 

 As for our OX-5 power figures,  I have to be careful about spilling  any any proprietary beans.  My boss has a lot invested in testing and evaluation.

 

           I will say however that the -5 as installed in the Jenny with the standard propeller the engine should turn up 1450 RPM on takeoff  ("If it won't do 1450 don't go.") so I have the dyno operator take power samples from 1200  and limited to 1600 RPM range and I find that these engines are still consistently making horsepower as the revs increase.

 

       Factory rated at 90 ,  our engines are delivering in the range of about 105 horse power and torque peaks about 375 ft.lb.   (I find it interesting that when observing the testing of a tri power 421 Pontiac it also netted 375  at who knows how many thousand rpm).

 

        I'm also finding that these fresh engines deliver incrementally  more power the more they run.  The honing of the cylinder bores,  the limbering of frictional surfaces and the sealing of the piston rings was all working.

 

      The last one I tested was subjected to adjustments and experimenting with carburetor and mixture   to deliver max power.  This one was tested without adjustments of any kind.  The results were both close.

 

[unimogjohn]

It looks like I may have another project with the Suburban.  Owner's are reporting the transfer case is being eaten up by an internal rub.  Only solution is to pull it and put in a spacer, which protects the case.  Here is a link to a write-up.  Going to put the truck on the lift next week and see what model I have to make sure.  Looks like a "when" problem rather than an "if" problem.  http://www.silveradosierra.com/transmission/transfer-case-pump-rub-statistics-t71033.html

 

and here is a video of what is involved.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOyZI3KNOV0&feature=youtu.be#t=23.311927

Edited July 1, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, July 8th.  Been busy doing farm stuff.  Today we hauled and stacked in the barn 100 bales of hay.  Tomorrow we do the same thing.  This hay is used for emergency if we cannot get the llamas to the big rounds due to snow or ice in the pastures.  Each bale weighs about 60 lbs, and I get to stack them six high.  Oh, and it was 90 degrees too. 

 

And I got the 1967 International Harvester Cub Cadet back to mowing again.  I put on all new belts and have everything adjusted.  The mower is engaged via a PTO, which is actuated by a mechanical clutch.  The clutch is engaged via a metal arm, which presses against a small pressure plate.  The metal arm has a throw out bearing called a button.  It presses against the fingers of the pressure plate.  Well, mine has melted so I ordered one today and will put it on.  But the mower still works as is, and it cuts great.  The button is a wear item and is a fibre and plastic composition.  

 

 

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, July 14th.  I wish I could say that I have been doing a lot on the old cars.  Sadly not.  It is just too hot to enjoy the work.  Yesterday, the humidity was over the top so the heat index said that it was 107 degrees.  Today will not be much better, 105 degrees with big storm in the PM.

 

But I did get the old Cub Cadet into the garage to replace the melted throw-out button.  I opted for the fibre one versus the brass aftermarket one.  Why, less wear on the pressure plate button.  The CC forum warned against forcing the button post into the clutch arm.  Lots try and most break the button post.  So I took their advice and used the Dremel tool to grind off a bit of the post and then pressed it on.  Worked great.  

 

I did receive an email from the PO.  He congratulated me on my purchase, and said that he owned the tractor for 22 years.  

 

 

[SeventhSon]

Interesting setup John. So, the clutch doesn't spin on that button, but rather the button "freezes" the clutch arms, causing them to spring out and engage the clutch? I have no idea if that's the way it works, it just looks that way to me. Also, does that tractor really weigh 800 lbs. or was that a bit of hyperbole?

[unimogjohn]

Chris, the little tractor weighs 620 lbs (actual), the deck weighs about 140 lbs (my estimate).  Everything is cast or plate steel.  So it is close to the 800 lbs mark.  One beefy little rig.

 

How is the Avanti?  Using it much?

[SeventhSon]

That's a heavy tractor John. The Avanti is doing great! I drive it every couple of weeks and she is still running strong - just loves to run. A couple of months ago I changed the oil, switching from the Valvoline Racing Oil that I was using and trying Lucas Classic Car Oil. Before changing the oil the motor had the usual solid lifter ticking, nothing alarming, just the sound I have always come to know as a solid lifter engine sound. Just faint ticking. After the oil change I could hardly hear anything - amazing change really. And she really took to it - running strong and quick. Wonderful car really.

 

Several weeks ago I went to drive it and went to crank the engine - nothing. After several try this and try that I found that the battery cable at the starter relay was a little loose. Just enough to keep it from cranking. Tightened it up and away we went!

 

The old girl gets dirty in the storage unit so I was going to bring it home for a wash. My wife told me about Armor All Wash Wipes, so I picked some up on the way to the storage unit. Swabbed the rocket ship down with those, shined the chrome, and headed out! She looked beautiful! A guy at the gas station asked if he could take pictures, of course I said. A little later a couple beside me at a red light asked about the car and gave thumbs up. The lady said it looked "fabulous". It's always nice to get that kind of response - still driving it and still lovin' it John!

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, July 19.  Hotter than a barrel of burning oil...... actually, the heat index says it is 110 degrees.

 

Of course Alice headed into town with the 2002 Trailblazer to pick up llama food for the next couple of weeks.  About 500 lbs worth.  On the way home she stopped for some books at the library and when she came out the truck would not come out of park.  So I headed down, and decided that a tow truck was in order as it was totally locked up and would not start.  Fuses where good.  Well, about an hour later the tow truck driver showed up and said he knew what the problem was.  A broken shift cable connection to the transmission.  So he got some tape, crawled under the truck and in a couple of minutes it was fixed for the ride home.  I gave him a good tip and thanked him.

 

So I have ordered a bushing repair kit.  While I have the truck up in the air I am going to do a little PM.  Going to replace the transmission coolant lines; the variable timing unit, which tends to clog up; the cam position sensor; and a serpentine belt kit with new pulleys.  I hope the valve and cam sensor will help the clanking of the valves.  It sounds like a diesel motor.  

 

In a couple of days all the parts will arrive and then will start on the project.  

[trimacar]

Hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell, we used to say in Louisiana....yep, no fun outside except very early morning these days in Virginia....

 

Great that you do so much repair work yourself, a place and a lift make all the difference!

[unimogjohn]

David, and I picked up 5 tons of wood pellets for the winter.  Three for the neighbors and two for us.  Now I just have to unload them.  Will probably get another ton in case we have a hard winter.  I can haul two pallets of one ton each in the dump trailer so we had to make three trips.  We used a huge tractor with forks to unload two, but had to unload and stack one ton.  Three of us made quick, but hot work.

 

 

[unimogjohn]

Thursday, July 20th.  So hot outside your skin prickles.

 

But this morning I did get the Trailblazer up on the lift to see what was happening to the transmission shift cable.  Was not hard to spot with all the tape on it.  At least it held until I got home yesterday.   Looks like the push-on bushing that goes on the post and holds on the cable to the shift mechanism failed.  No place for the cable to hold on so it just fell off.   The new push-on plastic bushings will arrive tomorrow.  I am ready for them.  Installation should take five minutes or so.  

 

 

[trimacar]

"Skin prickles", I like it.  In Louisiana, we'd measure heat by the number of showers you had to take in a day.  A two shower day was normal, when it was over 100 degrees and 100% humidity (that's the level where you sweat, but it doesn't evaporate, so no cooling) it might be a 3 shower day.....

 

The heat sucks it out of you that's for sure.....

[Bill Stoneberg]

Dont know much about the humidity in Virginia but sure am accustomed to it on the Gulf Coast. We used to say that you took a shower in the morning and by the time you got to your car to go to work, you needed another one.  95/95   95 degrees / 95 % humidity.

Glad I am away from that.  

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, August 2nd.  I have not written for a bit, but we have been busy with farm chores and getting ready for Fall and Winter.  We now have 3 tons of wood pellets on the back deck, 200 bales of hay in the barn, and on the hunt for a supply of twenty round bales.

 

But I did get the Trailblazer's shifter fixed.  It took two different fix systems and about a week waiting for some little plastic parts.  The first fix from HELP just did not work.  It would not latch onto the shift post, so it just fell off.  Then I found Bushingsfix.com  They had a designed plastic kit.  It worked great and it clicked into place on the shift post.  So that is behind me.

 

Normally I do not post non-auto related stuff, but thought that this should be posted so we all remember.  On the weekend we were up in PA and happened to go by the National Memorial for United Flight 93.  This was the fourth plane that was high-jacked on 9/11.  I certainly learned more of the events on the plane.  The passengers and crew were true heroes for bringing the plane down knowing that it would probably end their lives.  They are my heroes, may they all rest in peace.  Here are a few pictures that I took.  The rock is where the plane crashed into the field.   The debris field was small as the plane went in nose first.  They found the last bit of the plane at 25 feet.  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[old car fan]

, They were hero's

Edited August 5, 2017 by old car fan (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Saturday, August 5th.  We headed out this morning for the local car show about 20 miles away from the farm.  We took Dexter, the 1966 Morris Minor Traveller and the 1953 Jaguar XK120.  A great time was had by all.  About 120 cars attended.  I estimate that about 90% were modified muscle cars.  There were a few original cars.  We were parked way in the back, kinda like stepchildren.  But we had lots of people come by and chat about the cars.  Dexter was a big hit.  Here are some pics.  And the Jaguar did a top 20 cars award.  That was good.  

 

 

[unimogjohn]

Oh deer me!  Coming home from the car show a small deer leaped in front of the Jaguar, and we collided.  We were both stunned.  I was only doing about 15 mph waiting for Alice in Dexter to catch up with me.  I knew that I had hit it, but could not see it.  Alice said that it rolled across the pavement, but got right up and ran off into the woods.  I stopped, fearing the worst.  No body panels were dented and only the driving light was pushed aside and the bumper strap/support was pushed back.  So the only damage is that the bumper is pushed in about an inch.  I think that I can pull out the strap/support with a towing strap attached to the old barn telephone pole support.  It could have been a lot worse.  Oh, and the light is OK.

 

 

[avantey]

John, sorry to hear about the Jag but it doesn't look too bad.  I had a similar up close and personal meeting last year when touring the '31 Hupp.  Had a good size buck cross the road in front me when I was going about 20-25 mph.  Got him solid in the rear haunches, shook the car really bad on impact.  The car came through pretty good, just a bent under 4" of lip on the passenger front fender but the deer had a really bad day.  We have to get these deer to have more respect for the old iron!

[unimogjohn]

Bill, I sure hate to hurt the critters.  But we have so many deer in the woods it is almost unavoidable these day.  It use to be you only saw them in the evening or early morning.  Now it is all the time.

 

I took a few hours this morning to take a look at the car and bumper assembly.  The car body is fine.  Not a mark.  The bumper assembly was not only pushed back, but twisted.  So I pulled it and rebent it by putting it in my big vice.  After I got it on the car it was still a bit short, 1/4 inch,  of the other side, so attached a strap to the tractor and slowly lowered the buck and gave it a gentle tug.  Everything worked great.  The bar, while thick, is very soft and give up easily.  Now I have the bumper back on the car and everything looks good.  

 

I will put on the driving light assembly tomorrow, just too hot now.  In the pics it looks like it is bent, but that is due to the main bracket being bent over onto its side.

 

I did find out that the bumper mounting bars are available as new.  They are about $60 each from several Jaguar vendors.  

 

 

[r1lark]

John, you must be living a good clean life. That fawn's big mother probably crossed the road just a split second earlier.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, PM on August 7th.  Heavy rains today, about one inch.  The plants loved it.  It has been over a week without any rain.

 

Success, I worked on the Jaguar's driving light and got it installed and re-connected.  Works great.  So the car is now back to the same condition it was before the deer incident.  I did notice that the driving lights are starting to loose chrome on the bottom of the bucket where the mount is connect.  You can only see it if you stand on your head.  I guess I better start looking for replacements.

 

 

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, August 8th.  Hershey!  Well, I will be going again this year and will show a car on Saturday.  I have decided not to take the 1923 McLaughlin Buick as it has been there three times, or the 1953 Jaguar XK 120 as it has been there one time.  So that leaves the 1928 Buick Model 29 Town Brougham.  I am entered it in the preservation classification.  So look for me way in the back of the show field.  I will be posting on getting it ready in September.  

 

 

[SeventhSon]

Pretty much dodged a bullet on that deer hit John! Poor Bambi probably can't say the same, maybe just sore and bruised. Will be leery of the road from now on I imagine...

[dibarlaw]

John:

Glad to see that you will be taking the 1928. Both of the 1925s are down at this time. I will be looking at getting major engine work done to both. Sigh........Check out my Buick  Pre-War forum posts. "the 1925 Saga continues".... 

Larry

[unimogjohn]

Larry, I have been following along with your issues.  

 

Pulled the 28 out of garage this afternoon for a bath and general cleaning.  Looking good.  It started right up.  If it stops raining and the roads dry up I will take it out for a run.  I have to polish the original paint as it always has a sheen of oxidization, and put more tung oil on the wheel spokes.  But not much else to do to get it ready for the October show.  The last time it was shown was the 2000 Buick Nationals in Richmond, VA.  See pic.

 

I am negotiating on a 2003 BMW Z4 roadster.  It is suppose to be very nice inside and out, but has a blown engine.  I can replace that easily.  We just have to agree on a price.  I hope to get it for about $2,000.   It will be a flip car.  A replacement engine, used, is about $1,500 to my door.  

 

 

Edited August 15, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, August 16th.  Another hot and humid day.  Not much fun to be outside.  But I did move the 1928 Buick into the main garage bay to give me lots of room to work on it.  First up will be the wheels.  The last time I put tung oil on the wood spokes was in 2000.  So they are due.  It is easy to apply, I just use a small brush to put it on.  It will have one coat today and another tomorrow.  Then I will touch up the metal parts with Rustoleum gloss black.   So in a couple of days all four wheels will be done.  I will clean the white wall tires up a bit, but not too much.  I do not want them to over power the rest of the car.  I did wipe the tire down with "Fantastic" cleaner, and it did remove the road grime.  Pictures, before tung oil, and the other after.

 

For me there is a fine line between restoration and preservation quality.  I attempt to keep the car as "joe car owner" would have kept his car after a few good years of use and ownership.  In good order, but not just a  Sunday driver.  Hence, the 28 still has a few dents and bruises, and a little surface rust here and there.  Perfect it is not, presentable, yes.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[Frank Tate]

Looks good John!  I like the attitude/philosophy.  They were built to be driven.

 

Frank

[unimogjohn]

Oh lordie it is hot and humid, I have to run to the garage from the house.  It is Thursday, August 17th.  I actually turned on the AC to the garage so I could work.

 

Well, the 1928 Buick is done for now.  All the wheels are done, interior vacuumed and dusted,  mechanicals are lubed, and the exterior wiped down.  I will leave the waxing until a few days before Hershey.  But she is all ready to go.  Pics of wheel half done and then all done

 

And I bought a new pair of seat belts for the 1966 Morris Traveller.  It has some now, but they are old and not retractable.  Got these from England.  Suppose to be an exact replacement.  

[r1lark]

 Wow, A/C in the shop!! You are living my dream!

 

Seriously John, the Buick looks great. I think it's way more than the  'presentable' that you described yesterday........you should be proud of it. Besides, who wants a car so perfect that you are afraid to drive it?

 

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday and sill hot.  Did not plan to work on old cars today so left the AC off.  Bad mistake as I went to the garage to do some work in the heat of the day.  

 

Decided that I would do a test of Megulars cleaner wax on the 1928 Buick.  It is about the softest wax you can use.  So I did a couple of half panels to show you  the difference what a light rubbing of wax would do to the paint.  The paint is original, Harbor Blue on the body and Black on the fenders and on the body above the belt line.  The car body was painted all blue and then they added the black over it.   The cleaner wax worked good, it did not remove much paint.  I think the last time I waxed the car was about ten years ago.  You do not want to do it too often, the paint is pretty soft.  The blue paint is only missing on one door panel.  

 

 

Edited August 19, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, August 21st.  Going to be another hot one today so will be turning on the AC in the garage.  I did spend another two hours waxing the 1928 Buick.  I now have one side done.  Figure I have about three hours invested so far, one side to go.  Here are pics of the completed side.  The first pic is before I started, the rest are of the completed waxing.   I am quite happy with the condition and finish of the paint.  It should show well at Hershey from about five feet, which I think is more than satisfactory in the HPOF class.

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Love that "standing seam" detail on the back of the top, very neat....

 

John, I have a suggestion.  The Buick looks really good now, but, a rare opportunity today....  Drive the Buick outside today right after lunch, and I'd bet at 2:44 pm it will look GREAT!

[unimogjohn]

Still Monday.  But the car is all cleaned and waxed.  My arm is about to fall off.

 

Every few years I have put on a product on the roof called "top coat"  This paint waterproofs the rubber and canvas roof material.  It goes on thick.  Works great, but it leaves the roof bright and shiny, like a high gloss black paint.  It takes about a year for it to return to a flat black patina.  It is  just too close to Hershey to use it as I think it makes the car over the top,  kinda like putting on high gloss wet shine on your tires.  Certainly not the correct look for a HPOF candidate.

 

So the old 28 is ready to go to Hershey.  I will put it back into its parking spot in the garage and put a new clear plastic dust cover over it.  All I have to do is make sure the battery is charged and she is ready for the big show.   

Edited August 21, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)