unimogjohn Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 It is Thursday, early PM. Lots of rain and thunder. Big storm, but so far no high winds like the south and mid-west have been receiving. I spent some time bleeding the master cylinder for the Suburban. Mounted it in my big vice, plumbed the bleeding kit I had, filled the reservoir, and bled the system. Now there is no air in the master. This afternoon I will mount it back into the truck. Have to be really careful as the master is aluminum and the brake line connections are steel. I do not want to strip the master's threads at this point. I am going to start the lines with the master not mounted and will see if that is easier to make sure that everything lines up and threads in easily. I then opened up the Eastwood blaster that I got last week. Will start putting it together in the next day or so. Special black silica sand is available at our local Tractor Supply store for $7 a 50 lb bag. Greg likes playground sand from Home Depot at about half the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 It is Friday, am. We did have a big storm pass by in the afternoon. So much lightning and thunder, and a couple of inches of rain. Wind was howling. So I stayed inside and did not venture out into the metal garage. Seemed like the right thing to do. But this morning I put in the new master cylinder. Took several tries to make sure the brake line screwed into the master correctly and without forcing them in. While the master cylinder was on the mounting studs I did not bolt it down. This enabled me to move it a bit and get the threads on the brake line nut to catch and go smoothly on. So that job is done. The special bleeder cap for the pressure bleeder should be here this afternoon. We will be gone all day tomorrow so the first chance I have to bleed the brakes will be on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Sunday, April 9th. Bled the Suburban's brakes using the Motive pressure bleeder. Filled it with one quart of new fluid and then pumped it up to 10 psi. Opened the rear passenger bleeder and watch the air and fluid being pushed out. Within five seconds it was just pure fluid. Then I did the remaining three. Used about the entire quart of DOT 3 fluid. Put the tires back on and headed out for a test run. The brakes pumped up just fine to a hard pedal. I made a few normal stops at speed and then a couple of panic ones. Perfect, no issues and it stopped straight. In a couple of days i will again check for any leaks and then put the driver's side fender splash panel back into place. ABS did not throw any codes and I did not have a check brake light on. Success. Tomorrow I hope get the Jaguar up on the lift to start its repair. Things i want to do. Check the alignment of the exhaust pipes as they are not parallel; check the front brakes to see why it is pulling to one side; replace all the coolant lines; and the oil cannister fix and change the oil. And also plan on bleeding the brakes with new fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avantey Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Hi John, haven't chimed in in a long time but still read of your adventures. I was coming home from Kentucky Saturday heading east on I-68 between Morgantown WV and Cumberland, MD when I saw a Jag of your vintage heading west. Very pretty convertible in either green like yours or tan, not sure. It was running strong on an uphill and I noticed it a little late but looked good flying down the interstate! Now that I am home the spring list of work starts. This includes trying to figure out the erratic left bank exhaust backfire in the Avanti, getting the '31 Hupp back to the engine builder for an oil burning issue and getting the rest of the fleet up and running. Can't wait to get going on everything and doing some serious house work this summer. But I still gotta find time for a tour or two.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) John, been on vacation in Arizona, so I'm somewhat behind reading posts. How do you like the Eastwood welding table? How thick is the top? I tend to tack weld pieces to the top of a welding table to keep them straight while laying down heavy beads, but it takes a good heavy chunk of steel to do this. I need a decent portable table, that's why I'm asking. Comment on blasting media: if you use sand (silica), please use a good respirator or air fed hood....That silica is hard on the lungs. That's why a lot of folks use the black slag. Edited April 11, 2017 by r1lark Added info, and spelling errors (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) Paul, I would call the table as a light or hobby use. The steel top is about 1/4 inch. I am sure that Eastwood has the specs on their web site. Opps, make that 1/8 of an inch. Edited April 11, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 (edited) This afternoon we had a nice visit from Al Gerisch (AACA Lifetime member) and his wife Mary Ann. They were travelling thru the area on their way home to NY. Al always met me on the show field at Hershey and gave me plenty of great advice on what the judges expect. And Al has many, many car and judging stories, I could just listen for hours. Anyway, we had a great couple of hours at the farm. Al gave me pictures of some of his cars. He has a 28 Gardner, 53 Chevrolet, 65 Corvair convertible, and a 29 Chevy coupe. He also has several other cars. He and Mary Ann go on several east coast tours each year so look for him if you are on one of them. Thanks for coming by Al. Edited April 11, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 After Al left and headed back to NY, I got busy on the Jaguar. I decided that I would make repair to the oil filter cannister first. After about a hour I had the assembly off the side of the engine. No wonder the top was leaking. The plastic like gasket on the canister attachment bolt had split with age. Also the gasket between the assembly and the engine was totally worn and crumbled in my hands. So cleaned up the mating surface, and it is ready to go in when I get the correct gasket for the bolt. I also drained the oil out of the engine. And of course I did not have the correct gasket for the filter canister itself so had to order a couple. Looks like it will be a few days before I can put everything back together. Here are some pics. Oh, and I also straightened the tail exhaust bracket. Both tubes are parallel to the ground now. An easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 Since it looks like I am waiting for parts, I decided to work on the Jaguar's front brakes and why the car pulls to the left when stopping hard. The front wheel drum brakes are of self adjuster design. So with the car on the lift I decided to just spin the front tires to see how much rotation they have. Pulling down the tire by hand reveals that the passenger side tire will continue spinning almost 20 rotations, the driver' side barely 5. Tonight I will review the factory service manual and tomorrow will pull of the drums to see what is up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) April 11th, Tuesday, PM. Worked on the Jaguar from 8 till 5. A long day for sure. Took that long to replace all the rubber coolant lines. Got them all done. The ones on the front of the engine were a struggle. All were hard as rocks and stuck. Had to cut a couple off to remove them. One line to the heater was almost closed. No wonder we had low heat output. Refilled the radiator with new anti-freeze and will recycle the the old stuff. The $61 hose kit was good, but did have to do some trimming. But everything was there and even have a couple of short pieces left over for the future. The old hoses were a combination of sizes and types. Must have been replaced as needed. Tomorrow Porsche Jon is coming over with his new Suburban. We are going to change out the shocks. It will be going off to Dan at some point for new brake lines. They are rusted like mine. Edited April 11, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Sounds like the right front brake cylinder is stuck - probably corroded. Hopefully a good clean out, reassemble and change the brake fluid will suffice. This happens to my 1930 Dodge if I don't drive it: aluminium piston in brass sleeve = galvanic cell. PS. what did you find in the Suburban caliper where the shoes had worn unevenly? Edited April 11, 2017 by Spinneyhill (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 I have notes from the previous owner that he re-did the brakes and had the cylinders, there are two per wheel, sleeved with stainless steel. Of course, it does not mean that it was done correctly. Could not find anything wrong with the Suburban's caliper so will watch it over the next year or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 It is Wednesday, April 12th. Porsche Jon came over with his 03 Surburban with quadrasteer and self-leveling shocks. The shocks are original to the truck (266,000 miles on the odo). They were leaking and throwing codes all over the place. Jon decided just to take them off and replace them with Bilsteins. We started at 9 AM and he was out the door by 3 PM. Fun day. Of course the Jaguar was in the garage so I had to move it out. It started to rain so put the light plastic over it. Of course the wind picked up too. Jon snapped a picture. The seals on the oil filer canister are "unobtainium" so submitted an inquiry to the Jag community. One guy came back with the specs and source for the seals and gaskets. So now I have more stuff coming that will hopefully seal the canister for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 John, I need to talk to you and understand what Bilstein shocks are...my 2001 2500 Suburban is getting a little funny in the rear end, seems to hop a bit, has the ride control shocks....love the surreal picture of the plastic cover over the Jaguar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 It is Thursday. April 13th. David, sent you an email. Going to take a look at the Jaguar front brakes today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Another adventure begins. For yet some unknown reason Alice has been longing for a little station wagon for her and the farm. She settled on a Morris Traveler that she saw at a British car show a couple of years back. So ever since I have been looking. One on Ebay kept popping up, but the price was too high and never met the reserve. Last night it met the reserve, and we were the winner. Now we just have to get it from Florida. I don't think that we are going to pick it up, will have it shipped. Here are pics of the car from the auction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Beautiful little car. I had one, can not remember what year it was. The last year of flathead. This was in 1969-1970 in Australia. Surprisingly comfortable. Enjoy Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Ben, I had a 1959 Austin Healey Sprite in college circa 1965 and 1966. So I am at least aware of these English vehicles of that era. Should be lots of fun. I still have my Sprite maintenance manual. It should come in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Here are a couple of pics of Jon's Suburban and the shocks we took off. And someone wrote me and asked "what with this farm work you do". Well this is what Alice lets me do daily. I took my Suburban out for a fuel run this morning. Brakes worked great and the suspension was nice and firm, but not harsh. Cannot wait to get it on the road for a long trip. After I get the Jag finished, I will put it back on the lift and attach the inner fender shield and repair the windshield washer system. But at least now I am back on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 I pulled the Jaguar back into the garage and got it back up on the lift. Pulled the two front wheels off, and then pulled the hub and brake drum of the passenger side brake. Everything was nice and clean, no cylinder leaks, drums and brakes look new. Ah ha, that is the problem. It has two brake adjusters with fine little teeth on a rod. As you use the brakes they are suppose to run up on these little teeth and adjust the shoe. Problem is that the lower rod has lost all its teeth, So nothing to grab to hence it could not adjust the brakes. Guess I will be looking for new rods. Glad that I have figured out the problem. I will also clean everything up, re-grease all the bearings and do some cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Found a couple of places that had the adjustment bar for the brakes. Was going to get four, but at $75 each, I opted for one. So one is coming my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 John, thanks for email and I replied, my 2001 is definitely loosey goosey (an engineering term also) in the rear, and needs shocks...the Autoride system is dreadfully expensive, just like the air suspension we recently replaced on my wife's Envoy... LOVE the Morris station wagon. My best experience with a British car was in 1972, I was 21 years old and on a "beer tour" of Europe, I rented a Mini Minor to drive from London to Paris. Took the Hovercraft across the channel. Just outside of Paris, was running out of gas and looking for a service station, a Volvo stopped in front of me and I rear ended it. Got out, I spoke no French and the Volvo driver spoke no English, my little car had the front end pushed in about two feet, his Volvo had a broken tail light and that was all! He shrugged his shoulders and drove off. Limped into Paris and parked it in front of rental agency, think I had to pay the equivalent of two dollars for insurance and walked away! Took a train the rest of my trip... for those who may not know, the Mini Minor was just that, a little bitty slip of a car....While in Munich a week later, I was offered a job to work at the 1972 Olympics, but thought it best to get back to college....on one hand wish I'd stayed, but that was not the best year for the Olympics by any means.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 David, great story. More on the Jaguar. The rods that are suppose to slip like a ratchet are frozen. No wonder it ate the teeth. Looks like they were assembled without any lube. I was able to free them up with a shot of WD40. I am going to take them off this afternoon and clean up all the rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Still Thursday. The Morris dealer called me back and said that they needed to talk to the owner to see how he wanted to be paid. I guess that the car is on consignment to them. The dealer offered to arrange transport of the car to Virginia. I am getting a couple of other shipping quotes. On the Jaguar. I took off the adjustment arms. They have a little sliding mechanism that froze up. They are both loose now. There is a simple adjusting procedure in the Jag repair book. The little pads that make up the friction material look good too. Here are pictures of the mechanism and also the notching on both arms, you can see one is a lot less than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 8 hours ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said: Beautiful little car. I had one, can not remember what year it was. The last year of flathead. This was in 1969-1970 in Australia. Surprisingly comfortable. Would that be about a 1952 model? My cousin managed to roll hers in the main street in Dunedin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Still Thursday. That was really fast. I ordered the oil seals for the Jaguar from McMaster-Carr and they arrived at 5 PM. Just 20 hours from ordering. Now that I have the seals I can put the oil canister back on the engine and fill it with new oil. Yahoo! I will also bleed the brakes at the same tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Oh boy! We have a report from Greg. Hey all, Just to let you know that something is happening even if it isn't happening fast. Overland bodywork progresses. I'm making every effort to salvage original metal and wood even if nobody will ever know. It takes a lot more work and time than just starting over with fresh timber and flat sheet steel. The pic with Nathan, torch in hand shows a couple things: the bottom edge has been replaced , that chore left to the capable hands of Thetan Ogle. I'm still amazed at the quality of his metal shaping and the fact that he joined it by welding and without warpage. That's why he got the job. And Nate helped me with the shrinking of some "oil canning" of the panels. Any time you pull the metal skin off of a wooden frame, it won't ever go back on the same way. Now after weeks of work, the back seat has the structural and some cosmetic work done, a coat of epoxy primer and now on to the platform. I'd done structural work to it back in the 'eighties (nineteen eighties) and now to get the wooden and steel moldings fitted . This evening, the primer almost cured, Nathan just stopped by to help me reunite the back seat with the platform. A nice reunion for all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trulyvintage Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I am hauling a 1941 Chrysler NY from Ocala, FL to Jefferson, MD in about a week - I might have room for a second car .... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Jim, sent you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1lark Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 On 4/13/2017 at 10:36 AM, unimogjohn said: I took my Suburban out for a fuel run this morning. Brakes worked great and the suspension was nice and firm, but not harsh. Cannot wait to get it on the road for a long trip. John, seems like the perfect long trip for that big Suburban is down to Florida to get the Morris Traveler! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Paul, we thought about going down to get it, but I think that the cost for us to get it would probably be more than the shipping. Well, Friday is about done for car work. I put back on the Jaguar's filter housing, put in a new oil filter and filled it with oil and a couple bottles of zinc additive. So with 11 quarts in the sump I primed the system and then started it up. The pressure jumped to 50 and no oil leaks from the filter housing. I did have one small water leak, but that was easily fixed with a couple of more turns on the clamp. I then turned my attention to the front brakes. I removed the four adjusters on both wheels and gave them a good clean. The adjusters have two little friction pads that helps control the movement of the adjustment bar. So now everything is clean, free of rust, and should function as designed. So I have one wheel back on, and will put on the other side as soon as the new adjustment rod comes in the mail. The dealer has been trying to get ahold of the owner of the Morris Traveller. No luck as he is out of town. To be safe I sent a $500 deposit as instructed by the Ebay sale. Ebay says that if there is a problem, they will refund the money. I hope that there will not be a problem. As soon as we get a bank number from the dealer we will pay for the little car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Putting the cart before the horse I purchase a Morris maintenance manual and a NOS pair of 1966 Virginia license plates. These will be the only items I will be buying before the Traveller gets to the farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Um, sorry, that book is for the 1100-1300 series, not the Morris Minor. The 1100-1300 had a transverse engine and front wheel drive. The gearbox was in the sump. They had "hydrolastic" suspension and were sort of like a pumped up Mini. The Minor had conventional engine and transmission setup with rear wheel drive. Some of the manual will be applicable - the engines are very similar but obviously access to the Minor engine etc. is a vastly easier. My first car was a Morris 1100 1966; it was diabolically difficult to connect the exhaust to the manifold and I had to do it two or three times coz it kept leaking. This would be a better book: https://www.amazon.com/Morris-Minor-Traveller-Complete-Companion/dp/190613345X or this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Workshop-Manual-Morris-Minor-1948-1970-MM-Series-II-1000-New-Service-Repair-/401303063729?hash=item5d6f86ccb1:g:BAwAAOSwA29Y47uE&vxp=mtr or even better, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Haynes-Workshop-Manual-Morris-Minor-1000-All-Models-1956-1971-Service-Repair-/252841669645?hash=item3ade89b40d:g:kVUAAOSwdGFY4Ukh&vxp=mtr Haynes books are OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 (edited) Spinneyhill, Opps, my bad. Too much enthusiasm. Thanks for the input and book recommendations. Update: Saturday Morning. Bought the "right" book this time. Thanks Spinneyhill. Edited April 15, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 9 hours ago, unimogjohn said: The dealer has been trying to get ahold of the owner of the Morris Traveller. No luck as he is out of town. To be safe I sent a $500 deposit as instructed by the Ebay sale. Ebay says that if there is a problem, they will refund the money. I hope that there will not be a problem. As soon as we get a bank number from the dealer we will pay for the little car. Nice Little car, John. It seems that transactions within the US are not always easy; think about that: I'm now in the process of buying a car, also from Florida. I have to add that I have zero experience with importing cars. It will also be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 Roger, that is fantastic. Another new car! Now you will have to start another topic on the forums. What are you getting? I imported the Unimog from Belgium. There was a lot of trust involved. In the end it worked out great. It just took a long time from start to finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Zimmermann Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 3 hours ago, unimogjohn said: Roger, that is fantastic. Another new car! Now you will have to start another topic on the forums. What are you getting? I imported the Unimog from Belgium. There was a lot of trust involved. In the end it worked out great. It just took a long time from start to finish. Well...As you saw in my signature, I sold my '56 Sedan de Ville last year because I wanted something less old. As I have only 3 garage places at my disposal, one of the 3 cars had to go. A Swiss member of the local Cadillac club was intersted to the de Ville and we did the deal. During wintertime I did nothing because to have a car less to maintain had also advantages! For about 4 weeks, one of my spare parts suppliers asked what I would like to buy.My answer was: a 1969 to 1972 Cadillac; a de Ville would be fine either as a coupe or 4-door, not white or black. Recently, than man sent me a link for a low mileage 1972 Cadillac Coupe de Ville in a rather good condition. I don't know the owner, but I phoned him maybe 2 weeks ago. I had over the phone a good impression; my spare parts seller had also a phone conversation with him. 3 days ago, the money was on the account of the seller. Now, I'm waiting...and organized already shop manual and other literature. I don't want to go into the details now, most probably in some months when the car is in my garage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unimogjohn Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 Roger, congratulations. Cannot wait to see pictures. Headed out to the garage this fine Saturday morning. Wanted to finish up with the Jaguar by bleeding the brakes. Used my little Mighty Vac to do the job. The fluid was not that dirty or discolored. Only the front passenger side had a little debris in it. Well that job is done. Just waiting for the part to arrive so I can finish the brake job. Next car up will be the Suburban, just going to check all the brake fittings for leaks and repair the windshield washer system now that the front wheel inner fender is off so I can get to it. Then going to put new rear shocks on the Chevy Trailblazer and check the brakes. And finally, I have to do all the brakes on the VW Passat. By the end of all this work, the Traveller should be here, and I am sure it will need a good inspection and some repair. No rest for the weary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packick Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 John: Do you use those numbered cards like the dealers do that go on the rear view mirrors to keep track of which of your cars is awaiting parts or is next in line to be serviced? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 (edited) 44 minutes ago, packick said: John: Do you use those numbered cards like the dealers do that go on the rear view mirrors to keep track of which of your cars is awaiting parts or is next in line to be serviced? LOL. Ben Edited April 15, 2017 by Ben Bruce aka First Born (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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