Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[unimogjohn]

Just a couple of more things about the 28 that I found to be interesting.  I bought the car in 1984 and at that time it had travelled about 300 miles since 1950 when it had 40,533 miles.  Now it has 43,473, so I have driven it about 2,600 miles since I bought it.

 

The car still has decals of tax and inspection stickers from the state of Washington.  And the little VV decal applied at the factory for the windshield vent system.  Pretty cool.

 

 

[Buicknutty]

 That's truly amazing details to have on your car! Priceless.

Keith

[Alfre]

John you will get that H P O F hands down

Al

[unimogjohn]

It i s Tuesday.  The 1928 Buick has been moved back to its stall in the garage.  I did take it out for a short run before I put it back to bed for a month.  Got her covered to keep off the dust.  All I will have to do is reconnect the battery and put it in the trailer.  Looking forward to taking the car to Hershey.  I took a couple of beauty shots on the front lawn.

 

And I spent an hour working on the aluminum hood of the 07 BMW Z4 Coupe.  It had lots of watermarks that were deep in the clearcoat.  None of the same issue on the steel panels, odd.  But I used some not too aggressive compound to see if I could get them out.  Well, I got most of them out.  Looks a lot better, but some are still there.  I used Meguiar's G10307 ScratchX 2.0 - 7 oz from Amazon. 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[packick]

John:

 

As you know in 1988 I purchased a 1937 Packard 120 Club Sedan which also was an original Washington State car.  I found two items still in the glove compartment: the same $5 Federal Tax Use sticker that you have for your 1928 Buick, and a sticker from Consolidated Garage in Seattle which offered a complete ring job for my 120 for just $20. 

 

Also, I have used a product from Mothers on my modern cars to remove spots.  It works very well and is easy to apply.

[unimogjohn]

Joe, thanks for the information.  Do you know the hours of the shop?  I am going to take all my cars in immediately.  I will get that glass cleaner too, all my windows have water spots and Windex will not remove them.

 

And thanks for sending me this article.  Wow, the prices are beyond my expectations for sure.  I have never seen Avanti's go so high as in the Mecum auction.  Lots of money out there.  And didn't you have a 914 back in the day?

 

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/Articles/2017/08/23/big-money-surprises-at-monterey-2017?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=jnkhop22@gmail.com&utm_content=17-Hagerty Weekly News 08-23&utm_campaign=The VW Bus is back%2C Monterey auction shockers and recap%2C and the surprise legacy of the Mustang II

[packick]

John:

 

Yes I did own a 1970 Porsche 914 . . . most unreliable car I have ever owned.  The happiest day of my life is when I traded it in for another car.  With its fuel injection system, it always flooded  and I had to have it pushed to get it restarted; it seems that every time you turned on the key to start, it would shove more gas into the system which exacerbated the flooding.   After 2 years the paint faded but the dealer repainted the car for me at no charge.  Also after 2 years I had to replace all of the rubber fuel lines because they were deteriorating.  Those were just the major problems I had with it.  May it R.I.P.

[jbbuick22]

The 914 was more a VW than a Porsche

Serviced them when they were new.

 

 

 

John  

 

1922 Buick 22-6-55 Sport touring

[packick]

John:

 

I know a lot of very smart readers follow your blog (maybe even rivaling Robert Oppenheimer’s team) so I thought I would see if they can help me identify a mystery part.  I don’t think it is car-related but who knows.  This part was in a box of parts my father left after he had passed away.  I believe it was used for carpentry work since there is a lot of saw dust remnants on it.

 

Hopefully one of your readers will know right off what this part is called and what it is used for.  I have asked several people I know and so far no one has any idea.  Thanks readers.

[packick]

John et. al.:

 

Mystery solved.  I know a lot of you were losing sleep wondering what the mystery tool I posted pictures of earlier was.  One of my friends in Canada has identified it as a chisel sharpener that is used in conjunction with a bench grinder.  So sleep well tonight.

 

 

[unimogjohn]

Joe, glad you got your answer.  I would have never guessed.

 

It is Sunday, September 3rd.  Just finished fitting the new "modern" seat belts in the Morris Traveller.  They replaced the old black ones that were well worn.  I did put in new large backing plates under the floor as a measure of safety.  They work great and a much easier to use that the old ones that were not retractable.  Now it is a neat installation.

 

I also bought a new pair of fenders for the dump trailer.  The old ones are really beaten up.  Picked up the new ones for $60 each at the Rural King farm store.  This will be a winter project.

 

The fenders are welded onto the bed sides so will have to cut out the old ones and then weld the new ones on.  I have a little arc welder and a small MIG welder, both 110 volts.  I do not know if they will do the job, but will give it a go.  Camaro Steve has a 220 unit so may borrow that if mine do not work out.

 

 

[trimacar]

Where'd you buy the fenders?  I need a dual 4 inch wide fender, two tires failing on my car trailer activated the "fender delete" option....I have one aluminum fender, need a second, but shipping is tough....

[jbbuick22]

Try  championtrailers.com  or etrailer.com

 

John

 

1922 Buick model 55

 

 

 

[trimacar]

Thanks!  Looking for a fender and one side panel to replace tire damaged one.....

[unimogjohn]

David, Rural King in Front Royal.  www.ruralking.com to see what they have and what they can order.

Edited September 3, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

September 6th, Wednesday.  Raining all day so am heading out to the garage to see if I can hook up a turn signal indicator light on the dash of the Morris Minor.  It has a indicator light at the end of the turn signal stock, but it had somehow shorted and melted itself into the stock.  I have tried to get it out to no avail.   So am going to try to mount one on the dash.  Alice has left the turn signals on several times as they did not automatically cancel.  I bought a little LED green light to hopefully fit into the instrument cluster.

 

Yesterday I headed over to Dan's shop (our local fabricator) to pick up Camaro Steve.  He and Dan are installing a hvac unit into Barney, the 53 Ford F100 pickup.  They had been working all day and had run into a major problem of the pulleys not lining up.  So they were calling several vendor to see what they needed.  They found the right pulleys, but it will be a couple of days before they arrive.  Steve told me that they have the old heating unit removed, the electric fans wired to the back of the radiator, and the condenser mounted to the front.  Today, Dan should make progress in installing the big unit under the dash.

 

Dan also finished working on the engine of the Police paddy wagon.  Two cylinders were dead, so Dan did a valve job with the engine in the truck.  How?  I have no idea.  He said that he had old machines/equipment that were built to do that specific task.

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Still Wednesday, but early PM.  After a couple of hours the little green LED turn signal indicator is all done and working correctly.  Now Alice can see when her turn signals are on or off.  Easy and fun little job.  You can still obtain a new turn signal for the steering column, but they are about $150, so this is a good value at $6 and two hours of my time.

 

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[SeventhSon]

John, was that paddy wagon shown earlier in your thread? I think it might have been but not sure. Does it belong to Camaro Steve?

[unimogjohn]

Chris, yes, that was it.  It belongs to the Loudon County Sheriff Association.  They use it for public events, parades and local car shows.  It is a very nice rig.

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, September 10th.  Well, I crossed another item from my bucket list.  Camaro Steve and I went to the top tier NASCAR race in Richmond, VA last night.  Left home at 2 PM and got home at midnight.  Exciting to be there with all the pageantry, but the race itself was almost a non-event.  Not much banging and crashing.  But it was loads of fun with 50,000 of our friends.  Oh, glad we had hearing protectors,  it was really loud and exciting, you could feel the sound in your chest.  

 

 

[unimogjohn]

And this morning I did a little work on the 1966 Morris Minor Traveller, Dexter.  I bought two new Lucas amber glass lenses for the rear turn signals.  Both had turned an orange white color.  Only took about ten minutes per side.  Looks much better now.  

 

Alice does not want me to do any more to Dexter.  She is afraid that if I do too much she will not drive it for fear of hurting it.  So I promised that I would stop fiddling.

 

 

 

 

[SeventhSon]

Richmond is a great track John. I used to go there in my younger days when Dale Earnhardt was still with us. If you ever decide to go to another race try Charlotte Motor Speedway - wow!

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, September 12th.  I worked on the electrical system on the Morris Minor.  A couple of the terminals to the turn signals had some issues so had to rework a couple of connections, all good.  But the high beam on one headlight did not work.  Replaced with a known good light, but that did not work so the dip switch is probably defective. The dip switch looks to be original.  I ordered a new one from England.  Price was good at $12 shipped.

 

I also talked to Camaro Steve about his HVAC job on this 53 Ford pickup.  Steve has had several problems.  The new pulleys with the kit did not line up so he had to order a another set that hopefully will work.  And when he was installing a bracket, the block cracked and antifreeze started coming out the bolt hole.  They are going to put a helicoil in the block.  The coil will be coated with a sealant, which will hopefully fix the water leak.  This has set him a couple of days behind.  He hopes to have the block repaired today and hopefully all the new pulleys installed.

Edited September 12, 2017 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, September 13th.  A nice day so decided to take out the BMW Z4 and go see Greg.  Have not seen him in a couple of months nor have I heard anything from him.  Found him in his workshop toiling away like an elf in Santa's workshop.  So this is what he is up to.  Finished rebuilding one Curtiss OX engine and starting another.  He gave me a quick lesson on how the valves operate.  Very complicated with levers and springs, rods and bearings.  

 

He then showed me his new trailer.  A very nice rig.  And he had the 1921 Dodge inside.  It was sporting a new top made by none other than our own Trimacar, David Coco.  It looks really nice and a first class job.  

 

We went back into the work lair and took a look at the Wright Brothers V8 engine at Greg is building.  He has the pistons in it and is working on figuring out the firing order.  It is way different than a modern engine firing order.  He is working with the cam to figure out the various cycles that the engine goes thru.  Again, much different than a car engine.  As soon as he gets it all figured out, it will be ready to run.  Remember that there is no engine from back in the day, only a few pictures and a drawing of the cam exist.  This engine is a work of art.

 

And then we took a look at the 1910 Overland.  He is working on the door skins and latches.  The latches are very complicated.  They have three closing mechanisms, which work in sequence to include an arm that comes out and catches a bar in the door frame.  He also now has new tires for the car.  So it is coming along.  I expect that it has a year or more of work to go before it is back on the road.  

 

So it was a very nice hour long visit with Greg.  Had to let him get back to work so headed out for a very long drive home down our country lanes.  

 

[SeventhSon]

John, I was just wondering today what Greg was busy with. Did he mention the black Avanti?

[unimogjohn]

Chris, re the Black Avanti.  It is setting in the hanger.  Forlorn, but not forgotten.  Needs wiring and an interior refresh.  Greg says he has other fish to fry.  But he is refinishing a set of original mags that he got from Australia a few years ago.  These will be swapped with the ones on the Maroon Avanti.  The Black Avanti will get the hand me down mags.

[unimogjohn]

Friday, September 15th.  Nice day so decided to change the oil in the BMW Z4.  Easy job, done for a year.  Then decided to clean out the enclosed trailer and get it ready to take the 1928 Buick to Hershey.  Oh!!!!!!!!!  The Buick may be just a bit too tall.  Probably will let out some air in the tires to get another inch or so.  I have to pull it out of the pasture and onto the front lawn to see if I can squeeze it in.  This will not be until October 1st as we have a couple of farm events that will not let me pull it out.  

[SeventhSon]

I just noticed - this thread is 8 years old today. Happy Birthday thread!

Edited September 27, 2017 by SeventhSon (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Wow, Happy Birthday Thread indeed!  Well done John and all who have contributed.....

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, September 29th.  Corvette Wayne, Camaro Steve and I headed to Carlisle, PA for the Fall show.  Beautiful day and not too hot.  Lots of vendors, but the cars for sale was down by half, but then we were early in the week.   Saturday is the big day.  We bought a few trinkets, had a nice lunch with the like minded throngs of folks, and headed home.  A real nice day.  Here are a few pics.

 

 

[unimogjohn]

Started to get ready for Hershey, which is next week.  Will take the 1928 Buick up on Wednesday.  Camaro Steve is heading up with me.  We will drop off the car and then head over to the show fields for the day.  Then Alice and I will head up very early on Saturday morning.  I will try to be at the show field by about 7:30 AM.  This means we have to leave the house at about 3:30 AM.  It will be a long, but fun day.

 

I did get the headlight dip  switch for the Morris Traveller.  I hooked it up, it only took about a minute, and tried it.  No go, still no high beam on the drivers side.  The headlight, three position switch is a bit wonky, so sent away to the UK for a replacement.  I did trace all the wiring and it looks good, all brand new.  

 

And Camaro Steve is still working on the air condition and heating unit for the 1953 Ford F100.  They had to order another set of pulleys to get everything matched up, and successfully repaired the water jacket mount.  Everything is in, but the kit was missing a special high pressure metal line so waiting on this last part.  Then they can button everything up and charge the AC.  Steve is hopeful that Barney will be back on the road at the end of the weekend.  

 

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, October 2nd.  Oh boy, it is almost Hershey time.  I pulled the trailer out of the pasture a couple of days ago, and today the 1928 Buick got loaded.  I had Alice watch the top to make sure I did not hit the top of the trailer door opening.  She said that the car cleared it by about an inch.  Boy, was that close.  Tomorrow I will pack my tools and then head to Hershey early on Wednesday.  Then on Saturday we will go back up, drive the 28 out of the trailer an onto the show field.  Going to be a fun day for sure.  

[unimogjohn]

It is Thursday, October 5th.  We had a great day at Hershey!  The weather was bright and sunny, and the vendors were all set and ready to go.  The crowd was good too.

 

The old Suburban, with its new shocks, brakes and trailer receiver did great hauling the 1928 Buick up to Hershey.  We made it up in about 3 plus hours give or take.  Had to make a gas and pit stop along the way, but other than that we just rumbled along about 65 mph.  No more bouncing with the new shocks.  We parked the trailer and unstrapped the Buick.  It is ready to go to the show field on Saturday.  We just have to connect the battery, turn on the fuel and back her out.  We plan on being there about 8 or so.  I hope to be on the field at 9 at the latest.

 

I picked up my show credentials and then Camaro Steve and I walked the fields from about 9 til 3, by then we were pooped and headed home.  About 90% of the vendor spaces were packed full of goodies and the crowd was busy poking thru everything.  I did not buy anything, but Steve scored on a nice Coke Cooler.  Cars in the Corral were sky high, but a few had sold signs on them.  There were about 500 cars for sale with big loaders coming in with more.  I have do doubt it will be filled by Thur/Fri.  

 

Here are some pics.  I car I liked most was the 1950 Desoto Suburban, and at $35K was a great buy.  It was perfect.  The little Fiat 600 was my first car.  Worked all summer to buy it in about 1963, I remember it was a 1959 and I paid something like $300 for it.  A summer's worth of work.

 

We will head up on Saturday at about 4AM for the big show.

 

 

[MCHinson]

I suspect that you and I are not the only ones who took photos of that Ford "Chicken" truck. I have been busy taking photos of Straight 8 era Buicks for the Torque Tube II, but I also took this one...

[Bill Stoneberg]

I would not want to get chicken out of the back end of that truck.

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, October 8th.  A long day at Hershey yesterday.  Got home late.  A great day for a show.  We had a fun day.  I think the Buick did OK.  I will know in a week or so if we got our HPOF award.  I did get dinged for repainted fender and an incorrect oil filter.  We stayed with other HPOF cars for most of the day, but did take a walk to see all of the restored cars.  We were way in back on the show field.  Lots of nice cars in the HPOF area.  Here are the pics I took of interesting cars.

 

 

[unimogjohn]

Still Sunday.  And we just got back from showing the Jaguar and the Morris Traveller at the MG Club's Hunt Country Classic for British cars.  Rain this morning and sprinkled up to about noon.  So only about 50 or so cars attended.  Some nice rolling stock.  Alice won first in her class for the Morris Traveller, and I won the best in show British Ambassador's trophy for the Jaguar.  Quite an honor for the Jaguar.  Met lots of people as we parked the Jag and Morris side by side the last three hours of the show.

 

[MCHinson]

John.,

 

Sorry I did not go back to the HPOF section and try to find you, but after walking in the swap meet all week, after I was finshed judging, I headed home. In addition to the Brewster that I now know about in HPOF from your photos, there was an interesting Brewster bodied Ford in Class 21E that I judged. Until seeing that car and speaking with the owner, I had no idea that Brewster built exclusively on Ford chassis in 1934 and 1935. Some of those car bodies have been transplanted to Buicks in later years.

[unimogjohn]

Before I ask the larger forums I thought I would post an issue with the 1928 Buick.  While cleaning it I noticed a dusting of material near the window sill jams.  I am going to assume that this is an indication of a wood post beetle infestation.  My question, how do you treat the condition without actually getting to the wood framing?  Suggestions?

[Spinneyhill]

Vessels and containers carrying timber arriving and leaving this country are often fumigated to kill such pests. Basically, the vessel or container is filled with a toxic gas for something like 36 hours.

 

Typical gasses used are phosphine and methyl bromide. These are not for amateur use!

 

You may be able to find a commercial operator that can fumigate the car in a container for you.