Avanti R2, 1963, refresh

[unimogjohn]

It is Thursday, April 7th. Heading out today to see if I can find the push rods locally, if not will order them. While I have been busy with the tractor, Greg is pushing ahead on his Avanti. Here is his report.

"OK. Some movement here.

Trimacar, the seatbelts arrived. You shortened the wrong one! Just kidding. Nice job! The front belts are in and off the list.

Called Nostalgic and got that door handle coming. In the meantime I installed the driver's outside handle and new striker. The door closes and latches reasonably well. The handle locks with the new key.

I also managed to get the headlamp covers on. When the rubber gaskets come without the holes for the mounting screws, makes life a little more difficult. With screw hole locations marked with masking tape and marker, I finally stabbed the holes with an ice pick. Turned out fine. No blood, no scratched paint, not broken chrome rings. Success story.

Speaking of the headlight covers, coming from one who owns both the round light and the square kind.....I'm like them both, but partial to the round ones."

[unimogjohn]

It is Thursday evening. Just received a note from Paul. He is getting the 1923 Buick back on the road again. Looks like he is successful. I have asked Paul for more pictures also.

And I ordered the push rods for the Kohler engine. Ordered four, just in case. Total cost including shipping was $11. I then took off the rocker arms and cleaned everything. I am ready to install the push rods when they arrive. Hope to have her running early next week, just in time to put the mower unit back on. Here is a pic of the cylinder head ready for the push rod.

Here is Paul's report.

"Our 23 Buick is doing great. I went through all of the fluids and greased the chassis (lots of fittings. I was wondering, many cars of that time period had little caps on the alimite fittings. Should the 23 Buick have these caps? I have seen them available from Restoration Supply and other companies.

I then removed the front wheels and bearings, washed all of the old grease out and re-packed the bearings and adjusted.

I was able also to get all of the lights working. I also noted that there was never any brake light! I believe I will install one for safety sake, but with out modifying the car. I plan to install it using the existing tag bracket and wire in a Ford Model A stop light switch.

We put about 10 miles on her this weekend, all round trips! Seems to run extremely well.

Next week we plan to work with sewing in new clear plastic into side curtains."

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, April 8th. Got some special automotive epoxy weld/glue to hopefully fix the broken plastic panel that holds the grille assembly and headlights in place on the deer damaged trailblazer. The panel is not that expensive, but the labor involved to replace is about a days work. So decided to see if this special epoxy will weld it back together. It is only damaged on one side. Will take pics when I start.

But Greg is making significant progress now to getting his Avanti back on the road. Here is his report.

"My first triip to the gas pump, and I just made it......under the four dollar a gallon deadline I set for myself.

Otherwise tonight was spent doing small and invisible things, except for buffing and installing the windshield

wiper arms and blades."

[Willys77]

Hi John:

Very interesting post to say the least!!! A cousin had a 1965 Studebaker Two Door Post from new. White with Light Blue interior - don't know what happened to it, but it was a fantastic little car. Snooping on the net today and saw a guy "selling" Stude V8 stuff - let Greg know, please. The guys email address is:kelmbaker@msn.com and he is in Tuscon. Hope this helps out.

[Bill Stoneberg]

John,

I used to run Kohler engines on go karts and we went through pushrods till we found out about not choking them right away.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 11th. I offered to help haul cars from storage by the weekend. I think that there are five in total. A widow is selling them off, but they have to be moved. I have no interest, just thought that it would be fun to help out. I know that a couple have been sold, but I have been told that a 57 Chev Bel-Air is available, but the engine is not correct. It is great to be retired and able to do this sort of thing.

Here is Greg's weekend report also.

"It was a hard charging weekend. In fact, when it comes to things that needed to happen....it is just now over.

Some of it was a trip to work on the Stoddard. I'm gaining on the oil pressure regulator. I've tried a number of springs and the current one gives me about two pounds at idle and revs to about five. It has a twelve pound gauge. Referring to the owner's manual I'm told that the actual reading isn't important, it simply says it must read SOMETHING. However I am going to bump it up a bit.

Avanti news is that the ordered door handle came, it has been asssembled and installed on the passenger door. The weather cleared and Barbara went on a troubleshooting mission which included a stop at the outdoor icecream parlor. It was another successful round trip, the turn signals are intermittent however. I'll look into that.

And the door panels are nearing completion. Timing a factor, they had called last week about my choice of carpet. On my last trip to my storage garage, I found a piece of the same material the flooring was cut from. It just went to get shipped.

Now for my day job. Where was I?"

[trimacar]

I teased Greg about his turn signals being intermittent. Of course, they're supposed to be, that's their function, and he said he wondered who would catch that joke......

[unimogjohn]

Still Monday, PM. A really nice day, over 80 degrees. Waiting for a storm to come rolling in tonight.

On the plus side I received the new Kohler engine push rods in the mail. Took an hour to put them in and adjusted everything. Hit the starter and she roared to life. Success.

Now on to the Trailblazer repair tomorrow.

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, April 13th. It rained for almost 24 hours yesterday and last night. Our little rain gauge says 2 inches. Yesterday was a good day to finish the taxes. Easy come, easy go.

Here is Greg's report from yesterday. And pictures too!

"But only one lousy picture. Now two.

Hitting the Avanti, doing those chores I haven't felt like doing. Like stabbing an icepick through the rear window rubber. Brad Bez had sent me a pic of the clip I'm missing (little people came out from hiding and got it). I shoved the hole and installed the screw. It retains the back glass from blowing out. I also crawled around on the floor to get the bumper hardware tightened. All but one nut. It dropped and again, the little people got it. I'll get another at the hardware store until they bring it back. As a reward I drove the car to the convienience store to find some midnight chow. Another round trip.

Another chore ahead, troubleshoot the lack of dash lights. (Used a flashlight for last night's run.) I was going to look into that tonight, as well as my turnsignals that worked some of the time (when I pushed that lever on the left side of the steering column that makes them blink). Now they aren't even INTERMITTENT. I guess they are nonintermittent. Don't work at all.

Raining and ugly tonight, I got in some Stoddard Dayton time. Finished machining the missing pressure regulator gizmo, and knowing that I'm a professional at losing things, decided to make the long drive to install it on the car. While there I removed all of the wheel lugs that I could without the wheels falling off. They have yet to be cleaned and painted. (That's the picture)

After blast cleaning I see some of them will need repair. I'm to take the car to a show next month, lots of details to attend to. It's to be shown in racing configuration, so when I mentioned my idea to the guys at work, they took their usual course of action.....totally out of control. A Stoddard speedcar was involved in some race events at the Springfield, Ill track. (second pic) I want the car temporarily numbered like it. Our guys are already feeding information into the computer to examine and duplicate the

hastily applied numbers exactly. Should be fun.

That's all the car news for now.

As for a wrapup of my day, if you've got the time.....

My old friend Weldon Britton asked me to be his HOV dummy today. He was going to the Arlington National Cemetery. To use Rt 66 inside the DC beltway, must be at least two in the vehicle. Going to a service, the interrment of his late brother's wife. Of course I went.

Pouring rain. I'm to drive. OK, even though I'm not good for dawn patrol. Traffic on 66 was backed up even in the HOV lane. We crawled into DC, crossed the bridge to Constitution Ave where I was to take an immediate right, cross back over that bridge. Crossed that bridge and encountered a traffic circle . Did I mention there was traffic? Not just traffic but DC traffic. The entrance to the cemetery is directly across from the bridge traffic. He motions me to work to the left for the circle. I'm in a right turn only lane. I try to the left, the traffic says not hardly. Weldon shouts "Go left! Go left!".

I feint to the left but this big black SUV, ( bigger than ours) isn't going to stand for it. In the split second it takes to make a choice, I decide to blink first, (didn't want to hear the bending metal, busting glass , need the jaws of life to save my a$$) I dodge straight ahead. Weldon is not happy. I can tell. I've just put us on the expressway out of town. I say express, make that snailpaceway.

We're going to be late.

We work our way in this mess until we find an exit, Reagan National Airport. Looking for the nearest method of reversing our course, I take another turn. I didn't want to see the look on Weldon's face as we sat there at a parking lot turnstyle waiting for the maching to spit a ticket at me.

Ticket in hand, we squeal through the parking facility like a scene from a Steve McQeen movie, finally find our way out and back on the expressway. The right way. Crawling back to the circle, I'm determined to keep to the left if it takes every insurance agent that Weldon's got.

We make it through the gate, need to ask directions from cemetery staff who's standing there in the rain. I try to put the window down. The armrest on his SUV looks like a computer keyboard. I start punching buttons. Did I mention we were going to be late? I finally get the window down. Get a fix on our location and we proceed. Weldon wants to ask the next guy. On his side. Weldon can't get his window down. Did I mention he wasn't happy. "What the hell button did you push?!" "I don't know, I pushed them all." We finally get the window working . "Don't push any more!", he says.

We did find the gravesight in time. He got to visit with extended family not often seen.

A stranger to this place, I got to take in what I could see. Markers as far as you could see in all directions. Resting place of the finest souls this country has had to offer.

As I understand, the cemetery was begun during our Civil War on property of the Lee family. A form of punishment for maintaining their loyalty to their home state of Virginia, and the Southern cause. As I look over those countless markers I realize that what was to be a form of mockery, General Lee and his family actually received an honor like no other possible.

After the service, Weldon showed me the location of his Father and Mother. A veteran of WWI, his father had been an Air Service mechanic. A family of patriots. I recall Weldon sharing that his Grandfather was a survivor of the charge of the Light Brigade. A reminder of it, he carried shot that he could move around under his skin. And the two brothers, both P-51 pilots in different wars together.

Anyway, we stopped for lunch on the way back, traffic had let up. As we approached his street, he reached up, touched the Cemetery Pass and remarked how it made it easier for us to enter the grounds. I mentioned that to expedite any more trips we might make, he should probably get one of those passes for the parking garage too, since it's on our way.

As usual, any day with Weldon is a good day."

[Scotts_DG8]

A Stoddard speedcar was involved in some race events at the Springfield, Ill track. (second pic) I want the car temporarily numbered like it. Our guys are already feeding information into the computer to examine and duplicate the hastily applied numbers exactly. Should be fun.

I was having a hard time viewing the picture and wanted to see the details a bit more so enhanced it some. Here is the picture above and now you can see the number 7 on the side of the car. Scott...

[unimogjohn]

Thanks Scott. I see it now too. Have let Greg know about the pic.

Well, nice enough for me to start the repair to the Trailblazer's plastic header panel with some plastic welding/glue. Decided to take off the headlight to get a better look at it, and it was not just split but shattered. So off to plan B, replace the entire plastic header panel. Here is a pic of the broken headlight panel piece, and there are more missing pieces. No way the glue is going to hold this together again. So I have ordered a new panel. It is all one piece (see pic). I will start pulling everything off tomorrow. Oh well, it needs to be put back together right.

[unimogjohn]

Scott, here is an update from Greg on your comments on the Stoddard Dayton postcard; and its racing number.

"Hey cool, thank Scott and tell him to look on the other side of the hood opposite the seven. He'll see the top of a 1. Car number 17."

And here is more on the picture from Greg.

"You can tell Scott that we're working from a hunded dollar and very old post card. I had been studying the bottom view for twenty-five years and wondering why the photographer didn't take the other side. With no clues to go on, and determined to begin cutting wood, on a last day at Hershey , the last vendor on the way out and with all my cash spent, I stumbled across the missing image. He took a check."

Here are the two postcards of the same Stoddard Dayton race car wreck.

[Scotts_DG8]

Scott, here is an update from Greg on your comments on the Stoddard Dayton postcard; and its racing number.

"Hey cool, thank Scott and tell him to look on the other side of the hood opposite the seven. He'll see the top of a 1. Car number 17."

And here is more on the picture from Greg.

"You can tell Scott that we're working from a hunded dollar and very old post card. I had been studying the bottom view for twenty-five years and wondering why the photographer didn't take the other side. With no clues to go on, and determined to begin cutting wood, on a last day at Hershey , the last vendor on the way out and with all my cash spent, I stumbled across the missing image. He took a check."

Here are the two postcards of the same Stoddard Dayton race car wreck.

I did go back and have another closer look and do see the 1, making it 17. I also liked the additional pictures, sure looks like one bad wreck. I enhanced them too for those that would like to have a better look. Scott..

[unimogjohn]

Morning all, it is Thursday, April 14th. Just got a call to help move the "modern" cars from their storage to a neighbor's barn. Should be fun. I will take some pics and post them tomorrow.

Here is Greg's recap of his work last night. Busy, busy......

"Avanti.

I trouble shot the turn signal problem. Poor connection at the fuse. They are working again. Time to look into instrument lights and the overhead switches.

The heater motor had high speed only, so I found a new motor which is in place. I also found a poor connection at the switch.

Tried working with that maze of wires while the panel was dangling from the ceiling, gave up. The wires were marked, disconnected and from the pics you can see that the whole thing needs a makeover.

With an ohm meter, checked out the switches themselves. Their operation wasn't very reliable. I've never had to overhaul them before, but I was surprised to see that they are built to easily disassemble. A thorough cleaning and they now work like new.

Stoddard Dayton.

Brazed the worn lug plates, next to dress them to shape.

Peerless throwout bearings.

Waiting on me to bore the inside diameters.

Matheson engine.

Piston rings being manufactured.

Waiting on me to get back after it.

Too many cars too little time."

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, April 15th. Hooked up the open trailer and was ready to go to pick up a couple of cars. Opps, no luck, coordination problems with the owner. Guess I will keep everything hooked up in case it is needed on the weekend.

I did take a couple of Kubota loader hydraulic hoses to be be re-made in town. The outer rubber casings were splitting and falling off in chunks. About time to replace I think. They are about 14 years old. Had to replace all the other hoses last year as they started to leak/break. So these had to be done before they gave me a big problem in the middle of some field. Will run into town this morning and pick them up.

Greg worked hard last night too. Here is his report.

"OK, let's see. Today with Trimacar's help I scored that NOS 3.07 TT

rear axle on ebay.

Now, anybody out there know how it can hitch hike from Atlanta to the Northern VA/Mid Atlantic region?

Good day at work, making Langley Aerodrome parts, turned down some Stearman time due to the arrival of a Wright Brothers six cylinder engine for me to study.

Having exhausted my blood pressure and cholestoerol medication, I drove the Avanti to the Walmart pharmacy where I got the pills and the red licorice antidote. Car ran fine.

Once again Brad to the rescue. He advised me of his method of interior rear view mirror stud removal. Use a torch to warm it and pliers to persuade it to come off. Worked nicely. Now to get some fresh adhesive and get it mounted on the new windshield.

Pics of: refurbished overhead switch console and also the toy mirror. I should get a new glass for the mirror, it has a terrible image in it."

[unimogjohn]

It is Saturday, April 16th. Had major storms all day. Lots of rain and high winds, up to 80 mph in the area. It is now 9 PM, and we had over 3 inches of rain since about 9 AM until now. Still raining now. Attached a pic of the weather radar during the storm.

But I did go over to see the two cars Wayne has hauled home. Turns out that Wayne has fallen for the 32 Chev highboy and bought it. It has a metal body, which is in great condition (Wayne believes it to be a reproduction). His first plan is to get it running to see what condition the engine is in. He has the carb off for rebuilding and is going to drain the gas tank tomorrow. He believes that it has not been run in five or so years.

The other car is the 1957 Chev Bel Aire. It looks to be in good condition. I think that with some cleaning and polishing it would be a nice driver. Paint on the body is good. Interior is dirty, but all there, and seems to be in good condition. Starts, but the gas is really bad. Wayne is going to see if he can get it running before he takes it to the lot where it will be advertised for sale. Wayne says that it has a later 283 engine in it. It is missing its heater and controls. Otherwise looks pretty good.

I asked Wayne what they wanted for it. He indicated that they would entertain offers in the $20K plus range.

Here are a couple of pics that I snapped before the rains came.

Here

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 18th. Sunday was a beautiful day so decided to get "Brownie" the 1979 Chev van running after about two years of sitting. Brownie had been used on the farm to haul just about everything, but getting a bit rusty. I have had her since 1980. She started right up and decided to clean her up and change the oil. Moved her to the front of the garage and then pulled the dip stick. Oh chocolate shake color and overfilled by lots. Anti-freeze OK, transmission oil clean, so fuel is getting pumped in to the oil via the fuel pump.

So changed the oil and decided to take off the fuel pump. Nothing works as planned and I cannot get one of the two bolts holding the pump to budge. Now the bolt is slightly rounded so stopped and will let it soak, and will try again today.

But Greg had lots of success over the weekend. Here is his report.

"Getting some things done this weekend.

Trimacar got my rear seat cushion completed, stopped by his abode to get it. Redyed and reinstalled. Looks great.

In the process of giving the sun visors a makeover.

Took the Stoddard wheel lugs to swap for some that need worked over. I noticed that one of the wheel clamping rings have scarred paint, so it is getting the treatment too.

Even found a few minutes to darken Paul Johnson's doorstep.

Another good weekend that flew by."

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, April 19th. Heading off this morning to pick up a new fuel pump for the van, of course it had to be ordered. I also stopped by Sears and picked up some tools that hopefully will help me remove the bolt into the block. I have been soaking the bolt with Kroil.

And here is Greg's report for Monday.

"On my time.. Went to Lee's to borrow his timing light. With the light I could see I had timed it way too fast by ear. Now it idles down better, felt fine when I road tested it.

Then I turned my attention to the windshield header upholstery that needed completing. Glued, stretched, unglued, restretched. Looks awful. Having a hard time getting the wrinkles out of the corners. It seems to need tightening on the side that's tucked under and glued at the windshield fence. THAT AIN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. That requires windshield removal. I'll look at it tomorrow from the driver's seat. If the visors don't hide the puckers, I might resort to loosening the things and adding more stuffing. We'll see.

I also worked with a voltmeter and double checked the current flow at the overhead switches. With things working and no smoke, I've put the switch panel in place until I get the headliner ready to install.

That next batch of Stoddard lugs are primed, the clamping ring has been filled, sanded, and primed.

I guess that's enough for today.

=

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, April 20th. Picked up the new fuel pump for the van, but lost interest in tackling it when I got home. So I spent the next few hours mowing about two acres. Even managed to get the little tractor stuck and had to pull it out with the bigger Kubota. Farm work is such fun.

But Greg continues to move ahead and does not disappoint us. Here is his report.

"Had to ship a package today, took the Avanti. I have to break it in, you know. Look for bugs.

I received a suggestion today regarding the header upholstery. Phil Ritter's wife Susan recommended that I should "Seriously, stuff it!". Not sure what she was referring to. However, I did loosen a bit of the upholstery; and I'll be able to inject some filler that I found at the fabric store. I'll wait until daylight to do that job, so I can see. I think it will look better. Thanks Susan for the help.

The sun visors have been ready to go back in, buffed the hinge brackets, lubed them up with Johnson's Paste Wax and now they are screwed in place.

Right now I'm inbetween coats of gray on the Stoddard wheel ring and remaining lugs.

If you're wondering what the heck is that in the paintroom....... Our man Scott Rawlings is using the space to design and build himself a greenhouse. As usual he's totally out of control.

He built the forms to bend and glue the components (I don't know construction terms) and is designing as he builds. Then he'll knock it down and take it home. Look at the artistry in the door itself, and how it follows the form of the rest......

I like him, a good eye for form and a good hand at anything artistic. A good man. I'll try to get pics of how he does the numbers on the Stoddard. Should be fun.

Ps. Took ol' Seabiscuit out for a moonlight stroll to the store. Did I tell you I have to break it in and look for bugs? It's a dark and lonely job, but someone's got to do it."

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, April 22nd. Met Greg for dinner last night. I had a brass double tube tire pump in my bag of spares. I noticed that the Stoddard had a similar pump mounted in the rear of the car. So asked Greg if he wanted it until he found one that was made in Dayton, Ohio. He said YES!. Well, that is my contribution to the cause.

Here is Greg's report from last night.

" Well let's see. Last couple days.

Last night I took the painted wheel parts to install on the Stoddard. Now it's got all four hooves on the ground again.

While there at Rob's I also helped him hang license plates (interior decorating) and mess with is '09 REO. A beautiful evening , Rob, his Mrs, his '54 Chrysler and I went to dinner, then had a really nice drive back, taking the long way through the Maryland countryside.

Tonight's entertainment was meeting Unimog at the new Mexican restaurant . He's without adult supervision with his wife out of town.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised when my old timing light began working again. Now I can take Lee's back. Otherwise, I also took a few minutes to look into that one Avanti distributor that was giving trouble. One set of points would work closed no matter how tight the screw.

Found the problem. I was using a screw that was too long. It would bind on the lower plate. I'll set it up again and try it out.

And oh yes, picture enclosed of the new arrival. The Avanti door panels came today and look very nice. After the windows are adjusted, I'll get them installed.

Calling for more foul weather starting tomorrow."

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, April 25th. Hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend.

Here is Greg's report from his weekend. And I went to the web site he recommended. What a great site. It deserves a visit. Very well done.

The Old Motor | Old Photos of Antique Cars and Trucks

"Another good weekend.

Test driving the Avanti was resulting in less and less performance. Felt like ignition issues. I took the time to try tuning the distributor using the lathe as a Sun machine. I didn't know how much of the ignition system would be required for the dwell meter to function.

I cut a wooden block to support the thing, clamped it in place to the tool post, charged a 12 volt motorcycle battery and that's all it required. A few jumper wires, a spare resistor, and I was able to set up the dual point Prestolite and let it run. I put an hour on it without any change in the dwell, so the earlier problem of the closing points has been solved with shortening of the retaining screw. The good news is that I didn't have to drive three hours to use Rob's testing machine.

However, test driving the car still resulted in unsteady operation. And on one earlier drive, the ignition even acted like it lost contact, quit firing for an instant.

Tonight, after our Easter dinner, I worked with the distributor in place and noticed that there was intermittent fire from the coil wire when I cranked the engine over. I tracked the wiring to the ignition switch where I found a spark and a loose wire.

I know not to get my hopes up that I found the problem, but it sure might be. It's a dark and story night, so maybe tomorrow will tell the tale.

Here's hoping that all had a good Easter and didn't get any hollow chocolate rabbits.

One other thing: Did anybody else take that Springtime Mercer Ride as found on that great site: theoldmotor.com?"

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, April 26th. A very nice day yesterday, 89 degrees. I was actually sweating. But nice none the less.

I have been fussing trying to get the fuel pump off the van. I tried soaking, heat, and special tools. I just could not get that bolt to break loose. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and use brute force. So yesterday I got out the air hammer. Decided to see if I could break off the ear of the pump, which would allow me to just push it away from the bolt. Figured that I would have more room to work on that stuck bolt with the pump removed.

After about ten minutes of work with the air hammer the pump was out. And the bolt came out easily too. Here are some pics for your enjoyment. Today, I will put in the new fuel pump.

And as a bonus, here is Greg's report.

" Beautiful day today.

I called friend Fred Hoch up in Jersey. "How's it going Fred?"

"It's hot!" he says.

"What?! Say that again."

"It's hot!" he says again.

I say "Fred, I've been waiting since last summer to hear that!"

Music to my ears. It was so nice that after lunch I went over the wall. The Stoddard was calling. Spent a wonderful afternoon picking at it. Got the oil pressure adjusted, then fitting that new brake hardware that I'd made last winter. Looking it over to see what hardware details I need to address. I did bring those brake anchor bolts and nuts home to tweak. Photos enclosed.

Then Rob and I crawled over his '09 REO . The compression release wasn't hooked up. Now it is. Bonus.

I hear tomorrow will be another nice one. Studebaker weather I think."

[unimogjohn]

It is Wednesday, April 27th. Another very warm day yesterday, in the high 80's again. Thunderstorms are expected tonight and into tomorrow. Hopefully, they will not be a bad as what has been hitting the Midwest and South.

The van is all back together and running well. Now I just have to use it for a few days to wake it from its two year slumber. Next car project is to repair the deer strike damage to the 02 Chev Trailblazer. Finally have all the parts to complete the work.

Greg did not send me an Avanti report from last night, but did post a nice note he received from a friend. Thought I would pass it on.

"Relayed to me as "Loyal driving the 1905 Smiling", it looks like an Oldsmobile to me.

Loyal's wonderfully unrestored Curved Dash Olds on it's recent maiden voyage from it's Idaho garage.

Looks like he's smiling because it is between snow storms. Nice work Loyal!"

[unimogjohn]

Still Tuesday, but PM. Major storms tonight, lots of tornadoes close by, but so far just lots of wind and rain for us. Watching the weather radar pretty closely.

But I did manage to work on the deer damaged Trailblazer for most of the day. Just before it started to storm I was done. Here are some pics. Managed to make repairs to some bumper fasteners that were also bent or broken. All in all, the deer event cost about $250 to repair.

Tomorrow have to begin work on the 23 as she will be going to a show on May 7th.

[Willys77]

What?!!! "No Greg Report". Car Avanti Greg, where are you?

[unimogjohn]

It is Thursday, April 28th. Woke this morning to the sound of weather warnings blaring on the emergency radio. Tornadoes in the area. The sky is as black as night, and the raining is coming down like a waterfall. So far so good, they are missing us.

OK, OK. Here is the Greg report.

"Adventures in my day job.

Tonight's episode begins a long time ago while walking home from school. Instead of hanging out at the gym or the drug store, I hit the antique shops in town. One day I found a book that I liked. Bicycle repairing 1898.

Fast forward to today. Now I know why I bought the book. It has a description of the jig for drilling new bike rims for the tangent spoke pattern. Like the Langley engine flywheels.

I supplied Scott with the information needed, and he took it from there. It amounts to a fixture to locate the rim and a moveable drill guide that is elevated to line up with the height of the hub flange, also rotates to line up a wire with the hub's spoke circle. It worked nicely. I did have to maintain my concentration of the alternating holes. I don't know why I had such a good time duplicating technology found in every pre turn of that century bike shop.

While on the subject of Scott.......it's been said that this is an artist's colony. Look what he's up to now.

A photo of progress on his greenhouse. Look at the decoration on the back wall. A drilled and bandsawed flower ornament. Why do you think he drilled all those holes? Think about it. The answer will be at the close of this note.

Also, enclosed are pics of a greenhouse accessory that he worked into his lunch times. What is it? That answer will also follow.

Otherwise, I've been test driving the Avanti, but it just hasn't felt right. I think sometimes you just get too close to things to see them.

I pulled the distributor yet again. I've been setting it up with a hand-me-down dwell meter. Numbers right on the money. But I actually took a look at the points, and they were barely opening. I got out my fifteen cent screwdriver and opened the points to what I thought they should look like (TLAR system). Almost a matchbook cover thick gap. Put it back together (I can do that with my eyes closed by now).

Took the car for another test drive and it ran like it wanted to go somewhere. Maybe my dwell meter is lying.

Also, took some daylight time and worked out the wrinkles in the windshield header trim pieces. They look much better.

And while in the midst of a storm, found the opportunity to clean those headliners that I had in storage. They are ready for installation. I'm told the hot ticket is to install them with Velcro. When you glue them in, you tear them up taking them out. If you don't glue them, they sag. So I'm trying the Velcro when I get some.

Answers to tonight's quiz:

1. The holes get marbles. The flower will light up in the sun.

2. It's a beehive with copper roofing, a porch and picture windows. Of course.

The man's out of control."

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday PM, May 1st. Worked on the 23 McLaughlin Buick all day in preparation for the first show of the season, the AACA Apple Blossom Show in Winchester, VA next Saturday. She looks pretty good. Had to get her done today as we are heading for the beach for a week. Time to get away from the farm for a bit.

David Coco, aka Trimacar, has agreed to post Greg's reports during the week. Thanks David!

And here is Greg's weekend report.

"Saturday I tried to get the rear liner in, but it was being difficult and I ran out of time. I'm curious to see if the front liner is still stuck tight to the ceiling.

On the Stoddard Dayton front. I'm to take it to a vintage race show and demonstration at the Indianapolis Speedway event in mid May (no I'm not entering it in the 500). This means shifting cars and work. So I drove over to Unimog's to borrow his truck/trailer combo on Saturday.

Today, the '14 Harvester was awakened from hibernation, trailer loaded and taken to Maryland to swap spaces with the Stoddard. With it close at hand, now I can resume some of the detail work that it needs.

Tonight I've been prepping some greasecups that I ordered from one of the parts suppliers. Curious thing, proudly marked MADE IN CHINA. They are lacquered brass, but they weren't buffed. So, I've stripped and buffed them.

Today was a raw and rainy day, so perhaps tomorrow I'll unload the car and start in on it."

PS This is the web site for the event Greg and his Stoddard Dayton will be attending.

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/eventinfo/39708-Celebration-of-Automobiles/

Edited May 2, 2011 by unimogjohn (see edit history)

[trimacar]

Greg's weekend wrap-up, 5/1/11 at 6:11 pm:

Sorry, no pics.

Been running hard the last few days.

Avanti: Friday I worked on front headliner installation. Got it in using the velcro method.

Saturday I tried to get the rear liner in, but it was being difficult and I ran out of time.

I'm curious to see if the front liner is still stuck tight to the ceiling.

Stoddard=Dayton. I'm to take it to a vintage race show and demonstration at the Indianapolis Speedway event

in mid May, (no I'm not entering it in the 500). That means shifting cars and work . Drove over to Unimog's to borrow his truck/trailer combo on Saturday.

Today, the '14 Harvester was awakened from hibernation, trailer loaded and taken to Maryland to swap spaces with the Stoddard.

With it close at hand, now I can resume some of the detail work that it needs.

Tonight I've been prepping some greasecups that I ordered from one of the parts suppliers. Curious thing, proudly marked

MADE IN CHINA , they were lacquered brass, but they weren't buffed. So, I've stripped and buffed them.

Today was a raw and rainy day, so perhaps tomorrow I'll unload the car and start in on it.

[trimacar]

And now I'll add Greg's Tuesday 5/3/11 report, there are pictures, I'll see if I can transfer same......

Cone's Restoration Fact #9 When the restoration is 75% done, you've only 90% to go.

Stoddard prep. Working on hardware. Changing out bolts and screws used to hold it together although improper.

The steering arm retainers for instance. The hole through the arm wasn't accepting the 5/8 bolt so I used a 1/2"

instead to get it going. Time to fix it. Even though in finish paint, I had to open the hole slightly . Didn't have a reamer, so I used a drill bit in a 1/2" drill motor. And lived. And didn't scar any paint. Then a new bolt was shortened and drilled for the cotter pin.

Upon assembly I found that there was still interference, so dismantled the arm and filed the notch in the steering shaft until things fit. Probably an hour and a half.

I've also been working with rear suspension hardware, installation of brass screws, etc.

Clock's ticking, lots to do, got to be ready for the trip this time next week.

Pics of steering arm hardware,

some of the rear suspension stuff. Notice the spacer on the rear spring perch. That replaces the running board brace. The other running board brackets aren't rivetted to the frame . They unbolt so the fenders can be removed for racing.

Also, a sampling of brass screws.

Took the Avanti to lunch. And back.

[trimacar]

OK, so if any of you want to comment on this, go ahead.

Greg is taking his Stoddard to Indy for the 100th year celebration. He has a choice of two tow vehicles (and try to say two tow ten times quickly!).

"Given today's fuel prices, for long distance towing , which would you choose?

1. Chevrolet Suburban gasoline x 9 mpg

2. Ford truck diesel x 12 mpg."

My suggestion was the Suburban, the heck with saving a few pennies on diesel......

[Frank Tate]

Well, strictly from a financial perspective, Assuming 600 miles to Indy, divided by the mpg and x2 for a round trip gets you...

1. Suburban - 133.33 gals of fuel x 4.01 avg cost per DOE = 534.66

2. Ford - 100 gasl of fuel x 4.12 avg cost per DOE = 412.00

Saves 122.66 for the trip. That would pay for a night or 2, depending on your taste in hotels/motels

I'd say Ford.

[trimacar]

And sorry for the duplicate post on Greg's report....no report from him last night, so not sure what's going on......

Ford makes financial sense, bet the Suburban is more comfortable.......

[unimogjohn]

It is Friday, May 6th. We had a great few days at the beach, a welcome break from the farm. Nice weather, good food, great beach and very few people. We enjoyed the walks on the empty beaches, and the dog just loved to run and run. And thanks to Dave for posting.

I will be working on the 23 today, getting ready for the show tomorrow. Will have lots of pictures of Saturday's cars for sure.

Here is Greg's report from last night.

Big projects like the Stoddard aren't ever really finished.

I'm gaining on some details, though. Nuts, bolts, I spent last night on the brake system. Tightening linkage, bending cotter pins. Stoddard clevis pins were a short length of steel drilled and cottered on each end. Double the cotters.

Tonight I crawled under it, realized I hadn't secured the front motor mounts to the frame. There's a cast aluminum spacer that goes between the frame rail and the motor leg. My castings are no longer existant, turned almost completely to dust and I haven't made time to pattern and cast new ones. Tonight I filled the gaps with spacers made of ash and then tightened and cottered the bolts.

Some time back I'd sent Rempco a sample of my grease cups and ordered a batch. They came today. Nice work. I realized when I sent them that I should send a sample of the male threads (two sizes). Another case of foretelling the future. One size fits just right. One size is too tight, so I'll need to find a way of gripping them in the lathe and chasing the threads deeper.

Otherwise, more bolts installed, more nuts installed, more cotters installed, and I also started going around the thing with an artist's brush and some gray paint to touch up .

Photos: Batch of newly minted Bowen caps

Drilling an ash spacer block (note remains of aluminum casting)

Detail of front end with some touchup and grease cups

Rear spring hanger and radius rod

In good company. Stoddard sandwiched in between two Wright '09 Signal Corps Flyers, a 1910 Montgomery School machine, and a 1911 coming together.

Days getting longer, departure getting closer.

[unimogjohn]

It is Sunday, May 8th. Happy Mother's Day!

Heading out this afternoon to a neighborhood farm car show and shine. Since it is next door we will take our three cars over.

But yesterday was a great day at the Winchester VA Apple Blossom local AACA car show. We had a great time and met lots of folks. Here are a few pics. I will also post another set.

On the first set are three un-restored cars, which were a great hit with all. They are a 1923 54 Buick owned by Paul, Dave's (Trimacar) Cord, and a 1923 Cadillac. Also Dave brought over his Pierce Arrow, and Ed brought his restored 23 Buick (Green). and of course, our 23 McLaughlin Buick.

The rain stayed away until about 2 PM, about then everyone started to head for home. What a nice way to spend a Saturday.

[unimogjohn]

Here are some other pics that I took at the show.

[unimogjohn]

And finally, here are some detailed pics of Paul's 1923 Buick, model 54. It looks to be 99% complete and original. Paul's plan is to do nothing now that it is running and driving, other than finding a used tire for the double spare. I also think that I have a pic or two of him picking up the car in January of this year.

[unimogjohn]

It is Monday, May 9th. Here is Greg's weekend report. I think that Greg leaves for Indianapolis on Thursday so he has lots to do. The Stoddard Dayton is looking more and more like the race car.

"Fast weekend.

Saturday was a fun day, part of which was spent at the Shenandoah Region Apple Blossom Meet. Some highlight cars were Paul Rose's newly acquired '23 Buick roadster. I'd say barn fresh, but it doesn't look like it was ever in a barn. Wonderful machine. We'll have to get some detail shots of it. Nothing done to it (ever except tires and radiator hoses).

The Feser's and Ed Sine also brought '23 Buicks too. A special reward for me was seeing Bill Sandy's '23 Cadillac touring. Especially special because it was not only bought new in my home town (Winchester), and served as a taxi cab there, but also an exceptionally well preserved original paint survivor. And tragically , leaving the Blosssom meet some years ago, Bill met with a snow plow head on. I'd heard that the car was almost totalled. It was there yesterday looking as if it had never been touched. Fantastic.

Also close to home was the appearance of a Studebaker R2 Super Lark that had been bought new in a neighboring town. Very nicely restored, it brought to mind the night I sought it out and got a ride in it. An apology at the time because it had blown exhaust gaskets, that actually made the experience even more memorable in a supercharged Lark.

My progress? More detailing on the SD.

Nuts, bolts, cotters, touchup paint, greasing greascups after cutting threads deeper to fit my fittings.

And Scott came in today to do the lettering. He is using Benjamin Moore latex house paint that will come off without harming the gray finish.

The enclosed pictures show:

1. Some of the computer study of the post card photo of Vredenburgh's car.

2. Scott laying out the license number painted on the rear of the car.

3. Finished number.

4. Laying out the hood numbers.

5. Note that as in the photo, the seven has a misstroke and the painter had overshot the hood and got the cowl.

6. While Scott was doing that I spent some time on the hubcaps. Photo shows milling the octagons on the rear caps. I'm ready to give them their first buffing to find the flaws yet to come out.

All for now. Busy time."

[unimogjohn]

Still Monday. I have three things I want to sort out on the 1923 McLaughlin Buick. They are: 1. get the horn working; 2. finish putting rubber mat on the floor; and 3. get the speedometer in and working. So what to do, decided that I would tackle number 3 first.

After a couple of years looking I finally found the correct transmission gear assembly and then the correct casing and cable. I have a couple of speedometers, and both turn easily; I hope that one of them works.

I pulled the floor board to get at the transmission. I had a rubber plug in the hole for the speedo drive so no dirt was able to get in. So cleaned up the threads in the transmission with a Dremel tool and a little wire wheel. The gear went in with a little wiggling and seated itself. I then put on the cable, and took the car for a spin. Well, nothing. Not even a little flutter.

Tomorrow I plan to disconnect the cable from the speedo, and then drive the car a short way. That way I can see if the wire is moving. At least that will narrow down the problem, the gear or the speedo. The transmission had been rebuilt, but who know what was done to it.

And I also found a long crack in the torque tube housing. Looks to be really old. I will just keep an eye on it.

Here are some pics of the little project.

[jbbuick22]

John,

The inside drive assy of the cable is a chain, maybe one of the links is

disconnected. Also both Tom and I have extra trans if you need the part for

the trans.

JB

22-6-55 Sport Touring

[unimogjohn]

It is Tuesday, PM. JB, thanks I will keep your transmission offer in mind. I did take an electric drill and on low speed tested the spare speedo that I have. It works! Now I will pull the one in the car and test it. Hope to do that today.

But this morning I went down to take a look at Greg's 1911 Stoddard Dayton. What a great looking machine. Greg is about done, and plan to wrap everything up tonight. Loading will be early tomorrow morning and then he will be off about 8 AM. He has decided to use my 03 Suburban and enclosed trailer for the trip. Glad he took me up on the offer.

Here are pics of the car. I also shot a couple of video's and will post them on Youtube tonight.