A tale of two cars and . . one service bay. (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear V-8 Buick fans of trusty wagons and assertive engines, I'm sure some of your must be wondering what is the hold up in getting JW's masterpiece engine into my trusty wagon. Well, I got her on the road yesterday for a little exercise yesterday. Even grabbed a quick picture since it very well could have been the last photo-op for a while: When I got home I called Orinda Motors to see when this caper was going to start and . . . . . well, there is a problem: Emily !! No Emily isn't some pin-up girl who managed to sweet-talk Orinda Motors out of my engine. Emily is the 57 Chevy that is owned a friend of mine and is another Orinda Motor's customer: "Emily" was my friend's first car that he got while still in high-school. He named the car after a girlfriend who subsequently split up with him. Yup, a bad sign that perhaps has something to do with this story. Fast-forward a few decades, my friend is now married, has a daughter and even a classic Buick to keep Emily company. However, by now Emily was truly in need of a total restoration, so my friend attempted to do just that. Alas, Emily is also unfortunately a horrible example of what can go wrong when you have a car restored from the ground up. My friend had taken the car to local collector car dealer that also does restorations. It was a place like F-40 Motorsports of Wayne Carini's Chasing Classic Cars. Unfortunately, when the restoration was only about 1/2 way completed the company went bankrupt!! My friend was forced to find another restorer and literally crate his beloved Emily piece by piece to the new restorer 100 miles away. Then, the new restorer basically flaked out. After 6 months of poor quality work, my friend terminated the contract, had Emily towed home and asked Orinda Motors to complete the work. After a first inspection, it didn't look too bad. This now brings us to about a month before the fabled 8th Orinda Classic Car show. While Jim was working his tail off getting my engine ready, Orinda Motors is fixing a few things on Emily, then a few more, and then, . . . a few more still. In a panic effort, Emily is finally made operable, is - driven - to the detail shop to correct paint defects and driven back to the show with a few hours to spare. Alas, all is not right with Emily after all this work. Before the show is even over, Emily had started leaking power steering fluid. Since the car was being displayed in the service bay, it made more sense for Emily to stay at Orinda Motors and have this latest problem fixed. Soon enough, Emily would be out and it would the turn of my trusty wagon - right? I sure hope you guys aren't already tired of this soap-opera . . . . . . The Monday after the car show, I get an email from my friend . . . . Emily's brakes failed while in the shop and the brand newly restored car - smacked the wall of the shop!! So the fresh paint and body work!! :ball: Okay, but what does that have to do with my wagon you ask? Well, Emily cannot go to a body shop until the car is mechanically sound enough to be moved about and . . . . it still isn't. My friend is a stickler to originality, so he wanted the original master brake cylinder rebuilt. Apparently it had failed because it has been left sitting too long while the restoration was delayed. Now the car show was almost a month ago, how long can it take to rebuild a master brake cylinder? Well, it came back last week and . . . . . now there is additional moisture damage in the brake system!! uzzled: Unfortunately, Orinda Motors cannot work on more than one classic car at a time. So until they can get Emily operable, they can't work on my car. So, that's the sorry tale of why my trusty wagon still doesn't have her assertive engine installed . . . . Hopefully they will finally get to the bottom of Emily's troubles. However, everytime they look at the car, they find something else that was badly restored. I'm sure they wouldn't have driven the car to the detail shop if they knew about the brakes then!! ou: So, as before, the only treatment that helps is . . . . Thanks for your support!! :TU: Cheers, Edouard :beer
We are lucky to experience these joyous problems! i'm having my own restoration six part multi year maxi series. this too shall pass! ray:
Looks like another two weeks . . . (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear V-8 Buick loyal readers of da' trusty wagon soap-opera . . . . . Well, I've got good news and bad news . . . . . The bad news is that "Emily's" master brake cylinder had to be sent back to be repaired from the moisture damage. It will be another 2 weeks before Orinda Motors can take da' trusty wagon. The good news is that while I'm idling here, I'm going to try to shift from the under-dash vents that came with the Vintage Air kit to an original looking in-dash setup. I scored on eBay the two OEM vents on the ends of the dashboard. I'm now looking for a way to do something mor' better for the center vent. That doesn't give my new engine any exercise, but it keeps me from going stir-crazy!! Stay tuned!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
More mishaps and delays (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a trusty billy-goat wagon, Alas, no significant progress to report on the great engine swap. I still have not heard if the classic car service bay at Orinda Motors is going to be freed anytime soon, hoping to find out on Monday. Worse, my life has been further complicated because a member of the household has had a serious medical mishap and is in need of a lot of attention and thus my time. I'm trying to make some progress when I can though. This weekend I'm working on getting air conditioner vents into the center part of dashboard. Unfortunately my greedy idea turns out to be hard to implement. If I'm not careful, I'll just break a 47 year old part and be right back at square one. Hope to report more exciting news soon. Cheers, Edouard :beer
Neat A/C vent scheme - if it will work!! (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear V-8 Buick fans of a certain trusty wagon, At the moment the obstacle to starting the great engine swap remains the 57 Bel Air - Emily. Unfortunately, the poor car continues to be plagued by problem after problem. The latest is that the transmission was literally spitting out fluid and had to be sent to a tranny shop to understand what was wrong with it. The latest hope was that the engine swap could start a week from Monday, but that all depends. . . . . . In the meantime, I have been busily trying to work out the details associated with the dashboard conversion end of this extreme makeover. I thought I would share with everyone my current scheme for the center A/C vents. Unfortunately, I'm sure I've been more than a little greedy. Because it might blow-up in my face, I'll keep this somewhat low-key. Still, it might inspire someone to do something similar and learn from my mistakes. I was able to get from another board member the dashboard panel that is over the radio. My hope was to cut this panel to take to round vents. The vents I chose where the Old Air Products 2.5" round vents like this: Old Air Products sells vents like like this that are only 2.0" in diameter. As you shall see, this may be a better choice. I measured the original Buick panel and the 2.5" vents would be large but it seems it would still fit. I started to try to cut the panel and ran into a problem immediately. The panel wasn't cutting but breaking in a pattern something like tempered glass. After a few experiments, I decided my only hope was to use a Dremel rotary tool and carbide cutting bit. Effectively, I would grind open the required holes instead of cutting them. It has taken me 2 weeks to finally cut both holes, but here is the outcome. The panel front looks like this: The panel back looks like this: As you all can see, there is precious little material left around the edges. I'm going to glue a sheet of aluminum to the back to give it some extra strength. I'm making a test to see if epoxy will bond well as we speak. I also thought I would glue the vents in place when everything is properly fitted so that the vents themselves would provide reinforcement to the panel. I don't know if that will be enough to prevent cracking. If anyone as a bright idea on addition ways to reinforce the panel - send them my way!! The panel also needs a bit of touching-up so that it appears completely black when installed - that work is almost done. But wait the news gets worse. This panel is held in place by parts that will interfere with the routing of the ducting. I've only see pictures of the back of the panel and have avoided dismantling things since the car is still usable. I'm hopeful that channels can be cut to allow the ducting to go through without weakening the supports. All this screams that I should have gone with the 2" vents, but unfortunately, the Vintage Air system expects to run everything with 2.5" ducts. This can be tweaked, but one would need to modify the distribution plenum to make it work really well. Since I've gotten this far, I can at least show the pictures. Here is what the panel looks like with the vents fitted in for testing: Thanks to the magic of digital image editing one can even get an idea of what the car would look like with the vents installed. Here is the dashboard now: Here is approximately what the dashboard would look like if these vents can be made to work: Alas, slicing and dicing images is a - lot - easier than actually modifying the dash. So will this greedy scheme finally work out ? ? ? ? ? ? Stay tuned to this channel and find out! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Re: Not as bilingual as in the past . . . . (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) First, i'm sorry to be late . I understand the situation since at home, when i was a kid, i heard French and Spanish (my Grandmother come from Spain). Unfortunately today i can't learn it to my childs. Incredible: my Dad is of Normandy, i lived 38 Years at twenty miles of Paris and now i live near Toulouse . No name for my Wagon although i love it. Here people call it "Le Corbillard" .......The Hearse, in English, because of the size . Great Adventure Edouard, thank you. Laurent
News and transatlantic roots (Re: Not as bilingual) Dear Laurent and V-8 Buick trusty wagon fans, First the news on the da' trusty wagon. I got a call from Orinda Motors this morning. The Ididit steering column has been ordered with the option I want . . . . . . I hope!! Emily just got her transmission back. For those of you not keep up with this soap opera, Emily is my friends 57 Chevy Bel Air that was decidedly molested when it was supposed to be restored. I turns out that the vent required for powerglide transmissions was put at the wrong location. As a result the tranny was indeed spewing fluid everywhere it went. There is some hope Emily will be heading on to the body shop so that Biquette (my trusty wagon) can finally get her engine, transmission, air conditioner and all the rest. In the meantime, I've completed the modifications of the center instrument panel over the radio for two Old Air Products circular vents. I'm working on cutting holes for the factory vents that go on the outsides of the dash. I had a horrible time trying to continue speaking French while in the United States. It sounds stupid, but when you are trying to have a conversation about the place you live, you really struggle to have it in another language. Simple things like like the names of everything are American. Any technology you use that is American - once more you switch language. What killed me isn't the French, it was the constant switching from French to American to French. My mind couldn't handle that. I don't know much about Normandy. My Dad's family was basically evicted by the German occupation of 1940. When I wanted to visit, there were almost no relatives left in Normady to visit. I know the South better because my Mom's family stayed there. Uh, I think you'd better come up with a better name than that!! :shock: I know there are some people who collect hearses, I think you should put some real distance between yourself and them folks!! Best of luck with your Buicks. Sure seems like the European regulators are determined to give you a hard time . . . . . Cheers, Edouard :beer
Merry Christmas everyone! (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear V-8 Buick fans of da' trusty wagon, Obviously, 2012 wasn't the year for the great drive-train makeover. However, things are looking good for January. In the meantime: Merry Christmas everyone! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Pics and an update. (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certain trusty wagon, . . . . . I finally was able to get my billy-goat wagon out after a very rainy month of December. Since the car cannot travel more than about 35 mph, I once more took it to this railroad depot turned museum via some lazy back-roads. While there, I put my camera to work and snapped a few pics. Here are the 3 best: The first photo was a perfect master to use for another photo aging attempt that you'll find here. The news on the great drive-train upgrade is better but not ideal. Next week I will be preoccupied because my sister is about to have some serious back surgery and I'll need to help out. The Chevy Bel Air ("Emily") remains stuck at Orinda Motors. However, the car seems to be more or less back together. The only remaining problem is that carburetor #2 was deemed beyond hope, so a new core was sent out to be rebuilt. It still isn't back, probably because the carburetor shop took some holiday vacation. However, all these things should get resolved soon, and January should be a slow time. Most of the parts needed for the work have been now stock-piled at Orinda Motors, so the work should start this month. The one thing that clearly will slow everything down is the installation of the Vintage Air system. This is clearly more complex than I realized and I'm going to pay for it in time and money. Oh well . . . . . the things we do for the one's we love!! :3gears: :grin: Thanks for everyone's support and Happy New Year! :TU: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Da' work begins . . . . . (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear Fans of a certain trusty "billy-goat" wagon, Yes, the wait has been nearly endless, but at last "Emily" has moved on to the body shop and that coveted classic car stall at Orinda Motor has become open. So at last work could begin. Before covering that part of the effort, there is a little catching up to do. In the interim, I have tried to resolve some problems like how the Vintage Air system would be routed through the dash. I also tried to complete other purchases like the stereo and gauges. The plan for the center vents is to use the bezel I customized and described in this post. I hoped to cut the dash to fit to factory vents on the ends of the dashboard. I spent many weeks trying to come up with a workable template to cut these holes. Finally I came up with one, but alas, I made the distance from the dashboard pad to the hole too long. When I cut the hole on the passenger side, it was too low by about 3/8" ou: This was fixed by welding back some metal, but clearly was a low moment in the project. So I do have some templates that others can use to try to cut these holes. However, they are awkward and clumsy to use. Also, they only work on a 1965 dash because the dashboard pad doesn't extend as far on the 64. If anyone is interested send me PM, but they can hardly be called a glorious success. On the stereo, I've decided to just upgrade to Custom Autosound 630. I know this doesn't meet the approval of lots of folks around here, but keep in mind I've had a Custom Autosound stereo in the car since 1997 or so - I've kinda got used to it. I've bought some Custom Autosound replacement kick panels with the vents for a non-A/C car (fish-gill vents.) My hope is to keep the passive ventilation system in the car since the Vintage Air A/C is recirculation only. I will keep my SoundGate iPod interface as it is the best solution I know of. Sadly the product is discontinued. I finally came around as far as gauges are concerned. I've gone with all Auto Meter gauges: 2893 tach, 2522 Oil pressure, 2592 Voltmeter, 2532 Water Temperature. The triplet of gauges are all electric and will be mounted on a plate under the dash between the ignition and ash-tray as others have done. I also decided that I couldn't go without a mandrel-bent exhaust system so I went ahead and ordered the Pypes SGA10 kit. The mufflers are Dynomax Super Turbos 20 (17749). On Monday, da' trusty wagon went in to Orinda Motors, and Greg, their master classic car mechanic, made short work of taking apart the dash: Here is a photo of the passenger side with the repaired dash and the OEM air conditioner vent fitted: Finally here are some of the instruments on the workbench. I've received from OPGI a new glove box liner to replace the 48 year old survivor that you can see at the upper center of the photo. That cardboard glove box liner looks stronger than some plastic glove boxes I've seen in later cars! I took dashboard pad over to my favorite local upholster to have it refurbished. It is the original with the car, but still looks in really good shape. Biquette is a lucky car to have spent most of her life in a garage. I bought the car home last night from Orinda Motors and took her to the body shop this morning. Over there she will get a new windshield and while the windshield is out the dash will be painted along with a few other things. Once that work is done, the plan is work toward installing Biquette's JW masterpiece engine from the "inside out." First the Vintage Air evaporator and other dash components will be installed. This is to work out the best route for the refrigerant and heater hoses since space will be tight without the kick-panel as a place for these hoses to go. Once the interior of the firewall is straightened out, then Greg will work on the engine side of the firewall to get a nice clean installation (and paint the engine bay while he is at it.) Only then can the 509 hp nailhead green motor finally settle into its new home. I'll try to keep up periodic postings on the progress. If you have questions about some particular aspect of da' epic billy-goat wagon drive-train makeover - don't hesitate to ask. Oh yeah, I'm taking lots of pics!! :kodak: If you want a picture of something - let me know! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Got d'em body shop blues . . . . . (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of da' trusty wagon, It is another case of "hurry up and wait." Nothing ever happens very quickly at a body shop and even when they promise they'll "squeeze your car in," somehow cars still end up waitin'. I wanted to order a tailgate window channel seal from EINSTYN (Engineered Innovative New Stuff That You Need.) So to make sure I was getting the right part, drove over to the body shop to have a look. My poor old wagon was stuck outside, covered with pollen. The windshield is finally out: However no indication when the dashboard and other painting will be done. The dash is now prepped for painting. Here is the driver's side: Here is the passenger side. There was more patching required because my error with the air conditioner vent hole: Finally, here is a photo of some of the miscellaneous parts that will be painted at the same time: In addition to the OEM A/C vents I bought on eBay, there are the metal trim parts for the spare tire cover. I had painted them by hand using the color matching available at a local paint store. It sure beat rust, but now this was - not exactly up to standards. The tailgate also needs to be painted on the inside. It had been painted in 1994 when the car was previously repainted. Alas, that paint isn't holding up and there is some rust showing up. There was one pleasant surprise on the project. I took the dashboard pad over to my favorite local upholsterer to try to repair a few spots that had apparently gotten discolored. I got a call from them and went over to see what they had done. The "repair" could not have been much easier. When they tried to clean the pad to start work - the discoloration came off in their rag!! It was probably just some residue from a product like Armor-all that I had used ignorantly in the distant past. Once wiped, the original 48 year old pad was perfect! Sure wish everything on this job was that easy! Stay tuned for the next installment in the billy-goat wagon soap-opera. Hopefully, this plot will get out of the doldrums soon. Cheers, Edouard :beer
With perhaps the luck of the Irish? (Re: "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certain trusty Billy-Goat station wagon, I went over to the body shop yesterday and . . . . . *sniff* absolutely no progress As soon as I got home, what did I find in my mailbox but the Tailgate Window Channel Seal I had ordered from EINSTYN. This morning, I called the body shop to see if they could use the seal and . . . . they were repairing the tailgate to get it ready to be painted!! I left a party-platter of St. Patrick day goodies with the message: "green cookies courtesy of the green wagon." Perhaps that will finally get my wagon out of body shop purgatory!! Thanks for your support! :TU: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Got to love parts arriving in the nick of time. My car hasn't had any progress in almost two weeks either *sniff* I'm going to go out there now though and start welding on the headers, just in case I run out of CO2/argon I can pick some up tomorrow.
Escape from body-shop purgatory!! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certain 1965 Buick Special wagon, I called yesterday to see if I could visit da' Patient at the body shop and got much better news. I could bring her home! All the painting was completed and she was ready resume the mechanical work. Here is the tailgate: Only the metal around the cover-plate got repainted. I would like a carpet to be put over the cover-plate once the mechanical work is done. My knees ain't what they used to be!! Here is the bezel that goes around the speedometer: Here are the factory air conditioning vents that go on the outer corners of the dash: In the background you can see the mounting panel for the gauges and the speaker grills. Here are the Custom Autosound speaker kick-panels and in the background the door for the glove compartment: Finally, the painted dash itself. The photo really doesn't do the job justice. What appear to be "smears" are actually reflections! In addition, the body shop put on a new windshield: I never realized how much the old windshield was reducing my visibility until now. It almost feels like the car doesn't have a windshield, except you don't feel any airflow. Replacing the windshield might be a more important visibility and driver enjoyment upgrade than guys around here realize. The other nice improvement is the new tailgate window channel seal. Now the tailgate window goes up and down without any binding. With the tailgate working properly now, for the first time in decades I have the hope of a working wagon!! After all this good news, I have some bad. Greg, Orinda Motors classic car specialist, is really down for the count with pneumonia. So now the mechanical work is stalled until mid-next week at the earliest. Respiratory problems often start with allergies. Greg has been doing a lot of work on Chebby's lately - maybe he is allergic to them!! :Brow: That's the trusty wagon news for now. Thanks for your support! :TU: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Windshields common for 65 Specials/Skylarks (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Hi Frank and V-8 Buick lovers, Actually, the body shop could have ordered one for me without any problems at all. However, I decided to order one from Pilkington Classics. http://www.pilkington.com/north-america/usa/english/automotive/agr/pilkington+classics/default1.htm That's because I had ordered the tailgate glass from them about 2 years ago and I was told that if I went with another company the glass tinting might be noticeably different. As I understand it, glass for sedans and coupes is relatively easy to find. It is wagon lovers who need to make the extreme effort of going to someone like Pilkington Classics. Cheers, Edouard :beer
