She is BACK at Orinda Motors! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certain trusty bill-goat Buick wagon . . . . . . While the Orinda Motors classic car specialist Greg has been healing up from pneumonia, I have been doing some smallish jobs for my wagon. I reassembled the speaker kick-panels for example. Here is a photo of the speaker without the grill in the now Seafoam green kick-panel: Here is the full effect of the black speaker in the painted kick-panel and grill: This may be of interest to anybody considering the Custom Autosound kick-panels and would like to paint them. There is a gallery with larger photos here: http://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Painted-speaker-kick-panels/28745166_Cq5Z47 I also discovered that felt repair kits for 1965 Impala louver-ball A/C vents are NOT compatible with the Buick A/C vents. I'm waiting for thinner felt at this moment. Greg was back at work starting on Monday but had a few "emergency classic patients" that needed immediate attention. He will finish up with them today. I would have brought my wagon over tomorrow, but the car has no dashboard instruments. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain - how could I activate the windshield wipers? To avoid this problem I brought her over today: Hopefully now progress will be much more steady and exciting!! Stay tuned to this trusty wagon station for the latest updates!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
While you have the dash apat and hvac out it's a good time to dynamat and then replace the firewall insulation if you haven't aleady planned it. It made a nice difference in my car.
Looking good!! New windshields replacing sandblasted originals make a world of difference. I finally put a new windshield in the Skylark in 2011 and got the same feeling! It was amazing the clarity difference I didn't even realize was going to happen.
Will check on da' patient tomorrow. (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear Adam, Randall, and viewers of da' Trusty Wagon soap opera. Thanks for reminding me! :TU: I have asked Orinda Motors to do this, but . . . . they may have forgotten. I'll check again tomorrow and if there isn't more enthusiasm, perhaps I'll buy a suitably large piece. Somehow if stuff is left in my wagon's cargo area - it tends to get installed sooner or later!! :Brow: I absolutely agree!! :TU: I've been told that there is a polishing process that can be done to the side windows that has something of a similar effect. There is a really sharp guy at Orinda Auto Detail so I'm going to ask about it. I need him to at least remove a bit of paint overspray on the driver's side window. The car has been at two classic car shows and nobody noticed. When the window is closed it seems "natural.' The trouble is . . . . once in a while I need fresh air!! Thanks for your support!! :TU: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Old engine is out!! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certain trusty billy-goat wagon, Progress has been much more steady since the car has returned to Orinda Motors. Last week Greg replaced the springs with his first guess of what will be required to cope with the weight of the JW masterpiece engine. The drive-shaft and transmission were removed by Friday and by the end of the day yesterday - the old engine was all gone!! :shock: Greg is going to complete degreasing the engine bay and then prep it for painting. In the meantime I'm continuing to clean up and give a little "TLC" to the instrument cluster and radio bezels. My next chore is to see if I can separate the outer part of the instrument bezel so that I really clean up the speedometer "glass" and associated knobs. I'm hoping to get away with a little "touch-up" paint. I managed to restore the writing on the outer bezel for the heater control with some clever artist's paint-brush touch-up work. So at least things are getting more exciting on this project. I think Greg will be busy for a while getting the Vintage Air evaporator unit, but hopefully, the big-block engine will be getting into the engine bay reasonably soon. Stay tuned to this same channel for the latest news!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Do you have to change out the frame pads to accept the new engine? Looking good here, can not wait to here this run. :TU:
Dear Nick and fans of "assertive" station wagons, . . . Well, I don't know if it is possible to avoid changing the frame pads, but on this job we are taking no chances. Waiting for installation is the TA-Performance frame pad motor mount kit: http://www.taperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=TA_1820E It has gone up since I ordered it, but this is the sort of stuff were compromise seems penny-wise pound-foolish. Me too!! :3gears: Cheers, Edouard :beer
I'll leave that "fun" to Greg at Orinda Motors (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Howdy Sean and fans of assertive V-8 Buicks, Well, I'll leave the frame pad installation "fun" for Greg at Orinda Motors. I'm still struggling with restoring the dashboard components. I sure don't want to end up holding up the project between part of the dashboard isn't ready to be put back. Latest surprise, not sure the original cigarette lighter is healthy enough to put back. ou: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Hoping July is the month. (Re: The grand adventures of a trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear Nick and billy-goat wagon fans, Alas, no news isn't good news. my car has been languishing for 6 weeks now because Orinda Motors continues to be shorthanded. They attempted to hire somebody who quit after just one week!! So it isn't from lack of trying, but luck hasn't been on the side of my trusty wagon. I am making progress on restoring and modifying the dashboard. I just completed modifying the Detroit Speed interval wiper switch to fit the original Buick knobs. This turned out to be much harder than you would imagine. However, I goofed and damaged the paint-job I did on the bezel surrounding the instrument knobs. So I'll be painting that a third time. Orinda Motors has hired yet another new mechanic who starts next week. So there is hope that work will finally resume on my wagon. The next task is to complete replacing the insulation on the firewall and then Greg can start getting the Vintage Air evaporator unit in. Work could start happening fast and furious, but it can't really get underway until Orinda Motors get back to a full staff. So, in the voice of Jimmy Durante: "Such are the conditions that prevail." Cheers, Edouard :beer
Firewall insulation installed, steering column fitted (Re: "Billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear followers of the Billy-goat wagon soap opera, Just when all hope seemed lost (an all too common occurrence on this project ray: ) - progress!! Greg put in some weekend overtime and put the firewall insulation put in and started fitting the Ididit steering column. Here are a few pictures - driver's side: Passenger side: and here is a close-up of the insulation down at the carpet level: Here is a photo of the linkage going to the original Buick steering parts: Greg had to make some modification and reuse one of the Buick connection plates because (as usual ) the Ididit column claims to fit a Buick but only has the parts for a Chevy. However, mission accomplished. I had to rush over the outer instrument cluster bezel so that Greg can get the steer column properly aligned. Next up is getting the Vintage Air evaporator unit fitted behind the dash and start dealing with routing the refrigerant and heater hoses out through the firewall without clobbering the passenger kick-panel speaker. Stay tuned! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Yay for progress! Fortunately for you there really isn't an off season for driving so if it finishes in winter you can still promptly enjoy it. Crossing my fingers for ya on getting some forward momentum going.
Thanks for your support! (Re: The grand adventures of a trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear Randall and V-8 Buick trusty wagon fans, Thanks for your support!! :TU: Fortunately (fortunately !?!?!?? ) Orinda Motors has something of deadline that is better than winter. They host the Orinda Classic car show and it is on September 21st this year. I think they really want to show off their handy-work. So they will move heaven and earth to make sure the car Jim's masterpiece engine in installed and the car is drivable before then. I also need to apologize to you and everyone on V-8 Buick for being a rather fleeting contributor. There was a family health mishap at the end of June that has greatly added to my burdens. I'm really running around like a chicken with its head cut-off and even reading the forum has to be done in extreme haste. I owe the forum at least two write-ups on some of the modifications I've done to the dashboard configuration. Hopefully, I'll catch up eventually!! As said: thanks for your support!! cheers, Edouard :beer
No apologies needed Edouard, this is a voluntary board :TU: September 21st seems like an easy enough deadline to hit, hopefully sooner rather than later and wish you and the family well at home.
More Ididit steering column fit "issuez" (Re: trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear followers of the trusty "billy-goat" wagon soap opera, The situation at Orinda Motors continues to be sad. The new employee they bought on board last week has not proved to be up to the skill-level needed, so they remain shorthanded. However Greg is being a real trooper and is putting in some weekend overtime. Yesterday, he finished installing the Ididit steering column and installed the Vintage Air evaporator unit - Yippie!! I'll start a new thread on the A/C install as I think this is of considerable interest on the board and should be brought together in a single thread. So I'll just report on Greg's "surprises" in getting the steering column to fit. First, the neutral safety switch was interfering with the brake pad, so Greg was forced to nudge the column further to the right (passenger side.) Next he discovered that the column would not clear the outer molding that runs around the whole dash, so he had to lower the column by about 3/8" and shim it into place: The molding may need to be shaved a bit to fit. If that turns out to be the case, I'll put my Dremel rotary tool on the job. Greg may have come in today as well, so there may be even more progress to report in the near future!! Stay tuned! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Great idea upgrading with Ididit, funny how things don't always go as planned. Part of the fun of updating and making old technology better though. Looking forward the more of the story. Good luck getting Old Billy on the road before winter. I'm pushing the same deadline with my build.
Definitely stay tuned! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear Brian and subscribers to da' trusty wagon soap opera. I went with the Ididit because I couldn't stomach a floor shifter in a wagon with bench seats and I had more than enough grief with the TH-350 just patched into the old ST-300 controls. For example, I had to apply just enough pressure to get the back-up lights to turn on even when in reverse. I looked into making the old steering column work with Biquette's new 200-4R tranny and that sure looked like voodoo to me. This way the shift will work properly, I get a tilt steering column upgrade, and the space where the old shift indicator is now free to take the tachometer. I'm making some modifications right now to make the tach look nicer. Actually the deadline is a bit more rigid because Orinda Motors really uses their Classic Car show to show-off. This year the show is September 21st. I think they will move heaven and earth to get Biquette ready to be on display. However, perhaps that isn't as impossible as it seems. Greg set for himself the goal of putting in the transmission and engine this weekend!! :3gears: I think Greg is optimisitic, but even getting the tranny in would a huge step closer. I'll have my camera ready go to and Greg has explicit instructions, if there is something exciting to photo: call and I'm come runnin'!!! :kodak: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Da' engine has landed!! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!) Dear fans of a certainly trusty billy-goat wagon, Did you read the rumors that a certain JW masterpiece assertive engine might have found a home in a certain station wagon? Well, I am here to make it clear that those rumors were - TRUE!!!!! Here is photographic evidence: Now the engine isn't quite where it belongs yet . . . . . . . . . *heavy sigh* for reasons that will be soon explained. However, here are a few more views. Here is the driver's side view: Here is the passenger side view: Finally a view straight from the front: Alas, with every step forward . . . . . . there are new obstacles to overcome. Greg did install the CK-Performance 200-4R transmission. But when he tried to secure the G-force cross member - oops!! Not sure what the problem is, but the G-force cross member is clearly too narrow for the wagon frame. Greg decided to make some heavy duty brackets to span the gap on each side and bolt the cross member to that. The size of the engine is proving to be the expected challenge. The valve covers will need to be exchanged because the breathers are too close to the master brake cylinder: Alas, clearly the most serious problem is that the air conditioner compressor is too tall in the bracket that Jim Weise made for me that final panicky weekend before the engine was shipped: Somehow either the bracket will have to be modified or a new bracket will have to be fabricated. I just started up a new thread to see if anybody has a bright idea on this one. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...ket-too-tall-on-billy-goat-wagon-any-thoughts So definitely progress , but not without a few surprises!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
The wagon frame is the same width as a skylark frame.. sounds like your cross member is not correct for the application. is your wagon frame boxed?
