Author Topic: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!  (Read 129465 times)

elagache

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Not that young! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #210 on: May 25, 2018, 11:51:10 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat fans of good car stories,

I assume your dad bought this car when it was two or three years old. Is that correct?

Uh, you are in error on several important counts.  When my Dad brought the family back from an overseas assessment, he had planned on buying a economical and practical car like an AMC Rambler.  He also insisted on buying a used car because that has a much better value.  Alas, at one used car lot my Mom ran into a Seafoam Green 1965 Buick Special station wagon.  It was substantially more than Dad wanted to pay but . . . . . well Mom got her way!  :D

It was April 1968:



In the same month we had a new house and a new car.  I was 7 years old!  :)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

P.S.  The good news was a that I was more mature back then.  The bad news is that I'm older now!  [biggrin]

P.P.S.  For years Mom felt guilty about pushing for a luxury car.  However, over the years Biquette does appear to have provided a decent return on our investment!  :)

elagache

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Suspension upgrades and engine is in! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #211 on: May 29, 2018, 11:58:48 PM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally billy-goat station wagon, . . . . . 

Greg and the gang at Orinda Classic Car has been working bring my trusty wagon back to life.  First they installed some nice and shiny steering and suspension upgrades.  These include some tubular front controller arms:



A stronger front anti-sway bar:



The silly folks at UMI Performance, put their product sticker - upside down!  I'll have to ask them for another sticker.

There is a variable ratio steering box as well, but I don't have pictures of it since it looks just like the old one!

On the rear Biquette is getting stronger boxed controller arms:



She also has gotten a rear anti-sway bar:



All this should improve handling without making ride rougher.  Hopefully it will help cope with the many potholes to be found these days in California.  This afternoon, I brought in another load of parts and Greg had ready gotten the engine in:



As usual, he had a horrible time squeezing the engines and the long-tube headers in.  Here is a view of the passenger side:



There is still plenty of work to do, but definitely things are coming along!

Thanks for your support!  :)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #212 on: May 30, 2018, 12:19:55 AM »
Love the photos and the update.
Blick


mcrossley

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #213 on: May 30, 2018, 10:56:08 AM »
Quote
The silly folks at UMI Performance, put their product sticker - upside down!
It's so when you bend down to look underneath the front, it appears to right way up!  ThU32:-)
Mark

elagache

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Dear Blick, Mark, and WeatherCat users who are into mirror images, . . .

Quote
The silly folks at UMI Performance, put their product sticker - upside down!
It's so when you bend down to look underneath the front, it appears to right way up!  ThU32:-)

In those immortal words of Sylvester the cat, Jr. . . . . . . . .

 ;) . . . . I guess, . . . . I suppose, . . . . I guess . . . . . . .

. . . . .  lol(1)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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Finally home once more! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #215 on: June 09, 2018, 12:19:55 AM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally billy-goat station wagon, . . . . . 

Wednesday afternoon I got a call from the gang at Orinda Classic Car.  Biquette was all ready to come home!  I rushed over and she spent her first night in the garage with her engine since the Winter of 2017!  On Thursday, I got her out because she was low on gas.  I filled her up at our historic Flying-A gas station:



I even went back to Orinda Classic Car to take this photo of Biquette next to their Ford Model-A truck:



Then on my way home, I ran into a "small problem" . . . . the accelerator got stuck at over 2000 RPM!  I killed the engine and drifted out of the traffic lane.  I pulled the air cleaner off and the problem appeared to go away.  However, when I start driving again, the same problem occurred.  Since I was less than a mile from Orinda Classic Car, I limped over there and Biquette spent last night over there.  It turned out a tab on the throttle linkage was rubbing against the air cleaner.  That is what was keeping the throttle open.  With the tab removed, everything was back to normal and Biquette could once more come home for the weekend.

I even managed to capture this photo of Biquette with some California Poppies in the background:



So she didn't completely miss out on the Spring flowers!

Thanks for your support!  [tup]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #216 on: June 10, 2018, 06:21:26 AM »
Great to get her home. Now let's hope she can stay out of Orinda Classic Car for a while.
Blick


JosBaz

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #217 on: June 10, 2018, 07:59:01 AM »
Nice pictures Edouard - thanks for sharing.

BTW, as a car enthusiast I envy you for your gas/petrol prices. After doing the math (gallon, liter, dollar, euro  :)) the conclusion is it is less than half of what we have to pay here. On the other hand, BIQETTE'S fuel consumption is probably also 'classic'.  ;)

Jos

Steve

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #218 on: June 10, 2018, 02:41:57 PM »
BTW, as a car enthusiast I envy you for your gas/petrol prices.

Edouard is in California, which does not represent anything typical about the rest of the US. ;) Gas here in the US midwest is in the $2.40-2.80/gallon range. My scooter's fuel costs about $0.025/mile  [cheer]
Steve - Avon, Ohio, USA


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elagache

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Thanks guys! (Re: Bllly-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #219 on: June 10, 2018, 11:28:28 PM »
Dear Blick, Jos, Steve, and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

Thanks!  :)

Great to get her home. Now let's hope she can stay out of Orinda Classic Car for a while.

Actually she needs to go back one more time.  She hasn't gotten her new wider tires installed yet.  I also need to decide on her final rear end ratio to select a new differential.  All this is extremely important so that - finally - the speedometer can be calibrated!

BTW, as a car enthusiast I envy you for your gas/petrol prices. After doing the math (gallon, liter, dollar, euro  :)) the conclusion is it is less than half of what we have to pay here. On the other hand, BIQETTE'S fuel consumption is probably also 'classic'.  ;)

Edouard is in California, which does not represent anything typical about the rest of the US. ;) Gas here in the US midwest is in the $2.40-2.80/gallon range. My scooter's fuel costs about $0.025/mile  [cheer]

You can read the prices on the Flying-A sign in the picture, but I paid $4.18 a gallon for 92 octane premium.  The engine might work with less octane, but I won't chance it for now.  Alas, this whole project started out with the idea of creating a more fuel efficient engine from the 1960s.  Alas, the design wasn't going to accomplish that.  When it came time to set the electronic fuel injection parameters, I could have asked for "lean," but I didn't have the heart to starve this engine.  So somewhere along the quest for a vintage travel trailer, I'll need to have a custom gas tank made with considerably greater capacity than the 20 gallons she has now!

Thanks again for your support!  ThU5:-)

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #220 on: June 11, 2018, 12:45:45 AM »
Quote
I'll need to have a custom gas tank made
What do you think all that space behind the back seat is for?! You can probably just use one of those circular hole cutting saws you put on your electric drill! Just put a ?" PVC pipe between the bottom on the interior tank into the top of Biqette's 20 gal tank. Be sure to use plenty of silicone at both ends... you're welcome!
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Blicj11

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Re: Thanks guys! (Re: Bllly-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #221 on: June 11, 2018, 03:58:51 PM »
So somewhere along the quest for a vintage travel trailer, I'll need to have a custom gas tank made with considerably greater capacity than the 20 gallons she has now!

I am currently reading General Jimmy Doolittle's autobiography (I Could Never Be So Lucky Again) and am astounded at all the last minute modifications, repairs, and tweaks they did to those B-25 bombers right up until the time they launched them off the carrier deck to go say hello to Tokyo, including auxiliary fuel tanks that leaked on both ends (apparently because X-Air may have been in charge).

JosBaz still has a point, regardless of the petrol prices in the States. When I lived in Northern Ireland a few years ago, I was paying $9 or $10 per gallon for diesel.
Blick


elagache

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No wasted space in the cargo area! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #222 on: June 11, 2018, 11:46:26 PM »
Dear X-Air, Blick, and WeatherCat road-trip enthusiasts, . . .

Quote
I'll need to have a custom gas tank made
What do you think all that space behind the back seat is for?!
. . . .

Uh, the reason that isn't going to work is because that space is already spoken for . . .   I need room for the telescope, scuba gear, and stuff like that.  Just like the good 'ol days! . . .



Unfortunately in those days I was also using the cargo area as a bedroom!

Here is one more:



As you can see, I already have "plans" for the cargo area! . . .  [biggrin]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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Quickie visit to the body shop. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #223 on: August 03, 2018, 11:02:23 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally wagon

Just the kind of news we do not need. I'd rather hear about the Buick.

 ;) . . . . . . Remember, you are askin' for it! . . . .  lol(1)

Biquette hasn't been doing too much lately.  There is one more upgrade needed before she can be put on her new tires.  She needs to be fitted with a stronger axle assembly and I was having a squabble with Orinda Classic Car over the rear end ratio.  They still seem to insist that Biquette is a drag racer when her mission is extremely clear: heavy-duty tow vehicle!

We are now little more than a month before the Orinda Classic Car show, so it would be a struggle to make the axle swap with all the show prep work.  Instead I decided to take care of a glaring ding in Biquette's paint:



Somebody hit the driver's side door on New Year's day 2013 and these dings have been there ever since.  It was time to remove this blemish before the show.  So Biquette will be going over to a local body shop to fix this on the week of August 13th.

It was an opportunity to potentially make an upgrade as well.  The hood of mid-sized Buicks didn't change between 1964 and 67.  In 1967 the Gran Sport model had decorative hood scoops.  They can be back-fitted on a 1965 Buick like this:



I had managed to locate a used pair and then did some restoration of the chrome and purchased reproductions of the inserts.  Leaving me with this that could be repainted and installed:



Here is a close-up of the rechomed bezel:



That definitely looks "kewl"  8) , but I am personally more interested in getting the engine bay more cool!   [freeze]  The 1967 Gran Sport hood scoops weren't designed to be functional, but I did some calculations and with an available automotive fan they should be able to cool down the engine bay.  With some help from some of my online buddies on a local Buick forum, I came up with a basic scheme.  Alas, there is one critical fly in the ointment.  I would need some space between the top of the hood and the air cleaner to run some air ducting.  Alas, Biquette's electronic fuel injection throttle body is very tall and there is no clearance.  I'm not particularly happy with Biquette's electronic fuel injection system, but I don't see anything that is a huge improvement to replace it with.  So I think I'll put off this upgrade for now.  However, before lugging large travel trailers around, I certainly would like to have these hood scoops installed and providing cooler air for the engine.

So that is a latest update on da' trusty wagon!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #224 on: August 04, 2018, 05:42:35 PM »
A much more interesting read than your report on the drought currently plaguing the western United States. Thank you for taking the time.
Blick