Author Topic: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!  (Read 129026 times)

elagache

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Once a year she is a *STAR*!! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #225 on: September 09, 2018, 10:57:18 PM »
Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

It is September and time for the Orinda Classic Car Show which was held yesterday.  The show wasn't as expansive as it has been in the past, but a certain rascally wagon still made her appearance and was a star!!



I put some extra effort in detailing the engine bay and she certainly looked as nice as any other car in the show.  Here is the view from the back:



Against the right edge of the photo is one of the two posters that tell the story of Biquette in our family.  These posters are getting really worn out, but I didn't have any time to do more then stuff them back together for the show.

The show had it usual collection of muscle cars and exotics.  The one car that I thought was interesting was this 1940 Lincoln 3-window coupe:



It was powered by a Flathead V-12 engine:



Here is the view from the other side:



There was a poster describing this car which I took a photograph of:



If you still have a hunger for some more classic car photographs, I have a SmugMug online gallery where you can get your classic car fix:

https://canebas.smugmug.com/ClassicandCustomAutomobiles/Car-Shows/2018-Orinda-Classic-Car-Show

You can even view it as a slide show if you prefer:

https://canebas.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=jMhgFL&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&speed=3&transition=fade&transitionSpeed=2&clickable=1

The show is over and Biquette is already getting ready to go back to her normal household duties.  The floormat and egg crate boxes are back in her cargo area and her generic floormats are going back in instead of her matching carpet floormats that contribute to her "star-power"!

Such is the life of a 53 year old rascally wagon!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

The Grand Poohbah

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Re: Once a year she is a *STAR*!! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #226 on: September 10, 2018, 06:30:13 PM »
Such is the life of a 53 year old rascally wagon!

Ah! To be a rascally 53-year-old again.... ;D

elagache

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Yeah, but in "car years" . . . (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #227 on: September 10, 2018, 10:08:45 PM »
Dear Grand and WeatherCat users who dabble in mathematics,

Such is the life of a 53 year old rascally wagon!

Ah! To be a rascally 53-year-old again.... ;D

Yeah but, . . . . 53 years old for a car . . . . . .

According to this Consumer's Reports story (and I quote:)

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-repair-maintenance/make-your-car-last-200-000-miles/

"The average age of all cars on the road is more than 11 years, up from about eight years in 1995, according to Polk research. "

Alas, this doesn't give a standard deviation, but at 53, Biquette has lived through (according to this number) 4.81 average lifetimes of 11 years.

Now according to this Wikipedia article about human life expectancy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

The average human life expectancy in the United States is somewhere around 80 years.  So Biquette in "car years" would be 4.81?80 or 385 years old!!

Anybody who was 380+ years old would feel a little out of place with those "youngsters" who aren't even 100.  I get the feeling, that even as a car, Biquette is somehow going through that. . . . .

The "interesting" results you can get with mathematics . . . . . .  [biggrin]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #228 on: September 10, 2018, 11:56:52 PM »
Very nice report on the annual show. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and for the photos. This specific thread continues to be one of my favorites.
Blick


elagache

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I certainly hope so! . . . (Re:Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #229 on: September 11, 2018, 09:53:20 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat fans of automobiles in  ;) "deep time," . . . . . .

. . . . . This specific thread continues to be one of my favorites.

 [wink] . . . . . . Well I most certainly hope so!  After all this is a thread that is 385 years in the making! . . . .   lol(1)

Oh brother! . . . . .  [rolleyes2]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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Finally on her new shoes! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #230 on: November 14, 2018, 09:58:58 PM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally wagon,

Biquette has been out of the news because there was one last component needed to allow her to at least get on her larger tires - a new axle.  It turns out to be a long story, but I was persuaded to go with a Ford 9" crate axle.  That would seem to be an impossible choice but a company called Currie Enterprises has adapted the Ford axle for 1964-72 GM applications:

https://www.currieenterprises.com/64-72-a-body-crate-rearends

One downside to the Currie product is that you'd better not be in a hurry to get one.  It takes about 3 months to have one fabricated.  So Biquette and I have had to bide our time this Autumn.  However, eventually one such axle found it way to Orinda Classic Car:



As you can see, these axles come with your choice of brakes so Biquette has become the first car in the family with 4-wheel disc brakes.

It wasn't too much of a problem to install the axle as can be seen here:



The new axle fit nicely with all the previous suspension upgrades.  However, those brakes . . . . . .



Nice and shiny all right.  Alas, they required more fluid than the existing master brake cylinder could deliver.  So a larger master brake cylinder and a different design of proportioning valve was required.  Also, there was a problem getting transmission gears to match the speedometer to the new tires and rear end ratio.  However, eventually this was all straightened out.  Yesterday, Biquette was finally able to come home on her beautiful new Diamond-back white wall tires.  For comparison, here is a photo taken a few weeks back with her 14" wheels and old tires:



There was a beautiful sunshine, but you can see now "ordinary" those old tires were.  Alas yesterday was a cloudy day, but here is the comparison photo:



You can see how much larger the new tires are.  The white-walls are also larger and nicer looking (at least in my opinion.)  Here is another angle:



Better still, Biquette's beauty most definitely isn't only skin deep!  She is performing much better on just about any parameter you can imagine.  With the 3.20:1 rear end ratio, she is accelerating better.  However to my amazement, nonetheless she is actually quieter!  Moving the engine RPM up seems to put it in a better "sweet spot."  She is actually easier to control and the transmission is shifting much more smoothly.  The brakes are performing very well.  I'm definitely very pleased!   We have some of those digital speed limit signs that report your speed.  I checked the speedometer against those and it does look spot on.  So at last I can know what my speed is and can finally start tracking gas mileage.

As always there are still a few details to be settled, but at least Biquette is in large measure "finished" at least as far a the drive-train is concerned!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #231 on: November 16, 2018, 08:38:21 PM »
This is one of my favourite threads on the forum. What an amazing project and the photos always allow us to get a much better appreciation for the restoration of this family heirloom. Thanks for keeping us in the loop. And of course we want to know what kind of mileage you get, if you drive often enough to figure it out.
Blick


elagache

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Always SOMEthing! . . . . (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #232 on: November 16, 2018, 10:24:46 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts, . . .

This is one of my favourite threads on the forum. What an amazing project and the photos always allow us to get a much better appreciation for the restoration of this family heirloom. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.

You are most welcome!  Thanks to SmugMug, it is easy to keep track of photos and post them on any forum.


And of course we want to know what kind of mileage you get, if you drive often enough to figure it out.

Well, I thought I would try to compute the mileage for whatever driving I end up doing just to see.  However, getting her out on long stretches of freeway driving isn't very likely at the moment.  Just to add to "fun," there are a few additional issues to be resolved.  The brakes do work, but look at what Greg and the gang did to the rubber pad over the brake pedal!



Moreover they changed the oil and replaced it with oil for a modern engine instead classic car oil.  So I have 6 quarts of specialty oil coming by UPS today and I'm still looking for a replacement brake pedal pad.

Always something!! 

Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #233 on: November 17, 2018, 01:41:13 AM »
! ??? ! :o ! :( ! >:( !
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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The Autumn wash and wax. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #234 on: December 09, 2018, 10:24:07 PM »
Dear WeatherCat users who like their cars to be spick and span,

As someone who is constantly struggling to keep up all the things I need to do, it should be no surprise that I didn't manage to give my trusty wagon her fall wash and wax until this past Monday.  It is certainly the latest I've finished up with the cars.  I use a foaming sprayer as a pretreatment.  Somehow a car covered in soap suds reminds of me of how a dog looks utterly miserable when washed.  Here is Biquette from the front:



Here is the foam rolling off the tailgate:



It was cloudy on Monday and the weather was bad until Friday when the sun finally came out.  So I could finally photograph the fruits of my labors:



Here is the passenger side of the tailgate:



Here is the driver's side front:



Finally the driver's side view of the tailgate:



However late it was, Biquette did turn out very nicely!  [bounce]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

P.S.It was a good thing that I took those pictures when I did.  Today the Tule Fog from the central valley spilled over into the bay area.  Definitely no sun today to show off that shiny wax!

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #235 on: December 10, 2018, 06:53:59 PM »
Thanks for the photos. I am officially approving the quality of your wash and wax.
Blick


elagache

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Sunshine before the storms. (Re: Assertive billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #236 on: February 22, 2019, 11:34:46 PM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of a certain rascally billy-goat wagon,

Golly, it has been a long time since I've posted an update so no time like the present.  Biquette has been getting back to a more normal life.  I try to get her out at least once a week - weather permitting.  This week she got out twice.  On Monday she made the monthly bird-seed run.  Today she headed over to the local supermarket for some provisions.  On the way back I stopped in front of the Moraga Ranch and took this quick picture:



You can see the tops of the reusable grocery bags sticking above the back window.  If you look carefully, you can also see that the trees are start to bud.  Since frost is extremely rare, the trees can get a very early start if we get enough sunshine.

However, the National Weather Service has that "AR" word back in next week's forecast (Atmospheric River.)  Moreover, the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting significantly above normal rainfall through first full week of March.  So a certain 53 year old wagon may need to stay inside for a while.

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #237 on: February 22, 2019, 11:49:38 PM »
Thanks for the update and the photo. I wish I had looked that good when I was 53.
Blick


elagache

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Perils of electric radiator fans (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #238 on: March 16, 2019, 08:59:28 PM »
Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

For the moment we have Springlike weather with fair skies and above normal temperatures.  So yesterday I decided to get on the freeway to put some miles on my trusty wagon.  I had barely gotten on when I realized that the coolant temperature gauge was reading an unusual 220? F.  I watched it a bit and it wasn't going down.  At this point I suspected that the electrical radiator fans had stopped working and I made a run for home.  Just as I started to pull onto the driveway one of the hoses blew off from the boiling coolant.  I stopped the engine immediately and rolled onto the driveway:



Here is the hose that gave way:



I called Orinda Classic Car to confirm that they could take Biquette and then called Hagerty's roadside assistance.  Eventually Biquette found her way to Orinda Classic Car:



On Monday I hope they will be able to figure out why the electric fans stopped working.

Just another "fun episode" in owning a classic car!

Cheers, Edouard   [cheers1]

P.S. Still, Biquette did manage to come home.  This car has never left me stranded by the side of the road.  Quite an achievement for a 53+ year old car!

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #239 on: March 17, 2019, 09:29:57 AM »
Emergency roadside assistance call & flatbed haul to shop will be an expensive thermostat replacement. Plus a new radiator hose & coolant refill. Then again, it might be the electric fan or coolant temp sensor but I'm betting it's merely a stuck thermostat, normally about a $7 part but probably many times that for the engine you have in it.