FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!

[elagache]

Dear X-Air, Stu, and WeatherCat safe drivers,

Please tell be this isn't you! => Shaun Davis jailed after filming himself driving at 192mph

Nope!  Today Biquette just did something she has been doing for us for 47 years.  She went to the supermarket to get the groceries:



What made that very special is that this is the first time my Mom has ridden in Biquette since she came back with her working drive-train.  Mom isn't completely used to her.  She definitely is a bit "assertive."  However, I was especially light on the throttle and Mom didn't seem to mind the experience too much although she'll have to get used to it.  Here are the groceries back in the talegate for the first time in over 2 years:



So nice to be able to use that tailgate again! 

Very nice Edouard - great videos!

Thanks Stu!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

Thanks for sharing. I like the circus-themed reusable grocery bag. Reminds me that my parents took me to see that circus decades ago when I was just a wee lad.

[elagache]

Dear Blick and WeatherCat users of reusable bags,

I like the circus-themed reusable grocery bag. Reminds me that my parents took me to see that circus decades ago when I was just a wee lad.

You probably will be very surprised where we got it, it is a gift from the U.S. Postal Service:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?categoryNavIds=stamp-gifts&categoryNav=false&navAction=push&navCount=0&atg.multisite.remap=false&categoryId=stamp-gifts&productId=P_842843

As far as I can tell it is a reproduction of some circus themed stamped issued some time earlier.

They are expensive, but they are beautiful and seem to holding up well.  We also bought their love stamp bag:

https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?categoryNavIds=stamp-gifts&categoryNav=false&navAction=push&navCount=1&atg.multisite.remap=false&categoryId=stamp-gifts&productId=P_842844

It made a neat and cozy gift for our neighbors since our region is forcing us to use reusable bags. 

Cheers, Edouard

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat classic car enthusiasts,

Apologies for being particularly scarce on this forum.  Since winter happens late in California (if a all,) I hadn?t gotten around to winterizing the cars until this week.  Washing and waxing the cars is a long ordeal that takes most of the day depending on which car.  Perhaps not surprisingly, my trusty wagon is the worst.  After all, she does earn that wagon nickname: ?longroof.?  So when it comes to wax time, that?s a lot of wax to apply!



Well, it was a terrific struggle, but I managed to buff that roof to a nice shine:



The rest of the car turned out nice and shiny as well:



As you can see, the autumn colors are still hanging on in our trees.  I suppose the modest rains we?ve gotten encouraged the trees to grow a little more before the cold finally got them to ?shift-gears.?   Here is a view of Biquette with trees all around:



Here is a close-up of her front - lots of chrome in 1965!



Finally what would a portrait of a station wagon be without a view of that all important tailgate?



So I hope this will be something of an apology for my racing through the forum.  I've gotten 2 of the 3 cars in our "motor-pool" completed.  I still have one left.  So still have some ?elbow grease? to put out before the rains really arrive.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

Good looking car, mate! The autumn trees are nice too. Here in the mountains of northern Utah we have had 13 inches (33 cm) of snow over the last 3 weeks and it is currently 7? F (-14?C) outside. Apparently fall is over here.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

These days I'm basically required to come up with a Christmas card featuring my trusty wagon.  So since it was done anyway, I might as well share it here with those WeatherCatters with a soft spot for classic cars:



For those who might worry that I would have actually used my wagon to haul our Christmas tree, worry not!  I just used the Christmas tree lot as a backdrop for the photo!

Still, I?ve been wondering how many Christmas trees my trusty wagon has had to haul in her life.  From 1968 to 1986, she was the only car in the house that could carry a Christmas tree, so that's 18 trees right there..  After that we had a second wagon, but since it was in much better condition, I believe Biquette would have gotten the dirty deed most of the time.  So until 1996 she should have carried probably around 8 of the 10 trees.  After 1996 I was living in San Diego until 2001, so Biquette was spared Christmas tree duty..  She should have carried trees for 2002 and 2003 before I moved up to Seattle in 2004.  In Seattle I bought an artificial tree that now does the job.  So in total Biquette carried around 28 trees for us and might have carried the trees for her previous owner in 1965-67.

So if you had any doubts . . . .  Yeah, she really earned her keep!

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat keepers of new year's resolutions,

My trusty wagon has decided to make two new year's resolutions of her own.  The first is go get some more exercise.  Losing no time, she headed out this morning for a moderately long run under various driving conditions.  Here is a quick photo of her under a tree that is looking very much like winter for California:



The other is that she will become more "educated." . . . .    Actually, I don't entirely jest.  She is fitted with a self-learning electronic fuel injection system.  That system has greatly improved her engine's responsiveness when cold.  However, it is still a bit hard to handle when warm.  So one of the reasons for today's outing was to make a number of starts and stops and to expose the "brain" of the fuel injection system to more varied driving conditions while the engine was warmed up.

Of course, there is another reason.  We are expecting rain all next week!     What's good for the drought is bad for classic cars, so she won't keeping her new year's resolutions until the weather dries out once more!   

Cheers, Edouard 

[Bull Winkus]

Edouard! How is a free wash bad for classic cars?

 

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

My assertive 1965 Buick Special station wagon is continuing to struggle with her extreme makeover.  Now the engine and transmission are working nicely.  However, the fuel injection system is intended more for an all out drag-racer instead of a car to just cruise around.  As a result, the car is hard to control and can be very balky at times.  Definitely not the sort of behavior worthy of a lady of my wagon's mature years.

So, now I've got find something else that will have the desired behavior and . . . . will still fit in the engine bay.

Edouard! How is a free wash bad for classic cars?

Speaking of which, a "wash" is exactly what she got when I brought her in Orinda Motors this morning.    At least the interval windshield wipers worked as they are supposed to!


Stay tuned, . . .  this tale most definitely ain't over . . . . 

Cheers, Edouard

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

In the last installment of this ongoing saga of my trusty billy-goat station wagon, she was start to reject another one of those newfangled components that didn't suit her temperament.  In this particular case, the self-tuning electronic fuel injection system simply wasn't managing to tune itself effectively.  It was a system that is now over 6 years ago and even in automobile electronics, technology moves swiftly.  So after some consulting, I went ahead was a system that does some automatic tuning but requires some manual adjustments.  For the curious it is called the: XFI Sportsman Throttle Body EFI Engine Control System:

http://www.fuelairspark.com/fas/xfi-sportsmantm-throttle-body-engine-control-systemhtml/

As long as you are going state of the art, my trusty wagon will also get computer controlled ignition using an E6 Ignition controller.

http://www.fuelairspark.com/fas/e6-digital-cd-ignition-boxhtml/

So my trusty wagon dragged herself over to Orinda Motors on Monday - definitely extremely unhappy with the old fuel injection system.  By today, the throttle body was already installed:



However, there is a question about where the Ignition box can be located and the installation requires some parts that - weren't - in the box.  In other words the - "usual routine"  - when it comes to making any changes on a classic car.

So that's an extremely long explanation for why I might be a bit more scarce on this forum than usual . . . . . .

Stay tuned for the next update!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

That is a beautiful engine photo.

[xairbusdriver]

I can't believe you are still complaining about lack of space! It's a station WAGON, for crying out loud!! There must be at least 12 cubic feet back there, even with the rear seats up!

I am a bit concerned by what appear to be 3(?) spark plug cables barely above the main belt! A temporary situation during new computer installation?

[elagache]

Dear Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts, . . .

I can't believe you are still complaining about lack of space! It's a station WAGON, for crying out loud!! There must be at least 12 cubic feet back there, even with the rear seats up!

You are darn tooting and I intend to keep all that space so she can continue being a station wagon! 

I am a bit concerned by what appear to be 3(?) spark plug cables barely above the main belt! A temporary situation during new computer installation?

Well, since you asked.   Yes, she is was fitted with a new distributor as part of this upgrade:



Not only will the computer control the fuel injection but also control the spark plugs.  That should really help for improving fuel economy.

Cheers, Edouard

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

It took all of last week to get all the new components installed and hooked up.  So today was the big day to see if . . . . the engine would start.

Of course it was - supposed 'ta . . . . . .  Nonetheless, you can never tell how a car that will be 51 years old in May is going to take this sort of a radical high-tech makeover.  In addition, it turns out Orinda Motors never has done exactly this sort of conversion and the guy who created the initial settings to start the engine appears to have gotten the displacement of engine off by 10 cubic inches.

Yet the word this afternoon is that the engine is running!!    The engine tuning procedure is continuing as I type.  So hopefully soon I'll be able to enjoy my trusty wagon without the fear that she'll lurch herself right into a wall!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Further breaking news!  All work on my wagon has come to a grinding halt!  She is almost completely out of gas!  Unfortunately, I had forgotten how low she was and I hit a lot of traffic on the day I brought her to Orinda Motors.  As a result, I didn't want to stop for gas since that would have made me even later than I already was.  According to Greg who is doing all this work, the gas tank is so low that he will send someone to fill up a Jerry can rather than risk running out of gas trying to reach a station!

Actually, there is a more reasonable reason.  With the rains, the roads are plenty slick.  It isn't a good time to start driving a 51 year old wagon with a 500 horsepower engine that still isn't completely tuned.

[Blicj11]

Goos story. Keep us informed.