Author Topic: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!  (Read 17596 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Barb69

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 169
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #105 on: June 12, 2017, 05:40:58 AM »
Great news. Glad to know that things are moving along smoothly. [emoji3]

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk


Offline elagache

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3033
  • Caretaker of one assertive "billy-goat" wagon
Getting new cylinder heads (Re: Da' trusty billy-goat wagon! )
« Reply #106 on: July 24, 2017, 02:01:38 PM »
Dear mid-60s Buick fans of da' rascally wagon,

I called Mike Tomaszewski at TA-performance Friday afternoon to get the latest news on Biquette's engine.  He was in a quandary that I quickly settled.  One of the old head castings is still leaking.  He has had that casting impregnated 3 times in Arizona and 2 times in California and the leak has literally gotten worse.  There is now a water and oil leak.  Both castings had failed the porosity test originally and it seems clear that there were some voids in this casting that were broken open by the attempt to force resin into the pores under pressure.  Under the circumstances, it was obvious to me it was time to give up on that casting.

There is one more wrinkle in this project though.  These castings were of the previous production run and Mike has changed the design of the stage-2 heads still further.  None of the earlier castings were available, so the only option is to replace both cylinder heads with the latest design.  Mike was hoping to get started on assembling and adjusting the new heads this week.  The engine is otherwise ready.  So the engine might be put back together before too long.  There is even a chance that Biquette might manage after all to make her annual appearance at the Orinda Classic Car show which is on September 9th.

So things are looking up at last!

Cheers, Edouard  :occasion14:

Offline Loren At 65GS

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3267
  • Senior Administrator
    • 65 GS dot com
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #107 on: July 24, 2017, 02:18:58 PM »
Best of luck getting Biquette up and running soon.

  Loren
65 GS hardtop BCA Senior
 65 GS thin pillar coupe
 65 Skylark coupe v-6
 65 GS hardtop restoration project
 65 Sport Wagon
 70 GS 455 htp / original engine
 94 Roadmaster wagon
 96 Roadmaster wagon- parts car
 63 Riviera

 BCA 14371
 BCA 65 Gran Sport Division

Offline elagache

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3033
  • Caretaker of one assertive "billy-goat" wagon
Engine news and powder-coated parts! (Re: Da' trusty billy-goat wagon! )
« Reply #108 on: November 10, 2017, 07:04:47 PM »
Dear mid-60s Buick fans of a certain rascally Buick station wagon,

I have some news from TA-Performance regarding the engine for my trusty wagon.  I spoke with Mike Tomaszewski and the engine is back together and on the test stand.  Mike chose some very nice head castings and switched to the more reliable lifters so he hoped that would be the end of the leaks and valve train noise.  The leaks are indeed gone, but alas, Mike thinks he is hearing a slight amount of valve train noise.  He wanted to investigate the matter further to make sure whatever was causing the noise was harmless.

In the meantime, I decided do something to upgrade the appearance of some of the parts that had remained here.  During the previous rebuild I had carefully repainted the pulleys, brackets, and other parts that were waiting for the engine's return.  Well, when the engine came out once more my paint job didn't look exactly stellar.  For example, here is the A/C compressor and Alternator bracket:



That's a bit discouraging for carefully painting using a recommended brand of engine bay paint.  So I decided to take things up an notch and have these parts powder-coated.  Here is the same part after having been powder-coated:



A friend of mine recommended a local outfit about 1/2 an hour's drive away.  Okay, I did go with high-gloss black instead of low-gloss GM engine bay black.  However, I would assume you can have your Nailhead engine parts powder-coated to a very close if not exact match to GM engine bay color of 1965.  You certainly cannot beat the durability.  Here is the water pump pulley after just one year of minimal use:



Here is how it turned out after powder-coating:



If you want to see all the before and after photos, you can seem them in this online gallery:

https://canebas.smugmug.com/Biquette/Drive-Train-makeover/Power-coating-Biquettes-engine-components 

There is even an online slide show if you want to view the before and after images in sequence:

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

The slide show will just run automatically.  However, if you want to control the speed just click on the image and it will allow you to do that as well.

The whole collection of parts cost me a little over $150 to powder-coat, so it won't break the bank.  Whether or not you want the shine, any part that you have powder-coated will certainly stand up to the wear and tear far better than regular paint.

Cheers, Edouard  :occasion14:

Offline TrunkMonkey

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 418
  • BUICK. Where the rubber meets the road...
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #109 on: November 11, 2017, 10:59:51 AM »
Nice Edouard!

That will make keeping your Biskit clean, easier.  :laughing7:
« Last Edit: November 11, 2017, 11:48:41 AM by TrunkMonkey »
Michael

The first 60 years were spent on surviving. The second 60 are gonna be spent on fun!

Offline GS66

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 2300
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #110 on: November 11, 2017, 11:11:12 AM »
Looks great!
Jim
North Mankato, MN

65 Gran Sport HT auto
66 Gran Sport Conv. 4 speed
66 Gran Sport Conv auto
66 Gran Sport Post auto
66 Gran Sport HT auto

Offline Loren At 65GS

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3267
  • Senior Administrator
    • 65 GS dot com
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #111 on: November 11, 2017, 06:21:06 PM »
They look really terrific Edouard and should hold up well.  The only thought I have is , with such a smooth surface for the belt area, is there a possibility of slippage.   :dontknow:

  Loren
65 GS hardtop BCA Senior
 65 GS thin pillar coupe
 65 Skylark coupe v-6
 65 GS hardtop restoration project
 65 Sport Wagon
 70 GS 455 htp / original engine
 94 Roadmaster wagon
 96 Roadmaster wagon- parts car
 63 Riviera

 BCA 14371
 BCA 65 Gran Sport Division

Offline GS66

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 2300
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #112 on: November 11, 2017, 06:58:58 PM »
One of my Dodges used to throw the belt at high RPM?s (7,000+) and I added the aluminum deep groove pulleys. That worked great. No problems with lower RPM?s though with the powdercoated pulleys.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2017, 07:00:29 PM by GS66 »
Jim
North Mankato, MN

65 Gran Sport HT auto
66 Gran Sport Conv. 4 speed
66 Gran Sport Conv auto
66 Gran Sport Post auto
66 Gran Sport HT auto

Offline elagache

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3033
  • Caretaker of one assertive "billy-goat" wagon
No problem - I know who to blame! (Re: Da' trusty billy-goat wagon! )
« Reply #113 on: November 11, 2017, 10:05:42 PM »
Dear Michael, Jim, Loren, and mid-60s Buick fans of smooooth! . . . . . .  :sunny:

They look really terrific Edouard and should hold up well.  The only thought I have is , with such a smooth surface for the belt area, is there a possibility of slippage.   :dontknow:


. . . .  Not to worry!  Before I did this I ask Greg at Orinda Motors and he thought it was a great idea . . . . So if the pulleys slip, I know who to blame! . . . .

One of my Dodges used to throw the belt at high RPM?s (7,000+) and I added the aluminum deep groove pulleys. That worked great. No problems with lower RPM?s though with the powdercoated pulleys.


I had a hard time getting much beyond 4000 RPM so hopefully I have nothing to worry about!  :hello2:

Cheers, Edouard  :occasion14:

Offline elagache

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3033
  • Caretaker of one assertive "billy-goat" wagon
IT'S BAACK!!!! (Re: Da' trusty billy-goat wagon!)
« Reply #114 on: May 16, 2018, 09:49:22 PM »
Dear mid-60s Buick fans of a certain rascally billy-goat station wagon, . . . . . 

Actually it has been over a month since a rather large and heavy crate arrived at Orinda Classic Car Center.  Alas they have been so desperately swamped with work that the crate was shunted in a corner while they tried to catch up.  Finally today they were close to catching up and had enough time to open the crate and allow what was inside to peek out:



Here is the driver's side:



Here is the passenger side:



Finally here is the back:



They were still really busy and a Lincoln needs to be towed home before Biquette can come in.  However, the plan is to have her transported this upcoming Tuesday.  Some of the suspension and steering upgrades have already arrived from UMI.  In the meantime, I've got to corral all those parts which have piled all over the house and get them ready to be put back together!

All of a sudden a very exciting time! . . .  :hello2:

Thanks for your support!!  :icon_thumright:

Cheers, Edouard  :occasion14:

Offline TrunkMonkey

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 418
  • BUICK. Where the rubber meets the road...
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #115 on: May 16, 2018, 10:11:37 PM »
 :headbang:
Michael

The first 60 years were spent on surviving. The second 60 are gonna be spent on fun!

Offline wildcat65

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 391
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #116 on: May 16, 2018, 10:29:54 PM »
Great!  Lets see the assertive wagon back together! :occasion14:
Ted Nagel         65 Skylark GS 4-speed + Wildcats + GS's

Offline GS66

  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 2300
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #117 on: May 17, 2018, 06:50:08 AM »
Great looking engine!
Jim
North Mankato, MN

65 Gran Sport HT auto
66 Gran Sport Conv. 4 speed
66 Gran Sport Conv auto
66 Gran Sport Post auto
66 Gran Sport HT auto

Offline dsags

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 1812
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #118 on: May 17, 2018, 07:00:43 AM »
Hope you get it back on the road soon and that all the issues are behind you.

Dan
1965 Special Convertible, L33 LS, 4L60

Offline Loren At 65GS

  • Administrator
  • Crazy about Buick!
  • *****
  • Posts: 3267
  • Senior Administrator
    • 65 GS dot com
Re: Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!
« Reply #119 on: May 17, 2018, 08:03:31 AM »
Hope you get it back on the road soon and that all the issues are behind you.

Dan

  X2

  Loren
65 GS hardtop BCA Senior
 65 GS thin pillar coupe
 65 Skylark coupe v-6
 65 GS hardtop restoration project
 65 Sport Wagon
 70 GS 455 htp / original engine
 94 Roadmaster wagon
 96 Roadmaster wagon- parts car
 63 Riviera

 BCA 14371
 BCA 65 Gran Sport Division