Da' further adventures of da' trusty billy-goat wagon!

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick fans of longroofs,

The weather was good and I need to warm up my trusty wagon to see if I could find out which fuel injection component was overheating to cause me getting stranded by the side of the road (as reported earlier in this thread!)  So I took my camera and caught a few scenes of the end of autumn including this one:



It is the site of a former ranch in the area where some of the buildings have been restored.  I'll try to digitally age this photo to make it look like it was taken in the 1960s.  Stay tuned!

Having gotten the engine good and hot, I took a blow hair dryer and attempted to cause the starter coil and the E-6 ignition controller box to overheat.  Well, trying to get the starter coil to overheat was basically hopeless.  The coil is already downstream of the radiator electric fans.  That coil was already blasted with heat far more than my wimpy hair dryer could effect.  So I ruled it out as overheating.

So I turned the hair dryer on the E-6 box and got it hotter and hotter and hotter.  Finally the darn box was so hot that I couldn't keep my hand close to it.  Yet the engine just kept idling without so much as a problem.

So apparently I can rule out either the E-6 controller box or the starter coil.  That leaves me with a situation that is clear as . . . . MUD!! 

It's time to let this matter wait for the end of the holiday weekend, but come Monday I'll get back on the phone in search of some fresh ideas!

Oh well, . . . . Edouard

[Barb69]

Thanks for sharing , she has the right idea, fresh air and long peaceful  drives is what  any one of our babies need.  Since I live in Austin Texas where it can be all seasons  in a day , I will take advantage of dry days and take Dusty out. He has rested enough. We hope  to drive him to Bowling Green next autumn. Things on the need to do is horn. On the wants,  a fresh coat of paint. Almost there. He has come a long way. To all my friends up north stay safe and warm . And keep sharing your knowledge  with me. Thanks to all of you  I have made progress


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[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick seekers of classic automotive "Zen . . . "

Thanks for sharing , she has the right idea, fresh air and long peaceful  drives is what  any one of our babies need. 

Well yes for "most" 50+ year old Buicks that would be the right thing, but my trusty wagon seems to always do things "differently."  After all, a photograph of her ended up in my PhD dissertation from U.C. Berkeley!  This isn't an ordinary 1965 Buick - as if any surviving 1965 Buick is ordinary!

However, returning to the problem of the moment.  I'm wondering if I need to get Biquette on the freeway to make sure that the E-6 ignition controller box develops enough internal heat so that you can then apply the additional heat with the hair dryer to demonstrate the overheating problem.  I was chicken to get her out on the freeway Thanksgiving because the San Francisco bay area is overcrowded . . . . with lunatic drivers!  I'll repeat this experiment with some freeway driving included to see if perhaps the E-6 box is actually the culprit.

Since I live in Austin Texas where it can be all seasons  in a day , I will take advantage of dry days and take Dusty out. He has rested enough. We hope  to drive him to Bowling Green next autumn.

Okay, I was curious to know if Dusty would need to be "bedded down" for the winter or not.  Dusty is like Biquette in that regard.  So you want to take Dusty to the Buick Grand Nationals?  Here is a photo slide show of another 1965 Buick that made it to the Grand Nationals in 2005:

https://gmcguy.shutterfly.com/pictures/622

The 1965 Buick Special wagon in this story was hauling a 1968 drag race car.  However, I did the math and car on a flat bed trailer weighs about as much as an Airstream 23' travel trailer from the mid-1970s.  Thus the dream of my trusty wagon hauling around a vintage travel trailer was born.

Things on the need to do is horn. On the wants,  a fresh coat of paint. Almost there. He has come a long way.

What Dusty needs, you are probably on the mark.  What Dusty wants . . . . the list is almost insatiable!!

To all my friends up north stay safe and warm . And keep sharing your knowledge  with me. Thanks to all of you  I have made progress

Indeed to those who have put your cars to sleep for a long winter's hibernation - keep dreaming about the spring!  For all of us you live in more temperate climates, don't forget to take a few pictures of our classics from time to time.  It helps feed the itch for the rest who cannot take out their cars until spring!

Take care all you mid-60s Buick types!! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick fans of "longroofs,"

All this happened on Friday, but I haven't had a chance to write up until now.  Not to steal the thunder from another 1965 Buick, but my wagon had also gotten rather dusty.  So I decided to give her a quick "bubble bath."  To warm up the engine, I ran a quick errand.  Before I got out of the driveway, a neighbor and her friend was giving Biquette a big thumb's up!  The friend owns two mid-60s Mercedes, but alas, he is having trouble finding parts for them.  In contrast, he complimented Biquette's extremely smooth idle and steady acceleration.  The electronic fuel injection is paying dividends!

As I arrived at the store, I noticed a BMW station wagon parked in the shade with a man standing next to it.  I also parked Biquette in the shade far away from the store entrance (to reduce the risk of harm from the riff raff.)  As soon as I stepped out of Biquette, the man congratulated me!  You see he is another "wagon kind of guy."  His BMW was an older model with a straight six and manual transmission - so a rare bird in its own right.  We shared the gripe of how SUVs have taken over the turf that rightfully belongs to the station wagon, and then, the poor fellow was picked up by a friend in a Ford SUV!

After I got home I give Biquette the "bubble bath" treatment with my Griot's Garage Foaming Sprayer.  It works great if you are mostly trying to remove dust and for car that spends most of the time in the garage - there isn't much else.  I took this picture after I was done:



The winter sunlight coming from the back is hardly ideal photographic conditions, but the photo has a bit of a surreal effect.

I hope that's a bit of cheer to all you guys who will have to wait until spring before your cars can start collecting more smiles per mile!

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

Oooooh! Shiny! 

[GS66]

Lookin' good! Mine are dusty now.

[elagache]

Dear TrunkMonkey, Jim, and mid-60 Buick fans of glossy cars on a nice sunny day!

Oooooh! Shiny! 

Lookin' good! Mine are dusty now.

For just dust, the Griot's garage foaming sprayer does work very nicely.  I just applied the foam, rinsed, and then removed the water with an electric leaf blower.  So zero-impact on the paint.  Of course, this only works when you have nice fair weather!  Even in Northern California we are expecting a period of much needed rain, so my trusty wagon will also be cooped in the in garage for a while.

Cheers, Edouard 

[WkillGS]

Lookin' good! Mine are dusty now.

As are mine. Been meaning to wash them so I could at least put a car cover on them for the winter. But I also have reservations about using water to clean them..... just the thought of water going inside my doors, cowl, etc makes me paranoid about feeding rust!
Anyone else feel that way?

[telriv]

WATER IS THE ENEMY!!!!!! After the car is washed it NEEDS to go for a nice drive to try & dry/blowout the water. WORST THING TO DO IS WASH THEN PARK IN THE GARAGE!!!!!

[elagache]

Dear Walt, Tom, and mid-60s Buick warriors against rust.

WATER IS THE ENEMY!!!!!! After the car is washed it NEEDS to go for a nice drive to try & dry/blowout the water. WORST THING TO DO IS WASH THEN PARK IN THE GARAGE!!!!!

Yes you are correct, but it isn't nearly as much of a problem in California these days.  Even in winter water evaporates surprisingly quickly on a dry day.  The wagon dried out very quickly thanks to removing the surface water with leaf blower.  You make a good point though.  It doesn't that much more time to get the car on the road and make sure that any accumulated water is shaken off.  I'm afraid I continue to be paranoid about potential accidents, so I'm gun shy of getting her on the road after the schools are out.  The "soccer moms" can be a terror on the road.

By the way, if you would like to try the "bubble bath" concept, you can substitute any hose-powered insect sprayer to apply the car wash.  It doesn't foam as well, but it does lay down a mixture of wash and water that starts the process of wetting the greasy material so that washing the car is easier.  I would aim for a 1/10 dilution as sprayed compared to the manufacturers instructions for dilution in the wash bucket.  Most of us have an insect sprayer, so it is something you can try for free.

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear owners of mid-60s Buicks held captive by harsh winters,

California hasn't been exactly classic car friendly either.  My trusty wagon hasn't been out since December 21st!  That definitely not typical California weather.  We have two days before the next round of wet weather so it was definitely time for my wagon to get a bit of exercise.  I stopped by a local church that was built in the 1950s and took a few pictures.  First, the bell tower:



Here is a second view where Biquette is a bit more visible:



Finally one last view against the trees to the West:



Just a quick reminder that no matter how nasty winter can get , spring is never too far away!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. If I get a little time during the rains I'll try try to digitally age one of these photos.

P.P.S. . .  Did you know that big-block Buick engines also make for excellent space heaters?  When I put Biquette back in the garage the temperature was 61?.  A few hours later it was 67? !!

[TrunkMonkey]

My dearest and most frigid, Edouard .

Sell me the Bisquette fro $5.

I will keep her nice and toasty in sunny Florida, where today, we had a most unfortunate low of 72 degrees and mostly sunny sky.

It is a tremendous hardship, but, in order to be somewhat a decent human being, I could not stand to let another day go without the great inconvenience to myself and much sacrifice to allow you to rid yourself of such a burden.

Your (invisible) friend, in the far southern clime of sunny Florida.

(and the ability to stuff that wagon in my garage, even if I have to knock the Master Bath wall out....)

Michael

[elagache]

Dear Michael and mid-60s Buick "wouldn't you really rather have a longroof" types,

My dearest and most frigid, Edouard .

Sell me the Bisquette fro $5.

. . . . Awe shucks, I couldn't sell her to somebody who can't even spell her name correctly! . . . .

I will keep her nice and toasty in sunny Florida, where today, we had a most unfortunate low of 72 degrees and mostly sunny sky.

Well, the normal highs for January in Northern California aren't quite that high, but they are substantially higher than this month has been thus far.  The mean high temperature thus far this month has been 51?.  The normal mean high is 57?.  So no global warming visible in this part of the USofA!

Cheers,  Edouard

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick caregivers,

As reported elsewhere, the engine rebuilt by TA-Performance for my trusty wagon has developed a ticking sound in the valve train.  She went to the shop where they fixed a minor oil leak but then asked me to get in touch with Mike Tomaszewski for his opinion since it was his engine.  I finally got hold of him this morning and he felt that most likely the cause was all the rain we've been getting in California.  His guess was that the engine had sat too long and oil had drained out of the lifters.  I hadn't gotten the engine hot enough to really get the oil flowing, so his guess was a stout freeway run would solve the problem.

So I picked her up at the shop.  I then proceeded to Orinda Auto Detail and dropped off the hood ornament that I had been promising to have Opticoated for way too long.  I then stomped on the throttle and gave her a few miles on the freeway.  On my way back I stopped by a spot where I knew there were some beautiful blooming trees and took some more pictures.  Finally I came home.

It sure seemed to me that the ticking sound was still there.  So I decided to take a video with my smart phone to capture the sound.  This is the video I captured:

https://youtu.be/EQZx-LznrT4

Just one small problem.  The electric fans kicked in almost as soon as I started the video.  I can't hear the tick on the soundtrack.  The other "inconvenient truth" is that the engine stalls a few seconds after I start recording!

I tried starting the engine after allowing the engine to cool for 1/2 hour.  She did start but only ran for a few seconds before stalling again.  I had to wait for another 45 minutes with a fan blowing air under the engine before I could get her started and could finally get her into the garage.

I sent this video to the crew at Orinda Motors and it definitely got their attention.  We'll try next week to see if we can get some instruments on the ignition and fuel before such a failure.  I think I have a better handle on how to reproduce it, but is a tricky problem to demonstrate.

I was hoping to solve the tick in the valve train problem first, but this is another fine example of the old murphyism: "inside of every big problem is as even bigger problem struggling to get out!!" 

Just another day of taking car of a "properly seasoned" Buick!

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

I can hear the tick. It sounds a little "stronger" than a lifter, but trying to diagnose a problem with a video/audio and not much else, "guesses" are going to be all over the place.

Compression testing, verifying proper valve travel would go a good way to rule out a bad cam lobe, collapsed or failed lifter bent valve or other valve components.

Someone with good stethascope skills can be invaluable in sourcing a tic.

Sadly my old ears abused by too many years in the company of the Sound of Freedom, have left me with a pair of dog whistles screaming in both. 

Hope you find a minor and low cost remedy to the problem.

And hope the Bescuit is returned to her best health, soon.