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

[elagache]

Dear Michael, Ted, Jim, Dan, Loren, and mid-60s Buick brethren in the struggle to care for these classic cars, 

Great looking engine!

Thanks!  Credit has to go Mike Tomaszewski for deciding to do the valve covers in Nailhead green and then machining away the lettering.  Mike has done this for a long time on the later engines in Buick red.  The contrast between the red and clear aluminum is more extreme.  However, it turns out that the effect is just unique in Nailhead green if a bit more subtle.

This goes all the way back to when we had Biquette's engine rebuilt for the first time in 1979.  My Dad was very disappointed to find that the engine was painted Chevy Blue instead.  It has taken me this long to right that wrong!

Hope you get it back on the road soon and that all the issues are behind you.

Amen Brother!! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[cwmcobra]

Very nice, Edouard!  I hope Biquette gets put back together and on the road soon!

 

Chuck

[Mister T]

Hope you get it back on the road soon and that all the issues are behind you.

Dan

X3!

Glad to see you're on the home stretch and will soon be driving Biquette again!

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick owners who are fans of a certain rascally billy-goat station wagon,

It is going to be a race to get ready to have Biquette transported on Tuesday.  Today I made last preparations to the engine bay.  Everything was secured for the trip back home, but I had remove some of the restraints so I could free some of the brackets I had powder-coated.  Instead of wire, I used a bungle coil to secure the air conditioner compressor:



Like my Dad, I use plenty of cloth rags.  The price is right and after all those washes the fabric is very soft.  I had a more complex problem with the steering box:



The car came with the power steering pump still connected to the steering box but once more I needed to get some brackets.  I hope the two liter bottles will stay there and catch any power steering fluid that is pushed out by the steering box.

Never a dull moment!

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

 bungle coils are yer friend!

[cwmcobra]

Nice work, Eduoard!  Safe travels for Biquette - how far is she travelling?

 

Chuck

[Super65lark]

Edouard sorry to hear about the troubles with the castings, etc. Though I bet  you are alive with excitement to have Biquette's power plant resting in the home position!

It sure looks good!

[elagache]

Dear Chuck, Iain, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Nice work, Eduoard!  Safe travels for Biquette - how far is she travelling?

Lucky for me the shop is literally in the same town I live in.  She only needs to go a little over 3 miles and only on surface streets.  It is about as safe as transporting a classic can get!

Edouard sorry to hear about the troubles with the castings, etc. Though I bet  you are alive with excitement to have Biquette's power plant resting in the home position!

Thanks!  It has certainly been a long struggle!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Brian]

Just a suggestion--go to the parts store and buy a section of brake line with the correct size inverted flare fitting that will screw into the pressure connection hole in the steering box.  You can then cut the line and bend it such that the return line hose will slide over the end of the line so you can clamp it.  Then when you turn the wheel during transport, the fluid just circulates from outlet back to inlet instead of purging it into the bottles.  This is how I have done it in the past when having to transport vehicles without an engine.

[elagache]

Dear Brian and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Just a suggestion--go to the parts store and buy a section of brake line with the correct size inverted flare fitting that will screw into the pressure connection hole in the steering box.  You can then cut the line and bend it such that the return line hose will slide over the end of the line so you can clamp it.  Then when you turn the wheel during transport, the fluid just circulates from outlet back to inlet instead of purging it into the bottles.  This is how I have done it in the past when having to transport vehicles without an engine.

That is a good idea, but I'm on a treadmill from now until my wagon gets to Orinda Motors.  I'll try to remember that scheme for next time, I just hope it won't ever happen again!

Cheers, Edouard 

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick fans of a certain rascally billy-goat station wagon, . . . . . 

Today was the day!  Early in the morning I pushed Biquette out of the garage so that she could get nice and clean.  She even got a bit of a bubble bath in the process:



Then it was up on the flatbed transport truck:



We lucked out!  It was the same driver that brought her to Orinda Motors the previous time!  The trip was uneventful and after a few miles, she was unloaded at the Orinda Classic Car Center (the division of Orinda Motors now devoted specifically to classics.)



Finally she was parked right next to her engine so that they could bond once more!



Better still, Biquette isn't the only mid-60s Buick A-body in the shop.  Also getting worked on was this Skylark:



Alas it has a Chevy small-block and is messed up in other ways, but you have to straighten out owners like this - gently!! . . . .

Mission accomplished! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[cwmcobra]

Nice progress....keep us posted!

Chuck

[GS66]

Thanks for the updates!

[Rollaround]

Yes, thanks for the update looking forward to more.

[WkillGS]

Good news! Won't be long now!