The grand adventures of a trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!

Biquette comes alive!! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!)

Dear V-8 Buick subscribers to my trusty wagons mellardrama . . . . .

In our last episode, my trusty wagon was found to be suffering from a dying distributor. So just replace the distributor - right?

No siree! That wasnt up to Gregs standards. Instead, Greg recommended a distributor from Davis United:

http://performancedistributors.com/

Greg argued that since these distributors are based on the GM HEI design, it is much easier to get parts - especially when on the road. He also pointed out that he uses only Davis Unified distributors in all his cars and of course . . . . that certain 1971 Chevelle Malibu has a Davis distributor . . . Oh brother!

Seriously, Greg has had 3 MSD distributors on classics worked on by Orinda Motors, so he had good reason to nudge me in another direction. All this happened very late in the day of a week ago Friday. Greg ordered the new distributor, but it was coming from Ohio and by then the shop was closed. . . . Darn guys on the east coast, cant they say open until California quittin time! . . . Greg had the distributor shipped next day air, but that still meant it would arrive in Orinda Motors until this past Tuesday. In the meantime, Greg had 4 other classics to work on, so he wasnt bored.

Tuesday came and . . . . hurray!! The stumble had completely vanished! Greg then went through his usual double-checking of a classic before deciding Biquette could finally come home. That included things like checking for leaks when the engine was hot and cold and making sure Biquettes engine started okay under various conditions. He also repeatedly road-tested the car looking for any problems. Thursday morning, he thought he heard some premature detonation. So as precaution he tweaked the EZ-EFI tune parameters to reduce the risk. Unfortunately, that forced the EZ-EFI system back to square one in the self-tuning process. Nonetheless, by late Thursday morning, I was told I could bring Biquette home . . . after I got some very special instructions about how to handle her.

Why Greg thought I needed a little briefing became clear when he brought Biquette up:

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V7q01MnNOQA" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

If you listen carefully, Greg says that was just 1/4 throttle and I reply with a definite gulp!

Here is another video of Biquette engine starting and the car making another brief run:

<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/78k1iZRJkF4" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

You can see how the EZ-EFI system attempts to self-tune by bringing the idle RPM down until the engine becomes unstable and then correcting for that. You can also see that Biquette has become plenty assertive all of a sudden!

Finally Greg allowed me to bring her home and - WOW!! This was a totally new experience for me! Before the engine really dragged and was outrageously noisy. Trying to maintain 35 mph on the light uphill grade to get home was painful and embarrassing. Now this engine was really zippy and very quiet! The engine was so powerful in fact that I drove home not even noticing that the parking brake had been set - OOPS!! . . .


Now that Biquette was home I could get on to the really important stuff. . . First, I set the clock (of course!) Then I fussed for about 1/2 hour getting the Custom Autosound stereo to work properly with my current iPhone 6. The last time Biquette was working I had an iPhone 4!

Once I had a suitable tunes accompaniment, I made one more short drive Thursday afternoon. Hey! I can actually hear the music in this car! All my dreams were finally coming true! Biquette was a spirited performed, a little too spirited in fact! Thus far, I havent managed to keep her from launching from a stop sign or stop light. She definitely throws you into the back of the seat - like it or not!

At the same time, she is behaving exactly as I had expected her to behave initially. She still has the same small tires and relatively tall 2.78 rear end ratio. Even so Biquette will end up in overdrive at as low as 35 mph just like our two modern cars. The Art Carr transmission is more conservative about this, but on a slight download, the transmission will shift and the engine will drop down to essentially idle. The big difference is that now, the slightest pressure on the accelerator and Biquette immediately responds!

I stopped by a local shopping center and took a few current pictures of the engine outdoors in the sunshine. Here is the passenger side view:



Here is the in-between view:



Here is the front view:



Here is the drivers side in-between view:



Finally, here is the drivers side view:



On this point youll see that I took care of one of the engine bay fashion police fix it tickets. I ditched the old cadmium master brake cylinder for a more compact 7 dual-diaphram model - in chrome of course! Alas, Greg got me another fashion police fix it ticket with the new distributor. While the top of the distributor cap is black, the body is red. You can see a bit of red in this picture. A red cap on a nailhead green engine is a little too much of the Christmas tree effect. Since this problem occurred on the first incarnation of this engine, it is definitely a case of dj vu! Ill try to get a black cap ASAP!

I took one more photo showing what autumn looks like this year of California drought:



It was getting late and people are a little crazy around here, so I decided to bring Biquette home. On Friday though Biquette went right back to work as the family station wagon. Her assignment:



retrieve 60 pounds of bird seed!

This was my first chance to get her on the freeway and there were more happy surprises. Even in the freeway the drivetrain is so quiet that you can comfortably hear the stereo. Her original 300 cid engine and TH350 transmission was so noisy on the Freeway that you couldnt have a conversation. One of my very important wishes has come true!

It is November, but the sun remains hot in California and even just 10 minutes in a store was enough to get Biquette a little warm in the cabin. I tried to figure out how I could get the Vintage Air air conditioner to simply blow air through the A/C vents. I havent double-checked, but that might not be possible. In any case, this wasnt something to figure out on the freeway, so I gave up and started the air conditioner. My oh my! The Vintage Air system started quickly, blew very cold air and the blower was quite powerful even on its lowest setting. Not an obvious thing to test in November, but nonetheless a very happy confirmation! Something else was back also. People were starting to notice Biquette and smiles were coming to peoples faces. Biquette was alive and the world was getting to see a 50 year old classic who nonetheless made good!

Biquette got Saturday off and today we were expecting rain, so she also stayed inside, but thus far I am tickled pink. I just checked, not a drop of any leak on the garage floor. It is only 4 days out, but thus far, the project looks like a complete success!

I really want to thank Mike and Sherri Tomaszewski, Tim and the whole TA-Performance team that came to my rescue. They could see that I had taken a real body-blow and understood how lost and bewildered I was about all this. He took a chance when this matter had divided the Buick community and had left plenty of sore feelings. I wasnt remotely prepared to take on a project like this and they were willing to work with me and my ignorance to make sure thing would work out this time. Mike definitely isnt a Nailhead green fan, but everyone at TA-Performance was really pleased at how Biquettes engine turned out.

Its been a tough year for Mike and his family. As he struggled with the death of his Dad, I was reminded of the last few days of my Dads life. I didnt know it until after he died, but he asked my Mom to buy Biquette back from me should I ever lose interest in her. Well if that wasnt a mandate to save Biquette - I dont know what is. My Mom is now in her mid-80s, almost blind, and very frail, clearly the care of Biquette has fallen on me and me alone. I think Dad would have killed me for spending so much money on Biquette, but I think if he could have been alive today, he would have been very, very happy to take a drive in Biquette now. For decades, we wished together that somehow we could modernize Biquette so she could enjoyed like a modern car. It has been a far harder struggle than I would wish on anyone, but perhaps I have accomplished that dream.

Cheers, Edouard

 

Thanks! (Re: The grand adventures of a trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!)

Dear Randal and trusty wagon fans,

Sorry for not replying. I needed to upload the whole story first. As you can see - it took a while!

Thanks! I've only had her back a few days but so far so good! :TU:

Cheers, Edouard

 

Glad it's coming together. Do you really like those stickers on that air cleaner? :Smarty: ray:

 

I am SOOOOOOO glad you are actually driving it now AND it's glad it is what you were going for. Happy miles to you!

 

Trials & tribulations of building a Hot-Rod. Just ONE more little thing. Add another shim to the starter to get rid of the starter noise. It's defiantly been a LONG time coming. I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST & SUPER SUCCESS ON A JOB WELL DONE!!!!!
NOW GET OUT THERE & DRIVE IT & ENJOY IT!!!! YOU DESERVE IT!!!!!


Tom T.

 

Happy to see you have it back and driving it.

 

If engine noise is such an issue to you , that open air cleaner needs to go, a Factory sealed air cleaner will make it MUCH more quite, and look more at home than the chrome imo

 

Thanks!! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!)

Dear Frank, Randal, Tom, Ryan, and V-8 Buick "longroof" fans,

Thanks again everybody! Yeah, it sure has been a long struggle!

Hmm, okay I 'll check into that!

. . . But I can't! It is raining cats and dogs right now! . .

Today is a refilling the reservoirs day. However tomorrow maybe!! :3gears:

Cheers, Edouard :beer

 

Dear V-8 Buick fans of a certain trusty wagon,

Today was a very big day for my trusty wagon. For the first time since she has been back at the house, Mom got to ride in her. We did our usual once a week run to our favorite supermarket. Here is Biquette in one of the handicapped parking space which Mom definitely needs because she is so frail:



Mom is still a little uncertain about Biquette. When she is loud she is much louder than Coquette our 2000 Buick Century. Nonetheless, Biquette is now quiet enough that we can easily have a conversation under most conditions. When a steep hill needs to be climbed or there is a need to accelerate only then the conversation has to stop. The Vintage Air heater worked fine and that was just as well as barely reached 60˚ F today and Mom tends to be on the cold side.

Here is Biquette's first load of groceries:



It may seem like an odd thing to photograph, but Biquette has been hauling groceries for us since April 1968. When she became my car, she had to haul my groceries. When I was living in San Diego, I tried to make a point of getting Biquette just once a week. Saturday morning I would get all groceries and other things I needed for the week. I would then attend the Saturday afternoon vigil mass. Once I got back home, I would put Biquette's car cover back on and she would remain inactive the rest of the week. I commuted by bike or if it was raining by bus.

So, getting the groceries is a way for Biquette to get back to being part of the family once more. After such a long struggle, I was glad to be able open up the tailgate window like the I used to and load her up once more!

Cheers, Edouard

 

I MUST SAY, SHE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course being who I am it would actually have a "Nail" in it!!!!
You are now at the fun part, FINALLY!!!!

Tom T.

 

Flicitations vous, Biquette !!

d'un wagon l'autre, le monde est un meilleur endroit avec nous sur la route - N'est pas ?

I LOVE that you are using Biquette as it was intended and I hope you two have many MANY more enjoyable adventures together - here is a shot of me and Sportn'Wood on a 5 day trip to a Remote Control model airplane national event that my club hosts in the Catskill Mountains. Besides hauling my planes and all my gear 300 miles round trip, she was also my sleeping accommodations as I slept in the back using an air mattress and a sleeping bag. Since I help run the event, I was parked show center and I can't begin to tell you how many people stopped to admire and talk about her.

 

Seeking better slieep quarters! (Re: Trusty "billy-goat" Wagon!)

Dear Tom, Alan, and V-8 Buick fans of a certain trusty wagon, . .

Thanks Tom! Glad you like my trusty wagon. While I don't think I could have ever been convinced to go with a Nailhead, I have to confess I sure wish I could have had long time quietly reading this forum before making an engine choice. This isn't the sort of thing to make on short-notice when you know very little about what you are choosing.

Thanks Alan!

Groan! Did you have to remind me of that! Oh yeah, I used the back of my trusty wagon as sleeping accommodations, but I never did get the air mattress working very well. So I had a number of nights with nothing more than a ground pad against the cold hard cargo area . . . . Uh yeah, not the best night's sleep!

For your next model airplane event, what you really need is to whip up one of these!!

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...rop-quot-travel-trailer&p=2516507#post2516507

Maybe not, but you've got to admit, it is really cool looking!

Cheers, Edouard