Time To Get To My Wagon

 I've been wanting to get started on the wagon for what seems like eternity but actually it's only been 2 years and during that time I did work on it so I guess it has been ongoing for quite some time . Back in 2020 the shifter broke ,the reverse arm broke so I had no reverse.I drove it home and took it apart.After fooling with it with no success I pulled the transmission ,then the clutch ,and then dealt with a real bad bout of vertigo every time I got under the damn car . This went on & on until finally I had a guy I know rebuild the shifter and the spare one I also have. I put in the new clutch but the transmission fought me every step of the way.Working on broken concrete is impossible so finally I got help from my good friend Steve. We towed the car to his house where there is a good flat surface for me to work on and I had the transmission in the car in less than an hour.

The next day I drove the car home ! This was back in June of 2022.  Had lots of other stuff to do so it sat. Now it's a week before Christmas and we are getting ready to attack again. What we are going to do is work on the replacement quarter panels while they are off the car and fix any rust . It's easier to weld new metal in on the workbench than the car so over this winter that's what we are doing.I have 4 doors that we are also going to get set before they go on and two front fenders as well . All these parts are pretty much rust free so this phase will go easy. Last time I did this was 20 years ago. I hung quarters on the car and put on some decent fenders and doors ,primed it with white epoxy primer then when that got ratty looking I gave it a brush & roller paint job with light blue Rustolium . I used this car as a truck to haul wood and tools for work . She served me well for 20 years as this and now it's time to bring her back from the dead a second time . This is what my little wagon looked like when I brought her home in the mid 90's

She was in bad shape,should have been crushed but I took pity and decided to fix her.

As time went on I changed the motor from the 225 slant six with an automatic transmission to a 170 cu in slant six with a 4 speed manual transmission . Then I came across a sure grip rear (posi) with 323 gears and she became lots of fun to drive as well as good on gas. Here she is white  in around 2005 and then blue in around 2011 .

Now she's all rusty again after all those years of good service she gave me.This next photo is of her on her last trip up to my camp in the Adirondacks back in 2020. I loved to travel in this car.She gave me 24 MPG fully loaded with all my gear  so the 400 mile ride up to my place didn't break the bank .I even used her to haul wood from the mill up there when I was working on the place. So now it begins again. It's not like I'm a stranger to this kind of work .I've been playing with old cars , trucks and motorcycles all my adult life.I did a ground up restoration on this 1965 Barracuda back in the early 90's It was a 400 dollar rust bucket with a bad 6 cylinder motor  and a weak automatic transmission when I got it in 1989 after crashing my first 65 Barracuda in a head on up in the Adirondacks on an icy road . I built this as a replacement.

I did all the work myself . Body , paint , and mechanical .It was a fun project taking it from a rusty non running slant six to a show quality car with a nice 8 cylinder and a 4 speed . I enjoyed this car for well over 12 years and when I sold it  the car looked and ran as good as the day I finished it. I've had some cool rides . Most of them were just drivers but lots of fun . It all started with this 1960 Ford Panel truck

This was my 1st 4 wheel vehicle.Made a camper out of it and traveled all over the US in her .Got T boned and destroyed one night . This event put me into this great pick up truck. A 1950 Ford F1 with a flat head V8 .I loved this truck and drove it for around 10 years until around 1983.To this day I regret selling her.

Then there was this really cool 1948 Plymouth that I bought in the mid 70's .This car was so cool.I drove it into the late 80's when I  sold it for money to build my barn up at the camp in 1988.Another regret but you can't keep 'em all so I kept moving forward into the Barracudas  and Valiants . 

As time marched on I made many good friends thru this hobby of old cars and motorcycles.One of the best friends I ever had and still have is Al.He and I built cars for almost 20 years together,We both had 65 Barracudas and built and sold all sorts of cars in his driveway. Those were probably some of the best years of my entire life.  One day in January of 2003 I came across this 1966 Valiant convertible.A friend told me about it and also told me I should really go check it out. I was unemployed at the time ,pretty much broke but I went.It was this incredible deal. A little old rich lady owned it.She bought it new in 1966 and kept it in her summer home out in the Hamptons . She lived in the city.The car only got used locally in the summer and had 52,000 miles on it ! .Well,she died and the lawyer settling her estate knew nothing about cars so it was getting sold for 2500 bucks .I went home  and started thinking as I paced back & forth .I had no money .This went on for about a half hour so I decided to tell Al about it.He didn't really want it and told me to go buy it and he'd loan me the money ! So,we went and brought it home. I still have it all these years later.Now it has a shade under 60,000 miles on it. Probably gonna sell it to get money to buy a house up in Northern New York so my wife and I can retire and live cheap.Hate to loose it but at age 73  it's more important to get into a house I own up in the country . So I've decided to just keep the wagon ,fix it all up and have fun with it and sell the convertible . 

 So this is the start of a new beginning for my wagon. It makes sense in my mind to keep the wagon, She's such a useful vehicle and in the end I don't really have to worry about driving her and putting on too many miles .The vert is a fine car but too much use will ruin that .The wagon has around 300,000 miles on it . She's well worm but all renewed mechanically . She'll never be a show car but she will be a really cool ride and for me that's what really counts. 

So,today I start repairing the transmission on my wife's 2002 Honda Accord.The damn thing started to slip when cold .Did some reading and came to the conclusion it's a problem in the solenoids that control the fluid pressure and shift the gears. Yesterday 3 of the 4  solenoids arrived so I can get started today.With any luck the last one will come today or Monday and I can get past this crap. I'd rather be working on my WAGON !

Shipping The DS6C

 Well,it finally came to pass. I waited for months for the buyer to find a shipper then I waited for another month and a half for the shipper to finally come for the bike.It was ok though, I wasn't really ready to start building another bike in my garage yet anyway so it wasn't in the way. Had many good conversations with the new owner Kevin. He's a nice guy and I'm glad it went to someone like him. His buddy is building another one only in green like my keeper so I get the feeling they will be taking good care of them.It's on it's way now to Southern California . It was a nice bike to have around .I built it to look exactly like my DS6C when I first bought it in 1972 but as time moved forward I realized I only need one so it got sold. I'll probably build another just because I have enough parts but the next one will be the European version with the rubber side panels on the gas tank.Traded a seat with a guy in Sweden for that tank and I do love that orange color I shot the one I just sold with. But,for my next build it's going to be the 1970 Yamaha R5 that I bought and tucked away for the past 25 or so years.Went to Michigan for this one .So,here are the last photos of the 1970 Yamaha DS6C :

This was the hand off at the local Home Depot parking lot.It was a big truck so there was no way it was coming up my little dead end street. It went smoothly and now I have my garage space back.I worried that it would get damaged in my shop.It did once back in 2013 when my friend Juan's BMW R80 tipped over and fell against it. I had to have the paint matched and shoot another side cover . This led to a complete fix up of the bike turning it into a good runner  and it's sale. 

As you can see,it's tight in my little shop but I make do. Well, it's warming up nicely now and the sun is out shining brightly . I'm going riding now .Gonna head out on my Moto Guzzi for the day while the battery for my BMW K100 sits on the charger and gets fully charged.I'll take that one out on Friday  .Then if the weather holds I'll try to run all 4 of my Yamaha 2 strokes .It's December now and I have to run all these bikes every chance I get before the shit weather puts and end to my season for a while. Can't let these things sit for too long so I'm hoping we have a mild winter and I can keep riding thru to spring.

As Winter Closes In (Well Now It's Summer ) an update

 Been busy these last couple weeks doing all sorts of things like raking leaves ,riding motorcycles ,painting my neighbors house ,riding motorcycles,going to car shows,working on my wagon  and finally I got down to business with my motor build for my friend John .Back in August at the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Show & Swap Meet he bought this 1965 Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler .It needs a total restoration and I am rebuilding the motor for him. Brought the motor home in my truck and the bike went home with John to Tennessee .Well,the other day I finally got down to business on it.

The motor is stuck, We got it to spin using the rear wheel so this told me the kick shaft gears are broken and I need to split the case. The other day I did this job and split the case then removed the crankshaft and transmission .At first it looked good just the broken kick start stuff needed to be replaced so I dug out the later version of them which are stronger and interchange with the earlier ones and got that mess fixed.

As you can see the replacement gears are stronger with less teeth that are thicker .This was a common problem and this is how Yamaha corrected it at serial number 26060 according to the factory parts manual . So,all was going well and yesterday I cleaned the crankshaft ,the engine cases and then started on the piston assemblies when I saw a real problem. One of the wrist pins had a very worn spot where the small end bearing rides and it was also tapered to one side.This tells me there is a serious problem with a connecting rod being slightly bent. I looked at the crank and after staring at it forever I could just make out a very slight bend on the left side con rod.It was barley detectable but that's all it takes so I started to think of a solution.

I had a cup of coffee and decided to dig out another motor with a good crank and use it for the parts I need. Got it on the bench and apart before dinner .

 

This motor was originally going to be used in the bike I built for my friend Tony back in 2007 but I ended up using a 305cc for that bike so it sat on the shelf since then  collecting dust. I'm glad I finally found a good use for it.Lucky for me I have a couple more and I don't really need that many spares now as my days of building these are nearing an end. So,after a nice dinner with my wife I went downstairs into the basement and cleaned the crankshaft . Checked it all out and lubricated it so it spins really smoothly  and called it a day .

The case is all cleaned and ready to go , the crank problem has been solved, it's a beautiful day and going to warm up to about 50 F later on so you know what I'm going to do, RIDE ! Later on after my ride I'll clean up both transmissions and compare them .I'll use the better one if there is a better one.From first glance they both look real good. Well,it's almost 10:30 in the AM and starting to warm up some so time for me to put on the leathers and hit the road . It's nice being retired .

That was back in the Fall .Did some stuff over the winter on the motor like digging out the parts I am going to use and going over the parts to be bought by John new that we are going to need. I really got going on it in April. This is when I began to build it. It never goes easy but rather more like a battle .This one was no different.It went together and came apart numerous times . I had three different transmissions in it before I finally had it the way I wanted . Finally in mid June I had the bottom end completed and now I'm in the final stages of doing the top end components.The actual assembly will be done at the show in August .It's easier to install it in the frame without all the external stuff like clutch,generator ,cylinders and so on. So,today I'm dealing with the carbs .I did the clutch rebuild the other day and in the top end the two cylinders are just about ready for paint and the heads are all cleaned and polished .Here are some photos of where it's at now

So,as you can see I've been keeping busy. Between this job and going up to my camp it's been non stop with no idle time. Now if I could just find a riding partner to travel with.I'm itching for a long distance road trip but at age 74 I really don't want to go it alone.This story remains to be told .