Spring fever anyone?
 

Well it's 40 degrees here in Wisconsin. The birds are chirping and I have the itch to start working on the car. Started rearranging all the parts I had stuffed in the cab. Looks like ole' Jed is excited for spring too!

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/v...ps25338541.jpg

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

yep.... went to the store today in southern michigan and saw a motorcycle and rider enjoying the 42 degree sunny weather today..... greattttt!

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

He can't wait for his first parade!

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

You guys in that 'warm' weather are hardy! Yeah, know what you mean about wanting to get going in spring. It is 76 here today, and this week, and makes me almost... want to dig the roadster out of the garage cause that's close to roadster weather here :) Nice project you have there!

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Thought I might have to put pontoons on my A if I was to drive it. Over 7 inches of rain this week. However we drove over 75 miles last Sat for our Valentine luncheon in 70 degree temps. Had 12 A's & 1 32 coupe.

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Low 40's here in NW Ohio, I've had my coupe out twice, couldn't wait.

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

40's in mass. but 2 ft of snow is hanging around with more on the way:(

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Yeah, bad.. Cool dog...

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

40s in MD, have had the itch for a couple weeks, but with my current schedule I hope to get one out by June! :0

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Both myself and the Phaeton have Spring Fever, however we have plenty of Winter yet to play out .

But it was +10 F on Monday when I drove to work, this photo was taken the previous week.

Darryl in Fairbanks

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

I am going to celebrate Valentine's Day one way or another. It is in the high 50's here on the Virginia Peninsula and I am going to take my bride on the Colonial Virginia Parkway from Yorktown, VA to Jamestown, VA and picknick on Jamestown Island in the Cabriolet if it is not raining. If it rains, I will go in my Chevy pickup and eat my sandwich and soda sitting in the truck.
Bill Lee/Virginia Peninsula

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

What oil viscosity oil are you using, to be driving in +10:confused:

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

hardtimes,

I am running 10W-30, the engine is a Model B Diamond Block.

Starts up and runs really good.

I fixed a water jacket crack on it about 30 years ago. Eleven (11) 1/8" solid brass pipe plugs.

Darryl in Fairbanks

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Hey Darryl,
Wow, that is a really neat/effective looking 'fix'! What a great idea:) Stock oil system? When you start up in the cold of weather with 10w..you must show some incredible good oil pressure;) What anti freeze solution % misture you using?

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

You can't hardly go wrong with a shop partner like that !

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Hardtimes,

Yes, this freeze crack turned out very well. My friends thought that I was crazy when I did it, I have since done similar fixes for several of them. You can see where I center punched each brass plug after grinding them flush to set them.

This engine is all stock Model B, including the correct Model B Oil Pump. I have never checked the oil pressure during cold start-up, it probably is fairly high. It does seem to be leaking more out of the rear main than I am used to.
Last spring I re-ringed it, .020 and put new standard rods in.

I usually have a 60/40 antifreeze/water mix, 'cause around here it can get -60, it might get slushy but won't freeze.

Straight Anti-Freeze will Freeze.

Darryl in Fairbanks

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

'slushy'...I remember, but not slushy antigreeze..yikes, I think that I'd go for higher percentage,eh? When you put together really cold/thicker oil/full oil pan on any engine, I can see some real high pressure built up! Just a suggestion/thinking out loud, in same cold, I'd use 5W and lower the total quart capacity down a quart. Bet that would diminish 'leaking' somewhat, if not entirely...until warmer weather arrives!
I've always heard that the stock A oil pump has potential/capable of great pressure and with your current conditions..seems start up , with 10w, would be like challenging that pump to prove its potential. And, how about the oil heater..do you use one of those? Several years back, we spent 2 months in your state..1st time. It got my attn ...all the electrical wires leading out the grill of all manner of vehicles. Seemed like a good idea.

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

hardtimes,

The diminishing return for antifreeze solution is at about a 60/40 ratio, check this out:

Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, in cooperation with the UAF research community. Larry Gedney is a seismologist at the Institute.

The following information was put out to due to numerous questions from customers who complained that a particular brand of antifreeze was no good because their engines had froze up at temperatures at or slightly above zero, let alone at temperatures that were below zero.

"Actually, this is to be expected when one considers that ethylene glycol, the principal component of most antifreezes, freezes at 8 degrees above zero, Fahrenheit. It is only when water is added that the freezing point is depressed. The freezing point of an ethylene glycol and water mixture drops rapidly as the concentration of glycol is increased to a mixture of about 60% antifreeze and 40% water. Around that point, an abrupt turnabout occurs, and as more antifreeze is added, the freezing point rises almost as fast as it had previously dropped."

I don't plan on driving my Phaeton much in the winter, if I do I may add an oil pan heater. My regular daily drivers have circulating or block heaters along with oil pan heaters.

I added a port on the side valve cover some years ago where I can check the oil pressure on this engine, I should throw a gauge on it one day and check the pressure. B's actually have pressure, as opposed to the A engine, not certain if this compounds the rear main leak problem.

Where in Alaska were you, what time of the year and what were the temperatures during your stay?

Darryl in Fairbanks

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

Hey Darryl,
Yeah, we visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks and I could only wish that I could have attended such a wonderful school when younger! Hm, probably didn't have such university when I was young...lol And, I loved Fairbanks, Whitehorse, Juneau, Kenai , Ketchikan, Wasilla and more! We visited/camped/hiked/fished everything that could be done in two months time that we were there. It was July/August...and could have stayed two months longer..but that's all that was planned for at the time(read: running low on $ as paid 5/6 gallon canada).
It was fabulous weather, even for a socal citified former farm boy. Even tho we dressed to keep warm..i.e. - long warm clothes/coat/boots/longjohns,etc...juxtapose that with three mabe 20 yr old girls in whitehorse...who were "sun" bathing in bikinis along the river that runs thru town..of the same name. Ahh, almost heaven...Alaska...I'll be back!! Wanted to go there in my '30 roadster...she said 'does it have a bathroom' :eek:

Re: Spring fever anyone?
 

hardtimes
"It was fabulous weather, even for a socal citified former farm boy"

We try to keep this secret, so don't tell anyone. We do generally have beautiful summers. Hope you can make it back, with that Model A of course.

UAF does have a very nice Campus, Library and Museum, they do a lot of research.

Darryl in Fairbanks