01 Aug Spanner Works: Wenstley and a Buick Sport Roadster
A regular feature by senior workshop technician JP du Plessis outlining the activities of FMM’s workshop personnel who are responsible for repairing, renovating, refurbishing and restoring the museum’s large and varied collection of vehicles. This month, JP’s describes Wenstley Wicomb sorting out a few minor issues on the Buick Sport Roadster that appeared at FMM’s Father’s Day parade…
As described in the Anniversary Celebration feature, the 1927 Buick Sport Roadster that was recently driven on the estate to stretch its legs and see the light of day. Although the car drove beautifully, a few minor issues reared their heads and it was deemed best to attend to them swiftly. Wenstley Wicomb was tasked with investigating and fixing the problems.
The first problem he tackled was the fuel leak somewhere between the AutoVac and the carburettor. The AutoVac was found to be in good order, so Wenstley turned his attention to the carburettor and decided to remove it completely in order to thoroughly clean and service it. It was taken apart and treated to a session in the ultrasonic cleaner, after which it was properly dried and fitted with new gaskets while being reassembled.
With the carburettor completed, Wenstley then started removing the auxiliary driveshaft that turns both the water pump and the generator, as it had sprung a leak at the union. It was found that the rope seal was hardened to the point that it wouldn’t seal properly. After cleaning up the rusty driveshaft and inside of the union at the water pump, Wenstley fitted a new piece of rope seal to the circumference of the shaft and fastened it all back together.
After filling the coolant system and adding some fuel, Wenstley started the car and let it idle until it reached full operating temperature while checking for any further leaks. All looked in order and it was decided to go for a proper test drive. The drive went well and Wenstley returned a happy camper.
There was also a small dent in the paint on one of the fenders, and Michael van Graan was ready to do the panel beating, as always. He started by knocking out the dent evenly and then removed the worst of the damaged paint by sanding it all smooth. A minor amount of filler was applied to ensure the shape could be formed smoothly as well. Thereafter, the primer was applied and sanded smoothly before the final layer of black paint was applied and flatted to a gloss shine.
After being attended to both mechanically and cosmetically, the stylish Buick is ready to be displayed and driven on the estate’s roads more frequently in future.
