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Latest Round Fender Acquisition: 1967 122S Wagon

polaris

Mk V
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Location
SF, CA
Several weeks ago I picked up a 1967 122S Wagon. The previous owner owned the car for 15 or so years. The last couple of years it wasn't being used that much mostly been shuffled across the street for weekly street cleaning. With the pandemic, parking restrictions were lifted and the car sat idle for several months. When street cleaning was reinstated, the owner was unable to get the car started and then had it towed to a storage yard in the Bayview where it sat since.

A friend connected me with the owner a year ago and I took a look at the car and made an offer. He ended up sitting on it and things went quiet. Every couple of months I would check to see if the car was still in the same spot. A month ago I reached out to him and he was now ready to deal. Along with the car came four large plastic bins of spare parts and the price came out to less than $.70 a cc.

Wanted to see if the wagon could be driven under its own power. Put the battery on a charger for a day and a half and 4 of the cells were totally dead. Gathered up various tools, 2 gallons of gasoline, a spare battery among other things. Went over to the storage yard on a Saturday afternoon with a friend of mine to attempt to get the 122S started and mobile. This is a short video of the work and progress that day.

 
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Plan? A new set of rings, I'd guess. :lol:


But seriously, you find some very interesting cars. Congrats! Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
 
Love it! What?s the plan for it now?


Plan? A new set of rings, I'd guess. :lol:

But seriously, you find some very interesting cars. Congrats! Looking forward to seeing where this goes.


In terms of the engine, not sure yet if it will be a tear down or look for a replacement redblock. Looking up the code stamped on the side of the block (4968-67) it is a B18B originally from a 140 with a BW35. This is the highest performance, stock engine of the B18 power plants. Still need to do a compression test on the engine and would like to do a leakdown test but have to find/borrow the gauges for that.

In terms of finding 122s, find it a little ironic I now have 3 of them, all of them from 1967 and different body styles (123GT Coupe, 122 Sedan and 122 Wagon) They all were painted 94 Dark Green and all have been repainted, with the Wagon not retaining the original color but going to a blue, then a metallic blue over that. The Coupe and the Sedan have been converted back to the single line brake master cylinder and both have the stock booster in their trunk.

These are some pictures from when I originally first looked at the wagon in March of 2021
 

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Work started on the 122 wagon by checking the fluid levels. The radiator needed 2 1/2 quarts of water to be topped off. The brake master cylinder was almost empty as well but the clutch master cylinder was mostly full. Removed the float lids and cleaned a fair bit of debris from out of the bottom of the bowls. Primed them by filling the bowls 2/3s of the way up with fresh gas then hooked up a recently charged battery. Turning the ignition key the amp & oil lights glowed brightly, a positive indicator. Making sure stick shift was out of gear, engaged the starter and the car lurched forward as the clutch disc was stuck to the flywheel. Pushing in the clutch pedal kept the engine from engaging the transmission.

The engine started right up with the bowls being pre-filled, like it had just been running 20 minutes earlier. My friend Alex, who was helping me, said, "that was kind of too easy!?!" While moving it backward for the first time, I could really start to smell fuel and shut down the engine. There was a significant leak from around the glass fuel filter and decided to replace that section of hose. All I had along was a 5-6 foot length of FI-rated fuel hose so installed it as one piece and wrapped it around the air filters like a crazy straw to keep it out of the way. Restarting the car, let the engine run for a little while to make sure the thermostat was opening up. Some debris and/or was oil burning off the exhaust pipes and that is when we noticed the smokey plume emanating out of the tailpipe. It was not as evident when first starting it up when the engine was cold. Now the engine had warmed up, the wagon certainly became a smoke machine. Though engine idled fairly smooth but not entirely, it was time for a test drive.

When taking it for its first foray, it started off a little slow but nothing seemed too amiss. After driving about 100 yards, I stepped on the brake pedal hard and it took me by surprise when the brakes locked up with a loud screech of the tires. The engine was running but it wasn't totally happy. There were various pops and stutters on the return trip as the engine now had to fight against the brakes. It was pretty evident at least one of the calipers was seizing up as the car could only get up to about 10mph. It then got to the point where the car could not be moved more than an inch or two before the engine strained and stalled out. Took off the front passenger wheel (main suspect) and it was locked up solid. Attempted to move the pads/pistons with no luck, opened up the bleeder nipple and then was able to move the pads off the rotor. All the other wheels turned fine, it was at that point I realized the rubber hoses had most likely swelled shut from age and would need be replaced out. At that point the wagon was reparked in its original spot, packed up the tools and called it a day. Some parts would need to be ordered for a second effort on getting the 122 mobile.

Here is the video of the second visit to the 122 Wagon:

 
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In prepping for the next visit to the wagon, two new rubber brake hoses were ordered. Because I was able to move the brake pistons with the bleeder open, did not think a new caliper would be required. One other item needed to be replaced was the positive battery connector as that cracked when tightening it up during the last visit. While my friend Alex wanted to join in the second visit he was headed up to Tahoe to go skiing so another friend Armando joined the expedition.

The front passenger tire was removed and connected to an air pump. During the first visit, the pump I had along made it through 2.5 tires before giving up the ghost. Doused the brake line connections with penetrating oil before taking a wrench to them. Both of the connectors loosened easily and in a matter of minutes the new swapped out with the old. Hooked up the Motive Power Bleeder to the reservoir to remove any air bubbles in the line/caliper as well as replace out the old fluid. Should note the bleeder was given to me by a friend after his uncle passed away who had been wrenching on cars for most of his life. When I first looked at the bleeder I was trying to figure out why it didn't have the universal cap on the end, but rather a home-brewed plate with J hooks and a rubberized ring on the bottom side. Then it occurred to me this was actually a pretty cool modification as it could be utilized on older and/or non-standardized master cylinders such as the single brake circuits on earlier 122s and P1800s. A healthy flow of fluid emerged through the clear vinyl hose and in about 10 minutes later the tire was being reinstalled on the passenger side rotor. This was repeated with the drivers side front caliper. The only issue occurring at the very end of the bleeding cycle is when I pumped up the bleeder to about 11PSI and brake fluid started leaking from the rubber seal at the front juncture of the reservoir and the MC. Once depressurized the leak did halt, but it did cause a little commotion seeing a steady drip of fluid coming from the engine compartment while in the wheel wheel bleeding the caliper.

Restarted the 122 and took it for a test drive. The brake issue was resolved, but it still was not running smoothly with some hesitations, pops and sluggishness. Parked the wagon back inside the compound, busted out the timing light and this is where things got a bit interesting. Hooked up the inductive pickup on the ignition wire for cylinder #1 and there was nothing, same for cylinder #2. On #3 & #4, the light started to strobe. Inspected the distributor cap & rotor and the posts were cleaned off of corrosion. Restarted the car, pulled the first plug wire with no effect on the engine. Pulling #4 wire the engine speed noticeably dropped then soon stalled. The ignition wires looked old so dug out a replacement wire and installed that on cylinder #1. When removing the old one off the end of the plug, I felt things move and found the spark plug was not even finger tight. Removed the #1 plug and found it was caked/covered with soot. Located a set of NGKs in my spares box and replaced the weathered Bosch plug with a fresh one. Cranked and restarted the engine and cylinder #1 now registered on the timing light but cylinder #2 remained dormant. The spark plug on #2 was replaced with a fresh NGK and it too was extremely sooty.

Decided to replace all of the plugs at this point and #3 & 4 looked fairly normal. Getting all the ignition wires back in place and viola!, all 4 cylinders were up and running. It was surprising how smooth the engine idled on just two of the cylinders (3 & 4.) When hearing the popping and feeling the engine was a bit underpowered, there was the thought one cylinder might be having issues but not two of them. Armando took a turn driving the 122 to test 1) The braking ability; and 2) if the pedal felt firm or was there any sponginess/air still in the lines. The car seemed to have more power, generally running smoother and happier and the brake systems felt more than adequate. While the wagon was still leaving quite the smoke trail in its wake, it was ready to be driven to out of there.

Packed up all of the tools & parts and bid adieu to the compound parking lot where the wagon had been hibernating for so long. Getting behind the wheel of the 122, I pulled out into the street with Armando in escort position behind me in my 240 wagon. This was going to be a four-mile trip to the garage space, while I could take 101 some of the drive to save time, decided to keep to the city streets, partially because of the smoke the wagon was generating and in case of catastrophic failure of some component occurring.

The 122 was running and stopping smoothly all-in-all. If I didn't have a lead foot and shifted early, this kept the clouds to a minimum. Heading south along Bayshore Boulevard which parallels 101, I would shut the engine off at the stop lights for consideration of other drivers and pedestrians. Just south of Paul Ave after a short-ish climb, Bayshore Blvd goes under 101 then merges with an off ramp leading into a complex intersection of three roads along with the light rail tracks.

As the light starts to change at Paul Ave, I restart the 122 and start through the intersection to begin the climb. Starting a bit gingerly I then decide to floor it, unleashing a voluminous, rolling blueish cloud from the back of the car. Armando who was 20 or so yards behind then drops to almost 200 yards as he becomes obscured by the exhaust plume. As I crest the hill and start to enter the tunnel going under 101, I keep my foot on the gas and accelerate, emerging out of the tunnel and making my way to the far right hand lane. Realizing I have enough momentum, turn off the engine and coast across the major intersection and a half mile further through the next two traffic lights. Almost a minute later I see Armando finally pulling up behind me. He later recounted, when the 122 wagon pulled out of the Paul Avenue intersection and accelerated up the hill, he immediately slowed down due to the sheer amount smoke billowing out of the exhaust pipe. Driving through the underpass tunnel, Armando described it as being in a thick Tule fogbank. Exiting out of the tunnel, all the cars exiting off of 101 had slowed down to a crawl while picking their way through the still robust fog and haze. Finding it had suddenly dissipated just after the tunnel, he guessed correctly I had shut down the engine. Driving the final mile was uneventful as I tried to keep the exhaust clouds to a minimum. We later were joking if this drive could have been tracked through purpleair.com (air quality monitoring site.)

After having let the 122 sit for a couple days, the next job was to change the oil. Ran the engine for 3-4 minutes then raised the wagon up onto jackstands. Loosened the drain plug, soon the oil cascaded into the catch pan. The oil draining out was pure black and to my surprise looked and sloshed a lot like water rather than oil. The fluid had been warmed up, but in no way had reached operating temperature. Started to wonder if anything had been added to the oil/engine to make the oil so water-like. The oil filter put up a bit of a fight though it finally loosened up and a new one installed in its place.

It was time to give the car a quick bath after its extended hibernation outside. Applied two cans of degreaser to the engine, engine bay, bell housing and transmission as a large of mount of dirt, grease and grime had been accumulated in those areas. The engine area cleaned up pretty well and the car itself looked so much better without a layer of dust and dirt on it. The engine code (496867) became legible and looking it up found while it is not original to the car, it is a higher output B18B originally from a 140 with a BW35 transmission. Letting the car idle for 15 minutes, the engine ran totally smooth. Took it for a short drive and while still leaving a blue smoke trail in its wake, it did not seem as copious as before. Guessing the engine is suffering from stuck or broken rings, but that is still speculation at this point. Next up on the to-do list is a compression test and checking the valve clearances.
 

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Digging into the wagon

In looking over the car, there are a couple interesting about it.

1) The first is a relay mounted on the ID place just behind and above the brake master cylinder. There are four wires; blue, red, green and a ground hooked up to it. The car does not have an overdrive or driving/fog lights (at least now it doesn't) so trying to figure out what that might have been there for.

2) Next to this relay is a perfectly circular hole into the interior. Around the edges is what is left of a rubber seal, no wires are coming through this opening. Openings like this are not strange but there is a second one just above the coil on the firewall. That does have wires going in/out of that opening for the push button starter. One of these would been just fine as a pathway for wiring into the engine compartment, both of them is kind of overkill.

3) The car was repainted a dark blue and then a metallic blue over top of that. The dark blue repaint looks to have been done with some care as the door sills were painted as well dash and upper door pieces. The unfortunate part is someone hacked up the dash to install a modern DIN-sized stereo, want to know what tool they used to cause that much carnage to make that opening. The top blue metallic layer looks like to be of Macco or Earl Scheib quality, over spray on the door parts and chrome trim and on the rood it is already starting to flake off. Wondering how bad the original 94 dark green paint really was on the car.

4) The top of the hood is ok, but the engine side is all rusty. After seeing it, my friend Alex speculate there might have been an engine fire at some point and possibly the reason for the blue metallic paint job.
 

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Glad to see a new round fender project around these parts!
Agreed! Love the car, and love your dedication to resuscitation.

I've always thought the Amazon was one of the best looking cars ever made. Never owned one. At least not yet.

[after the oil change] Took it for a short drive and while still leaving a blue smoke trail in its wake, it did not seem as copious as before. Guessing the engine is suffering from stuck or broken rings, but that is still speculation
I wondered that also. I received a suggestion 20+ years ago that a quart of Rislone would quiet ticking lifters, and it worked much better than I would have expected of snake oil. For rings, my first attempt would be a healthy squirt of PB-Blaster or AeroKroil in each cylinder every day for a week. Hey, ya never know.

want to know what tool they used to cause that much carnage to make that opening.
oxy-acetelyne torch with cutting head?
 
In looking over the car, there are a couple interesting about it.

1) The first is a relay mounted on the ID place just behind and above the brake master cylinder. There are four wires; blue, red, green and a ground hooked up to it. The car does not have an overdrive or driving/fog lights (at least now it doesn't) so trying to figure out what that might have been there for.

2) Next to this relay is a perfectly circular hole into the interior. Around the edges is what is left of a rubber seal, no wires are coming through this opening. Openings like this are not strange but there is a second one just above the coil on the firewall. That does have wires going in/out of that opening for the push button starter. One of these would been just fine as a pathway for wiring into the engine compartment, both of them is kind of overkill.

3) The car was repainted a dark blue and then a metallic blue over top of that. The dark blue repaint looks to have been done with some care as the door sills were painted as well dash and upper door pieces. The unfortunate part is someone hacked up the dash to install a modern DIN-sized stereo, want to know what tool they used to cause that much carnage to make that opening. The top blue metallic layer looks like to be of Macco or Earl Scheib quality, over spray on the door parts and chrome trim and on the rood it is already starting to flake off. Wondering how bad the original 94 dark green paint really was on the car.

4) The top of the hood is ok, but the engine side is all rusty. After seeing it, my friend Alex speculate there might have been an engine fire at some point and possibly the reason for the blue metallic paint job.

Size of the holes? Maybe your car had a external heater? A webasto or similar. That might explain both the holes and the relay. My 245 had a heater from factory.
 
Compression Testing the Engine

I wondered that also. I received a suggestion 20+ years ago that a quart of Rislone would quiet ticking lifters, and it worked much better than I would have expected of snake oil. For rings, my first attempt would be a healthy squirt of PB-Blaster or AeroKroil in each cylinder every day for a week. Hey, ya never know.

oxy-acetelyne torch with cutting head?

Should try and soaking things, it definitely wouldn't hurt to give that approach a try on the 122 wagon.

Would think if you have a torch in your tool collection there would be a some sort of cutting wheel or motorized saw. Though it seems reality often outwits assumptions. One other aspect about the car is I have found no evidence of speakers around the interior. Even the one normally mounted behind the shelf above in the passenger foot well is MIA.

Size of the holes? Maybe your car had a external heater? A webasto or similar. That might explain both the holes and the relay. My 245 had a heater from factory.

Have to measure them for an exact value, probably under 1-1/2" in diameter. Though your heater comment made me wonder if someone could have installed AC into this car at some point.

---------------------


Ended up taking a small break with the 122 Wagon as had a few other project to work on. One of these being helping a good friend of mine wake a 1965 Buick Riviera out of hibernation to be mobile/self-propelled enough to drive onto a trailer. It is going to be restored by his sister and brother-in-law. The car was purchased by his uncle in the 1960s and ended up in my friend's hands almost 10 years ago after the uncle passed away. The mechanical fuel pump was found to be DOA, so after digging out and hooking up an electric pump then cleaning/dressing the points, distributor cap & rotor the car fired up after about an hour of monkeying with it. While not running the smoothest, the biggest hurtle was crossed.

51962797403_f5b40c24a4_o.jpg



Getting back to the 122, I wanted to see what the valve train looked like. Pulling off the valve cover, was a little surprised how clean the underside of the cover turned out to be. Looking to see if there was any deposits and or signs of milky sludge, it turned out to be pretty clean. The valve train looked to be fine and nothing seemed amiss. In this valve cover picture both holes cut into the firewall are visible. One next to the ID plate and the other almost in the shadow to the right of the blower motor housing.

51963289440_063d36120e_o.jpg



Next up, removed all of the spark plugs and lined them up for comparison. These NGKs had been replaced out during the second visit and by my estimation have about 6 miles under their belt and probably a total of an hour of running and idling. Hooked up the compression gauge and tested each cylinder twice dry, then a third time wet. These compression numbers are ballpark for me as I was starting the car through the window and not sitting behind the wheel with the gas pedal depressed for maximum air intake. Wanted to do an initial test to see the delta between each cylinder. Additionally, I still needed to check the valve clearances.

51962731746_e58dd05b59_o.jpg


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To generate some posts to the thread other from myself, anyone care to guess the reading for each cylinder during the dry tests? The first person who gets the compression numbers correct across all four cylinders, I'll mail you a set of Pegamoose stickers.

51962897364_f51faa54e3.jpg


So, what did I find? (Dry tests)
- All results were in the triple digits
- Lowest reading was at least a 15% difference from the second lowest
- Highest three readings were consistent of a used B18, all within 5 PSI of each other
- Collectively the rating of all cylinders put together is at least 520PSI

Fine print:
1) One entry person/TB account, must be posted and visible on this thread, no PM submissions accepted
2) Submissions must be multiples of 5
3) No edits or deleting & reposting submission allowed unless you have donated. See #5, then only one edit allowed.
4) Newbie accounts created after this post is added to the thread will not be included.
5) Donate at least $5 to TB, get a +/- 5 PSI spread on your answer & additional sticker set: add a "$" after #4 cylinder and PM your donation receipt. (000 - 000 - 000 - 000$)
6) Contest closes at 4pm Pacific time / 11pm GMT Monday, March 28 2022



.
 
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Sure, I'll bite. 140 140 110 135 $
Not sure I need any stickers, but thanks for stirring people.

Seems pretty clear which hole is burning the most oil, eh? :)

Dang, that's nice paint on the Buick.

So... wait... you want people cluttering up all your hard work? I generally figure that unless I have some earthshattering (and quick!) comment or question, a build thread is someone else's showcase. Since I really appreciate the time and effort that you and so many other people put into documenting, I try to limit my commentary to the occasional kudos.
 
And... contest is closed, results will be released later this evening. I can say I am surprised at the accuracy of the submissions.
 
The Compression Test Results

So... wait... you want people cluttering up all your hard work? I generally figure that unless I have some earthshattering (and quick!) comment or question, a build thread is someone else's showcase. Since I really appreciate the time and effort that you and so many other people put into documenting, I try to limit my commentary to the occasional kudos.

Certainly not opposed to others posting in the thread. Would rather have observations, commentary, ideas, and suggestions than silence as without feedback its hard to gauge if write-ups like this one are of value and worth continuing.



After extracting out the spark plugs and lining them up, was a bit surprised with the amount of soot on #1 & #2 plugs. Ran a compression test across the four cylinders the same way; installed the gauge, let the starter crank through a count of 10, check the reading then tested a second time. The one aspect of the compression gauge I used is it does not zero out. With no pressure, the needle sits at the 15 PSI mark so I have adjusted the readings accordingly (-15 PSI.)

The entries:
140 - 140 - 110 - 135 Toybox
145 - 142 - 115 - 140 cwdodson88
135 - 135 - 105 - 140 spock345

The results:
145 - 140 - 110 - 140
Declaring it a tie between Toybox and cwdodson88 (pm me with your mailing address.)

#1 Cylinder Adjusted to 145 PSI
51967714591_c634dfd6f4_c.jpg


#2 Cylinder Adjusted to 140 PSI
51968276075_41201e7ff3_c.jpg


#3 Cylinnder Adjusted 110 PSI
51968275715_a0de604ebf_c.jpg


#4 Cylinder Adjusted to 140 PSI
51967996209_a5eb82ce01_c.jpg



After running the compression test dry, it was time to put some oil in the cylinders. What I had available to me was some thick gear oil in a pump bottle left over from replacing out the pinion seal and refilling the diff in my 1967 122 four-door. Pumped two shots of oil into each cylinder, let it settle for a minute or to then ran the compression test. As expected the readings were higher, cylinders 1, 2, and 4 all increased 15-20 PSI. On the other hand #3 cylinder only went up 5 PSI, expected that cylinder to have risen more. Looking at rerunning the test after the valves clearances have been checked, throttles opened up and on a warmed engine as well.

#1 Cylinder (Wet Test)
51966714302_1de3015a39_c.jpg


#3 Cylinder (Wet Test)
51967998769_710427175d_c.jpg


.
 
The entries:
140 - 140 - 110 - 135 Toybox
145 - 142 - 115 - 140 cwdodson88
135 - 135 - 105 - 140 spock345

The results:
145 - 140 - 110 - 140
No surprise that we've got some knowledge here -- TBH, it's fun to see several folks zero in so closely. :)

I might be one of the few without direct B18 experience, but Fords and Chryslers and AMCs would have come in just about the same, given those photos and conditions. I was surprised when you said all were triple digits -- I would have expected bad rings to be in the 80-90 range. (Heck, maybe 60-ish.) So now I'm second guessing how bad those rings might not be after all, and the lack of rise in #3 wet seems to corroborate.

But good grief, that much smoke? Yowza. I recall someone chasing a similar problem and finally discovering an ugly score in cylinder wall. The leakdown test took him there. Hopefully you find something less traumatic.

without feedback its hard to gauge if write-ups like this one are of value and worth continuing.
Very much of value, thanks! I'm one of the old-school who prefers words to videos, so thank you for taking time to type much of what was in your first video.
 
Not to be a downer but try a leakdown test. My b20 pulled 120 and 140 on the middle two cylinders, which leaked like crazy f4om shattered rings.
 
Not to be a downer but try a leakdown test. My b20 pulled 120 and 140 on the middle two cylinders, which leaked like crazy f4om shattered rings.

I'd second this. A relative avoided getting ripped off once because they did a leak down test even when the compression numbers looked good.
 
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