An Unexpected Shower (Original Post: July 8, 2012)

I haven't been posting lately, because I haven't been working on the Z3 Coupe.  As noted in my last post almost 3 months ago, all my "hobby time" has been spent on the Grant St. Garage, which will soon be the place where I can work on the Coupe.

However, I have been gently driving it about every two weeks, just to keep it somewhat limber.  You'll recall from an earlier post that the radiator was "spritzing" water occasionally, so I never drove it more than 5 miles from home, and in general took it pretty easy.

Today was one of those afternoons when I exercised the Coupe, and I made a big mistake: I took Mary Ellen with me. Of course, the car decided to fail with her in attendance!
As we turned onto Marietta Pike, heading home from the grocery store, we got a sudden shower of antifreeze on the windshield.  I immediately killed the engine and coasted to the side.  Fortunately, it was a great time and spot for something like this to happen - a very wide shoulder, and a big shade tree!

I called John and Dee Zimmerman, and they agreed to pick up Mary Ellen, and I also called AAA for a tow.  (By extreme coincidence, John and Dee had earlier today had cooling system trouble in their 1930 Chevrolet, as they drove to a car show.)  But, after John and Dee had left, I started looking and saw that the top radiator hose was totally off, and there were signs of a break in the neck where the hose attaches.  In the photo below, the hose that is still attached is a small (3/4") hose that goes to the overflow tank.  I've labelled the big radiator hose, and the neck - you can see how the edge is chipped.

Looking in the hose, I could see and feel the part that broke off, and it seemed really small.  There was plenty of neck left to reattach the hose.  Here's the tiny sliver that broke off - the hose clamp must have been barely catching that neck:

So, I called AAA and told them to have the driver call me before starting out.  I then called Mary Ellen (who had arrived at home by then) and had her bring me jugs of water, a long funnel, and some tools.  I refilled the block by pouring water into the top hose, and used the funnel to refill the radiator.  Buttoned it up, and it all held!  I cancelled the tow, and drove away.

That last picture was taken in the Grant St. Garage, so the Z3 Coupe is now in its new home!  Bob Zimmerman has about another long day of wiring to do, and then I can get my final building inspection and an occupancy permit.  After that... the Z3 Coupe goes under the knife - can you guess what the first project will be?

EDIT: Turns out that last paragraph was a bit optimistic - it was fully three months later that I finally got that occupancy permit!  But it was worth it - the Grant St. Garage has turned out to be a great shop for both car stuff and woodworking.