28 November 2011

bike time ix - paletti road bike

Let's get back to my roots and do a "bike time".


paletti road bike
























Almost 2 years ago I found this old road bike on (of course) craigslist.
The owner had raced it,
wrecked it,
parted it out,
and died.
Than his brother sold it off to me.

It took some ebaying, bike swap and craigslist hunting to gather the parts.
(wheels, tires, seat post, seat, rear derailleur, front derailleur...)


frame repair


























Here's a pic of the frame repair.
It's strange that the actual dropout broke.
Lucky as it was a quick TIG fix,
as you can see by the burnt paint.

Check out that derailleur too.
It's a Campagnolo Super Record circa 1981,
and it has these bitchin' heart shaped castings.
(they're black with the silver dots)
This thing shifts like butter.

The original one was on there but was mashed up,
that's what I'm using to date the bike,
as there's a year stamp on them.




















Check out that crazy paint.
It's a simple airbrushed design,
pearl white with a light blue fade,
and the PALETTI stickers top it off.

1981 technology























I was lucky to find those almost matching tires for cheap.
Yeah I'm a closet hipster.

rocket


























Please don't imagine me in tight bike shorts,
or even skinny jeans.
Not gonna happen.

Paletti 1981























Every Italian frame builder seems to have a thing for cards.
Paletti's went big with the diamonds,
although they had all 4 shown.
Even the Rauler had spades cut out in the lugs.

What does it mean?
Were the frame builders heavy gamblers?
Did they bet on the racers or frames to win?
I know its a gamble every time I ride that thing,
riding on a 1/4" tread.
Anyone know?

lug cut outs
























These lighter race bikes usually have cut outs in there lugs and bottom brackets.
Part for weight and part for style.
It's a cool touch,
as they've got to be hand carved.
Something has to identify the frame builders,
as they all used basically the same parts.
(lugs/tube/dropouts etc.)
This bike had a Columbus SL sticker on it,
the lightest chromoly tubing for the time.

criterium?


























So I'm thinking this bike was a criterium bike,
designed for multiple laps around a course.
If you look at the gap between the rear tire and the seat post,
it's as tight as it can get,
so the wheelbase is really short,
quick on the turns.
This also helps (me) out on the uphills,
and somehow it's not a sketchy bike.
However,
add 20 or 100 guys riding around in circles,
and I can see why the old owner had a wreck.

1981 Paletti Criterium Road Bike
Campagnolo Super Record group




















So why am I writing about this one tonight?
Well,
It's had kitchen storage privilege for a while,
but that Breezer Thunder is here,
and now it's getting bumped out to the garage.

storage




















I took the pedals off and put them on that Breezer mountain bike,
and now it's turned into another trophy.
Now that it's almost perfectly tuned and complete,
it's hard to let go of,
as well to replace without alot of money, headache or time.
Yeah I'm a hoarder.

Until spring!

TP

27 November 2011

Another Birthday!

Today my wife (Dani) turned 36.
Wow.
Now she's really my old lady!


my girls




















We've been together for a long time,
15 years or so.
No two people could be as opposite or the same,
kinda like this song.




Crazy germans!




It didn't take long and we (she) popped out our 3 kids.
Crazy times.





Holy Chit honey,
I just found out that Bjork has the same birthday as Macey.

Bjork - 1st Clive Anderson Interview (1995) - YouTube


Now this next video is our life,
just swap our kids into the scenes there.
Just kidding,
kinda.




Anyway I recently found out that she reads this blog,
to see what's going on in my little world.

So Happy Birthday Honey!

XOXO

TP

24 November 2011

how not to sell a mountain bike - Breezer Thunder

A couple weeks ago,
I came across an ad for a beater mountain bike on craigslist,
while eating a late lunch at the shop.


Not like I'm in the market for another mountain bike really,
cause I just found that MB-3 I keep yammering about.
Its just this dang phone makes it way too easy to not read the paper or a magazine.

The title just screamed at me,
so I had to look.

!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

$1400 mountain bike for $80  (title)


Sweet Mountain Bike


Really cush comfortable seat but it's been cracked so I taped it with black electrical tape. Needs to be retaped or needs a seat cover.


The bike's gears need some work. The 3 main gears shift good but all the other little gears don't shift properly. Also whenever I take off on the bike and put a lot of pressure on the pedal it skips at first but once I get going itis fine. Needs some work but it's still a very good bike. It is really light and fast. I bought it at the beginning of the summer and have ridden everyday around PB and I have become attatched to it. Kinda sad selling it but whatever. The guy I bought it from was the original owner and he said it cost $1400. Check them out online. Apparently these are good bikes and I agree. This one is 10 years old but you get a $1400 dollar bike for $80 plus whatever repairs you make. I still ride it around everyday just using the 3 main gears. Don't really need the other ones but if you're a serious rider then you will want to get it fixed. The main problem I have with it...is when it skips at take off. I expect it to happen then I just continue afterwards. The frame and wheels and tires are good and ready to ride. Good tires go from street, to grass, to sand. Brakes are good but probably need to be cleaned are adjusted.


Also one of the pedal grip cover things on the right pedal came off and needs to be reattatched. Overall it's a really good bike. Get's compliments from people who know bikes.


$20 dollar lock and two keys will come with the bike so that's cool if you don't have a lock.


Text or email to come check it out. 619 45x 88xx jordan




most important - seat
funky setup






















breezer































!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

What the heck I thought,
does that say BREEZER on that frame tube?
Than why is the seat such an important issue in the sale?

It was later in the day,
I texted him.
A while later he texted back and said he had to work,
so the next morning I could meet up.

That gave me some time to study up on the bike at home.
I found out it was a 1995 Breezer Thunder,
one of the hardtail bikes I could only dream about back then.
Dang,
Now I really wanted it.

Breezer Museum

The next morning he texted,
and said his neighbor wanted it.
Krap...

So fast forward a couple weeks,
and last night I get a text from the guy.
"Do you still want that old bike?"

Heck yeah!
He had actually relisted the bike an hour earlier,
so I busted out there to get it.

beater breezer thunder


























The bike was in great shape for the price,
no dents or dinks in the frame,
almost complete original parts.
Obviously a bit of a project,
but who am I to turn down a gift horse!

(If you look really closely,
you can see the frayed rusty wire near the circular brake splitter,
that's why the rear gears weren't shifting.)

beater 1995 breezer thunder



















The guy was your typical PB (pacific beach) student.
A cruiser was all he really needed.
That's probably why it was set up so janky.

bike?
what bike?





















Just what I needed,
another bike project.
Yeah but it's a bad ass bike project!
I tried to squeeze it into the space I'm (reluctantly) alotted in the house,
but of course the wife eyed it pretty quick.
Woops.
I tried the "it was a $1400 bike for $80" line,
and that seems to have worked for now.

Yep,
you guys will be reading more about this one...

TP

another armageddon vehicle

A friend Eric brought his RV over for a quick seat repair.

1972 chevy g20 van
with 4x4 and  balboa camper conversion




















This was his grandfathers baby.
In the 80's he installed the 4x4 running gear.
Eric's been restoring it for the past 10 years or so.
Sweet rig,
especially in california as it's a pre-smog vehicle.

homebrew 4x4

























With fords you see the sportmobile and quadravan van conversions,
but with chevy you rarely see aftermarket 4x4 vans.

balboa motorhome
















I guess around '68 to '74,
you could bring your van in to Jensen Marine,
and they'd install the fiberglass camper conversion.
Rumor has it they also made Catalina sailboats too.

Balboa Motorhome

Check out this oldie.

dodge a100 with balboa conversion



















So with 2012 coming up,
I'm gonna be on the lookout for one of these babies.
Ok, if there's a ford version anyway!

TP



22 November 2011

straight flush

The kids are out of school for the week.
That means the boys are stuck at the shop while I work.

what's down there?


























They were lucky today cause it was loud and dirty,
so their old playstation 2 was in heavy use.

long time coming


























Like most kids playing video games,
they won't eat, drink or pee until the last possible moment.

little by little




















Since they were distracted,
I started a long awaited project.

framed





















As time went on,
they probably thought they were getting away with something,
while I was thinking the same downstairs.

made these yesterday




















So I figured what the heck,
I'll work until they realize it's dark outside,
and maybe time to go home.

door patina

























Well it didn't matter.
I finished way more than I had expected,
and they were in no way ready to stop playing.

holy chit

























Looking at these pictures,
I can barely register what I'm looking at.
It's been almost 2 years that there has been that door gap,
let alone no doors before last month.

flush

























Tomorrow I can't expect to get as lucky,
as the schedule is totally different.
So the other side will have to wait.

kilroys






















There's enough finish work to do on this side,
since it's only tacked,
and the frame's not completed.

stool






































Heck yeah.

TP

san diego HAMB meet

Most car guys that read this blog know what the HAMB is.
If you don't know,
it's basically a forum where people talk about old cars.

THE H.A.M.B. - Powered by vBulletin

The weird thing about these forums is you have no idea who you're talking to,
other than the small amount of information you read or see on the posts.

So last month this guy organized a "breakfast meet up"
at Perry's restaurant which is close by the shop.

San Diego HAMB breakfast meet up - THE H.A.M.B.
(don't read too much or you'll spoil the story!)

I thought it was kinda funny,
cause who can plan over a month in advance!
Well the time went by really quick,
and all of a sudden it was Sunday morning.

Typically my wife works on Sundays,
so I usually try to knock a couple hours of work at the shop,
and part of me didn't want to lose that rare chunk of time.
But at 7:59 I figured what the heck I gotta motivate and not be a chump,
I could always go to the shop after.

san diego hamb breakfast













Well I rolled up to a handful of cars,
and about a dozen guys standing around in the cold. (for SD!)

san diego hamb breakfast


















It ended up being a cool experience.
Our roadster pickup (chief)
is a good icebreaker for conversation.


chopped 1935 ford coupe

















I finally found the owner (jimmy)
 of that bitchin chopped '35 ford coupe with the '37 headlights.

perich brothers (and sister): double take - chopped 35 ford coupe ... and more!

8ba flathead
with chevy distributor





















It was even cooler to see that it had a flathead engine,
and also a torque-tube overdrive conversion.

1951 fords
















This was a cool shot,
as the cars are the same.

1951 fords
ass end



















The guy that organized the deal, Paul,
has this really cool flathead powered 1951 ford.

1950 ford


















And I really like that rear view of that dang '35 coupe.

So after some car talk,
most of us ended up eating,
than after we went to the shop,
which was just around the corner.

back in time



















(geeman51 took this shot)
It was cool to meet guys that could relate to my mess!

So at the shop I snapped some quick pics of the cars.

geeman51
1951 ford coupe




















hombres ruin
1950 ford coupe




















jimmygrrr
1951 ford coupe



















adrian rollini
60 something falcon

















junk yard kid
1935 ford 5-window




















53inSD
1953 chevrolet pickup



















zibo
1929 ford roadster pickup



















There were a couple other guys that didn't bring cars,
and it seems like next month will bring a bunch more.

On the way out got this last going home shot.

cruising





















Thanks to Paul and the helldivers c.c for rallying up the san diego crowd!
See ya next month.

TP

21 November 2011

5 years - HBD MJP!!

My wife's gonna kill me for posting these pics...

So 5 years ago.
Holy moley 5 years already.

ready to burst




















It was supposed to be a just another night watching a movie or something,
when all of a sudden her water broke.
To say it was a little surprising would be an understatement.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm gonna put the song up early.
It's a long song,
and if you actually read through all this,
it will be background music.
Then when you're done,
you're gonna be like,
"wow that's song's crazy I gotta listen to it again!"





grateful dead - mississippi half-step - 26mar73


If you liked that one,
check these out.
Grateful Dead - Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo 1977-05-07 - YouTube

Grateful Dead - Mississippi Half Step - 5.25.77 - YouTube
77 and 78 had some good ones.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our second kid Jake (Jakob) was a C-section,
we just strolled in by appointment and he was carved out.
No fuss just a perfect round headed baby.

This was because our first kid, Jaxon,
was twisting around in her womb,
and besides being a breach baby,
his umbilical cord was double wrapped around his neck.
After 2 days of labor,
they decided the emergency C-section was best!

three amigas




















So the water breaks,
my wife's standing in the bathtub.
I go get the car ready,
and of course its the 40...

We raced up the hill to the hospital around midnight.
Since she had eaten a bowl of cold cereal,
they couldn't do the c-section til the morning.
It was a long night!

macey james perich





















A couple months earlier,
one of my oldest friends,
Jimmy Elms,
had died of melanoma caused cancer.
It was a sad time for me as he was only a year younger.
I had seen him the day before he died,
and told him that I'd name our kid after him.

Well we waited until delivery to see if it was a boy or girl,
and of course it was a girl!
So that's why she's named Macey James Perich.

I'll have to dig out some of the pics of me and Jimmy when we were little.
RIP JIM!!

Anyway the 40 had done such a good job as the stork-mobile,
I ended up squirting a dozen rattlecans on it.

1940 ford coupe
rattlecan special


















At the time the shop was across the street.
Really convenient to watch the kids while working.

little helper




















All the kids grew up like this!

So fast forward 5 years already.

macey and the 40



















I have a feeling I'm gonna be in big trouble as she gets older!
At least the boys can help keep her in check.

uh oh
5 year old pinup!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MACEY

XOXO DAD