teasers

 Yesterday was a bit of a chill in the garage day,
and after writing up the post about the speakers,
I decided to check out craigslist after lunch and see what was up.

JBL century craigslist score

Of course what do I find but a sweet pair of JBL Century speakers!
Only a half hour had gone by since they were posted up,
but in San Diego that's forever.
I emailed the person and actually got a reply,
but as the day progressed to night,
it looked like someone else made out with them.
Super bummer cause the ad was up til the next morning!
grrr....

Klipsch Forte craigslist score

Another listing had also appeared,
for some beater looking Klipsch Fortes.
We've got a pair of these and they are great sounding speakers,
and wow for $90 this was a steal.
Again someone else got this score.

Not like we need more speakers,
but man for those prices it's hard to resist temptation!
Now I don't even want to look to see what I'm missing!

TP

fela friday

It's been dry on the audio scrounging lately.
Seems like people want either too much,
which is understandable,
or scroungers swipe stuff up too fast,
as a result of those new fangled search apps.
Besides that I'm trying to focus on finishing the car projects,
so my searches are a bit more sparse.

technics sb-6000a speaker

These bitchin 70's Technics sb-6000a speakers were posted up,
and they lingered and lingered for what seemed like a reasonable deal.
Thank the gods for older people that use craigslist!
A couple days later we got the lucky reply,
and after a trip to the hills of Tierrasanta we met the super nice guy,
and came back with the treasures.

technics sb-6000a speaker

For 35 year old speakers these were in great condition.
The rubber woofer surrounds were like new,
and they still had the original tweeters,
one of the things my old sb-7000a speakers lacked.

technics sb-6000a speaker

The only problem was some minor cat damage to the grille covers.
Cool to see the intricate wood work that went into these frames.

cats

Now it was time for a sound check.
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 Fela Kuti & Egypt '80 - 1984 glastonbury
confusion break bone & teacher don't teach me nonsense

This will probably scare the bejeezers out of most of you.
If you've got some time for background tunes give it a try.
The music doesn't start til the 5 minute mark and the first song is a halfie!
After a couple goes it's hypnotically addicting.
This was a crazy show for the 80's,
as Fela was basically a revolutionary symbol to the Nigerian government.
Not the safest time or place to be outspoken.
Fela Kuti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anyway it's been good to have a musical change in the lineup.
Thanks Chip!
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mini wall of sound

So how do they sound.
If you noticed these are a 2-way speaker,
a tweeter bolted on a big 12" woofer cabinet.
They sound just like they'd look - not too much midrange.
In a way this is a good thing,
as they don't sound as bright or blaring as the JBL or Klipsch when loud.
The crossover works surprisingly well blending the high's and lows.
(Obviously the positioning in the wall shelf isn't ideal,
but when your sitting down the tweeters are at ear level.)
The tweeters have a killer sound nice and crisp,
and the woofers will definitely thump especially with the loudness on.

technics sb-6000a

Keep a lookout they show up now and then!

TP

goat milk

You know you're in Mexico when...

goat milk passenger

You share your taxi with a 5 gallon jug of fresh warm goat milk!
Second only to sitting next to an actual goat.
The drive was in such a rush he didn't even have time to do the rum pit stop.

mexican beetle

This clean 68 or later beetle was parked in the walk up line.
There were a couple other things I wish I had gotten cellphone pics of.
One thing was a full scaffolding,
enough to reach the top of the PEMEX overhang - over 20 feet,
built in the bed of a mid-size truck,
with a guy on top who was cleaning the sides or replacing bulbs,
even while parked on this crazy sloped driveway.

Next time I'll make sure to have the camera ready to shoot.

TP

wrenching - day 2

This is going to be another not too exciting post.
By trying to build up the momentum,
maybe seeing how slow movement is will get my a$$ in gear!

2 LB residual valve assortment

I tried to be thrifty by getting the combination and residual valves as a kit.
It bewilders me that the people that sell these things
wouldn't make a kit that is actually complete.
Since the FORD combination valve was being used,
two 2lb residual valves were needed for the front brakes,
not only the one that they included (with a 10 for the rear)
A second valve was ordered that looked like the one I had,
and low and behold there are different variations of these things.

disassembled residual valve

The valves in the kit have flare fittings or adapters,
so the 3/16" line threads right into the 3/8"-16 fitting.
The new style is a little different.
There is a 7/16"-24 nut included that needs to be reflared into the line.
The other side has the adapter.
It's not a big deal but I did notice that the picture didn't have the black nut.
Oh well that's internet shopping.

spent double flare tool

The flare tool is on its last legs.
The clamp nut had broke years ago,
and the new nut had finally stripped out the cheesy pivot bolt.
Good thing the vice is bolted down as it works fine like this.

finished residual valve

The mismatched thread sizes make it fool proof
to install the valve in the correct direction.
Maybe that's the reasoning behind this version.

ford master cylinder + combination/proportioning valve

Now the front lines are connected to the calipers.
The list for the rear lines was made up,
but that will be for another day.
I'll pull the rear hubs to see what brake parts are needed first.
Now to find something that doesn't cost money...
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ween - don't chit where you eat
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The new brake setup in the green 40 required 3/16" brake line,
which meant ripping out all the old 1/4" brake lines and hoses.\
Why waste all that earlier work?
The brakes actually worked great for 4-wheel drums.
Everything may fit without too much modification in the rusty 40.
We had been using the old "throw the wood block under the wheel" trick.

old 40 brakes

Here you can see the 40 brake drums that were originally on the green 40.
Before 1965 it had a metallic lime green body with gold suspension/rims!
Then sometime about 1965 they sprayed the front rims neon orange,
and the rear rims royal blue.
Must have been quite a sight.

f-100 brake

I ran these F-1 or F-100 front brakes on the green 40 instead.
The drums and shoes are barely worn.
After a little wire brushing and some black paint,
I remembered that there is a little grinding needed on the spindle.
Guess that'll be for tomorrow now.

stool time

Nothing like juggling projects!

TP

wrenching - day 1

This week marks the transition from grinding to wrenching.
Maybe it's the passing of the big full moon,
or maybe the realization that it's already summer,
and I've got 2 non-running projects.

chief on the operating table

So why not tear apart the hot rod that actually drives!

It's not that the projects have totally stalled mechanically,

I have been slowly gathering parts needed.

Holley Fuel Pressure Regulator

This Holley fuel pressure regulator was scrounged up,

and after all the adapters needed for the fittings,

ended up way too big for the green 40.

The fuel system wasn't designed for a big regulator.

After way too much time was spent imagineering a spot,

it was easier to swap regulators with Chief.

chief fuel system - before

This was always a half-ass part of the car.
The 6-volt fuel pump pushed too much gas,
so the cheesy inline fuel regulator was needed to control the leaking carbs.

chief fuel system - after

The regulator fit perfect and looks like it was meant to be.
Now the guy behind us will know the fuel pressure.

pig

This was an ebay score,
and I was hoping it was the correct low pressure regulator,
as there were no numbers on the housing.
Fortunately it was and the pressure was dialed down a bit.
No wonder the carbs leaked the pump shot out over 6 psi!

low pressure

This was the goal,
an old inline pressure regulator.
These used to be $15 but are now over 30.

cheesy inline fuel regulator

The beater carb had been swapped out earlier on the 302,
as there was some leakage and this carb was rebuilt.

302 SBF

After some fitting changes,
the regulator was hard-lined in place.
Perfect spot.

blurry goodness

Now let's see if it will work.
Remember before this I had to switch the pump off and on,
so the bowl didn't overflow.

old battery

Well the test fizzled out,
as the battery was totally powerless.
Dang it I thought batteries lasted more than 7 years!
This one was scrounged up used from my Dad's work project that long ago.

older battery

No problem,
get out the old standby Optima.
Dang it this one didn't have the juice either!
I think this one was older than the grey one.
They both had been charged up just didn't have the umph.


























By then the blue ball effect had worn down.
The last resort battery was pulled from the rusty 40,
which was from an old boat project.
Before hooking it up decided to trickle charge it overnight.
We'll have to wait til tomorrow.

70's ford brake master cylinder and combination valve

Instead of quitting,
I threw some time into starting the brake lines.
The disc brake front has taken a ton of studying.
A combination or proportioning valve supposedly evens out the pressure,
along with some residual valves.
It was a good time to get started and at least the first little run was figured out.
The plan is to get as much done this week on mechanical stuff,
on any project.
Let's see how it goes...

TP

Jaxon's Treceñera or how to - clean drains

After over 3 long years,
we all finally bid adieu to an entity unlike no other,
Jaxon's HAIR!

Jaxon Perich - age 13 - 2013

In preparation for the big event,
I had to sport my traditional barbershop uniform.

Jaxon hair cut - 2006

The pic above is the top picture in that doorway in the below pic,
way back back in 2006 up in Ventura.
(Thanks Pigpen!)
Yeah I can keep T-shirts til there in tatters!
7 years is nothing...

butchering Jaxon's hair

Back in 4th grade,
the idea was to grow the boys hair out over the summer,
and at the 10 inch mark we'd cut it and send it to "locks of love",
the wig program for (usually) chemo patients.
That was 3 years ago now he's going into 8th grade!



Cutting his hair was a surreal experience,
compounded with the voodoo Fela Kuti '84 tunes in the background!

good times - jaxon and travis perich

This was such a big event even his grandparents came over to watch.
I'll dig up  pics from the multiple cellphones that were in action.
Look at all those years of troublemaking push-ups and sit-ups...
perich brothers (and sister): how to punish your kids

chop chop

Not sure if it was the spectacle or my master barber techniques,
but something scared the bejeezus out of Jakob,
as he decided to keep his long.

Nana and Jaxon Perich - 2013

Right after we took a walk up to his Great Grandmother - Nana,
and the reaction was well memorable!
She had been waiting for this moment since the 50's!
Wish we took a video of her and my uncle...

Jaxon Perich - 2013

For a couple days,
it was like - "whose this guy living with us?"
But now it's hard to believe he had grown his hair out for that long.
No more getting blamed for hairballs in the drains and floor.

macey, dad, and jaxon's hair

So now we wait to see what Jakob's gonna do...

TP

pencil masterpiece - sloppy's knuckle

You know there's a problem when the wifes Iphone
is more powerful then the 6+ year old home computer.
My 3 year old droid clone is on the dullest edge.
I've been in this position before,
and know now is the time to start scraping any photos and info together.
Before these become Lost Files I'll be throwing some not to recent things on here...

Sophorn "Sloppy" Sin's Knucklehead pencil masterpiece

One of my favorite barely visible photos is Sloppy's penciled knucklehead.
This thing is awesome in detail.
How many people take the time to actually draw with a paper and pencil,
when it is so easy to do a rendering with photoshop.
I know to him it's almost more of a curse to be able to do it this way!

Sophorn "Sloppy" Sin's Knucklehead lead masterpiece

The cellphone camera definitely does not give any justice or flattery.
It was 4am and we were lucky to have 2 34 watt light bulbs,
rather than the one that I am used to!

hidden treasures

He's got some cool chit stashed in here.

mad man sophorn "sloppy" sin

Well hopefully he doesn't get chapped that I posted up these top secret pics,
and continue to call him Sloppy!
Figuring the 36 people that sometimes read this can't be too bad.
More good times of his here...
1941robote
If you're bored roust him and tell him to post (and draw) more!

TP

lego engineering saves the day

In my continuing effort to squeeze all the life out of our mac mini,
a temporary solution appeared while eating breakfast.

macey's lego time

A couple months ago the old mac was heating up,
and the easy solution was to vacuum out the dust,
and raise it up off the dusty desk top.
perich brothers (and sister): daisy chain
This definitely helped,
but over long periods the little computer would warm up.
The computer is the second bottom box there in the stack.
No wonder it would warm up with no aeration space.

Hey Ken!! Still use it.

I had a crazy idea to make a sheetmetal aluminum shelf,
complete with air-sink fins,
as the mac heat radiates from the bottom.
Yeah like that would be high on my STD list.

lego engineering

Now that Macey is getting her turn with the kids Lego stash,
the solution was obvious and only took a couple minutes.
Lego Stacks!
Now the hard drives don't soak up the heat from the computer.
Let's see how long this will last!

TP

end of the line

What could be so important about a pile of bricks.

brick pile

Over the past 30 years this pile has slowly reduced to what you see here.
These were pulled from a building downtown,
about the time I was my kids age.
There was a huge stack back then,
and I remember it was home to the most huge centipedes.

the pit

The majority were spread in the parents back yard during high school,
and they're still there.
I should edit a pic in here later on.
The dwindling pile has been periodically moved from open spot to open spot.

Scowling Jakob

It looks like this is the end of the line.
The final resting place.
Somehow Jakob got tricked into helping the move,
we were only supposed to drop by and say "Hi!"
Little did he know the special memory was passing to the next generation!

TP

father's day festivities

Went to the annual Padres game Saturday night with old friend Rob.
His tickets get better and better every year.

padres vs arizona - 2013

We were sitting around a bunch of Ari-zoners,
so it was nice the padres pulled off a win.

You know you've had a good time when your friend loses his iphone!

I did good and was able to bring home both my sunglasses and flask,

although I didn't bring home as much money as I left with.

I missed the picture of the tasty but expensive bratwurst pepper dog.

padre fireworks

Almost 20 years ago now,
I was surprised that Rob still had his self-made speakers.
These things are thumpers with 18" woofers,
double tweeters and double midrange.
Would be fun to test these out with the mc2300.

rob's monster speakers

Needless to say my light hangover slowed me down a bit for Father's day!
I was a zombie the whole morning.
The wife and I did get a quick beach cruise with the hot rod.
After 10 years this was probably the fifth time she's gone for a ride!

perich brothers and sisters mom and dad

The other stuff we did gets it's own post,
so stay tuned...

TP