free buddha

Last weekend I happened to be perusing

the FREE section of craigslist.

Not sure what I was looking for,

we've got enough bricks.

Right at the top,

an ad offered a free buddha.

What?

My mom digs this style buddha.

Not the free type,

the slender type,

versus the chubby guy.

I saw the ad posted at 34 minutes,

but it took 15 to get ready,

and 20 to book it down there.

Already gone...

Dang it...

TP

tail of the white van

You guys remember this?

It's like walking around with toilet paper tail 

hanging from your pants.

Also since the doors wouldn't shut right,

the light switch had to be rigged.

A temporary fix,

sometimes the interior lights wouldn't shut off.

I actually pulled out the bulbs.

Enough already!

The hunt was on for a replacement.

The first junkyard was a washout.

The second junkyard had a couple options,

and all white!

The first door looked great on the outside,

but the inside was hammered.

The second was from an earlier model.

Decent outside,

but the inside had a molester van feel.

Pass...

Fingers were crossed for the third van.

A little beat up,

but this one had a good work van vibe.

Make sure to bring a star wrench!

Last time we'll see this fancy grill on the road...

Back home I enlisted child labor.

So enthusiastic.

Once we got started,

Jake was unstoppable.

The issue with this door was the bottom lock was busted.

No problem for younger hands.

Sad to lose the stickers.

New yellow caution tape brightened up the rear.

Thanks Jakob!!

Now we'll not drag the neighborhood down...

TP

Police Caps

What's better then a trip to the junkyard on a 90 degree day?

Ken rallied out to procure parts for his multiple projects.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity,

although there isn't really anything needed right now.

Fun to see the methods of mechanical desperation.

Perfect uses of driveshafts and seat belts... 

Figure some guy with a bag of limited tools,

trying to scrounge up parts to fix or flip,

while baking in the hot sun.

Surprised this big block was still there.

Ken scrounged hard and got way more then this pic suggests.

The SUV was packed when we left.

My score was the elusive set of mini police caps.

There's usually only one lying around,

not the complete set of 4.

More importantly I gathered the special stepped lug nuts.

Of course using the shortest and sharpest ended lug wrench.

These high speed rims were also cool but so ugly...

Back home,

Jaxon and I rotated the wheels.

Now the wife's car looks even more like a  police cruiser!

Need to find a chromed front push bar...

TP

Properly Lubed

Something kinda funny happened the other day.

Sloppy was down for a short while from LB,

trying to sling his mini china truck.

He went to use some wd-40...

To the untrained eye it seems I'm loaded with spray lube.

Nah, 

One by one he found out they're all dead.

Why else would they be in a big pile on the tool box right?

Some of the cans have been laying around for a couple years now,

waiting for this very moment.

The milking.

Waste not want not...

This particular oil squirter has been around for at least 7 years,

in the same capacity,

holding a mishmash of penetrating oils...

Each can holds a different concoction.

The bent up one that looks really used is simple motor oil,

I use it all the time.

The bottom one on the left in the shadows is a tranny fluid/acetone mixture.

The top one on the right is heavy 90 weight...

Once you get used to these simple oil cans,

it's amazing how efficient they are.

A little oil goes a long way when placed in the right spot,

instead of being sprayed all over the floor.

TP

green goop

Scrounging for materials finally backfired on me.

tres huevos - 1940 ford coupe

I had found some leftover epoxy paint,
in a mellow shade of green.
Perfect for what I needed.
My original idea was to add some blue tint to it,
but I didn't have the patience.

pro-line 4000 epoxy

Thinking that all epoxies are created equal,
I rolled a thin coat all over the prepped surfaces,
inside and out.

dashing

There's a mixing sequence to follow,
letting the batch sit for 15-30 minutes so the catalyst activates.
I even derailed my typical evening roll,
and applied it early in the day when the sun was out.
Everything seemed ok,
the paint thickened up and started to harden.

green

Well something happened and this stuff has taken over a week to cure!
That day the clouds had covered up the sun really early,
and the following days there was a thick rain cloud layer.
There was a point when I thought I'd have to scrub it off.
What a nasty job that would have been.

amercoat 235 epoxy

Finally there's been a couple days of sun,
and the epoxy has been able to bake in the heat.
It's much harder but far from sandable.
Not sure if it was really old or my mixing was sloppy.
In a way it's ok as I was able to steer away from the bodywork.
Still now I'll stick to the good stuff - amercoat 235.

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