Sloppy's Revenge - stingray chopper

Our good friend Sloppy has a knack for making

cool stuff out of junk remnants.

One of his master pieces is this little stingray chopper.

It's been to Bonneville,

el Mirage and the Big 3 swap meet numerous times.

Well after this swap meet he was so packed,

it seemed safe to leave it at the house for a bit.

We've been lucky the past few years,

only a couple things have been snagged,

that we know of anyway.

Well days turned into weeks,

which turned into months,

and of all things,

someone opened the garage door and ganked it!!

Holey chit...

Hard to say exactly how much time had passed,

but Jaxon quickly posted the loss on "snapchat",

and guess what?

One of his friends spied it on the way to the skatepark!!

Holey double chit!!

They rounded up a posse,

and were able to collect it from the thieves,

most importantly without getting into a scuffle.

Someone had ridden it hard enough to crash,

and wrecked the front springer a little,

while also replacing the front wheel.

The bright green,

most likely why DJ happened to see it.

Good job guys!!

The fiasco spurred Sloppy to head down,

and retrieve the rest of his mechanalia,

before our luck ran out.

I don't think he realized how much stuff he had stashed!

A relief the story had a good ending...

TP

Portland international raceway auto swap 2017

Longtime readers have heard me ramble on and on

about the Big-3 swap meet in San Diego,

sadly at risk with the future of Jack Murphy stadium.

Well guess what,

there's a similar event held here in the Pacific Northwest,

and it happens to be where I work!

Supposedly 1500+- vendors,

on 5+- miles of maze like heaven.

It's like a dream come true.

Other than the fact that having an event at work,

probably follows with working the event.

And in this case the job description takes a bit of a hiatus.

With a skeleton crew,

ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

And if that means getting paid to get there early,

and drive through stalls and stalls of hot rod castoffs,

you'll not hear me complain!

I rarely go to these swaps early,

as my funds are severely limited.

It's tough to see deals and not legitimize

a way to spend next months rent.

Or add another 40 project to the quiver.

Yea just what we need!

The first day was overwhelming.

Some things were so cheap,

or so rare,

and then they were gone.

I made a list/map of certain items to go back too,

and kicked myself for not at least taking pics.

So now you guys are stuck

seeing a bunch of big things.

Looks like I'm swaying towards a 4x4 in the future.

So the first day was uncharacteristically dry.

Shoppers were everywhere.

Drinking and swapping go hand in hand,

it's like the grease that lets money slip away,

or justifies letting precious hot rod parts

go for peanuts.

But Friday and Saturday were a different story.

Swappers up here are a different breed.

They don't run away from the storm,

they wear plastic bag ponchos,

lotsa camo

or matching foul weather gear.

These pics must be later in the day.

There really were people walkin around.

This picture should have been a video.

The wind was blowing ez-ups across the fields.

Rain was sideways.

There was a group of guys wearing shorts that had just passed.

Fortunately it was an intermittent rain,

the clouds wring themselves dry,

and normal people would emerge

from wherever they were hiding.

I met a handful of online people I've known for years,

and also talked to dozens of people that hovered around the old hot rod.

These guys in the pic above were from the Ventura area.

I've known Ojai Rick for over 20 years,

and him and his daughter Vanessa

know how to shop a swap meet like the best.

Good to see you guys!

A dry Saturday evening was the perfect wrap,

can't have too much of a good thing.

TP

What the hay!?

So the car parts swap meet here at the racetrack was amazing.

100's of junk vendors,

an event I can relate too.

More on that later.

I'd never worked a swap meet before,

especially of this magnitude.

Also I've never been to a swap meet that was based on grass,

in rainy weather.

Come to find out,

wet conditions turn grass into mud.

Yea.

People bring all sorts of stuff to combat it,

like plywood, 

wood chips,

carpet.

I showed the guys how to properly load a flatbed Papa style!

My grandfather knew how to pack a truck!

We did this a couple times.

The track supplies hay bales for $5,

but vendors don't take it away.

They leave it for a sparse group of volunteers,

and us track workers to rake up.

Lotsa hay.

Lotsa wet hay.

These guys had been doing this hay thing for years,

and had never figured out the tarp trick,

another Papa thing learned when I was 5 or 6.

They'd walk each pitchfork of hay,

20-80 ft to the asphalt.

It was borderline ridiculous to watch,

and surreal to think of the lost hours and wasted footsteps.

I tried to bring it up during our morning meetings,

but these guys are a lead by example type crew.

There was that "ohhh..." moment for sure,

when they watched me and another noob worker Andrew

finish a section in 1/3 the time.

As the hay piles mounted around the track,

our boss Andy would scoop it up with the loader,

which meant Andrew and I packing the bucket

with pitchforks and rakes,

cause hay doesn't scoop easily.

Thankfully nobody was stabbed or crushed.

Since I may be the only one capable of backing in a trailer,

I got to load and unload a few...days...

Later on some other guy shreds the brush pile,

and the mulch sits and roasts while it composts.

Last year this pile caught fire.

I'd wondered why the tractors had ash in the filters!!

Just when ya thought the hay was handled,

there'd be more hay spots,

scattered in the 100's of acres of grass.

Three or four days,

lotsa overtime,

how could I complain?

Not much different than brickin or yardwork.

It actually was a great workout,

and the weather stayed relatively dry.

The swap meet cleanup started Sunday.

The track was hot on Thursday!

These racers are an antsy bunch!

These guys zippin around the racecourse,

like nothin' ever happened.

One guy slammed into the guardrail.

A big reason why it's so important 

to have the grass clean.

Slide not roll.

I got called in to do some metalwork.

Just like old times,

working til midnight using a (less than) 34 watt drop light,

cutting and fitting with a torch.

Easy...

Needless to say I've got a bit more appreciation 

for what the heck goes on here!

TP

The Bionic Oneida Performance Santoku

A couple months ago I found the perfect kitchen knife,

the Oneida Santoku,

for $1 at the local flea market.

The Portland version of a swap meet 

is a drop in the bucket compared to Kobeys in San Diego,

which runs Friday to Sunday.

This flea market is only on Sunday's,

and Portlanders are a crazy bunch.

Hardcore vendors post up rain or shine,

hawking the typical chit from tools to soap,

and people will come to buy.

I'll come just for the good fruit/vegetable deals.

Seriously it's 1/4 the price from the grocery store.

Another big difference is the inside area,

one place a swap meet shouldn't be.

The dusty dank air doesn't seem right to breathe,

but you get used to it.

It's super packed on a sunny day inside and out.

I've gotten many scores,

This DJ turntable was $10...flipped...

A real ivory pocket knife $5,

which now makes me a little guilty

studying how evil the ivory market is.

Don't google it's depressing...

This technics turntable was $10,

and is now a corner piece to the room system.

It's got auto-start and repeat.

I've woken up at 3am totally brainwashed 

listening to the same 23 minute side for 6 hours.

Works great at remembering lyrics.

Records $1-2...

Gotta love it.

This victor torch was one of the better scores-$15!!

After watching the shipbreaker documentaries,

I've always wanted a long cutting torch.

These things are like 250-400 new!

I think this engine analyzer was $5,

but will need batteries that are $7.

Which reminds me to scrounge the next flea market.

A couple bucks for the flask and meter.

Gotta have the flask,

even though liquor is harder to get in Oregon.

These priceless items were both $1.

How could anyone resist!?

Ok back to the knife.

It worked great for cutting.

Then I tried crushing a garlic clove sideways,

and it immediately stamped.

I yelled the F word really loud,

shocking the room mates and neighbors.

For a week I continued using it as a hand blade,

further cementing the need for its repair.

I'm telling ya this is a good knife,

it's extra thin and just slices through without sticking.

This must be an early version,

as none have the same super heavy handle style.

Finally yesterday I did a rush weld during my last break.

A little crude but effective TIG weld,

using a 316 stainless rod.

I'd say it's not as crooked as you would expect,

from a welded up kitchen knife.

I've already used it twice.

So sharp.

These new are like $10 with a cutting board,

and well worth it,

but none have a good history like this one.

If it's metal,

we can rebuild it...

TP