little pet

Over the weekend we found this old June Bug.

cotinis mutabilis - june bug - figeater beetle

It was on it's last legs,
something happened to it's wing,
and it was just about ready to get smashed on the bricks.
The kids gave it some water on a paper towel,
and now it's been 4 days.
I'll admit it's one of the most mesmerizing things to watch.

macey with the june bug

This is about as close as the kids have to a pet for the time being.

Jakob with the June Bug

Now at least I know where the kids are,
either riding scooters or bikes in the alley,
or hanging out on the porch,
with the june bug.

perich brothers & sister

TP

stool time goes domestic

The stool followed me home one day.
It's been the catalyst for a number of different projects.

stool time - house duty - maxstar 150

The garage was so unorganized,
I had to sneak this into the house for repair.

messy garage

How does clutter build up so fast?
Before my wife blew a fuse,
I had to get my chit organized.

not as messy garage

One thing I don't like about cleaning is it takes so much time.
Once there's a little momentum,
it can be very rewarding.

good enough

While I get my chit together here,
I've realized there are many options of tool organization.
Pegboard, rollaways, tool box, shelving units.
It's really tricky,
especially as I've got alot of the same stuff.

This pegboard was dragged from the old shop,
then modified to fit here.
Over there it was used but more like as long term storage.
The tools filling it were convenient but not used that much.

Before I make outlines for each specific tool's position,
there's got to be an evolution of what is needed and what can be boxed.
I'm kidding about making those outlines,
and am amazed that someone can be that organized to do that.

more stool time

The stool also helped out in finally making the roof for the shed.
It had been a couple months now,
and of course I had already been loading stuff inside.
Thank the weather gods it hadn't rained,
right now it's that dew that comes with the morning fog.

woodwork

Since I had made the box into a big ugly rectangle,
the trick was making the roof angled so water didn't pool up there.
I'll probably put some roofing material on after the first rain,
than wonder why I didn't do it after I wrote this post.

shed!

I even tried some fancy trim work,
and realized working with metal is more fun than wood.
Just realized I better get some paint on there.

That's it for now,
stay tuned for part 2, or was this part 2?

TP

tortuga revisited

Can't believe a year and a half has gone by since we sold the old beemer.

perich brothers (and sister): beemer

For a year Aaron rocked the crazy unfinished panel paint,
but over the summer he finally personalized it as his own.

1968 bmw 1600

Here's a refresher of the tortuga v.2011

la tortuga 2011

Yeah some funky chit huh!
These things are a little like the early Ford Bronco's,
where guys will throw the fender flares on it.

bmw 2002 fender flare + rota grid wheels

Many of us would cringe at cutting almost perfect original sheetmetal,
but hey a car's a car,
and this BMW was barely $1K and perfect for making a happy owner,
while making restorers cringe!

Aaron Vandermark's - 1968 bmw 1600

Besides the 10 metallic black rattle cans,
the big expenditure was the bitchin 15" Rota Grid rims and 255 tires.
That gives purpose to the fender flares,
and makes it one tough turtle.

It is backed up by the PO's 70's 2002 engine upgrade,
and Aaron dyno'd it out to a stock 104 HP which isn't too bad.
He's looking for a tii turbo though!

1968 bmw 1600 - la tortuga 2012

I'll always think these bmw 1600/2002's look wrong without the dual light treatment,
and european cars don't always need Cibie lights!

1968 bmw 1600 - la tortuga 2011

Also gone are those aluminum bumpers,
replaced with a front fairing.

1968 bmw 1600

Other than the color change,
it was weird how unchanged the rest of the car was.
Even the interior hadn't changed a bit.

unfinished interior

The best part is this thing just runs and runs.
Maybe not one of my smartest flips but at least he's happy and that's all that matters.

TP

secret stash - norden steering box

The recent shop move has forced me to filter through the seriously tons chit I've been hoarding for years.
It's been a huge relief trimming off some of the dead weight,
there was almost 3000 lbs - a ton and a half just in scrap steel and aluminum!

not so secret stash

Along with the junk,
I've been ditching some good stuff too.
Most of it is stuff that is cool but I realistically won't ever use,
either there is no future project in mind,
it is a part that relies on something I don't have,
or it is the 4th or 5th multiple version.
While clearing some of my now limited space,
it also allows my other projects to get completed,
so another project can take it's place!

hmm what have we here...

So as I sort out some of this stuff,
I'll start posting since I'm taking pic's anyway.
Some of it is tough to find on the internet,
and maybe it will help out some other poor hoarder.

Norden sprint car steering box

Okay so the first piece I'm torn about keeping is this Norden steering box.
I've had this for a really long time.
Around '94 or '95 I found this at the LA roadster show.

norden steering box

One of the main reasons why there is cowl steering in our RPU.
I considered using it but figured it wouldn't be good for a long-term driver.

Norden cowl steer box

Most likely this would have been in a sprint car like a Kurtis or Solar midget,
so it was built for a couple hard races for hopefully a couple seasons,
not a daily street driven roadster.

Kurtis Midget Sprint Car with Norden steering box

This is the only picture I could find quickly of a box actually installed.

1946 Solar Midget

Okay here's a quick tangent.
That box would have been installed on one of these too.
1940's Solar Midget
Interestingly enough these Solar Midgets were built right here in San Diego,
at the Ryan Aircraft Company.
Small world huh Tom!

Okay back to the actual steering box.
Here's some pictures.

Norden Steering Box

Cool to see how companies adapted there engineering skills after WWII.
What looks so simple is actually really intricate.

Norden steering column support

What looks like a simple aluminum carrier bearing,
ends up being a clamshell work of art.

norden steering column carrier bearing

Instead of a throwaway heim joint,
there's a bolt-on support ring.

Norden Steering Box

The box looks easily disassembled for rebuilding.
I wonder if the insides are custom Norden or donor gears from a big 3 manufacturer?

Norden Steering Box

The other thing that is cool about older speed equipment,
is instead of a production type sand cast finish,
most everything is either polished or at least smoothed out.
Hugely time consuming but well worth it.

norden steering box

Maybe it was too hide a rough casting,
or maybe it was because of cheap labor!

Norden Cowl steer

So now I've got to figure if this is a keeper or not.
The gamble is if I ever want to restore an early postwar sprint car,
or build a car specifically around this piece.
Even up to last year I had been collecting parts for a track roadster,
which this could have been in.
At the time I had a v8-60 and the 27 roadster body that would have been...

track roadster vs sprint midget

But it turned into the chocolate and cheese roadster.
For now this is about as close as we'll probably get!
Thanks Jakob for getting the model out!

Jakob's pre-modelmania

More later!

TP

flakekings friday lite

Hey Guys.
Out here in internet land there's a weekly event called flakekings friday.

FLAKEKINGS

It's a great way to unintentionally spice up this here blog.
A friend Chip mentioned that while reading this one on fridays,
he'll scoot the window over so his wife and kids don't think he's a perve,
as there's always the perfect thumbnail pic over there on the right.
He he he...
I sometimes wonder how many of us have to do the same!

perichbrothers (and sister) 

Well here's our perichbrothers (and sister) version.

Hey this is still a family website what'd you expect!

While sorting through all my junk from the move,

this was on the shop wall(s) for years.

My wife painted this before we were married.

The kids were shocked to find out we weren't always the normal law abiding boring yelling parents we are now!
Why would mom paint naked girls?
******************************************************

The Distillers - Oh serena - live
******************************************************
The other day we were blasting some easy listening punk,
the distillers, the bronx, early pennywise & rancid...
The kids were like...what the heck!
Good times...

TP

score

I was driving through the nicer part of the neighborhood today,
and this old thing was being loaded up onto a car hauler.
Another guy had already stopped to ask about it,
and I was already in drive mode to stop for a photo-op.

porsche 356 cabriolet

The street is like the semi-main street through town,
and the houses are a little pricey here.
In the old days it was common housing for Naval Officers, doctors etc.,
and with the recent estate sales you can see these deep roots are slowly dying.

porsche 356 cabriolet bye bye

So somebody scored on this old porsche 356.
I'm sure it was bought new and had minimal miles on it.
There's a minor dent in the side of the (original?) oxidized paint,
a cool sign of a survivor car,
not an overdone undriveable restoration.

Wonder where it's going?

TP

how to the essential drillium

What better project to get the garage warmed up and covered with aluminum shavings.
I love this old pre-harbor freight mini drill press.

workshop

This old Campagnolo chain ring has been lying around for years,
and today was the perfect opportunity do some non-essential drillium.

marked and punched

The most important part is the layout.

holey chit

After the holes,
the next step is the chamfering or countersink bit.
It takes the sharp edge off,
and some think it will keep it from cracking under stress.

holey chit

This is what it would look like installed,
although this one is a different one.

campagnolo drillium

It makes the typical road bike look a little more race huh?
Not that you can see it 800 miles away.

schroder road bike 1973

There are some really cool intricate examples of drillium if you study it.

Velo-Retro: Peter Johnson

And I guess that is the difference if you do quick hour job,
or if your a racer/mechanic looking to shave every ounce and intimidate the competition.

2008

Anyway it was fun and I was able to cross something off the bottom of my list!

TP