christmas in december - part 1

Over the weekend we had a reason to pull down our collection of orange glassware.

bitchin ORANGE glass

Why in the world would we have a relatively large collection of orange glass.
The wife and I found these piece by piece
at either thrift stores or garage sales over the years.
I've never found the maker or the year.
We have realized there are many different variations on the flutes or bumps,
and have limited this crazy addiction to this pumpkin-like design.
Sadly two of the pieces have gone by the wayside.
We're definitely a bull in a glass shop family!

old and new

The reason for the change up was a desperately needed new-old fridge.
We rent and the old one was owner-supplied,
and it should have been replaced 4 years ago.

extra large

We scored this one at a family friend house sale.
When that happens,
it means modifying the house to fit the appliance!

hack!

It seemed easy enough.
Fortunately the 50's builders
had foretold the massive size of refrigerators in the 21st century.
There was exactly the right amount of width space needed,
but not height.

kitchen archaeology

While I was hacking away,
there were signs of past modifications for the same reason,
done by similar "get it done" type workmanship!
It was tricky to get that last chunk out,
I'm sure a woodworker has the proper saw or chisel,
but hacking wood is easy compared to metal!

new old GE refrigerator aka glass stand

The cupboards could never be opened cause of the glass,
and there were some long lost treasures behind those doors.
Now I gotta cut those doors down or hide them somewhere!

more junk!

The wife is happy with the new extra large and clean fridge,
and I scored a ton of other good stuff.
Thanks Gary!
More on that later...

TP

How to - section a FORD axle! (viii)

Last friday I had some time to tackle my "wide-track" dilemma.
Everything was going really well,
until I came in for a quick lunch,
and read the news of the "Sandy Hook Massacre".
The wife and I both had the day off,
and to read the unbelievable made for a dark sad day.
You guys all know our kids mean so much to us.
The sudden pain, suffering and loss to the families out east is gut wrenching.
RIP to all the little ones and the adults caught in that horror.

*******

Okay,
so back to my comparably meaningless project of the day.
I had admitted a bit of a jam when the front wheel track width
was too wide for the 40.

perich brothers (and sister): how to - build a 70's street rod!

By sheer coincidence,
this tech article had popped up on the HAMB,
and shed an out of the box solution to my problem.

Tech: Shortening an I beam axle - THE H.A.M.B.

I'd much rather experimentally cut and weld the 1946+- axle,
than buy a new-old 1940 axle that might not solve the problem.
That would only get me a 1/2" gap split for each side.
So here's the how to - sectioning a ford axle!

cut ford axle

I had actually cut this axle in half before the mooneyes show,
and for a week it had been haunting my thoughts,
while blocking the only walkway in the garage.
This means there was an intricate step by step plan in my head.

slip joint

When it came down to it all that subconscious planning was tossed.
I didn't want to disassemble the axle and wishbones,
as the perch pins would be ruined and unuseable.
The idea was to slice the ends of the wishbones,
and relieve them enough to squeeze the 2 1/8" out of the width.

clamp party

All that was really needed was a tie-down strap and some clamps.
The wishbone barely resisted.
Instead of a jig I trusted that horizontal cut to keep the king pin angles the same.
Also my thoughts of using this really thick steel flatbar had changed
and some really stiff aluminum tubing and plate was used instead.

stiff

The curve of the I-beam
wouldn't allow the top and bottom to align exactly.
I could have hammered it flush,
but I really didn't want to risk twisting the center section.

precision

With everything as straight as I could,
the first welds were burned.
You may have guessed I stick welded it with 7018.
I love that little maxstar 150.

stick weld

This was about the time I headed in for lunch and read the bad news.
This song was playing on my ipod only moments before!


Ida Maria - going to hell - oslo june-2007

In another eerie coincidence it started to rain.
My wife said her grandfather would have said that god was crying for the deaths!

side one

It was really only sprinkling so I continued on.
The hardest part was the edges of the I beam,
basically filling with weld so it looked smooth.

rainy day schedule

Before the cuts were made,
I had peaked the top and bottom of the axle,
cleaning up the forge marks.
This made it easier to blend in the two pieces.

stool time

From the top and bottom it is difficult to see the modification.
I liked the look of the raw weld bead in the webbed area,
so no grinding there only some wire brushing.
This is a hot rod!

scarred axle

There was just enough space between the raindrops to rattlecan a quick black coat.
There's gonna be some torch-work to clean up the spring shackle holes,
so there's plenty of time for touch-up paint.

modified 1940 ford front suspension

I was satisfied with the outcome.
It seems really strong.
There isn't much twist or flex in the center of the axle,
as long as the wishbones aren't cut and that pivot ball is used,
otherwise I would consider a fish plate to reinforce the axle.
It is only 1/4" thick so the double weld should do.

stashed

The front suspension was stashed before the heavier rains showed up.

40 vs 46 ford front springs

Here's why this should work.
The greasy spring is from the 41-48 front end that was used originally.
The other spring is a 37-40 spring that I want to use.
(It could be a '36 spring I'm not exactly sure of the year.)
You can see the 2"+ difference that I needed.

The spring perch to king pin length is much shorter on the 46+- axle,
and it also has a bit of a drop to it compared to the 40 axle.
That's why this modification should work.
If not,
my plan B is to get a stock 40 axle,
send it to an axle dropper,
and have them drop the axle and pinch the kingpins in the process.
Hopefully not this is a low budget build!

pivot ball

The potential headache is the location of the pivot ball.
That 2" squeeze moved it about 3/16-1/4" back.
I'll mount it under the chassis and then figure out what to do about that.

Now I've got to get that spring installed and see how it sits.
At this rate of 5 work hours per week,
hopefully I'll have it done by christmas!

I made sure to give the kids some extra tight hugs when they got home!

TP

short sale

We had an early family x-mas party at my aunt and uncle's house.

stacked

They're the ones with the English car addiction.
perich brothers (and sister): english invasion - Pt I - 1966 Lotus Cortina
For years they've been planning on getting one of those stacking car lifts.

lotus + morgan sandwich

Well a couple weeks a go they scored huge on a bro-deal.
A friend of a friends house was on a short sale,
and they got this really bitchin lift for a ridiculously low price.
Super cool as they have another English car to take up the new space!

cousins Jake and Jayden

It's also the natural spot for a couple of kids to hang out!

TP

saved from the scrap heap

For years I've been kicking around this old cadillac/lasalle transmission.

1938-53  cadillac transmission

It was so clean on the outside,
and wasn't seized.
I figured it was something worth hoarding.

cadillac/lasalle transmission

Out of curiosity I removed the bottom cover plate.
Holey chit.
The gears were totally pitted!
Water must have been in there for years.
To get this bad there had to have been some rust in there,
but the strange thing is the insides were totally  clean.
Some bumpkin had to have disassembled the innards,
cleaned them up,
and thrown it back together!

holey chit

Great.
For 6 or so years this thing was basically a boat anchor.
A heavy one too!
Time to send it to greener pastures.

base

I considered scrapping it,
but made a half-hearted attempt to find a new owner.
Of all places the most interested person lived in England.
Holey double chit!

strapped

Way too long for one of those plastic totes,
it took me a while to figure out how to make a crate.
Not that it is difficult to make one,
it's just hard to make one on the cheap.

framed

Using some pallet scrap, new wood, mikes patch panel scrap, and some old rope,
a strong box appeared over the course of a couple days.

screwed - glued - taped - tied

Definitely not a show piece for my wood work!

The ends were covered in packing tape,

to keep it together as well as protect from splinters.

I've come to respect that plastic tape,

it's some strong stuff.

The plastic rope handle is threaded through the base,
and wraps around the transmission,
so the box isn't really a structural piece,
more of a protective cover.

child labor

The kids were barely able to move it.
No wonder that piece of junk weighed in at 112 pounds!
Fortunately the guy wanted it that bad.

how to  ship a transmission!

UPS was the cheapest to get it out to the middleman out east.
I am glad it is finally gone!

TP

mooneyes 2012 wrap up

One of the things I have been missing about not going to car shows,
is seeing friends that are hard to reach otherwise,
or even meeting new (to me) people that just want to talk hot rod.

stool time at mooneyes 2012 xmas party

There were so many people at the mooneyes show,
and so many guys wearing the flannel and dickies uniform,
that recognizing people in the crowd gets blurry.
Fortunately I brought the stool,
and spent some time just hanging out by Chief talking to people.

Having a respectable hot rod is the best way to break the ice,
and we were lucky to have 2 of them.

Different people gravitate towards certain cars,
and it's always fun to shoot the shit and know what people think.
Some guys/girls have similar projects,
maybe with totally different styles but something catches their eye.
I met a good amount of people just BSing.

hot rodders - chris bradford & travis perich

A couple chance meetings really sweetened the trip for me.
One of them was an old friend Chris from up in Ventura.
I've known him for many years,
but after the move down to SD it was hard to keep in touch.
At the old shop,
this was one of the guys that I'd see at least once a week if not more,
he'd stop by with his dune buggy, hot rod, or harley.
When Macey was a baby he'd actually hold her if I got busy,
actually he helped with all the kids!
We took our roadster pickups to the last antique nationals in palmdale.
Anyway after almost 5 years there was easily a half hour of old time conversation.
He filled me in on some of the going's on up there.

One of the super sad subjects was another friend of ours,
Dan (Danny) Gray had died about 4 years earlier.
He was also a retired firefighter (like chris) a hot rodder and really a Harley guy.
I had breakfast with him only a couple months before he passed away,
and had always wondered how he was doing.
Big bummer to hear that news.
Crazy to think that I had known him for almost 20 years.
Really both these guys grounded me more than I know.
Both of them saw the evolution of me from a single guy to a family guy,
and were interested in all the projects or hobbies I went through.

Bummer I don't have a picture of Dan or his toys to post up here.
He had 2 sportsters and a knucklehead and he rode every day.
For years he ran his main sportster with no alternator,
and he'd do an almost daily pass around Lake Casitas,
always home before dark cause no headlight!

In a perfect way he died of a heart attack,
at a rest stop during a ride.
They found his body next to his motorcycle!
RIP DAN!
Great to see you Chris!

roadster pickup sandwich
zap and me

Another guy I haven't seen in forever was Zap Teshima.

Zap is the definition of a photographer,

while I am the definition of a picture taker!

This is the guy behind many great photographs (and videos)
and is one of the eyes that brought the hot rod scene to Japan.

zap teshima and travis perich - 2012

Just so you know,

it is very rare to see him in a picture,

he's usually behind the camera.

Here's all the pics our drunk neighbor took!

where's sloppy?

It was great to catch up and know that he and his family are doing well.
Mooneyes was fortunate to have him take pictures of their show,
so here's to hoping they recognize Chief and Sloppy's RPU!

Yokohama 2013!

I should have made a big ole sign in front of our pickups!

cannonball indian #80

After the show I couldn't resist a quick pass by Chabott Engineering.

team chabott engineering

There is always something cool going on in their place,
and fortunately for us Ayu is keeping the masses informed.
shinya kimura @ chabott engineering
(She's another one rarely seen in front of the camera!)

chabott engineering

My organization skills could take a lesson from this shot!
Watching their shop morph through the years has been interesting,
it's like the ocean bringing the treasures up with the tide,
and taking some away.

Chief, Ayu, Shinya, Travis

This was the first time I've driven the hot rod to their shop.
Shinya donated a cool toolbox and a lucky puppy for the trip home.
Thanks guys!!

new good luck pup

The cinderella effect was beginning,
and it was time to get back on the road.
Kid duty!
I estimated it a little too close at a mile a minute,
and the traffic ruined my ETA but made it by 7pm.
No problem!

Here's the numbers.

$60 total in 89 octane gas - 15 gallons.

286+ yahoo map miles = 19 MPG.

Not too bad for a hot rod.

I've still got more gas then when I started.

The south traffic really messed up the gearing,

as there were many non-overdrive miles.

gassing up

Old Chief got me home safe and sound.
Actually the sound part is still up in the air.
I used those little foam ear plugs and a beanie,
and after driving 4-5 hours with my head between 2 pipes,
my whole body was buzzing.
It felt great!

TP

12:12:12 on 12-12-12

Okay so here I am for the third time sitting by a computer waiting.
This time it's 12:12:12 on 12-12-12.

12:12:12 on 12-12-12

Took the kids out of school and wife off of work,
and they're all waiting in the van waiting for the big light or wave or ?
And ...
It looks like nothings gonna happen.
Nope.
Okay that's it everyone back to school and work.
Shows over...
What are we gonna do with all this bottled water and canned soup?

TP

mooneyes 2012 xmas lot (vii)

Last time I wrote we were at the Vons parking lot...
perich brothers (and sister): pre-mooneyes marathon (viii)
Sloppy and I jumped onto the freeway shanker style,
and headed up to the Irwindale Speedway.
I was expecting to see a caravan of hot rods and customs driving up,
but there was only one street rodded 40 sedan the whole way.
We weren't even that late it was still before 7am.
Well we got to the exit and there were a TON of cars.
We didn't preregister,
so had to find our way to the commoner entrance.

mooneyes xmas 2012

We finagled our way to the front of the line,
one of the benefits of having no fan and a steamy radiator.
Then parked in the suburbia lot away from cockfight central.

29 ford roadster pickups
sophorn "sloppy" sin (low) & travis perich (high)

Sloppy's car is bitchin.
It's one of the earlier RPU's with the tire higher then the bed.
Pat Lash and him really solidified the nor-cal lower then low look.

lowrider

We took a walk and I had no idea the show was this big.
Last Mooneyes show I went to was at the police department parking lot,
which was years ago.
This show had over a thousand cars.
In a cool way there was no real focus on one certain type.
Lowriders, customs, hot rods, vw's, vans, dragsters, muscle cars, bikes, trucks...
they all had a showing.

kinda lowrider

It's tough to choose which pictures to post up here.
Other people take better shots than I do...

The Hot Rod Disorder™: Mooneyes X-Mas Party 2012

Event Coverage Mooneyes 2012 Pictures - THE H.A.M.B.

Mooneyes Xmas Party 2012 - Main Forum

Here's some pics of stuff that I don't get to see all the time.

not a chopper

I'd ride this bike.

bitchin vw type 2 bus

This bus was so clean.
There was another '71 camper that looked new,
but dang it no picture.

1968-74 ford econoline van

I've got a thing for the early ford vans.

Such a cool style.

I grew up with one of these so its imprinted in my brain!

Someday...

shiny engine

Gotta love show cars too.

I think this is from Paradise Road in Japan.

Must have frequent flyer miles going back and forth!

sleeper chevy drag truck

This truck smoked down the 1/8 mile drag.
I think it may have a 6-cylinder not sure.
Liked the sleeper look.

tough 1951 chevy

There were so many 50's chevy's I lost count.
This one was probably the fastest.

slingshot

The dragstrip brought some historic race cars...

twin chevy dragster

And some newer creations of the old style.
Love to see that someone can build something like this,
and have the huevos to straddle it down the strip.

pit bike

This was a cool pit bike.
Lots going on in such a simple machine.

kawasaki 750 - trouble

This was another interesting bike.
You'll probably never see me on something like this.
Not anytime soon anyway!

1929 ford roadster

Here's a couple roadsters.
The problem with me and hot rods is I can pick them apart.
Way too critical.

1932 ford roadster

This 32 had some trick parts.
I'll do a separate post on it sometime when I'm on a dry spell.

There's the first part of the day.
More to come!

TP