the life divine

This year the boys school day starts at 7:20,
a huge contrast to last years 9AM morning lollygag.
They seem to appreciate that weekends are for sleeping in,
so we've been passing on the sunday swap meet hunt.

TRIP

Hooking up the record player gave us a little stimulation,
and we had a late 8AM start to check out the goods,
maybe get a couple records.
It's funny for 14 years my life revolved around those 4 letters!
(ventura days)

fat tire mags

This guy had the best stall,
unlike any other in the lot.
This fat tired BMX bike was super cool,
to look at anyway.
If you study the pic he had a J-2 tri-power manifold,
an old mallory distributor for a SBF,
some '38 chevy taillights,
a bunch of cool stuff but from his prices he knew it.

pioneer sx-750

Things were slow until we ventured into the regulars corner,
the place where the same sellers sell the same stuff.
In the back of a stall lay a dusty receiver - a 1976 Pioneer sx-750.
The treble knob was missing and the tuner control was very stiff,
but for $25 we didn't even haggle with the guy.

pioneer sx-750 dirty nudie shot

I should have expected something like this to happen.
As soon as the back table was cleaned up,
something shows up to fill the spot.
*****************************************************


CARLOS SANTANA & JOHN MCLAUGHIN
THE LIFE DIVINE - 1973
Are you guys ready for possibly the rippingest guitar duo of all time?
This will either scare the holey chit out of you,
or help you to conquer any obstacle in your path.
It's a 9:30 epic that will leave you sweaty and out of breath.
I'd like a loop of just the first minute of drums,
 but holey moley the ending - so climactic you'll want a smoke.
This is what 70's high powered stereo systems were made to crank.
Give it a shot,
just don't drive while listening you'll be flying down the road.
******************************************************
Jaxon had the stereo hooked up before breakfast,
and surprisingly it had a clear and equal sound.
Scratchy controls from sitting unused,
but nothing a cleaning couldn't fix.
For now a quick vacuuming would do.
This is rated at a healthy 50 watts per channel,
much deeper sound than the little kenwood.

peeling

After breakfast I couldn't help but get distracted by the flaky wood vinyl.
I remembered an earlier project,
and dug through the garage for the materials.

peeled

I carefully selected the best grained vinyl walnut veneer.
As any woodworker knows this takes years of apprenticeship.

walnut

Every skill guided me to this exact point,
within minutes the sides were like new.

1976 or 2013?

If only I had this sticker to really finish it off.
Oh well.

genuine simulated wood grain finish sticker

I was too lazy to do the top.
There were no beer rings or candle burns to hide anyway.

pioneer sx-750 and friends

Check out the back of this thing.
Theres a neat ledge or shelf for the connectors.

pioneer sx-750 rear

Now the predicament is what to do with them.
The idea was to have a cheap beater stereo for the outside shop,
and these are almost too nice for being almost 40 years old.
I better replay that tune...

TP

throbber

I try not to whine too much on this blog,
but this little incident has a direct effect on my typing ability.
Although it is easier to swish my good fingers around the new iphone,
I've got to man up and keep posting!

throbber

Dang look how clear and crisp that photo is!

It all began yesterday,
I was packing the 40 with a couple tools.
This was out in the front though,
a slight uphill incline.

work truck

Next thing I know - BAM...
and that not too familiar sensation of pain.
The decklid had slammed down.

1940 coupe rear - frenched license plate

There was no compromising the mission,
just shake it off and get chit done.
It did make me think.
What is your least favorite minor injury?
Cut, smash, burn, scrape, splinter...
Most don't really hurt til the day after,
like in the early morning when there's a throb with each heartbeat.

magnetic

Anyway it's a good  chance to show the possible culprit.
The rear of the june bug 40 was smashed in when I got it.
There was never a latch and it would bounce up and down.
This lasted at least 2 years,
fixed using a piece of rope tied to the bumper.
Finally I couldn't stand it any longer,
and fabbed up an experimental solution out of scrap.

temporary permanent

Now there's a magnetic latch.
It's about 80% effective.
Not too hard to open although it takes strong fingers,
and it will bounce or jiggle a bit on decent bumps.
I made it way too strong for any quick modifications.

I'm thinking this may be the culprit.
That extra weight is just enough to tire out the springs.
I've been bonked a number of times.
Stay tuned for the possible fix...

TP

ultimate kitchen accessory

What new piece of technology could create this much amazement?
Check out the awe in the kids faces.

jaxon & jakob perich - 2013

Searching for old electronic stuff had dwindled.
Not from lack of interest,
more from necessity.
As of last week it seemed like 4 complete stereo systems was enough.
After using the wifes blue-ball-ic ipod charger/player down at the yard,
a new quest had begun.
All I needed was a lo-fi system to use with some bookshelf speakers.

kenwood kr-2400 receiver

On craigslist everyone wants $50-80 for a $20 stereo.
A couple weeks ago I found a $20 60's kenwood tk-140,
and it was a bust.
Then this little jewel was posted up,
and after a few messages and emails the guy finally replied.

kenwood kr-2400

Here's a tip -
never go barefoot to a craigslist seller's house.
The guy was super nice and a deadhead/rocker,
but he had the typical single older dude house.
This little receiver was rescued from his sticky kitchen.
Thankfully he didn't have a dog or cat,
but I'm still not sure why his floor was so wet.
He had it hooked up and it sounded clean and equal...
the deal was struck.

kenwood kr-2400 nudie

As soon as it arrived at the house I had to wipe it down.
The stickiness carried the pungent smokey sent.
Lucky that the inside was pristine.
A couple minutes later and it was a new machine,
no scratchiness and all the lights worked.
Score!

technics SL-1401 turntable

At 17 watts per channel,
this was made to push little speakers.
For some reason I thought of my stashed turntable,
and all of a sudden it turned into a bitchin little tabletop player.

amazing

The kids were seriously amazed at seeing the record player in action.
They had never seen one actually work.
How can the needle read that groove?
It only took a couple tries to learn how to work the arm and hold a record.
They loved the scratchy phonograph sound,
even the periodic skips or the fact they couldn't stomp on the floor.

kitchen wall of sound

They both had such a fun time,
I had to clean up the back table,
hoping the wife wouldn't notice the new digs.

partial record collection

And maybe she won't see these either.
What better reason to organize or at least rearrange?
Our record collection isn't very extensive,
but the kids dug up a few that made me proud to see their interest.
They played some dead, gorillaz, wes montgomery, santana, led zeppelin...
Now they have something to search for - uhoh record hunters!
******************************************************

If you've got 50 minutes to spare,
maybe a long drive, some cleaning, work...
Give this album a try - SANTANA CARAVANSERAI
I love it,
must have heard it a million times.
It's reads as 11 songs but it's really one long groovy ride.
Pure 1972 goodness.
I'll make you a bet,
play it 3 times and if you still don't like it,
well I'll give you another suggestion!
******************************************************

Kenwood kr-2400 receiver + technics sl-1401 turntable

Anyway now I'm in trouble.
It's so convenient to have a kitchen stereo system.
There's no need to crank the living room systems to get decent sound.
Guess the hunt will continue...

TP

resistance is futile

Mark this day on your calendar,
as after over 3 years,
my battle,
my resistance to change,
has finally come to an end.

awesome LG ally

We've had some good times together,
but this past year there's been some unexpected shut downs,
some keyboard glitches - llllllllliiiiiiiikkkkkkkkeeeee thhhhhhhiiiiisss,
the memory is so full I delete pics and messages to keep it working,
and the battery barely lasts the day.
Not to mention I can't do this blog thing on the old phone.

cracked iphone 4

With the price of a new smart phone in the $300 range,
I was going to follow my typical ways.
We had the wife's old cracked iphone 4 lying around.
The glass could be fixed for $55,
and activated online - cheap and easy.

The wife had been threatening to surprise me with a phone,
as she had been offering one as father's day/birthday(x2) gift
since the upgrade notice in April of 2012.
Hey I told you there was a resistance to change!

green iphone 5s

In a rare moment of weakness,

I fell for the barrage of ads about a $50 Iphone 5c,

a special at the local Radio Shack.

Of course this is a trick,

as they tax you on the full original $600 value,

we got talked into an applecare insurance program,

(supposed to be better and cheaper than the Verizon insurance)

and of course she wouldn't let me not have a fat case.

Probably a good thing as I've already dropped it 2 times.
How'd she know?

messed up otter box iphone 5c

First off here's my complaints.
The cases for the Iphone 5 don't fit well on a 5c.
The plastic housing is round and smooth,
and the buttons aren't flush like the 5 and the 5s.
If you look at the picture the rubber flares out by the volume.
Really it's not a big deal but for the price I'll bitch a little.
It has survived a couple drops out of my shirt pocket...

picture transfer using droid/bluetooth/mac mini

The second complaint concerns my loyal readers.
You guys are thinking "finally he'll take some clear crisp HD pictures!"
The old droid has a very primitive camera and flash,
but it has a Bluetooth capability to send a batch of pictures directly to our computer.
Why doesn't apple have this feature?
The phone is twice as fast as our 2007 mac mini.
I've gotten used to taking a dozen pictures and sending them while typing.
Now there is either an icloud thing I need to figure out,
or send pictures to my email and do a double download.

So guess what?
The old LG Ally may still serve a purpose.
It can still take lackluster pictures and send them through the air,
at least for dirty progress shots.

iphone 5c

Enough of the whining.
The new phone works so smoothly.
After 2 days I'm happy with the 5c.
The 5s is faster but has features I don't need,
and the Samsung S4 was way too big,
although the camera seemed really cool.
Not worth spending another $200+ on either.

anyone need a charger?

And lastly,
the wife has dialed in the iphone to all kinds of fun and games.
Now I need to keep myself from becoming addicted to INSTAGRAM.
If you're bored or addicted too,
search      or "perichbrothers"

TP

Hick Hat™

Howdy y'all here's a little play by play,
the evolution of my new wife proclaimed Hick Hat™.

don't tread on me

How could I pass up the free camo NAPA hat,
after Andy bought his new alternator.
A donation goes to the intrepid fallen heroes fund,
so it's for a good cause.

napa - intrepid fallen heroes fund hat

For some reason I've had a series of camouflage hats since moving down to SD,
even though I was more of a hick when living up in Ventura.
My wife even joked I used to say warter instead of wotter.

This one is the digital camo which I'm not a huge fan of...yet...
but the material is a super light rip-stop,
doesn't get hot in the sun,
and dries fast in the rain.
Both of which have been tested the past couple days even here in SD.

belleville steel toe boots

And get this,
now I have the matching ensemble to these bitchin steel toe boots from Ken.
No not the most stylish and no brand recognition,
but hey - I've worn out Red Wings and Doc Marten's,
and these are the most comfortable boots right out of the box.
No expensive insoles and holey chit are they light.

Ken scored two pair,
and I figured what the heck,
I'll trash the first pair and baby the second.
Well after almost 2 years of torching, grinding, welding, oily bilges,
they're still going strong - ho holes in my socks, rubber sole is like new.
Eff yeah and they're made in USA!
I'm drawing the line at the cut-off camo shorts...

fail

Now time to personalize the cap.
I found a camo Navy Jack patch on ebay,
from a guy almost off the grid near Little Ogeechee Pond in Georgia.
I've always dug the "don't tread on me" ideal,
although I'm more Libertarian in my views.
******************************************************
It seems our dickhead neighbors have released my long lost aggro-ness!
These guys first two albums were on repeat for the black truck rebuild...

Good not-so-old aussie easy listening punk rock!
The Distillers - Oh Serena
*****************************************************

spilt blood good luck

We tested a meki iron on trick with the towel,

but no go.
So I tried my hand at a thread and needle.
Not alot of practice and I poked my finger a couple times.
No problem blood is supposed to be good luck!
It's a little crooked and off-center,
but it's a friggin hat!

TJ border flags

What a day and place to christen the modified hat.
Everything went smoothly on our adventure to the TJ dentista!

TP

FE melodrama

And now for the drama filled rush to the F100's finish...

1973 Ford F100 pickup truck

Last episode the engine was all blued up on the stand.
Days passed as the trucks owner Andy dropped off the face of the earth.
We had an old high school saying - PL Gel - (point loma)
the act of lagging,
that goes double for Encinitas!
At least he had scrubbed the engine bay of all the oil and road scum.

mini crane

I couldn't wait any longer,
and with the help of the trusty cherry picker,
it was time to get chit done.
The hood was flipped out of the way...

hoodie

...and the engine nestled into place.
Thanks Aaron for dropping by at the crucial moment!

heavy

Here's a tip -
sometimes its easier to move the car back and forth,
than to move the engine on the hoist!

home

Bolting the engine up was a compilation of about a hundred trips
from the tool box/cherry picker to underneath the truck.
Up and down... up and down...

hood install

I may be a bit messy in my workspace,

but unlike a typical repair shop I like to put together a clean engine.

Way too much time was spent degreasing fasteners and painting brackets.

Nothing show just respectable.

ford fe 360

This looks like it was all done in the same day.

Actually I only worked on this truck during the hottest hours of the day,

over the course of the week.

That's my excuse for the following mishaps!

static timing

Andy did help out with some of this mechanical stuff for a good day.
Now he knows where that heavy starter goes,
what the numbers on the wrenches mean,
why each trip to the car parts store costs $100,
and why mechanics swear so much!
Thinking back I don't think I heard him cuss once.
I did get treated to lunch,
and got the badge of honor - the free NAPA hat for a $25 purchase!

NAPA racing hat

Well that hat came with a heavy price.
There's no badge of honor without passing a series of tests,
mainly tests of patience.
That may be why I enjoy fabrication work so much more.
With mechanical stuff,
there's no way to justify pounding a hammer on a chunk of metal,
and having the outcome be positive!

dropped FE oil pump drive shaft

Once the engine was buttoned up and started,
one of my short cuts bit me in the butt.
There is a oil pump drive shaft,
a hexagonal stick of metal that runs off the distributor.
Well on the 302/5.0 Windsor,
the shaft dropped from the top into the hole connecting the oil pump.
Easy.
On the FE,
I didn't realize that the stick is attached from the bottom,
when installing the oil pump.
There is a retainer washer that keeps it from being pulled out,
if the distributor ever is removed.
But who would remove the distributor right?

I had looked online,
and there were suggestions to remove the retainer washer,
and drop it from the top.
(most aftermarkets don't come with one anyway)
Well what do you think happened when I pulled out the distributor?
The frigging thing dropped into the wrong hole,
and by a couple strokes of bad luck slid into the oil pan!

dropped FE oil pan

Holey Chit!
I was so close to getting this thing on the road.
It took a couple minutes to gather my thoughts and make a plan.
Any other engine or car this would be a nightmare job.
On these FE's,
the oil pan is dead flat with a one piece cork seal,
no half circle crank cutouts like a SBC or SBF.
Also these trucks were designed for farm use in the middle of nowhere.
So fixing them involved working in the dirt with a chainhoist on a tree,
using a crescent wrench, a worn screwdriver and little luck.

Fortunately the engine could be lifted the inch needed to get the necessary clearance.
After installing the little retainer washer,
it took about 5 tries and a bunch of loud swearing,
to blindly get the shaft into the hole from the bottom.
Thankfully Andy had cleaned up the frame!

1973 ford f100 vacuum diagram

The next test was figuring out all the dang vacuum lines.
I thought I had taken a ton of pictures to make this easy.
There were a ton of pictures but they were all blurry.
This confusing vacuum diagram helped out.

worn leak

Finally everything was sealed up and oiled.
A couple minutes running and there's this huge tranny fluid leak.
Why would red fluid be coming out near the engine?
For 40 years the transmission cooler line had been rubbing on the oil pan,
and chose this moment to break.
Holey double chit!
As usual the hot part of the day was over so it was time to go.

ford fe 360

The next day the line was repaired with a simple hose and clamp fix.
The engine really wanted to run,
so I let it idle for 10+ minutes.
It took a while for the lifters to fill up with oil,
and I was nervous for the first moments as it was a bit clickety.
Finally the sweet sound of a smooth running engine!

F100 taxi

Now time for the maiden voyage.
(Shop) Tom and I cruised it to lunch,
and we didn't get stuck.
A good sign!
Now for the real test,
picking up Macey for school on time.
Passed!

thumbs up

The more I drove it the more I didn't mind keeping it around,
other than the gas gauge which dropped alarmingly fast.
As soon as Andy heard the truck was running,
it was gone!

TP