Hurtlocker Truck - part 239

While laying on my back,

I realized how close and how far 

the Hurtlocker is from road duty.

Little by little key pieces are taking shape.

Stainless brake lines are getting routed.

Patience is the key here.

It's like driving through traffic,

slow and steady,

rushing just causes accidents.

These brake parts are shipped like precious cargo.

Each fitting has it's own box and bag.

That's how they make a $2 part worth $12.

Thanks to tips and suggestions from

my Uncle Steve and Brandon,

no lines were done more than once!

We went through plenty of dish soap to get the windows in.

Success with the rope and soap method,

followed by the Sharpie bead install tool.

So glad this didn't crack.

The front windshield was a little easier.

Next up was covering all the metal work with insulation.

Trimmed glued and taped,

a lot of fitting for a precut kit.

These strips are sound dampeners,

absorbing the resonance on the sheetmetal.

Totally different then last year at this time.

I'll have to do a before and after post later on.

Can't believe I'm seeing carpet and upholstery swatches.

Ken's got some choices to make!

TP

Holdsworth Trap

The time change always signifies the real beginning of fall,

and with that the shift to winter hobbies.

Just cause it gets dark at 5:30 doesn't mean the fun stops!

Macey and I rallied up to the San Diego Veloswap,

unknowingly falling into the web.

Lucky to have a partner in crime.

The line was unusually long, 

and I figured this would help weed out the lucky finds.

It's easier to not know what deals are out there.

The velodrome seemed more packed then these picks show.

Maybe everyone was in line for the delicious kettle corn.

Business was brisk as there were some good deals.

We doubled back for a couple items only to find them gone.

I'm sure some will be seen on craigslist or eBay!

We went back to the van with barely $20 of goodies,

but an anchor was dragging me back.

I couldn't escape.

Exactly what I didn't need.

My intent was to get the guys number or email,

and all of a sudden the price lowered drastically,

and money was floating away,

in trade for a rusty pile of pipe.

You gotta admit for a moment it's kinda cool.

Please.

This is a 1948-1950 Holdsworth Cyclone,

made out of Reynolds 531 tubing,

and pre-nervex era lugs.

Handmade with a torch, file, and silver solder.

This is what got me interested in metalwork early on,

and may be recognized on Chief's windshield.

The kickers were the original numbered fork,

and basically dent free tubing.

I have been in this trap many times before.

The bare frame is the cheap part,

what adds up in time and money are all the components.

Really if I had enough dough,

we could have found all the parts to make a complete almost era bike.

Like these handlebars.

Such a trippy bend.

With a similar grinded lug pattern.

The trap...

See anything weird here?

No derailleur tab.

This was before the campagnolo-era standardization.

Yeah this'll be fun to find parts...

That back-stay tubing is a 1/2" to 5/16" taper!

In reality this shouldn't still exist.

So spindly.

Anyway maybe there'll be progress,

maybe there won't.

 Stay tuned...

TP

Dumbin' Down

The 700r4 is a common hot rod GM automatic transmission,

replacing the th350 cause of it's overdrive gearing.

The later '87+ models have more complicated electronic controls,

but without the stock computer module,

all of these  transmissions need a torque converter lockup modification.

Online there are plenty of options to follow,

from a simple rewire and toggle switch,

to the above universal kit.

My task was to install this universal kit

on the early style 1985 700r4 in the Hurtlocker Truck.

This Painless kit is used in all models up to the 90's.

What I realized,

is the later models that have more intricate computerized controls,

are dumbed down to use the early 80's pressure switch and torque converter solenoid/valve.

The parts I swapped were virtually identical,

and the directions were to remove all other internal wiring,

used on the later models additional switches.

Kinda sneaky way of squeezing $150 off a credit card!

The toggle switch is side-graded to this brake and vacuum switch,

making driving more idiot proof.

Possibly easier, possibly not.

If you're going with the mods,

make sure to either tap your original pan for a drain plug,

or get an aftermarket pan.

Draining the pan sucks without the plug.

There was no way I was gonna waste a gallon of basically new fluid! 

One step closer to gettin the old heap on the road.

TP

Babylon Bay

Certain opportunities are too coincidental not to do.

Someone had listed some scrap stainless tubing on craigslist,

of course on a boat moored off of Coronado.

A couple things I don't like to do,

are getting stuck in traffic,

and driving over that super high Coronado bridge.

Not sure if it's the height or what,

if I'm forced to drive over,

I'll hug the center divider.

Maybe it's cause the van is so tall,

and the safety rail is so low,

it's a freaky optical illusion.

Years ago some friends and I got stuck on the top of that bridge for hours,

behind an accident or a jumper.

Hated it.

So what better excuse to take out our little whaler.

In true Perich Brothers and Sisters form,

if we're gonna have something we're gonna use it.

Glad our little workboat wasn't freshly painted,

we were careful enough with the varnish!

The sellers were true adventurers,

taking their sailboat up and down the coast,

and preparing for an overseas trek to Australia!

Take care guys!

Cool how NorCal boats are built for heavy seas.

That little RIB was really trick too,

not an inflatable but a foam filled fiberglass hull.

Crude but effective!

There's a company that makes these now.

http://www.dinghyus.com

Who woulda thought!?

The sun set on our way back,

the juice squeezed out of our running light battery.

Maybe there's a charging wire from the engine.

Jakob took skipper duty,

and Jaxon pulled a perfect trailer mount.

A month in to bug season,

there was a few getting there hoop nets out.

We'll get out there with 2015 fishing licenses.

Now what to do with this tubing...

TP

Huffin

Last week I mentioned this cool 1977 Sansui qrx-8001 quad receiver score.

Quad was the early version of surround sound,

using 4 speakers,

like a front and rear stereo.

This was a deal as it only worked in 2-channel mode,

on the A speaker setting,

and only one AUX input.

no FM, tape or quad synthesizers.

Very intricately built,

there was no way I could afford a professional repair service.

Over the week other projects were cleared out,

and finally I was able to get down to business.

The insides were unmolested and original.

The first clean was done outside,

compressed air to blow out the dust,

and each pot (knob controller) lubed and twisted 50+ times,

usually all that's needed.

What a disappointment hooking it up.

The thing was dead!

Did I pull a wire out accidentally?

Short something out?

There was intermittent clear sound when the speaker knob was inbetween the A & B setting.

Weird.

Out of frustration,

the dormant 9090 was hooked up,

and wow at 110+ wpc it cranked those speakers.

With no netflix to watch,

1030 pm was the start of the 2nd clean,

this time inside huffing all the good chit.

Old sansui's were known to have flux build-up on the boards,

and I chipped off a bunch with toothpicks.

Like that would miraculously fix it!

After a more thorough spray cleaning,

and sufficient drying time,

the test speakers were hooked up.

Everything worked!!

All inputs, FM, quad buttons and A/B/front/rear!

Nothing perpetuates a rattlecan rebuild hack fix like success.

This whole time the wife was focused on her own project,

probably more so with the fumes.

Did the couple midnight celebratory tequila shots sober us up or help us wind down?!

TP