time flies

I can't believe it's already a week and a half since the big 3 swapmeet.

That's what happens when there's a year to wait.

This year was different,

instead of slinging junk,

I spent more time hunting for junk.

More walking then I've done since last year.

Amazingly enough I passed up all kinds of good stuff.

I did get some treasures,

but this year a lot of time was spent just hanging out,

seeing people I only see at places like this.

These guys kept me fed and lightly buzzed all weekend!

Thanks to the Mike and the Rotten's!

Good times...

There's many more picture-less people I should have got.

What also happens is I'll see stuff I'd like,

then realize we have one,

or two.

Definite sticker shock on this.

Then there's finding stuff that gives ideas for the next build.

Or in my case the next next next build.

Where do people get this stuff?

In the evening it got a little crazy.

Thats what happens when the bottles come out.

Fortunately there's no faces to incriminate.

My excuse was needing enough buzz to not want to drive home.

As the 40 was also my bed for the night.

Somehow I collected enough to fill the garage.

Nothing notable,

but stuff to complete the projects.

Now I'm wishing I had gotten things I passed up!

Anyway looking forward to next year...

TP

Made of White

You hear stories of the people in tornado or hurricane country,

and you wonder how they didn't prepare for a coming storm.

All their stuff strewn around the neighborhood.

Well I can feel for these people.

In San Diego it rains about 2 weeks per year.

Out of these 14 days,

there are about twice as many false warnings.

Is that an excuse to be unprepared?

Nah,

But that wouldn't make for fun reading.

These tarp setups are predominantly for shade,

but work really well for the occasional rain.

The bummer here is all my fault.

They weren't tied or weighted down.

I would have loved to see the canoe tarp flip over!

The thing is massive and was able to jump the 8 foot A frame.

The 40's tarp flipped back easily,

only a couple tweaked poles.

The canoe tarp took a bigger hit.

Surprisingly it held tight after the flip.

At first I expected to buy another craigslist special,

but we were able to rebuild it with a couple hammer smacks.

A good excuse to replace the raggedy tarp.

$30 vs $160 any day!

Of course this was all done in the rain,

and the next storm will be months from now!

Special thanks to MOW-Brett 

from the other side of he world for the tie down trick!

TP

Miller Time

The Big 3 swapmeet was this past weekend,

and as usual gearheads arrived from everywhere.

Too many pics so coverage will be divided...

In the late 90's I was lucky to meet Steve Serr.

At the time I had a 4-banger coupe that attracted his attention.

Steve had acquired the original wooden molds for the miller ohv head,

and was super excited to get one built.

I remember the intricate puzzle pieces,

and also remember thinking what a big endeavor to start.

Well after 18 or so years,

Steve's built up one of the finest overhead conversions,

and has also peppered his inventory with related model A and B goodies.

He's made over 130 of these heads!

I'd love to have one,

but they cost more than our two daily drivers!

This June the Antique Nationals will be in Fontana,

And this rpu is expected to be up and running.

This thing is so bitchin,

tons of hop-up tricks.

Good stuff!

TP

rethink

Some steam had built up the other night,

as more rust was cut from the beat fenders.

As the evening progressed,

it was hard to stop.

I'd implied that as recently as last month,

the disintegrating panels were not an issue.

Badges of honor from surviving that Kentucky forest.

Now i couldn't wait to cut them out.

(I'll fine tune the corners during the final welding)

Stepping back by looking at these pics,

I'm at a deciding point.

The original plan was to radius the wheelwells,

basically re-arcing the line higher to follow the raised tire position,

centering the curve to match the wheel.

The utilitarian reason allows the tire to be removed 

without jacking up the body,

while giving a sports car look.

The bummer is the fender sections are the only decent parts of the car,

no major rust or dents.

Maybe I should just get it running.

Anyway that's what's been floating around my head...

TP

Introducing the Cradle Robber

Big changes happened over the weekend.

The wife and kids took advantage of the 4-day weekend,

And I took advantage of the solitude.

In a weird chain of events,

the 30 coupe returned to how it came.

The original plan was to take it to the Big 3 swap meet next week.

To try to make it easier I listed it on the hamb.

A couple bites but no go.

This is when Tim made me realize how rare and quality the running gear was.

I decided to try ditching the body only.

About 1.5 hours after posting on craigslist, 

it was gone.

Needless to say,

I was a little stunned.

Was it a mistake?

My Sunday chore of cleaning the yard backfired.

However there was a master plan.

For 10 years I've been dragging around this old tin.

An old friend Nick had blown the engine coming back from the roadster show,

and I finagled the project out of him.

The Cradle Robber was always fendered & banger powered.

Now 10 years later,

time to come full circle.

The original frame was torn up.

Legend has it the truck was used on tractor pull races in LA somewhere.

Can you imagine that?

Underneath the chipped layers of red and grey primer,

an ivory white color is peeking out.

It may return to that.

Lucky that my cousin married a strong guy,

as Brandon helped slug the body around the yard.

The next day I scrubbed the body,

and sprayed a quick color coat of primer.

So here's the can of worms.

The intent was to declutter the yard,

and I forgot how much time it takes.

When will the kids be back?

The unrealistic goal is to get it running,

maybe take it to the Big 3 full of spare parts.

More to come...

TP

Standards

So last night Ken and I were hanging out,

and Valentines Day came up in the conversation.

We talked about setting the standards of expectation.

"You're gonna get her a card right?"

"I'd expect you to hammer something out of a piece of tin..."

Dang it am I that easy to predict...

Well it worked.

Now she's got something to remind her every day that I love her!

It was 9:30pm by the time I finished.

Engraving would have to wait.

Happy Valentine's Day from the Perich Family!

TP