Chief gets brakes...

About a month ago 

I got invited to this roadster run.

Not me really the old hot rod...

I'll admit it's not up to mechanical par,

the brakes were a bit suspect,

especially for a mountainous trek.

So the night before I get to fixing it...

Break out the little bulb!

I'd actually started fixing it in the daytime,

and spent way too long 

searching for my special hub puller.

A fruitless search,

plan B was to scrap up a custom job.

I've never used this puller as it was,

and now that it's customized,

I'm sure I'll soon need it in it's original configuration.

The puller worked perfectly,

on the drivers side...POP!

The slave cylinder was definitely crusty,

probably hadn't worked properly in a couple years...

The passenger side was a no go,

and that was the actual problem area...

I tried mapp gas heat, 

hammering,

driving around with a loose axle nut...

Well I ended up missing the reliability run...

The sticky rear brake was a carry over problem

even before the great teardown of 2012.

I'll blame it on a salty drive at Pismo Beach,

waaay back in 2007 actually.

Salt tears up a car...TROGers will see!

So this weekend was a car show up in LA.

Figured I'd not procrastinate this time.

Took it to the shop,

and POP! all it needed was some real heat,

even if only for 15 seconds.

Wow...

All this time I thought '40 juice brakes

were a little weak,

when it was running basically on fronts only!

:/

I ended up missing the LA show,

but now ole Chief is a solid runner,

and every day is a car show in a daily driver.

Finally found the old puller too...

An example of 20 year old fab skills.

Sheesh!

TP

4-Banger fun

A couple posts ago I wrote about

smashing my hands in the garage door.

Not my finest moment.

Here's the prequel to that lameness.

The Big3 swapmeet was coming up,

perfect time to move heavy chit around,

and unload it on other people.

In rare form,

I'd start a couple days early,

trying not to rush it as in past years.

I was going for the heavy hitters,

big ticket items instead of a ton of little ones.

Of course after an hour(s) of cleaning,

this transmission ended up back home!

At the last minute,

we decided to extract this 4-banger

from the future project truck.

Yeah,

let's pull a stuck engine out

45 minutes before the sellers gate opens!

We had the tools,

and the man-boy power...

If you look closely,

here's the accident waiting to happen.

The A-frame was too tall to get in the garage,

and the chain hoist was at a crazy angle.

We got it out no problem,

but even with a seized rearend,

the truck had inched up just enough.

We'd push it back later...

The A-frame is the best.

This is the 3rd or 4th year we brought it.

You'd think a model A Ford engine wouldn't last,

at a swap meet put on by the A Ford club.

It was like fishing,

a bunch of nibbles and finally a bite.

There's always a catch,

the guy was from Northern California.

Could he pick it up later?

Oh allright...

Guess I'll have to load it back in the van,

and unload it one more time...

We could have sold it 4 times after that!

The engine sat at the yard for weeks,

stuck right in front of the new driveway,

along with the cherry picker,

in the dirt.

Fun.

Sloppy had actually made this deal,

and somehow never got the guys #!

Finally a stray call from a NorCal area code...

Ed and his wife drove all the way down

from Pleasanton in this luxury rig,

pulling a trailer only for this engine!

We joked how he could have rented a trailer here.

Crazy 4-banger guys!

Always good for a story...

We shoulda pushed the truck back though!

TP

CAREG.com DMV registration scam

It's taken me years to figure out 

an easy way to save a couple bucks,

by paying car registration on time.

AAA made it quicker than the DMV,

but paying online is even faster.

I like the smaller registration cards they send out too,

cooler than the huge dot matrix printouts.

The iphone simplifies things even more,

especially on a Saturday evening.

I don't even have to go to the computer.

I googled DMV,

and clicked on a DMV website...

After clicking the registration tab,

the registration search had a new format.

Must be the mobile version.

After filling the license search form...

It was surprising to see a higher amount

then the renewal form in my hand!

What's this extra $34?

At first I got pissed.

Is CA so hard up they're charging online service fees?

$29 for a service fee,

$2 for a convenience fee,

$2-16 for shipping,

and $5 for an email!

I went to the computer and followed the same search pattern,

and realized my mistake.

I hit DMV.ORG/California,

the top hit on the google search,

which linked me to CAREG.COM,

who will happily take more money than your real renewal cost!

Granted it is an AD,

and there are warnings on the screen,

but who reads them!?

They must make a killing,

there's a dmv.org/everystate!!

Wonder how much that ad costs?

The real DMV.CA.GOV website set me at ease.

No wonder they're losing money,

they'll send me the registration for free!

TP

Hot Rod Evolution

The "king of clubs" car show and drags were last week.

It's a perfect deadline for local hot rodders

to finish up their projects.

This coincided with the dire need for rubber on the wife's ride.

A definite "holey chit" moment 

when I noticed the rear tires treadless surface!

Maybe part conscious procrastination,

but really needed to make sure the daily passed smog first.

At the tire shop,

a slew of east county hot rods were getting tuned up.

Always good to see a coupe 

making passes down an open industrial street.

The rear tucks down,

the suspension twists as it loads up...

It got me to thinking.

Were these traditional hot rods?

Nah, not by a long shot.

These were more like power rods,

they would definitely kick my ass off the line.

Each car had a little funkiness going on,

a result of mishmashing old and new parts.

Still ya gotta appreciate a good runner.

TP

56 shades of gray

One thing college teaches is how to procrastinate.

A skill mastered through years of practice.

Some procrastinators are busy screwing off,

putting fun before work,

then finding themselves scrambling to meet a deadline.

Many fall flat on there face.

A conscious procrastinator is a little different.

A game plan is formed with the deadline as a goal,

work starts at the exact last moment needed for completion,

with very little time for wild cards.

The difference is the weeks prior to liftoff,

the project seed is planted,

queued up for it's turn.

Subconsciously each step is mentally mapped out.

Momentum is built up,

winding tight like a spring.

With such meticulous planning,

of course there's time to finish a couple unrelated projects.

A boat...

a bike...

With little room for error,

the trigger is pulled.

Oh holey chit.

What the frick is this?

This is not what I signed up for.

Plan A - boom...

Plan B - boom...

Now we're working on the fly.

Oh jeez...when's the deadline?

Time to get out the 34 watt bulb.

Ok no problem.

The other side looks way easier.

Maybe there's time for a bike ride.

Yeah that'll help clear my head a little.

OMFG.

This side is even worse.

Holey chit...

Let's do this.

Same as before only opposite.

Well that took a little longer than I thought.

What day is it again? 

Monday?

Oh no.

Tuesday?

When's the deadline?

Uh Yeah yeah no problem ,Mario.

The truck will be done tomorrow...

Now the last part.

This was plan A.

Easy.

Oh Hey Mike! 

Hey Uncle Steve! 

Hey Dino!

Hey Dad!

Hey Honey!

Yeah Mario's sposta pick up the truck at 4.

What time is it?

Uh oh...

Hammer hammer file file...

Hate to do it,

but this things gotta be smooth.

Only a skim coat...

Ahhh...

Just enough time to seal up the inside.

I love ospho on my fingers.

Let's go cruising!

Blow all this dust out on the road.

Where's my glasses?

Hey Mario,

Oh you won't be here til 7?

Good,

the paint fumes won't be so strong.

Tequila shot time...

Hey Mario!

Nah it was easy...

How to - shaving drip rails on a1956 Ford F100...

Or how to - make a ford look like a chevy.

TP