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I had to make a special sized seat post for a bicycle and it has to slide inside the frame tube.  It slides real nice right now but it's bare metal.  If I paint it the paint will probably screw up the fit and I'm sure the paint will just scrape off when I slide it into the tube.  I'm thinking that plating it might work best to protect it from rusting in the Bonneville salt.  I think zinc should work good.

I've looked a little online for info but it seems like there are different ways of doing it.  Recommendations for electrolyte vary and I'm not sure about how much amperage to use.  I'd prefer to use household stuff if I can instead of buying a commercial plating kit.

I plan to sort thru the info but I wondered if anyone has done any plating at home that came out good?  Any tips?  The part is polished right now and I'd like the plating to be nice and smooth too.

I'm sure many of you have seen this before but I lead a pretty sheltered life and I just watched it for the first time tonight.  It's a 12 minute movie about Mel, a '50's street racer * sort of guy, that gets turned on to the safe sport of sanctioned drag and lakes racing and is transformed into a cool hot rodder....and everyone lived happily ever after.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Definitely vintage footage.    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5851344091937046529&q=old+hot+rod+movie

I noticed a lot of the background stuff the second time I watched it....like the motorcycle cop's ticket pad.  It looks like he laid his scooter down on it a couple of times.

Slocrow emailed me with the sad news that Dyno Don Nicholson has passed away.  I watched him hit the first 7 second funny car pass ever at a dragstrip near here.  Them were the days :cry:

There's an article here on the NHRA website

A few weeks ago I talked about how much I liked my Harbor Freight HVLP detail gun.  Well, I think I'm changing my opinion.  I've been using it a lot lately and I always tear it down to clean it.  I don't know what has happened but it isn't spraying the same anymore and it's getting harder to get the right combination of air pressure and adjustment to get the atomization I want.  I've used this gun a lot and am real familiar with the adjustments and what combination has worked in the past.  To compensate I've had to thin the paint more and last night I painted two bike tanks and a helmet and the gun started dripping in the middle of the paint job.  Yup, I got a big drip right on top of the helmet.

Anyway, rather than continue to fight with it I'm going to get another gun.  I want to step up to a better gun but I'm not sure I want to spend the money for a Sata, Iwata, or the like.  I've been spending a lot of time searching Len's Autobodystore forums and other places for info.  Now I'm asking for opinions here.  

There is some talk about some mid priced import guns that people feel are quite high quality for the money and consistently give them good results.  The Astro 4020 detail gun is one that has been recommended.  Spraygunworld.com sells them for less than $85 and they have deals on different size tips and cups too if you buy them when you order the gun.  I've tried a friend's Sharpe Cobalt and Devilbiss Finishline and didn't care for the ones I used.  I haven't used their small guns tho.  I did read a couple of negative things about the Sharpe Finex line.  That's their low priced guns.

Anyone have any opinions about stepping up a notch?  

I'm also wondering if anyone has had any experience with LVLP guns.

I've got a #110 McMaster-Carr catalog up for auction to support the RRT.   The latest edition is #111 so this is almost brand new.  Here's an opportunity to help Fat Cat pay expenses for the site and get a really useful tool to boot.

If you don't have a McMaster-Carr catalog, you really do need one and they're extremely hard to get from the company.  This one has 3592 pages with over 410,000 items (they counted...not me).  It's just chuck full of all sorts of industrial supply goodies and it's very handy to browse through when you want to design something and need to know what's available or when you don't know for sure what you're looking for. The descriptions, pictures, and technical info are very informative. Their stuff is always top quality and they ship the same day you order...even if it's late in the afternoon.  

After the winner sends the money to Fat Cat or enjenjo I'll ship it out on my dime.  How much easier can it be?  I'm going to start the bidding at $25 just to make it worthwhile.

The auction ends at 11PM Eastern Standard Time, next Sunday January 22, 2006.

May the wise man win the catalog and your support means we will all win by continuing to have the RRT around.

I know you like to make fun of Harleys Tony but there's one on ebay that sort of fits right in with your thing for orphan cars.   Check it out

Well I've got myself into something I can't figure out how to fix. My Sony MicroVault USB drive has a secure section that requires a password. That has been working fine until tonight. I thought I was accessing the secure part when I clicked on PC Lock. That, I have found out, is software that locks your computer when you want it to. The trouble is I don't know anything about the software and when I clicked on it my computer went into a Locked mode where the only thing I can see is a full screen that says "PC Lock Running". My mouse doesn't work and I can't see any way to get control of my computer again. I know my password, I just don't know how to enter it.

I'm on my second computer but I want my other computer back and don't know what to do. There seems to be a lot of computer saavy people here and maybe someone can help. I've done searches and everyone says what great software it is but no says how to get control back.

Help!  :!:  :?:

Here's a 20% off coupon good at the retail stores for any one item....even things on sale...one per week.  http://ww2.harborfreightusa.com/showpage_retail.taf?pageid=214&email=  Maybe everyone already knows about it but I thought I'd post it anyway just in case anyone is thinking about getting anything.

I've used one each week for 3 weeks now and saved a lot

I want to do a poor man's tranny flush on my Buick and if I'm thinking right I can drop the pan, change the filter, put it back together, fill the pan with fluid, then pull the return line (after it goes thru the radiator), start the car and add new fluid while it's pumping out old fluid til it starts pumping new fluid.   Is that the way to do it?  Should I do anything different?  Which is the return line?  :?

Reading Crosley's post about gas prices and daily drivers made me wonder how gas prices will affect rodding.  Will you build engines to get better mileage rather than "rumpety rump" higher HP?  Will you be tempted to sell a car?....no change?....something else?...

.....just wondering how people are thinking about our hobby now... :0-0

This is a 9 minute movie that I thought was cool.  It's not car related but if you appreciate creativity and artistic talent it's worth the wait to download it.  http://extra.waag.org/users/aske/moviez/sicaf_sand.wmv    

It might give you some different ideas on things to do in your sand blast cabinet.

Here's a really cool one

HD is giving a 10% military discount thru the 4th to past and present military people.  I might have to make up a list.  I'm adding on to a storage barn so I need a bunch of lumber and I need some stuff for the trailer I'm building.  

I still haven't got a new table saw either so it looks like a good time to pick up the one C9 suggested.  I've been waiting for it to go on sale.  Might even have to apply for the 12 month 0% credit card too...then cut it up.

I don't think this is spam....I don't own Home Depot....darn it.  I just thought I'd mention it in case a veteran has been waiting for a sale.  Now if I can just find my discharge papers from 35 yrs ago...

There's details on their website

I took a couple of pictures that I was going to send your way but the email address I've got doesn't work.  I saw your car parked at the Roadster show but didn't see you.  It was nice meeting you and talking.....even tho you had your bullcrap protector on some of the time.

Some of you might remember that I'm pouring some concrete at home.  Well, the first concrete truck pulled into the driveway and drove right thru the powerlines going to the house.  It ripped the common wire out but left the two hot wires intact.  According to the electrician I called that causes 240 volts to surge thru the house looking for a ground...or something like that.  It took out my TV, DVD, VCR, fluorescent lights, outdoor lights, and there was a strong smell of burnt wiring in the laundry room.  The lights were going from orange to super bright, the breaker box was making all kinds of weird noises, and the alarm was going off.....and I was freaking out.  I ran down and flipped the main breaker and everything was quiet again except for the alarm on my computer battery backup.  I'm sure glad I have that because the computers survived.  The stuff that was hooked up to just regular surge protectors was all fried.  

The wires layed on top of his truck until the power company came to unhook everything.  In the meantime the second truck pulled as close as he could get and we wheelbarrowed the concrete into the forms.  UGGHH!!!  It was about an hour before the first truck got free to dump his load but everything ended up ok with the concrete.  Just a lot of extra work.  

The driver wasn't even supposed to be in the driveway yet so the concrete company is replacing everything.  Yeah, I'm getting new stuff but I really don't need the hassle of shopping right now.  I was trying to get my sedan ready to sell at Indy Goodguys but that isn't going to happen.....maybe Louisville.

And of course the cable guy will be here later in the week to put their line back up so I'm posting this from work.

Oh well, such is life.  I guess things could be worse.  The concrete came out awesome

I've been wanting a pad of concrete in front of my garage for a long time and today a friend with a bobcat came over and we scooped out a spot to pour some mud.  My back hurts from shovelling and leveling.  

This was what the area looked like before.  I'm always doing something out there.


This is what it looks like right now.  It's supposed to rain hard tomorrow so we probably won't pour concrete til Monday.  It'll make a nice place to work outdoors.  The garage is my shop so it'll be real handy.




Then I welded some steel rings to some pieces of steel fence posts to make a fire ring for backyard bonfires.  I think the rings are hand made rims off of wooden wagon wheels.  I picked them up at the junk yard.


Tomorrow I get to go to work and relax.   I don't know how you retirees do it.  

There probably has been a post on this...either here or the HAMB but I didn't see it if there was.  This site has some neat stuff to have sitting around.
http://kavalpewter.com/default.asp

I went up to my cabin last weekend for the opener of trout season. It's usually just a little early for morel mushrooms but I checked a couple of my favorite spots and found a few. Hopefully this weekend I'll find more. For those of you that have never had them, you probably won't understand, but for us devout fungus lovers, these are the ultimate.








This was just a small batch I fried up to munch on while I cooked a steak in the woodstove. Then I cooked the rest and smothered the steak. Yum Yum!

I'm leaving tomorrow morning to get some more.

I know some of you are fairly computer literate so I thought I'd ask your opinions about Anti-Virus Software.  My machine has Windows XP and I've currently got Norton System Works 2002.   I've never had any problems with viruses or the software but it probably is getting outdated.  I hear horror stories about installing new AV software and having it royally screw things up.    I don't want to go thru that but I do want good protection.

My automatic updates are due for renewal in a few days and since things are rolling along pretty smoothly I'm tempted to just renew for another year at $24.95.......But.....with rebates and all, that's about what it would cost to upgrade to current or different software.  I'd be interested to hear some opinions from you guys that know your stuff.

I've got a Dillon MKIII which is what Henrob torches were originally called.  It doesn't cut very well and I'm sure it's because of the tip positions but I'm not sure how to fix it.  The #2 tip, that is used for cutting, is shorter than the others.  It's 1.735" long and the others, including the copper one, are 1.870" long.  If someone has a Dillon or a Henrob, could you please measure the #2 tip.  

In the picture below you can see the recommended distance from the ends of the tips should be 1/4" and mine measures 1/2".  The recommended distance between them is 1/8" and mine are .175" apart.  I can buy all the parts but I'm not sure if I need another (longer) #2 tip or the overcutter oxygen tube assembly is bent or something.  The oxygen isn't focused on the heated area and I don't see any way to adjust anything.  I got this used so I don't know what kind of treatment it's had but all the welding tips don't even look like they've ever been used.  Just the cutting stuff doesn't work right.

I bought my mom's old hot rod a couple years ago when she bought a new Camry.  It's a '95 Buick LeSabre 3.8 and it's just developed a small problem.  Sometimes on a cold start it goes on a high idle and doesn't come off it until I shut the engine off and restart it.  It doesn't do it everytime it starts cold but everytime it does it a quick restart fixes it.  Otherwise it runs great.  I have a feeling it's a sensor or something but I don't know squat about electronic engines.  Any ideas :?:

I just got back from a B double E double R UN, and it did it.  I was rolling and just clicked the key off and back on and it was normal again.

I'm starting to build a camping trailer and I've wanted a table saw so it seems like a good time to get one.  At first I thought I'd get a cheap one but after talking to people that use saws a fair amount, I was convinced that there are a few things that the cheaper saws don't have.  Accuracy and power being two important things.  The saw I get doesn't have to be the best but I do want it to make quality cuts and last me a long time.  A lot of people feel that Delta makes a good saw so I've looked online for reviews and good prices.  

I've learned what to look for in a quality miter gauge, frames, table, and rip fence but I'm really confused about the motor ratings.  What is the difference in performance and reliability between an induction and a brush motor?  On the Delta website   the upper end saws have induction motors but the hp rating is lower than brush motors until you get up into the 230V motors.  Typically the $200 and less saws rate a 13amp brush motor at 2.5 hp and a 15amp brush motor at 3hp.  

The saw I was looking at is the Delta TS350 and it has an induction motor but it is only rated at 1hp.  The reviews all say great things about this saw for the  money and don't mention anything about it being underpowered.  I can get one for $339 delivered and at first I thought it was a good deal since they run over $500 list but I'm not sure because I don't understand the power ratings.

I did a search to see what these terms mean in "my world" but the descriptions were even hard to understand. Can anyone describe these ratings so that I can tell what kind of performance to expect?


Another thing that seems to be important to some people is whether or not the saw is belt driven or direct drive.  

I think asking woodworkers what saw to buy is like asking you guys  what's better....Chevy, Mopar, or Ford . :?

Being gearheads I'll bet you guys will appreciate the hand made model airplane engines on this site. http://www.enginehistory.org/model_engines.htm

The Rolls Eagle 22 is absolutely awesome.

['31 Chevy Pickup at Bonneville. I built it with a low budget.....350/350, Corvair frontend, '57 Chevy rear.]

'31 Chevy Pickup at Bonneville.  I built it with a low budget.....350/350, Corvair frontend, '57 Chevy rear.


'61 Rambler.  350/350, Mustang II front, 8" Ford rear.  
I bought this one like it is here.  It needs some work to get it on the road.  
It will be my touring car.


Me at the top of Pikes Peak.

I was reading parklane's post about being at Autorama and without knowing what RRTers looked like, he didn't meet any.  It got me to thinking.  Recently the generous rotund feline added a Member's Rides section to the board and if we put a picture of ourselves and our cars in there it would help some of us to identify each other at different events.  

It would also help find the right picture if we used our username for the subject of the post instead of just saying "My Ride".  

If anyone has trouble posting pictures they can email them to me and I'll size them and post them for you.  In fact, I've probably got some pretty good pictures of some of you already.

Some of us might be a little reluctant to put our picture on the internet but it was just a thought....

I'm not sure if you're ready for us yet but I tried the new link and got here so I thought I'd stretch out on the couch and make myself at home...Kinda like Clark Griswold's cousin Eddie.

Everything is familiar and working good.   You done good Frank.
:b-d:

My mom lives on a state highway and the snow plows go about 55mph when they're plowing past her house.  Every year they bust up her mailbox really good.  It almost always has to be replaced at least once or twice a year.  Last year she got one of those big plastic boxes that mounts to a 4x4 and it broke off the 4x4 right at the ground.  This year I braced it real good and so far it has broken the top part off 4 times.

Does anyone have any ideas for a snowplow proof mailbox?   I thought with all the creative minds on here somebody might come up with something.  Do you think a box mounted on a car spring would work?  Any ideas?

I found a swing away bracket called MailSwing but it's pretty expensive.  It works like this:  (I can just guess what would happen to the mail if the door wasn't shut tight.)

[First you start with utility trailer...most any kind will do.]

Since the snow is flying up here, I've been sorting thru some pictures and thought I'd post some I took at the 50th US Nationals at Indy last fall.  Winter is a good time to reflect on some things we did last summer.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot ....this is a pop up camper tech post.

First you start with utility trailer...most any kind will do.


Then you throw on some 2x4's an bungie cords


Now you throw some tarps over that and you have a home...that's about as hi-tech as it gets


I stayed here 6 nights .....had a great time


A shot from the neighbor's


The yard


I posted some more pics I took at the NHRA US Nationals in 2 webshots albums.  This one has a lot of nostalgia stuff in it since it was the 50th anniversary:   http://community.webshots.com/album/246402942hvQOpF  

And this one has some off the wall racing shots and a few campground pictures:  http://community.webshots.com/album/246407605LvNrop

There's two pages to each album.  If you click on the "normal view" button above the picture it's clearer.

Phat46 drew this drawing of a Knight of the Rodder's Roundtable and we had it hanging off the canopy at Kalamazoo in '03.  I really liked it and thought I'd see if it's still around.  I'm probably talking out of school here but I think it would make a neat T-shirt and we are due for a new version.  Maybe Frank has a different design in mind...I don't know.  If we don't want to use it for an official shirt, I'd like to get Joe's permission to use it for a home made shirt for myself.   I took some pretty hi rez pictures of it but I hope it didn't get lost somewhere.

I've got a #108 McMaster-Carr catalog up for auction to support RRT (kinda like the pledge breaks on PBS).    

If you've never seen a McMaster-Carr catalog, this one has 3528 pages of all sorts neat industrial supply stuff and these are real hard to get. You can thumb thru this when you don't know for sure what you're looking for or you want to design something with easy to get parts.  Or if you just want to order some special fasteners.  Their stuff is always good quality.  The descriptions and technical info is awesome.  There's lots of illustrations too that help those of us that can't read.  It's the most used catalog I've got.  Everyone from a hard core hotrodder to a yuppie needs this shiney, slightly used McMaster Carr catalog.  I'll pay the shipping....including Canada, and the winner sends the money to Frank here.

It's a year old but they don't change that much every year so they still stock everything that's in it. McMaster Carr is the best run company, bar none, that I've ever seen. They treat you right and ship the same day you order.

The auction ends at 11PM Eastern Standard Time on January 9, 2005.  May the wise man win.

Something happened tonight that moved me enough to make me share some thoughts.  I was out doing some running around and had a talk radio show on.  A guy had called in that was very angry about everything and was blaming all the world's woes on whoever he felt like without any good reasons.  He was just full of hate and by the tone of his rantings you could tell his life was probably miserable in most other areas too.  The host of the show let the caller talk and didn't argue with him.  After a reasonable amount of time the host thanked the guy for his call and said good-bye.  Then he told a little story about how his dad died unexpectedly when he was 12 years old and how it affected his life.  He said it made him realize how precious life is and how thankful he is to wake up in the morning and have the privilege to live another day.  He went on to say that we all have the choice to have a positive or a negative attitude but we only get one shot at life.  Nobody is going to tap us on the shoulder and tell us how much time we have left...we get what time we get, and then it's over.  In referring to the caller, he said that it was a shame that so many people choose to live their lives full of hatred and prejudice.  

I thought about that and in my daily activities I see angry, selfish people everywhere.  There's nothing I can do about it except to resolve to always look for the good in things instead of the bad and hope it rubs off on others.  He was right...life is just too short to waste by being negative.

All this happened while I was driving around.  When I got home there was a message on the answering machine from Sue.  She was at her daughter's house.  Her daughter had called and said that our 8-year-old grandson's dad had died this evening.  He had a brain aneurysm in a grocery store at 34 years old.   They had divorced but they still got along good.  Her son is devastated and the family is starting some counseling tomorrow to learn the right way to handle it.

I'm not writing this for sympathy because I hardly knew the guy.  I guess I just want to say something that might make someone stop and think before they let a negative attitude and anger take time away from their already too short of a life.

I need to be able to move my welder around in my shop so I figured I'd make an extension cord.  
I figure 25 feet will be plenty.  I asked about wire gauge size on another post and enjenjo and
sumner said they use 8-3 wire.  The owners manual has this as an electrical guide:

I'm not an electrical guy so I want to make sure I understand this right.  I've checked welding forums
and I've seen a lot of different information.   The way I read the info above is that I need a maximum
of 30 amp breaker and wire size can be 14 ga up to 67 feet long.  

I used 15 feet of 8 ga wire from the box to the receptacle.  I went shopping for flexible wire for an
extension cord and it gets real expensive for 8 ga.  I've already got 12-3 extension cords that I could
change ends on or I saw 10-3 cord at Menards I think it's for motorhome hookups.  I don't want to take
any chances but if I read the specs from Hobart correctly, I could use 14 ga and meet their requirements.  
Am I missing something?

Also, is it better to just make a 25 foot power cord wired directly into the welder instead of using an
extension cord? It would eliminate a couple of connectors and let me change to a locking connector
or something better than the bulky one that Hobart uses(NEMA 6-50 P & R).

I've had a windfall by selling on ebay lately and I'm going to spend some of the money on a decent MIG welder.  I'm looking real close at either a Lincoln 175 or a Hobart 180 (both 230V).  Both cost $600.  I asked the guy that takes care of our test cells at work what he would recommend and he said it's funny that I would ask because he was looking at the same two welders and was going to buy one of them tonight.  He wondered if I had seen any recommendations on the RRT.   I know you guys have talked about specific welders in the past but I wasn't ready to buy then so it kind of went in one ear and out of the other.

Has anyone got one of these welders and/or have any opinions about them?  We're limiting ourselves to the $600 price range but want the best welder we can get.  My friend is going to buy this afternoon after work so he might not benefit from this post unless someone answers before 3:30pm but I'm going to shop around after Christmas so I'd appreciate your opinions.

Whether you're huddling around the pot bellied stove or cranking up the air conditioner, I want to wish everyone the best for the holidays.  



In spite of the commercialism, I hope everyone takes the time to appreciate what the season means to you.  

If you're travelling, be careful...we want to see you all back here in 2005.
:b-d:

I've wanted to get a disc sander for a while and I've been noticing they're less than $100 now.  Sears has a 6" disc/4" belt one for $88 and Menards has one for $69.  I looked on Epinions site for ratings and they said that the Craftsman sander is made in China and I know the Menards/Harbor Freight ones are too.  It isn't something I'd abuse but they sure are handy to have around.  I was wondering if anyone has had any good or bad opinions or experiences with the cheap ones.

George

I'm ebaying a bunch of stuff off a 30 Chevy (doodlebug, for those that remember) and I want to see if some of the electrical things work but I don't have a 6V battery.  I'm pretty dumb about these things.  The parts that I want to check are amp gauge, starter, & horn.  Will it hurt to put 12V to any of those for a quick check?  

If I figure out how to spin the generator fast enough, how should I check it to see if it's generating?  There's one wire coming out of the side, under the regulator that bolts to the generator body.  

The temp gauge is mechanical and when I heat the area around where the sender mounts to the block the needle goes up.  Can I assume that if it works at all, it's still accurate?  I guess I can boil water and stick it in and check it.  The faces of the gauges are in really good shape and if they work they bring quite a bit on ebay.  Any ideas on how to check the oil pressure gauge?  Can I put low air pressure to it?.

I know, these are stupid questions but I don't want to screw something up by using my usual method of trial and error.

It's kind of ironical that I couldn't even get $200 out of the whole car but so far just the carb and air cleaner are bringing more than that and they still have a couple days to go.

I want to get one of these for the living room area of my cabin to hang from the ridge log.  A cheap imitation is fine.  I don't want to pay collector prices for an old one and have to rebuild it.  Does somebody know where they might sell these?  I haven't checked the Menards, Lowes, etc yet but I thought I'd ask before I start driving around.

George

I'm learning to sell on eBay and am going to start by getting rid of lots of stuff I've collected over the years but I'll never use.  The trouble is, I don't know exactly what some of the stuff is because I'm a pack rat and keep everything.  I'm not sure if it might be considered spamming if I post pictures of it and ask what it is but I'm not trying to sell it here.  I want to put it on ebay.  If it smells spammy, let me know.  

I'm going to post a picture of this grille because I don't know what it's for.  I thought it was a '58-59 tbird but it's got a ford emblem so I don't know.  It was in a '57 Ford Fairlane parts car that I had with an interior in it out of something else.  I'd appreciate it if someone can ID it.

Heaven forbid!!.....but yes, I do frequent other forums than the RRT.      

One of them is a MSN Harley group.  There is a post there right now with some really cool motorcycle pictures from 50 or so years ago that I think some people here might like.  They're on message #28 of   "this thread".  Enjoy.

I used to ride a Harley on a 7 mile paper route when I was 13 everyday for 2 years in Michigan....and never failed to deliver a paper, so I can idenify with some of the snow pics.  I also rode hare scrambles so I can identify with some of the mud pics but most are way beyond my experiences.  I admired guys like that tho.  Our neighbors in the early '50s were pretty hardcore bikers and they sure did have fun!

Cars or bikes......them were the days

A few months ago you posted about an emblem you were looking for.  It seems like this was it.  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2493023999&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

I sold one of my sedans last night ('30 Chevy project).   The guy is picking it up tomorrow (Saturday).   As I was gathering all the parts together tonight it felt like I was getting rid of a little piece of my heart.  These * project cars are almost like women.  You get used to having them around, take them for granted, make plans to spend time together but usually don't do it as much as you should....then when it comes time to part company you get a heavy heart.  I know some of you guys can let cars pass thru your lives and not think twice about it.  After all, it's just a chunk of rusty steel.  But me and that rusty chunk of steel have shared quite a few beers together late at night planning what its new personality would be like. Me sitting in my pondering chair, wondering....would it be a tub?, a severely chopped, in your face, slammed sedan delivery?, remain a 4 door?,  fenderless?,  chopped?, channeled?,  roof filled or not?.....whatever.  

Sometimes when we were alone I'd run my hands all over her firm smooth body feeling all the details.....the mounds, the depressions,  the gentle softness of where one part of her body meets another, the large firm headlights.....taking in the unique odor that told me she had been around the block a few times and had made so many others happy before me.

Anyway, the time has come to part company. I hadn't done anything much to it because I've been busy with other projects and since I'm getting older, and have too many projects, it will be much better off in it's new home where it will actually get some attention.  A kid (well, he's 25) at work is getting it and he's planning on giving it a new face.  I introduced him to the RRT and the HAMB if he has questions.  He's still getting ideas but he definitely wants it to be traditional and have an attitude.  I'm sure he'll whack it up pretty good.  He's a car guy that has a '64 Continental, '64 Chevy project, and a SS Impala so I think the sedan and him will be happy together.  I let him have it really cheap and he's real excited about getting started on it.  

Now if I could just bring myself to get rid of some more stuff.....

Here's a couple pics I just snapped while I was getting things around.






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I've got two computers networked thru a router and am running Norton System Works on both of them.  The anit-virus automatic updates subscription expired on one of the computers and rather than renew it I've thought about trying AVG Anti-Virus which I've heard good things about.....and it's free.  I don't want to uninstall System Works, unless I have to, since it has features I like and use.  My question is, can I install AVG and run it on one machine and leave System Works installed and use it?  I checked the FAQ's on AVG's site but didn't see anything about this.

Somebody at work just told me about this auction near Davenport, Iowa this Sunday. http://vanderbrinkauctions.com/items/details.asp?ID=110&ItemType=AUCTION  

It's at a towing service that's been hauling cars in since 1949 and never parted any of them out.  There might be some good stuff there if it isn't all rusted.

Since Nat's North is this weekend in Kalamazoo, I figured it would be a good time to see who all is coming and get a little discussion going about what might be going on.

I'm assuming the BBQ trailer will be there and some of us will be parking near it.  I can set up my 20 ft canopy if I can get it on the fairgrounds with my van Thursday afternoon after I register.  I'll try to get the same spot as last year or close to it.  I could use some help if anyone wants to volunteer.  I won't be able to save spots to park so if anyone else wants to put up a canopy on Thursday it would help reserve some real estate.

Hope to see some old friends there and meet some new ones.

I still haven't unpacked from Bonneville (but maybe I should wash some underwear :? ).  Last weekend I drove down to Macon, Georgia and picked up the Rambler.  That was the TRIP FROM H-E-L-L.....but that's too long of a story to get into. This time I'm headed to the NHRA US Nationals at Indy to relax, sip a few beers, and watch some awesome drag racing.  A couple friends and I have been going for years.  We camp for 5 or 6 days in the campground across the street with a few thousand of our rowdy friends where most anything can, and probably will, happen.  Almost every kind of pit vehicle or campsite imaginable will be there.  I'll have to post a picture of the pop-up camper I made last night.    

We have seats right behind the starting line close enough to spit on the track (if you can spit 20 ft).   All in all the whole experience is not for the faint of heart but way worth it.  Again, I have to refer to Faat Rod's tag line.

To everyone I promised CD's of the Bonneville trip pictures, I'll get to it, but I haven't had time to sort thru them yet.  From what I've seen there are a few pretty good ones.  NSRA Nats North in Kalamazoo (hometown show) is the weekend after this so when that is over there should be time to regroup.

Well, after over 5500 miles together, purplepickup (the truck) and me are back from another "See the USA in your Chevrolet" tour.  The truck ran flawlessly.  I'll never get tired of that roar of the pipes at 75.  Naturally, I took a bunch of pictures and most of the places I was at have already been pretty well covered, but I'll still post a few pictures from my perspective anyway.  I downloaded my pictures last night but haven't had a chance to check them out yet.  

I do want to thank everyone for the great friendships that we share.   My best memories of this trip are the people, not the events.  Of course all the things going on were amazingly memorable too.   All in all, this vacation was awesome even tho I got sick for a few days. Coincidently, Sumner and Hooley got sick at the same time.  We still can't figure out what might have caused it.  Maybe alcohol fumes from the car...maybe buffet food....or maybe just a coincidence.  The best part of being sick is that I stayed at Sumner's place longer than I had planned.  That not only helped me physically, it helped me mentally too.  I told him he should build a couple of cabins and rent them out to those of us that need a therapeutic getaway.   I thank him, his wife, and stepdaughter for making me feel welcome and comfortable.  It was tuff to say goodbye.  The bad part of being sick is that I missed most of the HAMB drags and all the related things.  I was only at MOKAN for a few hours.

I did realize a couple of things while driving on this trip, however, that are a little humbling.  You can only squeeze so much into 24 hours.  There are people that I saw but didn't have time to talk to and there were places I wanted to spend more time at but there just wasn't time.  It seems like the more places I go, the more people I meet, and so it goes.  If it felt like I ignored anyone or was short with a conversation, I'm sorry.  It's that darn purple truck.  People remember it and me from my 75,000 plus miles of travels in it so there is always someone coming up to talk about previous adventures or unfinished discussions we've had in the past.  I'm not bragging or complaining, it's one of the main reasons I love this hobby.  Plastic trophies just collect dust but friends and memories are the real prizes and they last a lifetime.

Another humbling thing I realized is that life is short and my list of things I want to do is too long.  I'm going to sell most of my projects I've collected parts for and focus more on enjoying what I've already got going.  I'll probably keep one project car that might get finished...maybe not.  Those kinds of thoughts are what prompted me to get another car that is mostly finished and running.  It's big enough to take Murf (my dog), all the crap I take on trips, and whoever wants to ride along, but it's still my kind of ride.....inexpensive and unique.  I bought a '61 Rambler wagon at Louisville and between it and the pickup, all my rodding needs should be taken care of.  Just refining the two cars will keep me plenty busy.  The Rambler has a 350/350, 8" Ford rear, Mustang II front, and no rust.  One problem tho..... I have to go to Macon, Georgia to pick it up this weekend and I still haven't put my car trailer back together so I'll be busy this week getting the trailer wired, new wheel bearings, brakes, and decked.

Next week I'll be at the NHRA US Nationals at Indy for the whole week, then NSRA Nats North is the following weekend in Kalamazoo.  Life is great and I want to enjoy as much as I can while I can.  Like Bob Klessig says "Life is NOT a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to slide in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming, WOW !!! WHAT A RIDE !!!!!"

I'll post some pictures here and there when I get time.

When Don mentioned the rustbelt it reminded me of something I found last night.   I had my truck up on the lift and saw some drops of water hanging on the bottom of the floor.  I did drive it in the rain last weekend but that should have evaporated by now.  It's real humid and I suspected some remaining Bonneville salt from last year was absorbing the moisture in the air.  I tasted it and sure enough it was salt water.  It's amazing how hard it is to get that crap off a car.  There were droplets under almost all of the cab and box.   I've used the sprinkler thing under the car for hours, numerous car washes, driven in a lot of hard rain and it's still there.  I thought there was more fresh rust on the fasteners and other unprotected spots than last winter.   The K&N air cleaner base was all rusted and I had to take the throttle linkage apart and clean the corrosion off it cuz it was hanging up.  That stuff get's everywhere.   Oh well, it's worth it and I am planning a re-do on the truck in the next couple of years anyway.

When I got back from Colorado a week ago Comcast was doing some maintenance on their server then a tree limb fell across my cable line and now as I'm typing this there's a tornado warning and it's lightning and raining like crazy.  It looks like I've got a little catching up to do.

KABOOOMM!!    Whoa.....THAT was a real close lightning strike.... I'd better shut this thing down before lightning strikes and screws me up again.

See ya

My ISP is down at home and I'm not supposed to post from here at work but .......

A friend has a room at Wendover and can't go so it is available.  Here's the info:
Best Western Salt Flat Inn
895 E Wendover Blvd
Wendover UT
Aug 13-14-15
AAA rate of $62.26  2 queens, no smoking
Email or PM me if you're interested.  If my internet service doesn't come back up at home I won't get the message til next Tuesday when I'm back to work.  If more than one is interested, it'll go to the first one.

Later.....

At least I'm getting caught up with a few things at home since I'm not spending so much time online. :?