The Rodding Roundtable
Motorhead Message Central => Rodder's Roundtable => Topic started by: idrivejunk on April 29, 2023, 10:44:08 PM
Thought I would write you guys a story, a mere chain of events spotted by human nature, and see if you guys had any to tell what with it being springtime and all. :)
So last Monday bright eyed and bushy tailed as I get, wearing all new clothes brand spankin fresh clean and everything...
High-tailing it headlong into an interesting project car to tear it down with reckless abandon, I find it to be one great big dung heap inside.
Ah yes, rat pellets galore with poison as garnish. Meadow muffins! The salt n pepper was ants in a headliner earmuff shaker I tell you what.
In a sanity preservation effort, I took the afternoon off to u-pull-it some parts for my noble mount of about 14 battered years now. The day before, I had filed a police report on the hit and run done a week ago now, that left my car unable to even roll. There were no critters encountered whilst writhing around like a madman under a junk car all afternoon but thats another story. Just before dark, in the street, I uprighted the suspension just enough to take a full size wheel and "drive" again.
Point being that I picked the wrong week to break in new clothes. Long about halfway through I ran out of laundry soap and them black knees are feces.
Loving the task, whizzing through with the right stuff... priceless because I dig the car. Spending a third of the time evacuating unprecedented rat turd heaps of epic proportion. Suggested maybe boss can charge extra, I've been sickened by poison pellets in one years ago. Then and now I winced my way through the job.
Finally overwith from the dash back on Friday, at quitting time the issue arises that a turkey defrosted and ready in work fridge was up for grabs due to a fryer capacity snafu. This was a 24.7 pound gobbler.
Mercy sakes alive. What to do? I text the world's best Mother ever. Mine. ;D
Leaping to the rescue, in true Kansas wartime baby lady style, she cooked it right up delicious, promptly on delivery and promises the crew sandwiches Monday. Well I'll be. Bless her heart.
Jolted awake today, I hear a dog barking. Boooy howdy now theres a hot button and I groggily archived more evidence for future use. But I yelled like nutso in the house and dadgummit I have not been driven to that in some time. Been making good normality progress and flowing with the goers fluently enough of late.
Figured I'd get a shot at driveway alignment of my crooked wheel after the dog quieted down but then aw. Remembered I cut grass and trimmed bushes until and in rain yesterday after work but only got the front.
So out back I fire up the mower and go to get done. Right next to the old central ac outside unit theres a good long snake. Not moving.
This is the unit fried by a snake coiled on the capacitor terminals. About the same snake just a decade or two later.
I flick it onto patio with stick to identify and it is extremely lethargic. Not knowing if I broke it or need the hatchet or what, I just mow and glance each pass. Then leave it be on the patio and go out cruisin and to snag some chicken.
Chicken. How many critters are we at now? I've lost count. Yardbird was the only one I've et, leastwise so far.
Well anyhow I just looked up the snake. "It is an omen of good fortune", "Man's best friend"...
the noble Black Rat Snake. A constrictor probably constricting a bug and coming out of semi hibernation. Like a four footer. The modern world would have me publicly apologize for the displacement and make restitution in store bought mice for the next century. Then there'd be the civil suit. I just wanted to mow not sin and the stick under it was baseboard molding, not pointy.
Black rat, huh? :lol: Belly laugh. Just like my knees. And new shoes. Been so dirty this week I can't even think clean thoughts! :twisted:
Thems just a string of observational commentaries to fill your few minuteses. :)
Now howbout you share your varmint tails? :shock:
Small world, I saw a black rat snake slithering out of the woods 3 weeks ago. Technically it was Mrs B who saw it. The sidewalk is too narrow for walking side by side. She was behind me. Suddenly she put a hand on my shoulder and started saying "walk faster walk faster, walk faster." It was about a 4 footer and probably on patrol for whatever edibles it could find.
Racers can go 4 mph and are also just black on top. The one in my story may have been unharmed, it was gone later in the day.
While not as extensive as yours, I had the opportunity this weekend to reduce the squirrel population at my place. My wife won't let me kill them so she was away for a few days and I took advantage of that. Have this trap that clamps on them if they trigger a little "V-shaped" thingie. I set it on top of a cinderblock and smear peanut butter on the inside of the hole.
First afternoon got 1 gray. The next day was 3 gray and 1 red. Yesterday was only 1 gray.
I have no problem with them as long as they stay in the woods. Trouble is they get under the hood of cars, eat all the bird seed and just generally make a mess.
After all that, I get up this AM and there are 2 of them on the deck! And wife will be home in 2 hours so my trapping is done for now.
Here's a pic of what they did in my son's RV van. Cost $800 bucks to fix the wires they chewed.
Looks as though varmints are downright invasive in your neck of the woods, same as here. Thats a noteworthy pile you showed and it represents a heap of work for both man and beast.
Truth be known... after all the blasting and priming on the current 68 Chevy cab job that was interrupted by teardown of the potty mop 69 GT job...
the 68 cab was SO full of acorns and horsehair that the whole way across above windshield where visors mount is riddled with rust holes. Neato, thats all double wall. Five feet across and all overhead. Sigh. Last cab, a 56, wore me out just welding up four screw holes up there and mudding it on a Monday. Suffered the week through with shoulder blades feeling padlocked together.
Sux gettin old. Butt hay.
Reining in the subject matter now, I uh. Can report that cling wrap corsages clipped to car mirrors does seem to be effective. Each cling wrap wad gets an initial visit and deposit but the culprits catch on that better perches exist.
I gotta scare up a pic of my 72GP's engine bay upon reciept. It was plumb full up against backside of hood. Epic fecal episode.
Worthy of mention as a bonus pointer-
Years ago we had a 68 Cougar in for a TT Supra mill swap, did not tear down body but square foot piles of dead killer-soaked wasps came outta that thing forever. Never really found from where. Well on the 69 Mustang GT teardown I found out where they go on those. Inside die cast quarter panel extensions. Oh my word there were some good ol big uns in those. Nests, old but a lot lot of wasps called it home once.
I was stung about 20 times by wasps jabbing a stick into a stake pocket on Grandpa's 60 or so long wide bed. When I was nehi to a hubcap. Swimmin in an ocean of Calamine lotion. I had been "penned" to play in the truck bed so as to be easy to keep an eye on. Hah! Couple dozen stings before an uncle snagged me out of there.
Y'know what though, I am right proud to be being alive while theres still big scary critters and all that which still creepeth underfoot. We need animals and us and them both need trees and water. Yep. Except some desert big cats get by on just the blood, never have drink water. I'm glad I don't deal with those and oh man... ocean critters are just altogether another matter, entire!
When I opened front door today, I adjourned a meeting of several species nearby. Birds but also a squirrel who knew it was in no danger, presiding over events from the rooftop. I'm hoping they were discussing replacing the cypress tree that used to stand where they were congregating.
Apparently all is well with the inhabitants. Thats all for now from this Rambling American. :) :arrow:
More stories. They are abundant if'n a feller pays attention. ;)
Couple weeks ago I head out to the back yard and sawdust falls on my head when I open the door. After a quarter century of keeping a termite contract going, the trusted advisor who told me I needed one told me I should drop it so I did, in April. :roll:
That was my first thought. But it was black ants not termites or carpenter ants and foam core dust from the steel door. And I killed em all, on the spot.
Last week, had one of the house doors open for a few minutes and ended up with a half dozen flies in the kitchen. Killed em all, right then and there.
Last night at bedtime, on throne with TRJ in hand and phone on counter, in walks the biggest insect I maybe ever saw. Had doors open quite a bit last evening doing chores since it was nice after work. Been lots of rain though and at home its crickets in yard. At work, grasshoppers right now.
Never seen a cockroach since I left Dallas but thats what this looked like, creeping up to me with my britches down fer Pete's sake. With gigantism. Wanting to believe cricket but either way...
I wasn't waiting to lose sight. Ever so reluctantly, with the TRJ I swatted and legs flew across the room. I'm leaning toward big funky looking cricket since one swat did it. Anyhow...
So there I am. Paperwork unfinished, mag unduly soiled, bug guts scattered about. Nifty.
In that same about to go to bed minute which began so peacefully, a dog had started barking and a second super low flying helicopter had thumped its way directly over the house shaking the walls and, the train engineer that always does was laying on the horn. The big bug was a catalyst.
Yelling constantly now, neck veins pulsating, I begin cleanup operations on all of the above. You'll be glad to know the sturdy high quality construction and fine glossy finish of the magazine / book remained unscarred after disinfecting.
But by then I was wound up and during the last handwashing one small slip sent my phone on a trip across the counter, across the sink and slamdunking into the toilet where legs and other floaty remnants swirled.
Having striven for inner peace so long now in the face of bad situations that in an instant compound exponentially... I grabbed the phone and shucked the case but as I grabbed it I inadvertently turned the camera on via an unintended quick lanch gesture. Screen came on before I could even snatch it out of the water.
More disinfecting and obsessive handwashes ensued and the phone, this very one I'm typing on, never quit working. Plugged it in awhile later, moisture detected at power cord inlet. OK OK, let it sit overnite without the case.
Still works. And I just stomped a lethargic wasp who joined me for lunch.
I did good. Washed my filthy car, trimmed weeds and bushes after work, and was tired. The yelling took awhile to subside and somewhere in there, once again unseen forces came to mind. Thats my life, I try good and evil comes to dismantle it. I had just cleaned the bathrooms too.
This stuff don't happen to you guys, does it?
:blank:
Equestrian critters.
^^^^
Good critters. :)
Those are two of my favorites. I remember when you could get either one cheap. Now they'll forever be outside my financial reach.
Saw a Mustang yesterday, same color as that one was but not a GT. I swear (and I have the experience to know the look) the guy was taking off on foot, maybe to home nearby, but the car was dead and barely coasted into a wide driveway. He had his phone out.
The Bronco appeal eludes me but they are a significant percentage of our workload at the shop. Boss and I talked of this the other day and if we haven't done ten yet I'd be suprised.
I don't have any significant investment in my old car, just kept it and now people say it has five times my best car's value. None of my coworkers have cars with carbs, mine is kind of like an automotive megalith. A withering vestige of more reasonable times.
The instant I opened the door to it this evening, my spirit guide hopped aboard and unlike last night we experienced unfettered bliss. So I'm calling this a good critter.
This is a fairly lovable but useless and sometimes violent family critter, on the other hand. The bobble version is something I whipped up with a carb cleaner spray tube and ballpoint pen spring for entertainment.
That looks like a well-loved cat.
That is a complete and accurate description of it and the purpose served by it. :)
Its pretty choosy about buddies but fell victim to the lure of cheese paper near a Sonic dumpster. ;) Back then it looked more like the old newspaper cartoon character.
I didn't even have to train mine to work in the shop, but I have to keep him out now, because he keeps knocking things off the tables.
That's how we know the world isn't flat. Cats would have knocked everything off by now.
What if you yell at the cat:
"HEY! Knock it off!" ;D
Would it quit that, or....
My cat was Pearl. She lived long enough to buy liquor but never did and dang she must have been special. She never tipped anything over. A true pussyfoot.
Pogo is a goof, a klutz who knows how to flip a food bowl if need be. :lol: But hasn't learned the rule about the hand that feeds you. We have to spell the word chicken around him. He is also the type that hides. Won't run away, just sacks out in oblivion somewhere then shows up ready to play at bedtime. Then the other cat wants in or out at 4AM. And the two cats will not get along even after sharing a home for years. Young male is just too curious about the old female.
Been noticing some fairly colossal ants on the shade tree at the shop. I'd sure hate to have those in my pants. :arrow:
Excuse me if I am going all Marlin Perkins here. :) Mutual of Omaha does not sponsor this thread.
I used to enjoy the Aardvark cartoons-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WPUvO7ircyU&pp=ygUUcGluayBwYW50aGVyIGdpIGFudHM%3D
Wasn't fast enough to catch a good pic of one of those gi-ants yet but I did see another critter that caught my eye out by the tree. Pretty bright blue common insect that took flight as I got a blurry pic.
Who can guess what I saw? I may have just never seen the light catch one right but I'm a big fan of blue.
Have you guys heard of Han Blue and Purple, or Egyptian Blue? Those pigments are pretty wild ancient mindblowers with inexplicable properties. Critters are involved in making some extremely pricey pigments.
It was a mud dauber. Never realized they are blue. Nice hue of it. Theres also some blue wasps that eat crickets.
The ancient pigments mentioned are enigmatic, defying analysis because of some quantum dimensional aspect, blah blah near infrared... some made from cooked seashell scrapings or snail squeezins of some sort. It "collapses a dimension". Meaning it can exist in a two dimensional state but in our three dimensional world. How can we put this in car paint is what I'm sayin. :shock:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-technology/han-purple-2800-year-old-artificial-pigment-quantum-020105
Walked through a face high spiderweb first thing today, no other critter encounters to report. Which is wierd, I was at Pogo's place yesterday and did not see hide nor hair of either cat. Be that as it may...
This morning I saw yet another maggot gagger online.
New Camaro made to resemble something else. This time, a 69 Chevelle. Last one I saw was 70 Chevelle. Before that, half a dozen places making Firebirds out of them.
Gross, man. Care to speculate what mindset generates these things? I don't get it. It just doesn't add up. :blank:
.
It's alive! :)
That wasn't a bad Gene Wilder impression, Bill.
Its a cute little coyote pup. :)
I heard it run. Sounds like a V8 Ford. Hood and sides are done but some other paint issues remain. It went to see a local tuner before putting the hood on for keeps.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ done 8)
Baaaaddd.
So which Mustang generation do you guys want if you can take your pick and have it your way?
And what if you could opt for a Maverick or Cougar or Fairmont instead, would you?
Critter quiz. Ignore monetary value. :)
65 fastback
I bought a 68 new, a 69 used later on, then a 66 fastback GT. I liked the 68 best because it was new and didn't have any problems. I liked the 66 because it was sportier, but had problems, like rust. If I could have what I want now, it would be another 66 Fastback.
my first running driving car was a 65 fastback. High school car , then drag raced it . Got a picture of it in national dragster in july of 83 when I got a runner up at canadian national open event. Tied for season championship at our local track that year and lost the runoff race on a .002 red light to become runner up .
In the early 80s Mom had a low miles 68 coupe that I used for a few pretty or rich girl dates. Gold with black stripe, 200 auto, no power, underdash air. It was in like new condition for the most part.
I think I have a pic someplace. Still had a * (proper name censored) Price L/M used car tag on it.
My like doesn't start until '68 and it is just the GT style that I dig then. Because Bullitt chase and a hoppy reverse burnout.
By the way, on a tangent, that car chase in Bullitt was a real stretch. Its a sad day when a fuilgrown Charger cannot shove a Mustang around. McQueen mighta been a racecar guy but my money would be on that Hickman stunt dude with the horn rims in a real life grudge chase.
I digress... it was the car chases which inspired me. The root of automotive passions I once had actually do center around wanting vehicles that go and keep going like that. Thats how come the Seven Ups chase ranks right there with Bullitt. Big car wins. Plus all Pontiac and smashing Mopars. Ha.
I did a whole 70 Mach1 job a decade ago (all but paint), soupy 351, red 4 speed, and drove it barely. Being a coil spring man I did not feel as though I could push it any at all being so leaf springy and light but nose heavy, without using both lanes. Mom's car was a whitewalled dud only good for pegleg brake stands.
The 69 GT I am working on now, behind that Mach1 job, has firmed up my opinion on favorite. 69-70 style just eats 64-1/2 to 68 style for lunch. Stodgy vs groovy. Fancy vs cool. I am not a late boomer but an early X-er and theres a definite style distinction there.
I would not kick out the 2005 gen style for eating crackers in bed but I would for drive by wire and because they are waaay too common. But they can look good. Still double what I could afford for just the crappiest ones.
A 69-70 with a GM L67 would be a nifty driver. Leastwise thats a thought like I get being where when and who I am. It would be a strange critter.
Now if I could just think of a critter reference to drop a Nomad pic or two. I enjoy looking at the work all smoothed out (but not yet shiny and it'll be a long while if ever).
Finis coronat opus! :)
I've owned 17 mustangs. Of those, my favorite was a highland green 67 coupe. It looked like a taxi but it was a 390 4 speed car. It had the engine dress up kit and the factory tach, no other options. The 69-70 Shelby's have the great style but the 2005 and up cars are way better drivers. I would buy a 05-09 if I could find a nice one that wasn't too pricey. My son had a 06 that I drove 1000 miles to pick it up. No complaints about the car. It was a v6 5 speed. It needed more muscle to develop character. The 08 bullitt has some cool factor on it. The 2019 bullitt has the performance to match the car. Serious money. No decisions on my part. Just don't buy a 96 because they seem to be shot from the factory. LOL.
17? There won't be that many cars in my whole life!
Maybe you can clear something up for me then, oh Mustang guru.
Door crash bars. What I have called door intrusion beams...
Early Mustangs don't have them. Some replacements do.
The 70 I did got one new door, with bar. So it is running around lopsided on ballast.
The 69 now got two new doors that do not have bars. (These are horrible, shells are improperly located within the skin, causing a mountain of problems when the originals were usable)
So I wondered if the door bar was a change from 69-70. Added for the 1970 year. Searched for that answer because if I ever was to want a Mustang, I'd want the safer, heavier doors to bring crash safety out of the 1950s on it.
Item descriptions found by me on web do not state whether a particular door is with or without crash bar. Prices vary widely.
I see doors with bar offered for first gens currently so I deduce from these facts that crash bars are found only in aftermarket '70 and earlier doors and that up until at least 1971, such was not originally offered.
I don't need a stereo or air conditioning or power anything but door bars are pretty much a minimum requirement for anything I want to commute with.
So whats the deal with early Mustang door crash bars? Why are both offered but with no distinction or price difference or even so much as an indication in product info? Seems like I am missing something.
I have no knowledge of crash bars. I have no memory of what I saw under the door panel. Too many decades ago. :)
I hear that. One door you can hang by yourself, but with the other kind assistance may be required. Bikes run into doors a lot and for example a redlight-running sideswipe by an FWD SUV will penetrate less deeply into the interior and help prevent the door from being shoved through the jamb. With as much material and weight difference as it makes, you'd think there would be a distinction in product info and pricing. Just so a guy knows which he is buying. It would suck to order a pair and get one of each.
Score another one for the bird dogs. Went for a lovely peaceful ride again tonight but it didn't last long. Picked up a bird dig tail that stuck like a cockleburr on a hound's behind through three or four turns. Finally theres an S curve so I do it at double the limit. No matter, here they come with headlights of a thousand suns apiece in their mundane everyday carefree pace, looking to throw a hook on my bumper for a free ride I guess. I whip into a driveway before they run me over and they nearly do as I cuss at them loudly. Dander up, I give them little breathing room in return for a few miles to the next turn opportunity. They are running down the next bumper, accelerating until they get on it too. Ridiculous. Dangerous. Tripling of speed limits was involved just to not be in the way.
I am sick of this place. It has been ruined thoroughly and I have to grow old and die here yet. That won't take long, with me trying to own transportation.
So I shake it off and cruise normally until I reach my turnaround. Theres a dog standing in the blind curve. Darting at me, barking away. Doing all it can to to corner me. So screw if theres cars coming, screw the stop sign, mat the gas and swap directions with bark bark barker desperately trying to be under a wheel.
It set me off. Clear all the way home I done the car like a circus elephant standing on one ear. Generating maximum heat in brakes, engine, and trans. Kept it on the verge of traction.
This won't do. It definitely is stupid for me to have my car. Its a hate envy generator, a scumbag target / beacon, a sick baby goat in leopard land. Can't go to work in it, can't use it to stay sane. Can't maintain it or even grasp it's value and probably can't even work on it anymore, too stupid.
Yet it delivers relentlessly, asking nothing and constantly enduring. Well, she is harder than me. Feels like being in a marital relationship mutually cherished but destroyed by outside forces beyond our control. Theres just no good left to get. You don't even get to see a same person twice around here anymore unless you work with them.
Thin ice. Peril. Curtains. Fixing millionares' garbage an hour away is the only way I can touch cars but thats my tether to reality. The GP is like being tied to the corral fence with wildfire approaching. Like the faux old west scenario where you give the wife the last bullet and a kiss then run headlong face first into your attackers.
I can't make sense of the day ruiners, some are not even human. Is it still legal to run over a loose dog in the road?
So which Mustang generation do you guys want if you can take your pick and have it your way?
And what if you could opt for a Maverick or Cougar or Fairmont instead, would you?
Oh, good question!
- First choice would have to be a '69-70 Sports Roof. No shock, I think. They're right up there with the '67-68 fastbacks in popularity. The later car is my personal favorite.
- I had a '68 Cougar and a '69 Cougar, and still regret not having that second one. My favorite car of all I've owned, hands down.
- Any of the early Mustang coupes would do the job. They're just as good a car as the fastback/sports roofs, without the price premium.
- These days I really, really, really want a Maverick. It's a good looking car. It is suitable for all the chassis upgrades you can apply to an early Mustang. It's smaller, and I like a small car. Being Falcon-width, you should shave the shock towers for a 351W and need to for anything physically wider, but a 347 stroker would be perfect. Oh, and I have personal history, as my Dad had one. His was a six with 3 on the tree and I enjoyed it very much.
- Speaking of Falcons, why not? Or a Falcon-chassis Fairlane or Torino, for that matter.
- Who doesn't like a Fox body? They're getting expensive, though.
- The aero T Birds, but particularly the chisel nose of the '87-88. It's an improved version of the Fox Mustang chassis, and once again you can do anything mechanically you can do to a Fox body Mustang
- SN95/New Edge. The styling doesn't bother me as it does some folks, and it's a more capable version of the Fox chassis in every way. Unfortunately I just can't warm up to the 2v OHC engine.
How's that for a list? I was brought up in a Ford house, btw. Does it show?
I should have thrown in Pinto /M2 too. Yeah thats a good list.
Fairlane and Torino on a Falcon chassis? How does that work with all being unibody?
SN95 and Fox, not on my list. Far too commonplace. But Coyote Maverick sounds tempting. For someone else. Tbird was a personal luxury coupe-only which is more my style but I don't go for their style.
Dad went through Ford phases but none were modified. Couple of vans then an Exploder they let Ford pour glass into the engine of.
Barking city dogs ruin lives. People on my block will not be satisfied until I am in jail over it. If I never heard another bark in my life, that would be too soon. The problem is always the owner's fault and never the dog's.
Thats as short as I can keep that. Awakened by barking. Next I'll be standing in the street at 4AM taking video evidence. Twice now I've ripped up my voice screaming at the top of my lungs. Is forcing people to move away with your dog legal?
Just for the record, I recently read that the falcon chassis was the same design for mustangs, cougars, mavericks, granadas, monarchs, fairlanes and torinos. Different wheelbases, same architecture.
Ah, like Fox or Panther, its the platform name. Got it. Some of that Ford-speak. GM just uses letters.
Thats a grey area on 69 Grand Prix, it might be called an A+ or G body but its an alteration of the A body. The body on frame configuration and F and X body GM subframe design is the least meaty thing I would want under me for any daring do. Unibody and V8 just don't add up for me but we were talking style. And I have learned from whats been said.
If jaybee showed up with a hot grabber Maverick and I showed up with a Monza Spyder... well I would envy the Mav.
I test drove a Monarch or Granada with stick shift V8 once, and a stick 318 Duster but ended up with a hatchback bench Nova, 350 Qjet. During HS. Even then I guess I wanted the good subframe, but mainly the carryover familiarity from tinkering on an A body.
What KB said, Matt. They took the 1960 Falcon and made it longer, shorter, wider, narrower to suit for Falcon, Early Econoline, Ranchero, Mustang through 1973, Fairlane after 1964, Torino before 1972, Maverick, Granada, and all their Mercury equivalents...and many years beyond that in Australia. As a result, a 1965 Mustang front sway bar bolts right onto the control arms of a Maverick, which in turn will bolt onto a 1970 Mustang.
We're talking about Ford, of course, so it's a little more complicated that that. After all, the water pump and timing cover of a SBF requires up to 10 different and specific fasteners, all of which have to be installed in just the right holes. As a result there are at least 3 different spindles, 2 different bearing sizes, 2 different strut rods, tie rods are different on power steering and non p/s cars...you get the idea.
Speaking of body on frame cars, the Torino went to a perimeter frame and 3 link rear suspension in 1972 which had a lot more in common with the T Bird and Lincoln Mark cars.
Thats a lot of critters from one mama. At least the car Starsky and Hutch kept skidding into curbs with was full frame.
Deleted the paragraph with thoughts in it.
So I heard that Steve Magnante caught a wicked brain infection from junkyarding. That sucks, I used to read his cool stuff a lot. Curious what happened.
Today, making the seasonal switch back to jeans, I spotted the spot that will never wash out. From grinding the left knee into so much critter droppings for so long starting on the job I'm finishing now.
Black rat turds. Swarming ants. Hearing about Magnante vindicates my complaints from that time. Why the oldest guy, the metal work anchorperson, who has been there longest, was tasked with shoveling manure I will never figure out. Once I cleaned it out and tore it down it went to a racer guy who did tubs and replaced roof. Theres 8 welds on front of roof where 40 should be. Soon as it was discovered that customer only had about half the funds for their dream build, then I got the job. To mud, and to fix the lumpy quarter patch. Now I am digging off all the materials not scraped off before blasting and doing what I can with ospho there. Seems dumb, all of it.
Here is a critter tidbit from the web I enjoyed today, being someone who has had to dispatch such a nuisance before.
OK well video no worky. But it was an orangutan evicting a nuisance critter from it's lofty man-made habitat. A big tall jungle gym thing, treetop high. Orangutan climbs to top, finds an opossum up there and just flings it away. :lol:
Then there was just the prison-escaped murderer who eluded police for the last couple weeks and was finally chomped on the head by a K9 German Shepherd named Yoda while cowering trying to catch some zzz's surrounded by camo cops. Now that... is a goood doggie critter I tell you what.
:)
Looks good. I put the windshield back into the 67 Vair coupe today. First time using the sticky 3M rope. Came out okay.
So is that the box with a roll of butyl and setting blocks or is the Corvair a rubber seal that installs with a rope? Not up on my Corvair tech. Hows the carbs? Can't recall if you have one driving.
Critter encounters have become less frequent of late. But theres a mess of fat does scampering about. Getting in shape for the rut, no doubt.
Heres another for the resident critter fans. Man is it cherry. As is more often the case now, a female customer has come in for modern feature updates on a freshened favorite. That means PS PB OD EFI AC etc.
Both of those cars are nice, Matt, I like them both.
The 2005-2014 Mustangs were mentioned up the thread. I like those as well. I've driven them and I like how they drive. I like that style, and they're smaller than the later cars. For me, those jump the shark from midsize to large cars. I know they're extremely capable, but they're also as heavy as my Galaxie 500 was.
The mad elcamino is going to be way cool. Once again, I can hear "I had one just like it". :)
It's well enough done, I can imagine someone imagining there was a production version.
Matt, it's the sticky rope and settling blocks. I still have to do the rear window also. All my previous windows were the rubber/rope style. I rebuilt the carbs on both Vairs, but the ones on this car seem to operate better. Both cars run, but only the 4 door is able to drive on the road.
Speaking of critters, we would hear what sounded like a herd of rats scampering above the dropped ceiling in the basement tv room. I'd set a couple mouse traps up there and catch a mouse every now and then. It sounded particularly loud the other day, so I set a couple rat traps up there, and also put the game camera up there. A day later, I caught a mouse in the rat trap, and looked at the pix on the camera. ONE MOUSE! I reset the trap and camera, and haven't heard anything lately. How can one mouse sound so big?
Another win came last night. We have a flagstone "island" in the front yard where the bird feeder stands are. A mole has been having a field day going under the flagstone and pushed out all the polymeric sand that I'd put in there. I've used the 'step-on' mole traps to trap moles in the yard with great success, but this one is smart. It would avoid the three traps that I set, the road flares in the hole didn't phase it, the mole killing worms were like a snack for it, and the noise making thingie in the ground amused it, as did the radio above groud blasting music under a metal bushel basket.
So, I've found a new method for the smart ones. Poke a hole in the mound, insert mole killing worm, then put the trap right there. If it eats the worm, it sets off the trap. It worked, and I got the little, actually big, varmint. I reset the trap anyway, as sometimes there's another.
Thanks for the comments guys. He could let Maaco shoot it and it would look ok. There may be others with 55 truck roofs but his has a 1" rake. I can claim responsibility for the perimeter of the bed but one peek inside bed reveals that its a severe hack. He wants his son to have it since it was his Dad's.
I like the look of the 05 gen Mustangs but never rode in... well anything except GPs for the last decade. And no one has ridden in the GPs or wants to. The size of the fwd ones is about right to protect me well enough. But those Mustangs still haven't fallen into my price range and GPs have no value for trade. Plus they are drive by wire which I never want to have.
The pale green Bronc does appear to have had a bc/cc paint job so might be banged up but as far as rust, at this point it seems exceptional.
Late last century there were coons knocking stuff over in garage below me at night because the cats' food was in there on top of washing machine. One night I was awakened and caught the family of 3 or 4 red handed. All but one promptly split but one decided to make a stand. I looked at the M-14. No, too much. Looked at the .45. Nope, too loud at 3-4 AM. As I un groggied, I duct taped a 5" lock blade to a 1x2" and ran it through. Nailed it to the wall behind shelf where it hid. That thing dragged it's innards clear down the driveway and none of them ever came back.
I leave the garage door up far enough so my cat can come and go, then close it at night. I have walked out there to close the door and find a stray cat, coon or possum eating at the cats dish. One night, a possum ran out, or so I thought. He'd taken up residence on a lower shelf at floor level, and I didn't find out til later. When I did find out, he got booted outside and I cleaned up his den. I close the door earlier now.
See there? Now theres a varmint critter story. :)
I probably told all mine twice already. :lol:
But! They keep on coming, ain't no stoppage of critter flow. The '73 critter with safety bumpers in pics is for a full tilt hot touring build. Another critter was on my fence when I put up the refuse bins today, and yet another is....
hiding in plain sight. 8)
What was Tonto's horse's name? I just gave you a hint. :shock:
Mustang and scout need lots of loving care. Either that or a resurrection. :)
that mustang needs different wheels ! Tonto had a horse named scout ?
Yep, a paint.
Speaking of paint, the painter's Cad wagon got totalled yesterday. He is OK. Thats what a guy gets for having new paint and engine. :-\ Glad it wasn't me this time.
If I had to guess, it'd be that Tonto's camo mount will serve as boss yard art for the pet does to marvel at, alongside that tank truck I showed awhile back.
Playing pin the wing on the pony right now... fitting a trunk spoiler on the 69 job. :)
What do you equestrian enthusiasts think about this, for the 73 Mustang?
https://www.schwartzperformance.com/chassis/1964-1973-mustang-chassis/
Schwartz was the only one I see listed for a '73 and the base price is a couple grand cheaper than Alston's which only goes up to 70. The 73 is half a foot wider overall and a quarter ton heavier. AND inspired by a Pontiac man. :shock: Our hero wants a 750 HP all-balls build with no worries, so why not? Blown Coyote, all bells and whistles.
I hope I pinned the wing in the right spot. Had the guys spin me around until I was dizzy first. :)
I have seen nothing but good about Swartz, I think he was the 1st to make a bolt in unit that didn't need floor removal. He uses long travel shocks. I like that a lot.
To do the work myself, I'd strengthen the Ford unibody. You can build a lot of additional strength into it for not a lot of weight or money. If I were paying by the hour to get it done, an add-on chassis makes an enormous amount of sense.
The Swartz chassis looks well built, it appears loaded with good parts, and there's even more money to be saved if it can be rolled under the car with minimal cutting of the underbody. Also, a Coyote probably won't fit without removing the shock towers. Probably even in the 1971-73, as big as it is. Honestly, it probably does add a fair bit of strength to the unibody, but to me it doesn't look strong enough to put it under a body on frame car. It doesn't have the crossmembers and beefy cross sections that give a really good frame its strength...but if you're bolting it to a unibody, it doesn't necessarily need all that. It just needs to stiffen up what's already there.
Yep and thats the idea with any body on frame car. Chassis or body is only half the unit. Neither is standalone. Towers aren't needed and go away with the unit linked above.
However, a perfect stock floor is required.
Schwartz is an old hand at chassis stuff. Boss considered theirs for his own 65 fastback.
While I was sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, I found a video explaining why the 71-3 is so big but never have figured out how to post or even link a vid here. The fact is:
A Pontiac man was responsible. :)
Well, face spit. I found out theres a term for whats been done to me at work and with that, a new level of disgust. Hand me the barf bag, loving old cars just ruined my life. :'(
Matt, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us about it.
How? This is attempt #5 at that.
I sanded too long again so now I can't sand. Thats all there is for me though. Going back to bed sad.
Yeah I was unable to not rant. This is the first time I've had to enforce my sanding limit. My whole career adds up to being a paper slider. I am sick and tired of being taken advantage of to fill unfillable positions. And I cling on because its bad enough I forfeited the automotive hobby to come to work there, on cool cars. To be kicked from top dog to bottom b itch and left to just eventually figure that out on my own after a decade of low pay self sacrifice... was face spit.
I want to fix old car bodies, not do all the sanding for everyone.
Nor all the wallowing in rat feces so another can halfass metal work and hand it back for fill unfinished. Other monstrous face loogies were endured along the way as well and now destroying my limbs is all I can get tasked with. It ain't right. No money can fix it. I must either throw away everything to flip burgers or give away my remaining sellable physical ability. Every dadgum place I ever worked at, same thing. All I ever wanted was two weeks off a year. Every place offers it, nobody ever gets it. Earn it and ask for it and the rules change.
I'm fed up. No, used up. My arms, back, and legs don't want to move, I'm constipated from constantly wagging my guts back and forth seven hours a day reaching, crouching... everything always needs another wipe to please the painter...
and now, dodging metal work sparks from the next stall all the while... I am ashamed of my defeat. I assure you there was no chance to fight.
Forcing someone to quit is chicken crap.
Paying someone based on how you percieve their lifestyle expectations is evil.
Pushing your luck seeing how long someone will let you take advantage of them for your personal gain is criminal in some places, just not here.
See? Nobody wants to hear any of that. Because I did not set my sights on owning a business straight out of school, this is what I get. A sadder lonlier more invisible life than I ever imagined possible. Caught beneath the wheel. I ain't even gonna open the blinds in my room today but theres not a comfortable position to lay down in.
Aaand theres the barking neighbor dog now. I tell you what, man. Yep. Tip o the iceberg, guys.
Challenge = Opportunity.
The meditation opportunity today says it's me who has to take action quicker. In order to outgun the fatigue monster I must be quicker on the draw. The years of overdoing sanding session durations were thus not without value because they have made me well aware of my limits and quantified my decline so as to help me plot it's continuance.
In other words, I've told myself the truth and dreaded honoring it. Always wanting to just power through to get the next less and less tidbits of metal work. The one month mark is legit. In a fifth week, I begin to complain. Nature does not acknowledge pain but I must so I don't complain. It starts a cycle I wish you could know how bad I hate.
This will assist in maintaining a cheery facade. All hopes of creativity at work are apparently gone. You all know how I cling to that. No matter. My goal is to not burden others as I have today. I truly like the guy in the next stall and may never understand how I lost my place, my seniority, but obviously I have. I didn't mean to. My best is all there is to offer.
Sorry. Effort tomorrow probable but depression is thick. Arms feel like they are encased in dried riverbed mud. Again thanks for the ears you ornery critters. Maybe I can do better but not more. :arrow:
Starting and owning a business is a great thing. It's important, sure, but the second thing you need to start a business, after enough capital to support it in the early stages? Employees. Good employees. Without good employees, skilled employees, hard working employees, a business can never get bigger than One person working for themselves. So most of us will never be business owners, because if everyone works for themselves, nothing ever achieves any scale. So taking advantage of employees, working them too hard for too little pay and zero respect is something I cannot respect...and more people should be upset about it.
Jaybee thanks for the comment, I just have my viewpoint but am sure theres another side to the story. The shops 20 year mark is next year. I am past 12.5 years.
Speaking of pesky critters:
Another not cool thing learned today was about dogs and Christopher Columbus. If you've been hiding under a rock, his fame has been waning since it was determined that Vikings were first. So now stuff like this can come out. If you thought war with the natives was vicious in the Westerns, get a load of this:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/becerrillo-0014283
Fascinating story, I hadn't heard of this use of dogs of war in the Western Hemisphere...but history is written by the victors, the saying goes. Eventually all conquerors want to be seen as the benevolent people who naturally belong where they are. Eventually, they kind of are.
Being charged by a bloodthirsted armored Mastiff... you have a loincloth and a club embedded with obsidian flakes or an atlatl... and here comes the arrows then cavalry... with swords and smokepoles oh dear.
The effect in battle must have been quite disruptive.
Speaking of critters, it dawned on me today that I haven't seen any cars made from 1973 to 1977 on the road in years. outside of Camaros, and a few Mustangs. I guess there is just no love for them. As popular as the GM and G bodies were at the time, same with Mopar A bodies and Ford intermediates you just don't see many at cruise ins or shows.
I can think of a couple daily / frequent use ones that I see at their homes and out n about.
An el Camino Classic with stock dk blue / white and a plain red Camaro with five spokes and a nasty gouge down the right door. Theres a 4 door Torino about 3 blocks away that I may have seen in motion once.
I saw a freaking St Regis this morning and thought kind of the same thing.
But yes the roads were so full of Montes and GPs and four door Malibus... and theres that many electrics now.
Whatever happened to hybrids? I fixed an 09 Camry back about then, took it for a spin and that thing zinged at full song.
There are some names just about lost to history. I thought Magnums and Miradas were cool.
But to bring it full topic circle, I swear just today... guy in next stall got a Liberty and I ended up telling how in 76 or 7 we had a Levi's Grand Cherokee and a Pacer. Meant to ask Dad today what prompted that back then. That was in between three new 60s Pontiacs and two new 80s Chevys.
But I used to ride around sometimes with my 428 67 goat buddy in his Mom's green Hornet two door. Tokin homegrown. Green Hornet. :lol: Desert only A/C. It reminded me of my Mom's 68 Mustang, no power anything but minty.
Now I have to look up Hornets to debunk myself. Come to think of it out by that guy's place there was a 73 goat that I just watched nature reclaim during my HS years. Wonder if its still there. Grass grew taller than it the first year or two.
Oh wait, more... LTD, Galaxie, Marquis. Newports and Imperials. Delta 88 / Ninety-Eight. LeSabre. EXP/LN7? Ok all those were super common and all gone now, all except that last one. But LTDs and Thunderbirds mostly... were once incredibly many but now so few.
What critters did I miss? Car names is about half critters. Does anybody else think of Elly Mae when I say critters? :)
We were out and about today, and decided to stop at a new pizza restaurant, that used to be an Old Chicago pizza place. Different name now, but same owners. We told the waitress that we wanted a medium thin crust pizza with...she stopped us right there. Sorry, we don't have thin crust medium pizza, just small and large. Ummm, there's $8 more for a large, which would be too much for us. She apologized, and we left. We decided then to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse for some burgers. Lunch special was a 1/2 pound cheeseburger for $10.
I ordered mine med. well, wife ordered med. rare and a baked potato. When we got them, her's was raw, barely brown on the outside. Called the waitress and told her, and she said she'd take it back to be cooked. Wife said no, bring a bowl of soup instead. Waitress came back with the soup and said the burger was really raw. The mgr. came by and apologized that the burger wasn't cooked enough. Wife said it wasn't cooked at all.
We were eating and the mgr. came back with two gift cards for $10 each and apologized again. She said she looked at the burger, and it WAS raw. Didn't charge us for her burger, so the bill was like $11, and they gave us $20 in gift cards. I hope next time is better.
I had that happen at McDonalds once. They gave me another, I was too hungry to make the scene. But
You GOT to put FIRE under the dadgum critter, young lady!
Boy I tell you what. At a steakhouse, no less.
I want a thin crust 3 critter pizza now, thank you Phil.
Who among you has had a good sail rabbit? No, not cacciatore. :)
When is the last time you saw a javelin ? Loved the 70 71 models ! There was one along the bus route to school when I was a kid. White /blue 2 tone . blue back half ,split along the B pillar front edge to a white front . 15x10 chrome reverse with baby moons N50's on the back and 14" skinny cragar 5 spokes on the front . I can still see that one if I close my eyes . I would have my face pressed to the bus window the entire time I could see it as we passed by every day . 8) 8) 8)
When I lived in Arizona my next door Neighbor had a 71 Javelin Mark Donahue edition with a 196 six three speed stick for the powerplant. What a waste. I had a 70 Hornet that I took in trade on a 74 Vega stolen recovery I rebuilt. I rebuilt the Hornet with junk yard parts, drove it for two years, and sold it for eight times the price I paid for it.
Funny story on that Vega. I did a fancy SS style paint job on it and put a Monza interior in it with the styled wheels. When I stripped the interior out of it there was about 5 lbs of "grass" seed under the carpets. It was a pretty car, and my sister loved it but I told he it was not the car for her and sold it to some one else.
Two years later she came over to show me the car she had just bought off the Trading post. It was the same car, with a bad clutch.
I don't know how I posted my pizza story on the critters thread. Getting old, I guess has its faults.
My former father in law once bought a rusted Vega and tried to keep it running. I've never seen a car so rusted and still hold together. I think he finally junked it.
I met one of these on the road yesterday, though I can't swear it was an SS going the other way at highway speed. It occurred to me I hadn't seen one in a very long time.
I wouldn't be opposed to a 1968-70 Ford Galaxie 500 two door.
(https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/f3/f3/f2/f3f3f2edca4b9720642f7135d907ebba.jpg)
Phil, we may as well call this the I'm not doing anything thread. :) Pretty easy to work critters, varmints, and what-not in wherever you find a spot.
Random thirty second mind blurb I had this week was I ought to stop calling my car Grape. I told a guy once if I had to describe the color it would be grape Kool Aid. That stuck. Not much on car naming but the thought I had for it was Endura. The word for soft Pontiac bumpers, kinda like Endora the hag witch on TV, but mostly because it just endures. Wow, a lot.
I was watching a thing about ocean stuff... Greatbigo seals will hop right up on a boat transom to avoid orcas. They'll try to get on smaller boats and capsize them then everybody is fair game. Then theres the open ocean kayakers. Now that one ain't even funny. Your rig is plastic at least but you have an oar and a handful of 15' hammerheads. Saw one aluminum boat chomped in half at the driving chair. Person jumped out and was saved but I had to think that was not unlike failing to fully unwrap a stick of Juicy Fruit.
Then there was the buddy who did have a Javelin. Too many dingleberries for me but his crapshack 61 Mako Shark with 327 and hi stall on a PG, I took for a burnout or two. I was like 17. Theres the thread continuity item.
Back around then I rode around in a bona fide tan chopped 49 Merc with flames. I drank in the back seat. Frank mentioned grass seed... When I got my GTP DD, it had an entire dozen sticks of patchouli incense hidden throughout the interior. Weed car. That one I call SuperBetty.
Anybody wanna take a stab at naming the Lone Ranger's nephew? Or his horse. The son of Silver. On old radio.
I'll try to do something about the lack of fluffy pictures. :)
And I'll keep an eye peeled for pellet cat laden smog varmints.
Met one guy awhile back that has a bunch of Colts and a couple K cars. The retro miser genre is a thing apparently. Rabbits and Rabbit trucks are a cult. There was a diesel Rabbit truck in the HS parking lot. That guy would take two miles to hit 50 after school. I liked to churp the L60s on the 2-3 outta the gate on my 72 SS at the time.
My road pizza / sail rabbit reference came from Return to Macon County, 1975. If you can throw it like a Frisbee, thats a sail rabbit. I see the term has new meanings. Don't they all.
Lone Ranger's nephew was Dan Reed. Horse's name was Victor.
Hopalong Cassidy's big white horse was Topper. Tops everything. But I am thinking all those white horses were probably Arabians?
Came across something else though that I cannot leave out.
Bondo Mystery Apes. AKA Bili apes. KB needs a new pet, I'm thinking. :lol:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bili_ape
I'd be all for the bondo mystery ape if they can work bondo. :)
At least if you did come across one that could, you could name him Mr. Bondo. :)
pudding if the bondo ape is a girl .
Perfect ^^^ :lol:
I dare say primate arms would be much better suited to sanding. Natural scat-flinging abilities might be trained into filler wiping as well. Thats how Barney Rubble would do it. :)
This entry is worth the read...
Last Monday, a badly damaged 69 Mustang shaker hood was waiting in my stall when I arrived. Two dents on top were duly noted on the freight bill but when unboxed, the whole panel was twisted and crushed. Crumple zones crumpled and all.
So the guy who recieved it made arrangements and a UPS call tag was issued. I spent much of that morning reconstructing the box with tape.
Yesterday, the replacement arrived. I recognized my tape job. Shipment refused. Holley International did that. Epic snafu! :roll:
Here is a current teardown pic of my project critter. It was a three-on-tree. Body mounts been soaking in PB for 2 days and thats how long it has taken to get it to this point. Today I'll see about liberating it from the chassis. As usual, the floor and front structure are junk. It is a '71 so doesn't quite qualify as smog era.
Matt, we had the same problem when my wife bought me a hanging lawn 'chair' online. When the box arrived, parts of the support frame were sticking out three sides of the box. We told UPS that we didn't want it. He said to call UPS and get a return slip. We did. UPS picked it up later and returned it to the seller. Seller said they sent a new one. HA! Same box arrived with all the parts sticking out. Told the driver to send it back, we were done messing with it. Bought identical one at Menard's.
I was working part time at a Ford dealer in '66, and they got a Bronco with a short cab, 6cyl., 3 speed. I really liked that truck, and they used it for a service truck for a while, until a farmer came in and said he needed it more than them. I've always had a soft for them ever since.
Phil, my ex cream puff 68 Malibu was a 3OTT. It ain't so bad. Those things tend to get into two gears at once though once wear is present.
Now tell me... what is a short cab Bronco? I entered the world at the same time they did.
I have a soft for 67-72 GMTs due to a teenage summer job at a lumberyard.
Short cab was like a small pickup, the top only covered the front seat.
Like this. Also called half cab.
Thanks, Bill, that's the one.
Bronco truck, yesss. I remember now. :) Eventually I do that but for some reason the Falcon trucks or Econolines were what my noggin search was pulling up. Not batting a thousand today, I sawzalled a lower rad hose before draining. :roll: :lol:
A wiley elusive critter, that Bronc truck. I wonder, did the top go to the floor or was there a bed bulkhead in the body?
Dig the vintage Warn hangin offa this puppy. :shock:
I had to "make sport" of the bed script on a smog era...
hey wait, that last Bronco I have screwed together is smog era. '75. Score two unleaded stickers for enjenjo if trucks count.
...um F250. Long wide bed 390 granny 4 speed 2WD. Two tone white n yella. Had the plastic grille but is year-swapped to the metal kind, yknow. If you're into those. But the bed emblem script on it says Sport and Custom. :lol:
Now you tell me... whars the either one of those in that? :o
Bill, you need that emblem for yours. :) Then use a cursive Imp SS "Sport" script with a C10 "custom" placed together on the other side.
No emblems for me, Matt. I want it to be as simple to clean as possible. No sharp areas to catch myself on. :) The ss emblem in the right place would cause thinking. :) I have a friend with the half cab. it's been so long since I looked at it, I don't remember what the back of the cab looks like. Tom's bronco parts shows a metal bulkhead and fiberglass top that only comes down to the bed rails.
Well we all learned something. Now you know they are also called Bronco trucks or pickups by the uninitiated.
Half cab, short cab, long cab extended cab, cab over, crew cab, call a cab, club cab, super cab, extra cab, Cab Calloway...
hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho
Wonder why we don't see Broncos running around with the doors off like Jeeps. Maybe due to Broncos folding as easy as a cloth napkin. :)
They are called trail doors They used to make fiberglass "snoop doors" for them too.
When the bronco was 1st released, it was common for the farmers to remove the doors for work purposes. That was long before anybody was concerned with safety. :)
I worked on one with some little half door thingys on it and figured they were aftermarket. Heck one Bronco we did got a fiberglass tub.
If I never saw another Bronco for the rest of my life, that would be too soon. So of course I will probably get all of the Bronco jobs from here on out. While the rest of the crew just customizes cool things that I have tore down and cleaned up and will sand every stroke on. And like the last decade, nothing I touch can be finished and go home. For the record, I simply don't give a crap about anything Bronco. Never care to even write that word again but doing so generated a comment or two to help pass the days.
Excuse me. The most recent attitude inversion was abrupt and intense and may last a spell. Used up all my cheery facade and am in nightmare mode that could easily last weeks or months. Sorry.
I met the current project's owner. Seems like a fine and fun woman who knows the way to a man's heart. Her objective is sentimental stock but with auto / OD.
That ^^^ blasted critter (blasting began yesterday) was wearing bondo every bit of an inch thick. Over every bit of a gallon of kitty hair just on one corner and rocker. Probably at least rolled onto it's side at some point. So the only thing minty about it was the color. Front pan braces had the body mounts stuffed into them.
The 73 Stang has IED syndrome, so many holes underneath it looks like it ran over a land mine. Reminded me of the X frame car jobs I did. Severe cowl rot, the whole nine yards.
I see critters in the news today, one shot K9 unit (AKA "dog") having a blood transfusion. Another tried to eat a delivery lady. Meanwhile by some kind miracle, dog barking in my neighborhood has lessened. Dogs aren't people. :) If I write a sentence about a black dog, do I have to capitalize it's color?
I'll say one thing for sure... Kansas deer are a whole lot bigger than Arkansas deer. Perhaps not smarter though. Went to KS over the weekend and wow, the many many roadkills there were twice the size they are here.
And the Smithsonian / Nat Geo would have us all believe there never were giants. Because they ate people.
One more news blurb...
The ivory billed woodpecker, considered extinct for most of the 20th century, escaped the latest round of official extinct declarations. Yay! I say that because like so many things people see that supposedly aren't real, there was a fleeting moment of bewilderment during my sitting in cold woods with rifle phase, when this freakishly oversized flying hatchet briefly investigated a nearby tree. It would stab the tree then twist head and tree chunks the size of hot dog buns fell away. Did that several times then split. One day I finally got curious and researched it and at that time it was considered extinct. But the size of the critter could leave no doubt.
Saw yesterday a handful of footage from like fire tower cams that, while maybe not officially confirmed, show the species living in northern Louisiana. I was on a tall bluff overlooking the Illinois River here in northwest Arkansas when I saw it. They are extremely easy to spot. I called it a flying hatchet because that was about the size of it's body. The pale beak was the size of a body hammer head. The sound and the effect on the tree were comparable to a sharp hatchet.
Matt, I worked at a small Ford dealer in the early 70's, and the owner hired the mayors son to work in the body shop. He put a gallon of bondo in the right door of a two door Olds. We called him Bondo Baker after that.
We have Pileated woodpeckers in our area, which are the largest woodpecker that we have, about the size of a small crow. We've had two show up at our wooded area, but they're rather shy, so they don't stay long. Here's an article about the Ivory billed and the picture also shows the Pileated.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a37858906/ivory-billed-woodpecker-extinct/
Like those other Arkansans and at around that time, I thought it unmistakeable. I looked it up and while I'm no ornithologist I found my sighting to be unmistakeable. Kept looking at pileateds and nope not big enough. Plus the giant pale bill. I thought surely I was wrong or would not be believed and was right about that part.
Finally have the mint color critter tore down... well except disassembling dash. Ordered tin for it. Now to mark, pack up, and shelf every stinkin part. Chassis got stashed out back where the critters and varmints roam. :arrow:
This was the article I only saw today. Just a few months old.
https://www.4029tv.com/article/videos-show-purported-ivory-billed-woodpeckers-as-us-moves-toward-extinction-decision/43932566
Heres a hunka hunka excessive mud to wallow in. Blaster removed around a half inch of fill before pic.
It would be cool if they aren't extinct.
In 2019, Kansas had 10,000 deer-vehicle accidents. That number is I believe to be a common average. A few years before that, the Highway patrol had around 900 of those incidents. Deer are not our friends. In my part of the world, they feed in the fields and are well fed. That might be the reason for their size as compared to what Matt saw. :)
Before I retired, and still had my Goldwing, I was riding to work in the morning, on a country highway with woods and fields on both sides. There was a car ahead of me, and a deer came running across the highway from the left and smacked right into the drivers door, knocking off the outside mirror. The car kept going, and the deer was lying on the road. I stopped, as did another cycle, and we thought the deer was dead. The car turned around, and before it got back to us, the deer got up and took off in the same direction it was running when it hit the car. The car driver picked up his mirror and we all left.
Another time along the same road, I was driving my old Dodge minivan to work, and a deer came on the road again from the left and ran along side my van. I started to slow down when the deer got ahead of me and ran in front of me. Broke the grill and headlight surround, costing about a hundred bucks used. The deer didn't make it.
Uh oh... (hangs head)
I've hit a life snag. Another road closure. My career efforts are defeated and I see no way to continue. Only options I am left with is to abandon automotive work, or... well there just aren't other choices. My mind and body are too badly damaged from the decision to accept my job and now infrastructure has snuffed my potential entirely. Evil has come upon me once again and it has the upper hand. I fear for my freedom and my life.
I will do my best to not write.
Matt, go ahead and write, get it off your chest.
I was interested in cars since I was a kid building model cars, then working on cars. After the Army, I went to an auto tech school to learn more. After graduation, I worked for just a few years before going to a factory to work there for 40 years. Working on cars daily just wasn't for me, I like it better as a hobby. Not saying factory work is for you, but there might be something else out there that would be better.
Trouble is I already achieved my goals and reached the top. Then one day that was simply taken away. My current issue is with location. Logistics. In recent years I have not recovered much mentally but in recent months I had made leaps and bounds of progress but alas, only while the route that sidesteps the old commute route stays open. Been working around one closing and another got added leaving no alternative. To a route I have been hit seven times on. Now I must engage in combat to turn left at one spot.
They can't keep making things more dangerous. They can't just keep giving me entry level physically intense crap at work. Enough humiliation, battering, and hindrance. They are turning me into one of them and it is frightening. I am always able to reel myself in... so far. I'm on shaky ground. The roadblock may be temporary, it is not listed in road projects but it takes ne out of the calm and tosses me into the fray. Me, my car, my mind... none are up to whats expected of me.
Here is a critter spotted next to foot while sanding overhead where somebody did crappy blasting. About an hour ago. Quarter is for scale.
Looks like a wolf spider, harmless. But...I still don't like spiders.
You'll be glad to know I coaxed it out of the area with a blow gun semi gently. Once it hunkered down on the asphalt it had incredible grip. Now it has an adventure to tell about a sandstorm. Don't know where it went but it came from indoors.
Tongue is dragging the ground but the bronco is at epoxy stage, loosely. Just sweeping will eat the rest of the day. I am worn out. If I can clear the traffic bottleneck gauntlet again I can retry that night's sleep. Its just gonna be day by day survival. Maybe a rabbit's foot is what I need.
Glory be. Road block cleared out thank goodness. The RR was replacing a stick of rail and a dozen medium sized trees had to go so the equipment could get to it. So this two week stretch of little rest and over maximum car punishment draws to a close. On craft fair weekend here. Got me some 455 seat time in first thing after getting home from work today. Pretty trees and a little fine weather is left.
I need to plaster outstanding combat service medals all over my GTP, that is one tough critter. Way tougher than me.
Today's critter encounter was of course a lifted and murdered out Ram sedan wanting to trade paint. Zooming in hot to overfill my rearview and plotting for miles how they would coal roll me when it went to four lane. With a rightly timed slight poke of the right foot I foiled the sootmonger. Boy did that set him off. No less than four blinding clouds of filth were deliberately belched at me to put me in my little car place at double the speed limit. The prissy dirtbag passed everyone in sight leaving them all gagging and wheezing to assert his small penis supremacy and I lifted to turn off after pacing him up to 100mph in a 45.
He had both tow mirrors fully extended with no load which is a signal to others that he is looking for a man on man sexual encounter. No kidding, cops confirm it. Most Ram endowed alpha males driving around like that probably don't know it but I heard it from a felon.
Where can I get a Rams are gay bumper sticker? :lol: I don't want them anywhere near my rear.
Not all Ram owners get the Beligerence Immunity card. Maybe its just the ones with a microscope and tweezers handy in their restroom.
Dammit, Matt, I guess I learned something new today about 'rollin coal." We've got them here, also.
My town is on the river, and the river bridge to get to the other side has been closed down since April for much needed repairs and painting. It's supposed to open early November. It now takes 25 minutes to get to the small town on the other side, where it usually takes 5. If we go north, the next bridge is about 10 miles. If we go south, it's about 26 miles. We're all hoping the bridge opens on time.
Speaking of real critters, my wife came to the shop this afternoon (it's on our property) to show me a picture she took with her phone just across the backyard fence, of a deer lying in the weeds. She was in our backyard when she saw the deer across the way, and the doe dropped to the ground and stayed there. A few other does ran past that one, then a buck, but that one stayed there. We've had as many as 10 deer walking around the woods on three sides of us.
Oh, and I found the dead critter in the attached garage that was stinking it to high heaven. Apparently, our car chased a chipmunk into the garage, and it got under a small kitchen cabinet that we have out there. We've been looking for that smell for a few days. It had leaked some fluids onto the floor, but it wasn't stiff. Can't figure that one out.
That wasn't as bad as the dead rabbit I found a year or so ago between the wall and a metal cabinet. The rabbit had been chased (I guess) into the garage and it went between the cabinet and the wall, and couldn't back out. It was full of maggots. And stink. I leave the doors closed more now.
My south property line is on the corner of a section and there is a tree line on both sides of the road. So it is a crossing point for the deer in this area as well as foxes, coyote and other wildlife.
I've had a couple of Raccoons die in the barn over the years, it's vey hard to keep them out.
We did an el Camino once that had half a mouse skeleton hanging out a floor hole.
Nothing quite like rotting corpse funk. I enjoy y'all's critter comments, they help balance out my rantings.
One I have never encountered is the feral hogs that, in Texas and other places, are such nuisance as to be legally shot on sight and left where they fall.
IF they fall. I was at an impromptu pig roast once and a snubnose .38 to the head was used to dispatch the object of our hunger. To our amazement that just made it harder to handle but it couldn't see where to run minus half a head. We were like um where do we shoot it now?
It finally fell but before the shot it actually got away and swam across a cove in the lake. It may not have known it could swim until then and that fact amazed us. I reckon it was fairly bouyant by nature but how many pigs ever even get to try swimming?
Frank, I trap the raccoons here, then dispatch them to their heaven. I didn't like to do it, but this area was over run with them a couple years ago. A farmer neighbor up the road had killed over 80 of them in his feedlot. I haven't had any for a few weeks, which is a good thing. We also have the assortment of animals traipsing around our place, the latest which a groundhog. He doesn't bother us, so we let him be. We used to have a fox or two that would leave a little pile of crap on the driveway to let me know he had passed through. Haven't seen any in a while though.
Matt, there was just a story this week where people in a boat two miles off the coast of one of the Hawaiian islands found a small pig swimming in the ocean. They rescued it, said it looked like it was pleading for help. I also didn't know that pigs could swim. I have also shot raccoons in the head with my 22 rifle, and they sit there and look at me. A friend that hunts them said to shoot them farther behind their head to try to hit their heart. Seems to work.
I trap both raccoons and groundhogs, but it's hard to keep up with them. You catch one, and two move in. My place backs up on about a hundred acres of woods so there is always plenty to replace them. I use a Conibear #8 trap which usually kills them. I've live trapped a few raccoons and shot them, and I have shot a bunch of groundhogs. I usually throw the carcasses' on the brush pile, and they disappear overnight, Coyotes you know.
Quote from: 58 Yeoman on October 19, 2023, 08:22:42 AMMatt, go ahead and write, get it off your chest.
I was interested in cars since I was a kid building model cars, then working on cars. After the Army, I went to an auto tech school to learn more. After graduation, I worked for just a few years before going to a factory to work there for 40 years. Working on cars daily just wasn't for me, I like it better as a hobby. Not saying factory work is for you, but there might be something else out there that would be better.
Oh how I would love to generate a reply to this. That last part. Or the first. Oh how I would love to enjoy this day off. Just ain't able. Pain, sad, and mad are too thick. Oh, mercy. One thing can fix me that isn't rest. Old car sheetmetal work. Only, and for a long long time starting now. With some fabrication and with some custom. I am not bad or slow at it and don't want anything else.
I had a lot riding on this being a good day, and it is spectacular outside. From inside my carcass though,... ugh. Stare at wall with strong frown and mind on fire. If I could just wash my old ride, man that would help. All my might was left on a slab twenty miles away though. Theres none for me. She gave me a nice willing 2nd gear scratch just now, but failed to raise a smirk. That is bleak, my friends.
I wish there was a +/- sign, a :) and :( that I could toggle on this thread to indicate current status to spare you folks from clicking on it and having to endure the vaginal undertones on this unkind rollercoaster of mine. :blank: Apologies.
Feeble attempt at my long gone traditional style of photojournalism: This was the scene of the trash Thursday after post-blast SANDING THE ENTIRE BRONCO. :'(
Best I can do. :arrow:
We used to take the dead animals and drop them along the state highway nearby to feed the turkey vultures, but sometimes there were just too many. I bought a small used chest freezer and have it in the shop. I've had as many as four in there. On trash day, they go into the trash bin.
When I was back in Iowa a couple of weeks ago I stayed at my brother's place in the country. One morning I got up and there was a doe grazing well down in the yard. I kept an eye on it by just taking a peak out the window once in a while. She kept working her way closer and closer until I got a cell phone shot standing about 10' outside the house. That made me smile.
Boss' wife feeds the deer at their place. Rest of the neighborhood might wish she didn't.
The raccoon I once impaled dragged it's guts down the driveway to presumably die off site. I have killed a squirrel or two and made sandwiches. One with my .45 at just a few yards. One eye was gone, the other dangling and no other damage. These grey squirrels ain't worth it. Takes a strip of bacon added to even make a sandwich.
Only ever shot at a deer once. It snuck up on me in foggy brush and was pretty much point blank but no sign of a .308 hit could be found. My rifle is a chinese copy of a US battle rifle with poor accuracy.
Its just as well. Hunting was a younger phase. I wouldn't mind a rural environment at this age but if those still exist you couldn't prove it by me.
This is about as close as I get. (see photo)
Ride the rollercoaster with me :) I am on the mend. That 455 is heap strong medicine. The four eyed car likes to go see colors.
Laughter is strongest though, had me a outburst that lasted a quarter mile going up to feed the purple beast. Trying to start calling her Endura instead of Grape now as it seems more fitting in her advanced years...
Anyway pulling into the local megachurch / athletic complex / private school, I spied some boy in a new Camaro that had him a... what is that, a bike or? Oh! Naw, nope thats a wing. As tall as the roof! Maybe more. :lol: Hahaha :lol:
Reckon I'm ready to rip the rest of them dash knobs off at work. Cross your fingers hoping I am a metal guy this week. I talk about mental recovery but its at least half spiritual growth. :arrow:
That looks like a great road for a drive.
Yessir, all the fun a guy can pack in. Under 30 mph and the vigilant eye of a retired trooper shooting video to punish speeders right up the road. :roll:
I saw a throttle happy Ram in the rain yesterday lose it because no, Ram, musn't lift gas pedal ever. They got about 80° slideways before the threat of popping the curb and snapping a cast control arm forced the blasphemous raising of right foot. But they looked super cool. To the folks who had to wait for them to just go straight ahead and ditch the theatrics.
More great fortune to report! :)
Enterdetained a deputy for a couple minutes this AM. That big blue light Chevy was on me like a hen on a junebug. I had been behind a 40mph loafer hoping they were about to turn. But we turned at the same road which has a little sprint's worth of four lane then I'd be trapped going 38 in a 45 halfway to work.
So I poked it, down only one gear and GTP did her bang zoom thing making 65 or so. So I was caught dead to rights, "definitely speeding" yessir no sir thank you sir. Verbal warning and off I went. The blank rap sheet strikes again and again I count blessings. :) :arrow:
That Tahoe was quick. They run the quarter in thirteen and change, right?
Off to purchase lottery tickets :arrow:
Speaking of the authorities, there were a lot of sirens zooming past the shop yesterday afternoon.
A train hit a truck.
Read on, it gets better.
Half the boonies out yonder past town have their dirt roads paved by now but still use well water. The big water plant thing down by Coose Hollow has been waiting four months for two nearly $200K water valves so big only two fit on a long flatbed semi trailer. Now they have to wait for new valves all over again. Then theres the small matter of the purchase price. Oh and the rig. I hope our hero has good insurance. He went to the hospital but is OK. Perhaps unfortunately. Ran stop sign, failed to yield.
That ought to make you feel good about your day eh. :)
A slight air of vindication may be present there ^^^ because I have heard it said by trucker types that whoever has the most weight has the right of way. No.
What a goober. And boner. In the truck driver's defense, I could make a case about unreasonable infrastructure. Trailer was too long to make the turn at the main road due to angle of intersection so he took this route which, at every crossing in a couple miles, half a dozen of them...
There is not space for a semi between the highway and the tracks. Stop signs are there. But lets see. In that stretch, on the shop's road alongside the tracks and hwy... theres a city recycling center, a horse farm, a scrap metal shredder, metal collector, trash truck base place, an extremely active rock quarry, a Tyson food plant, etc. All require lots of semi traffic but none of the places have room for them or safe access. Because to stop for a train you gotta leave your trailer hanging out into the bloodthirsty highway where my Ventura's nose got wiped off by a redlight runner and where I stopped a distracted dump truck with my GTP.
Pushy push push though. Me first. Mine's taller, so there. Now its well water again this winter for some. Man I don't get it. But it was on the news here.
Three traffic fatalities within a few miles of the house this week. A chicken truck had stopped on the shoulder near a bridge on the highway to Tulsa just before dawn and was pulling back onto the roadway getting up to speed when a box truck at speed rearended the chickens. Then caught fire and driver didn't make it.
In front of the flower shop near downtown, somebody rearended a Camry and drove away (soon caught) but the Camry was knocked head on into a Highlander. Both in Camry were killed and that poor flower shop lady ran out there to help and saw them so her life got changed for the worse seeing that.
I don't reckon anybody wonders why I like to keep my distance. High profile vehicles kill. Not drivers, innocents. Yet many are driven like motorcycles assuming their brakes stop like one and they push like they want to Ram.
So anyway heres a critter sitting on a high profile vehicle chassis with it's Roots type showing. The Coyote endowed 51 F-1 5.0 job of yesteryear.
Well I spoke too soon. Throw another body on the heap. Last night a Sonata went pinball on the interstate, crossing all lanes and catching death on a concrete barrier.
The chassis looks nice. I'd sure like to drive one of those and see how it compares to my stuff. :)
That would be neat. Those are sheetmetal frames, yours are mostly tubing right. I'm no engineer but as a crash guy I think I'd prefer tubing for hard use. Curious myself now that you mention it whether RS supports their use for substantial towing / payload capacity. Enough strength is a tough thing to pinpoint by guessing and by trial and error perhaps the powers that be determined that a lighter weight construction is sufficient for what they sell them for. I don't know how thickness of rail metal or total frame weight compares.
That ^^^ is just me talking but I know what you mean. I bet if you asked around theres somebody with one who could oblige ya. The suspension hodge podges you've used might be comparable. At least it would be cool if someone could take you for a ride. The 49 Merc truck at the shop is I believe the same rig.
Personally I wouldn't mind experiencing a blown Coyote to feel modern five liter power. I can't imagine a plain one being GP torquey in my 2-1/4 ton heap, nor an LS, but am probably wrong about that.
I'm trying to think... at the shack yeah I drove the Mach1 and Imp SS I did early on. Very briefly just down the street because I assembled them. Rode in that LS7 or 9 Trans Am clone briefly and it seemed set up for like cannonball run with four gears beyond any legal speed. I truly have no reference experience in improved performance by which to gauge anything.
It'd be neat to do a comparo on ride between one you made vs the high dollar stuff. Yours would likely be the better value. You can always go plow over some cones to quantify autocross behavior.
When I get the 48 completed, I will have a comparison of 3 different suspension setups. I'll try to write a reasonable comparison after I put some miles on it. The Roadster shop stuff is 10 gauge. .134 wall. I have used .125 and .187 wall. I think the bracing on any of them will make the difference. ????
For the most part older half ton truck frames were a 6" C channel about 0.187" thick.
This will reveal my level of attention paid one way or the other... and test yours.
Was trying to thinkmember but it seems like Bill the current one you made in the what I called sheetmetal style but wait...
it is a fully boxed combo of tubing in straight sections and sheetmetal (same thickness) at kickup / hump areas.
Is that correct? Memory says older builds of yours were all tubing.
Body metal is where my genuine interest stops so naturally the other stuff is not as fully digested although all seen and read.
So has your K/B-O/S architecture evolved or are my observations valid? Wouldn't hurt to talk about that some.
And I concur with the bracing suspicion. If you were a roadster shop about to make available a chassis, do you make a ladder then go pound on it to see where cracks appear like the approach used in locating an H pipe aft of header collectors? Like building a business complex then waiting a year to put connecting sidewalks where foot trails appear.
Because while the underfoot section with the brand laser cut into theirs, after having seen more than one of their designs firsthand... kinda looks like a common reinforcing grid shape that gets plopped between rails to suit the app.
Have they done stress testing? I'd say most certainly. Have they done destructive testing, crashing a handful of frames as OEs would? Hmm, skeptical. I am not aware of any regulations regarding aftermarket chassis that might prompt such but haven't looked for any. NHRA is probably a relevant guideline.
Whether suspension choices or rigidity is the more critical focus is a good question but we are talking vehicles with the aero of a Frigidaire and on public roads so merely sufficient eyeball common sense rigidity likely serves fine. But observing similarities or differences in different makes of aftermarket chassis would be what I would look to for bracing cues. The RS frames ain't all that dadgum stiff but stockers are like dampened spaghetti. On the scale involved, body-on-frame, yeah I'd say racy stiffness is out the window either way but quantifying how much of that is enough is the question and personally would pursue ride quality and stability over how long can it drift high-horsepowered donuts and figure eights or serve baja duty.
Absolutely yes a question only answered by trying 'em out.
I think they are all, theirs and yours, mild street frames that are yeah probably all OK for running tens or so too. I don't think you'll find many 100K+ mile hard use testimonials on RS frames but theres a lot of OE frames still good enough to hold a quick truck.
I have one more pic of the 51 frame, may post that too. Outdoors. This comment is fluffy enuf as is.
:) :arrow:
Personally, on that one, I cannot stand it having nothing but sheetmetal ahead of block to stop a centered pole. No damage resistance if your light turns green and somebody runs the red catching it ahead of spindles. Theres no bumper. Gimmie a spreader bar... something besides the radiator core, I mean come on man. :roll:
Matt, I took a ride once in a late model Mustang with a 700rwhp dyno sheet. Incredible acceleration anytime he put his boot in it, the thing actually pushed you UP the seatback.
Bill, the frame you built for the new truck looks really sturdy to me. Maybe not quite as much as the hydroformed chassis of a C5, but you're gusseted up, reinforced at the joints, and I think it's going to drive like a sports car.
The chassis is all tubing. Instead of adding cross members, the cab and bed frame are the additional supports. The carriage for the irs is quite substantial. I'm concerned that when it gets weighed when completed that I missed my goal and it will way the same as the last 3. :)
Jaybee, yessir. Overplenty is plenty. But how usable low speed city grunt compares between say a 400 horse Ponch 400 and a 400 HP Coyote is my curious point. The Pontiac getting the work done in 2/3rds the RPM range of the Ford indicates much different driveability. One is engineered for three gears and one for six. What happens if theres a C4 behind a Coyote or a six speed behind an all iron Pontiac? Nobody knows because its most practical to use the appropriate transmission. Since I don't race and have enough TH400 / 12 bolt to last until doomsday, this is the concern that comes to mind because transmissions are now more expensive than engines in my power level of thought. Stepping to electronics for either has negative appeal for a hobby car in my realm.
Bill, all your thinking might pay off. Remembering that total rigidity is the sum of that from frame and body together. Good point to give a shot at... doing enough without doing too much.
My kneejerk horror reaction to the aftermarket frames is because its all flat stock and corner welds ground flush. My crash side sees rails splitting at seams if crushed and therefore making a more dangerous ride after impact before stop. My rod side sees ease of manufacture and swanky appearance there but wants to use all tubing and get it overwith.
I'm ready to see yours come together, I know that.
Was trying to shut the door of my car after lunch yesterday but this bee flew in and got shooed out four times before I could barely manage to shut the door. No doubt I appeared to be insane but fortunately no observers were present.
Matt, I recently deleted the link because it's broken, but I bookmarked a conversation on the most recent version of RRT. It was a discussion you played a big part in about the need for crush zones in cars. You had noticed that some of the aftermarket frames appeared to be too strong clear to the ends of the frame rails, potentially transmitting more force to the occupants to the extent of injury or death. What you say above reminds me of that, in that the damage you fear could happen at anyplace in the structure. The rails at the ends of the chassis could well hold together, driving the force back into the area of the passenger compartment and splitting the welds in the most critical zone instead. It would be the worst possible outcome if, for example, impact at the front of the car pushed the engine compartment area rearward intact but destroying the passenger area in the process.
Somewhat related matter, I have a recent interest in the GMT400-OBS-C/K1500 pickups made from 1988-1998, or 2002 for the Tahoe and Surburban. Unlike earlier pickups, these have a kick up behind the cab. It seems that stress and bending loads concentrate in this area, and can even crack or break the frame. When new, these trucks sometimes even suffered from complaints of shaking caused by frame beaming in resonance with undulations in the pavement or expansion joints.
The obvious solution is boxing plates for that part of the frame, with fish mouths at the front and rear of the plates if the whole frame isn't being boxed.
But, I'm also curious about something I saw on one of the Hot Rod Garage episodes about the pickup they swapped onto a Crown Victoria frame...the Crown Hick. Going in, I acknowledge their theme is often doing things the wrong way but having fun with the car anyway. What they found in this case is a lot of flex in the axle kick area, because as Bill is doing in his latest build, the Crown Vic body and frame work as a team. The pickup tended to bend between the cab and bed. They did a couple of things to help, but I want to mention one of them. They put hockey pucks as improvised body mounts between back of the cab and the front of the pickup box.
They demonstrated a lot less flex as indicated by far less variation in the cab/box gap as the car was jacked up. What's your position on something like this? Inexpensive but ingenious? Rat rod nonsense? Likely to create other issues? I think the answer may be different for a lowered street burner than for a flexed out 4x4.
We have a very small possum in our area that can't use its hind legs; looks like it was either hit by a car or an animal got to it. It climbs the (at least) 25' hill from the dry creek to our yard to feed on the seeds that the birds drop. He really gets around the yard. I throw extra food out for it if I see it looking.
The last couple nights, I've seen a large raccoon milling about eating the seeds, etc. I have to set out two live traps, because the possum usually comes first and gets trapped. But since it has trouble walking, it hasn't been going into the traps anyway. I saw the raccoon out there tonight milling around the traps, and finally got greedy and went into one. Bad move. He's already in the trash dumpster for tomorrow's trash pickup.
Phil, you've shown a balance there. Good sportsmanship. Obviously the handicapped opossum has been around the block and learned things.
Its funny to watch especially a couple weeks ago then the wanuts fell. Mourning Doves see the car coming and stay until the last moment positioning the nut of choice so you'll run over it cracking it for them. Bless their hearts, they think the tires go all the way across. If I see that scenario I try to oblige them but they place them in line with the whole car, not a tire. So its hit n miss for them. Bird brains. Or rather... dinosaur brains.
Due to using a phone to forum, I've made one small inadvertent tap and put myself in a cut and paste situation I can't back myself out of within the available time. Was reading to try to get back to sleep, now the alarm clock is going off. Crap. Been trying to go to bed early for my job's sake but it always backfires.
So, pasting my response below and it starts over in I think the 13th paragraph. Sorry. The space I have to type in is about 1 3/4" x 1 1/2" and backspace, no arrow keys. Soft keyboard area is about the same size. Constant typos.
Best I can do:
Jaybee the idea for a frontal crash is to start slowing the impact down, absorbing energy, before the centered phone pole contacts engine and stops all at once.
Depending on the impact's proximity to rail end, without a frame x member of sorts in front of engine... if it hits on a rail end, kickup behind engine is probably absorbing energy at the start of the crash crush. Miss the rail end and slow down less until wham, solid contact with the heavy stuff. With frame horns tied together, that center impact can be slowed down a lot before that happens and transferred to a greater amount of bending metal that can give, softening the blow.
I have seen a truck or two damaged in transport, where frame becomes bent between cab and bed, and wondered if it happened during tie down or during the ride due to how it was tied down. Truck frames are long. Theres a great deal of leverage involved along that length.
Stiffening within the torque box area urges the frame to bend more at kickups, making two bend points rather than the one in the center. Arguably a riskier take if its a work truck driving through ditches at a work site. The concentration of fatigue out closer to suspensions by boxing the middle under the cab / box gap could cause unforeseen increased flex hotspots at kickups / susp mount points.
But the overall reduction in flex would help to keep front and rear suspensions in their unstressed, proper orientation relative to one another and for a corner carver thats the ticket.
For best payload tolerance, I think allowing the full length flexing probably generates the least fatigue.
Obviously an arch, like a foot or doorway, bracing over the middle of a pickup frame could be of light construction and have a similar effect to boxing but there again it creates fatigue points where attached. The models mentioned having a dip instead does seem counterintuitive but facilitates comfortable entry/exit with a lower cab position.
My understanding is that the 88-up GMT introduced hydroformed rails. At least the front section. Obviously, in pursuit of one thing, another thing which takes time to show up was compromised. Resulting in the rhythmic destructive bouncing as might occur over road expansion gaps.
So absolutely, yes the intended usage comes into play. If you could haul a load without cab or bed, I don't think frames would mind much. Pickup bodies are more of a seperate entity from chassis.
By using cab and box as part of the structure, creating two stiffer areas, of course more strain is placed between the two. Engineering guesswork then trial and error required to calculate how much stiffness is enough. Wheelbase could certainly be a factor in how that proves out.
But OEs are out to walk a fine line, rodders can build in plenty of rail strength there and not have to nail the guesswork on keeping a frame from folding in half.
That gets into trying to make a truck body work like a car, which is the direction to take on a light or no duty sport truck. And for a load toting truck, flex to spread fatigue would be the path to follow.
When wanting to turn the latter into the former, why heck yeah a higher-up bed / cab connection (or just cushion) is a gentle way via body mounts, to lessen and spread any middJaybee the idea for a frontal crash is to start slowing the impact down, absorbing energy, before the centered phone pole contacts engine and stops all at once.
Depending on the impact's proximity to rail end, without a frame x member of sorts in front of engine... if it hits on a rail end, kickup behind engine is probably absorbing energy at the start of the crash crush. Miss the rail end and slow down less until wham, solid contact with the heavy stuff. With frame horns tied together, that center impact can be slowed down a lot before that happens and transferred to a greater amount of bending metal that can give, softening the blow.
I have seen a truck or two damaged in transport, where frame becomes bent between cab and bed, and wondered if it happened during tie down or during the ride due to how it was tied down. Truck frames are long. Theres a great deal of leverage involved along that length.
Stiffening within the torque box area urges the frame to bend more at kickups, making two bend points rather than the one in the center. Arguably a riskier take if its a work truck driving through ditches at a work site. The concentration of fatigue out closer to suspensions by boxing the middle under the cab / box gap could cause unforeseen increased flex hotspots at kickups / susp mount points.
But the overall reduction in flex would help to keep front and rear suspensions in their unstressed, proper orientation relative to one another and for a corner carver thats the ticket.
For best payload tolerance, I think allowing the full length flexing probably generates the least fatigue.
Obviously an arch, like a foot or doorway, bracing over the middle of a pickup frame could be of light construction and have a similar effect to boxing but there again it creates fatigue points where attached. The models mentioned having a dip instead does seem counterintuitive but facilitates comfortable entry/exit with a lower cab position.
My understanding is that the 88-up GMT introduced hydroformed rails. At least the front section. Obviously, in pursuit of one thing, another thing which takes time to show up was compromised. Resulting in the rhythmic destructive bouncing as might occur over road expansion gaps.
So absolutely, yes the intended usage comes into play. If you could haul a load without cab or bed, I don't think frames would mind much. Pickup bodies are more of a seperate entity from chassis.
By using cab and box as part of the structure, creating two stiffer areas, of course more strain is placed between the two. Engineering guesswork then trial and error required to calculate how much stiffness is enough. Wheelbase could certainly be a factor in how that proves out.
le gap flexing over the entire chassis length. But might require some "stoutening" at said cushion area. Factories probably avoid this method due to the added vibration transfer to inside the cab but it is a neat idea and the concept seems logical.
Ever heard of an el Camino frame bending in the middle? Of course not. Ever hear of a unibody truck that had a long production run? Nope. For trucky truck use, I say take the flexy approach. For car-like truck use, go rigid. And make sure the wheelbase doesn't match expansion joints on interstates.
*. I would have trouble sorting that out even on a PC with a mouse. Hope I didn't lose any of the content, theres no time to proofread. Like I said I hit paste instead of copy one of the times I tried to copy because of the timeout. Good luck!
We live about 500' from a state highway, and the farther south we take it, we will see turtles crossing the road from east to west, heading for the parallel river. Many times, we will stop and pick up the turtle and put it on the side that it's heading for. A few years back, I had stopped and got out, but before I could reach the turtle, an * in a PU came and aimed for it, just hitting the side of its shell. That sent the turtle flying down the road like a wheel, obviously killing it. That's the mentality that we have to deal with here.
Matt, you know way more than I do about frames and crush zones. The picture I posted shows a Monte Carlo that slid sideways into a large power pole about two blocks from where I used to live, on a state highway. I wasn't able to get a pic of it until after it was towed to the local Ford dealer. Don't know what happened to the occupant/s, but OUCH on the car.
In late '68, I was working for that Ford dealer when we got a wrecker call to pick up a new GTO that had slid sideways into a tree about three miles away. It was a construction worker that lived in one of the apartments next door to the Ford dealer. He missed the first part of an S curve and slid sideways into a large tree. The local wrecking yard was already there with a flatbed, where they loaded the front of the car from the firewall forward onto the flatbed. They also loaded the dash and both doors as one piece onto their truck. We wrapped our cable around the rest of the car and picked it up sideways. I'd never seen a wreck like that, the car broke into three pieces. Wish I'd had a camera then.
The best part was we talked with the ambulance crew that told us the driver of the car had been wearing his shoulder/seat belts. When the car stopped moving, he was still sitting in his seat, feet sitting on what was left of the floor, looking out where the whole front of the car had disappeared. He walked to the ambulance. Obviously, crush zones wouldn't have helped either of those cars being hit from the sides like they were.
Man, its gonna be a long day.
I saw a C5 vette that had taken that kind of hit. Pole stopped at the transmission.
I always enjoy the original Gone in 60 Seconds scene where they knock an obviously pre-sawed Dart convertible in half.
When it comes to T-bone side impact, no matter the vehicle, the body metal is all there is to slow down the hit. If it makes it to the frame rail you are probably already deceased.
A Harley can toss it's rider and penetrate a tri five clear to the driveshaft tunnel with only a couple layers to stop it.
Observe on modern construction how door intrusion beams AND door jambs overlap significantly. On old stuff the door opening is the size of the door leaving the possibility of shoving door through door opening in body. Thats the kind of side impact protection improvement that counts as far as statistics.
Like the pole hit on the original Eleanor, a pole hit just behind front wheels is one of the few ways feet can get hurt in a wreck. Its an Archilles' heel on any vehicle.
But yep, if you are wearing your seatbelt in a car-ripping-apart impact, chances of survival are improved simply because the floor pan / rocker box is the core and farthest from impact in any case. If hunks are being torn off, staying put in the seat is the best bet for sure.
There is a snapping turtle that has been crossing my yard and road for 50 years, twice a year. In the spring from the creek to the swamp behind me, and in the fall from the swamp to the creek. When I first saw it, it was just bigger that a small plate. Now it's about 24" across.
in the early 70's there was a guy that fell asleep at the wheel driving a full size 70 Pontiac wagon, and hit a Jersey Barrier guard rail in front of my house head on. It was clear through the car and stuck out through the tailgate. He was unhurt.
Wow, that's a large turtle. Ours are typically 8" to 10" maybe.
Not that anyone has more than the tiniest shred of control over it, but how you hit something (or how something hits you) is everything. When I was a teenager there was a guy in my town who flipped a mid-60s, big block Impala at what was said to be 130. He walked away with bumps and bruises because he didn't actually hit anything...just skied it across the ground. I didn't see that car after the crash, but I presume it did its share of spinning and rolling as well. I did see his next car, a 1973 Toyota Celica. He couldn't have been going even half as fast, because the blunt end of a concrete bridge parapet he hit was at the end of a relatively sharp corner, posted at 35mph. No skid marks, the assumption was that he fell asleep behind the wheel. Based on damage on the car, that spun him around into the giant lump of concrete on the opposite side of the road. I'm not real sure how they got the body out.
That crash and a few others got the medical license of a local doctor yanked for prescribing too many "diet pills."
I learned somewhere John Wayne had a thing for Pontiac wagons. Thats cool. 8)
I sat in a Pontiac once that was like an upside down turtle halfway in a ditch.
Wrecks.... Wheres the barfy smiley? :P
Speaking of large turtles...
I forget what thread I put a white and yellow longbed F250 pic on but I was making sport of the Sport Custom emblem. Well its sportin a 390 4 speed and has local custom upholstery now.
If'n it was a farm critter, it'd be ready for the pen at the fair.
I saw a vid today of a Golden Retriever wading... holding still as a school of nice size catfish drew near, and...
chomp! :) That was great. Now do dogs eat fish? I thought that was first rate entertainment. It just dragged the fish onto the shore but the dog picked a big one. :lol:
I gained respect for dogs just then. Never seen one fish.
Dang. This definitely tops that:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1803drx/photographers_capture_an_intense_fight_between/
Cricket chow?
That looks nice and sturdy.
Thank you sir. Have a good Thanksgiving. I am thankful for the RRT.
Pans are done, thankfully. :)
Happy Thanksgiving to you, and to everyone here at RRT.
Thanksgiving was great. Today, like every day off or weekend day year after year, begins with barking of a neighbor's dog followed by me yelling a bitter profanity stream inside my home so loud my throat hurts for a couple days however. Its happening now. Low flying helicopters come directly over my home between midnight and four AM nightly as well. Police are no help. Why do people use animals to ruin lives of others? No one has that right.
Every day off starts with dog anger. Thats no state of mind to be in when getting behind the wheel. If this sort of talk is an annoyance to any readers, consider it to be me exercising the same right as dog owners do, just without urinating on your chrome wheels or pooping where you step to get your mail or take out the trash. :)
There is no peaceful solution to these problems from my end and mental health suffers from them. Scratchy throat sucks. Being prevented from sleeping late is not right nor legal. If your headlights illuminate the interior of the vehicle ahead of you, you are too close. If the music you want to play in the shop is rap only, with constant repetition of the N word, others may find that offensive and be uncomfortable in that environment. Basic courtesy is history. I hope none of you are forced to accept these types of preventable annoyances.
Matt, before I got married and moved, my nice neighbor lady kept her sons dog in a pen in the backyard. It barked constantly. I don't know why he kept HIS dog at HER place, he lived almost 10 miles away. He finally took it with him later. But, of course, now the druggies on the other side of her house made all kinds of noise. I was happy to leave that neighborhood.
I wish there was a product called dog gone it. I'd buy a case. >:(
Quote from: 58 Yeoman on November 24, 2023, 09:30:17 AMMatt, before I got married and moved, my nice neighbor lady kept her sons dog in a pen in the backyard. It barked constantly. I don't know why he kept HIS dog at HER place, he lived almost 10 miles away. He finally took it with him later. But, of course, now the druggies on the other side of her house made all kinds of noise. I was happy to leave that neighborhood.
Millenials, like this Gen X man, are finding out now that their starter home will be their last. The dip in interest levels in recent years was percieved as the norm when they came of age. With historically more normal rates back in place, to sell is to shoot one's self in the foot because to buy, the price is now double. Those who come of age now are seeing the "haves" pull away from the "have nots" at a hopeless rate, making it all but impossible to become a homeowner.
Just leaving the neighborhood is not an option for those at my maturity level. I have five years left to pay on my mortgage and if I wanted to flush away the last quarter century of my best efforts in one stupid decision, moving would do just that.
I'd be stupid to think that inconsiderate dog owners are not within earshot at any point on the map.
Just like if I don't want to hear the n word a couple hundred times a day, my only option is to discard nearly 13 years of seniority at a job for which there is no replacement.
Same reason I drive junk. Bad people cannot allow normal people to reap the benefits they have sown. They will be destroyed by blind beligerence that provides no gains for them and that my friend is the worst kind of stupidity. If someone was paying these people a nickel for each bark from their dog, that would be less stupid. But all they do is harm others.
The worst one on record made me say: What you have taken from me can never be recovered. Greatly offended, he asked "What have I taken from you?"
REST!
They can all go to hell.
I was at work yesterday talking to a friend outdoors and saw a bald eagle fly by. Beaver Lake is just down the hollow from the back shop and locals have made efforts in recent times to welcome them back after so much development kinda ran them off. So I'm not looney, theres a population nearby. Anyway there were 3 more big birds around at the same instant then off they went with the breeze.
It was big, and white at both ends when the sun angle got right. Felt as though I ought to salute it. Not every day does a guy see the flagpole bird. Leastwise not in these parts. :)
Amazing birds. They're not quite rare in the Upper Midwest, but uncommon enough to be notable when you see them. It doesn't hurt that they're amazing and majestic.
The town I live near is on the Illinois River, and quite a few eagles come here for the winter, for the open water. A couple years ago, we were parked at the marina and counted over two dozen bald eagles across the river in the trees. We haven't had that many since. There is a large eagle nest about 3 miles south of me next to the state highway that gets used almost every year.
I took this picture over my house one day a couple weeks ago, as I was walking to the shop.
I made a day trip from Des Moines to Chicago and back 11-12 years ago on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. Taking I88 to hit the NW burbs, I saw 3 eagles within a few minutes. Each one was standing on the ice next to holes in the center of the water in Borrow Pits that had provided fill dirt to build the Interstate. Pretty smart birds, staying perfectly still, waiting for fish to swim past.
^^Love it.^^
This link is the fishing dog I think I mentioned awhile back-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wfj5-dV5o8U&pp=ygURZG9nIGNhdGNoaW5nIGZpc2g%3D/