What are you doing today?

[jaybee]

Sending two to the scrapper today, the '94 Grand Am and the '95 Windstar for $350 hauled away. Grabbed a bunch of stuff out of the Grand Am including front (two door) seats, jack pack, and a box of switches, lights, and relays. The Windstar is giving up its underhood power station, side a/c, and wheel center caps that are going for about $13 each on Ebay. I'd keep the alloy wheels that are going for $90 each on Ebay, but the scrap dealer really wants those and I do want it gone today. Both cars have batteries headed for O'Reilly at $5 each core. The Windstar has some almost new tires that I sold to another car guy $50 for the set with him removing the wheels, paying for the dismount, putting the wheels back, and leaving it on blocks.

I figure that'll be a little cash in the wallet for the work involved.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Been crazy busy.  At work  n home.  Even had the retirement property up for sale agin... no sale.  Guess I will retire some day

Quick latest project was welding cart mods. Changed from 55 cubic foot  tank to 120 cf tank.  Larger tank lasts longer and it is still a size (weight) I can manage with the B-S that  life has thrown at my health (lower back problems)

Added a patio on back of cart for tank to sit. Former tank mount was on bottom of cart.  Modded that into holder for clamps. I've used this same cart for 20 yrs

[Arnold]

G/F says her lawntractor needs an oil change. I know nothing about this thing. She has a guy that does it every year.

 Has it EVER been changed

 In front of my buddy the stick has so much crap on it/in the oil it is hard to get a good reading.We need to run it for a few minutes.He pulls the stick I fire it up..there is so much smoke/water vapor it blows out the dipstick oil into a jet out the dipstick  into his glasses. I laugh he doesn't :evil:
  We have to put the stick back in.
 
  I run it for a few minutes..check the oil again..run it again.
 
  Ya..there is so much crap in this oil..I don't even want to drain it..
this needs to be pumped out..and some fresh oil added..run..ditto..

  We get it a bit warmer..and stick the vaccum hose from the pump in the dipstick hole..it keeps getting plugged up..  

  We do this for awhile..poking around at the crap in the bottom of the pan..pumping oil out..adding some. This is all fun.

  Got most of the crap out..oil looks pretty consistent.She can run it..then I can drain it.

   Looking forward to cleaning out the fuel system next

[sirstude]

Got the joy of working on the wife's van again today.  Background.  2008 Dodge Grand Caravan.  Needed front brakes at 23k miles.  Dealer did it, kind of under warranty, only charged 100 bucks.  My wife was happy, and so I did not rip someones head off for taking advantage of her.  She had taken the van in for some other warrant;y work at the time.

I had to put on rear brakes at 45k.  The fronts have been pulsating almost since they did the work.  

Finally replaced the fronts again today.  55K miles.  The pads were great, but the rotors look like they were the original ones.  Looks like they did the scotch brite on a die grinder trick and replaced the pads.  Sure makes that a pretty expensive brake job for warranty.  

Any way, I went out to Rock Auto, never bought anything from them before, and bought slotted and drilled rotors and pads for 150 shipped to me.  The local parts houses wanted 140 just for the stock rotors.  Got it done and drove down the alley and around the block, and every time I hit the pedal, there was a big clunk in the front.  Checked all the bolts and everything  was ok. Took it down the street and really punished the brakes.  Btw, the rotors had a "silver zinc" coating on them.  Brought it back to the garage, sure stunk, but the clunk was gone and it stops pretty nice.   Must have had to seat in the pads and clean off the coating on the brake surface.  First time on either slotted and drilled, or zinc coated rotors for me.

When Dodge came out with the new mini van design in 2008, they seemed to have skimped on the brakes.  I guess they put really soft pads on them so they could meet the stopping distance requirements.  They really should have a recall, but not going to happen.  I think, but not sure, that they changed the brakes on the later models.

[kb426]

I got back from LA about an hour ago. Great show, sore feet. I walked all day saturday continuously. Hope I can move tomorrow.

[WZ JUNK]

I finally fixed my exhaust leak on the truck.  Many years ago I made my own cutout valves.  They work great but I never took the time to adjust them correctly and they always leaked a little and chattered under acceleration.  

As you can see, they are made from flapper valves that you would use on the exhaust of equipment left outdoors.  I made a gasket for the flapper.  The pipe that they clamp to has been machined in a lathe so that it is a true surface.  They are controlled by rod and bell crank system to a lever just in front of my seat.  I can open and close the exhaust by flipping the lever one way or the other.  The first shot shows the flapper and the other shots is from under the truck with the left side removed so that you can see how they mount and how they look installed.

They enable me to drive to the drag strip and then open my exhaust or open and close it at any time I choose.  I find that by opening them while cruising an event it clears a path for me to drive.  Sometimes I can be behind people who are walking and give them a little scare when I open the valves.  The old truck goes from a relatively quiet idle to a louder chug, chug......

John

[kb426]

John, what did you have to do so they didn't leak? Are they spring assisted?

[WZ JUNK]

John, what did you have to do so they didn't leak? Are they spring assisted?

I adjusted the flapper so that it seated correctly by carefully moving it in and out on the pipe and then checking the seal with a dollar bill like checking weather stripping on a door seal.  It needed to be adjusted to tighter tolerance than I had taken time to do in the past.

If I was going to reinvent them today, I would use an electric seat motor and set it up like the mock up in the attached photo.  The present system of bellcranks, levers, adjust rods, and springs is an engineering marvel, but the electric version would work better.

John

[Carps]

Back in my younger days, doing stupid things was pretty much par for the course.
It's great to have friends who help me re-live my youth and enjoy life by continuing to do stupid things.

What did I do that was not so smart?
Well a couple or three weeks back, on Friday afternoon I flew home to Melbourne from Sydney where I'd been for a few days.
Drove home from the airport, collected my weekend stuff and drove 100 miles to Castlemaine, picked up my buddies, then drove all the way back to Sydney.
The next day, once we were done havin' fun, turned around and drove all the way back to Melbourne, so I could fly back to Sydney.

So thanks, Stuart, Sam and the Lonestar team, for putting on the open day and to Dave and Chai, for helping me re-live the good old days.      

Speaking of Stuart, he sure does seem to have a way with the ladies.  





I like to get some people in the photos occasionally.



That must be one very strong drink.  



The Laurel & Hardy of tyres.



Stuart's model A has it all, stance, wheels, wide whites and a unique colour.



Here's two old codgers havin' a chat.



Another rusty old thing.



And a variation on the same.



Just because.



Another pair of old guys......does two pair make a full house?



Yup we clearly aint in Kansas!
Considering all the repro cars here are based on US variants, it was kinda refreshing to see a whole bunch of real Aussie model 40s all lined up for a foto.



This one was my favourite.



Same year, different brands.





Black n white seemed right for this one.



But then, it looks OK in colour too.



Speaking of colour.....



I figured some experimentation was in order when I spotted this old junk in the shed.........



On the other hand, this junk seemed to be stacked just right.



Speaking of junk, I'm not sure if these guys were picking up or delivering.



Another one just coz I like it.



And yet another that was just begging to have the colour sucked out of it.



A modern engine.....



And to close, the Lonestar Worksop under lights.

[Carps]

On the topic of doing stupid things..........
After many years of my high tech door closure system and organic air-conditioning, I've been making a few small changes to my old Ford.  

Yup, those wheelcaps hold a special place having been sent to me many years ago by our departed buddy C-9.  So the '70s era mag wheels and blackwalls are gone and the engine now hides beneath the freshly painted original hood.



It also now has these......




.....and this stuff filling in the big holes in the body sides and doors.

[Carps]

Then last weekend, we did this one.



Lakes Entrance is a series of coastal lakes separated from the sea by large sandbars on the eastern coast of Victoria, Australia.  It is used by the southern fishing fleet as a protected port and by others as a recreational area, often referred to as the Australian Riviera.



Around mid-day, the first hot rods and customs started rolling into town.



The day moved on, fishermen cleaning their nets and sorting their stuff.





Slowly more and more hot rods rolled into town.



The cars came in all shapes and sizes, even some humpy ones.



Some, like the fishermen's prey have fins....



..... others were just smooth, with few lumps and bumps to disrupt the straight lines.



Some parked by the port to check out the boats and other marine machinery.









A few needed to re-fuel after the long road trip.



Friday evening was a pretty quiet affair, with nothing organised, most of the early arrivals found somewhere to grab a bite followed by a quiet evening catching up with old friends.



Saturday morning and it was time to cruise down to the foreshore at the far end of town.









Some folks seemed to be headed in the wrong direction.







Yep, he's headed the wrong way too, but Stampy's '40 deelux coupe was looking a treat and illustrates very clearly the correct and perfect stance can be achieved even in Australia.



It's a shame Neal's ability to know which way to go was not so good as his ability to figure out the key elements that make the perfect hot rod.  I guess he didn't see the injuns either.  

[/URL]

Eventually he found the park.



As did everybody else, although I'm thinking this guy was searching for a workshop or his missing parts....



Registration was quick and simple, just walk top to the desk, give the ladies your name and/or entrant number and you were instantly on your way.



Some cars it seems have changed hands recently.



Others are just helping get the young-un's prepared for their turn (The L stuck to fender indicates a Learner driver).



Instead of parking cars along the shopping strip as in years past, the lake-front park was made available and proved a much better venue for Saturday's show.



Not sure if I'd be surfing the waters down this part of the southern coast, but this wooden bodied Chevy sported a neat mascot all the same.



There's usually one or two Humpies turn out for this event, but it seems in recent times, they have really started to come out of the woodwork and could have qualified as the most polar model at the event.



Of course there were lots of hot rods too.





Including many unique Aussies.







And a whole bunch of '50s era American Classics.





Seems these guys have been pretty quick to jump ship following the announcements of the demise of the local car industry.



These guys did a fantastic job all weekend, it seemed they were everywhere and I mean everywhere, relentlessly pumping out the tunes.



Saturday evening is the traditional pie night at the local golf club.



Again, the band were there. providing the rythum for the dancing folk to strut their stuff.  
This was kinda new, as dancing hasn't been a big feature of the Saturday night activities in the past, just eating, drinking and swapping tall stories, so it was a refreshing change for most.

[Carps]

Sunday morning, we cruised from Lakes Entrance, to Bairnsdale then across to the lakeside village of Paynesville....    It all starts with a gathering of the clan at the bottom of the hill at Lakes Entrance.











We left the park as the last of the stragglers were arriving, in order to find a nice location to photograph the cars as they cruised down highway one, towards Bairnsdale.



We figured these guys weren't the only late starters as it was at least ten minutes past departure time when the Police car that was to lead the procession flashed past us on the highway.  
Very soon he was back, followed by a long conga line of hot rods and customs.







I'm still learning all the cool things that my new camera can do, so I set it for continuous shooting, and locked in a very slow shutter speed.
The effect I think is quite good, however not every shot came out the way I would have liked, but there are a lot that did.





The traffic was unusually light on the day and that allowed the convoy to be travelling rather quickly, which helped the effect, but also made me dizzy.







The cars are shown here in no particular order, because it's late and I'm I'm too tired to sort them any further.













What makes this event fun, is that instead of cruising the local fair/show grounds, the venue is a whole big area of south eastern Victoria and the event takes entrants from one place to another, cruising on the highways or back-roads just like cars are meant to be doing.



Here's a pair of neat Model A Tudors, one may even be more than a little familiar to folks here.





Steve's Dodge has been on the road for many years and it shows, like when was the last time you saw a '30s era car with a traditional section job?





It's always great to see my old travelling buddy Ian 'Datsfa' Shaw's T Tub out and about, this time in the hands of Datsfa Junior and his two young boys.



Orange seems to be a popular shade lately.









Blue is of course is timeless.















Screamin like a stuck pig at 60 mph and what seemed like 9,000rpm on the highway, I guess 4.11 gears will have that effect.



Thanx to the light traffic, we made it to Bairnsdale in time to see the tail disappear up the main drag.  
So I found another great vantage point on the Paynesville Rd and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, but only a few cars came past......











A few minutes after Bob and Cynthia went past, my phone rang, with a message that the cars had come the long way around from Bairnsdale and were rejoining the Paynesville road about a mile from where I had set up.  
I hate it when that happens, but by now it was too late.



Anyhow, the weather was perfect this year, no wind and the sun was warm enough top bring out a big crown of locals.



And of course, there once again, were these guys, still pumping out even more tunes.



I have no explanation for this, but I guess if it needs one we probably wouldn't understand anyhow.



As event participants enjoyed the dining experience in local cafe's or the car boot sale in the park opposite, locals enjoyed checking out the many hot rods and customs on show.





This little bugger is just straight up cute and I mean that in the nicest way.





Datsfa's T is a truly timeless hot rod, we all miss him.





















There was a guy in a nasty black '55 Chevy looking' for the owner of this car.



Speaking of nasty guys, meet some of my Confederates rod & Custom Club mates.















We've all heard about the mechanic's car that get's no attention, well I'm reliably informed this is the body and paint guys car...........

[Carps]

Sunday night we got some rain (it is winter after all) and it was still falling Monday morning (this is a long weekend, we get a day off to celebrate the Queen's burfday), although it didn't put a major dampener on the planned breakfast BBQ in the park.





Many participants stopped in for a feed before heading home and enjoyed the bonus of excellent espresso coffee from a mobile machine.



As we enjoyed the meal and camaraderie, others were headed down the highway.













Yup, it may seem strange to you folk who live in the snow, to hold a long distance rod run in winter, but for some of us, strange is perfectly normal.  



Since all this has gotten me in the mood for more travel, it's time for Sumner to pucker up, coz I'm heading your way!

[Rrumbler]

Very nice presentation, Carps, I enjoyed every single frame.  It was the next best thing to being there; you do nice work.

[enjenjo]

What is it Carps?