What are you doing today?

[chimp koose]

many years ago my wife had a misdiagnosed knee injury that resulted in the end of a promising ballet career . 6 weeks after treatment the second set of eyes diagnosed the real problem and concluded there was nothing more that could be done. find a good doctor ,and a good lawyer .

[idrivejunk]

Thats probably where I'm at now, where nothing else could be done aside from sawing it in half basically and hoping for a better heal. An amended police report actually appeared today, woot! No help on a criminal suit but maybe on a civil. I forwarded it to the lawyer I'm trying to use. The medical clinic's regional manager left a voicemail today, yeah I bet he wants to talk.

Meds are helping, and so is not trying to work with that hand.

Today's cool part was driving the '69 GP around in the rain. There something extra-retro about doing that. I mean its something you don't dare do if you're fanatical about your old iron, but something we remember doing as an everyday experience back in the day. A rattly old wiper transmission kinda harshes the vibe, but its an authentic part of the fun.

[papastoyss]

Thats probably where I'm at now, where nothing else could be done aside from sawing it in half basically and hoping for a better heal. An amended police report actually appeared today, woot! No help on a criminal suit but maybe on a civil. I forwarded it to the lawyer I'm trying to use. The medical clinic's regional manager left a voicemail today, yeah I bet he wants to talk.

Meds are helping, and so is not trying to work with that hand.

Today's cool part was driving the '69 GP around in the rain. There something extra-retro about doing that. I mean its something you don't dare do if you're fanatical about your old iron, but something we remember doing as an everyday experience back in the day. A rattly old wiper transmission kinda harshes the vibe, but its an authentic part of the fun.

My wife had a similar injury from an auto wreck in 1986. After healing, she had no up & down motion in her wrist. The ortho specialist she was referred to removed a sliver of bone from her leg & sawed thru her wrist bone & inserted the donor bone sliver. After extensive rehab she was able to go back to work  , 23 months later.She still has a plate over the bone repair but has no ill efects from it.

[enjenjo]

I'm still waiting for my ship to come in but the slow boat from China hasn't delivered my conductivity glue to repair the printed circuit board for my scared instrument panel. Trying to get my mind set off one problem at a time I referred to my plan of needing to get the engine running for enthusiasm. I remembered that I wanted to get a drive shaft for it so I could keep the tail housing from leaking because the "Park less" transmission would probably spin the drive shaft and the rear end (which will be up on jack stands). The floor braces that I had installed to hold things together until I had figured out where to build the tunnel sat squarely between the transmission tail shaft and the yoke on the rear end. So I spent yesterday afternoon modifying the brace for the tunnel. Now I can get a measurement for the length of the drive shaft. It has been years since I saw the drive shaft from the donor S15 but when I dug it out yesterday I found out that it was one with an enlarged tube in the center. The engine has been set to the rear of this chassis 7 1/4" and the rear end has been moved forward 4" and I don't think there is enough length it the small tube ends of this drive shaft to take the shortening. When all this snow melts off it will be too muddy to be looking in junkyards for candidates. My friends run a machine shop and as a side they will make drive shafts for 4X4s and pulling tractors and they have cut drive shafts in the middle before. Some way this will move on.  GPster

Let me know how long the shaft has to be, and I'll see if I have one.

The best I can measure for what I need would be 41 1/2" center of joint to center of joint. This verifies the 11 1/4" of changes that I have made. The joints are inside keeper type for an '87 GMC S15 2.5L with the 700R transmission. This probably falls into the odd length category but maybe half of a 2 pc. drive shaft or a front drive shaft for a 4X4. The O.D. of the small ends of the original drive shaft is 2 3/4" so if you don't have anything close I'll probably start looking for a drive shaft that diameter  for the full length with one end with the right joint yoke on it GPster

Joe, as close as I can come is with a straight shaft 48" long, with the correct yokes on each end. It would need to be shortened. Let me know. I can get it shortened here if you want.

[enjenjo]

We started on Josh's house today, most of it was going to Menards, and spending a couple grand of his money We loaded up the tools of destruction to go over there tomorrow.

[GPster]

The best I can measure for what I need would be 41 1/2" center of joint to center of joint. This verifies the 11 1/4" of changes that I have made. The joints are inside keeper type for an '87 GMC S15 2.5L with the 700R transmission. This probably falls into the odd length category but maybe half of a 2 pc. drive shaft or a front drive shaft for a 4X4. The O.D. of the small ends of the original drive shaft is 2 3/4" so if you don't have anything close I'll probably start looking for a drive shaft that diameter  for the full length with one end with the right joint yoke on it GPster[/quote]

Joe, as close as I can come is with a straight shaft 48" long, with the correct yokes on each end. It would need to be shortened. Let me know. I can get it shortened here if you want.[/quote]                                                           Thanks for the effort so far. I have spent hours/days looking on the internet at drive shafts and it doesn't look like there would be any application that would be near the desired length. My stock drive shaft is the expanded tube type and the diameter of the center of it is 3 1/2" OD. Spicer shows tube end welded yokes for that size tube (.065 and .083 tube thickness) for my stock universal joint. Cutting the shortening amount off of either end of my stock drive shaft would put me into the    3 1/2" OD. I'll see about finding a junk drive shaft that is the right diameter and maybe plan on going that way. Outside of my friends machine shop we also have a local drive shaft shop so if one can't  be found that just "falls into" place I can probably proceed locally. One good thing that I have discovered. I changed the rear end in this chassis from 2WD to one from a 4X4 S10 Blazer for the wider axel. When I picked-up the axle the donor Blazer had a "tilt wheel" and the guy took $20.00 for it and it had a key. This different column shifts better and now I find out that my transmission does have "Park". Hate to do things twice but this project may get a "cobbled" drive shaft for now just to turn the wheels while its up on jack stands. GPster

[GPster]

The best I can measure for what I need would be 41 1/2" center of joint to center of joint. This verifies the 11 1/4" of changes that I have made. The joints are inside keeper type for an '87 GMC S15 2.5L with the 700R transmission. This probably falls into the odd length category but maybe half of a 2 pc. drive shaft or a front drive shaft for a 4X4. The O.D. of the small ends of the original drive shaft is 2 3/4" so if you don't have anything close I'll probably start looking for a drive shaft that diameter  for the full length with one end with the right joint yoke on it GPster[/quote]

Joe, as close as I can come is with a straight shaft 48" long, with the correct yokes on each end. It would need to be shortened. Let me know. I can get it shortened here if you want.[/quote]                                                                                                                             Thanks                                                                                              Thanks for the effort so far. I have spent hours/days looking on the internet at drive shafts and it doesn't look like there would be any application that would be near the desired length. My stock drive shaft is the expanded tube type and the diameter of the center of it is 3 1/2" OD. Spicer shows tube end welded yokes for that size tube (.065 and .083 tube thickness) for my stock universal joint. Cutting the shortening amount off of either end of my stock drive shaft would put me into the    3 1/2" OD. I'll see about finding a junk drive shaft that is the right diameter and maybe plan on going that way. Outside of my friends machine shop we also have a local drive shaft shop so if one can't  be found that just "falls into" place I can probably proceed locally. One good thing that I have discovered. I changed the rear end in this chassis from 2WD to one from a 4X4 S10 Blazer for the wider axel. When I picked-up the axle the donor Blazer had a "tilt wheel" and the guy took $20.00 for it and it had a key. This different column shifts better and now I find out that my transmission does have "Park". Hate to do things twice but this project may get a "cobbled" drive shaft for now just to turn the wheels while its up on jack stands. GPster

[jaybee]

A big chunk of my weekend has been spent disassembling, organizing packing, and disposing of things in the garage. We close on sale of the house 4/10 but unfortunately will end up in an apartment for a year before buying. Maybe at least I can buy some parts during that time and be ready to hit the wagon hard once I have a place to work on it in Kansas City. Between now and then my brother is willing to provide space for it.

[chimp koose]

I spent some time cutting up my spoke wheels in the lathe to liberate the centers from the bells . I want to make narrower rims for the front and wider for the back . These rims had a wire laced center pressed in and welded to outer bells .I am going to weld them into a pair of ford truck bells that are 5 1/2  wide instead of the 7 they were . When I get them cut off I take one over to the disc/hub assembly only to find out they are the wrong bolt circle . They were sold to me as 5 on 4 1/2 BC but look to be 5 on 4 3/4 . Since I will have to machine adapter sleeves for the wheel stud to bolt hole difference anyways , I guess its just an offset instead of concentric adapter now . This is just one more custom made part to add to the pile .

[enjenjo]

I worked on Josh's house today. We put up new fascia boards on the front of the house, and installed new downspouts and gutters, and installed new doors in his garage. Tomorrow they will start on the electric.

[purplepickup]

The 2 Radio Shacks in town are closing and everything is 60-80% off so I stopped in and spent $78 (saved over $200) on all sorts of doodads. I live off the grid in the summer and they had a lot of 12V stuff.

[416Ford]

Thanks for the heads up George. I will swing in to the one by me tomorrow.

Not done today but Saturday and Sunday.
Vickie and I took out the pine trees in our turn around so we could enjoy the view and not scratch up all the cars when we drove up to the house.

[chimp koose]

I got the right taps to finish my steering cross shaft today ! I will be back at the T tonight.

[chimp koose]

Correction , I got the right hand tap to finish my steering cross shaft . When I opened the container labeled for a left hand tap , there was a right hand one in there also . I don't know of any more ways the supplier can get this wrong .This is the fourth time they have screwed up this order . It has been nearly a month since I ordered these taps and I am still waiting for the taps to complete my steering cross shaft .I feel like I am on some kind of reality tv show . Good thing there is no deadline for the car to be done.

[wayne petty]

Correction , I got the right hand tap to finish my steering cross shaft . When I opened the container labeled for a left hand tap , there was a right hand one in there also . I don't know of any more ways the supplier can get this wrong .This is the fourth time they have screwed up this order . It has been nearly a month since I ordered these taps and I am still waiting for the taps to complete my steering cross shaft .I feel like I am on some kind of reality tv show . Good thing there is no deadline for the car to be done.

just goes to show that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing..

i was going to give gag gifts one year..   assortments of Left hand threaded nuts..   i could have given significant amounts as a friend owned a nut and bolt company..  he loved the idea.