2021: What are you doing today

[enjenjo]

I have been virtually deaf in my left ear for about a year. About two weeks ago that ear started popping and the next day I could hear out of it. No idea what was going on, but I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

[58 Yeoman]

I was getting hard of hearing, mostly on my right side, I had checked into hearing aids but the cost was astronomical. Last year ads for hearing "amplifiers" began to pop up on my FB feed. I bought a pair, for $139, and have worn one in my right ear since. It is great, it made such a big difference in my life. It has three different programs  for different settings you might be in and five steps on the volume. I usually keep it on one setting and have never gone over the second step in volume. They cannot be sold as hearing aids because the have not o.k.'d by the FDA, but are supposed to function the same. I can now hear the t.v. at a normal volume, and I can actually have a conversation in a vehicle on the highway now! 😃

Got a brand name on those, phat?

[phat46]

I was getting hard of hearing, mostly on my right side, I had checked into hearing aids but the cost was astronomical. Last year ads for hearing "amplifiers" began to pop up on my FB feed. I bought a pair, for $139, and have worn one in my right ear since. It is great, it made such a big difference in my life. It has three different programs  for different settings you might be in and five steps on the volume. I usually keep it on one setting and have never gone over the second step in volume. They cannot be sold as hearing aids because the have not o.k.'d by the FDA, but are supposed to function the same. I can now hear the t.v. at a normal volume, and I can actually have a conversation in a vehicle on the highway now! 😃

Got a brand name on those, phat?

These are the ones I got, there are many brands on Amazon, these just had features I wanted. I would really liked to have gotten the rechargeable ones, but didn't find any with the features I wanted. I see you can also buy these separately. I forgot the name is Jungle Care! 😄

[RipVW]

That bike rack looks pretty slick ! I just got in from the garage and working on my T . last holes for fuel tank mounts drilled . I also ground down the welds on my intake and the grind marks kind of match the cast look well enough . I had to cut clearance into my hood shelves to clear where the frame notches are for header clearance . Then I contoured my water pump spacers to match the shape of the pump . Spacers are needed to clear the finned timing cover I so love ! Bolted the pump on and measured the block to pump length with my whizzy aluminum pulley and flashy stainless flex fan , I think the fan is about 3" from the front of the car !  I can get a little more room if I trim a bit off the pump spacers and the front of the pulley but probably only 1/4" or so . I really cant move the motor back as it is close enough to the firewall to not clear an HEI dizzy already and I dont know if that will get into my steering u joints as well . The simple solution is to go back to the tin timing cover  as it will move the pump back an inch . The frame has a 5 degree rake and the engine is set down 4 degrees to the back for a level carb . This makes the fan at a 9degree angle to the rad , closer at the bottom . I may just have to bolt the engine back in the car to verify that the fan clears the front crossmember . Pretty sure it does but I may have to check more thoroughly . I was hoping to fire this engine and break in the cam over easter but these problems may make that have to wait . My engine will be shy of 400 but over 350 horsepower . How thick of a rad will I need to cool it properly with the rad fitting in the T rad shell ?

I been working on the body mounts for the T. I fabbed up 6 mounts out of some 1" X 3" rectangle tubing . The tubing takes the place of the wooden blocks between the frame and body. I put a 1/4" layer of industrial rubber on each of the blocks for some noise isolation. I drilled and fit the blocks yesterday and as I was finishing up I got a piece of dirt in my eye so that ended the day!

I too wear hearing aids. I use Unitron aids and have had them for over 10 years now. They work ok but I would like a little more control of the volume. I also have one ear worse that the other and when wearing the aids it seems like I could use more volume on the other ear but haven't found a dealer for my brand of aids out here on the coast. I would love to upgrade but the cost is totally ridiculous for what you get! I was taken advantage of when I bought this pair and was talked into a bunch of accessories like a Bluetooth adaptor so I could hear the TV better. That was a joke it worked like crap and kept running the batteries flat very quickly. I been thinking about some of these lower cost amplifiers that have been mentioned.  My other complaint is that the unit sets behind the ear with a tiny tube to poke in my ear. This design makes it a real, pain in the rear to wear a mask and take it off without pulling the hearing out of my ear.. Gawd all these getting old things I could do without. Sure seem to remind me of getting old every day...

[chimp koose]

Hello Rip ! I got back into the garage today for a bit . I spent some quality time changing pulleys and measuring . Looks like I can take .150" off my pump spacer and still clear the the pump drive cover on the timing cover . If I go back to a stamped steel pulley on the w/p I will gain enough to have about 1" clearance from fan to rad . I really didnt want to change the timing cover back to the tin one. The tin pulley actually looks as good or better than the 80's billet pulley that looked out of place amongst all the finned stuff. I should be getting pushrods and head bolts this week so I may have the engine assembled by the weekend . I am using the wood body blocks to make sure the body is the right height above the frame . I am running full body , fenders and all and am trying to avoid a panel alignment issue later on .

[Beck]

I wear hearing aids also. Your right about the cost. Mine were a little over $1300 EACH 1.5 years ago. The thing I dislike about the amplifiers are they turn all the sounds up. My hearing is poor in the upper frequencies, but great in the lower frequencies. Without my aids I miss the bearings squealing, but the youngsters with the radio base booming comes in loud and clear. I find myself turning the volume to the max when I watch TV. My wife doesn't care for it when I have the remote and my hearing aids out. It's amazing what a chip bag sounds like with the volume turned all the way up.

[58 Yeoman]

Thanks for the info, phat46.

Beck, I got mine through the VA, but did go to Costco a while back to see if they were better. Same brand, same "not getting them adjusted" correctly.  I told them both to try to make the highs sound more like lows, but it didn't happen. My wife and I will be riding in the truck, and she will start tapping her fingernail on the console, or keep wrinkling a paper until I tell her to stop. Ooops, sorry.

I've got the behind the ear style, and they are a pain when you wear glasses, and the only mask I can wear is an N95 or the kind you wear around your neck and pull up. Mine have 10 different volume adjustments, but I usually leave them at default.  They will also cut out background noise, but not always. Be driving the truck and the wind noise will cause them to cut the BG noise, but after a while, it's back.

I may try the amp style phat46 has. Also, I've asked both the VA and Costco how I'm supposed to hear the people I'm facing/talking with when the microphones are behind my ears?

[phat46]

Thanks for the info, phat46.

Beck, I got mine through the VA, but did go to Costco a while back to see if they were better. Same brand, same "not getting them adjusted" correctly.  I told them both to try to make the highs sound more like lows, but it didn't happen. My wife and I will be riding in the truck, and she will start tapping her fingernail on the console, or keep wrinkling a paper until I tell her to stop. Ooops, sorry.

I've got the behind the ear style, and they are a pain when you wear glasses, and the only mask I can wear is an N95 or the kind you wear around your neck and pull up. Mine have 10 different volume adjustments, but I usually leave them at default.  They will also cut out background noise, but not always. Be driving the truck and the wind noise will cause them to cut the BG noise, but after a while, it's back.

I may try the amp style phat46 has. Also, I've asked both the VA and Costco how I'm supposed to hear the people I'm facing/talking with when the microphones are behind my ears?

I figured for the price it was worth the chance. My hearing loss is where you can hear things, just not make them out, like people talking or certain shows on TV, especially old shows like Adam 12. Now I can understand them and at a lower volume. Before, even at a high volume I couldn't make out all the words. When we FaceTime with my grand kids I hear them well, before I had a speaker plugged into the iPad and still couldn't understand a lot. Last fall, right after I got them I was outside in the evening and realized I could hear crickets, and then realized I hadn't heard them in years. That made me stop dead in my tracks! The only thing I haven't tried is shooting with them, I'm not sure if they will block sounds loud enough to damage hearing. While hunting last Fall I left it in my ear because I was finally able to hear things in the woods like years ago. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) I never got a shot off! 😄

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Will your's be fixed under warranty?

Nope... These aids are 8 yrs olde..

As you folks mention: the cost of new hearing aids is high.  Mine came from Costco  8 yrs ago and were just over 3k $$.  My aids are also BTE units..  So with the aid behind the ear, my glasses on..  There is no room for the mask straps. If I wear mask with ear straps, the strap pulls the aid from behind my ear and it hangs out loose.  I stopped wearing masks with ear straps

I have looked at the ear amplifiers  as replacement for these hearing aids I have now. My wife wants to spend the cash for new "proper" hearing aids.  I said:  No.

My brother has an amplifier he bought for 89 dollars. one of those units you see ads for.  He is happy.  His hearing is a bit worse than mine , but then he is much older than me. He only has one ear that functions.

 

[chimp koose]

worked on the T tonight . Milled .150" off the water pump spacers . Then I whittled some more on the timing pointer . Made a 1" high adapter to go over the q-jet and weld to a 1/4" thick bottom plate to go under the oval air cleaner (all aluminum) . Mine was for a 2x4 intake , i am running single 4 so needed a new bottom .

[chimp koose]

On the T again tonight . We Tig welded the carb hole thingy to the new air filter bottom and I stuck it in the lathe and made a nice radius from the plate down into the carb opening . Had to straighten the new filter bottom as it had a slight curve from the welding . Also had to flatten the old filter bottom piece as it was twisted . Took it over to a stack of welding gloves and used a rubber hammer to whack it into shape . Now it lays flat and I can Tig the two bases together . Also took the new bottom and milled a 1/4" radius into it so it will kind of make a smooth blend into the one it gets welded to . I need to get a piece of 4" or larger diameter aluminum to make a spacer for my crank pulley . I am using an aluminum SFI rated 6" diameter balancer . I also did a little more whittling on my timing pointer and am done with it now. It started life as a moroso timing pointer but there is only a spot smaller than a keyboard key that I have not milled on . I still need to make an alternator mount but will have to wait until I finish assembling my engine and make the pulley spacer . I have a nice block of T6 to mill the mount out of .  

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Another USPS shipping SNAFU ...   I sold a small part on eBay. The 3 day Priority mail Ship label printed and the package is at USPS office on Feb 27th. The Package is headed to Idaho

Last tracking update is March 1st as it passes thru USPS Phoenix AZ process center ...  The buyer sends me a message on March 9th thru eBay asking if I can find out where it is located.  I enter an online request to USPS  on March 9th.

On March 10th a USPS rep calls me about the package headed to Idaho...  She tells me it is located in Memphis  Tennessee and should be in Idaho in 3 business days.   The package was delivered to the buyer by that 3 day deadline given to me.

Explanation given to me?  The package must have fallen into the incorrect bin during processing.  No chit.  

[lofat46]

Another USPS shipping SNAFU ...   I sold a small part on eBay. The 3 day Priority mail Ship label printed and the package is at USPS office on Feb 27th. The Package is headed to Idaho

Last tracking update is March 1st as it passes thru USPS Phoenix AZ process center ...  The buyer sends me a message on March 9th thru eBay asking if I can find out where it is located.  I enter an online request to USPS  on March 9th.

On March 10th a USPS rep calls me about the package headed to Idaho...  She tells me it is located in Memphis  Tennessee and should be in Idaho in 3 business days.   The package was delivered to the buyer by that 3 day deadline given to me.

Explanation given to me?  The package must have fallen into the incorrect bin during processing.  No chit.  

Not a USPS SNAFU but a shipper one.  I ordered four '46 Ford style hubcaps from a well known wheel company a couple weeks ago. I got a call the next day from the wheel company telling me of a delay in shipping because of a licensing issue with Ford that will be worked out in May. Yesterday I received two boxes from the wheel company and each contained a baby moon style cap. I call them up to inquire, they have no record of shipping me two baby moons. So I guess I got somebody else's order. They sent me a return UPS label to return the baby moons.

[phat46]

I finished this commission today, the owner is currently building the car and will leave the original paint, thus no shiney. The background is a local diner. Acrylic on hardboard, 16" X 20"

[Charlie Chops 1940]

Another USPS deal. Priority Mail from the SF Bay area. Mailed on 2/19, actually left SF on 2/21, arrived Detroit Distribution center on 3/2, St.Clair Shores (a suburb on 3/3, back to Detroit Dist. Center on 3/6, delivered in Muskegon on 3/8/21. 17days total. No apologies or phone calls.

Whaddaya gonna do???