critters

[idrivejunk]

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.   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.

[kb426]

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. 

[jaybee]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[58 Yeoman]

Matt, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us about it.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[jaybee]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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

[jaybee]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.

[enjenjo]

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.

[idrivejunk]

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.    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?