Thanks TB

TB had a great picture up this am.  I really did like it.  Even had a sentiment on it.

 

My kids were on the way to Uvalde yesterday, and my daughter sent this via text.  I used to call my dad and visit when I saw a sight like this.  That was back when I was running the roads as a salaried professional and he was on this side of his reward.

Earth Turn - 17 Nov 2020 - John Nance Garner country

When the close of day explodes into color at the end is my favourite time.  I used to stand out at the barn when I was a kid and watch the earth turn.  I usually had my Instamatic with the 120 color film in it.  Those little fixed focus cheapies could take some stunning pictures with good film.  And the 120 format was bigger than the 110 giving a better image.  I loved those little Kodacs.

 I doubt anyone remembers Cactus Jack Garner.  He had some choice things to say about being FDR's vice president.

 

Not really a haiku.  But there ya go...

Update on the 99 Sub

 Well, she made it without a hiccup.  Ran like a scalded dog all the way there and back again.  About 250 miles round trip.  Down here, that distance is like going to the store.  Nothing much I'm interested in is close.  Well, except the SHOP....

I took a welder over and dropped it off, came back with a few drops of 4140, some great goodness and some flotsam and jetsam.  I'm a happy camper, man.

She's a runner! 

Does she look like a "Sweet Pea"?  Cause she sure runs sweetly now.  And that throttle response is right on!!  If your CSFI dies off, the MPFI is worth doing.  It feels like I have 30 more horses under the hood.  Nice performance enhancement and an upgraded fuel system.

Yeah, it might not be a Plymouth but it's a Texas Road Runner all the same!

All Hallows Day

Life seems to have hit 5th gear, dropped the clutch and is smoking tires at 90....

Gravy, two weeks since the last post?

99 Suburban:

I figured having a truck with a/c would be nice down here.  I'll have to fix the a/c to have a/c, but no hill for a climber.  The main thing, it was in love with my son-in-law.  I'd try and start it, and it would stumble for a second then quit.  Over and over and over and over.......  He'd come over and it's zoom zoom, what's the problem?

Phil and I both learned the same way, too poor to have anyone else do it.  I grew up on a little hobby farm, but worked for sho' 'nuf farmers.  I learned a lot from dad, and then got graduate level study after school working for Butch, Tommy, and Tim.  

I dug out my "normal issues" checklist and started in. New coil and you've seen the cap and rotor, plugs and wires.  Waited for the spider, and it came in and sat due to life pulling a few more surprises. 

Difficult to reach, so went with name brand parts

 Seven hours of fun and games last Saturday, and it's in.

last time it sees daylight

It started and choked on hairballs, carb cleaner and silicone spray, but finally caught and ran.  Every time I stick the key in it, it starts right up.  So far...

Success.  Should I replace the fuel pump, too?  Hmmmmm....

Today is it's first run of a 100 miles one way.  We'll see how she does.

99 Yukon:

Got a prod on the Yukon project.  Finally got the carrier bearing races off.  Ye gods, they want an arm and a leg for a puller.  So, we went with an abrasive touch.

Hardly scored the carrier

 

Still need to press on the bearings and start on the pinon and crush sleeve install.

NEW PROJECT ALERT!

I am in need of some extra coin, so extra work is in order, I guess.  I'm a bit shy to sell plasma or a kidney, so sweat and sore muscles is the order of the day.

 

Tuesday we went north for 4 hours and picked up the new project.  

 

31 degrees F and misty rain = ICE!

 

icicles on the sign in OCTOBER!!!

Five machines that need to be built from incomplete kits.  Might even work into an ongoing concern / maintenance opportunity.

List of needs:

- that lathe I promised to buy

- an LLC, with all the headaches that brings

- free nights and weekends to get the work done

- no more health issues to slow me down

- no more OT getting in the way

 

I could hit this running if I was retired, but no way to get to retirement yet.  

 

So, no more goofing off after work.  Second shift is ramping up for production!!

 

 

Remember when??

 I hate that Alan Jackson song, so you know I'm not talking about that....

Remember when you could just drop into a job, even a demanding one that would leave you a bit sore for a couple days, but you hardened up and did it for the rest of the year or more?  I used to start throwing bales of hay in summer with no work up to it.  They blisters on my hands would break and bleed, but after a couple days, they were just a slightly sore reminder of my soft handed start.

I'd start basketball practice for the reals and I'd blister on the balls of my feet.  They'd break and be bloody for a couple days, and in a week or two, I'd have callouses that carried me through to the end of the season.

Remember when you had manual dexterity?  Your hands would do exactly what you asked?  When you asked them to?

 I don't seem to have the thick skin I used to, or the manual dexterity I used to.  So, I found that out the hard way today.  Not all the way through the epidermis, but close.  And it just stings a bit, no real pain, and a bit of blood, but nothing unmanageable.  Weird.

 Bloodless massacre below the fold:

Phil Junior?

Yesterday, I was all set to help out my welder buddy and then spend the rest of the day replacing the fuel injection spider on the 99 Sub.

I had just popped awake after 10 glorious hours of sleep, when I looked at my phone.

My sister's truck had sprung a leak at her farthest work spot and she was in a small town 50 miles south.  I slapped a quick tool kit together and headed out expecting a radiator hose, or those heater hoses again....

It was bleeding a bit on the parking lot, but when I popped the "radiator" cap (why did they move that to the fender on the overflow tank?) it started to hemorrhage.  Lots of digging to find the water pump blew.  (Leak was invisible under the pulley, the waterfall was pretty obvious.)

Didn't have enough of the right tools (note to self:  GET THAT STOOPID TOOL BOX SORTED NOW!!)  So had to purchase some, and did the swap in the parking lot.  THAT has been a while.  Last time I did that, it was a winter job, power steering pump on the 99 Yukon in sleet.  I didn't like that job atoll.

'04 Avalanche.  I did like the design of the water pump.  Tstat housing is integral, no goop needed, everything was o-ring.  I used some silicone spray to lube the front of the engine and the back of the pump to make the o-rings happy.  Some anti-seize on the bolts and it went back together easier than it came apart.  Last guy that was in it used all kinds of crap to seal it up.  I spent 45 minutes with my Old Timer scrapping off the front of the engine to remove the stuck stuff.  He even put goop and a gasket under the Tstat housing neck, it uses an o-ring.  I learned gaskets when that was normal, but times, they be a-changing...

 

We've been together since about 1985.

It's really not that bad of a swap if everything goes easy.

The worst water pump I've done was a '73 Olds 98 with a 455.  Those 2 short hoses on top of the pump, with the open back and Permatex and gasket..... That was difficult for young me to do.  Old me wouldn't do it alone.

Thank God the nut on the fan popped loose on the first smack.  And that the heat broke down here a few weeks back.  It was only 90 degrees, and mostly shady for the job.  Also, I got some sweet sleep and was ready for a challenge.

My sister has a deadbeat ex.  He's gone under the table to keep from paying his child support. She has built a business from the ground up and is doing fair.  Times like this we need to pull together.  She had too many big outlays to absorb this one.  

 Something I learned along the way was to accept responsibilities.  So, I regard her family part of mine.  She is a lady and she is quality, a real treasure.  That makes lending help real easy.

That truck gets her to her work.  She and two kids being homeless isn't an option as far as I concerned.  It ain't much in the overall scheme of things, but it makes a difference for three people that I know.  And I have an antique soul.  It's just not the average one folks have now.  It won't let me neglect my tribe.

I draw the line at diaper rash.  I don't want to follow ole Mobile Mechanic Phil down that path...

Thanks for stopping by the shop.  Come back anytime...

Wait.... 4 October?

 Where are the weeks going??

my calendar

 

Last post almost a month ago, and it seemed like just last week.  What a ride this year has been so far.

Wheee! AAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

 

Projects:

1999 Suburban: 5.7 Vortec, 100K miles, base unit, factory options: no carpet, crank windows, dual a/c.  Simple and rugged.  Right after I paid for it and got it home, it quit starting.  It would try, then quit.  Original owner could start it right up.  I figured it was in love with him.

busted ear on cap let in moisture

rotor didn't like the atmosphere either

Every plug had the same gap,  0.125"!!

It started and ran for a bit, but the next morning it was back to it's tricks.  After replacing the coil, it ran good... Next morning, it was acting up.  Couldn't find my fuel pressure gauge, so now I have a missing one and a new one.  Pressure is good.  New spider is going in soon, as is a new ignition controller.

The real McCoy

So I'm still using the 94 Toyota pickup with the 22RE.  Crank windows, 5 speed standard, no a/c, Armstrong steering.  It's been a Godsend this summer.  And I don't even need a sweat lodge for purification!!

Kenmore 253.22042410: Freezer started moaning the other day.  It's too new to do that, and too old to be in warranty.  Only one fan in it, so "one day" a new fan motor.  Found the bottom of the partition in the back frozen solid, so no air could get in.  The fan was moving the rotor around in the near vacuum, and I guess rubbing on the bearing.  Clean, deice, and reinstall / reload the freezer and it's quiet like it should be.  New fan motor in the box for when it fails for the reals.

I've been a house mouse for a while now, getting the honey do's did.  No honey though, just chores.  

Oh, and spent some quality time on the wire wheel with the die wrench!  The knurling is still sharp enough to grab back, like a good handshake.

 

looks like a browned black powder rifle

I just managed to get the handle off, still need to brush the threads down, and do inside the ring where the die goes.  But man, that is pretty isn't it?  Still have a ways to go.  Phil, this rust just goes so far... Then it works like a cocoon.  It protects the part rather than just eating it up like salt spray rust does.

Tomorrow is a doctor appointment to see the MRI, EEG, CAT, EIEIO shows any issues with the pudding in my head.  It seems it's never ending.  I hope his kids don't ruin all that dental work I'm helping with.

It's looking like I may NEED to have a second job.  And I may have a line on one.  I will know more this week.  I'm afraid November 2020 through 2021 is gonna be uglier than the first 10 months of 2020.  I hope I'm wrong....

Happy New Year, 3 months early!

Life Comes At You Fast

Remember this commercial?

That has been this year.  If I could find out who is running that switch, there would be sweet..... justice!  ha.

Update:

 Made friends with a welder here in town.  And I have spent some therapy time over there helping him getting underfoot.  He's patient, and hasn't thrown anything at me yet.  I'm hoping to trade some help for some TIG instruction. 

And I'd rather work till I sweat through my jeans and shirt helping someone than spend a 100 bucks to lay on a couch and talk to a stranger.  Hard work therapy seems to help my mood and outlook.  I don't have the head weirdness as much now as before.  Pressure waves still come when I have a conversation about 'that'.  And so far, the coming front has not caused my brain to go foggy all at once.

Decades ago, driving from Longview to Houston on 59, I passed through a cold front into warm moist air.  The windshield turned opaque gray in an instant.  It took wipers to clean it off until the defroster could bring the window temp up where it quit condensing water.  When the weather has changed in the last few months, my noggin has done similar things.  But it hasn't so far this week.  fingers crossed.

I hope to have more for you soon.  I started working on the Mr. Pete drill press vise...  Pics to follow.