It appears I have been upto exactly nothing this week.

Tomorrow we are going to Tuscumbia to visit my Father. We usually get together with my family for Christmas on New Years day at his house. This gathering never conflicts with any of the other many scheduled events. My sister Terry, my brother Rob and his family (Mary, Aaron, and Austin) will all be there.

Today we had nice weather so used the Miata to run my errands.

This morning I rolled the '72 out into the driveway, applied some degreaser to the front end and frame and commenced to making a really big mess in the driveway. The pressure washer wouldn't run (again) so I ended up using the neighbors. I also spent a little time attempting to clean up the heads and intake manifold. I wore out my wire brush!

David M. came by to help this morning. While he was here, we put the Miata up on jack stands and attempted to locate the exhaust leak. No luck. :(

Last night we went to Jack and Kay's annual party that occurs between Christmas and New Years. We had a good time. Lots of food and drink. Jack had made an incredible cheese cake. Alton Brown would have be proud. Jack has painted the interior of his new finished garage purple. He didn't want a garage with plain white walls. Everyone has that, including me. He had used an epoxy coating on the floor. I want my garage floor sealed. Perhaps this spring.

This year we have decided to not have a New Years Eve party. Instead we are heading across the street to our neighbors house to join their party. I believe this will be the first time in 7 years we have not had a party.

Happy New Year.

BTW, It is hot in the hot tub.

Today is my brother Rob's birthday. Jordan and I called and sang to his answering machine.

For a small fee we can provide this service to you as well.

Benny's 1954 Bel Aire Coupe


Benny's 1957 Bel Aire 4-door Hardtop

The hood is off and the engine is out. It is being replaced with a 350 small block.


In the foreground of the third picture you can see part of the fire wall of the '57 Bel Aire Coupe.

Yesterday was a pretty typical Christmas. That is a good thing.

Yesterday evening before heading home we stopped at the home of one of G's uncles. The purpose of the stop was to check out his cars. It turns out he has 5 Chevy Bel Aires hiding in his garage. Two 1957's and two 1954's. I don't recall what the 5th one was. The 57's were a 4 door and a 2 door hardtop. One of the 54's is a convertible. He is in the process of restoring two of them. There was a shiny Nova parked there as well.

I snapped a few pictures. Perhaps I will share them with you sometime soon. (I bet you've heard that one before.)

Inside Outside Upside Down
... no longer describes the engine block. It is now right side up. The oil pan and time chain cover have been installed. The fuel pump is back on also.

Time to start cleaning up the heads and the intake manifold.

The water pump and a few pulleys are currently hanging off the front. I was verifying they were all lining up correctly. They will come back off for now. Those don't readlly need to be installed til the engine is mounted on the frame.

Eh Wah?

This is for smart people only:

M(2.71828)R^2(1/Y)^-1
X(force/acceleration)

I saw this yesterday. It almost reminded me of a post I made a few days ago.

For those who slept through high school, I will give you a few hints:

1. The Base of Natural Logarithms is e. e = 2.71828
2. X x X = X^2; R x R = R^2
3. X^-1 = 1/X; (1/X)^-1 = X; Try that with Y.
4. F=MA; Force = Mass x Acceleration.

Have you figured it out?

Title Applied For
Tonight I drove home from work with the top down. The moon was high and close to full. It was fairly warm considering yesterday it dropped below 32 F.

I have an exhaust leak somewhere under the hood. It is mostly noticeable from an audible standpoint. A friend suggested maybe the donut is blown. I wonder if this could also be related to the 2200 rpm rattle. Only time will tell.

Quick Note
Tonight we{dm} removed the transmission and then the front end. The front end consists of the outer grill, the radiator support, and the inner and outer fenders.

Pop Quiz
B+(A*l*((m^2)/m)*o*3s/(2+cosine(1))*Sqrt(t^2))+.2-3k = 0.99-3k+B
By my calculation, and keep in mind I didn't check my work, "Almost = 97%".

Copy Cat
Ok I removed the weather thingy already. As I was continuing my afternoon internet browsing session, I noticed the weather thingy on Brian's almost Daily Rant. Now that one is more like it. I can't believe how quicky he copied my idea.

How's the Weather
File this entry under boring. A friend of mine out in Austin Texas has a Weather Channel thingy on his web site. It displays the current weather for his area. I thought that would be pretty cool, so I decided to add one to my web site also.

I did but immediately I was disappointed with it. It looks too commerical. I feel like I sold out to the man. Perhaps I should sign up for Google Ads also.

The weather thingy is the last item on the right column. Scroll down if you don't see it yet. I suppose I will leave it there a few days and see if it grows on me.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race
I am making slow progress on getting the '72's engine back together. Last night I re-installed the oil pump. I also spent a little time cleaning some grease and grim off a few more engine parts. And finally a installed a new timing chain and sprocket.

I should have gotten a lot more done, but It was cold outside. It was also dark. I really needed to be outside with the water hose to clean the greasy parts. Another possibility would have been to install the parts without cleaning them but that would just be wrong.

On the bright side, the pile of greasy parts is starting to shrink and the engine block is starting to resemble a complete engine again.

Have you heard the latest REM CD? It is pretty good. For the record, Atomic Bomb is still in the CD player.

Castaway
I came across this today. It sounds like a pretty interesting challenge. Making fire without matches. Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you. I could use this little trick on my next camping trip.

Actually the whole site is pretty interesting. This guy obviously has a lot of free time.

He links to another pyro site, Aussie Fire Bow.

Holiday Eating Tips
Here is some good advice. I suppose I could 'weight' a few more weeks before starting yet another diet.

X10
Several years ago my wife gave me some X10 equipment for Christmas. (This was long before the advent of the X10 pop-ups featuring pan and tilt cameras.)

Every year at Christmas time, the X10 stuff comes back out along with the Christmas decorations. All the lights usually get hooked via an X10 module. With the single press of a button on the wireless remote, all the lights can be turned on and off. Some years I even setup the clock module to automatically turn the lights on and off at a specified time.

Some time in the last year I happened across MisterHouse. When the X10 stuff came out this year, I thought I would take a closer look. After all, it is open source and it is free. A good bit of it is written in Perl. It is a pretty interesting way to set up home automation. The quick setup documentation leaves something to be desired though. One feature worth mentioning - integrated web server allowing you to control your home from anywhere you have web access to it. There are many other features as well but I shall not mention them here. For more info, check out the web site.

I doubt I will still be using this when the New Year arrives but it has been interesting to play with.

Perhaps I should setup the outside lights and let you folks turn them on/off via the web. I am sure the neighbors would love that. I guess I would need a web cam also. Maybe next year.

Fourth Time is the Charm
Yep, I put the pistons in for like the 4th time. And I torqued the rod caps down to 45 ft-lbs.

So you have got to ask your self. Does the crankshaft still turn? And the answer is yes, and not only that, but I can turn it by hand. No pry bar required.

(The crank shaft was ground down 0.010" while at the machine shop.)

I was hoping to reinstall the oil pump (again) tomorrow. Possibly the oil pan, and timing chain as well. It currently does not look like my schedule will permit this. Keep your fingers crossed.

Dirty Santa was a let down last night. No one cried.

Barry, Beth, and little David came over for dinner tonight. Barry is and old friend from college. David has really grown. This will be his first Christmas.

Dirty Santa
Tomorrow night we are attending one of many Christmas Parties. Like many others party go-er's we will be playing Dirty Santa. When I heard this I asked if I was going to be allowed to play. Yes, it is true, I have made adults shed tears while playing this games. Tears of laughter and actual tears of sadness. The important thing is to make certain everyone is playing by the same rules when we get started. That way I will know how to use them against others, in my favor. I think one of the gifts we are taking is a box of chocolate. Mmmm, chocolate. Perhaps I will bring that one home if nothing better comes up.

Musical Rod Caps, Part Deux
I got my shiney clean crank shaft back along with the rods and pistons. The crank was ground .010". Perhaps this weekend I will get some time to start the reassembly process again. I believe this will be the 4th time I have put the pistons back in. Hopefully the last, knock on wood.

Deux ewe no wut eye mean? What is the word that describes most of the previous words. It is knot synonym, homonym, or metonym, wright? The only thing I could find in the dictionary is soundalike.

Alabama and Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas ...
In the past I mentioned that I was geographically challenged. Well today I found this. Give it a try. My average error was 66 miles. I considered that to be pretty good considing my knowledge of the New England states. It gets easier as you get more done. Just hope you don't have to start with O Yes Wyoming. Fortunately for me I got to start with Tennesse.

Now if someone would just tell me what incedible means. That's what I get for not spell checking or proof reading.

My second try the average error was 24 miles. Let me know how you do.

42
Here is a clip from an email I wrote a few days ago. You may find it enlightening.

>
> As I was sipping my tea, I asked myself "If heat rises why does ice
> float?" So then I said to myself "Troy is a smart guy, surely he can
> explain why the specific gravity of ice is lower than water."
>

Troy responded with the following:

>
> http://www.pa.msu.edu/~sciencet/ask_st/040694.html
>

If you have any questions and you are also too lazy to Google for the answer, send them to me and I will forward them to Troy.

And for those who realized my blunder, I will now attempt to make amends. Specific gravity is a term that generally applies to minerals. The term I should have used was specific weight. If you would like to know more, just drop me a line and I will have Troy Google up some additional information.

Anti-Obsession
Has anyone noticed I have not mentioned running, walking, or weight lifting in a very long time?

Musical Rod Caps
The machine shop called today. Among other things, they said they had to play a game of musical rod caps. What I want to know is who mixed them up. I was very careful to make certain I kept them with the correct rod/piston. But if it wasn't me, then who?

On the bright side, that explains why things were so snug! I should be able to get the stuff back before the weekend.

Fine Furniture



This is a stool I made several years ago. The legs are from high quality 2x2's and the seat is two pieces of 3/4" C/X grade plywood laminated together. I think I made it back in 1999 but I don't recall for certain. If you really want to know, flip it over. I usually mark the date on all the furniture I build. For the right price I will make you a set.

Reading Railroad
I disassembled Dwayne's engine tonight.



The Engine in question is an American Flyer Reading Railroad 442 S-scale locomotivie. Based on marking inside the shell (6 49), it was probably made in June of 1949. I could be wrong. The tracks measure 1" center of rail to center of rail. The inner measurement between the two rails is 7/8" (S-gauge).

The power supply puts out AC voltage. It has dual outputs: 7-15 volts and 15 volts according to the lettering on the outside. I believe the first output is variable, the second fixed voltage.

The tender's wheels pickup the power from the rails. The tender contains a mechanical AC/DC converter. Wires lead from the tender to the cab where they connect to a DC electric motor and also to a light bulb which generates heat in turn causing the liquid smoke to become actual smoke. A piston forces the smoke to go puff puff puff. The motor has a worm drive used to spin the rear two of the center four wheels.

I did not fix completely fix the engine. It had four problems. Now it has three.

The first was a free spinning gear stuck on an axle. The gear drives the piston. A little bit of penetrating oil and it spun like a..., well like something that spins freely.

Someone else had disassmbled it in the past. Two springs are missing that hold the keys to the motor. I suspect these could be replaced with springs from some clicky type ball point pens. Clicky type!?

All the electrical wiring is dry, cracked and needs to be replaced (think safety hazard). The tender contains a mechanical AC to DC voltage converter. It could use a little oil and a new spring. The mechanical actuator currently sticks. There is a mechanical switch that is used to adjust spring travel and thus the output voltage which in turns adjusts the speed of the train. It is actually a pretty cool electrical/mechanical wonder.

A connector or switch is missing from the back of the cab where the wires from the tender connect. I am not certain whether it is a switch or connector because it is missing.

The electric motor drives not only the wheels but also a piston. The piston is what makes the smoke come out of the engine in periodic puffs. This is a pretty cool mechanical/thermal wonder. I left the piston disconnected when I reassembled it.

I estimate it would take a minimum of 4-5 hours to get the thing functional again. A few more to remove the rust and paint the newly rust free portions. Definitely more time than the average person would put into it. What this engine needs is a model railroading fanatic. Catch me on the right day and it could be me. Today however is not the right day.

My current recommendation is to place it on a shelf as a display.

The A/C power supply is fully functional.

I now understand why a few well placed titles are so important. Linking back to older {long} posts without a title may seem to be a hit or miss when looking for content. A few examples follow. See luck and dirt for examples.

The lights are now on the tree. Please please please turn off the Christmas music already!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree is going up before my very eyes. Ginger already has plenty of help from the little people so I am just staying out of the way.

Waterworld
Weather forecase - rain, rain, and more rain. I am disappointed to announce that even with all the dirt, part of my backyard is still underwater.

'72 Update
I took the crankshaft and rods/pistons to the machine shop to be checked out. I should hear back from them in a few days. They should be able to tell me why the engine was so tight.

Adult Education
I also signed up for the Auto Body class today. They allow a limited number of folks to take the class but I think I am probably in. School starts January 10.

Creg K., and Dwayne W. got signed up with me. Mack Daddy was a no show. If you have already done so, you should follow that last link.

Yep, it is still raining outside. Time to build an ark.

Oh Google, Where art thou?
I have completely disappeared from the Google search engine. It seem like not to long ago I was feeling lucky. I wonder what is up.

1701D
I stole a model train engine from Dwayne W. today under the guise of trying to fix it. Sorry Dwayne, you will probably never see it again. Good thing you don't know where I live or work. Doh!

I think it is a S gauge train. He believes it is from the 1950's. I wonder how much I will get for it on eBay.

Warp Factor 6, Engage!
Little know fact. Star Trek The Next Generation's Captain Piccard was an obsessive model railroading fan. He was heard often on the bridge saying "N-Gauge". Okay, that I was really cheesy but I will leave it for your reading enjoyment.

I took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese today. And I made it out alive. No small feat.

Auburn is now 12 and 0 and that means...

SEC Champs
38 Auburn
28 Tennessee

It is friday night. We, the kids and myself, just finished our traditional Friday night dinner, Chic-fil-a and Nick-toons.

I am ready for Spring. Technically I don't think Winter has started yet. Has it? The Miata spent the entire week in the garage. Any points for the top being down?

Today is Ginger's birthday. She no longer celebrates it as such, now she celebrates the anniversary of her 27th birthday.

Back To School
Monday I am going to sign up for an evening class: Auto-body I. Anyone want to go with me?

What is in the CD Player?

In my opinion this is the best album they have put out in the last 10 years. I suspect it will stay in the CD player for at least a few more days.

Mopar or No Car
Another friend of mine has fessed up to the car craz. He got his from an Uncle. This is Dwayne W's Dodge Charger. It lives in his garage. He does not drive it. He just cranks it every now and then.

I have decided to give in to good advice and take the crankshaft and piston rods in to a machine show to have them checked out. This will probably not happen til Monday, so engine re-assembly is now on hold for a few days. With that out of the way temporarily, I suppose now is a good time to yank the transmission out. No I haven't done that before either but I ain't skeerd. If I was skeerd, I would say skeerd.

Today I had to pick up Jordan after work. He was attending a birthday party at Chucky Cheese. He was having the time of his life. Tokens and tickets are what is all about. He wants to go back and Brianna, who has never been, wants to go as well. I am considering taking them Saturday for lunch. I bet the pizza is world class, cough cough.

Hi Kevin, thanks for stopping by.

More of the same.

Geek Squad
Today I heeded the call to fix my Mother and Step-Father's PC. I asked them to drop it off and I would take a look at it. It was dropped off early afternoon.

Around dark I decided to get it over with. I plugged it in and turned it on. It powered up fine, Windows 95 loaded normally. I could find nothing wrong. Job well done.

I called to ask what was wrong with it. My Mother didn't know so I told her it appeared OK to me. I offered to drive it back over.

A few minutes later I was crusin' in the Miata with the top down. Tonight is a cold clear night without very few stars visible due to the surrounding lights. The PC was riding shot gun.

When I arrived, I hooked it back up, verified connectivity to the Internet, and called it a day. I wish all computer problems turned out to be that easy to solve. Or rather I wish there were no problems to solve.

At least I got a ride in the Miata out of the whole ordeal.

I know we will all sleep better tonight knowing the last piece of pecan pie has now been eaten. And I had a nice glass of milk also.

Thanksgiving Part III, Return of Dessert
Today we enjoyed Thanksgiving Part III at my Fathers house. Lots of folks, even more food. I only had two desserts at lunch. Perhaps I should finish off the pecan pie later tonight. Then it will be all gone. No more pressure.

Battle of the Titans
It is me vs the small block. I have checked the tolerances (again). Everything goes together fine but when I torque it all down (45 ft-lbs), I can no longer turn the crank shaft.

Just for fun, I loosened all the bolts to 5 ft-lbs and installed the starter. Everything spins nicely like this. Start tightening it back up and the starter can no longer turn it after about 4 are torqued down. Those with more money than brains recommend I take it to a machine shop and have someone else give it a try. Perhaps my pride will eventually give in and let me take this route, but not just yet. I have not exhausted all my information sources.

On the plus side, I now have an excellent understanding of how the starter engages and just how it works. Not just everyone has gotten to seen one run upside down. I enjoyed watching the crankshaft turn and seeing the piston rods going down and up. Also I completely understand the electrical wiring involved. Very simple really. The big wire from the positive(+) terminal on the battery goes straight to the starter. The big wire from the negative(-) terminal of the battery is connected directly to the block (actually via the mounting bracket for the alternator). The block is a neutral ground. When 12 volts is applied to the switch wire the starter solenoid engages and the starter gear spins the crank shaft. The switch wire is normally run back to the ignition switch and through a safety switch. The purpose of the safety switch is to make sure the vehicle is in park or neutral when the starter is engaged. For my purposes I just used a short piece of wire to connect the (s)with terminal to the (+) power lead. Watch it spin. No mystery here.


'68 Chevy
iMike is still hopefull he will be getting his Grandfather's old '68 Chevy. His Grandfather also had a '48. I was telling G about it. After a bit she mentioned she thought I was going to ask if I could go get it. I think she was scared. Hmmm. She didn't exactly say no. That sounds like permission to me.

The '68

The '48

Thanksgiving Part II, The Search for Spock
Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

We headed down to the greater Boaz/Sardis metro today to partake of another Thanksgiving Feast. That means I have now had pecan pie two days in a row. Mmmmm.

I spotted a couple of old Chevy trucks a few miles away from our destination so after lunch G's Grandfather and I took a quick trip in G's Tahoe over to look at them. I snapped a few photos and as usual they are still in the camera so I am not sharing them with you at this point.

One was two tone Blue and White. The other was two tone Orange and White. War Eagle, eh! They were both in really good shape and for sale. I did not ask how much. I did not need to know. The blue one was a 72, the orange one a 70. Someday I have to decide what color my truck will be eventually. (Both trucks had coil suspension in the rear.)

Another hour in the shop this afternoon getting greasy.

Tonight we dined on takeout Chicken fingers. I took the Miata out with the top down to retrieve the culinary delight. My father-in-law offered to ride with me to fetch dinner. I replied sure, but be warned I am going in the Miata with the top down. I ended up going alone. I estimate the temperature was in the mid 40's. Not too bad with the heater on and a warm jacket.

While driving around I was listening to the Barenaked Ladies. I head 'Crazy' which matched the thoughts of those around me judging by the looks I got from time to time. Have these people no sense of adventure.

For your viewing pleasure, here are the lyrics for BNL's "Crazy":

Climbing the walls of my mind is like climbing
on the jungle gym.
I am more than content with the
state of mind I am in.
'cause I am crazy just like you.
I am crazy just like you.
I don't need a rubber room, but that might be nice.
I'm not a manic depressive paranoid or schizophrenic
so I don't need your advice.
I am crazy just like you.
I am crazy just like you.
The lights are on but nobody's home
my elevator doesn't go to the top
I'm not playing with a full deck I've lost my marbles.
The lights are on but nobody's home
My elevator doesn't go to the top
I'm not playing with a full deck I've lost my marbles.
I'm a few bricks short of a load,
but a full load always hurt my back.
I flew over the cuckoo's nest and
I'm never ever coming back because
I am crazy just like you.
I am crazy just like you.
I am crazy.

Thanksgiving Part I, And I Feel Fine
The miracle of Karakoe came to visit us for Thanksgiving (along with the inlaws).

Jordan, Brianna, and I sang REMs' "End of the World" without a lyric sheet. Just for fun, I looked up the lyrics afterwards. Ouch. I believe we butchered them pretty badly. I would say I knew roughly 50% of the words. And I knew several lines that weren't even part of the song. Ha!

I also did a killer job with Sting's "Moon Over Bourbon Street", acupello{sp?}. I know this to be a fact because there were four bodies in the room when I was done.

T F O Doe, Electrical.

The Miata has been in the garage now for a week. With the top up. Shame on me.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I am having some trouble putting the '72's engine back together. Everything is fine until I torque down the rod bearing caps. Then the crankshaft will no longer turn. My father-in-law thinks the bearings may be the wrong size. I have already been down that road. I guess I will talk to a few more experts before I decide what to do next. In the mean time, there are plenty of greasy parts I can clean off.

I stripped the oil pan of all grease and paint. It is very shiny and ready for some new paint. I suspect it will rust by tomorrow. The new oil pump has been installed as well.

This year we stayed home for Thanksgiving. My inlaws are visiting with us. We are having the Thanksgiving meal as our evening meal. Lunch was skimpy and I am very hungry. It is 5:46 pm and I am being tortured. Please send food soon!

Tomorrow we are traveling east for Thanksgiving with G's maternal grand parents. Saturday we are traveling west for Thanksgiving with my Father. It is hard to imagine that I will be hungry after three Turkey dinners. I sure wish I could have part of one right now!

Happy Turkey Day

Temple Bar Mix
Oh, and the banjo version of Vertigo is pretty good too.

Vertigo
Hello Hello
I'm at a place called Vertigo
It's everything I wish I didn't know
...

Don't Forget Your Towel
We saw the movie 'National Treasure' today. It was a pretty good movie but I felt certain it was inspired by the book 'The DaVinci Code'. I hear a movie version of that is in the works.

We got to see a move teaser before the feature started. It was for The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Basically it shows Earth exploding. Didn't Vogon poetry have something to do with that. G said "I thought you said the movie was about the meaning of life" to which I replied "42".

Dinner at Carrabba's. Two red Miatas in the parking lot; one tan top, one black top.

We are heading home tomorrow morning. I hope it doesn't rain all the way back.

Tomorrow is D-Day
How is that for a cheesy title. Tomorrow is the release date for U2's new album "How to Distmantle and Atomic Bomb." I suppose I am feeling a little bit fanatical about it because I have to go out and get it on the release date. Of course I have done this a few other times as well. I am pretty certain I did this for "The Joshua Tree", "Rattle and Hum", and "All That You Can't Leave Behind". The first U2 album I purchsed was at Wal-Mart in Burleson Texas back in 1984, twenty years ago. Someday maybe I will tell you about when I went to see "Rattle and Hum" at the movie theater. (Get it? D-Day and Atomic Bomb.)

Food for Thought
Tonight we had dinner at the Lomo Grill in Waynesville, NC. The food was excellent. I had pan seered tuna with roasted artichokes and a curry broth and a glass of chardonnay. Ginger had an excellent steak. When the waitress bought out our entree's I accused her of stereo typing us. She set the steak down in front of me. Dessert was excellent as well. I had chocolate ganache. Ginger had a tiramisu cheesecake.

Lunch today was at the Deerpack Rest. on the Biltmore Estate. I usually have a disdain for buffet's so Ginger didn't warn me ahead of time. The food was actually pretty good considering it was a buffer. Turkey and dressing. I bet I have some more of that later this week. Lunch included dessert. I had a small piece of mint chocolate cake. G had a little bit of the rasberry cheese cake. We were trying not to fill up since we were headed over to the Biltmore Winery next.

While I am talking about food, I will go ahead with last nights meal also. Dinner last night was at a place called Providence 260 (or maybe 620). I had the Maryland Lump Cakes with a Red Curry Sauce. Ginger had a Portabello and Chicken Pasta Alfredo. The food here was simply average. I tried the Highland Gaelic Ale..

If we keep eating like this, I will be miserable in a few more days. I suppose I could start a diet now, just in time for Thanksgiving.

The Winery
I have told people before that the reason winery's give free samples is so that you will buy more than you would normally by {sober}. We must have tried 6 or 8 different types of wine. We ended up buying 5 bottles. G picked out 3, myself 2.

I don't remember the exact production numbers but I made this calculation at the time. For every 100 bottles of wine produced at this winery, 3.5 of them are used for wine tastings.

Geography
I have been aware for a long time that my geographical knowledge of the North East is pretty bad. I became aware of this a few years ago while looking at a map prior to going to visit some folks at Lucent near Boston. We flew into New Hampshire which I had no idea was next to MASS.

To further show my ignorance, I will mention that earlier this year I was suppose to make a trip to New York City. Again looking at a map, I was startled to discover that New York City was southwest of Boston. Perhaps I shouldn't feel so bad about that one since so much of NY state is actually further north than Boston.

So here I go again. I am looking at the map today and I discovery that if we travel due north from Ashville, NC I will end up in....Tennessee. And why not mention that I never realized that South Carolina was actually East of Georgia. Yep, most of South Carolina is further south than where I live.

In my defense, I understood geography when I lived in Texas. If you went East, West, North, or South you were still in Texas. Especially South and West.

Perhaps I have a mental block for this thing called geography. As a matter of fact I don't even recall taking geography in school. That is the strength of the mental block.

Did I mention I had my picture taken on a tractor?

Orange you glad I didn't say banana.

Today Ginger and I are in Ashville NC celebrating our 10th Anniversary. We drove in from Hunsville yesterday. We spent the morning at the Biltmore Estate and visited the winery in the afternoon.

I snapped a few photos of some old wood working tools at the old horse barn on the estate. I also had my picture taken on a tractor. I told Ginger it was an early vintage Miata.

This evening we are venturing over to Waynesville to dine at the Lomo Grill. This is a place that was discovered by my friends and myself a few years ago when we came up to NC on one of our annual camping trips. I remember it being a very good experience. Hopefully it will be again.

Knock Knock.
Whose there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say 'Banana'!

War Eagle
21 - Auburn
13 - Alabama

11 and 0, 3 in a row.

Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Banana.

Thursday night I pulled the piston one more time. This time I installed the correct side rod bearings and put the pistons back in. This time I also torqued down the connecting rod caps.

Yesterday was Ginger and my 10th Wedding Anniversary.

And finally, a joke:
Knock, Knock.
Who's there?
Banana.

On the way home today, I witnessed a car accident. At an intersection about 2 miles from our house, I watched the car in front of me pull out in front of another car. It was hit from the side and spun around almost 360 degrees. Fortunately no one was hurt. This car was totalled. The other had the front end messed up pretty well.

This intersection has a fair number of accidents. This is evidenced by the small white crosses that are often found nearby. Hopefully this intersection will be fixed in the near future. Tonight those people were lucky.

Both of Us
One more week to go and we can all rush out and get U2's new album "How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb". Assuming you haven't downloaded if from a peer-to-peer file sharing system. I will probably get mine at Best Buy and then ride around in the Miata with the top down and the volume turned way up load.

Hello, Hello, Hola!

I had to move some stuff around in the garage tonight so the Dodge could get back in there with the '72. This morning the windows on the RAM were covered with ice. Tomorrow that will not be a problem

Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Banana.

Insert Witty Title Here
I drove the Miata this afternoon. It is looking great. It is still very clean from being washed last Sunday afternoon. The tires are nice and shiney black. The windshield is sparkling clean. The Dodge pickup is still clean as well. It turns out it is really white, not the nice tan color it has been for the last year. I hope get the other truck put back together reasonably soon so I can bet the
Dodge back in the garage with it.

Insert Another Cute Title Here
One week later and I was back to the same point - ready to torque down the rod caps. The Haynes book says 45 ft-lbs. I torque one set down to 10 ft-lbs and the crank shaft gets a lot tighter. After torqueing the second set down to 10 ft-lbs, I can no longer rotate the crank shaft even using a pry bar for leverage. Insert expletive here!

So at this point I start trying to figure out what is wrong. Doh! The parts store sent me home with 0.020 Rod Bearing rings instead of the 'standard size'. My understanding at this point is that the 0.020's are thicker to accomodate the rod journals on the crank shaft being ground down 0.020 of an inch. Assuming this is true that would account for the tightness. I hope this hasn't marr'ed the rod bearing journal on the crank shaft.

As you already know, before I got started on this project, I had not really done anything like this before. I am not an expert but I sure am learning a lot. Unfortunately some of the learning is being done the hard way.

I will seek counsel tomorrow on whether the bearing size is the problem or not. Tune in later for more mind 'boring' details. (Boring-piston-ha!) Assuming it is the problem I will be out $21 dollars for another set of rod bearings. Someone will have to be responsible for this fiasco. I am thinking the guy at the parts store is a good candidate.

I suspect I will be pulling the pistons back out yet again. I am getting pretty good at re-installing them.

I had a couple of guys recommend that I go ahead and replace the oil pump while I had the engine apart. The oil pressure was fine before I took the engine apart. On the other hand the pump is inexpensive. Having to replace it later could be very time consuming. I purchased a replacement oil pump today ($13.99). I am attempting to learn from others advice here rather than learning this one the hard way.

One final note for today about that engine. The original rod bearings have a manufacturing date stamped on them of 7-84. Before I believed the engine was made between 1980 and 1984. Now I believe it was made in late 1984. (The new 0.020" bearings are stamped 01-04.)

Three of a Kind
I just know we have at least two hack saws in this house, only I can't locate either one of them. Yesterday morning I stopped at Wally-World on the way to work to buy yet another hack saw. Now I have a hack saw again. This one is different though because I know where it is.

Last night I drove through an actual drive thru to pick up dinner, chicken fingers. Yes I know chickens don't really have finger. Mr. Chicken Finger Guy leans out the window and ask's "What year is it?". Obviously he has a Miata also. He loved the car (even though I had the top up). It was raining. This guy was ready to lean further out the window and install a turbo for me.

Today I pulled seven pistons, cut the stripped bolt, re-cleaned the block, and re-installed the pistons. Tomorrow I can start back exactly where I was last Sunday. Torqueing down the push rod cap bolts. And hopefully things will go smoother this time, ie no stripped bolts.

I went by Creg's today to check out his '53 Ford pick up. He pulled the engine last night. The bed, and front end where already removed. His truck is the essence of simplicity. The wiring was so simple!

Rain, Rain, go away. Come again another day. Perhaps this spring or next summer.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
So this weekend I am going to pull the pistons back out of the engine block. One of the bolts stripped out while attempting to torque it down. It stripped with the nut on the bolt and now it won't come back off. Unfortunately I can't get the nut splitter on it so I will have to cut it off. That means I need to pull the pistons so that I will be able to clean out the metal fillings before putting it back together.

Which Year?
My goal was to get it back together by the end of November. At this point that is not looking very realistic. Perhaps I will shoot for the end of the year.

Making a Statement
This evening as I was getting into the Miata afterwork, a woman in the parking lot asked me a question. Now keep in it was dark already and a bit chilly. "Is your top broke or are you just making some sort of statement."

I guess I am just making a statement.

Nap Time
It rained this week and I have mud all over the sides of the Miata. The car really needs to be rinsed off before it is seen in public again. Besides that I have a million other things I would like to get done tomorrow before my current extended vacation ends. Perhaps I should skip it all and just take a nap.

I installed the pistons today complete with the new rings. That was tiring work. I have no idea how many times I rotated the engine on the stand or rotated the crank shaft in the block, but both take a lot of elbow grease. I bet I will be sore tomorrow while I am taking my nap.

You know what always makes a nap more enjoyable? The sound of rain outside. If it rains, I will surely park the car in the driveway and then take a nap. Perhaps the rain will wash the mud off.

Before I can take my nap, I will need to get a good nights sleep. Hopefully everyone will sleep late tomorrow. By late, I mean til 7 AM!

How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2's new album is just a few weeks away. Who needs a ride to Best Buy?

I Need You to Jump Off a Cliff
For the record, I knew Leo wasn't dead, but I suspected Will, as they led us to believe, not CJ.

AB Returns
The new season of Good Eats has started as well. My Tivo still rocks.

AB has a new book out also. The first http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1584790830/qid=1099699908/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-0037244-7613713?v=glance&s=books was very good. I liked it so much I convinced multiple people to buy it.

All Good Things...
In case it seems I have had a lot of free time lately, it is true. I have not been to work in three weeks. Yesterday I formally accepted a job offer. I will be starting back to work on Monday.

I was fortunate enough to have two job offers to choose between. I had a call from another company today which I believe was going to offer me yet a job as well. I had been very lucky with the job search.

I will surely miss having out everyday with the retired guys in the neighborhood.

Let the Rebuild Begin
I have finally begun to reassemble the engine. Yesterday I spent considerable time cleaning the pistons. For the record, oven cleaner works pretty well for removing the carbon buildup. I prefer Zep Oven and Grill cleaner. I didn't notice nearly the fumes when using it compared to other stuff.

I also re-installed the cam shaft and the lifters. David M. was over for the weekly woodworking session. The ww session was replaced with a grease monkey session. He attempted to remove the front end of the truck while I was busy making my mess. The front end consists of the outer and inner fenders, the grill, and the radiator support. I believe it will all come off as one piece after removing 8 bolts. He had trouble with one so the front end is still in place.

I started today by running a few errands in the Miata (top down). It was very chilly this morning but I was armed with a fleece jacket and a warm heater. The errand involved getting more oven cleaner and picking up the piston rings which were ordered yesterday.

Today I installed new main crank bearings and re-installed the crank shaft. Tomorrow I will try to get a few pistons (along with the new rings) installed.

Did I mention I pulled the pistons, crank shaft, and cam shaft yesterday?

Today I cleaned the engine block. It is almost spotless! I took a few photos for anyone that wants to see. It had been recommened to me that I use oven cleaner. It definitely works better than engine degreaser. Warning - oven cleaner will remove paint! This was not a problem for me because the engine was out of the truck.

Now I just have to figure out how to get it all back together. That shouldn't really be a problem. I have been putting all the little pieces and bolts in zip-top bags along with a label. The problem will be getting it put all back together without spending a wheel barrow full of money.

I need a full set of gaskets and seals(9), piston rings, timing belt, main bearings, rod bearings, and motor mounts.

BTW, I did figure out why the compression was low in the one cylinder. It had a broken ring.

My father came by yesterday. Time for a computer upgrade. We added an 80 gig harddrive to his computer. Plenty of drive space now. I also checked it for virus's and ad ware. Plenty of both were found. It is all cleaned up now. Last friday I did the virus and ad ware removal trick at my neighbors house.

Yes, I did vote today. Total time standing in line: 0 minutes. I drove past the voting site at 6:50 am today and there was a very long line so I just kept on driving. (I was in the Miata with the top down).

I saw the guy that sold me the Miata. He as going in the other direction in his BMW Z3, top down.

I drove past the voting site again at about 10:30. Still too many cars though the line was not as long. It no longer stretched out of the building and across the parking lot.

At about 2:00 pm I went by again. The lot was about half empty, so I stopped this time. I went inside to vote. No one else was in line. Everyone there was either working or already in the process of casting their ballot.

Anyone notice the Cherry Bed is still in the garage? Right there behind the truck.

It has been a long day. I am ready to put on my jammies and go to sleep. Unfortundately the kids are still wired from the one piece of Halloween candy I let them have after dinner.

I do not enjoy the time changing. In the fall, after the time change, I get tired too early. In the spring, after the time change, I wake up to early. It usually takes me about two weeks to get over a time change. My internal clock does not agree with daylight savings time.

I forgot to mention it before. Jordan was Spiderman; Brianna was a Princess.

Nite, Nite. Zzzzzzzz (No I didn't take any Benadryl.)

Test Drive
One of my neighbors, Rich M., bought a 2004 Viper last week. He came by today to show it to me. 500+ HP, 500+ ft-lbs of torque at the tires.

The car is triple black and very shiney. We went for a little ride. The car will do 60 MPH in first gear. He took it up to 120 and back down to 40 in a what seemed like a split second. Serious Gs'.

He said he was going to try to resist mod'ing it for a about a year. It already has the BRB (Big Red Button).

Zoom, zoom, zoom.

Are you tired of reading about the truck? Too bad. It is the current obsession.

Yesterday I stripped off the oil pan and oil pump. I also attempted to remove the rear main seal. It pretty much just crumbled but I had no luck removing it.

Last night I searched the Internet for insight into getting the seal out. Two suggestions: 1. Spray it with penetrating oil. 2. Loosen the main bearings and lift the crankshaft slightly. Today I did both and was able to get the rear seal out.

Today I also removed the rocker covers, pushrods, rocker arms, and cylinder heads. First impression of the cylinders - they look good. I still need to check the rings and valves.

Creg K. came by to take a look at the GMC. He has a 54 Ford sitting in his yard. He is attempting to be inspired by me. Good luck.

Tonight I took the little people 'trick or treating'. Some folks up the street go all out every October. Their yard is completely decorated. They have a grave yard, flying ghosts, a vampire in a coffin, etc. Oh, yeah and Bart Simpson and Sponge Bob. They do more than the Grizwalds do for Christmas. Very cool though.

Lunar Eclipse
I just happened to be awake at 2:00 am last night so I went out on the back porch to check out the lunar eclipse. It was a big disappointment.

I remembered the eclipsed was occurring because it was so bright outside, for 2:00 am anyway. The moon appeared full. That was the extent of it. From what I had read, I was expecting it to be red or orange. During the eclipse, the earth was between the moon and sun, and all three were in the same plane. In this situation the moon was visible because light from the sun was 'bending' around the earth due to the atmosphere. No big deal from what I observed.

I have been working on cleaning up the engine. The ultimate goal is replacing the rear main seal, the front seal, and the oil pan gasket.

Before pulling the engine I checked the compression. The Haynes book suggests that the nominal compression for a small block is 150 PSI. Seven of the eight in my engine measured 185 PSI +/- 5%. The other measured only about 95 PSI. It has been suggested to the me that the 185 reading is ok. The 95 PSI reading indidicates either bad rings or a bad valve. The cyclinder is still firing so I will probably leave it alone for now.

After pulling the engine, I was able to find the casting number hidden away beneath some greasy grimey grunge. The casting number is 14010201. Per the internet, this is a 305 ci, 2 bolt main bearing, cast between 1980 and 1984. The truck probably originally had a 307 but it doesn't now. This engine has probably been in the truck for at least five years based on what i know about the trucks history.

Today I removed the power steering pump, water pump, alternator, and all the pulleys including the harmonic balancer. Assuming I find some time tomorrow, I will drop the oil pan and remove the timing chain cover, cleaning as I go.

While on an errand today, I got caught out in the rain with the top down. I didn't need the extra shower, but I guess it couldn't hurt.

Pre-Pull

Pull
Today I pulled the engine out of the '72. My neighbor, Lott, helped me. It took 3 hours but it should have taken much less.

I didn't drain the transmission prior to the pull. I ended up with all the transmission fluid on my garage floor. That was fun to clean up.

'67 Stepside
My friend, iMike, may be acquiring a 1967 Chevy Stepside. It belonged to his grandfather. I bet it is green.

I almost forgot to mention that I took my weekly Sunday afternoon drive today in the Miata. When I got home I decided it was time to clean the windshield. A butterfly had left a nasty smear on it.

My Mother got a cell phone last week. It is her first. For the first few days she called almost everyday to make sure it was still working. It is still working.

My laptop is acting up. Several of the keys on the keyboard keep cutting out. If you see any typo's, it is probably me not the keyboard. But it could be the keyboard.

When the blog goes several days without an entry that means one of two things: nothing is happening or things are hectic.

I have been working toward removing the engine from the truck. At this point the hoist is in place and I am two bolts and the starter wire away from pulling the engine.

Friday I started to de-grease the engine. The plan was to spray on the degreaser and then drive over to the car wash to hose it down. Unfortunately after spraying the degreaser, I couldn't get it to start, so I just hosed it down in the driveway. My neihbor came over to look at it a little later. It cranked right up. He said I probably had flooded it.

Pulling the engine has involved removing the battery, draining the fluids (oil, coolant, power steering fluid), removing the radiator and heater hoses, removing the radiator, disconnecting the throttle and transmission linkage, disconnecting the alternator, and disconnecting the transmission bell housing. I probably left out a few wires and some other details, but that was most of it.

I went on a field trip with Jordan's class on Friday. We visited 'Constitution Village'. We got to see how to make butter, spin thread, make pottery, etc. Nothing like a field trip to make you need to take a nap.

I have decided to attempt to tackle the oil leaks on the truck. After talking with a few knowledgable guys, I have a plan. Contrary to what I said earlier, it doesn't appear that HD rents engine hoists after all though I think I will be able to rent one around here somewhere.

Either tomorrow or Thursday I will probably try to test the cyclinder compression.
Assuming it is good, I will pull the engine and replace a few gaskets. Assuming it is bad I will re-evaluate the situation.

The sun finally came out this afternoon. Of course I took a little cruise with the top down.

Friday afternoon I hit 5 boneyards to look at the supply of available used parts for the truck. (I did not see any Ranchero parts.) There are quite a few trucks, but they are all picked over. I did purchase an ashtray. I had a choice of blue or red. The interior of mine is red, so the decision is easily made. Why did I need an ashtray if I don't smoke? n
Friday afternoon I also put the truck up on jack-stands. Using the creeper, I then entered a scary world of spiders, oil, and grease. By now I have gotten most of the spiders off the truck but I did manage to find one.

The purpose of raising the truck was to make it easier to inspect for leaks. I found three. The rear main seal, the front seal, and the oil pan gasket all leak. My father-in-law said they could all probably be fixed with the engine in place but because there are 3, it would probably take less time if I pulled the engine. DM is sure going to be happy when I volunteer his help.

I can get an engine stand for $35 and HD rents engine hoists. I may be able to find a friend to loan me a hoist. If I start now, I wonder if I could be done by the end of the year. I wonder if I can actually get started before the end of the year.

Fuel Economy Update
The last tank in the Miata got 28 MPG in the city. The last tank in the Dodge 1500 got 14 MPG and that was on the highway. Good thing gas prices have gone way down. Doh! Today's gasoline purchase price was $1.939/gallon for 87 octane.

Presidential Debate
I watched part of the debate again last night. I turned it off before it was over. That is all I have to say about that.

Miata Daze
It has been quiet around here for a few weeks. Perhaps that will change soon.

This morning it was a cool 54 F with cloudy skies. There is currently a severe weather alert. What a beautiful day for driving the Miata with the top down. Todays musical choice was "Bowling for Soup".

72 What?
Monday evening I took the front bumper, headlights, grill, etc off the truck. While it was dissassembled I got the parking lights working. One less thing.

I also discovered a new color of paint. So far I have found 2 distinct reds, white, yellow, and now I have added green to the palete. The green paint was found on the passenger side front fender. Of course this indicates the fender has been replaced at some point. I am now certain I have parts from at least 3 different trucks, though it could easily be 4 or more.

So the question now is what kind of truck is it really? A Ghevy or a CMC?

Blue Light Special
I forgot to mention this last week. On our vacation trip, about 20 minutes after leaving the house, a friendly Alabama State Trooper asked me to stop and chat for a few minutes. Apparrently I was doing 90 on the interstate. Now the bad part. I didn't even realize I was speeding. The Tahoe sure rides smooth and doesn't feel like it is going fast. And of course I was distracted. I was trying to explain how to use the Mapopolis software running on my PDA. The PDA was connected to my eTrex GPS and we were watching ourselves move down the interstate real-time.

Mr. Friendly wrote me ticket for 90 in a 70 for Limestone county. I was in Morgan county. So who was more distracted? Me or him. At least I knew where I was. He was driving a big unmarked Ford Expedition. It had a whole office setup in it complete with a laptop and a printer. Unfortunately he had a virus on his computer so it was working. He had to write the ticket out by hand. And I thought I had bad penmanship. He said he had Internet access but he wasn't sure if it was modem based using cell technology or a statelite connection. Regardless, internet access in the car is pretty cool.

After receiving my ticket, we were on our way once again. No hard feelings toward the guy. He was doing his job and I was speeding.

I think the last ticket I got was shortly after Ginger and I got married. Our tenth anniversary is approaching so that was a few years ago. We were driving to my Fathers house and I got pulled over between Courtland and Town Creek. I have been told Town Creek is a speed trap but I don't recall ever seeing a police car there. Hopefully I can behave and won't get another ticket for a long long time. And if I can't behave, then maybe I can just be lucky and not get caught.

Happy Birthday
Today is Brianna Baby's 4th birthday. The party starts in 15 minutes. We are having a Princess Party complete with princess cups, princess plates, and princess cake. Brianna is a Princess.

I am back from vacation. Contrary to what we were told on the phone, our condo did not have Internet access.

[RANT]
Technically it did have Internet access. By this I mean if you plug your modem cable into the phone jack on the wall in the kitchen, and you already have a local ISP. That is not what I expected when I was told they had Internet access.
[/RANT]

We stayed in Panama City Beach. Compared to the Destin area, this place is pretty run down. Perhaps I should take that back. The Destin area probably doesn't exist anymore. There is a lot of new construction going on right now. I suspect a year or two out this will be a very nice/new/popular area.

We stayed at a resort called Edge Water. Our room was on the tenth floor of Tower I. There were three towers. The view looked out over a very large lagoon style pool as well as the beach.

I have decided that I prefer staying in a building that is not quite so big. The condo's we normally visit in Fort Walton are just about right. With the bigger resort you have to deal with more people, more cars, etc.

While we were there we played on the beach, and in the pool. We also played mini-golf and rode go-carts. A trip to an arcade was also mandatory so that ski-ball and wac-a-mole could be enjoyed. The guy who came up with the idea for games dispensing tickets to be traded in for trinkets was a genius. He should also be hung.

We have worked out a great plan for riding go-carts. Because the kids are too small to drive we get the two seater carts. The real fun is not in leading but in passing. While racing, as soon as we pass, we move to the outside lane. This allows us to pass 3 or 4 times per laps. The kids love it because there is lots of action. The cars behind us can't figure out what we are doing. Why would anyone leave the line intentionally? The trick is to get back to the inside ASAP so the next car back doesn't pass you also.

We dined at three restaurants while in Panama City Beach. Each night we went out early, about 5:30 pm, to beat the crowds. We were successfull with this strategy as we never had to wait for a table. There was usually a line though be the time we left.

The first was called Sharky's. We sat outside. The food was decent but I didn't really care for the green plastic table. I had a broiled seafood platter that reminded me of butter flavored rubber. The kids had popcorn shrimp. It was very good. Ginger had the seafood alfredo. It was very good. From this I learned while in Rome, eat like the Romans. No more broiled seafood for me. Bring me the fried stuff.

The second night we went to Captain Andersons. This place was recommended to us and was huge. We sat inside here. This time I had the fried seafood platter. This is the obvious choice of someone who doesn't want to make a decision. Jordan had popcorn shrimp again. He was shocked to discover that they still had the tails on them. The tails are a bit crunchy. I thought popcorn shrimp always had the tails removed. Brianna had Mac&Cheese caught fresh in the gulf that very day. The cocktail sauce was very good here. Plenty of horseradish in it.

The third night we visited Pineapple Willies. We dined outside here. The kids both had popcorn shrimp, again with the tails still attached. I had shrimp, fried. Ginger had BBQ ribs.

Night four, back to Sharky's. It was very windy so we chose to eat inside. This time I had the seafood alfredo, the kids had the popcorn shrimp, no tails, and Ginger had the fried seafood platter. We both nearly broke a tooth on a hush puppy.

All of these were definitely tourist traps complete with plastic souvenir cups and beach buckets. Of the three I prefered Captain Anderson's the most and Sharky's the least. I think Ginger's preference was just the opposite. I felt the service, food quality, and atmosphere were all superior at Captain Anderson's.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home. For reference, I think the service and food quality here were on par with Captain Anderson's. What does that tell you?

I am glad to be home.

Where Am I?
Last year I got a Garmin eTrex Vista GPS. I had borrowed one from a friend in the past. They are pretty cool. To me, it is nothing more than a high tech toy but I guess that is why I bought it.

I also have a cable that allows me to hook the GPS up to my Axim PDA. I have tried to get MS Pocket Streets to work on my Axim with the GPS several times. There is apparrently a problem with this setup. I have actually gotten it to work once out of more than ten tries.

MS Streets and Trips is pretty cool but it doesn't run on a PDA. I have tried it with my laptop but the laptop is very awkward to use will riding in the Miata. The real time positioning is nice though.

I downloaded a demo of Mapopolis (again) for my Axim. I also downed several demo maps. Mapopolis also provides real time positioning. It also allows route selection and provides directions. The directions are displayed on screen on a map with written directions and verbal directions. This application rocks. I will be giving the demo a good workout this week as we do some traveling.

The best thing about the GPS is when Jordan asks how long til we get home I can tell him we are 123.4 miles away with an ETA of 2 hours and 11 minutes.

Life's a Beach
Technically I have been on vacation since about 5:00 pm yesterday. We don't actually leave for the beach til Monday. We are going to Florida. We usually take a trip to Fort Walton Beach Florida the week after Labor Day. This year with Jordan in school we put off the trip til Fall break. Unfortunately the beach we normally visit has been washed into the Gulf of Mexico. We revised our plans and we are now heading to Panama City Florida.

Trip to the Salvage Yard
This morning I visited a couple of local salvage yards. For a song and a dance, I acquired a gas pedal and a replacement plasic instrument cluster bezel for the '72. The gas pedal was just plain missing. The bezel was cracked and had a few pieces missing. I installed the pedal. The instrument cluster will wait. The guy though in the speedo that was attached to it. I don't need it but if the mileage is higher I could swap.

I saw some really trashed '60-66 Chevy trucks and a few '67-72s. I ran into another guy looking for parts for his '71. He said he already had several trucks at home. I got tips from a couple of guys on other yards worth visiting.

The two yards I visited today was choosen simply based the fact that they were opened on Saturday morning. There were a lot of people there. I expected it to be like a ghost town.

Talladega
We pretty much forgot about the race this weekend and let it slip up on us. There was talk about me and a few of my friends going this year. Oh well, maybe next year. It is close enough that we could leave at 8:00 am, get there in plenty of time for the race and be home in time for dinner.

Limbo
Dah dah dah.

Last night during the weekly wood working session I completed the hanging wall cabinet I started the week before. I would like to paint it but that will probably never happen. The cabinet is already being used to store things like car cleaning products and WD-40.

I drove the Miata to work again today. Yesterday's weather was so good I thought I would do it again.

Today as I was sitting at a traffic light I thought "Why not wet sand and polish the tail lights on the car." That would be really pretty. Bet that never happens too.

Bummer Dude!

What I Did With My Weekend
Friday afternoon Ginger left for Auburn. She went down to play at the game in the alumni band. I picked up the kids after work as usual.

I drove the Miata to work on Friday even though I had to pick up the kids after work. Fortundately my route from work to school takes me within 0.5 miles of my house. This allows me to easily swing by the house and swap the Miata for the 4x4.

Saturday morning me and my posse spent some time in the garage/driveway. I attempted to remove the back bumper from the '72 GMC truck. I managed to get two of the four bolts off. I sprayed the other two down with penetrating oil. Perhaps they will be ready to be removed by next weekend. I also removed the six bolts that hold the bed to the frame. I actually only removed three with a wrench. I cut one off with a grinder. One didn't have a nut on it. The other one was already missing. I lifted the bed from the frame and did a quick inspection of all the goodies underneath.

This morning I bolted the bed back on. I drove the truck over to Troy W's to give him some stuff. He recipricated by giving me some stuff. He loaned me his floor jack and a pair of jack stands. Next I drove to Home Depot to pick up a few bolts. These bolts are going to the replace the bolts holding the back bumper on. I would have gotten some for the bed as well but I couldn't remember the size.

I also adjusted the brake switch so that the brake lights will now go off when your foot is off the pedal. The switch on the truck is under the dash, above the steering column. It is very difficult to reach. It has two nuts that connect it to a metal bracket. The throw of the switch is altered by adjusting the nuts. I had Jordan standing behind the truck telling me when the brake lights went on and off. He didn't like the job. I eventually let him go once I realized the dome light dimmed everytime the brake lights came on.

The brake switch adjustment was made easier by the fact that I could easily lay on the floor of the cab. I had already removed the seat today. And then the carpet. And then the insulation. While all this was out I did an interior rust inspection. One small area will need to be replaced but in general the floor pan is in good shape. After vacuuming the pan, carpet, and seat I put it all back in.

How to Free Up Stuck Tire Lugs
I managed to get the lugs on the front wheel free today as well. I had attempted to remove them with a impact wrench but they were stuck! I sprayed them with penetrating oil 3 days in a row. Today I used my torque wrench and they came right off. The torque wrench has a pretty long handle. I cranked it up to 200 ft-lbs hoping it wouldn't slip. W=FD. Work equals force times distance. Double the length of the handle and it requires half the force. I have previously used a galvanized 3/4" pipe stuck over the handle of a socket wrench also.

Now that the front tires will come off, I suppose I should bleed the front brake lines.

Hello World
int main(int argc, char* argv[])
{
printf("Hello world!\n"
return 0;
}

Stainless Steel or Zinc
I was reading some dude's web site about car restoration. He was going on and on about how he now exclusively uses stainless steel bolts in all his cars because they don't rust (ever), or so he claimed. Check out the flatware in your kitchen drawer.

So I now have a few questions. Are their any drawbacks to using stainless steel bolts. Perhaps cost? The zinc bolts I bought today were about $.45, and the washers and nuts were about $.10 a piece. Do the stainless bolts really _never_ rust? Will they sieze up over time?

Smooth Sailing
Yesterday morning as I was driving to work in the Miata, I noticed my speed was a little bit higher than normal. I was pretty much just matching the speed of the traffic flow, which technically is speeding, but that is not the point. Something was odd. Something was missing. And then I figured out what it was. Where is the shutter I normally feel at this speed? It is gone! The new tires must be pretty close to perfectly balanced.

Scrap MDF
Last night was the weekly wood working session. It seemed like I got a lot more accomplished than usual last night. Perhaps that was because the shop (aka garage) was clean and organized. Nah, that can't be it.

I had decided to build another wall mounted hanging cabinet. The purpose of this one is to store my car cleaning supplies and other miscellaneous cans of stuff like WD-40 etc. Normally I make a hanging cabinet 12" deep but I decided to make this one 9" since there was not going to be a counter beneath it.

Last night I got the case and face frame completed. I also made a European style mounting bracket. I was going to hang it but the battery in the stud finder was dead. Sure I could try finding the stud the old fashion way, but then I would have 500 extra holes in my garage wall. I can image it would look something like a shot gun blast.

All that is left to do it make the doors, paint it, and hang it.

And yes, I did make it out of scrap MDF. I don't like working with MDF because of all the dust, but at least it is always straight and knot free. I guess I misspoke earlier when I said it was wood working night. Correction: MDF working.

Yesterday was again purpose built Miata weather. Top down, windows down, jacket on, Barenaked Ladies in the CD player, long route to work.

I am going to get insurance and the tag renewed for the '72 pickup today. This morning as I was driving out of my neighborhood a guy passed me in an old truck. For a second I thought he was in my old truck. It was the same body style, fleet side, short wheel base, and it was also red and white. I did a double take. That was weird.

One of the front tires on the '72 is stuck. One of the lugs is missing. Three of the remaining four are stuck. I bought some penetrating oil at Lowe's today. When I got home I sprayed the lugs. Hopefully the lugs will break free tomorrow.

Me and the Miata had a very pleasant drive to work this morning. And we shall do it again tomorrow.

The new tires are great. Details withheld to protect the innocent.

I should also mention the Miata when out for another drive this evening. Ginger decided she should take it out for a spin. She says the new tires provide excellent handling and corner well. She also said she finally figured out the controls on the radio. I guess she didn't want to listen to ELO.

This morning I took the Miata out for a short spin. I needed to return some jumper cables to a friend. He loaned them to me a while back when I was trying to get the '72 GMC to crank back before I bought it. Mine were not heavy duty enough to make it work. (This use of jumper cables probably caused iMike's battery to die). For the record, nothing is wrong with the battery. It was simply low from under utilization.

It was chilly again this morning. I turned the heater on to keep my feet warm. (I didn't have on any socks.) I guess I will be needing a jacket for my future early morning treks.

This afternoon I clean up the shop and rearranged the tools and benches a few times. The goal was to make both trucks fit easily while still providing reasonable access to the tools. I finally got it to work, but I am not sure I like it. I ended up pushing two of the benches up against the wall. Sure that's good enough for most people but I like to be able to work on the bench from which ever side suits me at the time.

As for the '72 GMC, I spent a little while crawling around under it this afternoon. Most of the spiders have moved on but there are still a few living under there. I applied a little bit of bug spray so maybe they will move on or drop off.

What did I learn while under the truck? More than I can describe here. I also took the instrument cluster out of the dash, removed the steering wheel and took out some a/c duct work that had dry rotted. The cluster was put back in place. BTW, the odometer works and so I am guessing the truck has 130k miles on it. Could be 230k but I doubt it. The gas gauge and oil pressure gauge also appear to be functional.

And finally, I managed to get the steering wheel tightened down. Previously it had about an 1/2" of play along the axis of the steering column. That was pretty freaky.

Stop
Yes, the truck can now stop. I managed to get the drum brakes reassembeld. I will admit that changing the pads on disc brakes is nothing compared to changing the shoes on drum brakes. My neighbor helped me bleed the lines. That is definitely a two man job.

I also installed the new parking brake cable, though the parking brake is still not functional. Yet another missing part.

Next up: Either the head lights, the horn, or the brake lights.

I also pressure washed the truck. All the stuff that was growing on it is now gone. I am resisting doing any body work before the first of the year. That should give me plenty of time to get the safety issues resolved.

The weather has changed. This morning I drove the Miata to the barber shop. It was rather chilly.

And So It Begins
The new old truck has been living in my garage for almost a week. I decided it was time to get started.

First goal: safety. The brakes are soft so my first goal was to fix them. Supposedly the front rotors and pads were replaced within the last 500 miles. I had already discovered that the rear reservoir of the master cylinder was almost empty. I also discovered the parking break cable was broken.

My neighbor is a very knowledgeable car guy. He offered to give me a hand. His suggestion was to bleed the brake lines and check the drums. The drums were a bear to get off. The shoes looked fine. I broke the value screw in half trying to get it off the wheel cylinder. He did the same on the other side. Since I was going to the parts store anyway, I decided I would go ahead and replace the brake shoes. At $11 a pair (life time warranty), it would be worth it not to have to take the drums off again anytime soon. The wheel cylinders cost $10 a piece.

I am using a Haynes auto manual. It is reasonable but it certainly could use more photos and less terse verbage.

After getting home, I discovered that the right brake adjustment assembly was stuck. The auto parts store web site says I will be spending another $6 tomorrow morning.

After the brakes shoes are installed and the lines bled, I will probably tackle some electrical work next. The headlights and horn don't work. The wires to the horn are disconnected. I have no idea what's up with the head lights. They worked when I was inspecting it before I bought it. Probably a fuse. I will probably get around to this stuff around spring of 2030.

Ivan
Hurricane Ivan caused school to be canceled on Thursday and Friday. The kids stayed home so someone had to stay home with them. I spent a lot of time at home over the last two days.

New Tires

The new tires have been installed. I took it to Wal-Mart because it is within walking distance to my office. The cost was $3.50 per tire for mounting, and $7.50 per tire for balancing.

The car seems to handle so much better now. The steering feels tighter and the ride seems smoother. It is probably all in my head but that is ok by me.



I picked up some DOT 3 brake fluid while I was at Wal-Mart. Perhaps I will be able to figure out where the suspected brake fluid leak on the truck is this weekend. While I am working on that I will also check the rear drum shoes to determine if they need to be replace.

While the Miata was on the lift with all four tires off, I took the opportunity to inspect all four rotors and the brake pads. The rotors are all smooth and plenty of pad left. No worries.

Did I mention it is perfect weather for a Miata with the top down?

Here is a photo from the advert where I found the truck. Yes, the front bumper is just barely haning on.



So now I have a white Dodge truck, a red Miata, and a red and white GMC truck. Anyone from around these parts might think I was a Bama fan. I guess I need to paint some of the vehicles orange and blue before anyone gets the wrong idea. War Eagle!

The tires are loaded up in the passenger seat of the Miata, eagerly awaiting the trip to Wal-Mart for mounting. I snapped a photo of them resting in the car. This like so many other photos may some day be shown here. (As soon as I download them from the camera.)

Tomorrow is PTA night at Jordan's school. Are they still calling it PTA or is it PTF or is it PTSA or is it, Oh Yes Wyoming! Gotta get that song out of my head.

New Toy
After much looking, today I bought a new toy. New to me anyway. I got an old 1972 GMC Pickup. Since the beginning of time I have wanted a 1967-1972 era Chevy short wheel base, fleet side pickup. The GMC is essentially the same as a Chevy. And now I have one. I will share the story of the search later.

Out With The Old
Tuesday night, David M. and I cleaned up all the wood we had gotten at the barn. This involved removing lots or rusted nails from the hard white oak. There were just a couple of pieces that didn't make the cut. Those got thrown in the back of the truck (The newer 1998 Dodge). I returned the bad pieces to a burn pile out by the barn. It happens to be very near my house.

This afternoon I was dusting off the remaining 'good' wood and moving it into the wood storage area. This involves carrying large heavy boards up a flight of stairs. I had about half of them put away when I noticed some dust falling off one of the boards sitting on the saw horses. After closer inspection, I discovered there was a powder post beatle enjoying an afternoon snack. I immediately got all the newly classified 'bad' wood out of the garage. All this wood is now heading back to the burn pile as well. And just hours prior to this I was gloating to one of my neighors (also a wood worker) about all this free white oak I had gotten.

Vrooooom!
This evening I went outside to take the trash can to the street and close up the garage. While I was out there I decided I had to crank up the old truck one more time just to hear it run. Did I mention it has a 305 V8. It sounds incredible. David M. went with me to pick up the truck today. We had to jump start it because the battery was dead from sitting unused for a while. When It did crank, it went VROOOOOOOOM! I saw a smile cross David's face. It sounds awesome. A picture will soon follow.

I still haven't gotten the Miata down to the shop to have the new tires installed. Tuesday!

Where's My Stuff
According to the UPS web site, my new tires and some books from Amazon are on the truck "Out for Delivery" today. I went outside at 6:30 pm and they still had not shown up. I guess they will be here tomorrow. This is not the first that has happened.

Update: When Ginger got home at 9:30 pm she told me my tires were out in the driveway. She brought the Amazon box in for me. The UPS site says they were delivered at 7:44 PM.

I will probably not get the tires installed tomorrow. I have a busy day planned.

The tires shipped on Friday. I expect they will be delivered on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I sure am glad I didn't have to wait on these to be shipped from somewhere out of the country.

Home Again, Home Again
I am glad to be back home.

On the way back I stopped just west of Corinth, MS to look at a green 1970-ish Chevy Long Bed. Not much to see on this one. The interior was stripped, no vent controls, no radio, barely a dash. Two flat tires and a rusted bed. I tried to pop the hood to check out what it was hiding. The hood release didn't work. Keep on driving.

Next we stopped in Tuscumbia to have lunch with my Father. After lunch we went to Spring Park to ride the train. I took a few pictures. I will post one later.

While at the park, we had the opportunity to admire a 1928-ish Model A. At least that is what my Dad estimated it to be. He also told me about the 1932 Model A his GrandFather had. I forgot to ask if he ever drove it. Again, I will post a photo of this later.

I made a few calls today regarding a '69 and '70 C-10 listed in the local papers. One had already sold, the owner of the other had changed his mind about selling it.

And just for fun tonight, I completely demolished some floor standing cabinets I made a few years ago. I wasn't storing anything in them and we needed the floor space. I was storing stuff on top of them. Actually it was more like stacking junk on top of them. I threw out about half of the junk. Probably should have thrown out even more.

Tomorrow morning DM and I are headed to the barn to fetch some free white oak. I will let you know how that turns out. I am taking a chainsaw just for fun!

Weekend Update
So far this weekend I have spent all my time eating and sleeping. Ok, that is not quite true. I also spent a little time reading. And very little time blogging.

Yesterday morning we went to visit the children's museum of Memphis. The kids had a good time because everything is hands on.

While at the CMOM I ran into Steve G. Steve was one of the guys that went on the camping trip a few months back. He lives in Mississippi, possibly Jackson. A few years back Steve and I worked at the same company though I didn't really know him then.

Yesterday evening we went for a walk around the inlaws neighborhood. As we strolled through an intersection I commanded a left turn. I had spotted a 1964 Chevy Truck two houses up. I stopped to talk to the old guy spit shining the truck. His father had bought it new in '64. It was currently black. He had done many upgrades including replacing the 6 cyc with a V8, adding power steering, tilt steering column, front power disc brakes, and a shiney black paint job. The truck had originally been sky blue. It was a nice truck. He was talking about selling his Toyota and making the '64 his daily driver. Sounds like a good idea to me.

We are heading back home today. The plan is to stop in Tuscumbia on the way home and have Lunch with my Father.

If we get home early enough today, I will go back to the barn and see if any of the 'free' white oak left is worth rescuing. I could probably make room for a couple hundred board feet of it assuming it is in good condition.

I will also probably do a more search and rescue work for the elusive 196* truck. Permission has not been granted but I am hopefull. Anyway, the thrill is in the hunt.

Bloggers spell checker dictionary does not know the word 'blogging'. Perhaps 'blogging' is not a real word and you are not really reading this.

TGIF
I took the day off from work so we could drive over to Memphis to visit the inlaws. I plan on an entire of weekend of eating and sleeping. So far I have eaten twice and slept once.

I brought my laptop so I could tell you all about my weekend of eating and sleeping. Did I mention that already?

I ordered some tires (online) for the Miata last night. I ended up purchasing them from the Tirerack. I will probably have them installed at Wal-Mart. There is one about 100 yards from where I work so it should be an easy drop off/pick up. I ended up getting these. The price was good. Including shipping cost it was about $180 for four tires.

TGIVF - Virtual Friday

The electrician finally finished up his work on the porch. There is a big dumpster in my driveway right now. I am sure the neighbors love that. All the construction mess has been cleaned up. And now I have a nice big spot of dead grass where all the trash previously previously sat. The only work left is to add the gutters and downspouts. And of course it would be nice if the screen door actually closed.

I will probably get around to ordering some tires for the Miata this weekend. I gave the free set of Dunlaps another good look today. They are not in any better shape than the Dunlaps on the car. I decided while I had a dumpster in the driveway, I would clean up the garage a little bit.

Slow news day
Today was the weekly wood working session.

Huntsville Alabama has a Yahoo group called Huntsville FreeCycle. People post things they don't want and are willing to give away. People who want things can then respond and claim the free stuff.

Today a local guy posted free white oak. He owns some land with a old barn on it. The barn is mostly white oak. The outside is pretty well weather but the inside appears to be in pretty good shape. Plenty of thick stock used to create the structural members. DM and I drove past it this evening and stopped to take a look at what was available. There is some pretty good wood there. More than I could use in a long time. I will probably go get a few board feet. Not too much though. Free is free but I don't have a lot of space right now that I am willing to devote to addtional wood storage.

I drove a 1961 Chevy short wheel base step side pickup truck today. Yes I am up to no good again. I took a few pictures also. Perhaps I will post one soon.

I am taking a vacation day on Friday! A four day weekend will be righteous.

Beautiful Day
Every time I say "beautiful day" I hear the U2 song in my head. Today it was truely a BD. I took a little ride this afternoon up hiway 53 into Tennessee. The weather was nice and the cars were lining up behind me. I pulled over a couple of times to let everyone pass. I don't know where everyone was going in such a hurry. After all, it was Sunday afternoon and I was out for my Sunday afternoon drive.

Knowledge is Power
I got a few new books yesterday from B&N. I usually get my books from Amazon but Ginger had a gift certificate so I went that route. The new books are:
1. Chevy Pickup Trucks (Enthusiast Color Series) (Statham)
2. Monster Garage - How to Customize Damn Near Anything (Klancher)
3. Welder's Handbook (Finch)

There was a sheet metal book I wanted to get also but it will wait til later. I am doing a little bit of research into what kind of work is needed to restore a vehicle. At this point I am leaning toward a Chevy Pickup (1972 or older). What I would really like is a 69 Chevy short wheel base fleet side. The short wheel base is hard to come by. Eighty percent of the trucks made between 1967 and 1972 were long wheel base.

The other vehicle I am considering is a Beetle. A friend offered me a Beetle. He thinks his father would let me have it for free if I would come get it. The catch here is that it is down south of Birmingham and I would need to trailer it home. There are actually two down there. He thinks one still runs thought he thinks the other is in better shape. This is definitely worth considering.

I plan on doing some reading before I commit to anything. Ginger has given her consent for said project though the approved budget is very low. A free Beetle would definitely fit the budget, but anyone who really knows me, knows I have had a thing for Chevy Trucks since before I could drive. I even tried to acquire one a few times, but wiser minds prevailed. When I was in high school you get a 1970-ish Chevy for about $1200 - $1500. These were decent shape. Today the same truck runs about $8000 - $12,000 if it is in reasonable shape.

Today I ran across a 1961 Chevy Pickup for sale. It was sitting in front of a Junk Yard. The body was in reasonable shape though it appears to have not moved in a few years. The tags expired back in 2001. I didn't get a real good look at it because it was behind a chain-link fence. I may have to give them a call to find out what is wrong with it and how much they are asking.

Pimp My Ride
I got some good advice from the MTV show "Pimp My Ride". The host, Xhibit, said "stop using tape on cars ya'll." He claims to be from Detroit but but that sounded pretty southern to me. It seems like pretty good advice as well.

I spent a little time wet sanding on the Miata again. Today I focused on the left rear quarter panel that had all the oxidation. By the time I was done, the section of the car looked better than any other spot on the car. It was hard to believe it started out being the worst looking spot on the car.

Last Call
I finished the bed yesterday. I will post a finished photo soon.

We moved the new patio furniture from the garage onto the back porch today. They are not done yet but if we wait on them, it will be snowing before we get to use the porch. All that really remains to be done is gutters, final electrical, and cleanup.

Model T Trivia
Chevrolet made a vehicle they called the Model T from 1918 to 1923. Chevy's Model T was a truck. The better know Ford Model T ceased production in 1928 when it was replaced with the Model A. I hear this car looked great when painted black. The Chevy was also only available in black. They later added a second color called Blue Bell Blue. Guess where I got these facts.

Oh Yes Tires
I really need to get some new tires. I got four baldies rolling right now.

Oh Yes Cherry Bed
I got a reasonable amount of work done on the bed this week. I would say (again), I am within a week of being done.

Oh Yes OneWord
iMike linked to this a few days ago. I gave it a go this morning. I will probably hit it a few more times.

Oh Yes Auto-Body Repair
I have decided not to take the welding class right now. After reading the course descriptions again, I realized the Auto-Body Repair class also covers welding to some degree. The Auto-Body Class fills up fast so it is to late to get into it for the fall semister. Assuming the interest (low-bandwidth obsession) holds until winter, I will sign up for the Auto-Body Repair class in January. Now I just need someone to remind me when the time rolls around. (I would put a reminder in my PDA, but that probably wouldn't do me any good.)

I installed the bed rail hardware today.

Oh Yes Miata
This evening I took a drive to no where. I asked Ginger if she needed anything from the store. She asked which store. I said "any store". I was looking for an excuse to go for a ride. No excuse but I went anyway. Top down.

When I got home, I decided to perform a little cleanup on the Miata. First I vacuumed the carpet. At this point I will shamefully admit that I had not yet done that, ever. The carpet looks good now. Except for a sizeable stain on the passenger side. I am considering trying out some miracle cleaner on it. I think it's oxy something. Short of a miracle, I don't think anything else will take care of it.

The Miata now has 89k miles on it. It had 85,707 when I got it back on March 19, 2004. That means I am averaging about 650 miles a month. I usually fill up about every 280-300 miles so that is just over two tanks a month.

The monthly mileage on my truck has gone down. I have only put about 3700 miles on it since January. I must admit that the total number of miles I drive this year will be above average compared to the last few years. Go figure.

Car Detailing - Advice Request
What are you folks using on your dash board, and misc rubber, vinyl, and plastic in your cars. Something besides Armor All please.