This morning I stood on the side walk admiring my handiwork with the sprinkler. My neighbor from across the street asked if I was watching the grass grow. Sure, why not.

This evening I added a few more feet of pipe and another sprinkler head to one end of the flower bed. G' was concerned this area would not get enough water and I had one extra of everything incase I messed anything up. Fortunately I didn't

After work I made a trip to the nursery to get a couple of scoops of mulch. We put about half of in out before quiting for the day. The rest of the mulch will be waiting for me tomorrow evening when I get home from work.

Today is not really The first annual no blogging day. Had it actually been, you would not be reading this now. More than likely today is yet another example of how 365 Mindnumbing Blog Entries Make a Complete Year.

This thing started out as a flat piece of sheet metal cut in a circle with an 11.5" diameter.

18 Gauge Sheet Metal

Heart Of Dixie Metal Meet '05
I spent most of the weekend at the metal meet. I learned a lot. The metal meet was hosted by Kerry Pinkerton of Imperial Wheeling Machines at his shop in nearby Harvest, Alabama. I would like to thank Kerry, Bennett Chapman, John Jordan, and several others whose names I can't recall for all their help.

The Martin sales guy (James Chapman) did a fabulous job teaching how to bump out dents. Note to self: Get book The Key to Bumping Metal. His explanation of the techniques was astounding.

Thanks also to Dan? of Huntsville for the stump.

One guy showed up with an old Studebakers Truck, or what was left of it. He is doing a rebuild. Looked good so far. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me that those days.

Henrob Jim was working on the fenders of his '57 Ford pickup.

If you have some time and interest, check out Kerry's Chrysler Imperial restoration site.

I will post a couple of photos of the bowl I made soon.

Quick Review:
I attended Friday morning. Got started on the metal bow. Kris helped get me started. David Miller from the autobody class showed up. I had to leave around 11:00 to pick up the kids.

Saturday morning, back to the meet. More work on the bowl. I did most of the stretching using a hammer and beater bag. I also tried my hand a shrinking using tucking forks and hammer. I did some smoothing using one of the e-wheels. It was pretty sweet.

I also tried out the machine that does shrinking. It was very nice. The process is much more rapid and I felt like I had more control of the shrinking process because you could practially see it happen. I probably should not have used the machine though because I am certain I will never have one of those ($$$$). It made shrinking using a tucking fork seem to take forever.

I will try my hand at making stretching/shrinking in the near future. First I will have to make some tucking forks.

I went back again for a few hours this afternoon. Watched some guys play with a Henrob torch. The trip today involved the Miata. It was a perfect day for driving a convertible.

And finally back home to work in the sprinkler system. I believe this project is all done except for burying it.

I remembered to call my sister and wish her a happy birthday.

Tomorrow I am not going to work. I requested a vacation day so that I could attend the Heart of Dixie Metal Meet '05. I read about this over at the Metal Meet forums.

My primary goal is simply to learn more about working sheet metal. If things go well I may even apply a little effort to improving the inner fenders of the '72. Did I forget to mention I removed those earlier this week. It looks really cool to peer under the hood without the inner fenders in place. You get to see the tires, suspension, and the ground.

The metal meet is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Currently I expect to be able to attend Friday morning, most of Saturday, and Sunday afternoon. Assuming things don't change.

I finished digging around in the flower beds this evening and started laying the pipe and installed the risers and sprinker heads. Tomorrow afternoon I will probably be able to finish it up. I need to install the valve, connect the wiring, and install about two more feet of pipe. One on each side of the valve. It will be nice to get this done. You know what comes next: Mulch.

No, I didn't go see the new Star War's movie today.

This entry was brought to you today by the numbers Sixty-two and Forty-two and by the letter R.

I got another computer tech support call tonight. Terry's computer lost its ethernet adapter driver and is shutting down when no one is looking. Fortunately I put a backup copy of the driver on the HD before it went home with her so I was able to walk her through the install.

It sounds like her power supply is on its way out also. I have a spare. She will swing thru N. AL in a few weeks I will take care of it.

Tomorrow is her birthday.

I remembered what I forgot, but I have now lost all enthusiasm for posting about it. The last two episodes of Enterprise.

The last two evenings I have been digging a trench in the flower bed to put in new sprinkers. Anyone interested can show up Friday evening to help.

This coming Friday is the last day of school for the kids. Sign me up for a summer vacation please.

The motherboard arrived a day early. It has been installed and the computer is almost back to normal. Close enough for now.

I didn't upgrade anything, I just replaced with a duplicate motherboard: $58.

Heart of Dixie Metal Meet '05
I have plans for this weekend. I hope to learn enough about shaping metal to make a patch panel for the front inner right truck fender. Hopefully I can pickup a few sheet metal welding hints also.

DW is in the progress of replacing the brake lines on his '70 Charger.

Earlier today I remember something I meant to post about this last weekend. I forgot what the topic was, but at least I remembered to write a post about it.

This last weekend there was a huge Mustang Show here in Huntsville. It was held at the Space and Rocket Center. I forgot about it til Sunday and unfortunately didn't have time to make it over there.

There are a few more car shows coming up in the near future. Both over in Decatur.

The red convertible Mustang I saw a few weeks ago is still for sale. I shopped to look at it. They guy was asking $9800. While the car had very little rust, it was not worth $9800. Quite frankly considering the lack of a paint job and the shape of the interior, I doubt it was worth half that. That guy should have had the car over at the show. Some crazy guy there with 'stang fever might have bought it.

I got a Car Crazy sticker in the mail last week. Haven't quite figured out where to put it yet.

Got more prop's on the Voodoo today. G' even noticed it a week or so back.

According to my tracking number, the motherboard will arrive tomorrow.

Over the last week I did a little cleaning on the Miata. First the seats got cleaned and conditioned. While I was at it, I went ahead and did the truck seats also. About a week ago I cleaned them all with saddle soap. Then I decided to try out the aloe base Meguiars leather products. One for cleaning and one for conditioning. Between the three, I am happy with the results

Second came the wax job. For this I tried the NXT tech paste wax. This stuff is incredible and produces a really nice shine. It actually make the paint appear wet.

The third step was the cleaning the carpet. This started out with vacuuming out the Miata including the trunk. While I had the vacuum out, I went ahead and vacuumed the gold fish cracker crumbs out of the car seat in the truck. Oh, and I vacuumed the rest of the truck also.

The floor mats in the Miata have had some grungy looking spots on them since before I got bought. I decided too try to clean them also. Surprisingly I got every spot out of the mats! I used some of that Oxy stuff and a stiff brush. Except for a little bit of wear, the mats almost look new.

The transmission on the '72 has been dripping. I investigated the leak on Saturday. It appeared to be an o-ring where the speed-o cable connects to the back end of the transmission. Yesterday I replaced the o-ring. No drips so far but I am not calling it fixed til it has been driven a little bit.

I finally made it to HD yesterday to buy a nice piece of wood. The plan here is to make a replacement drawer front for a night stand my sister has. Shamefully I will admit the drawer has been in my shop for over a month, though probably not two. Saturday I intended to make the new drawer front but after getting out in the shop I was surprised to discover I had no suitable wood for this project. That was about when I decided to wax the car.

Welcome back my friend to the show that never ends...

I figured out what is wrong with the computer. After ruling out every single piece including the processor, I finally decided there is something wrong with the motherboard. I ordered a replacement from mwave. It should be here by Monday or Tuesday.

Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

I have been doing a little welding practice whenever I get the chance. I hope to have developed enough technique in the next week or so to finally get to work on the fender. Welding is not a problem. The problem is getting the metal too hot. This causes it to shrink and warp.

Sure has been quite around here. I must be having computer problems. Hopefully I will get it all resolved soon.

The Fish

05.05.05

I apparrently have writers block today. I wanted to post just so I could use my spiffy title.

Jordan and I stayed home yesterday. He was not feeling well. He took several naps which is uncharacteristic for him. He stayed home again today, but I had to go to work. G was off today. Tomorrow it's back to the old grind stone for him.

I have a few more drops of transmission fluid on the garage floor under the truck. I guess I need to tighten a few more bolts.

...

In You Window
Brian has a new blog. It is hard not to laugh at this one. It is a thrilling read. Every blog entry is exciting. You just can't get enough of this one. Hope blogger's servers are running at peak performance. Everyone will want to hit this one.

Now go back and read the title of this post again.

My order from Chevy Duty arrived today just as promised on Friday. Photos to follow.

The order included the patch panel for the fender bed side, and all the necessary fasteners and springs to hold the head lights in place. The springs, screws, etc for the lights were about 50% present when I bought the truck.

It turns out I could have gotten the screws and springs at the local parts store. I probably paid an extra dollar tacking them onto this order. Not so bad. It could have been much worse.

I forgot to mention I changed the oil in the Miata yesterday. Note to self: Add mileage here. I wrote the value on the board in the garage, I just can't recall what it is right now.

I cleaned up the Miata this afternoon. I think I got all the pollen out.

There is a 10% chance of rain for tomorrow. Somehow I feel like I probably upped the probabability.

Diet Progress
Eleven days, 9 pounds. I certainly did not help that we went to the Outback tonight and I had a Wallaby Darn (or two).

Parts is Parts
Back in February I ordered some parts from my truck from ChevyDuty. Earlier this week I checked on the order, and the parts were still on back order and the arrival date had slipped again. Yesterday I received a coupon in the mail from YearOne for 20% off my next order (if placed within 10 days).

I decided to call up Year One and if the parts I wanted were in stock I would cancel my previous order. Today I called Chevy Duty to cancel. Fortunately for them, they were unable to cancel the order because they had shipped it out earlier in the afternoon. A little bit later I even received a UPS tracking number in the mail. I guess I can use the coupon to buy the patch panel for the other side.

More L6278
This is the message that reminded me I never finished up the post on the harddrive controller chip swap.

Hi Rick,
I found your blog while doing a search for an L6278. I laughed when I read your story about what happened to you and your hard drive. Not because you lost data, but because it’s the exact same story as mine (I feel your pain). I own a Western Digital 80 Gb drive manufactured in 01 that smoked the L6278. Similarily I don't care about the drive, but stupid me, I had 3 years of digital memories on it.
Before searching the internet and finding your blog, I'd gone through the same excersise of locating similar drives with the L6278 chip and swapping drive controllers. Same as you, it didn't work (same drive with different dates = no good). Thankfully I didn't ruin any other drives in the process.
So anyways, you never posted a follow up to your blog after you tried soldering the new IC. I'm very curious to know if it worked and if so, I'll be wanting to try that too! Please let me know your findings as I'd be a very happy person if I could recover my digital photos.
Sincerely,
Drew K

L6278
This is a follow up to a prevous post at the request of a reader (Drew K.) who found my blog while searching for information on the L6268 chip.

After having the L6278 swapped out from the good controller to the one that burnt up, I installed the repaired controller back in the driver. Click click click went the harddrive. But alas, the drive did not work.

My suspicion is that more that just the L6278 was fried. It was not obvious to me what other parts might be damaged.

In the end I had the good chip put back on the good controller. When all was said and done, the good drive was still functional and all my data on the fried drive was lost.

I suspect one of those data retrieval companies could have recovered it but it just wasn't worth the estimate I got.

Today I don't even remember what was on the harddrive. It must have been good stuff though because I spent many hours attempting to get the drive to operate just long enough to back up the data.

While this technique didn't work for me, I have seen a story where a guy swapped controller boards and recovered his data. Good luck.

For the record, quite a few people end up on my site looking for information about this part. L6278 has been in the Monthly Top-10 list of words my site is searched for every single month since I posted that entry.

The dirt is still in the back yard. The truck is still in the garage. The hole is still in the flowerbed. The pipe is still in the hole. The top on the Miata is still down. It is still to cool to be driving with the top down. I am still driving with the top down. Jordan is still playing Age of Empires.

I still don't have anything interesting to post.

Earth Day
Today I had a few more loads of dirt dumped in the backyard, piled up, and spread around. It really looks different out there.

This afternoon I replaced the sprinkler pipe I cracked on Wednesday. There is still a lot of work to do in the flower beds on the sprinkler but it will wait.

I was hoping to get the garage cleaned up this afternoon but just as I got started Jordan asked me to come inside and play Age of Empires with him. This computer game is his obsession of the week. I told him earlier today that I would play it with him, so I dropped everything back on the bench and closed up the shop. Cleanup can wait til tomorrow.

MRC Command 2000
I purchased a used MRC Command 2000 on ebay this evening. For those not in the know, this is an entry level DCC system for model railroading. If you still don't know what I am talking about, go learn about it somewhere else.

I have been thinking about designing and building my own DCC system for a few years and just recently I got motivated enough to resume doing some of the research. I decided it would be prudent to play with a real system before building my own. I got a pretty reasonable deal on ebay so I can probably resell it later and break even. I am currently working on obtaining a factory equipped DCC loco also. These should get some good run time. I expect the kids will enjoy playing with these almost as much as myself. I guess you can call this the obsession of the week.

What's Next?
What's next for the truck? I am considering installing trailer lights on the back of the truck so it can get back on the street. Technically this would not be much of a challenge. There is a lot of wiring work that could be done. I am still considering replacing it all. And building the new harnesses myself. I am amazed at the prices of the aftermarket stuff. After all, stranded 14 gauge wire is only 11 cents a foot at Home Depot.

Today I was going to replace the ignition switch. I gathered it up will all the surrounding parts to head to the parts store. Before leaving I gave it a good once over. My inspection actually shows it to be in pretty good shape. I am not certain that it is original. It appears not to be 30+ years old. What I really need to replace is the wiring connector that mates up to the ignition switch. I don't know if I can find one of those, but I can just connect the individual wires using crimped connected to the spades on the switch. If I go this route I would put heat shrink on each of the wires to protect against shorting. It will be nice to actually be able to start the truck from inside the cab.

The next area really needing work is the bedside fenders. I have been ignoring them since I declared my independence from auto-body collision school. This will give me the opportunity to do a little more welding!

I don't really know what I will do next. We'll just have to wait and see what hits me next time I head out to the garage.

Repairing Terry's dovetailed drawers are probably what I need to be working on.

Another GMC Update
Today I hooked the transmission lines to the radiator, added a few boths to the fenders, and bolted the bed floor on. I also adjusted the timing. Initially I set it it to 4 degrees BTDC but then I remembered I probably have a high performance cam and solid lifters. My neighbor Lott showed me how to set it by listening to the motor when it cranks. I now have a lot more power! Just look at the two black tire marks in the driveway. We tweaked on the idle screw a little too. It is now able to idle at a lower rpm since the timing is closer to perfect. I was told I could back it off a little bit if I wanted to but I would lose a little bit of power.

Before adjusting the timing, I climbed into the engine bay, removed the distributor and adjusted its position. That requires one to turn the oil pump with the distributor removed. This had to be done so that I could twist the distributor further. The vacuum advance thingie was pressed against the intake manifold. Once the oil pump shaft it twisted, the distributor can be reinstalled in an alternate postion without modifying the timing. Perfection.

Last night I installed the hood, front bumper, and outer grill. Today while twisting the distributor I wished I hadn't put the hood on, but all is well that ends well. I also removed the ignition switch. It is messed up (part of the plastic is melted) and needs to be replaced. The local parts store has them for about $15. I will probably keep the same key cylinder in it.

My current plan is to get more of the wiring functional. I am planning on building my own wiring harnesses. The '72 Chevy Chassis Service Manual has a nice schematic of all the trucks wiring.

Diet
Now that is an ugly four letter words. I have been thinking for a few weeks that I should try to lose a few pounds. Each week I would think next week. Sunday I thought next week. Monday morning I decided today is the starting day.

I decided to go the high protein route (low carb). This method was very successful for me about three years ago. Things are going well so far. I have seen the scale drop 9 pounds this week. My orignal goal was only 7. I figure I will probably continue for another week or two. The second week is never as easy or as successful as the first.

And don't forget to drink lots of water. That is the real trick. Just imagine how much extra exercise you get if you have to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes.

Idle Speed


I took the afternoon off to work on the sprinkler system. I managed to get most of my hole dug when I (surprise) it the water line with the shovel. By the time I got the water turned off, my hole was more of a pond. While waiting for the flood to receed, I decided to work on the truck.

I installed the battery tray, heater hoses, and radiator hoses. After filling up the radiator, I cranked it and let it idle in the driveway for an hour. During this time I topped of the transmission fluid, adjusted the timing, topped off the radiator, and eventually cruised up and down the driveway.

After running a few minutes I noticed some smoke. This didn't happen the last two times I cranked it. After a little investigation I found the smoke was coming off the exhaust pipes. After a few minutes it stopped. Theory is that I got some oil or tranny fluid on them at some point and the heat was just burning it off. The smoke is now gone. I guess it didn't get hot enough to smoke the first couple of times.

I also noticed a little water leak on the top radiator hose where it connects to the intake manifold. I tightned the clamp a little. Nope it appears to be coming from between the thermostat housing and the gastket. I will check on that one latter. The leak is just a trickle and it only leaks when the thermostat is open.

Tomorrow is dirt day. I believe that fell in May last year.

And for the record, the truck is actually running in the picture above. After it warmed up, it cranked very easily. Just hit the starter for about a 1.5 seconds and vaaarooom.

GMC Update
Tonight I had two helpers in the garage: David M. and Dwayne "Mr. Goodwrench" W.

We did a little work on the battery box. It was previously held together with parts of a clothes hanger and miscellaneous bits of wire. Now it is held together by a couple of well placed but amateurish welds. We are getting better, slowly.

Besides the battery box welding, we also installed the radiator support and hung the front fenders. I say hung because they are each being held on by 4 bolts apiece. There are still many bolts left to install but four is enough to keep them in place. The radiator is in also.

The next trip to the part store will be to retrieve heater hoses. Hopefully that will be the last of the required parts before I can cruise up and down the driveway.

Oh yeah, just for fun we cranked it again tonight. Thirty more seconds of run time.

One More Time For The Road
Did I mention I got the 305 CSB running yesterday. Last night using the fabulous internet, I determined the correct wiring for the alternator. Tomorrow night I will get it wired in assuming I can to locate some 10 gauge wire. Perhaps a trip to the Home Depot is in my near future.

Here is my new CD along with 161 others being sent out on Saturday from the post office in Brentwood, Tennessee.

I was just checking out the message board on the Choirs site. According to a post there, they shipped the first 162 albums on Saturday. Since I received mine today, mine was one of those. I bet the last u2 cd I got was not even one of the first 162,000 shipped.

No wonder CDDB couldn't tell me what the CD was.

Nobody Gets a Smooth Ride
The new Choir CD, "o how the mighty have fallen", arrived by mail today. Autographed by the band no less. I can actually make out a few of the sigs. Let's see: Tim Chandler, Dan Michales, Marc Byrd . Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong need to work on their penmanship.

The CDDB music database had no idea what the CD was. I think this is the second time ever this has happened. The last time it was a more esoteric album. More esoteric than The Choir.

At this point I would say my favorite song will be We Give, We Take, but there are definitely several other contenders.

This is a good album. Good job guys! It's a fine fun time.

So is it a coincidence that on this album the song "We Give, We Take" starts with "Hello One Two", where as U2's Vertigo started out "Uno dos tres catorce, Hello, Hello". See #14 of 15 Things You didn't know about The Choir. What do you think?

This album just keeps getting better and better. I have been a fan of these guys since '87 when I discovered Chase the Kangeroo. Shovel go deep!

Today's Accomplishments
..did not include washing the Miata. It got pretty dirty on Tuesday. Between the rain and the muddy roads and all the pollen, I would say it is over due for a bath.

Nothing Like The Sun
Today's goal for the truck was to get it running. And I did.

It has been the plan for a few days to verify it would crank before I put the front end back on. Why? Just in case I needed to pull the engine back out.

Why the hoop-la? Because I have been working on it since late October?

At first I just wanted to see the engine turn over. Three wires are all you need. Negative battery terminal to the alternator bracket for grounding. Postive battery terminal to the starter. And one more wire from the switched input on the starter. The third wire when connected to +12V causes the starter to engage. {After the engine starts, don't froget to disconnect the starter wire}

The engine turns over. Good enough. This was basically a repeat of yesterday.

Next I hooked another wire from the battery to the the (BATT) input on the HEI distributor. This is the wire that provides power to the distributor. The distributor cranks up the voltage and directs it to a plug. Cool, now the plugs are sparking.

Next, fuel. To get fuel to the carb, I had to prime the fuel line from the tank to the pump. To make this a little easier, I added a few gallons to the tank. A little gas was pump in the carb to help turn the engine over. After a few spins the pump was supplying the gas.

During all this time, the timing was close but not quite right. I had set the initial timeing using my best guess. Considering this was first attempt things worked out well. My neighbor Lott played with the timing a little bit. We managed to advance the timing too much. That means a ball of fire comes shooting out of the carb. Fortunately he had some experience with this and new to put the lid on the air filter before attempting to start it. This causes the fire to go back out due to a lack of oxygen.

We saw fire 3 times. The first time when we had the time advanced just a little bit. He adjusted it a little be more {in the wrong direction} and we saw more fire. Working in the other direction, we eventually found that we had retarded the timing so much that we found flame again.

It turns out my initial timing was probably pretty close, but it didn't crank, probably because we had it flooded.

When it did finally start, it ran very smoothly. Lott was very impressed. I was ecstatic.

I only let it run for about 30 seconds. Here is why. First we were running off a weak battery. I have not yet hooked the alternator back up. We were not using any of the stock wiring, just the four wires I described above. The old wiring is in really bad shape and needs to be replaced.

Second, I have not installed the radiator yet. Without the radiator, there is also no coolant, or hoses, etc. I had been advised that this would be safe as long as I kept runtime under a minute.

It turns out I need to hookup two more wires to get the alternator hooked in. I found the information I needed here. The great thing about these old Chevys is that when I need some info, there are lots of sites providing technical details. These sites include pages devoted to Chevelles, Cameros, Corvettes, Impalas, Nomads, Bel Aires, and even old trucks. Some of these may not have started out with a small block, but someone is always busy dropping one in.

For several hours I have been trying to decide which title I would use for this entry. Here are a few of my options:

1) Sweet
2) It's Alive

And here is the one I decided to go with:

Great Balls of Fire

At approximately 4:00 pm today I successfully cranked the '72 GMC. Yep, you read it right. More details to come.

This was a huge event for me.

Three Amigos


This is my new desktop image courtesy of Dan Rasp.

I just discovered the banana smoothie. :)

It's A Muscial Journey Really
I got a chance this morning to watch my new DVD from Amazon. I have probably only seen this movie once in the last ten years. It is still very engaging. Makes me want to get out my guitar and pretend I can play for a while.

It still gives me chills when the screen turns red at the beginning of Where The Streets Have No Name. I want to run...



During the song When Love Comes To Town, I believe I spotted my Sister and iMike in the audience.

Now I need to watch the Elevation Tour and U2 - Go Home, Live At Slane Castle again DVDs again. I last watched both of these in November.

There are a few more U2 concert videos I would like to have but they are only available on VHS. I sure wish they would release Under A Blood Red Sky on DVD.

Now where is that new Choir CD I ordered last month? They must be busy autographing it for me.

Several months ago when it seemed to rain for forty days and forty nights, the water from the creek behind our house rose. This year due to my previous dirt obsession, the water did not cover as much of the yard.

As usual, when the water is up, all sorts of junk gets washed into my back yard: milk jugs, bits of syrofoam, plasic soda bottles, and the neighbors fence.

Thats right, part of the neighbors fence. The year before when it flooded part of this particular fence was pushed over by the rushing water. It was damaged so they decided to replace it. The folks upstream from them decided the fence panel would make a nice bridge and proceeded to do so. They even added some nice steel cables to reinforce it.

This year it showed up in my backyard. No one ever came looking for it. After a couple of weeks, I pulled it out of the trees. After setting in the yard for a few months I finally decided they weren't coming for it. This evening I dismantled it and placed the boards in the back of my truck, rusty nails and all. This weekend I will find a final resting ground for it.

If you have any junk in your yard, and it rains really hard and get washed away, please be considerate and go retrieve it.

In other news, the bull dozers are working on the lot behind us. From what I understand we will soon be infested with a bunch of new Town Homes. I am hoping for some in the $500,000 dollar range. That should keep the rif-raf out and raise my property value. Personally, I have never seen a 500k town home, but it could happen.

Zoom, zoom, zoom went the Miata with the top down.

GMC or Chevy?
I have made a decision. I have been thinking about this for several months. As I have said before my truck has a bit of an identity crisis. It was orignally a GMC but it currently looks to be a Chevy.

At some point the truck was involved in a collision. The front end must have been pretty well smashed up because the entire front end was replaced. The front cross member was not replaced but it is pretty well banged up. When I say the entire front end I mean the inner and outter grill, the radiator support, the left and right inner and outer fenders, the front bumper, and the front bumper brackets. {Technically the front bumper brackets were removed and never replaced.} Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, the hood.

So what did I decided? I decided to acquire a front end from a GMC truck to put on my truck. The current front end is part 71 and part 72 Chevy. What will I get? Well it depends on what I can find at the salvage yard. The price will probably run between $200 and $250 based on a quote I got a few months ago. That included the salvage yard workers removing the parts from the old truck. Imagine what it would cost to replace all that on your car.

I suspect I will put this off for a few months but it is never to early to start planning.

If my memory serves me correctly, any GMC front end from 67-72 should fit ok. I am torn between trying to find a 67-68 because of the sloped hood or looking for a 72 because that is what it came with. I will let you know more once I decide or whenever fate makes the decision for me.

Plenty of Fluids
As for the list below, I forgot to itemize pouring in the transmission and power steering fluid. The oil has already been introduced and the oil pump has been primed. For the record, I decided to try out a synthetic blend oil. I think it was Castrol. I am also considering switching the Miata to Mobile 1 when the next change rolls around. My neighor speaks very highly of it as do a few others I know.

Chevy II Duty

Way back in February, I mentioned that I had ordered some sheet metal for the GMC from Chevy Duty. I am still waiting. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if the million dollars showed up in the mail first. Fortunately I have wireless connectivity so I can blog from the curb.

Yellow
The pollen is very heavy this year. My truck is changing colors and the Miata dash has to be dusted everyday.

GMC Update
Tonights shop time seemed productive. We hooked the second exhaust pipe up to the exhaust manifold. Also tightened the carb down and hooked up the vacuum lines and accelerator cable. Put the engine at TDC (top dead center).

Whats left?
1. Install the distributor cap.
2. Put the belts on.
3. Radiator support, radiator, hoses, and transmission coolant lines.
4. Connect fuel line to pump.
5. The secondary vacuum thingy.
6. Connect switched starter wire.
7. That other wire that goes to the distributor cap.
8. What else am I forgetting?

So here is a question. How long can an engine run with out any coolant/water with out causing damage to the block? Assuming this is possible, I could delay step 3 until after the engine has cranked.

David M is certain that it will run, just not sure how smooth it will be running. I suspect my neighbor can help resolve that.

MPG
Yesterday on the way home from church, G said something like "Perhaps I should get a car that gets better gas mileage." She drives a Tahoe. It gets better MPG than my truck, but not much better.

(I am betting gas will hit $3.00 per gallon before long).

About a block later, I had the solution. There on the side of the road sat a mid-60's Mustang convertable, for sale.

It probably doesn't get better gas mileage but unlike most cars, you could drive it and it would appreciate in value. We didn't stop and look at it. How could I? She was absolutely right when she said "Where could you park it?" I bet I could get it in the garage if we parked it sideways in front of the Miata. I wonder if it is still there? Surely it couldn't be any worse of an investment than QQQQ or VFIN.

Three-Oh!-Eight
This morning as I was driving up my street, I yielded for a red car to pull out in front on my red car. My red car has the top down. This red car had the top open, though I wouldn't say it was down. It was kind of a t-top though not necessarily T.

At first I thought this car was an Acura NSX. A guy on the next street over has a red NSX. This was not the NSX. Another guy on the next street has a 2005 triple black Viper. This definitely wasn't a Viper. Nor was it one of the local Corvettes.

This one was a Ferrari 308 GTS. Who are all these guys and where do they work?

More Network Problems
How is this for a little variety. Tonight I had network connectivy, but I couldn't access Blogger's site. This is not the same as not having internet access or internet access with blogger but being unable to post. What's going on?

Plain White Toast
A friend of mine says he likes Cracker Barrell alot! So much so that he always orders the same breakfast when he is there. I don't recall if it is Uncle Hershels or the Old Timer but you get the idea. I have mentioned to him in the past that they have a pretty good Burger and reasonable onion rings. He is a big fan of onion rings also. Today he said he would have to go to CB several times in a single week if he were ever going to be able to try the onion rings. Sounds like a challenge.

Tomorrow we planning a trip to the local CB. I will be having the burger perhaps. He will be having his usual breakfast with plain White toast.

The Wednesday plan is another trip to CB. I will perhaps have ham and biscuits or possibly the meat loaf. He will probably have his usual breakfast with plain White toast.

For Thursday we are planning a trip to CB. Perhaps I will have bacon and eggs or maybe Chicken Fried Steak. Perhaps he will finally have some onion rings. And plain White toast.

One time at CB when they asked for a name to put on the list, I responded "White".

"White like the color?"

"No white like the trash." He is fortunate enough to have the last name White and gets to be the butt of the joke often enough.

Plans for Friday do not include a trip to CB. That would be crazy. It would take forever to get a table at the Cracker Barrell on a Friday. Perhaps we could get some food to go and take it to the park. The trailer park.

And then next week we will all go on a diet.

Rattle and Hum
I received a package in the mail today from Amazon. I ordered a book and a DVD. The DVD is U2's Rattle and Hum. Not the album, but the DVD. I just happened to notice Amazon had it for $11.24. I couldn't resist.

The first time I saw the movie was the summer it was released. The theater was not packed when I saw it. Let's just say I knew almost everyone there. I was there with my girlfriend. Her name was Kim. There was only one other couple in the theather. While sitting waiting for the show to start I realized I recognized the laugh of the other guy. It was Wade T of Presence Fame. He was a big U2 fan also. (His car tag "U2 WAR" named after the U2 album of the same name.) I didn't know his date. That was the entire crowd. I thought it was a great show. I don't think my girl friend really cared for it. Probably not his either.

Just in case you didn't notice, the book has a fairly long name: Joel on Software: And on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters That Will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those Who, Whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity. Say that three times fast.

I started reading the book. Sounds pretty interesting huh? Two chapters already, so far two thumbs up.

My internet access has been spotty for the last two days. This is worse than blogger not posting. This is not being able to get to blogger. No telling how many insightful statements you missed.

Monday I decided that I had graduated from the auto-body class. Four class sessions remained but it was going to be all shop time. Given that the learning curve had flattened out, I decided Tuesday evenings would be better spent at home working on the truck in my garage.

Tuesday evening David M came by to loosen the lugs on his Miata. They had been over tightened the last time they were rotated. Using a 4' pipe on the end of the lug wrench solved the problem. He had other commitments, made by his wife, so he couldn't stay for the evening session.

Mr. Dwayne W., aka Magic Hammer, aka Mr. Goodwrench, came by. I believe he and Creg have both graduated as well. I offered to let them take my fenders with them if they wanted to continue to go to class.

Tuesday I sand blasted the 2nd exhaust manifold and then painted it. After Dwayne showed up, we connected the first exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe.

Next we began working on getting the initial distributor timing set. Unfortunately we were unable to turn the crank shaft. Deja vu! The first problem found was that the started seemed to be installed crooked. The starter housing was somehow pressed against the flex plate. The started was removed and about that time we called it a night. The clock in the garage said 8:10 pm but it hadn't been adjusted for DST. I had forgotten about that so I was surprised to see it was almost 9:30 pm when I got inside.

vsftp
Note to self: Things to check next time Blogger quits working with my FTP server.

vsftp - Ok the problem was that my public IP address changed earlier this week.

It was xx.xxx.xxx.183 and it is now xx.xxx.xxx.155.

Vsftp requires my IP address to be in

/etc/vsftp.conf

pasv_address = xx.xxx.xxx.155

Also make sure the passive port range is being forwarded correctly by the firewall.

pasv_min_port=
pasv_max_port=

Find out more about vsftp here.

Hi Rick
Today I got an email from another Rick A. Martindale. This guy is the CEO of Wunderbar. He mentioned that he found me while Googling himself. It turns out I am once again showing up on Googles search results.

Patent Search
While looking at the search results I noticed something interesting on Fresh Patents.

What is it you ask? A Patent Application Description for some stuff I worked on while at Teracruz. The application was for Patent for "System and Method for Query Result Caching". And yes, that is me listed on the inventors list.

The link is here.

Please Standy By
My blog entries are still not posting. I put up an alternate page today. Hopefully I will determine whats going wrong shortly.

Regarding Spell Checking, Or A Lack Thereof

"I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way." -Twain

We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by.

Instant Gratification
Or rather, a lack thereof. I signed up with Gravatar. Who knew I would have to wait to have my image approved?

More Sand Please
This afternoon I sandblasted all the surface fust off of one of the exahaust manifolds. Next I welded up one a hole. This hole was for heat risers and had previously been welded shut but I opened it back up last week while grinding off some excess metal.

After welding it shut and grinding it smooth, I put a couple of coats on high temperature silver paint on it. Looks pretty good. Unfortunately I ran out of play sand so I only got the one side done. I went ahead an installed it with some new grade 8 steel bolts.

Earlier in the day I spent an hour learning a little bit about metal shaping from a guy who lives a few miles away. He makes english wheels for a living. He had a very impressive setup. I learned a lot.

Yesterdays wind has ended. Today it was calm and warm, until I hit third gear. Then it was just warm.

The dishwasher over flowed yesterday. The kitchen floor was soaked. Unfortunately the carpet in the hall got its fair share too. The dishwasher repairman has already made three trips. It looks like we will be seeing this guy again.

Creg and I went to get a Ford 5 liter engine and transmission to test fit into this truck. I loaned him the hoist. Good to see it getting some additional use ($$$ well spent).

After we got back to his house, we hung the engine and dropped it in. It looks like he will probably be removing frame cross members and replacing them with two new members in alternate locations. It looked like a good fit.

While picking up the engine this morning, I met a real nice guy with a Porsche Cayenne twin turbo. He happened to mention that its cost was just $140 (k). The just is what tickled me. It was a nice vehicle, but I think I would probably find several others I would rather have for that amount.

The Voodoo arrived on Tuesday. As I was driving to work on Wednesday, I remembered that I had forgotten about it. Thursday evening, I put it in. I even snapped a few shots.

Today there was only an 80% change of rain. Since it was only misting, I went ahead and drove in to work with the top down. Am I imagining things or does the Miata have better traction in the rain now?

The car has been running very nice since the exhaust leak was resolved. I think the only real problem right now is that the tires seem to be getting square. Perhaps more time on the road would solve this.

Rain, rain, go away,
Come again on Monday.

Tomorrow morning I am going with Creg K. to see Kevin S.'s shop. Creg is borrowing a Ford V8 5.0L engine and transmission from Kevin. His plan is to test fit the modern setup in his 1953 Ford pickup. He is currently trying to work out the details of what needs to be done to the cross members and check the clearance with the firewall.

The Voodoo has Landed
G' just told me I got a package today. I hear those things add 20% HP and cure baldness.

The Weather is Here, Wish you were Beautiful
Did I get that wrong? Sorry.

I couldn't help myself: http://miataville.ods.org/blog.html

Tonight in autobody class, a guy named Tom painted his mid-60's Mustang bright red. It sure looked nice. I didn't make much progress on my fenders, we were all watching the paint shoot.

Mr. Rice drove is '68 Camero to class. I wish I had my camera tonight. Several sharp looking cars to see.

It occurred to me that I have recycled titles a few times. Anyone noticed?

Is it time for another weekend yet?

I have been spending a lot of time recently reading a the 1967-1972 Chevy Truck Forums. Lots of knowledge regarding Chevy/GMC trucks being shared there.

I have also been avidly reading the MetalMeet forum. Metal shaping is the topic here. I discovered today that there will be a weekend meet just a couple miles away in Harvest, AL in May.

When there is time leftover, I also read the AutoBody 101 forums.

Did I mention the two Miata forums?

Ok, there are three others also. They are car related also.

How in the world do I ever find the time to get anything done?

Notes on tomorrow: dentist in the morning, auto-body class in the evening. Expecting clear skys and 75 degrees. Welcome to Miataville. Sounds like a good name for a blog.

Inside, Outside, Upside down

This photo was taken back in December 2004. The photo was taken inside my garage with the door open. The engine block is mounted to the engine stand. The block is shown here upside down. This photo was taken after the pistons were re-installed.

I am not certain whether this photo was taken after I re-installed them the first time, the second time, the third time, or the fouth time.

Empty Nest
All the guests have gone home. It's just the four of us now.

Weekly Status Report
I finished tapping out the holes on the exhaust manifolds today. Where are the pictures?

I finally tried out the Mig today. The first weld didn't look very good. Then I remembered I forgot to turn the gas on. The next one looked much better. Where are the pictures?

I opened the homebrew Friday afternoon. I shared the bottle with my brother-in-law and father-in-law. One 12 oz. bottle doesn't go very far. It was pretty good stuff. No pictures, sorry.

Chevy Small Block
This is what happened when I decided to fix the oil leak.

Shovel Go Deep
The Choir has a new album coming out next month. I ordered mine yesterday. Supposedly I will receive a band autographed copy for preordering.

I Was Wrong
Mod One

Stubborn as a Well Digger in a Witches ...
Yes, I could have let my fingers do the walking but I selected not to. Today the web site finally allowed me to order my Voodoo. I selected the Voodoo Pearl Magnum Shift Knob . It turns out I am in good company on this one.

Technically this is mod #1 if you don't count all the water spot paint conditioning work I did last year.

Gmail Notifier
I finally got around to installing Google's Gmail Notifier today. It is a very pleasant feature. It just informed me that I had received an email message from Performance Buyers Club. I wonder what that could be about.

Three Words
Ground Fault Interrupt.

I have given up this hobby. It turns out I had one too many. Hard to believe, huh.

Spring Break
Brianna wants to know why I have to go to work during spring break. I want to know also.

Eighty percent chance or rain today, actually heavy storms. I drove to work and back today with the top down. I did put the top up while I was at work. Had I not, the car would be full of water.

Shop time tonight was a total fiasco. Someday perhaps I will tell the GFI story. That day is not today. David's Miata apparrently has an oil leak. Did I mention the GFI? Nevermind.

We have 5 house guests this week. That was a whole lot of people watching The Incredibles tonight.

C25
I finally got around to buying a bottle of gas for my Mig. It contains 75% argon and 25% co2. Very exciting, eh. It's almost time to run a bead.

Class was canceled for tomorrow night due to spring break. Cancelled class is the perfect reason to have a little shop time. Tomorrow night: Madision County Wood Workers Guild/Miata Club.

I tried to order the Voodoo again this morning and again this evening. I guess if I really want it, I will need to let my fingers do the walking.

Note to self: replace the GFI in the shop.

Random Links
Well not actually that random.

I came across this via slashdot. And then I read this one. I would link you to the main page but it contained words of questionable spelling. Ok, ok, here it is, but cover your eyes.

I hope you don't waste too much time there.

Bone Yard
The trip to Pitts near Athens occurred on Saturday. David M rode along. We took the Miata running with the top down. The trip to the salvage yard was unfruitful, meaning I didn't bring home any goodies. They had more than a dozen trucks of my era, including one short wheel base which was yellow. I wondered if it was a DOT truck.

I found several cars that I felt David couldn't live without. He must not have felt the same way. He didn't by a single one.

Rides on interest. Late 60's 3 door suburban, one VW beetle, and an old International truck with the top removed.

I was looking for exhuast manifolds. They had roughly 15. All left side. I wondered what happened to all the right side manifolds. That was odd. I was also on the look out for inner grills, side mirrors, and anything else interesting. It didn't occur to me at the time but I should have been looking at the leaf springs as well.

We looked for Miatas also. Not a single one out there.

The Miata is running very nicely now. It sounds so much better with the exhaust all buttoned up. Zoom zoom.

VooDoo
I tried to order a Voodoo knob tonight. I have been considering this purchase for most of the last year. Once I finally decided to move forward with it, the first three web sites I tried either had quit selling them or were having server problems. Maybe tomorrow.

House Guests
We are expecting 5 house guests this week. Ginger's brother and his family are driving down from Maryland to spend a few days here. Expected arrival: Tuesday afternoon, Departure: Sunday. It will be an interesting week.

Ring Ring
Last night the phone rang. I don't normally answer it but the CID said it was iMike calling from Austin. Very unexpected call. It was good to hear from you Mike. Now I know what I can do with my left over cell phone minutes.

Truck Update
Today I installed the alternator. And the radiator support. And the radiator.

Because I had been so unsuccessful looking for exhaust manifolds, I decided to try to repair the ones I have. Each has 3 bolts that connect the output to the exhaust pipes. One bolt was missing. The remaining five had no threads to speak of. They also seemed to be permanently attached to the manifold.

I had been spraying the bolts everyday for the last week with penetrating oil. The effort was wasted. I tried to remove two bolts. I twisted these two bolts in half. Finally I decided to re-tap the holes. This required cutting off the remaining bolts, drilling a hole thru the manifold where the original hole was, and finally tapping the hole (re-threading it). Today I managed to get all six holes drilled out and two re-tapped. So good so far. It appears these manifolds will work out all right. I should have snapped a few pic's of the process but I didn't. It was very interesting though. I felt as if I had really accomplished something.

Sunday Afternoon Driver
And to close out the weekend, when G' got home from work this evening I went out for a quick spin in the Miata. It was a bit cool again. Nice ride though, even with the barn doors open.

Did I mention that David's Miata came with a hard top? I will definitely have to try it out.

Today's entry was not spell checked, proof read, or hyperlinked!

One Year
Earlier this week I started wondering when I got the Miata last year. This morning I decided to check the blog archive. Well it turns out I got the Miata on March 19, 2005 which was a Friday last year. I recall I made the offer on the car from my cell phone from my shop during the weekly Thursday night woodworking session. (It has since moved to Tuesday and been put on hold for the auto body class.)

So today happens to be March 19th also. This calls for a celebration. What better way to celebrate than to take it for a drive today with the top down. Assuming the weather cooperates I am driving over to Athens today to visit a boneyard.

The weather forecast is high or 58F, 50% chance of rain. That also means 50% chance of no rain!

Home Brewsky
Mike E. from work has created some homemade beer. He offered to bring me a bottle so I accepted. David E. and I made some in the past. Some were good -Indian Pale Ale. Some were toxic - an extra stout come to mind. Yesterday I found a bottle hiding under the seat in the Miata. (I moved it to the trunk for transporation and placed it in the fridge for chilling down after I got home.) David M's Miata was parked next to mine. I saw a bottle under his seat as well. I considered acquiring his bottle but then thought better of it. It this stuff turns out to be rocket fuel, I definitely don't want to drink two bottles. I plan to open 'er up this afternoon. If this is my last entry, you know what got me!

Cheesey
Grandma is taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese today to celebrate Grandpa's Birthday. I have passed on the invitation for myself. The Miata beckons.

Spring Park, September 2004

Bondo Baby

Green With Envy
iMike got his truck running today. I wish I had mine running. It is also St. Patties day.

Breath Deeply
This evening I took the heat shield off the exhaust manifold on the Miata. I also had to move the K&N filter. I looked around but didn't see any cracks in the exhaust manifold. Next I cranked her up and felt around in there. I found it! Or rather felt the air flow, and then saw the problem.

The Miata sure has a lot of stuff packed in tightly under the hood.

On the 2nd exhaust port from the back, the manifold connects to a tube. The tube sneaks behind the engine and disappears. The nut connecting the tub to the manifold had come loose and slid down the tub. I connected it back. Hand tightened and then used a pair of plyers to give it another twist. I didn't have a metric wrench big enough to fit it. Assuming I had one the handle would have been to long.

The heat shield is held in place by a handful of 10 mm bolts and 3 nuts. The heat had really affected the bolts. I twisted the head off of one will removing it and off another while reinstalling it. A previous owner had already removed the head from yet another. It should be fun removing the headless bolts and putting new ones it. It is fortunate that the bolts connect to tabs with thru holes. I can probably spin them out the back. Hopefully.

No more exhaust leak.

The car is clean, the top is down, and the tires are shiney (sp?). It is ready to roll and it did for just a few minutes this evening. I wish it was warmer.

Hello, Hello, Hola
I just tried out a feature of Picasa 2 which allows me to upload photos to my blog directly from Picasa. It uses something called Hello. It attachs a goofy icon to the entry. I will have to play with this some more before I decide if I like it.

Anyone counted the number of times I have used that title since November?

Miata Mod
I have recently been struck by a strong urge to mod the Miata. I have been thinking a Voodoo would be nice. I also like the idea of a Big Red Button. Today I came up with another idea, and this was is easy and inexpensive. Actually I can't believe I have not seen someone do it already. The idea is to mimic the rear view mirror in the MiataSpeed, meaning, to paint the front of it to match the body color, red! Instead of the MiataSpeed logo though, I would probably use a Zoom Zoom decal, assuming I could find one with the right size font.

Brian, Have you considered doing this one? Also have you painted your brake calipers?

I think it is now official. David M. is the owner of a new to him 1991 Mazda Miata, black. New seat covers are in his future. His windows are slower than mine so I suspect he, or we, will be lubing those up in the near future.

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain falling on the roof. Hmmm. That rain sounds 'heavy'. When I looked outside I discovered the heavy rain was actually sleet. The recent warm weather brought a few flowers. Does this look odd to you? 

Truck Update
Today I re-installed the power steering pump and connected it to the steering gear box.

A little body work was done prior to the power steering pump. Picture this: Me in the back yard with the bed side up on saw horses. After one application of paint stripper, I switched to the speed sander. And finally in an effort to speed up the removal of the bondo, I switched to some old wood-working tools. A hammer and a chisel. Very effective if your trying to remove 0.250 to 0.500 inches of bondo. Be careful not to scratch the beat up metal with the chisel though. Mr. Wallen can pound the dents out on Tuesday, if I don't beat him to it.

I also quizzed the neighor about setting the distributor timing.

Miata Update
Today the weather started out nice. By the time I finished all of the above, the clouds had rolled in and it started to get cooler. I went ahead and washed the Miata even though rain was likely. I had two helpers. I estimate all the help only doubled the amount of time it took to wash the car. I sure am glad we weren't washing the Dodge. That thing is so big we would still be out there washing.

I must admit that I was inspired to wash the Miata by the presence of another Miata.

Miata Update - Part II
David M. came by with a '91 he is probably going to buy. I had offered to drive it to compare it with mine. He also took mine for a spin. The '91 has a 1.6 liter so mine feels like it has a little more power. The '91 is black. It has a rollbar. His paint is faded worse than mine. The driver seat cover is worn out but his plan is to replace it. Besides the rollbar, there are a few other mods. Non-factory shift and brake handle. Also chrome scuff plates (These could be factory, but I don't have them on mine). Finally, the wheels are not factory. But best of all, he is getting a killer price! No more living vicariously though Rick.

Aliens
Jordan had to do a project for school. For the project he made an alien out of a brown paper bag complete with yellow yarn, red pipe cleaners, and some glued on plastic eyes. He also wrote a story to go along with the alien:

My alien's name is Mr. Funny. He likes to scare people. He was discovered when he was camping. He was discovered on Pluto. People want to learn more about him.

Jordan

Were else are you going to go for prose like those.

It was a beautiful day!

I had a little shop time today. I used to work towards getting the truck running again. I started by reinstalling the transmission shift linkage. Next I cleaned the rocker covers and dropped them on. And then a new hard fuel line from the fuel pump to the carb. I also began installing new hard lines from the transmission to the radiator. I got the back end hooked up but the radiator is not installed so the front end was left hanging. Installed a new thermostat and the freshly painted housing. The carb is back on top now as well. Finally the water pump is back in place. I still have a lot to do though I suspect completion is still weeks if not months away.

And because the weather is so nice, I definitely will need to get out tomorrow with the top down. G will be working tomorrow afternoon so it will be late in the day before I get clearance for take off.

And for the record, I went to class Tuesday night. The teacher said he wasn't going to be demo'ing anything so I came home. That was the day I decided I was coming down with a cold.

Today I felt pretty good while I was outside today, but now, not so much. All the more reason to head back outside tomorrow.

Still looking for a package from Chevy Duty. It will be two weeks tomorrow since the order was placed. Year One is having a sell. Perhaps I should cancel my order and re-order from them. Can you spell patience? I can, but apparrently I don't have any.

Now I am off to reseach how to set the timing on an engine. I know how to get the engine to top dead center (TDC), but I am not certain how to setup the distributor.

Thanks to everyone that provided me advice on how to set the choke and throttle while starting a small engine. The best part is when I forget again, I can Google my blog and find the answer.

As usual, I did not proof read or spell check this entry. Consistency is everything.

This space sure has been quite this week. I have been a bit under the weather. It doesn't help that it is cold and rainy.

G is at work and I am ready to go to sleep (7:06pm) but I need to stay up til the kids go to bed. Oh my head!

Tomorrow it is suppose to hit 60 with no chance of rain. Perhaps I will lay in the driveway and soak up some vitamin D.

Too Many Toys
Today I tried out the sand blaster. Woo hoo! It sure can make rust disappear.

I didn't get around to trying out the mig. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe.

This afternoon was warm and sunny. I setup some sawhorses in the backyard and applied some paint stripper to the fenders. I even took some pictures. As usual, they are still in the camera.

I also had an opportunity to take the Miata out for a spin. It certainly needs to be washed. It did not happen today. It also needs an oil change.

Still waiting on that order from ChevyDuty.

Yesterday, I hooked the driveshaft back up. Before putting it in place, I degreased and cleaned it up. Clean enough to eat off of. I couldn't get any volunteers.

Let the welding begin. Last weekend I ordered a Mig Welder. Today it showed up in a box marked HEAVY. And it is.

It has been a week since the Miata left the garage. Tuesdays have been relegated to the truck while I am taking the auto-body class. That only leaves Thursdays and weekends. Well normally, but G worked today, so it stayed home. On the bright side, and by that I mean 60 degrees, I will be in the Miata tomorrow. And hopefully the sun will stay out long enough to get a little top down time in.

Today on the way home from work I saw a very nice 1968 SWB Stepside Chevy Pickup. (The 67-68 has the slanted hood, the 69-72 does not. The 68 has side markers, the 67 does not.) It was powder blue with a white top and white bumpers. It appeared to be in very good shape.

A guy at work thinks I need to build an AC Corbra. Don't know where I would park it.

I am still waiting on the fender panel.

Chevy Duty
Last night I order a few parts for my truck. This is probably the first of many orders to come over the next few years. I have often thought of ordering side view mirrors but it already has some. They are very ugly though.

First I order some hardware. Namely, head light adjustment screws and springs.

Second I ordered a rear fender patch panel. What this means is I will be cutting a rusty piece out of the side of the truck, roughly 14" by 34" and welding the new piece in. This should be fun. Hopefully I will remember to snap some pictures so that I can forget to post them.

Here is a pic of a new patch panel. $17.95


Here is a full fender. (not to scale) The yellow rectangle indicates where the patch panel belongs.


And my rusty fender. I left the image small so that we wouldn't be overwhelmed by the whole in the fender.


I ordered the stuff from Chevy Duty. I have catalogs for several companies that sell this stuff. The choice for which company to get it from came down to the value on the bottom line. Per my research, most of these companies are selling parts all made in the same factory.

As you can probably guess, I decided against getting another plug after it started.

A few weeks ago I needed to use the pressure washer to assist in the de-greasing process. Myself, David M., and neighbor Lott all tried to get the thing to start. Lott knows more about these things than David and I. He judged it was either flooded or needed a new plug. Seems pretty obvious. I ended up borrowing his that day because mine was being such a pain.

Saturday, because it was nice and I was messing with spark plugs anyway, I decided to write down the part number of the spark plug that goes in my pressure washer. The engine is a 5.5 HP Honda. The pressure washer is a Cambell Hausfeld. I am pretty sure I spelled that wrong. After writing down the part number, I decided to try to crank it. First pull! Guess it was flooded last time.

At this point two stroke engines are more of a mystery to me than four stroke. The whole thing with setting the choke, etc. Anyone want to explain to me yet again how that is all suppose to work.

This pressure washer has not been very reliable. It tends not to want to run when I need it. This is actually the second one. The first one never would crank. At all! I returned it the same day and got another one. I should have known better.

Seriously though. When trying to start one of these beasts how should the throttle and choke be set and when should they be changed and how do you keep from flooding it and how do you keep from killing it.

Awaiting your reply.

You Are Here
For the life of me I can't remember anything interesting to say about Friday.

Saturday morning I replaced the other 7 spark plugs. The truck is running nice and smooth. I still haven't borrowed a vacuum gauge to determine if the intake gasket is blown. I suspect it is base on the way the oil has been disappearing. Still going at a rate of about 1 quart per 1000 miles.

Ah, It all comes back to me now. Friday I went back to Advanced Auto to get them to clear the check engine light. I also picked up another spark plug. When I got home Thursday night, I only had 7 plugs. Who knows what happened to the 8th one. Perhaps it got left on the counter.

I acquired a 40 lb pressurized sand blasting tank on Saturday. I put it together yesterday afternoon. I hoped to acquire some sand this afternoon but it was cold and rainy so I didn't venture out. The first thing to be blasted will the the inner fender wells from the truck.

I tried some paint stripper on the bed side yesterday. Did I mention how many coats of paint are on that thing. Timewise the paint stripper is no faster than a high speed sander with a 24 grit disc. As for elbow grease I am uncertain. The first half hour you stand around and watch the paint bubble up. The second half hour you scrape and scrape and scrape. The instructions said to use a plastic scraper. After about 2 minutes the plastic scraper had softened and become worthless. I then switched to a metal scraper. I will miss the plastic scrapper. It has served me well for several years for applying wood putty to brad nail holes in furniture, cabinets, etc. The metal scrapper was previously used to remove gaskets from a Chevy small block. The handle on it broken so it will be moving on as well, but not until most of the paint scraping is done. Think duct tape.

[insert witty joke here]

[VERBOSE = ON]

Misfire

Last August I had a problem with my truck. (see Hard Drivin' 2). I will get back to this in a paragraph or two.

Yesterday when I got in the truck to head out for lunch, the Check Engine light came on. The engine was running rough and concensus from the peanut gallery said the engine was missing. What could this be? A bad plug, a bad plug wire, distributor cap, bad sensor, bad computer. Who knows?

I called my mechanic on the way home and left a message saying I would be dropping the truck off this morning. This morning I dropped the truck off at 7:15 am. A sign on the door said, "Don't drop off your vechicle without calling first." I had already called and the truck was running rough so I left it there anyway.

David M drove me back home and I took the Miata out for the day. Cool and cloudy, top up.

I never got a call back from the shop. I suspect they must be on vacation. I went back by this evening and picked it back up. It is barely driveable. It gets really rough if the speed gets up around 35 or 40 mph. The check engine light flashes if you go over 40.

I Googled today for Dodge RAM 1500 engine missing 40 mph shakes hoping to get some insight on what to do to resolve exactly what the problem was. I found something interesting I will share with you in a moment.

Tonight I drove the truck to the parts store. They hooked up the computer and reported "misfire on cyclinder #8". This is one of those moments when I actually begin to love computers again. The problem seems to be narrowed down to either a plug, wire, or cap. The cheap-skate in me says, I will try the plugs and see what happens from there. Home again. I replaced the plug in #8. It runs smooth now. Only 15 minutes of effort. The light is still on but I think perhaps this is something they will have to reset. I will replace the remaining plugs this weekend.

Now why is this plug bad? It could be because of excess oil in that cylinder. Remember last August? This is what I found today. It should be easy to test. I just need to borrow the neighbors vacuum gauge.

Technical Service Bulletin

Engine - Spark Knock/Oil Consumption
NUMBER: 09-05-00
GROUP: Engine
DATE: Feb.25, 2000
MODELS:
1994 - 1999 (AB) Ram Van
1994 - 1999 (AN) Dakota
1994 - 1999 (BRIBE) Ram Truck
1998 - 1999 (DN) Durango
1994 - 1998 (ZJ) Grand Cherokee
1996 - 1998 (ZG) Grand Cherokee
THIS BULLETIN SUPERSEDES TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN 09-06-99,
DATED SEP.10, 1999, WHICH SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM YOUR FILES. THIS
IS A COMPLETE REVISION AND NO ASTERISKS HAVE BEEN USED TO
HIGHLIGHT REVISIONS.
SUBJECT:
Spark Knock And Engine Oil Consumption Due To Intake Manifold Pan Gasket Oil
Leak
OVER VIEW:
This bulletin involves the replacement of the engine intake manifold plenum pan gasket.
NOTE: THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH A 3.9L, 5.2L.
OR 5.9L GASOLINE ENGINE.
SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
An engine intake manifold plenum pan gasket oil leak may occur on some V-6 and V-8
style engines. The oil leak is internal to the engine so no external oil leakage will be
present. Two symptoms of this oil leak condition may be present. The vehicle operator
may experience an engine spark knock during acceleration and/or an increase in the
amount of engine oil consumed by the engine.
DIAGNOSIS:
Make sure Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 18-48-98 has been performed.
NOTE: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE COIL AND SPARK PLUG WIRES ARE
ROUTED EXACTLY AS SPECIFIED IN TSB 18-48-98 TO ACHIEVE THE MOST
BENEFIT.
Inspect the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve. Shake the PCV valve to verify
that the pintle inside of the PCV valve is free. Replace the PVC if the pintle is not free.
If the intake manifold plenum pan gasket is leaking, an additional vacuum source will be
created inside of the engine at the location of the pan gasket leakage. Engine combustion
blow-by gases, oil vapor, and air from the crankcase filter/breather may be drawn past the
leaking pan gasket and into the intake manifold. In most cases when this condition
occurs, an engine at idle will create the highest vacuum and lowest amount of engine
blow-by.
1. Allow the engine to reach normal operating temperature.
2. Stop the engine.
3. Disconnect the breather hose from the air cleaner.
4. Attach a vacuum/pressure gauge to the end of the breather hose (Figure 1).
5. Disconnect the PCV valve hose from the intake manifold.
6. Seal off the intake manifold PCV valve hose port opening.
7. Seal off the open end of the PCV valve hose (Figure 2).
NOTE: DURING THIS DIAGNOSIS, IT WOULD BE NORMAL FOR THE ENGINE
TO DEVELOP PRESSURE WITHIN THE ENGINE CRANKCASE. THIS IS DUE TO
THE NORMAL PROCESS OF EXHAUST BLOW-BY GASES LEAKING PAST THE
ENGINE PISTON RINGS AND ACCUMULATING IN THE ENGINE CRANKCASE.
DO NOT ALLOW MORE THAN 3 PSI (20.7 kpa) OF PRESSURE TO BUILD
WITHIN THE ENGINE WHEN PERFORMING THE FOLLOWING DIAGNOSTIC
PROCEDURE.
8. Start the warmed engine and observe the vacuum gauge.
9. Allow the engine to idle for approximately 30 seconds. Do not allow more than 3 psi
(20.7 kPa) of pressure to develop in the engine crankcase.
10. If the attached vacuum / pressure gauge does not indicate that a vacuum is present in
the engine crankcase, then the intake manifold plenum pan gasket is good and no
further internal engine vacuum leak diagnosis is required.
11. If an internal vacuum leak is present then perform the Repair Procedure.
PARTS REQUIRED:
For the 5.2L / 5.9L:
1 04897383AC Package, Intake Manifold Flange Gasket and Bolts
1 05017208AA Gasket, Intake Manifold Plenum Pan
15 06034583 Bolt, Intake Manifold Plenum Pan
1 53030541 Gasket, Throttle Body
2(AR) 04318001 Conditioner, Combustion Chamber
For the 3.9L:
1 04897382AC Package, Intake Manifold Flange Gasket and Bolts
1 05017207AA Gasket, Intake Manifold Plenum Pan
14 06034583 Bolt, Intake Manifold Plenum Pan
1 53030541 Gasket, Throttle Body
2(AR)04318001 Conditioner, Combustion Chamber
REPAIR PROCEDURE:
1. Refer to the appropriate year Service Manual, Section 9: ENGINE for removal and
installation instructions.
NOTE: CLEAN ALL OIL RESIDUE FROM THE INTERIOR SURFACES OF THE
PLENUM PAN AND THE INTAKE MANIFOLD PLENUM CHAMBER.
NOTE: THE PROPER BOLT TORQUE AND TIGHTENING SEQUENCE IS
CRITICAL AND MUST BE FOLLOWED WHEN TIGHTENING BOTH THE
PLENUM PAN BOLTS AND THE INTAKE MANIFOLD FLANGE BOLTS.
3.9L Bolt Tightening Sequence and Torque Procedure:
3.9 Plenum Pan Bolt Torque Procedure
3.9 Intake Manifold Flange Bolt Torque Procedure
5.2L / 5.9L Plenum Bolt Tightening Sequence and Torque Procedure:
5.2L / 5.9L Plenum Pan Bolt Torque Procedure
5.2L / 5.9L Intake Manifold Flange Bolt Torque Procedure
2. With the engine reassembled, inspect the coil and spark plug wires for proper routing.
Refer to TSB 09-48-98 for additional assistance.
3. Start the engine and allow it to warm to normal engine operating temperature.
4. Decarbon the combustion chamber using Mopar Combustion Chamber Conditioner
(p/n 04318001) per the instructions.
NOTE: ALLOW THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER CLEANER TO SOAK INSIDE OF
THE ENGINE FOR 2 TO 2.5 HOURS.
NOTE: A SECOND APPLICATION OF THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER
CONDITIONER MAY BE REQUIRED IF THERE WAS A LARGE QUANTITY OF
OIL LEAKAGE PAST THE INTAKE PLENUM PAN GASKET.
5. Verify proper engine oil level.
POLICY: Reimbursable within the provisions of the warranty.
Time Allowance
FAILURE CODE: P8- New Part


I will check into this...later. In the meantime I will replace the remaining plugs, watch the oil level and assume I now know where the oil is going. And why it is going there!

Hello, Hello
Both of my kids now know enough of the words to several of the songs on the latest U2 album. Enough words to sing along anyway. And when they don't know the words, they make them up. My favorite is "Miracle Truck", but I think I had a little influence of that one.

As this day comes to an end, so does my four day vacation. It was wonderful while it lasted. We dined out everyday. Today we brunched at Cracker Barrel. The little people love the pancakes. Tomorrow I go back to work and the kids back to school.

I occupied a couple of hours this afternoon tidying up the garage. For the most part I just cleaned the tools and put them away. To the casual observer my garage probably doesn't appear any cleaner. Only I know the truth. I figured it was a good time to clean up a little bit, before I start the next phase on the truck.

The next phase will be everything needed to get it to move under its own power again. I made a list. It filled a full sheet of paper. I didn't number the items so as to not be overwhelmed.

The Miata needs to be washed. Driving in the rain on Sunday didn't help. It also doesn't help that there is a lot of road construction nearby. It will have to wait til a warm sunny afternoon.

iMike got his truck out of the mud. An infinite journey begins with a single step.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program. Here are some photos of my truck. First the rear section of the frame with the bed removed. You can see in the second picture that the suspension has been modified so that the truck rides lower. Looks like I have a exhaust leak!

This afternoon the engine went back into the truck. David M. came by to give me a hand. It bothers him that the engine and transmission is mounted via only four bolts.

I didn't mention to him that two of those were missing when I took it out. The bolts from the Tractor Supply Store came in handy.

At this point, I have a list of about 40 things to do/check before I will attempt to start it. Hmmm. How many months will that take?

Friday night we went to dinner at the Outback Steak House. This particular one has been in Huntsville for about 11 years. Even after all this time, it still takes 1.5 hours to get a table on Friday night. This morning I made a trip back to the Outback to pick up my credit card. I apparrently left it there Friday. I didn't notice til I was buying bolts yesterday afternoon. It is scary when your credit card isn't were it is supposed to be.

I just noticed I have 500 gmail invites. There seems to be an epidemic.

iMike is making noises about bringing home his Grandfather's old '68 Chevy Pickup.

I went by a few salvage yards yesterday to look at truck parts. One of the trucks I went to see has gone to the happy hunting ground. At another yard, there was a 70-ish GMC. The guy offered to let me have the entire front end (rad support, inner and outer fenders, hood, grill, etc) for $250. That is only about 10x my current budget.

Today I went to visit a TSC store. (Tractor Supply Corporation). I bought a few grade 8 bolts for mounting the engine block back in the frame.

This morning I replaced the front and rear seals on the TH350 transmission. I also used a wire wheel to remove some of the baked on grunge.

Tomorrow I plan to take the engine off the stand, install the flex plate and torque converter, and bolt on the transmission. If things go well, the engine may mounted back in the frame tomorrow. I have two helpers who may show up.

Happy Birthday to me.

Rick did a little dent pulling last night. Rick also tried his hand a welding for the first time. Panel welding is difficult but with a little practice I will become reasonably effictive at it. Rick was discouraged by the amount of rust he found on the right rear fender. It was in much worse shape than the first.

The kids get out of school at noon tomorrow. They are also out Friday for a teachers in service day. School is also out on Monday for Presidents day? I suppose teachers in service day is actually code for let's have a four day weekend. I further suppose that school gets out early on Thursday so the teachers can get all the work done on Thursday afternoon that was suppose to be accomplished on Friday. This will save everyone some money on Friday as no one will have to drive to the school. This is all just speculation, but that doesn't keep me from being envious.

Because the kids are out, we have decided to take a short vacation. I am very pleased with the notion of a four day weekend for myself. Oh happy Day.

And even if the kids had not been out of school on Friday, I would have probably taken the day off anyway. Friday is after all another of my favorite holidays, right behind Ground Hogs day.

I have a few pieces of sheet metal loaded in the back of the Dodge ready to go to school.

I can't recall what work I did on the truck this weekend. Oh yeah, I cleaned the transmission case. Baked on grundge. At least it was not greasy.

The new entertainment center arrived last Thursday. This weekend I removed all the electronic gadgets from the old one, moved it out of the way and moved the new entertainment center into place. Next the entertainment center got re-populated with electronics and about a half million wires. Just to be safe, I actually drew a schematic of the wiring this time before attempting to hook it all back up.

The Miata did the top drop today. WeeDowWee! Forecast for tommorrow is 75. I told Ginger I left the top down in case she needs to drive it tomorrow.

...

My sister has come to visit with us. After picking up the kids from school, we went thru a drive thur to pick up some nast-food, er, fasty-food, er, fast food.

One the way back with our stash of chicken nuggets in hand, a deer ran out in front of the truck. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP went the truck. The deer attempted to accelerate but hooves don't get much traction of pavement. Fortunately it managed to get out of the way. I had braked but had it not scrambled after hearing the horn, we would probably be having venison burgers for dinner.

Last week, Ginger saw more deer in the backyard. This time there were four. If one wanted to go deer hunting around here, they could simply sit on my back porch early in the morning with a cup of coffee and wait. The deer don't seem to see people thru the screen. If you were cold, you could even get in the hot tub. It's hot in the hot tub.

Tuesday nights auto body class went well. I took an outer bed fender, the front bed wall, and an inner bed fender.

Creg K. and Dwayne W. worked on the front bed wall. They removed fixed a very bad ding. This ding was about an inch deep. I kid you not. Excellent job. A lot of old body filler fell of this piece while they were banging with the hammer. They even both got a chance to weld on it.

I worked on the outer bed fender. I basically spent the time removing about a million tons of body filler. There is some rust that needs to be fixed, but it doesn't seem to bad. I will try to get a photo posted soon.

Before heading to class yesterday, I predicted it would be a productive night. I had noticed that weeks 1 and 3 were excellent, while weeks 2 and 4 will a little disappointing. Based on the odd/even pattern I expected a good night.

Last week, the instructor recommended that I buy a new front bed wall because the one I had was in such bad shape. This week he recommended that I buy a new bed fender because the one I had was in such bad shape.

It is my opinion that the instructor is used to thinking as a collision repair expert and sees my parts as being time intentsive to repair. I am interested in doing restoration and I am willing to spend the time rather than the money to get it repaired. I not trying to run a profitable collision repair business and pass the cost on to the car owner. He recanted both times and admitted the parts were repairable. 'Just be prepared to spend some time on it.' Not a problem.

All is good. I have a lot of bondo removal in my future. At spots the bond was 0.5" deep. The ding had to be at least an inch. It is also interesting to me that there are two layers of different colors of body filler, seperated by a coat of paint.

The bed side was originally white, then yellow, then bondo, then red, then bondo, then red. Not parts are bare metal.

The pickup bed is now completely disassembled. It is now stacked up in pieces where the pickup be should be. I have pic's but they are still in the camera.

Saturday's Turbo Tax Festival went fairly smoothly. I e-filed this year. According to the software, I should have my refund deposited in the bank by the 18th of this month. Not too bad.

...

I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home this evening to purchase Turbo Tax. Yes, tomorrow is tax day.

Before leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot I decided the weather was nice enough. Down came the top. Next stop Gutherie's. And then on through the traffic ciricle before finally arriving home.

I spent an hour and a half in the garage earlier this evening. I finally got one of the bed side walls removed from the bed. It required the use of a 4.5" angle grinder to cut the final connection point, a weld. The bed wall is heavy.

What's Another Word For Pirate Treasure
callipygous