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

Happy Ground Hogs Day
Last night the front wall of the bed got a little bit of mig welding action. Not by me, but perhaps next week. The instructor needed to demo, and I just happened to have a piece that needed to be welded. How convenient.

This morning the first thing I said to Ginger was 'Happy Ground Hogs Day'. Her response was something between a snicker and evil laughter. It scared me. I knew exactly what she was thinking though: 'You can't remember our anniversary or my birthday, but somehow you remembered Grounds Hog day!'

If this is my last entry, you can probably guess why. Happy Ground Hogs Day.

Anyone want to join me this weekend for my annual Turbo Tax festival. Yep! I try to get it out of the way as soon as possible. If a refund is due it gets eFiled. If more taxes are due it will be snail mailed around the middle of April.

Ginger's Tahoe had a flat this morning. I let her drive the truck today and I drove the Miata. After work, I changed the tire on the Tahoe. It has a nail in it. I am glad the Tahoe was at the house when the tire went flat. I would have never been able to change the tire on the side of the road in the dark, much less even find the tire iron!

While outside this evening, I drilled out the final three bolts holding the forward wall of the truck bed onto the bed assembly. This piece along with the wheel well will acompany me to class tomorrow night. Pretty exciting huh?

Ground Hogs day is rapidly approaching.

Jordan says 'Hi'.

Today my friend Creg K. came by to help me disassemble the truck bed. We successfully removed about a dozen bolts. This was no small feat. Some bolts were removed by grinding off the head, others by drilling through the head. Either way, the bolt drops when the head is removed. Perhaps a few more sessions and I will have the bed disassembled. Thanks for the help Creg.

Automobile Obsession
This entry is not about me. Really.

I am watching the Barret-Jackson auction on the Speed channel. I just saw a car sell for 3 million dollars. The car was an Oldsmobile. This one just happened to be 50's vintage concept car (convertible). Wow. It was bought for a car museum in Colorado (Gateway?).

Typical day.

Hello Dolly, The Sequel
Autobody class again tonight. I removed a dent from a fender using a hammer and dolly. Actually I repaired three dents using three different techniques.

I also put a few dents in a fender. The dent application occurs before the dent removal. The fender started out in pretty good shape. After applying a 2 foot piece of pipe to the fender there were plenty of dents to work out.

It turned out to be easier than I expected, though it will require some effort and practice to become very productive with the techniques.

For the record, the fenders we abused tonight were all off of Fords. I don't think the instructor likes Fords.

The Hard Way
I forgot to mention that I removed the bed all by myself. Do you any idea how heavy that thing is? It was not too bad. I used the engine hoist along with some chains and tie down straps. Lifted straight up and set it down on a couple of saw horses. It was a little awkward rolling the hoist while it was holding the bed but it was a lot easier than rounding up a bunch of guys to do it the hard way.

This afternoon I also helped a neighbor move his treadmill upstairs. I am certain that thing weighted over 300 lbs. Three guys, one treadmill, 14 stairs. I told them if they ever moved, to count me out for bringing it back down the stairs.

Scratch and Dent
Today I managed to remove one of the inner fenders from the truck bed. Sounds easy enough. Twelve carriage bolts hold it in place. Eleven had to be removed using either a nut-splitter or a grinding wheel. This fender well will accompany me to auto body class. I will apply a hammer and dolly to it very soon in an attempt to remove some of the dents and dings. The plan is to complete the disassembly of the bed over the next few weekends. I suspect the majority of bolts will cause as much grief as the first dozen.

Final Resting Place
Speaking of beds, I moved the Cherry Bed into Brianna's room yesterday. I was concerned that if it spent much more time in the shop it would get messed up. Brianna was very pleased to get her 'big' bed. It looks a bit silly, a twin size mattress on a full size frame. That will be corrected soon.

May You Live in Interesting Times
I made a trip to B&N tonight to get a book. It is one of Terry Pratchett's from the Disc World series. I started reading the book back in November. At some point I lost it. Ginger thinks perhaps I left it at the hotel in Ashville, NC when we went to visit the Biltmore. I have keep looking around the house to find it but it is no where to be found. I finally decided to accept that it was lost. Thus the trip to get another copy. Top up, heater on. Outside temperature 24 degrees. Inside crazy guy wearing sweatshirt, fleece jacket, and shorts.

The previously unnamed book is "Interesting Times".

Progress Report
This morning I repaired the brakes on the Dodge truck. Can you believe I made 3 trips to the part store simply for the brakes?

Trip 1: Buy brake pads and cleaner.
Trip 2: drop off rotors to have turned.
Trip 3: Pickup rotors.

Had the rotors not needed to be turned, it would have been only one trip. I made the most of it though. I drove the Miata with the top down and the heater on high. The first trip didn't require a jacket. The temperature dropped so fast today that by the third trip, I had a coat on and the windows up. All before lunch.

The parts store only charges $8.00 per rotor to turn them. They did a good job too. Total parts cost today was less than $40. This included brake pads with a life time warranty. They obviously don't know how hard I am on brakes or they would have never offered to sell me those.

While I was outside shivering, I also removed the bed from the truck. The idea is to get a few panels loose so that I can take them with me to auto body class and beat on them with a hammer. If I spend anytime out there tomorrow I will have the door down and the heater on.

For the first trip out in the Miata today, the temperature was 55 F. On the way back from dinner tonight, the temperature was 29 F. Dinner tonight consisted of a trip to Green Brier's Restaurant for Catfish and hush puppies.

Circle of Life
I have been meaning to mention this for a few weeks now but it keeps slipping my mind. Huntsville recently opened its first traffic circle. Because it is near my house, I drive though it a few times a week. If someone is in the car with me who has not passed through it before, I will usually go around a few times before exiting the circle. Believe it or not, the traffic circle actually has improved traffic flow at this intersection. According to this report, that should not be a surprise. It says roundabouts save lives. You can even watch a video. No peer to peer file sharing please.

For your viewing pleasure, here is another article regarding the traffic circle. I was surprised to see 3 folks listed in it that I know. Mary lived in the house behind us when we lived in West Ridge. David and Todd built our house in West Ridge. That was a few years ago. We are no longer in West Ridge but we are not very far away.

I have even spotted a few armadillo's in the area. Real ones.

I can already tell it will be one of those weekends where I don't get everything done that I intend. I was suppose to get started on the brakes of the Dodge this evening. We have guests so I am inside.

Tomorrow the plan is: 1) brakes, 2) remove bed from GMC, 3) whats wrong with the pressure washer?

Drove home this evening with the top down. Yes, the temp was above 40 so the top was down.

Picasa 2 has been released.

Hello Dolly
Auto body class was tonight. Learned how to use a metal shrinking hammer, dolly, and slapping file. Note to self: Take ear plugs next week.

It's cold outside
and it gets so hot in here... This morning it was 19 degrees with a wind chill of 9. And the top was still up.

Basselope
Any Bloom County fans out there?

Because it was some soft of holiday, the kids were out of school today. I however had to go to work. This allowed me to drive the Miata on a Monday. Because the wind chill was 19 degrees F, I decided to leave the top up, and just for fun, I put the windows up also. Were is the 40 degree threshold I requested?

Tomorrow is the 2nd installment of the auto body class. Rumor is we will be watching some videos. I am looking forward to the hands on stuff.

The brakes on my Dodge are starting to have that dreaded feel. I suppose I will be changing the brake pads on the front end this weekend. There goes my plans to replace the transmission seals on the GM. The last brake job on the Dodge ran about $200. I recall that this will be the third brake job on the truck. The first occurred very early in its life (around than 10k miles) due to some problem which I don't recall. The second and third were simply due to the fact that it is a large heavy truck and I have a lead foot. The truck has somewhere around 65k miles, if memory serves me correctly.

Useless Information

I heard an interesting statistic which got me curious about how life expectancy has changed over the last 500 years. Here are some numbers.

Life Expectancy (USA):
born in 2000 77.0 years (source)
born in 1900 47.3 years (source)

France 1800, ~30 years (source)
UK 1800, 36 years (source)
Ireland 1800, 19 years (source)

In 1830 the average life expectancy for factory workers in Bolton (England) was only 17 years. {Due to sanitation conditions} (source)

London, early 1700's, more than 74% of children died before reaching the age of 5. (source)

France 1600's, 20 years - only 58% reached 15 years of age (source)

All this said, a low life expectancy number does not seem to be an indication of how long people lived so much as it indicates the child mortality rate.

Aristocracy in England, from the 1200's - 1700's lived to approximately 64 years of age, assuming they lived to their 21th birthday. (source)

What was the point of all that? There was none.

And just to let you know that the world may not necessarily be going to hell in a handbasket, "For every person murdered today, it is thought that ten were murdered in the Middle Ages. The murder rate has halved in the past two hundred years." (source, #1387)

The last source had many interesting facts. Becareful following that link. You could easily kill (no pun intended) an hour reading more useless trivia.

Summer Time Blues
The Miata hasn't gotten much road time in the past couple of weeks. I drove it Tuesday even though it was raining. On Thursday, which is normally a Miata day, I had pickup duty at school, so the Miata stayed home. Last week was pretty similar, one trip to work a possibly a errand or two on the weekend. I think last weekends errand list was composed solely of me driving it to the gas station simply to fill'er up. I hope the entire winter doesn't go like this. On the bright side, spring is just a few months away. Expect to see me out with the top down on the first clear day with a temperature above 40.

TH350 Transmission Vent
I have a hole in top of my transmission. Yes, the Turbo 350 in the '72. The hole is on the driver side, behind bell housing near the top. There is suppose to be a short tube sticking out of the hole call something like a vent tube. Why is mine missing? I don't know. Does it really matter. Probably not to much if you stay out of the deep water. Why do I care? I want to pressure wash the transmission before I re-install it. The vent tube will keep water from going into the vent hole. Water is not the friend of a transmissions guts.

My auto parts store can't find a part number. I don't really want to go the Chevrolet dealer ship. I would prefer to keep all four of my limbs. I suppose I could hit a salvage yard, but that is not a convienent solution. It may become the solution though.

Perhaps a little duct tape and being careful not to aim directly at the vent hole. Maybe I should get some of that colored duct tape. I am thinking a nice dark red would do nicely.

That is all.

It's A Small World After All
Started the auto body class last night. I am pretty excited about it. There are about a dozen guys in the class. Most of them are working on older vehicles: Mustangs, Cameros, 280Zs, Impalas, '32 Fords, and even a few trucks.

Mr. Rice, the instructor is a very interesting guy. It seemed odd calling him Mr. Rice since he was several years younger than myself. He collects and restores old gas pumps, coke machines, and other similar stuff.

I know 3 of the guys in the class. At lunch today I ran into another one of them who I just met last night.

Shop time at home on Tuesday nights will pretty much disappear for the next 15 weeks. I will have to work smarter/faster on the weekends if I want to have the truck running soon.

And speaking of trucks, I put two quarts of oil in the Dodge this morning. It appears to be using about a quart per thousand miles. No smoke, no drips, no detectable leaks.

Top 20, er, 19 Search Hits On My Web Site This Month
...so far.

1 - 1961 chevy pickup
2 - noticable windshield chip
3 - oh yes wyoming
4 - theres a little black spot on the sun today
5 - 69 chevy step side
6 - auburn car tags
7 - calories in a can of coke
8 - chevy model 1928
9 - freezing temperature of dr. pepper
10 - golden pecan chest of drawers
11 - how to dismantle an atomic bomb song leaks
12 - l6278
13 - l6278 ic
14 - lyrics oh yes wyoming
15 - obsession truck
16 - oh yes wyoming lyrics
17 - pimp my ride season 2 acura
18 - tool cabinet guild
19 - vigor acura.org

I am Sorry Dave, I cannot let you do that
The HAL 9000 AI comment sensoring tool has been disabled.

I had forgotten about the hoops I had jumped though to get comments to work in the first place. So now 2005 should work. While I was at it I went ahead and fixed 2006 also. That pretty much guarrantees the computer will crash this year. Fortunately Blogger is backing up my web archive and Google has my homepage cached. I suppose I will miss all the images, but lazyness comes at a cost and I have found the price I am willing to pay.

And as a reminder to myself, I got the comments to work by adding a symbolic link from the web home to the blog account.

ln -s /home/blogger/2005 2005

And now life is good again. You can now post your pithy comments.

Tomorrow is the beginning of auto body shop class. Note to self - I need a mullet.

And finally, this evening I made a quick trip to the gas station to fill up the tank on the Miata. It was mostly empty and I don't like having to stop on the way to work in the mornings. Traffic is bad enough without having to fight for a fuel pump. The drive was chilly with the top down but well worth the chill. I took a couple of back roads I don't normally take because I figured the traffic would be lighter and I would enjoy the drive a little bit more. It was nice. I was wearing my long sleeve yellow t-shirt, shorts, Auburn cap, and gloves. I took the gloves off once I got to the station. I didn't won't to look any goofier than normal.

While fueling up, I asked the guy at the next pump if I could look under his truck. He thought that was an odd request but said sure. I told him what I was up to and took a quick peek. I still haven't found what I am looking for. I was trying to figure out what is suppose to be hooked up to a hole on the top driver side of my TH350 transmission. There was nothing there when I dropped the transmission, but that doesn't mean there isn't something missing. When I crawled out from under the truck, the guy asked me if I had it figured out. Nope I couldn't see it because the truck was so low and unfortunately I hadn't brought a jack and jack stands. He seemed amused. Not very often you get to see someone crawl under a car in a gas station parking lot. Especially when it is not their car. He made a few guesses: vacuum line or kickdown cable. I already know where the transmission fluid lines connect which run to the radiator. I also know where the throttle velocity (TV) cable connects and where the vacuum line connects to the vacuum modulator. At this point I even remember that the other end of the vacuum line connects to the intake manifold, not the carb. What I don't know is what the extra hole is for.

Last summer I wrote a short story about a recent camping trip I had been on. I intended to post it but I wanted to proof read it, spell check it, and add a few photos. I never got around to it and now it is just sitting on my harddrive suffering from bit-rot.

In November I started writing a short story about my search for a 1960's vintage Chevrolet pickup truck. I wrote it but I didn't post it because I wanted to proof read it, spell check it, and add a few pictures.

In November I also begin writing a 67-72 Chevy truck spotters guide. I got an outline written and collected a few photos but as usual I never finished it.

Last week I did some research on the C++ Standard Library's auto_ptr. I made a few notes with the intentions of writing a brief paper. During the research process, I made a few discoveries, things the average std::auto_ptr<> user is probably not aware of. I never got around to writing it all down though it is still rattling around in my head. At least for a little white.

If your interested in any of this nonsense, let me know and I will post the rough copy. Obviously, they will never be finished.

Weekend truck update: Yesterday the push rods got adjusted, the intake manifold installed, and the block got a coat of shiny black paint. No progress to report for today.

Upcoming plans. Body shop class starts on Tuesday. As you have probably figured out by now, I did not get it running by the end of November, or the beginning of the new year. When?

Next step: clean up the transmission and then bolt together the long block, flex plate, torque converter, and TH350.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive, Seek and Ye Shall Find
I few days back I wondered aloud about the cost of having the transmission fluid and filter changed at Express Oil. My Father provided me with the anwser from a receipt dated September 7, 2004. The answer is $44.72. Just over 3 times the cost of doing it yourself. I suspect most folks would rather pay than have transmission fluid all over the garage floor. Even though it is messy, it has a very pleasant color.

Weather Update
Today's weather was Miata, top up all day.

Code like the wind.

We have a Situation
Today I got the official call. The auto body class starts on Tuesday night and I am officially enrolled.

Weather Forecast
Tomorrow it will be mostly Miata with an 20% chance of top down, temperatures expecting to remain in the mid 50's through out the day.

For the weekend, there will be a 50% percent chance of Miata on Saturday, with an 80% chance of top down, the afternoon high is expected to reach 60 degrees.

The extended outlook for Sunday is a small chance of Miata in the late afternoon with a 90% chance of top down. The temperature will be in the mid to high 60's.

I am Rick Martindale and I am proud to annouce I used Blogger to spell check this entry.

Well Ain't That Sweet
Auburn beat Virgina Tech in the Sugar Bowl. That gives AU a record 13-0 season. That might be good enough for a 3rd place finish this year.

USC is currently walking on Oklahoma. And when it is all said and done the #2 team will lose. And undefeated Auburn (13-0) will hopefully be able to hold on the #3 spot.

Begin Transmission
David M. and I opened up the transmission tonight. I wanted to change the fluid and filter before it went back into the truck. Total parts cost: Less than $13. I wonder how much Express Oil charges for that service.
[End Transmission.]

It is a Good Day to Die, and the Day is Not Yet Over
According to SlashDot, Tivo has decided to let me export my favorite shows to my computer, and watch them.

Auburn is playing in the Sugar Bowl and is currently ahead 6-0.

And Babel Fish is once again entertaining simple minds.

Hello to Wade T. Good to hear from you.

And finally the Christmas tree is being dismantled. That is everything I have to say about that.

May all your doors be plumb and square.

My name is Rick Martindale and I proudly do not censor your comments here.

Christmas on New Years went very smoothly. I got the opportunity to play soccer and kickball with Jordan, my sister, her boyfriend, and my nephews. Fun was had by all.

This afternoon the heads for the engine got cleaned. I got one installed with the head bolts hand tightened. I ran out of thread sealer so I didn't get the second one on. After cleaning up, Jordan and I had a quick trip to the store to pick up some more sealer. I am ready to install the other head once another opportunity avails itself.

After the heads are installed, the intake manifold is next. At that point I think It will be time to take a look at the transmission. My task list for the transmission is limited to replacing the filter, gasket, and fluid. I wonder if I will get around to that this month.

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.)