Another Work Trip

Another trip to East Texas yesterday...2-1/2 hours over, and 3 hours back during rush hour, with 6 hours of house cleaning and repairs in between, and at least one more trip to make. That is entirely too much for an old man to do in one day.

I'm appalled by the way people treat a house, as I'm sure the master bath shower hadn't been cleaned in the three years since we moved. Soap and shampoo buildup was 1/8" thick on the shower floor, the wall tiles were white with scum and the grout was black with mildew. I scraped, scrubbed, sprayed and brushed for well over an hour until my hands cramped. It still looks like hell, so I'll have to hit it again next week, but this time I'll bring a wire brush and stronger chemicals. I will be so glad when that house sells!!

Only thing that got done on the car was the console storage box, as I cut and bent the stainless steel trim and attached it.

Roadkill sound deadening material showed up today. There might be enough to finish the interior, but I'm guessing I'll need more for the trunk. Three boxes weighed 70 lb, so the car should sit down a little lower on the springs after I get it installed.

The glass installer hasn't called me back since I sent him the photos, so I'm guessing he wants nothing to do with installing the trim piece. I might have to design some tooling to do the job...if I only had a good idea what would do the job.

More Parts and Material

Still squeezing in small jobs between household priorities, so no photos to post. Weather has been beautiful until this morning. It was 88F on Thursday, and just above freezing this morning, with a brisk NW wind.

I found another source for the Road Kill sound-deadening material, and it was less expensive than the source I first chose! Tracking number said it will be here by next Wednesday. Once in a while, things work out.

Got my order from Gary Goers just ten days after I sent it out, so I now have a few more seals and gaskets available when I'm ready for them. This batch included tail and backup light gaskets, trunk lock gasket and some under-hood seals and bumpers.

Have a Seat!

Between trips to East Texas to make repairs to our house, I've managed to sneak in a few hours of car projects.

I wanted to take care of some tasks that will be awkward to reach with the dash installed, and one of those was the installation of the foot-operated park brake. I didn't like the angle at which it was mounted, so I modified the adapter plate to make it more closly oriented to a stock setup. I still might re-bend and weld the pedal arm slightly, but will see how it looks when the dash is in. At least it fits better now and the release lever is in the right place just below the dash.

Next step was fitting the seats into their final location. With the console installed, I was able to determine the exact places to drill mounting holes, so that's another small job done. I was pleased to see that the underfloor seat-mount reinforcing was properly located, considering it was a guess when I was installing new floor sheet metal.

Before bolting anything else in place I thought that it would be a good time to install the sound-deadening material. I had enough to finish the one side and had sent out an order for three more boxes of Road Kill Expert. Unfortunately, I was just informed that they were out of stock and don't have a new ship date so they refunded my PayPal account. With free shipping for the heavy material, their final price was by far the best I could find, so I can understand running out of stock. Now to recall where I found the second-best price!

I love getting back to the interior and customizing part of the project. If the body and mechanical work was done, I'd have a lot of enthusiasm to get it on the road.

Console Progress

I only had a couple of hours to play, but another minor accomplishment!

The shifter cover is cut and formed and only needs to be trimmed in size and mounted to the console top plate. Everything else inside the console passed the fit check, so now I can put the console aside and get back to it when I need some smaller jobs to fill in, like installing trim, carpet and fabric.

Next week, schedule permitting, I'll call the glass installer and see if he can help me get the trim installed on the back window. If a pair of experienced hands doesn't work, it may require re-setting the glass.

Just Treading Water and Paying House Bills

Trying to get our East Texas house ready for listing is eating up most of my time, so I'm only doing small jobs on the car, and not making much progress.

The geothermal problem has grown into a certifiable nightmare. Apparently the renters/intended buyers allowed the water to be shut off for non-payment, and that was during the only seriously cold weather we've had this year. As a result, the pump that circulates hot water throughout the house, burned out, and a pipe burst inside the garage wall. It also might have been the reason the water heat exchanger cracked and started to leak, which flooded the pantry. To add to the misery, the Chinese made coil decided to die again and wasted a ninety dollar recharge. But, that's not the worst of it. The ten-year parts warranty lapsed three days before the service call, so we will now have more than four thousand dollars into unit repairs, and another three thousand in water damage,  mostly because we allowed the people two extra weeks to move out because of Christmas. No good deed goes unpunished.

Car-wise, I've mostly focused on the console instead of hopping around on other jobs. I got the storage tray built, cross-bracing installed, welded, and everything painted. I'll install the console semi-permanently, but most of the trim will come later.

The Day the Music Died...One More Time

It's that day again. With all the tragedy in the world, I have no idea why the memory of a small plane crash fifty-eight years ago remains so vivid, yet it haunts me every year. Since I already did so in previous blog entries, I won't rehash my personal memories of that day. Instead, I'll link to a recording by the youngest star that lost his life in that Iowa snow storm. Richie Valens was only 17, but so talented and already famous. Enjoy...while my thoughts travel back in time to remember old friends who have since joined the three young stars in a place where the music lives on.

Park Light Experiment

I’ve arranged to have most of the house repairs and painting done. Everything contracted is in work, so I will do my part of the job when they finish.  

I managed to find a few hours to commit to the car yesterday, and the weather was like early summer…sunny, mid-seventies and calm! Today, it's back to cold, windy winter.

I finished one parking light and mounted it on the parts car to see how it compared. Even though the overall size is almost exactly the same as the OEM light, I’m not satisfied, as the shape does not match the grill curvature. It looks better without the stainless trim, so I’ll try some other type of trim to see if I can better match a stock look.

I powered it up, and it does light up nice, so it’s not all bad!