So What's New?

I received the following message from BlogSpot this morning. At the time of this posting, I don't see a BlogSpot notice posted on my page, nor do I know anything more than what it says in the message.

I don't intend to do  more than  post this, so if my blog disappears you will know that I some way violated their rules and that I don't intend to do anything more to placate them. I'm sure all of my readers already know that Google, all world governments, millions of hackers, and every spammer on the planet, have already learned everything there is to know about us, so what's new?


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Quarterly Bitch Session

Anybody love DHL as much as I do? 

It’s a miracle any service based company can survive in an age when survival is so dependent on good service. 

On may 14^th, I ordered new horns for the Plymouth from good old reliable Rockauto. As usual, they filled the order within hours and I got an email saying it was shipped. The following day DHL notified me that it was on the way from Illinois. Taking it's time, the order arrived in their Grand Prairie, TX warehouse on the 18^th and has been sitting there since that time, with no further communication as to status. 

When ordered, the standard shipping information stated that it would arrive no later than the 23^rd, but as of this morning it still sits gathering cobwebs thirty miles from my house. A call to DHL gets an answering machine saying to contact the sender if I have a problem.

It’s not that the order is critical for me to proceed, but they are the last parts I need to finish installing wiring forward of the radiator and I’ve been holding off so I can wire the bulkhead connector before moving on to the next step. I had a similar DHL problem with an order last year when it took ten days to arrive from Georgia.

Another thought with mixed emotions on this day is that fifty-nine years ago I was a seventeen-year-old kid raising my right hand and swearing an oath to defend my country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Before I took off my uniform, I had sworn it five more times. From starry-eyed kid to tired and cynical old Master Sergeant in twenty-three years of service. Starry-eyed kid..back row, on the left in 1960.

I’m proud of my service, but disappointed that I, and others who swore that oath, were unsuccessful in keeping our promise. Though no foreign troops have landed on our soil, we have been unable to keep those who would subvert our constitution from gaining power. No, that’s not a one-sided slam at any political party, it covers the political spectrum. 

Everyone who chooses to partake in American government does so only after taking a similar oath to the one we made when we enlisted in the military. Most who served in uniform still proudly honor that oath, but it’s sad to say that too many who chose civilian service ignore duty and honor in favor of personal wealth and power. They ignore our wonderfully crafted constitution whenever it suits their desires as long as the party is served, and their bank accounts grow. Their efforts are focused on those two goals, and their success is assured by convincing ignorant people with voting rights to ignore the past and to replace it with continued ignorance and belief in a lie about the future. To hell with the constitution as long as I get what suits me.

Oh, well...bitch session off.

P.S.....Just returned from the post office. As I was mailing some boxes, I heard a customer complain about DHL to one of the clerks. The clerk said they are horrible about delivering packages regularly and that minutes before they had dumped off two big boxes of packages, some of which they had been holding for two weeks! Prior to that, I had contacted Rockauto to complain about DHL, but the answer I got was that I had to wait until May 30th before the sender could get involved. 
If the two-week comment was correct, my parts are probably in one of the boxes, but since my mail was already delivered today, I guess I won't know until tomorrow.

Good News...Sad News

More wiring accomplished and now I have enough installed to show a little progress in pictures.

Along with the total rewiring, I'm also upgrading the headlight circuits to the more efficient configuration recommended by lighting engineer and Mopar expert, Dan Stern.

The relays for that part of the job arrived today, so now I can complete the under-hood modifications. Wiring between relays and lights has been upgraded from the stock AWG 16 to AWG 14, and the power source is now a direct line to the battery bus. Combined with better quality sealed beams, the headlights should do a much better job than the stock setup.

This photo shows where the relays will be mounted next to the circuit board. I'll make a single cover to protect the board and the lighting relays.

On an aside note, even our little town of about 1200 people is not immune from the lunatic fringe. We made the national news when a local woman's ex-husband killed his three young kids and the ex-wife's boyfriend. He shot her in the back, but she survived. She had told the judge that the husband was mentally unstable, but once again nothing was done before he snapped. At least the state won't have to spend money to convict him and keep him alive for the rest of his life. It happened about a mile from my house.

My wife's art studio had the mini-split AC installed yesterday, so all that's left is to assemble the shower stall, and then install a bathroom door and some trim. I already moved most of her tools and materials in so she can now work out there.

She'll be visiting outside the US for two weeks in June, so maybe I can forget honey-do projects for a while and get more work done on the car!

Elvira

Still routing wires, nothing to write about or show pictures, but I stole this video from a facebook link so I could post something entertaining...if this brand of music interests you.

Still Wiring

Totally rewiring the car by comparing and combining three different wiring diagrams, has been unexpectedly slow. With thirty years of experience wiring commercial aircraft, I should be progressing faster, but I retired eleven years ago and seem to have lost my instinctive skills. Once again old age wins the battle and I have really slowed down.

I finally finished the under-hood engine wiring, less terminating the wires at the firewall connector. I won't finish that task until the inside wires to the firewall are all in place and I can verify that both sides are compatible.

The remaining interior wiring will have to wait until the forward lights and horn circuits are in place. I'm anxious to reach that point as then I can install the dash board.

Not enough visible progress to take pictures.