I think we are getting a bit off topic here...LOL
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I think we are getting a bit off topic here...LOL
Maybe so but an interesting train of thought...:3dSMILE:
I spent just about the whole weekend cleaning and organizing my garage. It was turning into a real $hithole. I probably found 50 wrenches, 12 jackstands, 4-5 hammers, a one gallon paint can full of nuts bolts screws and washers lying around, 3 extension cords, more drill bits than I care to count, about a dozen tapemeasures, 3 contractor bags full of garbage, and a partridge in a pear tree...LOL Nothing is getting done on the wife's coupe so I packed it full, in it, under it, on it, and all around it. I moved my bench and welder to the other side and created a little work area far away from the soon to be returning painted body. I even put the vise on my bench. I can't believe how much better it works on the bench instead of under her car.:rolleyes: Funny how that works! After all that was done, I figured I'd tackle something small and easy on the car so I can say I got something done. I figured I'd pull the fuel sender and put the new one in. Easy right? Only 5 little screws! As always nothing is that easy. I pulled the old one out and it is so badly corroded the float arm wouldn't even move. So I did all my measuring and cutting and I go to install it and the damn float is hitting the side of the tank! So I turned it around the other way and now it's hitting a baffle! REALLY?? Long story short; I had to make an adapter to rotate the float to the center of the tank. I really wasn't happy but it was now done and I was able to put the wires on it because they can't be reached once the body is back on. I just so happened to have some steel disc's lying around that were the perfect size for a sending unit adapter. That's why I never throw anything away because I can always make something from stuff lying around. It's both a blessing and a curse. So I still needed something to make me happy so I installed my new 3rd brake light and it looks killer! It's amazing how much faster you can work when your not tripping over things, knocking things over, or just plain can't find what you are looking for. Clean= more productive...What a concept!:rolleyes:
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Very nice Jim! I baught a new vice for my garage at home but had no good bench to put it on. So I baught a metal bench from Menards to put it on. Too bad the top is cheap particle board! So I've been using my vice on the floor. :LOL: I need to make a stand for it and bolt it to the floor. Someday! Haha
The light looks nice there. And having"chunks" of metal on hand, it just won't get any better than that right???..
Thanks I like to light a lot too. As for the chunk's of metal lying around; I've taken that to a whole other level too. Chunks, sheet, round rod, bar stock, plate, stainless, aluminum, CRS & HRS, and more bed rails than I know what to do with. Then I have channel iron, drill rod, brass. Oh yeah it's one stop shopping at my place! I'm like Noah; I have at least two of everything. The wife calls me Jimdepot.:LOL:
I know the feeling!
When I retired I sold most all of my machinery.
Not using machinery = not breaking machinery = not welding machinery back together.
So after a couple of years I sold my collection of 'unused good steel'. (Not junk, as She called it!)
Steel was down to about $150/ton...and I still got around $1500!
There must've been a fair bit more there than I thought.
Wow, $150/ton. It'd be nice to see that again. It's down to $30/ton here.
Jim, you definitely have a collection going. :LOL: I was going to scrap a lot of stuff I haven't touched for a couple of years. But with the price of scrap being so low, I'm going to hang on to it for a little longer. Some of that "junk" has saved my butt more than once.
Anytime I can't find something, tools get put up, and a neatness is achieved. I'll usually find whatever it was, and, as was previously commented, a clean shop is a timesaver. And for the bench with the particle board top, an old solid door makes a handsome work top. Scrapyards have them for $5.
:LOL: Funny thing is, my buddy will stop by on his way to the hardware store and I'll just look at him and say "whatcha need? I'm lookin for a 10-32 stainless button head screw about 1/2" long why you got any? I need about 8." I'll pull open a drawer and there will be 300+ in various lengths. "Take what ya need" Same thing with 8-32, 1/4-20, 5/16-18, 3/8-16 I have less of the bigger stuff though. He does the same thing with me when I stop over his place. Though he has a LOT less stuff. He's not one to keep things. Take for instance; a few years back I was restoring and selling guide headlights on FEEBAY and I had over 300 sets in my basement my wife called them pods...:LOL: I kind of have a fixation with headlights (my wife knows :rolleyes:) I even went so far as to master and cast 1/8th scale guide lights for models. My wife was like "Great mini pods!" Of course she doesn't make fun of me when the bills get paid. The money has to come from somewhere. https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...19&oe=56D34312
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And some E&J Type 20's I did.
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I even did some model T lights
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Cute "models"...
My wife accuses me of hoarding when it comes to hardware.. She was a frequent shopper at local yardsales and whenever I was with her at a yardsale I would always ask the seller, "what'cha got for hardware?" it never ceased to amaze me what little box of treasure they'd drag out. And it usually went home with me for pennies! My father in law had a thing for brass fasteners. After he passed it all came to my shop! Most of it is in bottles and cans, and rarely used. But there are times a brass fastener just fits the bill better than anything else, and I know right where to look! LOL..
It never ceases to amaze me how I can need something and, as almost by design, I can find it in my pile. Today for instance, I needed some of those (round) pin connectors that are on my brake light switches. Hell I don't even know the proper term for what they are called. I found some on FEEBAY but they are from Hong Kong. So I'm in my shop putting more stuff away in my little organizers and I come across some drawers of electrical connectors. Of course they are all wrong. I have ring, spade, 3 wire, and butt connectors but no pin style. Then I open one last drawer and I find a plastic bag with 4 (the exact amount I need) pin style connectors! They are a parts bag left over from my RC car days as a kid. I had a clodbuster. I have the male and female ends the boots and the tool to crimp them with. How kool is that!!! Now that was almost 30 years and 3 house moves ago. I suppose it is destiny. Really though, what's the chances?
WOW! Now, don't you wish you had bought a lotto ticket with that luck?
I find it helpful to occasionally root through shelves, not looking for anything specific, but just to inventory. I like to reuse any clear plastic boxes that fasteners com in. Since I can't seem to remember every doodad on the shelves, having the stuff in clear boxes helps lots. Unfortunately I also have a fondness for little tin boxes, and they take longer to inventory ( they aren't clear )
'Good luck is when preparation and opportunity coincide.'
Where have I seen that before?
You prepared by putting those pins in a safe place thirty years back; and when the opportunity/need was there...
Bingo!
You made your own luck...more power to you.
Pat yourself on the back.
I did a bunch of little things today. I ran some wires to the pressure switch from the transmission, mounted the transmission vacuum switch, put the transmission cooler on the radiator, installed the fan, installed the radiator, welded up and ground the last 2 exhaust hangers. I mapped out and made a list of vacuum fittings and elbows needed. While installing the radiator I noticed the transmission cooler lines that I just installed, now needed to go through the lower grille valance. I didn't even think twice about it because I have seen it on other 34's. I busted out my step drill and drilled a couple of 3/4" holes, popped some grommets in and we are good to go. All these little things went amazingly smooth. I put everything away after after each task and when I was all done I swept up. I honestly believe things went smoother BECAUSE it was clean and organized. I still catch myself putting stuff down and walking away & I kinda yell at myself (in my head) to go put that away so you can find it next time. The fan has a little over an inch of clearance the way it is sitting now but without the body to line up the hood I don't know what the final number will be. Speaking of the hood; something tells me this hood is going to be a nightmare to line up (more on that later). Maybe we'll go hood-less!? Took some time to go see the body and it's got some more color on it. I was busting his ass telling him it's the slowest paint job in history. My wife didn't like that and she yelled at me. He knows I don't mean it. He yanks my crank every chance he gets so I figured it's payback time. He hates the firewall! He said he feels like cutting it out and starting over. I said "what section?" "Just right here (as he runs his finger around the whole firewall)." "Oh so the whole firewall? Yup pretty much" He told me not to worry he'll get it. If he needs to he will bring it inside to paint it.
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It sounds like you're making great progress and so is your friend!
Thanks Ryan. For me I know it's going fast but I'm getting a little concerned about the upcoming season. Once snow fly's there will be no getting this body down my driveway and into the garage without a sled and a bunch of guys holding it back from going over my little cliff in the back. I know we'll get it. As with most things in my life it always comes down to crunch time. Once the body is on I have my plate full for the winter with wiring, insulation, the dash, seats, the inner fenders still need to be fit and I don't even want to talk about the hood. This all needs to be done for spring so I can get the interior done once the snow clears. Timing is everything. We'll get there though!
Jim, just curious why you didn't fit the hood before taking it apart for paint?
Roger he posted that he changed from ifs to beam axle, 3 piece hood/fenders/cheapo radiator grill to 4 piece stck hooh, fenderless, beam axle----change of front crossmember, motor mounts etc since he first got and took car apart
Thanks for backing me up there Jerry but he is right I could have fit it before hand. Trouble is time constraints pushed things off and it got set aside too long and the body had to go off for paint.There were other factors too (I messed up and should have done it but didn't) the biggest reason is that I have a genuine 34 Ford hood and an aftermarket glass body that was made for a 3 piece hood. I"m thinking it's going to be a nightmare to fit. I can always run it hood-less till I get it fit right.
Jim,
Thanks for the reply, and I was not trying to be critical, just curious. Everything you've done supports the fact that you pushed it to paint when you felt you needed to, and you've got a plan moving forward. There's no reason you can't fit the hood later, if you choose to, it just means taping interface points, and having to be more careful when you get frustrated and throw the wrench - gotta aim away from painted surfaces, right? ;)
The reason I asked is that on my glass '33 when I decided to run the hood top the guy who made the body told me that the "widow's peak" on the cowl sits high in the middle, and to make it easier to fit the hood he always makes a thin cut right at the bottom of the curve where the peak meets the firewall, about a foot out on each side. He told me to set a battery on the top of the peak, then go inside and bond the gap with mat & resin. A dab of filler in the crack and it's all done. Hopefully yours won't need that kind of tweaking, and the gennie hood will lay down just right!
BTW I really like the blue you chose. It's gonna look killer!
Jim, I hear you on time constraints and time lines. Everytime I set a date I want to have something done by, there's always a mad rush getting it done because this or that happens. I guess it's just part of it. Haha If you need help with moving the body in the snow, do build that sled base for it. I have a husky pp that I'll send to ya to help move it around. She needs a good real work out to calm her down some. :LOL:
Okay I'm starting to scare myself. I found the pins the other day amongst all my crap then, as you know I'm cleaning, I took a bunch of boxes of old car magazines to throw out into the recycling bin and I just set them on the kitchen table. Well the top box opened up and I said to myself "I'll grab just one to read on the porcelain throne" and took the rest out to the bin. The next day I'm spending some quality time flipping through the pages and I come across a feature car. A red 33 Chevy 3 window standard coupe. It's a pretty rare car. Well I used to own one and when I bought it it was red! It wasn't MY car (that would have really freaked me out). Now if someone were to say I picked up the magazine and it had a 32 roadster yeah well they all have one of those in them! But a red 33 standard coupe? Okay I'm not done. So I'm up late can't sleep so I'm in the basement rummaging through stuff and came up with a vacuum line for the vacuum advance that is not only the correct diameter but the exact length I needed. So I put that on and I needed to run a line to the vacuum switch on the transmission. So I go back to that shelf and there is a 20'+ roll of vacuum line! Really? Where the hell did that come from? Okay one more; today I got in a double pulley for my alternator to satisfy some people on here that are concerned about over-stressing my bracket (taking your advice Jerry). I tried an aftermarket pulley and it just didn't fit. I found some old GM units but they were too much $$. So I found a Buick nailhead alternator pulley that just needs a bushing/spacer. A bushing because my shaft diameter is smaller and a spacer to get it away from the face of the alternator itself. Now here is where it gets weird. I purchased the lathe and mini mill a while back and it came with 2 toolboxes full of (someone else's) crap. I open the top drawer and there it is. A bushing with a flange on it! I say to myself "Man I'm gonna freak if it fits" sure enough a PERFECT FIT!!! Now I have other people putting stuff aside for me to find years later? How is that even possible? I still have to open the bushing up to the correct ID and cut it to length but it is 3/4 of the way there. This stuff just happens to me all the time. Sorry for the long read. I literally have 100's of stories like this.
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May the force be with you O'bigJim ! Stuff like this happens to me too, just not often! I say smile and say a prayer of thanks! :)
Jim, I hope your good fortune keeps on keeping on!!!
Dooo Doo Dooo Doo, Dooo Doo Dooo Doo.... you have entered an alternate dimension.. Nah.. it's just Jim's garage! :LOL:;):p
Old things just keep coming up! Kinda like my wifes meatloaf! :eek::eek::rolleyes:
You guy's are cracking me up over here...
I played with wires today. I have little bundles everywhere. Trying to do things that will be hard to get to once the body is on. Yesterday I modified that alternator pulley to fit. Hopefully with 2 belts there will be less need for a lot of tension so less stress on the bolts. It probably would have been fine but now I'm sure it will be. I did the last vacuum line to the booster, the TV cable, and got myself set up to start bleeding the brakes. The tail lights, 3rd brake light, license plate light, neutral safety switch, transmission speed sensor, and the horn ground are all done and just need to be connected to the panel once that is installed. About the only things left to do under the car are bleeding the brakes, a small heat shield for the brake switch, and the main grounds to the engine and frame. I also have 2 exhaust hangers to install but they are connected to the body. I also consolidated a couple drawers in the toolbox to create an empty one which I filled with wiring stuff, (terminals connectors heat-shrink tubing wire ties and tools) so I don't have to keep going upstairs to my shop to get things. Trying to work smarter and more efficient.
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Great work!!!
Yep... Purty!
All the parts look so clean and new I'm really jealous!
He threw some Washington blue at it today. I bled the brakes today with the help of my wife. I removed the hydraulic brake switches and I'm going to replace them with a mechanical switch. With Rogers help I'm going to wire it into a SPDT relay (believe it or not I had 14 in stock sitting on my shelf) yes 14 of them! My buddy gave me a switch to use for mock up till I get my own in. https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...a4&oe=56AF9EE7
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