What Did Ya Get Done This Weekend?

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Tripper said:
Now that it's kooled down here in Cantral Tejas I've been able to start tying up the last lil loose ends on the Rambler! Got it running right but still need to do a lil more wiring work. Wired the neutral safety switch on the shifter yesterday & still need to hook up the universal turn signal switch. Since I lowered the front end I also need to get some shorter shocks & I'm headed into town after I suck down an energy drink... haha! One of my fav car shows on Nov 10-11th & I can't wait!

BoB
Click to expand...
What show Nov 10-11?
 
Mow the lawn, got our 302 powered air compressor running and then spent 8 hours under the hood of a sandblast mask. Also took the littles fishing!
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I spent the beautiful day with my lovely wife. We started off with breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants. Then we cruised through our local park and went home and spent a couple hours on our porch swing. When the sun got to warm, we took a very nice back road 60 mile ride in our 49 Dodge pickup, enjoying the cool sunny summer day. Then we stopped for some ice cream. After that we cruised another 20 or so miles west to the Mississippi River at Dubuque Iowa. There we took the short jaunt north to the Eagle Point Park. Eagle Point Park is along the River bluffs just north of Dubuque and over looks a Mississippi River Lock and Dam. We happened to arrive about the time a tug pushing 15 barges up stream arrived to pass through the locks.

The locks can only handle 9 barges at a time, so the tug pushes the first 9 into the lock, they disconnect, and tie the 9 barges to the side of the lock and then the tug backs the remaining 6 out of the lock, and the down stream gates close. The river level is very high right now because of all the rain they got up in SD, so there isn't a big difference between the water level above the dam and below the dam. The water raised up to the upper water level, then the top gates opened. The lock is equipped with a pull mechanism that pulls the first 9 barges out of the upper level of the lock. Once the barges clear the upper gate, it closes and the water is pumped out of the lock so the water level matches the lower water level. Then the lower gate opens and the tug pushes the remaining 6 barges and itself into the lock and the barges are tied to the lock side. Then the lock is filled with water until the level matches the upper water level, the upper gate opens and the tug boat pushes the 6 barges up the the first 9, and then all the barges are reconnected. Once that is complete, the tug pushes the barges up river. The process takes about an hour. Normally, the water level difference between above the dam and below the dam are about 4'-6' different. today that difference was about 2'. The process is kind of cool to watch on a nice day like today was. Eagle Point Park is pretty high above the river, right at the lock & dam, so you are actually looking down from above. You can walk along the top of the bluff on a sidewalk with a viewing fence that extends from both ends of the lock and dam. It is a pretty cool place, but there is a $1 charge to enter the park.
After the tug boat got through the lock and dam, we cruised the 70 or so miles home.

All I got done today was eat food, cruise 140 + miles in the truck, watch the tug boat and barges go through the lock and dam, and spend a relaxing day with the wife. I'm calling that a win.
 
Mowed and bagged 3/4 acre with a 21" self propelled Honda. Sold some parts on Facebook. Gathered the parts, and ordered one, to replace the Holley electric fuel pump with a stock mechanical pump on the Fiat. Tried to start the 4.0 Jeep engine in the Crosley for the umpteenth time. Fail. Went to breakfast with two car buddies. Took the little woman for a short roadster ride. Her first time in a hot rod in many years.
 
I gathered up what small bit of loose electrical stuff (toggle switches, relays, blah blah, then sat in the '30 and did lots of thinking about wiring related stuff. Placement of ignition stuff, drink holders (and their design), possible removable steering wheel.. The i wondered about possibly pushing the firewall out a couple of inches for the clutch/brake pedals to give a tad more leg room.
Hmmm :unsure:
 
On leg room, most of ya'll know the early cabs are tight and we tend to make them tighter to make things cooler. My grandson wants my 31 when I go. Unfortunately, he's 16 and over 6' tall right now and I don't think he's done growing yet. I've let him drive around the property and driveway around here but noticed he's actually jammed in so tight he can't move well enough to drive safely. I told him I won't let him drive it on the road and probably pissed him off. He's having a little trouble focusing on what needs to be done. I have trouble getting him involved in projects around here. We have a couple of projects going, but his attendance and drive is lacking so they sit, mostly in the way. I mentioned that the cab could be altered to make it better but with his previous enthusiasm issues I wonder if it will ever happen. We could stretch the cab and lengthen the frame(maybe not real necessary). I just wish he'd act like it was important enough to dive into it.
 
smallfoot said:
On leg room, most of ya'll know the early cabs are tight and we tend to make them tighter to make things cooler. My grandson wants my 31 when I go. Unfortunately, he's 16 and over 6' tall right now and I don't think he's done growing yet. I've let him drive around the property and driveway around here but noticed he's actually jammed in so tight he can't move well enough to drive safely. I told him I won't let him drive it on the road and probably pissed him off. He's having a little trouble focusing on what needs to be done. I have trouble getting him involved in projects around here. We have a couple of projects going, but his attendance and drive is lacking so they sit, mostly in the way. I mentioned that the cab could be altered to make it better but with his previous enthusiasm issues I wonder if it will ever happen. We could stretch the cab and lengthen the frame(maybe not real necessary). I just wish he'd act like it was important enough to dive into it.
Click to expand...
That is a tough one. I so wanted my boys to get into the hot rods but it never took. The grandsons are showing interest so I'm hoping that will take root. If it's going to roll it will- nothing easy about being a dad or grand dad for that matter LOL. Things could be much worse so at least we got that going for us!!!
 
Old Stuff said:
That is a tough one. I so wanted my boys to get into the hot rods but it never took. The grandsons are showing interest so I'm hoping that will take root. If it's going to roll it will- nothing easy about being a dad or grand dad for that matter LOL. Things could be much worse so at least we got that going for us!!!
Click to expand...
When my son first told me he wanted to build a hot rod, I got all excited. We made a trip to a local junk yard that still, at that time, had some old projects to buy. He picked out a 50 Dodge 2 ton truck as his first project, so we drug it to my shop. He started off real fast, we found a frame he stripped and repainted, and we stuck the cab on the frame. Then suddenly, he lost interest.

I then found an old panel van that only needed a motor, I bought his truck, so he could buy the panel with his money., We found a running motor and got that installed. He drove that panel through most of his high school.

I believe that when we put the 50 cab on the truck, and he saw how much more work it was going to be before he could drive it, it discouraged him and he lost interest.

It possible your son/grand son are facing the same thing. They want something old to drive, but they are overwhelmed by a major project. You need to find something as a first project that can be made road worthy in a month or two at the most. Once they have something cool to drive, they may be interested in a major project. It might also be helpful if they have some of their money invested in what will be their own car/truck. Both things worked for my son and my daughter's son. My son is doing the same thing with his 9yo son.
 
On a different note, my last week, actually started about last Tuesday, was interesting.
Since we have been driving the truck, the Plymouth coupe has been sitting around. We put it up for sale last spring (2023) because we knew we would be driving the truck everywhere (new toy) but did not get any action on it. The license plates expired last April. In IL, the $151 plate fee would have only covered the old plate until it had been dormant for a full calendar year. We can buy what they call an Extended Antique plate for $50 a year (drive regularly between May 1st and Oct 31 with no restrictions), and the plan was to get those plates after the old plates were expired for a year. I went and got those plates on Tuesday. Later that morning I decided to drive the coupe to the gas station to buy some gas. as I pulled away from the gas pump the motor died. It restarted but died again. Nothing but crank over, and of course, no tools. Some kind sole helped me push the car away from the gas pumps. I called my wife to come and pick me up so I could get some tools. By the time I returned, it was nearly 90 degrees and I was working in the sun. I found I lost spark, but sure was not into doing anything about it there. AAA towing to the rescue. I was back home and the coupe was pushed into the garage in about an hour, but I had someplace I needed to be the rest of the night.

Wed morning was mowing day here. When I turned on my computer Wed afternoon, I typed in my pin number to start the computer, it is usually one of those quick things and I don't often pay much attention (in case you haven't noticed, my typing skills are not very good). I was kind of in a hurry, and I typed in a wrong letter (not the first time I've done that), so I typed it in again, pretty sure it was correct, but I was informed it too was incorrect. Then I started second guessing if I typed it in wrong again, but I wasn't even sure if I was typing in the correct pin at all.
That resulted in Microsoft locking my pin. Things went down hill from there. As a 2nd option I could use the password. I had that written down. I very carefully typed that in, only to find out it must not have been the most recent password. I hate it when I need to keep updating passwords.
That locked the system. My last option was to go back to the original phone number the program was opened under, and they would text me a code to get in. That number was a land line we no longer have (they couldn't have texted a land line anyway).
The 4th was a busy day around here. We did enjoy the craziness of an extended family gathering.
Friday was spent working on the coupe, To start out, I turned the key and it fired right up! It ran a couple minutes then died. wouldn't restart. No power to the coil. I have the fuse box hidden behind a cover I had to remove to even check the fuses (what was I thinking back then (2012) with the panel pulled, I also had access to the steering column (the switch is on the column). Everything checked good and when I turned the key, the car started up again. It ran a couple minutes and died again, no voltage to the coil, but all the fuses had power, and the ignition switch functioned (didn't start that time). The problem had to be between the ignition switch and the coil. Of course, to gain access to that wiring is going to be a pain. The car has electronic fuel injection, so that adds more questions.
I have a known good computer, it was pretty easy to plug in and test. No difference. I have a few good relays, those are easy to swap out. Nothing. Checking the wire harness is it. There was a lot of stuff to disconnect and move to be able to remove the 3' long 1" diameter wire loom full of wires that extended from the passenger side where the coil was to the driver side where cowl where the wiring enters the passenger compartment. I spent several hours doing that, only to find the wiring was flawless. I did find another relay I didn't see, which I changed. Everything would need to be reassembled to see if the problem was fixed. I just was not ready for that. I did call my mechanic buddy. He suggested that maybe since the car hasn't been driven (it has been started and has been moved to mow around), maybe there was a problem with the fuel pump or the wiring to it, under the car. I reassembled the car (except the fuse panel cover) and called it a day.

Friday evening I dug out my wife's old lap top (which I'm using right now). But Saturday was another extended family reunion day.
Sunday we spent the afternoon trying to get Microsoft to unlock my computer. We didn't provide enough information for them to think it was my computer. Looks like a new one will be coming. The old one was really old, and the thing I am the most sorry about is I don't have access to nearly 900 pictures (including my 48 coupe and my 49 truck builds). At least I've been able to get on the emails and most of the web sites I visit often.

The good news is I got the coupe to run! I put it up on jack stands and checked the wiring to the fuel pump it was OK) As I was leaning on the fender wondering what the next step was going to be, I noticed a smaller vacuum hose disconnected from the brake booster vacuum supply line, so I plugged that in and started the motor. It fired right up, purred like a kitten for more then 15 minutes. While it s running, I put the fuse box cover back on, took the car off the jack stands, put the tools away, and drove the car out of the garage. Then I took it for a 20 mile cruise. It was fun getting back in it and actually driving it this afternoon. I don't know if that vacuum hose was the cause of the problem all along, or if it was that last relay I found, and the vacuum hose got disconnected while I was messing with the wiring all around that connection. I'm going to lay the blame on both. At least I know the wiring is still all good.

I will probably be buying a new computer next week. We can appeal to Microsoft again, but I'm not expecting much help from them.

I'm looking for a desk top computer (my monitor has some issues as well, will probably replace it at the same time), probably don't need a big powerful unit, I just surf a few message board a few U-tube videos, and such, no gaming or big time video stuff, but if I can get an SD card slot the card from my camera fits, I can still have about 1/2 my pictures. If you guys have any input, I'm open
 
Gene my grandboy has a mechanical mind and hands. Some repair sense too! I started off building a kart for him with some of his help. He just didn't get real involved and showed more desire to ride than fix or upkeep. Then I started trying to get him interested in building an off road trike. At present it sits as a roller. We bought a predator motor for Christmas year before last and this last Christmas I got him a torque averter. Still sits as a roller. Both motor and tranny still in the boxes with bows no less. I made it clear to him that he was to buy the rest of the parts...still nothing.

He lost his dad and stepmom in a crash a year ago. It's hard on him I know. He inherited all of his dads tools and belongings so I built an addition to the barn to help him store it all. Last time out here he wanted to work on an atv his dad left. He'll work, he's just not tuned in it seems. I know I've been part of the problem by buying most of his parts. He has been told that the free ride is over.
On the computer, look at some of the laptops available. With what you spoke of your needs, they will handle it all and take up much less space than a desktop! Cheaper too!
 
gene49 said:
On a different note, my last week, actually started about last Tuesday, was interesting.
Since we have been driving the truck, the Plymouth coupe has been sitting around. We put it up for sale last spring (2023) because we knew we would be driving the truck everywhere (new toy) but did not get any action on it. The license plates expired last April. In IL, the $151 plate fee would have only covered the old plate until it had been dormant for a full calendar year. We can buy what they call an Extended Antique plate for $50 a year (drive regularly between May 1st and Oct 31 with no restrictions), and the plan was to get those plates after the old plates were expired for a year. I went and got those plates on Tuesday. Later that morning I decided to drive the coupe to the gas station to buy some gas. as I pulled away from the gas pump the motor died. It restarted but died again. Nothing but crank over, and of course, no tools. Some kind sole helped me push the car away from the gas pumps. I called my wife to come and pick me up so I could get some tools. By the time I returned, it was nearly 90 degrees and I was working in the sun. I found I lost spark, but sure was not into doing anything about it there. AAA towing to the rescue. I was back home and the coupe was pushed into the garage in about an hour, but I had someplace I needed to be the rest of the night.

Wed morning was mowing day here. When I turned on my computer Wed afternoon, I typed in my pin number to start the computer, it is usually one of those quick things and I don't often pay much attention (in case you haven't noticed, my typing skills are not very good). I was kind of in a hurry, and I typed in a wrong letter (not the first time I've done that), so I typed it in again, pretty sure it was correct, but I was informed it too was incorrect. Then I started second guessing if I typed it in wrong again, but I wasn't even sure if I was typing in the correct pin at all.
That resulted in Microsoft locking my pin. Things went down hill from there. As a 2nd option I could use the password. I had that written down. I very carefully typed that in, only to find out it must not have been the most recent password. I hate it when I need to keep updating passwords.
That locked the system. My last option was to go back to the original phone number the program was opened under, and they would text me a code to get in. That number was a land line we no longer have (they couldn't have texted a land line anyway).
The 4th was a busy day around here. We did enjoy the craziness of an extended family gathering.
Friday was spent working on the coupe, To start out, I turned the key and it fired right up! It ran a couple minutes then died. wouldn't restart. No power to the coil. I have the fuse box hidden behind a cover I had to remove to even check the fuses (what was I thinking back then (2012) with the panel pulled, I also had access to the steering column (the switch is on the column). Everything checked good and when I turned the key, the car started up again. It ran a couple minutes and died again, no voltage to the coil, but all the fuses had power, and the ignition switch functioned (didn't start that time). The problem had to be between the ignition switch and the coil. Of course, to gain access to that wiring is going to be a pain. The car has electronic fuel injection, so that adds more questions.
I have a known good computer, it was pretty easy to plug in and test. No difference. I have a few good relays, those are easy to swap out. Nothing. Checking the wire harness is it. There was a lot of stuff to disconnect and move to be able to remove the 3' long 1" diameter wire loom full of wires that extended from the passenger side where the coil was to the driver side where cowl where the wiring enters the passenger compartment. I spent several hours doing that, only to find the wiring was flawless. I did find another relay I didn't see, which I changed. Everything would need to be reassembled to see if the problem was fixed. I just was not ready for that. I did call my mechanic buddy. He suggested that maybe since the car hasn't been driven (it has been started and has been moved to mow around), maybe there was a problem with the fuel pump or the wiring to it, under the car. I reassembled the car (except the fuse panel cover) and called it a day.

Friday evening I dug out my wife's old lap top (which I'm using right now). But Saturday was another extended family reunion day.
Sunday we spent the afternoon trying to get Microsoft to unlock my computer. We didn't provide enough information for them to think it was my computer. Looks like a new one will be coming. The old one was really old, and the thing I am the most sorry about is I don't have access to nearly 900 pictures (including my 48 coupe and my 49 truck builds). At least I've been able to get on the emails and most of the web sites I visit often.

The good news is I got the coupe to run! I put it up on jack stands and checked the wiring to the fuel pump it was OK) As I was leaning on the fender wondering what the next step was going to be, I noticed a smaller vacuum hose disconnected from the brake booster vacuum supply line, so I plugged that in and started the motor. It fired right up, purred like a kitten for more then 15 minutes. While it s running, I put the fuse box cover back on, took the car off the jack stands, put the tools away, and drove the car out of the garage. Then I took it for a 20 mile cruise. It was fun getting back in it and actually driving it this afternoon. I don't know if that vacuum hose was the cause of the problem all along, or if it was that last relay I found, and the vacuum hose got disconnected while I was messing with the wiring all around that connection. I'm going to lay the blame on both. At least I know the wiring is still all good.

I will probably be buying a new computer next week. We can appeal to Microsoft again, but I'm not expecting much help from them.

I'm looking for a desk top computer (my monitor has some issues as well, will probably replace it at the same time), probably don't need a big powerful unit, I just surf a few message board a few U-tube videos, and such, no gaming or big time video stuff, but if I can get an SD card slot the card from my camera fits, I can still have about 1/2 my pictures. If you guys have any input, I'm open
Click to expand...
If you do buy a new computer, also purchase an external housing you can install the hard drive fromm the locked up computer in. Then use it as an external drive, search for the "photos" file, or whatever you named it, then copy where you want them.
 
Joe Simmons said:
If you do buy a new computer, also purchase an external housing you can install the hard drive fromm the locked up computer in. Then use it as an external drive, search for the "photos" file, or whatever you named it, then copy where you want them.
Click to expand...
That may be over my head, are you saying I can buy another "computer body" and move the hard drive from my old computer and I can open the old one up off of maybe a USB port?
Computer sources in our town are pretty much limited to Walmart.
 

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