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knuckleharley

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Everything posted by knuckleharley

  1. The only problem I have with the guy doing the truck is he will stop working on my truck in an instant to do a "quick money job" for someone that shows up today. Damn thing was supposed to have been finished "No later than Aug 1 2020." Now I think he is purposely stalling on finishing the wiring,body work,and paint because he knows I am dying,and hopes to get it for a mechanics lien. NOT going to happen. Bodywork and paint is going to be done by mid-Feb,or I am taking it back and trying to find someone else to finish it. Chances are it will be the new owher,though. NEVER seen or heard of ANY profession as slack as the restoration lobby. About the only way you can get those SOB's to move fast is to set fire to them. He is going to be in for a REALLY ugly surprise if he tries to pump up my bill and keep the truck that way. Damn shame you can't sue the SOB's for non-compliance with an agreement,the way they can sue us for inflated surprise bill payments. They hide behind "unexpected difficulty and expenses" and somehow get away with it. Once had a 40 Ford at another shop for over a year,and they never even got it pused inside. Went to check one day and strangers had the hood,truck,and doors open to look,and even had a kid standing on the seat and jumping up and down while making motor noises. I took it home the next day,and damned if the SOB didn't try to charge me storage fees! Seems like all he did was use the car to draw in potential customers for his engine machine shop work.
  2. Update! Might be going into a hospice within a couple of weeks if the new treatment doesn't work,and my surgeon has already told me she doesn't expect it to work. As a result keep an eye open for Mopar cars and trucks for sale in "as is condition".d p Besides the 37 Dodge 1.5 ton pu on the 76 Dodge 4x4 chassis,this will include my 48 club coupe that caught fire under the hood and has since had dashboard parts stolen. Ivt has a 78 Camaro frame clip and I have a balanced and blueprinted 412 SBC to go with it that has big valve heads,competition cams cam,10 to 1 flat top pistons,and a rebuilt turbo 350 with a shift kit and heavy duty clutches to go with it. Used to run this engine in a 1 ton Chevy van,and it would freaking fly. Also my all original 31 Plymouth biz coupe that is an older restoration,my 33 Dodge 4 door stone stock down to original paint, my rough 42 Dodge biz coupe,and my rough 33 Plymouth coupe. The 37 truck was supposed to have been finished by Aug of 2020,and I think the guy is stalling and hoping to get it for mechanics lien after I die. I do have a surprise in order for him if that is his plan. He is also stalling on putting new brakes and a rebuilt fuel pump on the 31 coupe. I see progress on one of them by this time next week or I am taking them both away from him and lettting him sue my estate in court if he wants. BTW,is there ANY business more corrupt that restoration shops,or am I the only one that has had nothing but bad luck dealing with them?
  3. No kidding about that. Seems like the world and every profession is now populated by hacks.
  4. OOPS! Forgot to add that I HOPE to have the Dodge truck back together as a running and finished truck when it goes up for sale. All the mechanical work has already been completed,and the body work is about half done. ALL new patch panels,and the only body plastic is what will be used to fill grind marks. The 31 Plymouth coupe is complete,and only needs a brake job,the fuel pump rebuilt,and the gas tank flused and coated to be a 100 percent complete running and driving car. I have the new brake parts and the fuel pump rebuild kit stored in the trunk. This is the one I was working on when I got too sick to work anymore. The 33 Plymouth coupe will be a basically complete "50's hot rod project car". Thus,"some assembly required".
  5. Went to see my cancer doc today. Missed the last 3 apointments due to being hospitalized. She told me that either my Lymphoa had returned and gotten MUCH more aggressive,or I have a new form of cancer to deal with. Either way,it works out to me spending more time in the hopsital and having less time and energy to post. If you have never had cancer,I can tell you it makes you as weak as a kitten. Plus the pain pills cause me to keep taking naps. Anyhow,I go back into the hospital again next week so they can take more tests to determine exactly what type of cancer is causing the trouble this time so they know how to treat it. Not that it matters a whole lot. My cancer surgeon told me she was going to do her best,but chances are nothing is going to work,and for me to make sure my estate is in order. I WILL be posting photos and "for sale" ads for both my 37 Dodge 1.5ton 4x4 pu and my restored 31 Plymouth business coupe,though. The Dodge has to be assembled after the body work and paint are done. It is sitting on a 79 Dodge 1/2 Ton 4x4 chassis with a new Mopar crate 318,rebuilt auto overdrive,ps.and PB. The 31 Plymouth coupe is stone stock,and I sincerely hope that whoever buys it will keep it that way. I will probably sell the 33 Plymouth coupe "50's hot rod" I was putting together when I got sick. The 56 DeSoto 330 hemi,2 speed auto trans,6 carb intake,and everything else I have collected will be for sale with this one. As the ads sometimes say "Some assembly required". Right now it is at a body shop to be blasted and primed to preserve it. The body is complete with fenders,running board,and rumble lid. Wish I could hang around and respond more,but I just don't have the energy anymore.
  6. That sure is a pretty example of the breed!
  7. That sort of thing was very common,even when these old cars were new. There were aftermarket suppliers making pu beds that fit in the trunk area after removing the trunk lid. Most people back then only had one vehicle,so they had to adapt it so it would do whatever they needed done. Don't know when those conversion kits stopped being made,but I don't remember seeing them in anything as new as a 1940 car. In fact,most of ones I remember seeing being driven around were sticking out of the trunk area of Model A Fords. Anybody remember seeing one in anything newer than 1938 or 1939?
  8. I can't speak to which is "better",but *I* will ALWAYS pick a manul choke over an automatic one. I just like the simplicity and the fact that *I* get to control it. 8
  9. Another "my uncle" (same one) true story related to how slow he drove,and this time it was in a mid-50's 1/2 ton Dodge pu. The ONLY new vehicle he ever bought in his entire life. His son,my cousin, had enlisted in the army,and was a member of the 101st Airborne Division when he decided he didn't want to be in the army anymore,so he just came home. His mother and father finally talked him into going back to Ky to face his charges,so they all piled in the cab of that pu,and left northeastern NC for Ft. Campbell,Ky. It needs to be said that although my aunt was a tiny woman, Uncle George was around 6'8'' tall,and his son "Mackey" was about the same size,so you KNOW that was a fun trip in the cab of that little truck at 35 mph. Anyhow,they got to the main gate at Ft.Campbell,Mackey surrendered to the MP's,and they watche him getting hauled off to the stockage in handcuffs before turning around to dive back home to NC. Imagine their surprise when they finally got home and discovered Mackey sitting in their living room watching tv. This time they didn't have to go anywhere. The army sent some MP's to pick him up. I once watched Uncle George pick up a flat 6 mopar engine complete to the bellhousing,and sit it in the bed of that pu. Didn't even grunt. He just reached down,picked it up,and set it in the bed. He was in his 60's,then. When he was in his 70's,I went up to "the ditch" were all the commercial fishermen kept their work boats,to pump out my fathers boat after a big rain storm,and uncle George was taking the 6 cylinder Falcoln engine out of his boat because it had thrown a rod. The ditch bank was probably 3 feet higher than the top of the 22 foot skiff,so I asked him if he needed any help. He said."Nope,I think I got it.",and just reached down and picked it up and threw it up on the bank. His hands were so big he could palm a basketball. Nobody ever saw him get mad,but then again,most people had better sense than to mess with anyone that large. Also,if he ever took a drink of alcohol,I never talked with anyone who witnessed it,and my father knew him when they were both boys. His first job was as a cabin boy at age 13 on a 3 masted sailing ship that traded with China. He ran away from home to get the job. He was gone for around 20 years before coming back home to live. My very first job was as the only deck hand on the 38 foot shimp boat he build. Never worked that hard on any other job I ever had,but I made pretty good money for a punk 13 year old school child. I was never again temped to work on a shrimp boat,either. After that I wroked construction jobs as a helper ashore while I was still in school.
  10. Color me "Eaten alive with envy". I have never even been within 500 miles of El Mirage,but have been wanting to go since the days of the "little" Rod and Custom magazine.
  11. Thanks for the tip. Even after all these years,such a thing had never even occured to me. Learn something new every day,huh?
  12. My uncle used to own a 48 Chryser,and the top speed seemed to be about 20-25 MPH. I used to sometimes catch a ride to the nearest grocery store (about 20 miles one way),and at times was tempted to just get out and walk. Seemed like that was the top speed of everything he owned.
  13. Don't feel lonesome. I have been here since 2006 also,post at least once a week,and am still listed as a "newbie".
  14. I'm with ya on the 3 brake lights. Your Pontiac lights SHOULD have the dual wires and dual contacts already inside them,and if they don't,installing them is a simple thing to do.
  15. BTW,just had a random moment of clarity. The Buick taillights I was thinking of had chrome "gunsight" insterts in them,with a reflective center piece. They were also larger than the Pontical taillights. I am guessing the Buick taillights are pretty hard to find these days,and most likley kinda "pricey". I had a perfet pair I took off a Buick in a local junkyard when I was a kid,but my mother threw them away when I joined the army.
  16. Could be. They were very similar. IIRC,and with chemo brain that is NOT a certainty,the brake lights on these cars was the single light on the deck lid. Two lights far apart is a MUCH safer setup.
  17. No big deal,but those are Buick taillights. Looks like you have dual exhausts,too.
  18. Wasn't this originally done at the factory?
  19. OUCH! He published that and is still living? That is a bold,bold,man!
  20. Maybe jack both rear wheels off the ground using jack stands,and then bumping the starter until it breaks free?
  21. You just can't beat ground straps to the frame.
  22. Yeah,SOME (strange way some people spell "most") can almost require a 16 lb mall and a wedge.
  23. Ok,some of the valves look a "little" toasty,but the rest of it looks GREAT for an engine that has been sitting for years. Almost impossible to believe you got the head off by tapping it with a rubber mallet. You damn sure have better luck than I do.
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