Dan Hiebert

Just for giggles. This is a "camp trap". Relatively common in these parts, I'm told, but I hadn't see one before. This is in one of the Wardens' camps in the North Maine Woods. Rodent walks the plank. The can, mounted so it spins on the rod (in this case a radio antenna), is smeared with "something", possibly peanut butter, to attract said rodent. Rodent extends self to reach bait, falls off of spinning can into 3-4" of water in the bottom of the bucket. Drowns. This one hadn't been tended in a while, I wasn't about to poke around the soupy substance in the bottom. But disposal of long untended trap contents is straightforward and you don't have to deal with fuzzy little carcasses from regular poison or snap-traps.

We've got a relatively well sealed 30 x 50 shop, and lots of woods, which means mice, voles, and shrews. Shop was built as usual around here, with 8" cement footing off the slab, which limits accessibility to vermin. But, they still get in. Terrpalane was leaking coolant so I had a pan under it and one day found a dead mouse in it, then I saw one sneak in through the door behind me one day, so I set out "Tomcat" poison bait traps. Forces them out to find water, where they die. There's only one way in or out of the shop, so I put the bait there, I ensure there's no food for them in the shop, so they have to leave to forage, passing right over the peanut butter flavored bait. I don't have anything against snare traps, just haven't bothered to get any. We've also got a really good mouser cat, who prowls the shop whenever I'm in it, he hasn't honed in on anything in there for a while. I haven't resorted to any repellents, haven't needed to. I go over everything out there once a week or so to see if they're into anything. Living where we do, one has to manage expectations, there will be mice, we just try to control where we don't want them.

I made the drive from the Soo to Thunder Bay and back a couple times when I was stationed in Detroit. The Trans Canada Highway is a good, well maintained road. All forest, and some lakeshore scenery, no attractions per se. More bear, moose, and deer than people. Those trips were for work, I wouldn't make that drive on my own, I love scenic drives, but I also like at least some infrastructure.

One heckuva reception hoo-doo if they planned to fill that up with beer cans...

I used Type F automatic transmission fluid when I changed my fluid drive fluid 11 years ago. I suspected it had never been changed, and would be low because I had an annoying level leak as well. It was "only" 1/2 quart low, but like yours, the car sure runs better. The fluid shouldn't be more than 10w, and should have an anti-foaming ingredient - transmission fluids and "tractor" fluids do (stuff's all essentially hydraulic fluid). A controversial subject is whether or not an ingredient that reinvigorates (swells) the seals is appropriate, as the seals in these units aren't designed with that in mind and are rumored to deteriorate quicker with that ingredient. BUT, that's what Type F fluid has, and we've had nary a problem since, or any leaks for that matter.

"Awesome rack", which saying in some circles gets one in trouble. What did it dress out to? Biggest rack in Maine last year was 58", heaviest moose was 966lbs. Moose season hasn't started in Maine yet, this year.

Best of luck to you. My uncle had his hip replaced a few years ago, my stepmom just had her knee done, and a colleague had his shoulder replaced a few months ago. Meaning joint replacement, although nothing to sneeze at, is getting to be common practice, so the Sawbones have it down. I'll still use the occasion to have a touch of the Glenmorangie I have stashed away in honor of a speedy recovery, if you don't mind...

I have one of those stencils across the top of the rear window on mine - "40hp - Just Go Around". Thinking of putting a mirror image on the front so it can be read in a rear-view mirror - "There, Feel Better?"

Kinda depends on what you need price for. NADA is what the insurance companies use, you have to explain if you've done anything to adjust the value of the car from what NADA shows. Maine uses NADA to ascertain values for their excise tax, other states similarly situated may do the same. I use the Old Car Price Guide as a starting point if I'm buying/selling, because it has more condition levels, five I think, NADA only has three, but I haven't done that in many years.

That's a Hudson. Same engine on my Terraplane. That is the water jacket, it does indeed connect to the water pump. Takes the coolant from the cylinder banks back through the pump.

Great pictures, thanks for the link. I'm a bit partial to Hudsons and Terraplanes. When we first got our D24 I would frequent salvage yards in New Mexico looking for parts. One in particular in Alamogordo that seemed to have a rather high percentage of Hudsons, and one '37 Terraplane that caught my eye. I did a little digging and found out Hudson was a very popular brand in the area because of its reliability - and speed to cross the wide open areas - and several had come from the military bases in the area. I never could forget the styling of the Terraplane, so much so that I kept an eye out until I found one that was within my means, financially and mechanically. Took ten years to find it, which I did by accosting a group of Hudson owners that had stopped for gas in Carlsbad, NM, in route to a regional Hudson, Essex, Terraplane club meet in Las Cruces, NM. They gave me a copy of the club magazine, and lo and behold, there was one in the classifieds that fit the bill, and was only 50 miles from my uncle in southern Illinois. That was 15 years ago, I've kept it running, driving, and stopping, but it's a retirement project. Here it is the day I brought it home. 35mm photo, digitized, printed, then scanned - thus poor quality.

These Skycranes are awesome. I've seen an orange one over various parts of Maine a few times, most recently near Portland just last Thursday. It's the only way to get some types of loads into the Maine woods and mountains.

Yeah, I kind of lost track once the girls started showing up, too...and taint nuthin wrong with some good ol Santana. I remember when low riders started showing up when I was in high school in west Texas. Let's just say the late '70s. Then it was just slamming the rear suspension, but it was all about resurrecting older cars. That's the part I like. The workmanship, attention to detail, and pride in the end result (Note the Chevy in the original post is parked across three spaces) I like, too. But, I wouldn't have one, I like either stock ride height, or just lowered an inch or two - as in subtle - that's me. If it blows your skirt up, then that's what you should do, and I'll applaud you for it.

I was on the NY Thruway somewhere between Albany and Syracuse when the eclipse happened, 70% there. Traffic wasn't any better or worse than usual, lights dimmed for about 30 minutes, kinda like being downwind of a big forest fire when the smoke blots the sun out. Most interesting part was all the eclipse themed songs on the radio during the trip.

Your side glass will be safety glass, too, if it comes to that. Chrysler was the first to put safety glass all around in all its models, but don't recall off-hand when that was, but it definitely includes post-war models.

So...to answer the query, I have four 3/4 wrenches. I know where two came from, the other two I think are their offspring, because I have no clue where they actually came from. The most numerous wrench size I have is 1/2". I have five of those. Kind of the same deal, two I know the origins of, the other three just seem to have materialized... There is a slight chance I have even more of both, since I have a couple 20mm ammo cans full of various tools that I haven't opened in a few years.

The classic VW Beetles are the cockroaches of the automotive world. No matter how many you kill or mutilate, there always seems to be more...

Thankee kindly. I saw the resurrection of this thread and your post with the red one and remembered (Duh) I have one, too. Its a little rough around the edges, but I got it to drive and tinker with, not to restore. Actually kind of neat just fixing stuff on it without worrying about being original or correct. All stock, everything works but the window washer (because I took it out), runs great, and important for Maine - doesn't leak. Yours looks a bit...shall we say...rougher.

Another in the stable. Daily driver...except in winter.

Andyd - roger that on the steering box gear lube. Mine had grease initially, which, due to the mechanics you mention, I believe contributed to the condition it was in. Although the box had grease in it, the gears themselves were relatively dry. I rebuilt it several years ago, to include the new sector shaft seal so it doesn't leak, and I probably won't put enough miles on it to wear it out now. But that Penrite steering box lube does sound intriguing.

Welcome to the Forum. Don't know what year they started, but Dodges do not have the rubber insulator between the steering gear box and frame, they have that vibration dampening in the steering linkage. So if you don't see it, don't panic. Unknown if Dodge may have gone back to that setup later, but 46-48 don't have it. Otherwise, the tips noted in the thread are right on. If your steering box doesn't leak, I'd recommend sticking with the heavy gear oil, vs. grease, though.

I feel for you'uns in the path of the total eclipse, bound to be a Charlie-foxtrot. I'll be on the road to Buffalo on the 21st for work, so I'll be traveling from the 60% into the 70% zone, and I'll probably encounter traffic heading towards the total eclipse band, you know just as many folks will "drive in" that morning as those that planned ahead. Haven't decided if I'm dreading it, or looking forward to it...

Media is reporting that 150 cars were lost.

One of my favorite museums as well. When we lived in Michigan I had to travel to Indianapolis fairly regularly and always made it a point to stop there for a while. One of those museums where you always find or notice something new every time you visit.

LOL. I was reading the topic, and was going to regale you'uns with a remarkably similar tale. 'Cept ours involved a coworker that was awful proud of his new car and it's purported gas mileage. We worked in a place where the closest suitable housing was a minimum of 40 miles, so MPGs got important to all of us. We added about 1/2 gallon a day for a couple weeks, nothing for a couple weeks, then siphoned 1/2 gallon a day for two more weeks. We waited until he had made an appointment with the dealer to have it checked before we told him what was up. He was moderately amused, and of course endeavored to get back at us for months afterwards. Another one, not intended as a prank, but turned into one. Same place (Hudspeth County, west Texas is close enough). Lots and lots of rattlesnakes. We'd occasionally gather a few up while going about our business, to BBQ at the station for choir practice after the shift, which entailed beheading them (for "safety", since their venom remains poisonous), and usually depositing them on the passenger side floor of our 4x4 until it was time to clean them. Even beheaded, a relatively fresh snake will still strike in reflex to being stepped on. I had one on the floor board that I wasn't thinking of when I went to pick another agent up that had been tracking a group of people, to take him back to his truck. He jumped into the seat, and when he put his feet into the vehicle, stepped on the aforementioned dead snake, which struck several times at his calf. He of course felt it, looked down, screamed like a girl, and jumped into the center of the seat...onto my brand new straw hat!