JBNeal

Chrysler Turbine parked on the street in the hood outside of Chicago

Over 10yrs ago, I was working as the manufacturing engineer for a <50 ppl heat transfer equipment manufacturer that had relocated from Bay Area to outside of Austin, with only 7 managers, a test tech, and the owner's kinda flaky jack-of-all-trades nephew making the move. I was given the task of learning how everything was done from spotty and poorly documented work procedures, then training the all-new production staff... I found out that I kinda irked the very busy production mgr cuz I never asked for his help (didn't know I was supposed to?) 🤔 Within 3 months of starting, I began looking for another job as I had discovered information and verified with the eng.mgr (who was on my side) that the problems that this dumb hick solved in a matter of hours had actually been "studied" by the manufacturing task force prior to the company moving...I say studied cuz in 5yrs, they solved zero problems, while I knocked out almost all of the laundry list of issues in just over 2 months...during that 3 month period, both the production mgr and quality mgr tried to have me terminated for frivolous reasons, each time within hrs of me solving some costly problem...then I found out these two were half of that manufacturing task force...OOPS That quality mgr was a real piece of work too...not very bright but manipulative and vindictive, also had a mouth on'm. He was a c*nt hair taller than me, but regularly called me "shorty" etc. He had the physique akin to a grapefruit on a toothpick, and felt fine with calling me "fatso" cuz I actually had meat on my bones and could lift objects heavier than a coffee mug. And he provided this small company with his special treat of whining about the non-vegetarian meal choice, as the owner had arranged for one of the best smoked bbq joints in The Lone Star State, that was located just a few blocks away, to cater a Christmas Eve luncheon...a few days before what the rest of us were really looking forward to, the owner announced that the luncheon would instead be catered by Subway at the convenience store up the street...while Qmgr ate half of his veggie footlong, he encouraged the rest of us fatties to eat healthier and pointed out that half the sammiches there were the veggies, the other half was tuna, not that disgusting smoked bbq 🤬 Before St.Patrick's Day, Qmgr got to jawing with the newly hired wet-behind-the-ears staff engineer about who could run faster. This went on for several days, right in my work area, and it was like listening to a couple of bald guys arguing over a comb. One of their Quien Es Mas Macho blahblahblahs erupted right in front of me in the production area, so I loudly pointed out that they should settle their disagreement in the parking lot, like men...they took the bait since there were a dozen of us witnessing their distracting stupidity, and I suggested that they place a gentleman's wager on this competition...neither knew what tf I was talking about, so I pointed out that it was a buck and a handshake, then they arranged to have their drag race during the next morning break to complete the wager while wearing the appropriate running wear. The cute receptionist got wind of this and volunteered to be the starter/judge, the course was set to run in the parking lot around the dumpster and back, so about 100 meters. Qmgr eked out the win in front of most of the company (a couple dozen of us), and really started to gloat afterwards, waving that dollar bill around and calling us all dumbo fatties, like the true class act he was. I CALL NEXT shot out of my mouth after he called us all losers during his victory lap. Everyone froze, and I pointed out that I could whoop'm, even while wearing my engineering ofc attire of denim and lace-up work boots. People started to snicker, and when I called the Qmgr yeller for not taking up my challenge, he observed that I was not athletic enough to chase after an ice cream truck. I proceeded to demonstrate that I could kick either leg about shoulder high, which took most folks by surprise, so he opted to insult me in front of everyone by demanding to see my money first... I gladly whipped it out for all to see, so it was on. He was jogging in place while I humorously did my old man stretches, groaning a little bit when I appeared to be exerting myself, then took my mark. The crew was just a-smilin as I winked at them and gave them the thumbs-up. Receptionist said GO, Qmgr took off on a dead run, and I turned to receptionist and said LOOK AT'M FLY with a big smile...she immediately busted out laughing as I turned to high-five the howling crowd as I went back inside since break time was about over...I heard from several ppl that ******* was fuming when he realized that I had pranked him, just a-cussin about how I was a scared li'l sissy blahblahblah, but for weeks afterwards I'd get the random smiling fist bump from the production staff and the receptionist on how I whooped'm

I have found that digital camera phone has aided not only in taking paperless notes for reassembly but in replacing a mirror while working in tight spaces on the Laramie, most car engine compartments, a washer n dryer, several farm tractors, and many pieces of industrial equipment...I've even recorded several videos by putting the phone on a big piece of cardboard and sliding the cardboard under low slung vehicles instead of jacking up them buggies and crawling underneath...this has irritated several coworkers and elderly neighbors who grunted that they coulda done that (but didn't think to do it) 😁

Chrysler Turbine parked on the street in the hood outside of Chicago

as far as I know, these pre-51 flatheads ran a rad.cap that did not pressurize the coolant system, with any excess fluid burped out of the overflow tube. This meant that if the original radiator was overfilled, then the excess fluid would slosh out that tube. Whenever I hear about a pressurized rad.cap being installed on one of these original flathead cooling systems, my concern is one of those freeze plugs popping out, especially that one in the back that is very difficult to see, let alone access for repairs.

VINTAGEPIC: spotted this B-1or2 rental truck at the scene of an illegally parked airplane on the internets

preparing for weekend frivolity north of Chicago 🥶

VINTAGEPIC: saw this Job-Rated COE wrecker north of Cuba

Chrysler Turbine being checked out by Grumman technicians outside of Chicago

the only thing missing from this parts counter are the ashtrays set in little rubber tires

they put radios in cars for a reason

correct, this strategy is what I've been following for years of driving in +100° heat

Chrysler Turbine propping up a family of squinting posers at the Holiday Inn outside of Chicago

VINTAGEPIC: spotted this big B-series van north of Chicago

Watching the video, I noticed 2 things: bubbles and rubber hose. During normal operation, even with a fuel filter in that sediment bowl, there would be the occasional <1/4" bubble burst as the carb.needle presumably opened then closed...your steady stream of larger bubbles tells me that pump is not pushing fluid into the sed.bowl. This leads me to that rubber hose, which is probably soaking up heat shelled off of the exhaust manifold and evaporating the fuel as it flows into the sed.bowl. This can put some back pressure into that fuel pump which will close that li'l check valve to protect its diaphragm. A metal fuel line with adequate clearance away from the exhaust manifold could reduce the chances that fuel is boiling before it reaches the sed.bowl...insulating that line could also help. additional information - fuel line routing to improve hot starting

Mondays amiright

@bkahler are ya gonna make some kinda sleeve for them U-bolts to clamp on the tie rod? I see a gap that translates to effectively a point contact of the U-bolt to the tie rod...I reckon a sleeve that would fill that gap could increase the U-bolt contact from a point to half the tie rod circumference, decreasing the U-bolt's ability to slide around on that tie rod.

It's good to hear ya were properly incentivized to part ways with your buggy. The tire-kickers that have insulted me with their less than scrap value offers on my rides that are clearly not sporting a for-sale sign, at home or out-n-about, with the "oh I'm doing you a favor by hauling that junk off" sales pitch has never been convincing...bless their hearts 🙄

I caught the nugget about how cam smoothness also affects wear rate of that bumper block...when I had Burton L. Norton revive two of my distributors, I recall seeing "polishing points cam" in their to-do list and wondered why that was notable...now I know

another rube who took the "drive-in" command on the sign seriously

VINTAGEPIC: saw this 58ish hauler with a load of '59s

My arm got twisted in July to revive my elderly neighbor's antique tractor collection, late 90s restorations that had not been started in about 20yrs. These old tractors were not mothballed, just driven into her "barn" (actually, it's a detached 3-car garage) who knows when, and my elderly neighbor's not-so-nice daughter swore up and down they only needed new batteries and gas...she's the distrustful one with alotta dollars and not alotta sense. My neighbor is pushing 90, and her 2 daughters wanted to get the tractors running so the grandkids and great-grandkids could get their pictures taken at the local tractor show on the 1st Saturday of October. So I ended up putting in 175 hrs of sweaty elbow grease in my free time this summer just to help provide props in a photo-op...my neighbor paid for my time (sorta) but then the not-so-nice daughter started screaming and hollering that I did not deserve all that $$$, that I was trying to soak her for as much as I could cuz them tractors didn't need all that work done blahblahblah...that part of the story is still ongoing 🙄 Anyhow, I drove the Farmalls to the showgrounds and back without incident, as the showgrounds are only about 10 miles away...even got volun-told to drive the F-20 in the parade, as the not-so-nice daughter drove the B and her not-so-nice hubby drove the W-9, both with grandkids along for the ride. It turned out to be a family reunion of sorts for my elderly neighbor, and she had a great time...so I reckon it was worth it. That B was mechanically an absolute mess when I started working on it: fuel tank nasty with varnish and rust, rubber hose fuel line deteriorated, carburetor completely gummed up and stuck, magneto timing off, stuck governor, iffy push-button starter upgrade. After soaking the tank with acetone for over a week, I had to try some electrolysis to get the chunks of rust out that clogged up the sediment bowl inlet while high idle testing. After 3 days of brown foam production, the tank was usable again. Last week I drained the fuel tanks and disconnected batteries, which my elderly neighbor questioned the need for all of that since I had added MMO to every gallon. I pointed out that every shutoff valve leaked a little, opened or closed, and that the carburetors all dripped too, so it was better to get that gasoline back in sealed containers rather than have it all spill on her concrete garage floor, to which she concurred. I then explained that if she needed to get those tractors re-fired in the near future, it should not be such a laborious task, and she chuckled in agreement on that...she was quite the micromanager on this project, questioning every decision I made, after initially telling me that she trusted my judgment in getting the fleet going again. When I told her the starter on the B was kaput in August, she serious-as-a-heart-attack asked if it had any spark...I had to dig deep to keep from letting fly a guffaw and replied with a deadpan "nope, no spark at all" ⚡

Chrysler Turbine about to be driven like it was stolen