oldodge41

The quotes are in: First and second guy are within a couple hundred dollars of each other, although each spec'd out different equipment. The third guy was right at double the other two prices. Looks like I will go with the second guy since he has a much more comprehensive quote, and facts / calculations to stand behind his recommendations. Looking like it will be a Mitsubishi 36000 BTU (3 ton) Hyper Heat outdoor heat pump paired with an air handler for the indoor unit. I am adding auxiliary heat strips to the air handler as a "just in case we get a rare extended sub zero stretch of weather". The plan is to heat and cool with the heat pump 12 months a year, but have the aux electric heat programmed to run only if absolutely necessary, possibly only with my intervention. Next steps is sign a contract and place a deposit on equipment, then get it scheduled and done. It is supposed to be a one day demo of the old oil fired system and installation of the new heat pump system.

I had my '41 out last week too. I think it was Wednesday 4/12. Weather was beautiful here then. Not so much today, 35F and rainy/windy.

We had a great day! My daughter, Son in Law and Grandson came in Saturday afternoon. My Grandson is 14 months old, the apple of my eye. We had an Easter Egg Hunt for him, we watched him with his basket from "The Bunny" and a few gifts from Gigi and Pops. Afterward we went to my sisters for a late lunch meal with about twenty family members and then home to recuperate and reminisce after our little one left for home. Also got my camper uncovered while my Son in Law was here to help me fold and roll the cover. It was as near a perfect day as I could imagine for me. I hope everyone else had a blessed and Happy Easter as well. With the camper uncovered the next step is to summer-ize and relocate my snow blower and four wheeler/plow to the storage sheds. Then the '41 can come out! Woo-hoo bring on spring!

Keep the pics coming. I've never dealt with babbit bearings, and probably never will, but I still want to learn.

I have spoken with three dealer/installers. First guy - Listened to my desires and replied: Definitely heat pump - I've installed thousands in our area. The new ones are good to -5F before efficiency drops. No backup heat necessary. Heres the price let me know when your ready. Second guy - Listened to my desires and replied: Let me come to your home, I will do a complete heat loss study, calculate heating and cooling loads and then we can discuss options that will work. We discussed several options including, stand alone heat pump, heat pump with fuel backup, heat pump with electric backup, fuel primary heat with stand alone A/C. Seems very knowledgeable and gave me a ballpark price range. He will be here Tuesday to do the heat loss study. Third guy - I can be at your house to talk to you in 4 hours. He came with a plan for ductless mini-splits, which I don't want for several reasons. We discussed other options which he admitted he wasn't too familiar with, but he took a bunch of pictures and measurements and said he would talk with their more experienced estimator about other options and get back to me middle of next week. My take: First guy, excellent local reputation, very easy to talk to, very knowledgeable, very responsive. He is the president /owner of the company. Gave me his cell said call anytime. Not too interested in discussing options was the negative for me. Overall - cautiously optimistic Second guy - Open to options, wants to get it right the first time, he is an estimator/salesman, company has an excellent local reputation, ballpark price was in line with first guy. I was impressed with his knowledge of every system I inquired about. He overwhelmed my wife and she said he is making this too complicated. I like the details, she doesn't. Overall - Looking forward to his recommendation Third guy - Not well versed in options, out of his comfort zone talking ducted systems. Easy to talk to, eager to please, but possibly lacking knowledge/experience. Overall - hoping the more experienced guy gets involved. If he is the same, they are a no-go. Thanks everyone for your experiences and opinions. I'll keep you posted as I move ahead with this.

I was thinking I want to stay away from resistive electric heat for a couple reasons. One is cost to operate and second is the ability to backup my heat source electrically with a reasonably sized portable generator in the event of an extended power outage. My oil furnace takes very little electrical power to operate. I am in the shale gas region, but unfortunately not in a NG distribution area. I am rural and if I were building new I would love to have a hydronic heat system, but my home is already ducted for forced air and I think it will be much more cost effective to stay with that. I would probably opt for a coal unit in that case. I absolutely hate cutting wood. LOL! One local contractor is touting a mini-split system with a single zone air handler that would tie right into my existing duct system. They claim it is perfect for our area and climate with no backup heat source necessary for our winters. I believe it is a Mitsubishi branded unit. Salesmen can claim anything, that's why I am asking here for your real world experiences. I will probably consider all the options until I get so confused I just do something to get it done. I appreciate the responses. Thank you very much.

I will ask here because it isn't an hvac forum but I value the honest opinions typically expressed here. I am thinking about having a heat pump installed in my home. Currently oil fired forced air heat and a couple (3) window unit A/C's. Anyone have any experiences, good or bad. with heat pumps. My current oil furnace is 30 years old and it works fine. I have considered keeping it as a backup heat source, but have received mixed opinions on the value/hassle of doing so. I live in Pennsylvania and we have a wide range of temperatures throughout the year. My other option, I guess, is to stay oil heat and add an ac unit as I am trying to get away from window units to cool the entire house.

Great idea to cycle the suspension like that to check for bind spots!

Perception is everything. As a high school kid all the "cool cars" the older guys drove around here had Remington XT-120 white letter tires. When I was ready to buy my first set of "new" tires, I went to the local tire shop and asked for a price on a set of cheap white letter tires and a price on a set of good tires like Remington XT-120's. The guy looked at me and said, "Remington is a cheap tire, that's why all you guys run them"! I was amazed, they were on all the coolest cars, I thought they had to be expensive tires.

Great to see you back on the road! Have fun and keep sharing.

I wonder how many fluid drive cars were parked over the years, and left to rot, because of leaking fluid drive units that owners couldn't afford to repair? How many clutch jobs ballooned into major jobs when the FD seal was damaged during removing and replacing a transmission? How many of those cars could have continued on with something as simple and cheap as a bolt in the fluid drive to keep them on the road? Maybe not too many, I don't know, but I wonder. I have seen cars parked for much lesser reasons, and then father time took over and destroyed the vehicle before anyone got around to fixing it right. Just how often was this band aid applied back in the day? We will never know, but it is the kind of thing I seem to enjoy thinking about. Just another intriguing aspect, to me, of old cars.

They told me that they put me just to the edge of going to sleep, but coherent enough to follow the doctors instructions. I remember nothing from the first eye except being told to look down once at some point. The second eye, I remember the doctor instructing me which of the three lights to look at a couple of times. I also remember the nurses, or techs, or whatever they are, removing their gowns, gloves, etc before I was wheeled to recovery. Both times recovery consisted of putting my shirt back on, drinking a cup of water and receiving discharge instructions. Maybe 15 minutes in recovery each time.

Any possibility you blew a fuse somewhere! I would start by checking for voltage at the starter switch.

They offered me a couple options. I took the first option which gives me great distance vision and the need for reading glasses. Option #2 was one eye distance and one eye close up vision. Option #3 was progressive lenses in each eye. Option 2 and 3 not covered by insurance near as well as option 1. I am a firm believer in safety glasses anyway, and I've worn glasses since I was 12, so reading glasses doesn't bother me.

Last Thursday I had cataracts removed and a new lens installed in my left eye. This Thursday the same was done to my right eye. All I can say is WOW! There is a very big difference in my vision and very easy procedures. If you are ever told you need cataract surgery and wonder if you should do it, it's a personal choice of course, but I recommend not delaying as the results in my case are amazing. At yesterday's one day post op checkup my vision was 20/20. I will need reading glasses, because I didn't opt for the options that could have possibly negated them, but I am very happy with the results.

Anyone used a disc brake kit from https://www.tsmmfg.net/ ? I don't remember seeing their kits before.

I like it. I like the roof better on the Dodge than the Studebaker.

It has its time and place in my book. Not something I use regularly or even occasionally, but it has its place. Also good for seating beads on tires. Always scares me, but it has worked more than once.

Happy New Year to you as well. Today's lunch menu is a pork loin, sauerkraut, dumplings and mashed potatoes. And it is smelling fantastic. Probably my favorite meal of the year, my wife is an excellent cook. A warm 42 degrees F here. Cloudy but warm for this time of year. Not much on the agenda for today. Probably run the '41 a bit, maybe back it out of the garage for a while, but the roads are too salty for a drive.

Merry Christmas everyone. Eight years ago I photoshopped The Wayback Machine into a photo with my old Dodge for my Christmas card to our old friend Bob Drown. It popped up as a memory on Facebook so I decided to share it again.

Friday started at 34F and quickly dropped below 0. It was -11F here most of Friday and yesterday with 20mph sustained winds and gusts to 55mph. It is a balmy +11F with much calmer winds today. Merry Christmas everyone, stay warm.

Proving it ain't so............ although it may have been be a cool concept if it were so.

Not many pictures this year. Not much driving around in the old girl either. Of the few pictures from this year, I oddly like this one best.

"The old car trap" been there, done that! I like the way you're thinking.

Around here DuKane is spelled Duquesne. Not sure why but I found that amusing.