linus6948

Since we are only a handful of days away from the application of "Brine" and Rocksalt on the roads around here I`ve been trying to get out in the coupe every chance I get. Once they start applying those metal eating wonder products the Dodge goes down for the long Winter`s Sleep.

I`ve got a bigger capacity cooling fan on order for the last mod I want to do to the mig welder, I`ve added a Harbor Freight argon regulator and an argon/c02 mix tank. Right now I`m running a 10lb reel of hobart 030 solid wire and it feeds very well.

The final modification parts for the mig welder, the capacitor and resistor I was waiting for finally arrived last night and I was able to get them installed. The time delay relay on the wire feed motor worked flawlessly all through it`s dial range of 0-10seconds.

We do the same Don, and they grow, but the Deer eat the flowers as fast as they open and we never saw a pumpkin make it yet.

After raising the rear tranny support I gained enough clearance to turn the distributor and get the timing close, still running rough I replaced the incorrect ignition wires. Still running rough I pulled a spark plug, brand new plugs, but they were for a 6cly engine and gapped wrong,I also found two plugs only finger tight and one with cracked porcelain. I put in the correct plugs and it ran much better. Now that the car is tagged and legal I ventured out for a short ride and found I still did not have enough firewall clearance for the large body HEI dist the last owner had installed.The cap was making contact with the firewall enough to loosen the cap clips when the motor flexed in it`s mounts under acceleration, happened repeatedly so I took it back home. I did some research and found out absolutely this model big body internal coil dist will not work out in my car without altering the firewall or moving the engine forward. Neither of these options appeals to me so I ordered a small body HEI dist that requires an external coil and has no firewall clearance issues. So far just about everything about this project car has been a real project, but I`m not really complaining it keeps me outta the pool halls as the old saying goes. Small Body HEI Dist.

Picked up a Chicago Electric 170amp Mig Welder because I ran into a deal on a new unused unit a friend was selling for half of what it cost. I did some research and found some modifications that for about $50 in parts will turn it into a much better welder. I started the mods yesterday as the 220volt time delay relay arrived in the mail, this relay gets used on the wire-feed motor. I moved the power cord from the front to the rear of the welder, and the old hole on the front gets used for the adjustment dial on the time delay relay. Still awaiting a capacitor and resistor to complete the mods, they get added between the + and - rectifier plates and improve performance when welding thicker material and the cap is controlled by an added switch to remove it from the circuit for welding thinner gauge material like automotive sheet metal. The wife went to harbor freight and picked me up their mig cart at the tent sale this afternoon, I also got the wiring ready for the cap and resistor that are coming. I extended the ground cable and changed out the cheap ground clamp for a real one. The only mod so far to the cart is I added a pull handle to the front of the top shelf.

My Bride has a thing for Pumpkins so we go every year to a friends farm and pick a bin of them and she puts them all around the house and garden as fall decorations. This has gone on for about 15yrs and there was never a problem, occasionally the squirrels would tunnel into one or two of them but for the most part they went unmolested. This year has been different, a couple of mornings ago we awoke to find about a dozen small pumpkins gone stems and all, and a couple of our largest ones near the front door all clawed-up and gnawed on. Apparently Black Bear are very fond of fresh Pumpkins, the Bride is not happy.

The State of PA finally released my license plate so I can venture out legally now with the 57 project. I gonna guess the trees are gonna be at their peak around here in the next handful of days.

For those industrious enough to hand split their firewood I ran across this article that I consider pure genius. http://www.woodheat.org/back-saving-tip.html

Every now and then the sun peeks out from behind the cloud cover that has been lingering around here..

I`ve been trying to get some nice pictures of the fall color around here but the weather has not been cooperative in the least. The wind was howling and I was using the coupes heater for the first time in years.

Some pics along the road thru Sand Springs

Beautiful car Elvis, best of luck with it.

Unfortunately here in the mountains of NE PA the first snow usually occurs in October and we sometimes have April blizzards, there can be months when it looks like "Ice Station Zebra" around here. That`s when plowing the driveway takes over as my next hobby, keeping me pretty busy.

Getting tired of splitting wood, will hopefully be done this week, acorns are falling in the forest like rain which the "old timers" say means a bad winter is coming.

Boy I`m getting a little slow in my old age, that joke is used in one of my favorite marx brothers routines, I should have caught it. Actually that water feature across the road is intentional and usually it is really flowing fast. However we have had one of driest Septembers since they started keeping records around here so it has been down to a trickle lately. Hammer: Come over here, Rand McNally, and I'll explain this thing to you. Now look, this is a map and diagram of the whole Cocoanut section. ...Hammer: ... Now, here is a little peninsula, and, eh, here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland.Chico: Why a duck?Hammer: I'm alright, how are you? I say, here is a little peninsula, and here is a viaduct leading over to the mainland.Chico: Alright, why a duck?Hammer: (pause) I'm not playing "Ask Me Another," I say that's a viaduct.Chico: Alright! Why a duck? Why that...why a duck? Why a no chicken?Hammer: Well, I don't know why a no chicken; I'm a stranger here myself.All I know is that it's a viaduct. You try to cross over there a chicken and you'll find out why a duck.Chico: When I go someplace I just...Hammer: (interrupts) It's...It's deep water, that's why a duck. It's deep water.Chico: That's why a duck...Hammer: Look...look, suppose you were out horseback riding and you came to that streamand you wanted to ford over...You couldn't make it, it's too deep!Chico: Well, why do you want with a Ford if you gotta horse?Hammer: Well, I'm sorry the matter ever came up. All I know is that it's a viaduct.Chico: Now look, alright, I catch ona why a horse, why a chicken, why a this, why a that...I no catch ona why a duck.Hammer: I was only fooling...I was only fooling. They're gonna build a tunnel there in the morning. Now is that clear to you?Chico: Yes, everything excepta why a duck. Groucho and Chico in The Cocoanuts (movie) http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4493024/the_cocoanuts_why_a_duck/

It has to be a vision Don as I did not encounter another car on this run.

Took a ride thru Sand Springs at Hickory Run State Park in the D24

The weather has been good so I`ve been splitting while the splitting is good, the Bride just told me to take a break from the wood and cut the grass.

Thank you Uncle Pekka, as Don already stated, very well said. I wanted one of these cars for about 50 years, fell in love with them at around age 8 when the teenager who lived next door got one. I used to stare at that car ad nauseam and promised myself that I would someday get one. But everything that you, Don and others have said about these cars is very true, it is a different experience doing this project, everything whether repop or original is vastly overpriced, but you can buy almost every single piece of this car from one vendor or another if your pockets are deep enough.

I`m lucky that my local napa store is only 4 miles away and the owner and I have been friendly for a few years now as I taken up a lot of his time at the counter hunting down parts for this project. Not knowing the pedigree of several major components of this car makes ordering parts somewhat problematic to say the least. Brake fluid started to flow from a rear wheel so it was time to look at the rear brakes. They were in need of a complete overhaul and the drums needed to be cut, I was able to get it all done thru napa including the drum work. The rear end in this car turns out to be a 10 bolt out of a 1970 camaro, the engine is 20yrs newer and also out of a camaro.

I usually wait till the wood burner is going before I start singing this to the Bride, she just loves this old country tune...

I`ve been busy juggling things that need to be done around here before winter and still spend some time working on the 57 project. I`ve come to discover that the two previous custodians of this car threw quite a bit of money at this car but both were in over their heads as far as their mechanical abilities. Everything I have done so far is correct badly done work, an example 2 owners back the guy installed a new tubular front end, it was a complete kit that came with coil springs capable of holding up the engine of your choice. The last owner put in a small block, but never cut the springs, so the "a" arms were fully deflected and the upper ball joints were rubbing on the frame, the dust covers were shredded. I had to cut a coil and a half from each spring and replace the dust covers. It was then I noticed that all these new pieces were only finger tight, nothing was wrench tightened. One of the lower ball joints had already lost a bolt altogether and the other three bolts were halfway loose. I find this amazing as the last guy was starting to drive the car around the block, there were no front shocks and loose bolts, this guy could have sent a coil spring flying. I`m just glad I did not choose to tow-dolly this car by the rear wheels or I never would have made it home, that loose front end would have self destructed.

Dropped another long dead white oak that had a tree-top full of "widow-maker" limbs.

I had to improvise a transmission screw-jack, I used an electrician`s cable reel tripod and some concrete blocks and 6x6`s. I had to raise and reposition rear engine/transmission cross-brace member to correct the engine angle in relation to the firewall and allow some clearance for the hei distributor.