Olddaddy Posted July 21, 2013 Report Posted July 21, 2013 July in Florida is not your friend, let's be clear about that. Aside from the tremendous heat and humidity we have a new type of "aggressive" mosquito to contend with. So, covered head to toe and slathered with deadly toxic chemicals I managed a bit of progress on Ken and Arlene's 49 Dodge pickup yesterday. My shop has become seriously overcrowded and so I mounted the truck atop a rolling cradle. This will allow it to move about as needed and to remain "afloat" as long as needed to get the brakes, front end, rear end and tranny work done. I pulled the front brakes apart and confirmed Ken and Arlene are protected by Guardian Angels! The passenger side was well greased from a failed seal, driver side shoes fell out on the floor when I pulled the drum. I expect divine intervention and good rear brakes have kept them from grief so far. The disc conversion parts will get picked up tomorrow and installed over the next few days. Once that is done stopping will be a breeze. Add to that a late model disc brake rear and it will do the proverbial "stop on a dime" routine and give change. More as it happens, stay tuned! 1 Quote
pflaming Posted July 21, 2013 Report Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Unusual color, I like it. Is that an original color? Disc brakes make driving these trucks very enjoyable. Keep us informed. Cradle: I've never seen a cradle like that. Harbor freight? Like it better than four individuals, which are also nice, a set of which I have. Edited July 21, 2013 by pflaming Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 21, 2013 Report Posted July 21, 2013 Are mosquitos evolving with more aggression or does it just seem that way as we grow older and our reaction time decreasses? I like your dolly. Quote
Olddaddy Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) The cradle was a made to order item from steel tube that was in the rack and casters on the shelf. Necessity is my Mother too. I don't believe that color is original, but Ken may know. It is going to be that color again by the end of summer. According to State of Florida Dept of Ag, this new mosquito is an invasive species that is literally aggressive. They seek you out and are very persistent until they succeed or you kill them. You cannot simply swat and ignore, you must become actively engaged in their death.......did I mention how large they are? Damn near the size of small birds! Edited July 21, 2013 by Olddaddy Quote
pflaming Posted July 21, 2013 Report Posted July 21, 2013 Don, I think the squitos get high taking fluid from the younger generation too many of whom are on "something"! Then they come to us old guys for withdrawal treatments. Quote
MBF Posted July 22, 2013 Report Posted July 22, 2013 Guess you're gonna need a bigger bug light. Love to hear those suckers get zapped. We've got a lot of bat activity up here nights which I'm sure is helping to keep the skeeter population somewhat in check. Quote
Jeff Balazs Posted July 22, 2013 Report Posted July 22, 2013 The cradle was a made to order item from steel tube that was in the rack and casters on the shelf. Necessity is my Mother too. I don't believe that color is original, but Ken may know. It is going to be that color again by the end of summer. According to State of Florida Dept of Ag, this new mosquito is an invasive species that is literally aggressive. They seek you out and are very persistent until they succeed or you kill them. You cannot simply swat and ignore, you must become actively engaged in their death.......did I mention how large they are? Damn near the size of small birds! Sounds about as bad as a beast we have around here known as a Tarantula Hawk. Fortunately they don't occur in any great numbers. Nasty things though....actually a giant wasp about the size of a hummingbird. One good thing about them is you can actually hear them coming towards you for quite a distance. They hunt down tarantulas which they paralyze with their sting and then lay their eggs on the victim. The larvae then hatch and feed upon the still living tarantula. Nature has some pretty gruesome aspects to it. I've known a couple of folks that have been stung by these critters while out camping in the desert. One of the victims I knew had to go to Loma Linda Hospital for an extended stay. He said it felt like someone was holding a blowtorch on him for over 2 days. You could still see the affected area 6 weeks later! Jeff Quote
Dodgeb4ya Posted July 22, 2013 Report Posted July 22, 2013 I'm so glad we don't have the humidity or the bad ass killer mosquitoes here in the NW! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.