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Comments
Are you insinuating that Dr. Cooper can have an equal?
I think not.
Soft Kittie, quiet kittie....
I was given this truck in June 2007, and my grandpa swore it was running "great." Well, I could start it, but it had almost no power... so little that it could not even get itself up my driveway!
I started working on it a couple years ago, but my wife gave me nothing but hell about it so I put off any further work for a couple of years. I finally decided to look at getting it operational again this year since I hated having it on the property and non-running. I was going to rework the heads on its 390, but instead found a 1973 F250 Explorer (2WD) that had a good engine and bed on it.
This was bringing it home in June 2007:
Here is the "parts" truck I purchased for it about a month ago:
After removing the bed from my truck:
Continued....
I realized, after bringing the orange bed over to the green truck, that the frame on the parts truck flared out at the junction of the cab and bed, which it did not do on the green truck, and was 4" wider (2" each side)! So, I had to embark upon a very time-consuming, drill-bit consuming, and trying journey to modify the frame and whatnot to make things fit. Finally, this was the result:
Close-up of some of the modifications:
After that, it was time to move to the heart of the project, which was swapping engines. Well, the same problems ensued... little details that were different between the 4WD and 2WD vehicles (along with, perhaps, some minor model year differences). Most significantly, though, was that all eight of the top exhaust manifold bolts on the donor engine snapped off when I tried to extract them, so I had to drill them all out. Here's a photo of that:
Now, though, I have finished that and have moved on to more agreeable endeavors, such as swapping the oil pans, fuel pumps, and intake manifolds, so I am hopeful this will all be done by the weekend. I sure hope so, anyway, because I have to get the truck out of the driveway before we can get a fuel truck in! And, we need fuel in order to get our heater working. Winter is looming! :surprise:
Thanks for enduring the long posts!
On another note I just want to applaud the fact that both you and your son are wearing safety glasses in your pics. My wife has the semi-derisive nickname of the "safety officer" amongst our friends, but we have always insisted the kids wear life jackets, helmets and eye guards where appropriate and have no problem providing a solid example ourselves. If kids are told to do one thing when their parents do another, it doesn't always work out. As two docs, we have seen our share of why safety equipment has been developed and legislated. I just wish folks wouldn't blow us off when we try to explain why 2 children should never be on the backyard
trampoline at the same time.
My big project on that rig was changing out the 3-on-the-tree standard shift over to a heavy case C4 (some called it a C5) automatic. Had to change the radiator, add the lines & aux cooler, steering column, flex plate flywheel, starter, tranny, forward half shaft and center yoke. All from a wreck I stripped.
Drilling, grinding, mowing lawns, chain saw, chopping wood.... (ear protection for grinding, mowing, and chain saw as well!)
My son is quite the little electrician. I had recently pulled that orange "tube" looking thing out of the orange truck. It is a battery blanket (heater) that had a destroyed cord (looked like a dog had chewed it!). He had just finished replacing the cord with another and was showing his mama that it works! I'll be sure to install it in the truck when I am finished (even though I usually don't use battery heaters).
Good progress again last night. I am just about there! Plus, I posted the orange truck on craigslist last night for parts ($150) and have an interested party, so hopefully that will be gone by the weekend so I can get fuel delivered!
Whoa... no kidding! I'm a true do-it-yourselfer (as are you!), from everything from cars to building my house to growing (some of) my own food, so I guess when you do enough of that, there are bound to be some overlaps!
I don't know if I have talked about my '69 Ford Econoline, but THAT was a project. Whew; anything else I have done doesn't even come close.
Swapping from manual to auto tranny is always a big project. I've known more than a few people who try that and give up part way through.
I love doing this kind of stuff, though. It keeps life far more interesting and varied, I think, than the "basic daily routine" that often occupies most of the days of many people. And I certainly know, from my own childhood, that exposure to this stuff as a child can pay major "self-sufficiency" dividends as an adult. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with paying someone else to do one's work; it's not being able to "do-it-yourself" that can put one in a real bind from time to time.
I've been tempted to do a manual tranny swap with my SVX- I think it would make the car much more fun. I don't think it's a simple bolt on procedure though!
tom
I wouldn't mind taking on a project like this if my son gets in to it, but we might do an old motorcycle or roadster.
Its always good to have a trades assistant. My now seventeen year old daughter has always been right in there to help when I do any projects and is now remarkably adept at trade skills. We joke that she is a girl with a power drill (or soldering iron, hammer etc.) The peculiarity is that when she did metalwork and woodwork at school she alway attracted boys keen to "help" her but was more competent than them at basic skills. She is unlikely to ever want to do anything professionally with those skills (she is a musician) but she is very proud of herself.
Pity the son is less enthusiastic about helping me. However he likes helping his mum and is a fabulous cook (like his mum). Some of them have been a challenge however. He goes for dining themes and on Italian night, we scored the "Leaning tower of Pizza" I did not think that you could 10,000 calories into a stack of micro-sized pizzas!
Cheers
Graham
I doubt that you could ever get your SVX to accept a tranny transplant. If it is post 1996 and has OBD-II, without faking some sensors and a major reflash with custom code, you'll throw so many CELs that your friends at DMV will toss you in jail for eternity!
Absolutely, Graham! They learn a lot and are often quite helpful while doing it. My son has expressed an intense (and I mean that with emphasis!) interest in electricity since about the time he turned two years old. It caused us great stress at first, but within a few months we went from trying to keep him away from it to helping him learn how to use and manipulate it safely. Now, he knows far more about it than most adults and is even able to do wiring projects. I plan to have him help me wire the main floor of our house when I finally get there.
I don't expect that he will become an electrician, though the skill and knowledge of circuits will likely serve him well when he becomes a "fibber!" :P
----
Let me know the next time your son serves up a culinary treat. I can help out with a few of those calories.
Oh well. I am thinking my next project might be a pre-OBD II miata.
tom
True! But I'd highly recommend that you steer him in some other direction than high tech. Truth is, while I enjoy engineering and science, they are highly under-appreciated professions, at least in the US. It is a labor of love, not a quest for money that keeps most of us in this line of work. And some days there isn't a whole lot of either to go around!
kcram - Pickups/Wagons Host
As an electronics engineer from a previous generation I share that opinion....partially. I added a parallel entrepenurial occupation along with corporate engineering and marketing titles to ensure an adequate retirement. The intellectual challenges of engineering help to keep one mentally young, but the (engineering) salary peak in one's forties lessens enthusiasm.
Good choice. If you want a sweet spot, get a '94 model. Those had the 1.8l engine for a bit more torque, and the bigger gas tank, but it was the last year that had a working oil pressure guage. Mazda also added one chassis brace in 1993 and a 2nd one in 1994, so it's the stiffest of the early NAs.
Hey hey hey - that's not nice!! What about us marketing types who put our hearts into convincing everybody to spend their money on useless objects of desire?? If not for us, everybody would be still be in good financial shapes living in smaller houses free of all the useless objects. And what kind of life would that be for the children?? Think of the children!!
:P
I do think of the children, that's why I bought our new TV, so they could get the old one in their basement room.
My son is a computer programmer/analyst. He is skilled at auto mechanics and has carpenter skills. His tool array goes from a gas welder to an engine hoist. Plus he has 2 M37 army trucks. Plus he and his wife have given us 5 grand children to spoil.
I was putting wrenches, hammers/saws and shovels in their hands at a young age so tool usage was not strange to them. My only problem was finding rusty tools after the snow melted. :mad:
Now I need to put new plugs and wires on it, along with adjusting the carb and timing, then the old beast should be a done deal for now, thank goodness!
That's why I got the Miata - help keep the miles off the minivan I drive them around in. :P
So, first thing this morning, I started attacking the list. I was doing fairly well, too! Then, at around noon, a fella and his (adult) son stopped by to look at the orange truck. They ultimately decided not to take it, but they did want the 390 out of my '76 that was sitting on my 3-wheeler's trailer. I didn't want it for anything, so I agreed they could have it. As we were sliding it onto their trailer (I had set it on a pallet, so all we needed to do was slide the pallet from my trailer to his, which was a straight shot), my lower leg "blew out." I am not sure why, exactly, because it didn't seem like I was putting much strain on it, but nonetheless I heard/felt a nasty series of crackles and pops. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but muscles in my right calf are seriously torn up right now and I'm completely hobbled. :mad:
I finished up with them, came inside, and my wife made me lie down for about three hours. I finally went stir crazy and managed to slip out of the house. I can't do much of anything, though, such as a final mowing of the lawns, raking leaves, or anything that requires two legs! I did get the last batch of rabbits butchered, but it was rather difficult at times. It was taking longer than normal (for obvious reasons), but it is also only about 40 degrees outside and the north wind (very cold) is whipping at about 20 mph. I have to go clean up the station now.
I am so frustrated. I probably ought to have the leg examined on Monday, but I'm not sure if I will yet or not. I must have popped a tendon, ligament, or a combination of them. By the extreme pain and "total gimp status" into which the injury has rendered me, I suspect I'm going to be hobbled for a while to come. :sick:
I really hope all the rest of you are having a better weekend!
Bob
My weekend has been all about my daughter, who is a new (freshmen) member of the Arlington High School Marching Band. 140 members strong, these kids place high in NY and the North East regional competitions (division 5 National). Saturday was a football game, and today we traveled 2 hours to a competition. It's like a sport. Em is in wonderful physical shape thanks to the 2 week boot camp and intense physical training & drills. They were best in show, and point-wise now rank 3rd in NY.
Unfortunately, I got sick after traveling to Oregon on business (got home late Friday), so am walking around half dead. Wes, how about you and I both find a good doctor tomorrow, eh?
I'm going to stick it out a while. Yesterday, after some of the initial cramping had subsided, I was able to get around much better (every attempted step/movement did not cause me excruciating pain!). I was poking around it last night and while there is a ridiculous amount of localized pain right down the back center of my calf, there also does not seem to be anything obviously out of place. I more suspect, at this point, that I just gave one of the muscles in there a serious tear and it is nothing that time won't properly heal.
Muscle injuries typically heal quickly, so if it keeps improving as much as it has in the last 36 hours, there is no need to push the issue any further.
Steve - congrats on the band's performance! I know it can be nerve-wracking the first few times out in a marching band! I used to play french horn, and was the only person in my school who did, so marching band was a challenge.
tom
I was testing out the foot movement yesterday morning as I went through each of the muscles in the lower leg and read about their function. Pointing my toes creates a little discomfort, as does rotating my foot toward the outside (counter-clockwise), and pulling my foot/toes upward toward my knee causes the most pain (still localized) when I have my leg fully extended.
The only thing I decidedly cannot do is what I would call a "calf raise" with my body weight on that leg. I can try, and I can create quite the burning pain, but I cannot lift my body weight. Yesterday when I first tried it, though, I couldn't even get that much. It was like I was thinking about doing it, but the body would not respond at all (I couldn't even get any pain!).
It'll be alright; sorry to over-concern you folks! I was just so frustrated about it on Saturday after gimping around all day and seeing all the stuff I couldn't get done; I had to vent about it.
Probably a good idea to get checked out- hopefully it's just a severe muscle strain and will recover in a few weeks.
tom
I saw my doctor yesterday afternoon and he confirmed that I tore the gastrocnemius muscle at the juncture of the achilles tendon. He said, "You did quite a number on it - that's a pretty good tear." Good? I don't know about that!
He said there isn't much to be done about it; I just need to make sure I stretch the leg multiple times a day to prevent too much inflexible scar tissue from forming. He also said there's a pretty good chance that there will be visible deformity of the muscle, but strength should return over time. It is still swollen like it was when it happened, with significant bruising showing up last Thursday (five days after the injury) to eventually turn the inner back side of my foot purple, all the way down below the arch of my foot!
He closed by saying, "welcome to middle age." :surprise: Dammit all; I'm on the downhill slide er.... tumble.
Which I will be doing in about 4 weeks.
Bob
The diagnosis sounds right. And no, you won't have 100% strength back- unfortunately once a muscle is seriously injured you don't really see full recovery. Look at elite athletes who pull a muscle- it plagues them the rest of their careers.
Try to get some Physical Therapy if you can- would be your best shot at maximum recovery.
At least it wasn't your back!!!!
tom
tom
Bob
Mom was a Doberman, but he looks more shepard/husky mix. That's him as a pup, he's now 4 months and quite a big larger (25 lbs).
We haven't had a
catdog since Hadji, and it took us 2 years to mourn that loss, but we were ready.He came from the shelter, and a mutt is the only way I'd go with a new dog.
Congrats, AJ!
Rescue dogs are always the most interesting. Mind you, from the look in his eyes, I'd bet that you are going to be organized.
Very cute, but I doubt the doberman bit.
Cheers
Graham
Bob