Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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And the hits just keep on coming...
The factory throttle shaft was too short. Why I didn't just consider replacing the entire shaft with a blank piece, and drill it myself for the throttle body links is beyond me. Maybe I thought that it was a factory supplied part, and was some special size, effectively making it unobtainium.......Maybe I was worried about my ability to precisely drill the 6 holes in a semi-hardened shaft,....Maybe I was convinced that cutting the factory part into little pieces-parts, and sleeving the thing back together was gonna work.....Maybe there's a reason my nickname is "Do it twice Mike".
I decided to try and source a replacement shaft today, so I went on a mission to find out what that thing was made out of.
After a couple of phone calls, it became quickly apparent that my factory part wasn't made from unobtanium at all, instead it was made from readily available 1144 alloy carbon steel.
Which turns out to be 12mm in diameter, and has a highly polished finished, is easily drillable, and comes in a convenient 6 foot length.....
Which will leave me enough to pck this up three times.....way more than enough to get it right.
The issue will be how to drill this thing in a perfect line using the lowly drill press that I have to work with. I will have to re-position the thing three times to completely drill the 8 holes that I'll need to make it work. I'll have to make a jig of some kind thatll let me clamp the thing to it. I think a piece of angle iron, with slots cut out so that I can hold it in place with hose clamps. I'll weld a clamp flange at the "V" so I can put the thing in my vise...
I got it figured out.
The factory throttle shaft was too short. Why I didn't just consider replacing the entire shaft with a blank piece, and drill it myself for the throttle body links is beyond me. Maybe I thought that it was a factory supplied part, and was some special size, effectively making it unobtainium.......Maybe I was worried about my ability to precisely drill the 6 holes in a semi-hardened shaft,....Maybe I was convinced that cutting the factory part into little pieces-parts, and sleeving the thing back together was gonna work.....Maybe there's a reason my nickname is "Do it twice Mike".
I decided to try and source a replacement shaft today, so I went on a mission to find out what that thing was made out of.
After a couple of phone calls, it became quickly apparent that my factory part wasn't made from unobtanium at all, instead it was made from readily available 1144 alloy carbon steel.
Which turns out to be 12mm in diameter, and has a highly polished finished, is easily drillable, and comes in a convenient 6 foot length.....
Which will leave me enough to pck this up three times.....way more than enough to get it right.
The issue will be how to drill this thing in a perfect line using the lowly drill press that I have to work with. I will have to re-position the thing three times to completely drill the 8 holes that I'll need to make it work. I'll have to make a jig of some kind thatll let me clamp the thing to it. I think a piece of angle iron, with slots cut out so that I can hold it in place with hose clamps. I'll weld a clamp flange at the "V" so I can put the thing in my vise...
I got it figured out.
Congrats on the new job. I start my new job Monday. 26 years of experience not worth a damn. If you buy 2 of those rods, you have 6 redos. Just sayin. I'm pretty anal about the safety glasses after I had to rush my bro to the ER and get a metal splinter removed from his EYEBALL once. It was about 3/16" long and was in there deep....you could see it. I had to take duct tape and tape his eyelid open so he would quit blinking. It was like something out of SAW!
You never heard of drill rod? https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...Rods?navid=12102229#navid=12102229+4288237746
Well then.........
I resigned yesterday. I have to say that the outcome wasn't what I expected.....They tried to keep me.
It's too late for that though. I've already started down the path in another direction. I've made a commitment, and the new company has spent time and money on me.
There are 3 geniuses. Me and another are there because we wanted to be, the other one was put there as a way to appease her by the GM. Nonetheless, she isn't suited for the job, and barely does what's required for the job. The position she was in was a 7:30 -4 M-F job. A genius position has to be here till 7:30 PM, and requires Saturday work.
She works her original schedule. Because of that, her contribution to what is required of this job was typically in the 10-15% range, leaving Me and the other genius to make up the other 85-90%.
Yet, she still got the same bonus that we got at the end of the month.
The 1st irony here is that yesterday was the first time the sales management even bothered to consider this lopsided arrangement. The GM had never discussed our situation with his two sales managers. The 2nd irony is that GM leaves for another market after today as well.
The sales management asked me directly how much of the GM's decisions has affected my decision to leave.
Uhhhhh......100%?
"Well, now that he's gone, maybe we can re-structure the department to be more equitable to everybody, and move the other girl elsewhere?"
"See again,..You guys just don't pay enough attention to how this job is structured......We work with a fixed number of sales monthly. The deliveries that we get paid a spiff to do add a significant amount of money to our paycheck. If we actually had a 3rd genius that worked their share of the time to where it would be evenly distributed amongst the three of us, the available deliveries would get spread out just as evenly. And each one of our paychecks would even out." (Which would mean that me and the other Genius would make less money)
It would be a better schedule, I'd have less late nights...but, I'd make about 400.00 less each month as well.
The other issue was that the GM didn't throw his weight in my favor when I asked for his endorsement to go into our service department. At that time (December) I still had my ASE service adviser certification intact. I am a Genius,..I know the cars coming into service better than any other service adviser. I know our system, and could use our GMS to appraise cars that customers routinely ask for when considering whether or not to fix the thing, or trade it in....and,.....I'm a car guy. I can understand a customer complaint, and translate that into tech speak so that a service technician could understand. And currently, I am the highest rated employee in this dealership.
Yet, I get passed over for service adviser twice....The Service manager (a new guy) prefers to bring in two guys from the outside that have specific BMW service experience rather than spend one minute extra having to train me...
The GM's explanation to me was that the svc mgr was focused on getting the department to the next level and wanted to fill the two empty slots with people that could hit the ground running...
So from my perspective,..The GM will take a completely unqualified employee from one department, allow the other two to carry the load. And, Instead of putting a person into a position that could "hit the ground running", he installs an individual who wont even get out of her chair.
But when it comes to me.....
He still hasn't changed my pay plan to convert me over to the sales position.....Despite the fact that I was supposed to start as a salesman Feb 1, and he was supposed to pay me a guaranteed salary for 60 days while I learn the sales process, he has procrastinated on that too.
Because that would be $8000.00 that he would've had to pay as a "Salary", and it would have affected his bottom line...And he's probably known that he was gonna be leaving for months,...and needed to leave with as strong a bottom line as possible...
I know that when the BMW Regional VP comes into town to pick up her new car, she's gonna have a problem with me being gone.....She likes me.
I'd like to be a fly in the room on that day.
So,...now you know the rest of the story too. I'll probably start at Alfa Romeo on Monday, barring some Hail Mary by the current sales mgmt.
I resigned yesterday. I have to say that the outcome wasn't what I expected.....They tried to keep me.
It's too late for that though. I've already started down the path in another direction. I've made a commitment, and the new company has spent time and money on me.
There are 3 geniuses. Me and another are there because we wanted to be, the other one was put there as a way to appease her by the GM. Nonetheless, she isn't suited for the job, and barely does what's required for the job. The position she was in was a 7:30 -4 M-F job. A genius position has to be here till 7:30 PM, and requires Saturday work.
She works her original schedule. Because of that, her contribution to what is required of this job was typically in the 10-15% range, leaving Me and the other genius to make up the other 85-90%.
Yet, she still got the same bonus that we got at the end of the month.
The 1st irony here is that yesterday was the first time the sales management even bothered to consider this lopsided arrangement. The GM had never discussed our situation with his two sales managers. The 2nd irony is that GM leaves for another market after today as well.
The sales management asked me directly how much of the GM's decisions has affected my decision to leave.
Uhhhhh......100%?
"Well, now that he's gone, maybe we can re-structure the department to be more equitable to everybody, and move the other girl elsewhere?"
"See again,..You guys just don't pay enough attention to how this job is structured......We work with a fixed number of sales monthly. The deliveries that we get paid a spiff to do add a significant amount of money to our paycheck. If we actually had a 3rd genius that worked their share of the time to where it would be evenly distributed amongst the three of us, the available deliveries would get spread out just as evenly. And each one of our paychecks would even out." (Which would mean that me and the other Genius would make less money)
It would be a better schedule, I'd have less late nights...but, I'd make about 400.00 less each month as well.
The other issue was that the GM didn't throw his weight in my favor when I asked for his endorsement to go into our service department. At that time (December) I still had my ASE service adviser certification intact. I am a Genius,..I know the cars coming into service better than any other service adviser. I know our system, and could use our GMS to appraise cars that customers routinely ask for when considering whether or not to fix the thing, or trade it in....and,.....I'm a car guy. I can understand a customer complaint, and translate that into tech speak so that a service technician could understand. And currently, I am the highest rated employee in this dealership.
Yet, I get passed over for service adviser twice....The Service manager (a new guy) prefers to bring in two guys from the outside that have specific BMW service experience rather than spend one minute extra having to train me...
The GM's explanation to me was that the svc mgr was focused on getting the department to the next level and wanted to fill the two empty slots with people that could hit the ground running...
So from my perspective,..The GM will take a completely unqualified employee from one department, allow the other two to carry the load. And, Instead of putting a person into a position that could "hit the ground running", he installs an individual who wont even get out of her chair.
But when it comes to me.....
He still hasn't changed my pay plan to convert me over to the sales position.....Despite the fact that I was supposed to start as a salesman Feb 1, and he was supposed to pay me a guaranteed salary for 60 days while I learn the sales process, he has procrastinated on that too.
Because that would be $8000.00 that he would've had to pay as a "Salary", and it would have affected his bottom line...And he's probably known that he was gonna be leaving for months,...and needed to leave with as strong a bottom line as possible...
I know that when the BMW Regional VP comes into town to pick up her new car, she's gonna have a problem with me being gone.....She likes me.
I'd like to be a fly in the room on that day.
So,...now you know the rest of the story too. I'll probably start at Alfa Romeo on Monday, barring some Hail Mary by the current sales mgmt.
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Well don't be ridiculous.......Of course I've never heard of drill rod. (considering the price, I wish I had) It says that it's oil hardened...Wont that be difficult to drill itself?
You heat it and oil quench it after you are done machining to the proper shape and size....
so then,..you're saying that it is currently drillable, and can be hardened after that?
yes...
Make no mistake about it; it isn't aluminum or soft steel. but it is machinable with quality tools.
stangboy
Founding Member
Mike I was gonna go crazy and say I think you'e gonna accidentally get it right on the first try. But then @jrichker came in and said the rod is machineable with "quality tools". At that point I had to come to my senses. So I'm gonna go with the usual 3 time's the charm.
*size note* when I think "quality tools" for an application like this one, I think "machinist quality". No offense to you or your tools Mike, I'm just keepin it real. I remember a lot of the stories of some of your tools.
*size note* when I think "quality tools" for an application like this one, I think "machinist quality". No offense to you or your tools Mike, I'm just keepin it real. I remember a lot of the stories of some of your tools.
No offense to you or your tools Mike, I'm just keepin it real. I remember a lot of the stories of some of your tools.
Who are you kidding? Mike is perfectly clear about his willingness to buy Chinee to save a little $. Remember the dented Chinee welder?
That works perfectly, despite being dropped from the moon...
You mean that Chinee welder?
My tools aren't the problem....it would be the bits.Mike I was gonna go crazy and say I think you'e gonna accidentally get it right on the first try. But then @jrichker came in and said the rod is machineable with "quality tools". At that point I had to come to my senses. So I'm gonna go with the usual 3 time's the charm.
*size note* when I think "quality tools" for an application like this one, I think "machinist quality". No offense to you or your tools Mike, I'm just keepin it real. I remember a lot of the stories of some of your tools.
I bought a 6' long piece of domestic 1144 alloy 12mm rod. It is drillable just like the existing stock shaft is,..so no fighting to get a hole drilled for me.
The problem is gonna be drilling 8 holes all in a row,...all at the same angle.
I think you already have a idea on how your going to do it.
Clamp it to a piece of angle iron, use a piece half as wide as your rod (insert snarky remark here) on top of your rod and scribe a line the length of your rod (insert another snarky remark) remove smaller piece leaving rod secured to angle iron and drill press your holes.
Now you have a holy rod (snarky remark not needed here)
Clamp it to a piece of angle iron, use a piece half as wide as your rod (insert snarky remark here) on top of your rod and scribe a line the length of your rod (insert another snarky remark) remove smaller piece leaving rod secured to angle iron and drill press your holes.
Now you have a holy rod (snarky remark not needed here)
That means you don't by drill bits from Walmart. The link for the drill rod also sells Tin coated cobalt alloy drill bits for a reasonable price. Buy 3 bits for $10 or so and you have the drill bit issue covered.Mike I was gonna go crazy and say I think you'e gonna accidentally get it right on the first try. But then @jrichker came in and said the rod is machineable with "quality tools". At that point I had to come to my senses. So I'm gonna go with the usual 3 time's the charm.
*size note* when I think "quality tools" for an application like this one, I think "machinist quality". No offense to you or your tools Mike, I'm just keepin it real. I remember a lot of the stories of some of your tools.
I never buy bits from Walmart. Are you freakin Kidding? I never buy milk from Walmart.
All I know is that I'd have to go into Walmart to see that......and I don't go into Walmart.It's Mayfield milk Mike, Mayfield's.
Joe
Ok my homlies....I am officially unemployed. (At least until I start w/ Alfa on Monday)
That leaves me with all this time....
What to do,....What to do?....
It's raining, that means that I'll have to do everything in the closed garage. (That'll go over poorly considering that the compressor is so freaking noisy, and I need to paint stuff.
I am at the point where I have to finish the airbox and get that damn thing behind me. I also have to create a linkage system to actuate the throttle shaft (That isn't here yet). I'll use the existing shaft to build this from. If I could just accept the way that the airbox looks now, I'd actually be done with it....Maybe I'll spray a coat of primer on it to see how freaking bad it looks.
Yeah,......I'm gonna go do that now.
That leaves me with all this time....
What to do,....What to do?....
It's raining, that means that I'll have to do everything in the closed garage. (That'll go over poorly considering that the compressor is so freaking noisy, and I need to paint stuff.
I am at the point where I have to finish the airbox and get that damn thing behind me. I also have to create a linkage system to actuate the throttle shaft (That isn't here yet). I'll use the existing shaft to build this from. If I could just accept the way that the airbox looks now, I'd actually be done with it....Maybe I'll spray a coat of primer on it to see how freaking bad it looks.
Yeah,......I'm gonna go do that now.
- Jul 7, 2005
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I come here for the pictures...I want to see the airbox closer to finished please
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