- Mar 7, 2002
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My county just did the same thing today... I'll be at the dealership tomorrow, after I stop by and see my fellow essentials at Circle K for gas and a Dr Pepper.
Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.
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- Jul 12, 2017
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Same thing here @90sickfox. Our Governor imposed a mandatory stay at home rule yesterday. The collision industry is considered essential here in Albuquerque. We have had people hold off on bringing their cars in until this blows over, but people are still coming in. We'll see what happens throughout the week though, after the stay at home rule was imposed. We might have to go to a skeleton crew if it slows down too much. We did get a few "tow ins" yesterday, so hopefully those will keep coming. Im hoping we can stay busy enough to keep everyone here working. I would hate to tell people they have to take vacations with or without pay, depending on the person, our have lay off people temporarily. I understand what the state is trying to do though. We will just keep wiping everything down and continue to wash our hands a million times a day.
I planned to work exclusively on the turbo hotside. Had that been the case, the last thread title would’ve made sense. ( Especially considering that the exhaust is made up of a short spun catalytic converter, and two magnaflow stainless mufflers that are all “ straight through” design.
There are sooo many loose ends that I can tie up and call done. All I have to do is pick a path, pack a lunch, and by days end I should be sitting comfy on the deck, drinking a Jameson neat, pecking away at this iPad, talking about the battle that I just won.
Today is that day.
And while I’m not proud of this as I could be,...the hotside is kinda done.
Its always the sht that you can’t see that bugs me the most. That S shaped pipe that feeds the enormous waste gate is a freakin jug-phck. Welded, burned through, patched, cut apart and rewelded..to look inside that tube would scare the Chip Fooses of the world to death. It looks like steel ass.
But it fits,...and it’s purpose in life is pretty low on the totem pole from giv-a-phck town,...so,...I’m leaving it in the build.
I still have to mate it to the exhaust, and that will require some more welding. The part that concerns me is that there is barely any gas left. And I got a whole bunch of welding left to do.
The part I’m most happy with is the decision on how to mount the coils.
I think this looks Killer. You can see what I did to keep the cam gears covered,..it involved cutting the OEM valley cover up.
Fortunately, if for whatever reason I decide to reverse it. I can kinda put the center section I cut off back in place. Obviously, there’ll be a cut line, but the engines in a freakin’ Fairmont. Who gives a rats red bunion hole if the cam valley cover is in two pieces?
Not me.
A close up look shows that I need to add a second set of mount studs to support the coils.. Home Depot only had two packs of the stand-off nuts. Tomorrow I’ll go to a different Home Depot or Lowe’s to find the rest. I also need to redo the plug wires ( I think) these are just a tad too short, and they’re kinda stretched to get them the way I want them.
But..I got those wires too, so at the end of the day It’s all good..I need a dancin taco.
There are sooo many loose ends that I can tie up and call done. All I have to do is pick a path, pack a lunch, and by days end I should be sitting comfy on the deck, drinking a Jameson neat, pecking away at this iPad, talking about the battle that I just won.
Today is that day.
And while I’m not proud of this as I could be,...the hotside is kinda done.
Its always the sht that you can’t see that bugs me the most. That S shaped pipe that feeds the enormous waste gate is a freakin jug-phck. Welded, burned through, patched, cut apart and rewelded..to look inside that tube would scare the Chip Fooses of the world to death. It looks like steel ass.
But it fits,...and it’s purpose in life is pretty low on the totem pole from giv-a-phck town,...so,...I’m leaving it in the build.
I still have to mate it to the exhaust, and that will require some more welding. The part that concerns me is that there is barely any gas left. And I got a whole bunch of welding left to do.
The part I’m most happy with is the decision on how to mount the coils.
I think this looks Killer. You can see what I did to keep the cam gears covered,..it involved cutting the OEM valley cover up.
Fortunately, if for whatever reason I decide to reverse it. I can kinda put the center section I cut off back in place. Obviously, there’ll be a cut line, but the engines in a freakin’ Fairmont. Who gives a rats red bunion hole if the cam valley cover is in two pieces?
Not me.
A close up look shows that I need to add a second set of mount studs to support the coils.. Home Depot only had two packs of the stand-off nuts. Tomorrow I’ll go to a different Home Depot or Lowe’s to find the rest. I also need to redo the plug wires ( I think) these are just a tad too short, and they’re kinda stretched to get them the way I want them.
But..I got those wires too, so at the end of the day It’s all good..I need a dancin taco.
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It is what it is. In hindsight it ends up being leg muscles that get really tight that cause me the most grief. ( It’s always been that way,...even before the knee-n-dectomy.)
Somedays are better than the others..
Whether or not I actually do anything today, it might get there. One million page views....if this was a you tube video, somebody would be payin me by now.
But I know that it’s far from a single viral YouTube video.....It‘s taken almost 6 Years to get here. And at the rate I’m making progress now, it might be another 6 years before I get the damn thing running again. There is so much left to do just to be able to put it on the ground. I gotta focus on one thing...I gotta make a goal....I need to get it back on its tires.
I’m gonna make that the objective ...a long term goal broken into 12 small projects.
1. Finish fuel lines. .( two 3’ sections of aluminum hard line tied into the new bulkhead fittings at the rear of the car.) 1 hr.
2. Finish the water lines for the A2W intercooler. ( run two -12 push-lock hoses under the floor
, clamp and attach them to the studs left over from the original install. Make a supply hose to the pump from the reservoir, make a discharge hose from the radiators. 3 hrs.
3. Wire the rear water pump. ( Again, wires are already there for this, I just re-route them, and hook them up.) 1 hr.
4. Build a new transmission mount. 3 hrs.
5. Re-install exhaust. .5 hr.
6. Build/fab down pipe connection to exhaust. 4 hrs.
7. Install transmission cooler lines, trans dipstick. 1 hr.
8. Run 4 ga. Cable from alt to stud on firewall. 1 hr.
9. Attach engine ground cables to stud on firewall. .5 hr.
10. fabricate outlet pipe from intercooler into engine bay. 3hrs.
11. Reinstall horns. .5 hr.
12. put front tires back on. .5 hr.
About 20 hours give or take, depending on how accurate my time guesstimates are. But even at that..that (3) 7 hour days..
which could amount to a month given one day off a week.....This could almost be an “ anti- goal”.
That major project is one of several “wars“ that remain that can be broken down into several small battles before I can even think of getting this thing running. I am notorious for jumping around, and not staying on any one thing when I build a car, because one way or the other, they all have to get done.
Like Dave, I’ve got some yard projects to do before I could even think of doing anything today though,..and unlike Dave, I have a wife who has been working by herself at home for these last two weeks, unable to go anywhere, and we usually go to dinner or out several times a week...I may just hang out with her instead.
Like the Big Orange Head says all too often: I guess “ We’ll see what happens”.
But I know that it’s far from a single viral YouTube video.....It‘s taken almost 6 Years to get here. And at the rate I’m making progress now, it might be another 6 years before I get the damn thing running again. There is so much left to do just to be able to put it on the ground. I gotta focus on one thing...I gotta make a goal....I need to get it back on its tires.
I’m gonna make that the objective ...a long term goal broken into 12 small projects.
1. Finish fuel lines. .( two 3’ sections of aluminum hard line tied into the new bulkhead fittings at the rear of the car.) 1 hr.
2. Finish the water lines for the A2W intercooler. ( run two -12 push-lock hoses under the floor
, clamp and attach them to the studs left over from the original install. Make a supply hose to the pump from the reservoir, make a discharge hose from the radiators. 3 hrs.
3. Wire the rear water pump. ( Again, wires are already there for this, I just re-route them, and hook them up.) 1 hr.
4. Build a new transmission mount. 3 hrs.
5. Re-install exhaust. .5 hr.
6. Build/fab down pipe connection to exhaust. 4 hrs.
7. Install transmission cooler lines, trans dipstick. 1 hr.
8. Run 4 ga. Cable from alt to stud on firewall. 1 hr.
9. Attach engine ground cables to stud on firewall. .5 hr.
10. fabricate outlet pipe from intercooler into engine bay. 3hrs.
11. Reinstall horns. .5 hr.
12. put front tires back on. .5 hr.
About 20 hours give or take, depending on how accurate my time guesstimates are. But even at that..that (3) 7 hour days..
which could amount to a month given one day off a week.....This could almost be an “ anti- goal”.
That major project is one of several “wars“ that remain that can be broken down into several small battles before I can even think of getting this thing running. I am notorious for jumping around, and not staying on any one thing when I build a car, because one way or the other, they all have to get done.
Like Dave, I’ve got some yard projects to do before I could even think of doing anything today though,..and unlike Dave, I have a wife who has been working by herself at home for these last two weeks, unable to go anywhere, and we usually go to dinner or out several times a week...I may just hang out with her instead.
Like the Big Orange Head says all too often: I guess “ We’ll see what happens”.
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Seems like a plan has been made....but I don't see any "do over" time. 
So maybe I missed it....are you still working? That seems a waste of good time. Especially if you are commission paid. I could be wrong, but I don't think people are out car shopping. And if they are, it seems to be the classic 'I hate car shopping' cliche, because 1 person would be assaulted by 10 sales people with nothing to do!
So maybe I missed it....are you still working? That seems a waste of good time. Especially if you are commission paid. I could be wrong, but I don't think people are out car shopping. And if they are, it seems to be the classic 'I hate car shopping' cliche, because 1 person would be assaulted by 10 sales people with nothing to do!
Youtubers seems to get $3-5 per thousand views. And that’s only after several other difficult stipulations have been met.
i looked into it for a bit to make videos of my wood projects but the time investment required to make decently edited and processed videos wasn’t worth it.
but I digress, get to work!
i looked into it for a bit to make videos of my wood projects but the time investment required to make decently edited and processed videos wasn’t worth it.
but I digress, get to work!
I’m here to officially announce that when it comes to estimating the time it takes for me to accomplish something,......
I don’t know dick.
The fuel lines, and filters are mounted..
The pump, and fans are plumbed & wired.
The water reservoir is connected to the bulkhead fitting..
As goofy as this looks, there just wasn’t enough real estate between the cell outlet, and bulkhead fitting to just plumb them straight together. There wasn’t even enough room to turn it 90*. Fortunately for me I have a stupid amount of money in -12 fittings just laying in a big ole box.
This morning I estimated this to be about 2.5 hours worth of work. In reality, it took twice that. So that’s my curse now,...if I’m not doing sht over and over, I’m taking twice as long to do something the first time.
That I may have to do over.
Part of the problem is that I touch something, lay it down, and then spend 15-20 minutes looking for it when I need it next.
And finally....
Were down to two cats now...the cat that got sucked into the radiator back in 2014 finally went to the big cat box in the sky. Of The two that remain, Reggen of 9 is my cat. He hangs out just about every I am when I’m home. He likes the garage. Lately, he’s been dissapearing for quite along while. Almost always, he ends up having his ass shut into the basement, because wherever he goes when he’s down there, I don’t see him when I come upstairs.
Today, I opened the garage door and did the yard stuff first. When I finally go into the garage to start working, I discover that fat fckr......
Laying his hairy ass in the middle of my new seat.
Well see how long it’ll be before he makes that mistake again.
I don’t know dick.
The fuel lines, and filters are mounted..
The pump, and fans are plumbed & wired.
The water reservoir is connected to the bulkhead fitting..
As goofy as this looks, there just wasn’t enough real estate between the cell outlet, and bulkhead fitting to just plumb them straight together. There wasn’t even enough room to turn it 90*. Fortunately for me I have a stupid amount of money in -12 fittings just laying in a big ole box.
This morning I estimated this to be about 2.5 hours worth of work. In reality, it took twice that. So that’s my curse now,...if I’m not doing sht over and over, I’m taking twice as long to do something the first time.
That I may have to do over.
Part of the problem is that I touch something, lay it down, and then spend 15-20 minutes looking for it when I need it next.
And finally....
Were down to two cats now...the cat that got sucked into the radiator back in 2014 finally went to the big cat box in the sky. Of The two that remain, Reggen of 9 is my cat. He hangs out just about every I am when I’m home. He likes the garage. Lately, he’s been dissapearing for quite along while. Almost always, he ends up having his ass shut into the basement, because wherever he goes when he’s down there, I don’t see him when I come upstairs.
Today, I opened the garage door and did the yard stuff first. When I finally go into the garage to start working, I discover that fat fckr......
Laying his hairy ass in the middle of my new seat.
Well see how long it’ll be before he makes that mistake again.
Progress is progress. I’m the same way whether working on my house or car. Guessing time frames is useless. But as long as you’re moving forward, you’re moving forward.
Cats are the scourge of the earth. How long do they live? I'm 6 1/2 years into my sentence.
- Mar 7, 2002
- 9,432
- 5,380
- 224
I've got a cat that is 17. He has looked like he was going to die any day now for at least 4 years....
The cat that just died was like OTF’s cat.. She has looked like a holocaust survivor for a year now. Nothing but a walking cat skeleton covered in fur. Ordinarily, I get very emotional when we lose a pet...but when Kate called telling me that that cat had finally died,..I was glad.
The tale of the tape.
Ordinarily I sell about 12-15 cars a month. That number usually puts me in the top 1/3rd of the sales force here. This month, before things like “social distancing”, “shelter in place”, and PPE were common place, I’ve managed to sell 12,..maybe 13 if that car gets here from GA. today. While that seems like business as usual, the fact is that by week one, I had 8 of those 12-13 sold.
it has taken the remaining 3 weeks to sell the other 5, and of those, 2-3 of them I have been working on for a month.
So....in reality..maybe 3 additional sales?
1 car a week.
I expect that’s how it will be in April. 4 cars, maybe 5. What’s that mean in income? Minimum wage.
So the bottom line here is that “we” as car salesmen, declared by the state/county/city as an essential service, are risking getting exposed to a potentially deadly virus for $7.25 an hour.
Ordinarily I sell about 12-15 cars a month. That number usually puts me in the top 1/3rd of the sales force here. This month, before things like “social distancing”, “shelter in place”, and PPE were common place, I’ve managed to sell 12,..maybe 13 if that car gets here from GA. today. While that seems like business as usual, the fact is that by week one, I had 8 of those 12-13 sold.
it has taken the remaining 3 weeks to sell the other 5, and of those, 2-3 of them I have been working on for a month.
So....in reality..maybe 3 additional sales?
1 car a week.
I expect that’s how it will be in April. 4 cars, maybe 5. What’s that mean in income? Minimum wage.
So the bottom line here is that “we” as car salesmen, declared by the state/county/city as an essential service, are risking getting exposed to a potentially deadly virus for $7.25 an hour.
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