Civic Duty

Wow, shouldn't we be voting for people we feel represent our wants and needs instead of voting for this person simply because we don't want the other guy to win?

Here the front runners for the Governorship are both unacceptable to me, one is a liar and gun grabber while the other is friends with Satan. Well maybe that's a bit harsh, Tiny Dancer may not be Satan but I'm sure he's shook hands with him a couple times.

 

 

Enjoy.

Monday,, Dammit.

Sorta forgot about this thing for a couple weeks, never fear I'm still here.

2 horrendously awful projects that don't want to end. One of em fresh from the body shop where they did a pretty good job on the paint and bodywork but when they found the rusty floor/rocker/subframe they just covered it with seam sealer on both sides.

Knew it had a problem and shot a price, then started cutting things out and realized "this aint good" and "that's not any better" and lastly "you have got to be shitting me" which came about when the floor brace/subframe broke and fell off after cutting the floor pan loose.

Seam sealer and Ziebart rust proofing has made welding any and all patches in this thing a nightmare as there is only so much you can do to get the surfaces clean. Some places you can't clean at all.

 When you hit a spot that isn't clean the first thing that happens is the weld goes to hell and that is quickly followed by any all kinds of wonderfulness, including balls of fire, clouds of breath taking smoke, boiling hot stuff dripping onto the gloves/helmet/legs/ears or whatever exposed skin it can find. Its really great when you get the trifecta, making you want to scream obscenities and throw shit.

I did mention that the place I am doing this in is right across from a funeral parlor that's had a busy week?

Fairly sure the last thing you want to hear while mourning for Aunt Bertha is me launching into a high pitched tirade questioning the heritage and manhood of German engineers while kicking a smoking glove out the door and trying to pee on my shoe before the fire gets my toes.

2 day project going on 5. Whoopeee.

How's about some Cake to start the week?

 

 

"I'm not catching on fire today" a motto we should all try and live by.

Off to the Dentist. joy.....

Had a root canal 2 weeks ago, got fitted for a crown last week, a cleaning this morning and next week I get the crown. Spendy when I have nothing to spend.

Could use some Morphine.

(takes a minute to get rolling but its well worth the listen.)

Who knows, maybe this afternoon I'll set myself on fire.

Day Late but here it is.

Long weekend of car show and cruising goodness, one of the last for the year. This is the big deal car show in Jacksonville and its always a good time.

While cruising my wife sees this little white car and remarks "I really like that little car, its cute!"

 

 

I told her that was the MGA that I did all the metal work on, and that I was NOT doing another one so she better find another mechanic.

 

It did turn out spectacular though (if your into sado-masochism and or British cars.)

 

 

 

Got to hang out with some of my older friends and their junkers,,,

 

 

 

 

Dickie's 51 Ford above and Ferrel's 51 Merc below. I think they are convertibles but they never put the tops down. Shameful.

 

 

 

Obligatory Buick pic,

 

 

 

 

and a better pic from the parade,

 







 

 

It rained between the car show and the cruise so a lot of the trailer queens went home and it wasn't as crowded as usual but I still had fun, wife came along and she invited a few of the other volunteers from PAWS. You put 5 adults in the Buick and it gets real low, we made sparks a couple times.

 

Seems the only song that fits is kinda obvious

 

 

 

All in all a good weekend!

 

Oh and some fresh pix of Jayne, Hero of Canton,,,

 

 

 

Just over 3 months old,  37 pounds, 20" tall at the shoulder and 30" nose to the base of the tail.

 

Skillz.

Wish I could do that!

Be Careful Out There.

One of my car club Brothers and his passenger were involved in a serious wreck Saturday evening in his 33 Ford pickup.

Hit head on rolling thru an intersection, both will be ok(ish). Passenger has a broken ankle and severe cuts on her head, driver has broken ankle, both femurs broken and a bunch of cuts and bruises.

Scott seems to be in decent spirits, laughing when I said "no offense Dude but it looks like got hit by a truck." He is scheduled for surgery tomorrow to repair his legs and is in for a long winding road getting back on his feet.

Both are lucky to be alive.

Really drives home the delicate balance we have when driving these cars, the rewards seem much greater but the risks are too.

Volunteered to be in a Traffic Jam.

I was asked to chauffeur the outgoing Little Miss, Little Mister and Jr. Miss in my hometown's 175th birthday parade. http://www.burgoo.org/default.html Mom has pix of us during the parade and I'll post em when I get the email.

 

I spent a couple days cleaning/rubbing/buffing the car to get it ready and naturally it rained the day before but with all the fresh wax on it cleanup was quick and painless. (Wire wheels suck to clean BTW)

 

I was a bit apprehensive as that's a bit of a torture session for the car but the Buick never missed a beat and I had a blast doing it. It was a bit chilly but a blanket seemed to keep the kids happy.

 

Parade lasted just under an hour and when we completed the loop back to the start point the last group in the parade were just getting started. Not bad for a town with around 400 residents.

 

As for the musical start for the week, only one song comes to mind.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Labor Day Swing!

Jazzing things up to start the week!

We is Stoopid......

What could possibly be worse than having a 10 week old 27 pound puppy?

Puppy-sitting his brother.

 

 

They's cute when they are asleep. However when awake they are a pair of bulldozers, fighting over the same toy most of the time. Very entertaining but our nerves are a bit stretched. Kisses are an abundant resource though, as if they were in short supply before.

I saved a newspaper for swats when they pee on the floor, it got shredded all over the kitchen before I could even use it.

When they get out of hand the Brat Terrible charges in, growling and snapping and they straighten right up.  She's 10 pounds lighter and a lot smaller but she doesn't let that slow her down.

KayLeeBob stays out of it and only gets snarly when they get to close. I don't think anything bothers that dog.

Never again,, till the next time.........

Long Road Trip.

Not a big Eagles fan but since we drove thru Winslow AZ a few days ago I figured it was a good fit.

More on the road trip in a day or two.

21 Years Ago,

I became one of the luckiest guys on the planet when Da Good Squaw married me.

Sometimes it seems like yesterday but then I get up and move around the snap, crackle and pop of worn joints and ligaments remind me it was a long time ago.

We've had our up and downs but are still standing together and smiling.

The Honeymoon song:

That song was a hit around the time we got hitched and on the drive during our Honeymoon that song was all over the radio stations. It seemed like it would get played on a station, soon after we would have to change stations it would be played on the new station, lather/rinse/repeat for the entire weekend.


But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Yep I think I've accomplished that chorus. Happy she feels the same for me.

Puppeh Chow!

Last night after I got home from the shop and after a nap I wanted something sweet to munch on so I grabbed the Reeces cereal. Was munching away on it dry and I showed a piece to Jayne and he sniffed it and actually ate it!

This is the first thing he's eaten since Thursday (4 days) and he didn't puke it back up.

Since then he has been eating his puppy chow and just about anything else we've tried. Not eating a whole bunch but he is eating!

Knock on wood, we may be past the scary part of Parvo!!

Parvovirus

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/parvovirus

Jayne has it and it sucks.

We are treating it as well as we can, he is drinking and not dehydrated but he hasn't eaten much of anything since Friday and it shows.

What a bunch of shit.

Video of the week is some Jefferson Airplane with a song that always chokes me up.

 

 

Hope your week is better than mine.

And the Adventure Begins!

Today was the day to bring home Jayne!

Couple a snarly's with the girls but nothing major. Boundaries need to be set and all that.

2 months old, just under 20 pounds. Already the biggest dog in the house. Biggest klutz as well. Good thing he's got small ears or he'd be tripping on those.

He has a problem holding his licker, kisses are sloppy and abundant.

 

Compare that pic with this one from 3 weeks ago,

 

 



I think he's gonna be a big dog.

Handsome feller even with his ear inside out.

 

Potty training has begun and he works pretty good on a leash especially since this afternoon was the first time with a collar and a leash. Everything is new for him leashes, walks, free run of the house while we are awake, crate training will start this evening.

 

Wish us luck!

 

Oh yeah,, obligatory hat pic....

 

 

 

Starting the Week Off All Wrong.

I am guilty of being a musical pervert. Your welcome.

Most Important Vid You'll see Today.

Stolen shamelessly from the Outrider,

May not be the most scientifically accurate statements but it cracked me up.

Itchy.

Fixing a fiberglass front end on a drag car, not my usual cut/bash/weld gig. Do have to remember to wash hands BEFORE going to the bathroom.

How bout starting this week off with a song that makes it hard to feel bad when you hear it.

 

 

 

Best of luck! 

 

 

 



Morphine.

Yeah I like Morphine, it may be an acquired taste.

 

 

If you like Saxophones you'll probably dig it too.

KayleeBob.

Think she has to go?

Long Weekend.

After the suckage that was Friday its been an odd feeling weekend.

Feeling okay with him being gone and no longer suffering but its hard to sleep without his heavy breathing on the floor next to me on the floor. Thankfully he never snored.

I do feel like an idiot when I reflexively step over him when I go to bed.

Saturday was a bit of a relief as we went to play with Jayne and got some better pix.

 

 

He's all kinds of cute and snuggly and it doesn't take much to get him growly and ready to play.

 

I hope we have our hands full with him!

 

And for your musical start for the week how's about some Canned Heat.

 





 

 





Have a good one!

Tomorrow We Lose Another One.

Our bronze Newfie "Bear" has gotten old and his hips have all but given up so tomorrow morning the vet is making a final house call.

He's been a good dog and he deserves some rest.

He wasn't the best puppy in the world though, not long after we got him he kinda ate the couch. The new couch.

I think the wife finally forgave him sometime last week.

Most of the pictures we have of him are trapped on an old hard drive so I can't illustrate his story properly but here he is with a pancake on his head.

 

Several pancakes were sacrificed to get this picture.

 

 

He also liked the snow often importing a bunch with him when he'd come back in.

 

 

 

The last few years he's been useful at holding the carpets down and not much else but that's to be expected with the breed.

 

 

When he was younger he would greet folks at the door or scare them off in the attempt.

 

Our house is all carpeted except for the last few feet before the back door, so he had plenty of traction gaining speed but none for the slowing down.

 

Long ago he heard the back porch door open and bolted for the door barking once as he crossed over into the kitchen, made the turn toward the door and ran out of talent.

 

We could hear the nails screeching on the tiles as he attempted to stop but full speed and 180 pounds put him squarely on the wrong side of the laws of physics. He hit the door so hard that I'm surprised it didn't crack.

 

By the time we got to the door to see who was there, the only thing we found were a bunch of pamphlets scattered on the floor and a couple of well dressed young men on bicycles making tracks out of the driveway.

 

Tonight I stuffed him full of his favorite meal, bacon and tomato sammiches. The bacon thing isn't a surprise but his love of tomatoes is kind of strange.

 

Way back when, I was making some bacon and tomato sammiches and he was right there in the way, drool puddling on the floor with a solid line running up to his mouth. 

 

(If you haven't been around large breed dogs, when they decide to be in the way they are most effective.)

 

Anyway I handed him a piece of bacon and he gobbled it down all the while staring at a plate with the heels of the tomato and some juice on it and when I took it over toward the trash he whimpered a bit.

 

Uh, OK its a tomato and you probably wont like it but here it is. He gobbled it up right quickly and then carried the empty plate around for a 1/2 hour hoping it would produce more.

 

I saved a big tomato for him to enjoy in the morning as a final treat.

 

Yeah tomorrow is going to be bad...........

 

 

 

 



Uuuhhhhggggggggggg.

Already? Not into it this week.

Not much of a Mudvayne fan but they work this one over pretty good.

Duty and Honor.

Yesterday morning I went to Camp Butler Cemetery and participated in the quarterly Unaccompanied Military Veterans Ceremony.

The purpose of this event is to memorialize those that were interred without previous military honors for whatever reason. Basically it is a non-personal full honors Military Funeral, posting colors, 21 gun salute, Taps etc.

Only three of the nine honored at this event had family there so it felt like we were there to represent those comrades without loved ones present.

I didn't know anyone there and had no involvement with any of the honored folks but I felt like it was something that I should be attending as a Veteran.

With the upcoming holiday it seemed like this was a more important way of celebrating the 4th by letting the departed know that we still have their 6 even though they really don't need us to anymore.

I will be going again in Oct. Just seems like the right thing to do.

BTW Taps played by 2 buglers, the 2nd being an echo will cause a big lump in your throat.

Iz Monday,

Joy.

We Picked a Puppy.

Went to Paws with Da Good Squaw and Da Brat to pick a puppy today! The blue and white boy was already spoken for and the other blue is a girl so we decided down to a dark brown boy and medium brown boy.

Both equally as cute and mobile and were a bit bigger than the others so we picked the biggest of the two.

So this is Jayne:

 

 

3weeks old and will be ready to home 1st week in August.

 

 

Jayne's mom:

 

 

Not sure how she knitted a cunning hat though.

 

Story is she's a Cane Corso mix, father is a Pit Bull so he should be a good size mutt, will also probably be a handful. or 3.

 

Can't wait to get him home!

Rumor has it......

That we may be getting a new puppy. Course I started the rumor.

Our Newfie "Bear" is not doing well and we are going to have to put him down soon. His hips are giving out and he's gotten old on us. He has been a great dog although he wasn't a great puppy, somewhat destructive.

Wife made the mistake of telling me that they have a blue Mastiff female with 1 week old puppehs at PAWS.

That probably wasn't the smartest move she's made as I like Mastiffs and I really like blue dogs. Just so happens that there are 2 blue boys in the litter. I do believe that on my trip thru town tomorrow I may just have to stop in and take a look.

His name will be "Jayne" after the hero of Canton.

Love our little doggies, they make great alarms but I also want a bigger dog in the house to help back them up if they needs it. Pretty sure they don't come in a much bigger package.

Temperament and such should be perfect for our home and we will be making sure he's properly socialized.

Sumpthin Hapnin Here,,,,

What it is aint exactly clear....

Metaphorically its not far off from being a description of these days, although the context is way different now.

I could be full of it too.

That Time of the Week,

Lets get it rollin with some Gordon Lightfoot,

The goal for the week is to NOT kick the shit out of myself again. Laying even odds I fail.

Todays Post is Brought to You by,,,,

The number 51,

The letter "C" for control arm and creeper

The letter "P" for pelvis,

And the letter "G" for gravity,,,


(sorry pix of gravity seem to be non-existent)


Add these together properly and you end up with this,

Which will make you say some of the lyrics to this song,,

and then you say,,

Thus endeth thy lesson of the day.

How should we start the week?

How's about some music for cleaning your boomstix too?

 

 

Thru the Never works well too, however at full volume Tia was on full find a place to hide mode. She's scared of storms and I think she puts Metallica in that category.



Unloved and Under-Appreciated

Sometimes I feel like a piece of furniture.......

In the front, Tia the Brat Terrible with convenient carry handle, KayLeeBob the SnugglePup behind her, Zena the grand-dog in her hippie dress in the back. (She's half Benji, half dachshund and half weasel, you figure it out.) Wash the Wonder Kitty warming my knees.

Much Traveling Today

The last week or so I have been searching for a hay in a needlestack and I found it, today I have to go pick it up.

I'll be travelling down a couple of these,,

Wish me luck!

Do Solemny Swear,,,,

"I, XXXXXXXXXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

Long ago I took that oath, it has no expiration date. Only when we pass on does it expire.

Rest in Peace my Brothers and Sisters in Arms.

Rust Revival Recap.

The only show I planned on going to this year was over the weekend and going in a daily beater wasn't something I wanted to do.

After this fiasco:

 http://datinmanspeaks.blogspot.com/2013/09/anyone-got-any-luck-i-can-beg-borrow.html

I was hoping to gimp the car to the show by adding a high volume high pressure oil pump and some prayers to the applicable deities. Well that was more than a miserable failure. Leaving me with a car that still had no oil pressure when warm and it now had a rather disturbing knock in the bottom end.

Monday left me feeling that something equally stupid and drastic was needed,

 So I yanked it out thinking that if the bottom end wasn't to bad I could order bearing and slap it back together good enough for the trip.

 

 

Late night but I felt like I got something accomplished even though it was going in the wrong direction. I had been looking for a replacement powerplant for a while but the closest ones were 6-8 hours away and that wasn't going to happen on my "Oh shit the show is THIS weekend?" schedule.

 

 

When I got home I started looking at what stuff was available the fastest to make sure I could get it going again and something told me to look on Craigslist to see what I could find. Lo and behold there was a 65 Buick 300 in a small town 45 minutes or so from here!

 

Not sure what the odds are on finding a 50ish year old somewhat rare motor in running condition local are but it happened.

 

 

First thing in the AM I phoned and txted to see if it was available and the condition it was in. The replies were somewhat strange in that they had attempted to clean the outside of the motor by sandblasting it.

 

For those of you that aren't mechanically inclined we don't sandblast motors for the same reason sex on the beach isn't what its cracked up to be.

 

I whittled the guy down a bit on price, ran and got it, while I was there he showed me video of it running right before they pulled it for its "bath".

 

 

Once I started pulling it apart things were not looking good, there was a beach in the heads,

 

Lifter valley was a little better but still not looking all that promising.

 

Once the head were off though things really started looking up, no noticeable wear in the bores and they hadn't turned it over since they filled it with sand so no scratches or gouges either.

 

 

The bottom end was nearly perfect very little wear on the bearings and the crank was perfect.

 

 

Since my top end was fresh and this one had a good bottom end I was one gasket set away from a runner!

 

I spent an hour or so at the car wash blowing all the sand out of the block and off the internals and being the genius I am I had ordered a gasket set on Tuesday so Wednesday at 5 PM I started putting it back together, by 2 am I had the motor assembled and back in the car, minus the intake, one lifter (bad waiting on replacement) one valve cover and the exhaust manifolds were loose.

 

No pix, I got busy and spaced it.

 

Thursday I finished it up and pre-oiled it, fired the old gal up by 2 PM. Drove it to the gas station and then to a friends house to make sure it was doing what it should.

 

I had time to bang out a couple items for the charity auction and went home to get some sleep. First time all week I was home before 2 AM.

 

Friday comes and I'm driving a 50 year old convertible with no heat and a lot of air leaks so how was the weather?

 

 

Yep, cold and rainy. Woohoo. Froze my ass off all the way there and it didn't get any warmer that night during the preshow festivities.

 

One of the things we had planned last year was our own version of bingo. We brainstormed for a most of the weekend to come up with suggestions for what to put on the card. Yes we are probably going to hell for this and we really bad people.

 

 

Each card was different and not all items were the same. Breeder is the guy putting on the show so he was the free space. This was started at 8 PM Friday and was supposed to last till Saturday at 8 PM.

 

At 8:12 on Friday I won the first round, donated some of the prize money back and we decided that filling the card was the way to win for Sat. I came in second. 

 

It was cold enough on Friday evening that we absconded with a metal trash can and a pallet or 2 and set up a hobo camp fire which gave us a place to sit around and make fun of one another.

 

Saturday started with the sun shining and while chilly it was going to be a fairly nice day. Parked the cars and enjoyed the day, our Buick parked so it was the first thing you'd see when entering the show, next to it a Rambler belonging to Todd the newest member of the Vagabond's CC and behind it was Grayson's pickemup  also a member.

 

 

One row back was Sam's 63 Riv, 56,000 mile mostly original 2 owner survivor. I lowered it and changed shocks and such, added a better carb and ignition. Also a Vagabond. 



 

Another Vagabond's truck, Brian and D.W. from Wisconsin,

 

My friend Mike's 40 Ford, another one of the willymakeit club, this thing was still in pieces when I was pulling my motor. The hood is finished but they ran out of time.

 

Not sure who's this was but man is it right. I spend a lot of time around old cars so unless its my Buddies car or something special I pay little or no attention to it, this one made me stop in my tracks.

 

This is what a flatty should look like. If'n I was to build one it would be a lot like this one.

 

Magnet's Impala, nice solid car every bit as nice as it looks.

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of other cars there but you'll have to come to the show to see em.

 

Charity stuff sold around 4 PM, did ok wanted more but happy with what it brought, top piece was striped by the Evil Step Dad.

 

 

 

 

Sunday we got back on the road to come home,, This is more like it.





 

 

I was even able to put the roof in the trunk where it belongs, it was still a bit cool but I'd rather be a bit chilly with the roof down than comfy with it up.

                                    

Got home with out much in the way of issues with the new powerplant, until I got into town 13 miles from home, stopped at parts store and changed fuel filters and somehow lost high gear in the transmission.

Drove the rest of the way home at 30 mph and now I get to start a new adventure chasing that fiasco down. Rest assured it will be fixed, spring has sprung and nothing beats a topless cruise anywhere you need to go.