company at last

always wear safety glasses...

it goes without saying that i am a dirty kid.
i did an engine swap with a friend awhile ago and was only there to lend him minor assistance and encouragement; he did the whole job wearing designer jeans and walked away each day mostly spotless while i basically stood there and magically attracted dirt. no matter what i seem to be doing, i end up covered in whatever i'm working with, in, on or around. so it comes as no surprise that working at my new job, being a welder and mechanic on off-road drilling rigs, has landed me an eye infection. normally not a big deal; with a few hot-compresses it should go away right? nope, not in my case. apparently when you are constantly covered in welding soot, and hydraulic oil all the TLC in the world wont make things better. so off my uninsured, pathetic self goes to the community clinic. usually it is some form of hysterical debauchery that lands me in places like that but such was not the case. with the application of some needles and a scalpel, the Doc managed to cut out most of the dookies that made my eyelid droop like a half-assed boxer. but it rendered me handicap for the last week-ish. couple this with my typical mental handicaps and i was pretty useless. so why tell all this? who the fuck even cares? no idea. maybe there is a lesson to be learned here. more over i just wanted to explain to my groupies out there why i've temporarily vanished. ha, yeah, okay...

finding some flow...

with the careful application of a file and epoxy maybe i can find some more fast 

the season is upon us...

get pumped and don't forget to stop and smell the roses, or the cowpies, such as it is

the ordeal...

so coming up with the money to purchase this chariot was a piece of cake compared to making her seaworthy. and had it performed as poorly during the test-drive as it did on the trip home i doubt i would have made the purchase. this whole thing was at least a small lesson in the importance of being an informed consumer. admittedly i know very little about cars and trucks. i know how all the bits work and how you go down the road but the specifics of makes and models are lost on me. one thing i do know is that it takes quite a bit of force to blow out all the seems on a muffler. that backfire scared the dookies out of me.    

the dude said that it had a different motor than the straight-6 it came with. it was the dude's brother who owned it so he was not sure what kind of motor was stuffed in there. i thought i had taken a very close look at the engine. i could have sworn i only saw 6 plug wires coming off the distributor and 3 pipes coming down each side. and i positively remember dylan telling me that a V6 was not an option, but i apparently was not listening. i should have pulled the dog-house to really see. oh well, a 302 is still a decent enough motor.

gotta fix that window so it can go up AND down. every time i fart its an instant dutch-oven.

oh yeah, almost forgot. i had made it a mere 2 miles with my new purchase before things began to cascade, starting with the depletion of my fuel.

moose-knookle rides!

anyone who can build a bike literally from a heap of parts from the crank-pin to the spokes deserves a round of applause, truely. this week chris' ride hit the streets. although it took more that the predicted 3 kicks to initially start the fresh rebuild, it runs like a champ now. 

 setting the timing...

getting back to normal, relatively speaking.

okay so the truck was a ton of fun but it just wasn't working out. i needed a stool to reach anything under the hood, the motor was huge and so was it's fuel consumption and getting a bike into the bed was like playing Russian Roulette. it had to go. 

 now this is a superior machine. this turkey wagon was originally used to tote around a puppet show put on by firefighters. cruising around montangya teaching elementary kids about not piping yayo and "stop, drop and roll". 1970 one ton; handles like a beach ball full of water. 40 year old chassis and suspension design ensure nothing short of a thrilling ride while the all-drum brakes fade away like your immediate future.

 functioning console features include: a horn. features not included: seat belts, a radio, GPS or Onstar.

 "work back". and as soon as i get some black paint, OSB, insulation and tie-downs i should be ready to cruise the local truck stops...

critical ebay score

so ray called me the other day and said the jug i sent him is already on its largest available piston size and that he is hesitant to port out a motor that is on its last legs. fair enough and i couldn't agree more. fortunately i was able to bag this delightful item at the price i deemed reasonable ($50 shipped). stock bore is 85mm and this puppy is out to 85.15mm; F'n A.  

 i think this is why it was affordable but with a new piston already worked into the budget its no big deal.

 and this is why it was valuable in addition to the smaller bore; un-messed-with ports. not easy to find 30 years later.

kinda bored lately.

progress has been slow lately due mainly to no days off and the sudden need to sleep more than 4 hours a night; getting old sucks and i do not recommend it. however, to keep my hands out of trouble... 

 the blue light is a Whelen light head used behind the grills of most police cruisers, now it resides under my seat. all i need now is a quartz watch and i can fit in with the other "custom dudes". and with dylan's guidance i managed to get my clutch adjusted properly. i also noticed that i did not have in my tool bag the proper do-hickey to adjust my clutch. this oversight was immediately remedied. ALWAYS be ready to fix your own shit. i also made use of some of the taiwan-ted wrenches i have lying around for just such an occasion.  

 Specialty Clutch Adjustment Tool, part #: 33950 available now through this site. send $40 via paypal and you will not only receive this American made custom piece but also a brown paper bag containing a mystery prize that may or may not instigate divorce and or imprisonment.

ha, i forgot about this...

a friend found this and sent me the link. i guess tour wasn't sooo bad. that same bike carried my silly ass from El Paso to Phoenix in under 5 hours. when paul asked how fast i got it going i told him: "i chickened out and rolled off the throttle at about 155, but it still had tons of head room left. if i had more than a t-shirt on i would have felt braver, maybe next time." his reply was: "i hate you." as i recall, i never got to ride it again.
http://blackcarboncustom.tumblr.com/post/4532197075

Couldn't get shit done in the garage today..

but I owned the pond.

crucial garage equipment upgrade

i have not had this stereo hooked up sense college, dad came through in the clutch and sent it to me. so sweet. yeah, thats a tape-deck.