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Rocketman
04-01-2018, 08:09 PM
I am a new guy on this board but not a new guy to posting on boards. There is another board I have been on since 2006 and have over 5,000 posts on it. It is a very active board. One of the things I notice on here is the lack of people posting. There is a thread on there called the Good Morning Thread. People just post what they are going to do that day and what they have planned. I have not been a part of it but I will now that I retired last Friday. This is my attempt to start the same kind of thread here. It can be brief as "I am going to the dentist today" or I am pulling my transmission today. If folks on here are interested, they will post on this thread. If not, the thread will just fade away. Although it is not tomorrow morning, I will go ahead and start my first post.

Since I was forced into retirement (hey I am 71), I will be filing for the Cobra on my dental insurance since my wife has some unfinished dental work. I will then file for unemployment since I was actually laid off. Then I will start on the bucket list of things I plan on now that I am retired. I have to say I am excited about being retired. I have a few things I have to complete before I start on my 57. Right now I am just collecting parts and spending money.

Rocketman
04-01-2018, 08:12 PM
I posted this in the wrong forum. Hopefully it can be moved.

chevynut
04-01-2018, 09:53 PM
We had a thread like this a while ago, but it fizzled out.

http://www.trifivechevys.com/showthread.php/3325-Good-morning-trifivechevy-thread

Hopefully we can keep one or the other going. Some guys here don't seem to want anyone to know what they're doing on their cars or anything else. ;)

Rocketman
04-02-2018, 06:01 AM
It sure seems that way. I have been surprised how few people post on here. I will post on this thread every day and see if it gets going. If it doesn't then I guess it is not mean to be.

bigblock
04-02-2018, 07:06 AM
I try to at lest read here every day. Mother nature played a BAD prank on us for April Fools Day, 3.5-4 in of that white shit. No golf today , weatherman said it was to be 45-50 and sunny? Man how do you get a job were you don't have to be right and make BIG MONEY!!! oh well heats on in the garage this will also be a good day.

chevynut
04-02-2018, 07:10 AM
Today I have to finish my state taxes for both of my part-time businesses and then get to our federal taxes. Hopefully this stuff will be easier next year. Next I need to get my Colorado big game applications in, one of the 7 states I apply in each year. I've started on building another 7 sets of Eldorado seat mounts and I'll work on them a little today too since I've been selling so many of them lately. There's always so many things that need to be done.

Getting back on the Nomad I have been working on it pretty regularly. I still need to touch up one spot on one door edge and I'll be ready to turn them over to block the outer skin one more time. It's been unbelievably time-consuming to get these doors where I want them to be. I've done some blocking work on one fender with guide coat and found out I had a low spot right above the center of the tire. I thought primer would take care of it but ended up using a hammer on it to raise it. There's a little sanding I need to do on the fenderwell lip, which I'm having difficulty getting "perfect", or at least good enough that I feel comfortable with painting it. So it will need another coat or two of primer before I can call it done. I've blocked my custom upper grille support a couple of times and I think it's ready for a final coat of primer.

We had my Mom and my kids over yesterday and they wanted to see the chassis and hear the 502 run so I fired it up for them. I think none of them believe I'll ever finish this car. :geek: I really need to get the headers off and sent to Jet Hot. It's on my list of to-do's for the week if I can get to it. :)

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
04-02-2018, 12:00 PM
retired too, everyday is a Saturday! :D

Rocketman
04-02-2018, 01:34 PM
Today is my first day of retirement and so far it has been good.

chevynut
04-02-2018, 02:07 PM
Today is my first day of retirement and so far it has been good.

I retired 5 1/2 years ago the same month I turned 59 and I'm busier now than I was before I retired. :p

Bluegrass Trifive
04-02-2018, 04:37 PM
Long day at work today so no time to work on the old 57. I did manage at lunch to order some stainless pieces I’m missing. My first time to work with Concourse Trim, I hope they’re a solid company to do business width. Anybody have any experience with them?

BamaNomad
04-02-2018, 07:24 PM
I retired 5 1/2 years ago the same month I turned 59 and I'm busier now than I was before I retired. :p

.. me too .. 5 yrs ago! but NOW we are busy at HOME on our OWN stuff... lots better.. :) ... although today was split between the doctor's office and the bank... so not much car work done..

55 Tony
04-03-2018, 04:36 AM
Today I have to finish organizing some things, no a LOT of things in my shop so it doesn't look like a disaster area when a guy drops off a pinball tonight for repairs. It's in that in between stage where I'm half way done but it looks worse than before. Since I'll be working late I also plan on taking some time off to put my street tires on the 55 and see some things discussed in a different thread. Also supposed to be a high of 80F today so it's a very good day to see how my "cool fuel" system is working with winter blend gas.

Rocketman
04-03-2018, 05:19 AM
Good Morning Everybody. Well on the second day of retirement I got up at 7:00 and got the coffee which is about the time I used to be leaving the house. I have a couple things I will do here at home and then probably run a couple errands. It has warmed up from the 42 degrees we had yesterday morning but we are supposed to have rain today with possible hail. I hope everybody has a good day.

busterwivell
04-03-2018, 05:43 AM
I'm 71, still working 4 days a week, own the business, need to fix that soon. I should probably post more often, but seem to just post when I have a problem. If I was any good at posting pictures, maybe that would make it easier. Slowly finishing the final things on my list to make my 56 a driver. Need to get the gauges installed, seat belts installed, get the 700 to shift into 4th gear, then tires and alignment......and it's time to drive it! Won't get any progress done this weekend, headed to Good Guys Del Mar, Ca with my wife.

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
04-03-2018, 05:49 AM
another day above ground, sweet!!!!!!!!! :D

WagonCrazy
04-03-2018, 06:53 AM
I envy you retired guys..with all that time for your Tri5's. ;)
I'm buried in job stuff for the rest of the week so no playing with my cars till the weekend.
Have a set of new mufflers that need to be put on the 59 Apache next. The old ones rusted and blew out last week...so thats' the next thing to do with the little 110v welder I have.

chevynut
04-03-2018, 07:48 AM
Every day I put together a to-do list and it usually has a dozen things on it, many of which get carried forward. I spend the first couple hours each morning drinking coffee and watching the stock market, and placing trades if the time is right. I manage all my own IRAs myself. Tried a professional "wealth manager" but he sucked too much money out of my accounts for the mediocre returns he was getting me.

I finished up the state taxes for my businesses yesterday and got them sent out. I had problems with the POS Adobe pdf reader software that wouldn't let me print the forms with edits so I faked it out. I also made some progress on the seat mount kits yesterday and need to get at least one full set ready to ship in a day or two since it's been paid for.

I did get a little work done on the Nomad parts. The doors are essentially done and I cleaned out the weatherstrip mounting holes before paint. All I have to do on them is block the outer skin which are 95% done from before I removed them a few weeks ago (at least I hope they are). I put some seam sealer on the upper grille support plate and it's ready for the final primer as well.

I have the new firewall tacked into the Hemi55 and may do some welding on it today....gotta get it done and out of my shop. :)

Rocketman
04-04-2018, 05:59 AM
Good Morning To All:

I an sitting at my desk having my second cup of coffee. It is the third day and this retirement thing is working ok. I am headed over this morning to pick up my new eye glasses and then stop at the tax office and get a set of trailer license. When I get back I am going to build a stand for a parking meter I restored (not to working condition). I am using an old brake rotor for the base and a metal fence post for the stand. I have a little welding to do on the rotor and cut the post to size and then assemble it. I polished the post yesterday with some 000 steel wool and metal polish and it looks pretty nice. I am going to use it as part of my car display. I will post a picture when I am done. Hope everybody has a good day.

NickP
04-04-2018, 06:32 AM
Retirement! What a wonderfully over rated term. I have been for the last 5 years and at times feel like I'm doing more rather than less. The good part; I'm doing more on customer cars rather than a few hours a night and weekends. Today's chore is finish the hinges on the 57 and machine the dash trim for the Bronco.

chevynut
04-04-2018, 07:37 AM
Been sitting here this morning watching the stock market continue to crash. Oh well, my experience is that it always comes back when the investors stop being so scared about every little stupid thing.:geek:

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I'd hoped. I was building seat mount kits and a guy from Colorado Springs showed up and spent a couple of hours chatting. I thought he was a frame customer but he has a Newman frame he bought as a project that he's trying to put together. I did get the kit done that I need to ship today, and mostly done with a few others. I also did a little work on the Hemi55 brake pedal parts.

This morning I have to work on getting some more documentation to the bank for a HELOC I'm trying to take out to eventually buy some land. Everyone tells me this is the best source of tax-free money you can access and my home has gone up a lot in value. Speaking of retirement, it's unbelievable how hard they make it to take out your OWN home equity when you're retired and have a lot of assets, but little income. I only take what I need out of my IRAs to supplement other income to pay my bills. There needs to be different qualification requirements for retirees than for those still working.

Hopefully I'll have time to shoot that primer on the Nomad parts today. :)

bigblock
04-04-2018, 08:26 AM
Will Mother Nature play another prank on us here, Rained all day yesterday about 3in and hard, this morning at 8:15 the wind has been blowing between 30 - 40 mph a tree up the road came down and took the power out. Power came back on at 11:00. Started snowing again and the wind is still blowing, I looked down at the dogs and I think they have the right id, they are both snoring. Lunch soon then out to the garage. Everyone have a good day ours has to get better soon????

BamaNomad
04-04-2018, 08:34 AM
My *plan* today was to get on the phone wtih Holley tech support and try to get enough information on their LS accessory drive kits to know what to order (between the 20-131, 20-137, and 20-185) OR try to find the best GM numbers to order... Unfortunately, we had a strong storm BLOW thru late last night (70+ mph straight line winds for a few minutes), and that kept me up later... and this morning when I got up to find shingles missing, cladding on the eaves blown off and stripped, and a tree down in my yard... :( so I still haven't called Holley as yet (my plans are pretty easily disrupted which cause 'replans').. :)

If any of you have used any of these kits I'd love to hear about your experience. I'd like the components to be 'tight' to the block, which is what the 20-185 provides, but also not to protrude farther towards the front (and the rad/fans/etc).

chevynut
04-04-2018, 08:42 AM
Holy cow you guys sound like you're getting some nasty weather. We're in the 60's for the highs and have had very little snow this past winter. Snow showers are expected Friday (50% chance) but they've forecasted snow a few times and it hasn't happened. April is one of our snowiest months.

Bitchin'57
04-04-2018, 10:56 AM
82º and sunny here. Just sayin'.......;)

chevynut
04-04-2018, 09:08 PM
Geez guys, one more post about LS accessories and you need to start your own thread about it. You're as bad as RD. :D :)

Rocketman
04-05-2018, 07:13 AM
Good morning everybody. Weather here is overcast but is supposed to be partly sunny today. At least there is no rain. I didn't get my parking meter put together yesterday so that is on the agenda this morning. Three of my buddies are having a retirement party for me this afternoon so my wife and is will be headed out for that about 3:30. That is pretty much the agenda for this old recently retired guy. Hope everybody has a good day.

bigblock
04-05-2018, 07:25 AM
I thought this was the good morning thread, :) any way snow's on the ground just a coating but it is still white s#*# I had enough rain and snow for at least a couple of days. Glad I'm retired 3yrs but I want sun and warm weather!!!! Beer and the garage door open, oh well have a good day everyone and remember be nice to one and all the Big Guy is watching. I'll finish my coffee now and head to garage with my two buddy's Max and Sadie.:D

chevynut
04-05-2018, 08:30 AM
Unfortunately I spent WAY too much time yesterday getting all my 1099Rs for the past 3 years to the loan officer at the bank. My "wealth manager" moved my money around a couple of times in the past 5 years and I wasn't getting paper tax forms. One of my accounts had even been completely deleted so I had to figure out how to get the 1099R for 2017 taxes. Glad I'm controlling almost all of this now......and not paying the exorbitant "management" fees.

Once I got into the shop I decided to hit the Hemi55. I welded and ground the top and sides of the new firewall. Today I plan to do some more welding on it, and hopefully finish it soon. It's been in my shop way too long and I have other projects waiting so I need to get it done....plus the owner is loaning me his enclosed trailer to haul my Nomad to the painter. :)

I did manage to do a little work on the Nomad. I blocked the driver's fender with guide coat and it came out really nice. I have some very minor touchup priming to do and then the final sanding. Both fenders have factory "ripples" in the very inboard fenderwell lip and I'm not sure what to do about them, if anything. I'll probably do a little hammer and dolly work and some blocking on them, especially where they're visible like behind the tire. I just don't want to be saying "I wish I'd done more on that" after paint. :)

Custer55
04-05-2018, 10:36 AM
I thought this was the good morning thread, :) any way snow's on the ground just a coating but it is still white s#*# I had enough rain and snow for at least a couple of days. Glad I'm retired 3yrs but I want sun and warm weather!!!! Beer and the garage door open, oh well have a good day everyone and remember be nice to one and all the Big Guy is watching. I'll finish my coffee now and head to garage with my two buddy's Max and Sadie.:D

Your lucky to only have a coating. We got 10 to 12" of snow on Tuesday / Wednesday AM and it will be way below average high and low temps for at least the next 10 days or so. Our normal highs this time of year are around 50 degrees. The high for Friday is supposed to be 24 degrees with a low near zero Saturday morning. Feels more like January than April :cry: Guess I have another few weeks before I have to worry about getting any cars out for the summer season.

Bluegrass Trifive
04-05-2018, 11:03 AM
Geez guys, one more post about LS accessories and you need to start your own thread about it. You're as bad as RD. :D :) No problem, I'll stay out of it.... forever. ;):D

Florida 57
04-05-2018, 02:06 PM
Finally got around to repairing 200 feet of wood fencing in front of my house with a kind neighbor`s help that got knocked down during last years hurricane.

brickrow
04-06-2018, 05:28 AM
Good Morning. First post here.
Actually I am looking around for an alternative to Facebook stuff and more towards the Usenet I used to use a lot and this semms like it might be a good place to be.
I have my cars at www.redbelair.com
55-383, 4 speed
56-69 350, 4 speed
Thanks for the opportunity to join
Joe

NickP
04-06-2018, 05:54 AM
Good Morning. First post here.
Actually I am looking around for an alternative to Facebook stuff and more towards the Usenet I used to use a lot and this semms like it might be a good place to be.
I have my cars at www.redbelair.com (http://www.redbelair.com)
55-383, 4 speed
56-69 350, 4 speed
Thanks for the opportunity to join
Joe

Good morning and WELCOME, Joe! Happy you're here.

55 Tony
04-06-2018, 06:26 AM
Good Morning.
Yesterday I broke my Kubota. :( Had the loader bucket (with teeth) down pulling backwards and hit something, normally it will just jump over it with a bang. Yesterday it went BANG extra loud. Now when I rotate the bucket up to hold a load, it leaks back down again. Anyway I had called, just curious if this is going to be under warranty and was waiting for a call back which I just got. Looks good, I think it's 24 months and I'm at about 14 months. I think I blew out the cylinder, when I got home I then noticed some hydro fluid near it. I had used it to tear down one hell of a strong shed built 60 or more years ago. What wasn't rotting was tough as nails, and you should have seen the nails. Maybe I should say spikes! Loads of *real* 2x4's, wood siding on the outside and then more 1x6 planks to finish the inside. I did save the siding off one side. It's some really nice contoured stuff and had that ugly fake brick shingle type siding over it. Hope to use it below a chair rail or something inside the house. The dealer is busy as all heck and my grass is growing fast. Said if I have to I can drop the loader there and take the tractor home. What sucks is it's about a 100 mile round trip. Maybe I can talk them into giving me a new cylinder and I replace it myself?

BamaNomad
04-06-2018, 07:16 AM
Good Morning.
Yesterday I broke my Kubota. :( Had the loader bucket (with teeth) down pulling backwards and hit something, normally it will just jump over it with a bang. Yesterday it went BANG extra loud. Now when I rotate the bucket up to hold a load, it leaks back down again. ...
... portions deleted...
busy as all heck and my grass is growing fast. Said if I have to I can drop the loader there and take the tractor home. What sucks is it's about a 100 mile round trip. Maybe I can talk them into giving me a new cylinder and I replace it myself?

I've been successful with that argument on several new cars that had an issue (both with Chrysler and Chevrolet)... lots better than the round trip (twice) for you, and taking a chance on the mechanics screwing something else up (at car dealerships)... Good luck!

markm
04-06-2018, 07:38 AM
Today I am playing "hurry up and wait" for the phone to ring . I took my Bobcat to shop to have the Loader Control Valve rebuilt. This thing left an oil slick that would make the Exxon Valdez proud everywhere I parked it.

Rocketman
04-06-2018, 07:42 AM
Good Morning All:

Welcome Joe. Glad you joined. I am still a fairly new member but starting to feel pretty comfortable here. I am glad you have taken part in this thread. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sorry about the tractor Tony. Two of those trips will be a time consuming pain.
I finished my parking meter stand yesterday but it is too tall at 58 inches. I am going to cut about 6 inches out of the post and I think that will look better. Then is need to tack weld a nut on the bottom so assembly will be easier. Youngest grandson has a UIL concert at 1:00 today and the oldest one has a basketball game tonight at 8:00. I am glad I can make these now that I am retired. I have a car show to go to tomorrow but it is going to be cool with a high of 55 degrees. I realize for some of you that would probably be a heat wave.

Have a good day everybody/

chevynut
04-06-2018, 08:14 AM
Good morning America! In true Colorado springtime form it's 32 and snowing like crazy this morning but the high is supposed to hit a high of 46 so it will be gone in no time.

Yesterday I spent WAY too much time on personal taxes. It's a good thing that there's over a week left to get them in and that I didn't procrastinate like we usually do on them. We use Turbotax every year so it's usually pretty easy. The problem this year is I have taxable distributions from two spinoffs from Hewlett Packard Enterprise which spun off from Hewlett Packard Company in 2015. Compounding the problem is that my HP stock was bought over more than a couple of decades in employee purchases every quarter, some acquired from stock option awards and service awards, and there have been multiple splits in that time. Also I've transferred the stock from the original transfer agent to my brokerage and have sold some over the years, so I have NO FRICKING IDEA what my cost basis is, and I need to know that to figure my cost basis for the most recent taxable spinoff. I knew I'd have to deal with this some day, but didn't expect it this year. :( I have all my records....in a folder....that's about 2" thick. Guess I'll have to make a best effort swag and call it good. :geek:

I managed to get out in the shop in the afternoon and finished welding and grinding the HEMI55 firewall. I also did some more work on the brake assembly and bolted it in to check the final fit of all the parts. Just a little more minor machine work to do today and that part will be done.

I can't seem to get to priming the Nomad parts. :cry:

55 Tony
04-06-2018, 10:01 AM
I finished my parking meter stand yesterday but it is too tall at 58 inches.y/

About 20 years ago I bought about 20 parking meters from a town that finally replaced them that year. They take PENNIES only, that's how old they are. Anyway I fixed, painted and sold all but 1 for myself which has sat in a shed since I moved here going on 15 years. Anyway, I found a neat way to make table top stands. Just go buy a PVC floor drain, throw out the screen part, turn it upside down, paint it, and the meters fit right on top! Back then I sold them for $100 a piece. I was slow with work so although I put too much time into them, at least I made some money when I had no other work to do.

55 Tony
04-06-2018, 10:25 AM
I've been successful with that argument on several new cars that had an issue (both with Chrysler and Chevrolet)... lots better than the round trip (twice) for you, and taking a chance on the mechanics screwing something else up (at car dealerships)... Good luck!

I'm glad you posted that! I just called and he said no. Then I gave him a sob story about the 100 mile trip twice and he checked and said he didn't have one in stock but I probably just blew out the seal and he will order a seal kit. Then he said I can bring him just the cylinder and he can rebuild it while I wait! Great, I can take the car instead of the van, trailer, tractor and only make one trip. Hope all goes well, he will call me when the rebuild kit comes in. I'm going to double check where it's leaking to make sure that's the problem. I've never done hydraulic work before but if the bucket does dump and come up again but leaks down, I'd think it would have had to blow a seal? Anyone know? If not a hose, there is the valve and I'll check for a leak there.

BamaNomad
04-06-2018, 08:58 PM
CN: I had a similar problem a few years ago with stock also purchased thru payroll withholding many years before; I didn't even know I still had the stock until the company sent me a letter telling me I had to sell the stock to them as a private venture company had bought all the stock and were taking the company private again. I couldn't find exact records of my purchase, so I 'guesstimated' and submitted the tax return... I figure if I didn't know the gov't probably didn't either... and if they did, worst case I'd have to pay some more tax (or get more back?).. :)

Rocketman
04-07-2018, 09:06 AM
Good Saturday Morning:

It is 38 degrees here this morning. I was supposed to take my Olds to a car show this morning but that is not going to happen. If it isn't fun I don't do it and sitting out in 38 degree weather with the wind blowing is not my idea of fun. I am disappointed since the show is a benefit for the food bank and has over 400 cars with everything from T Models to Lambos. They will probably do good to have 200 cars today. I cut 6 inches off my parking meter stand yesterday and it looks just right now. I have a couple errands I can run now and oldest grandson has a basketball game tonight. Other than that it looks to be a pretty calm day. Hope you all have a good weekend.

567chevys
04-07-2018, 09:12 AM
Good morning All ,

Was at the Portland Oregon PIR swap meet the last 2 Days . Rain first Day and Very WET , Friday was really Nice sunny 68
There was 2 1955 Chevy Nomads one at the PIR track the other was expo center
PIR one was $5K and needed ton of Parts one at Expo was $ 13.5 But was full of all the Parts for it

We also seen this Nut Case there

chevynut
04-07-2018, 10:42 AM
Sid, isn't one of those Nomads Dick's (Hotroddder)? I thought he was taking one there to sell. The one for $13K looks pretty good to me.

567chevys
04-07-2018, 11:11 AM
Hello Laszlo,


Yes the 5 K was Dicks , seem like a good start , the 13K IMO was a good deal


Sid

Florida 57
04-07-2018, 07:52 PM
Searched for about a month for a topper on a recently acquired truck both new and used.New ones were very expensive due in part to Ford`s tailgate design change, and no used ones could be found that would fit correctly.One company makes them specific for the application but the dealer is 4.50 hours north of me.I was almost going to bite the financial bullet and plan a complete day of driving for the purchase.Then out of no where a free local topper close to what would work comes into the picture.It was missing the important part...the back glass.The kind gentleman helped me load it on my truck and home I went.The search for just a correct back glass became fruitless.I bought for $60.00 an incorrect for my needs topper that had a good back glass, but wrong size which I knew.The tailgate`s design has what is known as a "step",(curves).The correct topper has a built in cover for the step that also seals the back glass to the tailgate.
I cut the back out of the bought one and grafted it to the free one with fiberglass.I cut and formed from 22 gauge a rough shaped cover and layered it in fiberglass.I cut and drilled carefully an alumn. connecting strap for the cover.Some complaints from people I called selling toppers was that they don`t seal out water well.I cut and glued .25 in. rubber all around the base of topper and clamped it to the trucks bed. Probably a total of 40 hours of labor and $125.00 in costs compared to $1,800.00 plus gas and a day of driving for this topper that is 99 percent sealed.(Would need sideways water to protrude but not uncommon in Florida`s rainy season.)

BamaNomad
04-07-2018, 08:35 PM
You and a little work made that old nasty 'free' topper look very good, Florida... :)

NickP
04-08-2018, 04:57 AM
Happy Sunday to ALL!

55 Tony
04-08-2018, 06:04 AM
Last week we had highs of 75F. Last night low of 28F and a little snow. Not much snow, but still it's still on the rear deck.

Friday I took the cylinder off the Kubota and wow, I didn't blow the seals, I broke the piston. I could hear metal pieces inside it and one little piece fell out the fitting. Saturday at the Kubota dealer I got a rebuilt or slightly used cylinder and a gallon of fluid at no cost, others told me it wasn't under warranty anymore.

Rocketman
04-08-2018, 09:14 AM
Good Sunday Morning to all. It is supposed to warm up today into the 60's from a high in the 40's yesterday. I have a monthly club meeting with that other brand of car I own today at 2:00. Sunday's are different now that I have retired in that I don't have the dread and anticipation of going to work on Monday. I don't have to worry about all the stuff I didn't get done this weekend because I can work on it next week. I hope everybody has a nice Sunday.

chevynut
04-08-2018, 09:38 AM
I spent pretty much the entire day Saturday working on tax stuff. I'm happy to say that my stock purchase records were a little better than I thought and I was able to account for all of the shares in my NQ stock account. The ones in my IRA don't matter. :). I had to "wing it" a little on the earliest shares so I just used some average prices 30 days before the shares were transferred to my account. If the IRS has a better idea they can tell me. So I spent this morning inputting all the data into a spreadsheet and calculated all my new cost bases. Next month there's yet another spinoff so I'll have to re-figure my cost basis going forward, but it should be easy now. What a HUGE relief this is. I have been dreading doing this for years.

The weather is beautiful again today and it's 55 this morning already, but a little windy. All of the snow from the other day is gone. I may be able to get out to the shop this afternoon for a couple of hours but I also have to go visit my mom later. Have a nice day!

bigblock
04-08-2018, 07:02 PM
Well MN did it to us again Friday night, Sat. morning 1.5in of snow and in the 20's. Sun came out and the snow was gone by 3:00. 2of the grand kids coming over to spend the night. Sunday morning grand kids are still in bed,(10:00) finale sent the dogs in to get them up, that did it.:) Went Trap Shooting this morning, temp was in the 30's put very little wind thank god. Watched the ball game and the Masters, time to go get a beer and relax. Later:p

NickP
04-09-2018, 06:38 AM
New week, let's get something done! Good morning all!

WagonCrazy
04-09-2018, 07:27 AM
Spent the day yesterday welding new mufflers into my wifes 59 Apache truck.

Was wondering why it was sounding so aggressive last week.

Think I figured out why...

8643

bigblock
04-09-2018, 07:54 AM
Well another day where we are 20 degree's below normal. It's 30 and spitting white shit the man say's it will be in the 70's Friday:D:D I'll believe it when it happens. I'm on my quest to buy a new vice for my work bench. Enjoy today a lot of other people don't have this FREEDOM.

Rocketman
04-09-2018, 08:03 AM
Good Morning to all. The sun is out today and the high is supposed to be 69 which is a lot better than the weekend. I have a little paperwork to do in the office this morning and then I will start some of my retirement projects outside. I hope I have attached a picture of my parking meter I mentioned last week. It is nothing fancy but was kind of fun to put together. I hope everybody has a good day and a good week. I just looked at my post and am sorry the picture turned 90 degrees.

8644

chevynut
04-09-2018, 08:27 AM
Good morning everyone. Spring is roaring in here in CO. We have bushes and trees leafing out, and the forsythias are blooming. It rained last night and it's supposed to be 52 today with a 60% chance of "frozen mix". It's supposed to be low to mid 70's by mid-week.

I was able to get out to the shop yesterday while my wife helped a friend with her taxes. I finally got the fenders, doors, and grille support shot with K36 primer. I think that's the last coat on almost all of those parts except possibly the passenger fender, which I had to "massage" a little and have to block again. Now I have to flip the doors over and block the outer skin one more time with guidecoat, and hopefully I won't need more primer on them. They were blocked while on the car but the lower 4" or so might still need a little attention. I'm just about out of K36 and will need to order more, so I'll just order the rest of my paint supplies with it.

Have a good one. :)

busterwivell
04-10-2018, 05:52 AM
Well, we left for Good Guys in Del Mar, CA last Thursday morning. Drove our 66 Chevelle 443 miles over. Had a great trip, attended the show on Friday and Saturday. Temp were in the 60's. We both got sunburnt. Drove home on Sunday, Bonnie's birthday. It was 90 degrees when we got home. All the rain that was forecast stayed away the whole weekend. Enjoyed dinner 3 nights at The Fishmarket by the Hilton hotel. California prices are crazy. The host hotel wasn't cheap, but the gave us the Good Guys rate for parking (?). Bought some gas on the way over at 4.01, filled up in Del Mar Sunday morning at 3.89, and tried a different station on the way back through California, where they charged 4.29. Glad to be back where gas is 2.49 a gallon.

Rocketman
04-10-2018, 07:14 AM
Good Morning All:

Sounds like a good time Buster. Those gas prices are crazy. I don't know how people afford to live in California. The weather is great out there but that state is so screwed up. I have a few admin type things to do here at home today. We are meeting with our investment advisor today to probably make some changes since I am now retired. That crazy cold weather from the weekend is gone. It is a beautiful day today. Cool this morning with the sun shining and warming up later. I wish we could get more people to reply to this thread. There have been over 1,000 views and less than 60 responses. I will give it a little longer but at this point I am not encouraged. Hope everybody has a good day.

WagonCrazy
04-10-2018, 07:23 AM
Worked on under dash wiring a bit more yesterday evening...

chevynut
04-10-2018, 07:48 AM
Busterwivel, thank you for contributing to the state if Kalifornia and helping them continue to stay one step ahead of bankruptcy. :D Gas costs the same everywhere....the difference is in taxes and they want you to help pay for their ridiculous social programs. I'm sure the illegals and homeless druggies are grateful for your contribution. :)

I still haven't finished our taxes and decided to take a break from them for a day or two. I'm probably going to work on them a little this morning and this may be the first time we've finished them before the deadline. :p.

It's already 40 today and we have a "Fire Weather Warning" as it warms up. We've had an extremely dry winter and things are starting to green up here. I even ordered a new John Deere lawn tractor with a bagger this past weekend after using the same old Montgomery Wards riding mower I bought used almost 30 years ago.

Yesterday I blocked out my passenger fender again and I'm still not happy with it. I blocked lightly and tried to let the sandpaper do the work and the low spot I had is pretty much gone. However, after blocking I can look down the fender at a low angle towards a light and I can still see some waviness in it. I don't know what to do about it but it's not where I want it to be. I'm going to re-shoot that area with K36 and use some new 320 sandpaper and see if I can get it straighter. I might try using a solid sanding block I have instead of the semi-rigid K-blocks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I flipped the fenders over and didn't like the looks of the fender lips so I sanded them and did some filling with Dolphin Glaze. Both fenders had some factory marks there in about the same areas. Today I'll sand them and shoot what little K36 I have left on them.

I texted my painter yesterday and asked him to call me when he had time. He replied via text that he'd call but I haven't heard from him yet. I need to have him tell me how much more paint material I need so I can get it ordered.

chevynut
04-10-2018, 07:53 AM
We are meeting with our investment advisor today to probably make some changes since I am now retired.

Beware that what these guys do is put you in "safe" investments since you're retired. They make the same amount of money regardless of what you make, so they put you in bond funds (a huge mistake in a rising interest rate environment) and dividend funds. The market has been soaring the past few years and "safe" investments have missed out on the gains. The reason they do this is because they lose nothing, and they don't have to listen to their clients complain when they lose money. I always managed my own funds, but when I retired I let a guy manage a big chunk of my retirement. In 4 years he made less than half of the market gains for me while the part I managed did much better. So now I manage all of my own funds and do my own investing. By being "safe" he lost several "six figures" in potential gains I missed out on. But he made tens of thousands off of me for "managing" my money.

NickP
04-10-2018, 09:57 AM
Beware that what these guys do is put you in "safe" investments since you're retired. They make the same amount of money regardless of what you make, so they put you in bond funds (a huge mistake in a rising interest rate environment) and dividend funds. The market has been soaring the past few years and "safe" investments have missed out on the gains. The reason they do this is because they lose nothing, and they don't have to listen to their clients complain when they lose money. I always managed my own funds, but when I retired I let a guy manage a big chunk of my retirement. In 4 years he made less than half of the market gains for me while the part I managed did much better. So now I manage all of my own funds and do my own investing. By being "safe" he lost several "six figures" in potential gains I missed out on. But he made tens of thousands off of me for "managing" my money.

I might, to some degree agree with your comment however, if one did a financial plan long before one reached retirement, then there wouldn't be any question regarding what the next step was. My CFP and I have had a 20+ year relationship. We established long ago the goals, how to achieve them and alternate plans depending upon what the market does through those years. Now, if you're CFP is new to you, prior to meeting with them, draw up a plan you might want with specifics and challenge them to meet them.

chevynut
04-10-2018, 10:42 AM
I might, to some degree agree with your comment however, if one did a financial plan long before one reached retirement, then there wouldn't be any question regarding what the next step was. My CFP and I have had a 20+ year relationship. We established long ago the goals, how to achieve them and alternate plans depending upon what the market does through those years. Now, if you're CFP is new to you, prior to meeting with them, draw up a plan you might want with specifics and challenge them to meet them.

Tell him you expect a MINIMUM of market returns and see what he says. You can get market returns guaranteed with an index fund. These guys typically underperform the market, often SIGNIFICANTLY. And they'll tell you that they minimize the downside, which is hogwash unless you're in a dividend fund that returns a few % a year. What happens if in 5 years they don't meet their goals? They got paid, and you got screwed. They have zero accountability for it. All you can do it take your business elsewhere. I personally have no use for them.

You don't have to say publicly, but what kind of return did you get in the past 5 years while the DOW increased 75%? Before this past couple of weeks drop, I made 43% in the prior 13 months in one of my personally managed IRAs. I haven't calculated the other one since I have made some distributions out of it, but it's done well too. I trade individual stocks.

Bitchin'57
04-10-2018, 10:52 AM
Busterwivel, thank you for contributing to the state if Kalifornia and helping them continue to stay one step ahead of bankruptcy. :D Gas costs the same everywhere....the difference is in taxes and they want you to help pay for their ridiculous social programs. I'm sure the illegals and homeless druggies are grateful for your contribution. :)

I still haven't finished our taxes and decided to take a break from them for a day or two. I'm probably going to work on them a little this morning and this may be the first time we've finished them before the deadline. :p.

It's already 40 today and we have a "Fire Weather Warning" as it warms up. We've had an extremely dry winter and things are starting to green up here. I even ordered a new John Deere lawn tractor with a bagger this past weekend after using the same old Montgomery Wards riding mower I bought used almost 30 years ago.

Yesterday I blocked out my passenger fender again and I'm still not happy with it. I blocked lightly and tried to let the sandpaper do the work and the low spot I had is pretty much gone. However, after blocking I can look down the fender at a low angle towards a light and I can still see some waviness in it. I don't know what to do about it but it's not where I want it to be. I'm going to re-shoot that area with K36 and use some new 320 sandpaper and see if I can get it straighter. I might try using a solid sanding block I have instead of the semi-rigid K-blocks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I flipped the fenders over and didn't like the looks of the fender lips so I sanded them and did some filling with Dolphin Glaze. Both fenders had some factory marks there in about the same areas. Today I'll sand them and shoot what little K36 I have left on them.

I texted my painter yesterday and asked him to call me when he had time. He replied via text that he'd call but I haven't heard from him yet. I need to have him tell me how much more paint material I need so I can get it ordered.

IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

Florida 57
04-10-2018, 11:38 AM
You and a little work made that old nasty 'free' topper look very good, Florida... :)

Thank you, it was a lot of work for which I am no stranger to.

Florida 57
04-10-2018, 11:42 AM
IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

That depends as not all manufactured sandpaper with equal numbered grit are the same in terms of aggressiveness and longevity of usage.

chevynut
04-10-2018, 11:44 AM
IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

The "waviness" is very slight, and you can only see it when you look at it from a very low angle. I'm into the Slicksand and K36 interface and I think they're sanding at different rates. What do you suggest?

Bitchin'57
04-10-2018, 12:13 PM
The "waviness" is very slight, and you can only see it when you look at it from a very low angle. I'm into the Slicksand and K36 interface and I think they're sanding at different rates. What do you suggest?
Hard to say without seeing it, and I'm just a hobbyist body and paint guy, but I've been blocking out my high build (with a guide coat) with 180 or 220. Now, that's my initial blocking to get the panel flat. Most of the time, I prefer the 180 because it gets the panel flat faster. Mine will eventually be final sanded with 320 dry. Since I'm painting my car with single stage non-metallic paint, I won't need to achieve quite as smooth a surface like you will need for your metallic base.

NickP
04-12-2018, 06:35 AM
Good morning all! Worked on three projects yesterday. I discovered that the 57 had, some time back, been in a small fender bender. Driver side cowl took a hit damaging it enough to not allow a new fender to fit correctly. In that discovery, one hinge took enough of a hit to actually misshape (egg) the cylindrical bore for the hinge bushings. Disassembled the hinge, glass beaded it and set it up in the Bridgeport and cleaned up the bore. Installed new bushings and pin. The old pin was "S" shaped. UPS arrived and my new X Axis power feed arrived so I stopped messing with the hinge and upgraded the Bridgeport. Now, X Axis cuts will have a much better finish.

Rocketman
04-12-2018, 07:57 AM
Good Morning to All. Good hearing from you Nick. You sound like a guy that has a skill set and shop way beyond me.
Another day with good weather but the wind is blowing like crazy. I have to download TurboTax today and see how big of a check I have to write. I hate doing taxes. Hope everybody has a good day.

chevynut
04-12-2018, 08:44 AM
Good morning Trifivechevys! I got our taxes done early this year and all that's left is the filin' and the cryin' as we write another check to the guberment. We need to do something so we don't owe next year. I'm not having any withholding taken from my SS checks, but it looks like maybe I should. And the market is bouncing back nicely the past couple of days....woohoo!

The weather was awesome yesterday and it's already 50 this morning with a high of 71 expected. Then tomorrow more snow. LOL!

Yesterday I sprayed some SPI epoxy on the sanded edges of my front fenderwell lips and I plan to sand that and maybe re-prime them today if they need it. I also sprayed SPI epoxy on my lower liftgate molding and a cover I made for the original heater opening to the cowl while I was at it. Can't wait til I can actually start putting these parts on the car instead of just storing them. I had some epoxy left over so I shot part of the HEMI55 firewall so I can apply some filler around the edges where I welded.

NickP
04-12-2018, 11:51 AM
Good Morning to All. Good hearing from you Nick. You sound like a guy that has a skill set and shop way beyond me.
Another day with good weather but the wind is blowing like crazy. I have to download TurboTax today and see how big of a check I have to write. I hate doing taxes. Hope everybody has a good day.

TAXES! Ugh. I hate taxes.

Florida 57
04-12-2018, 12:11 PM
TAXES! Ugh. I hate taxes.
Hard to swallow the quote from the Holy Bible:
" Pay Caesar what Caesar is due."

NickP
04-12-2018, 02:05 PM
Hard to swallow the quote from the Holy Bible:
" Pay Caesar what Caesar is due."
And we all know what happened to him, LOL.

Rocketman
04-12-2018, 02:53 PM
I just finished my taxes and need to go get a beer to cry into. I am not having anything withheld from my social security or my small bank pension. I think will just file estimated quarterly this year. Man I hate taxes. I figure at least half of what I pay goes to gubment waste.

Florida 57
04-12-2018, 09:58 PM
We will have to see how long these $16.00 Chinese lights last.

NickP
04-13-2018, 06:20 AM
Morning All! I pray your Friday the Thirteenth is a Blessed one. Received the new spherical bearings for the C4 Dog Bones yesterday. Changed the program for the CNC machining and am looking forward to making some chips. More storms on the way.

chevynut
04-13-2018, 06:46 AM
Good spring morning everyone. It's a chilly 38 degrees here today with a 40% chance of snow. I got my new John Deere lawn tractor yesterday and assembled the bagger and tried it out. It sure "handles" better than my 30+ year old Montgomery Wards beater I've been using! The steering is light, and it turns on a dime. I'm really impressed with it so far. The only thing I'm not sure about is their new oil change system where you only change a filter canister filled with oil, and you never actually change the oil. I guess it's synthetic and you change about half of it with each filter change. I thought about getting a different model without it but then I couldn't get "cruise control". :)

Yesterday I sanded the SPI epoxy on my front fender lips using 180 and a stirring stick as backup. It's looking pretty good but I went to metal several places (on purpose) and had to apply another coat....and wait 24 hours to sand it again. No wonder this stuff takes so long. I also sanded the liftgate molding and shot another coat on it as well. I was surprised how wavy it was.

While I was spraying SPI epoxy I decided to completely disassemble the brake setup in the HEMI55, clean the parts again, and shoot a coat on all of the parts to keep them from rusting. I don't know what Steve plans to do with all of this stuff, but at least now it's all coated with primer.

Since I'm not sick of sanding yet :D I drug out the lower splash pan that goes behind the bumper and blocked the K36 on it. It's looking pretty good but will need one or two more coats of primer in some spots. I had modified this part and removed the big dip for the stock radiator.

Today I'll sand the fender lips again and see where I am with them. I suspect I'll need one more coat of SPI before the K36 goes on.

Last night I finally pulled the box my headers came in from storage to send them to get coated by Jet Hot. I will probably remove them today and try to get the process started. I was embarrassed when I looked at the date on the packing slip. :( :p

BamaNomad
04-13-2018, 06:58 AM
Friday the 13th? Dang... Should we even go outside today??? :)

markm
04-13-2018, 07:23 AM
Friday the 13th? Dang... Should we even go outside today??? :)

I could have done fine not knowing that all day.

567chevys
04-13-2018, 11:39 AM
Ouch Friday the 13th.

Good morning all , Raining and windy here in Kelso Washington . Heading down to the Washington coast to get away for the weekend might have some seafood .

All Be safe .

Thanks Sid

Rocketman
04-13-2018, 01:41 PM
Going to the coast to have seafood sounds awesome. I love some fresh seafood. Weather here is getting better. The wind has died down but we have thunderstorm warnings. I met Joe last night at one of the weekly car gatherings. I spotted that gold 56 with the rolled pan on the front when he pulled it. Neat car. The morning has been frustrating dealing with T-Mobile. I switched all our cell phones last year and that has been good. Then I decided to get rid of the land line as a cost saving measure. I bought one of their LineLink boxes to connect my old number through the internet. I want go into all the details but I have probably sent two hours on the phone with them. It finally works but I only get two rings on the hard wired phones and none on the cordless phones. I was not favorably impressed by their tech support. It has been referred to their engineering department but I doubt I will get it resolved. I only paid $30 for the device and their in no monthly fee so I am probably getting what I paid for.

NickP
04-13-2018, 02:01 PM
Going to the coast to have seafood sounds awesome. I love some fresh seafood. Weather here is getting better. The wind has died down but we have thunderstorm warnings. I met Joe last night at one of the weekly car gatherings. I spotted that gold 56 with the rolled pan on the front when he pulled it. Neat car. The morning has been frustrating dealing with T-Mobile. I switched all our cell phones last year and that has been good. Then I decided to get rid of the land line as a cost saving measure. I bought one of their LineLink boxes to connect my old number through the internet. I want go into all the details but I have probably sent two hours on the phone with them. It finally works but I only get two rings on the hard wired phones and none on the cordless phones. I was not favorably impressed by their tech support. It has been referred to their engineering department but I doubt I will get it resolved. I only paid $30 for the device and their in no monthly fee so I am probably getting what I paid for.

Gold 56 would be JT56. Good friend of mine and a swell guy. I went the no land line bit for a while but have since returned to a true land line after issues with cell towers, floods, tornados and freezing ice (not all at once) disconnected us from the world (country living, gotta love it). It's always nice to have a means of calling 911.

busterwivell
04-14-2018, 06:11 AM
I bought my John Deere tractor 11 years ago to replace a worn out Murray I had. I thought it was the difference of night and day. Out here, I usually mow twice a year (desert, you know), August and November. It takes 8 hours to mow it all. I change the oil and filter after each mowing, due to all the dust. I change blades after each mowing, because of all the sand. I'm anal and admit to it, but I wash it every time I finish mowing, and I wax it at the end of the season. It still looks brand new.
Bonnie and I were in Del Mar, Ca last weekend for the Good Guys show, and ate dinner every night at the Fish Market. Great sea food.
We can't give up our land line, either. Cell phone service is spotty out here, we have mountains in every direction, and no cell tower to get a strong signal. Population out here doesn't justify a tower on one of the mountains, they say.
Yesterday, I had plans to get some yard cleanup done. But first, I wanted to go to the tire shop and get a couple of tires replaced, and replace a spare on my car trailer that the sun rotted and broke the tread. Hopped in my 71 Chevy pickup to hook up the trailer, and it wouldn't start. Tried the charger, it said battery was fully charged. Huh?, it won't crank. Took the battery out of my car trailer winch box and hooked it up, started right away. So, I spent the day getting 5 tires mounted, then drove to the parts store, had the 4 year old battery tested and replaced, and I guess I'll look for a new battery charger.
Hope to clean up my 66 Chevelle today to remove 900 miles of bugs from our trip last weekend......and hopefully get the yard clean up planned for yesterday completed.

chevynut
04-14-2018, 07:19 AM
It takes 8 hours to mow it all. I change the oil and filter after each mowing, due to all the dust. I change blades after each mowing, because of all the sand. I'm anal and admit to it, but I wash it every time I finish mowing, and I wax it at the end of the season. It still looks brand new.


8 hours? Are you mowing a state park or something? :p You seriously wax your mower? :geek:

John Deere seems like nice equipment. Glad mine has cruise control and a beer holder. :D

NickP
04-14-2018, 07:33 AM
Well, good morning all. We dodged a few twisters last night, got lucky again however lightening got our big TV. Popped right outside near house and killed it. Never fails, five steps forward and then two steps backward.

Rocketman
04-14-2018, 07:44 AM
Good Morning Guys:

I am supposed to go to a local car show today but it is pretty cool (49 degrees) right now. The high today is supposed to be about 60 and the wind is blowing. Buster I have an old 77 Craftsman tractor that I repowered with an 18 horse Vanguard V twin a few years ago. This thing is an actual tractor with 5 lug wheels on the back. I use it to mow down by the lake and it sites out. It is not fancy but it is tough as nails. Do you have a custom made cover for your John Deere (just kidding). I kind of still have my land line. It connect to my modem and I kept the same number. The reviews on this little box I bought from T-Mobile does not get very good reviews. Obviously if we loose power the phone will go off. It is pretty rare we loose power and then it is not for very long. If I were remotely located I would keep the land line for sure. Hope everybody has a good weekend.

markm
04-14-2018, 08:59 AM
Good Morning Guys:

I am supposed to go to a local car show today but it is pretty cool (49 degrees) right now. The high today is supposed to be about 60 and the wind is blowing. Buster I have an old 77 Craftsman tractor that I repowered with an 18 horse Vanguard V twin a few years ago. This thing is an actual tractor with 5 lug wheels on the back. I use it to mow down by the lake and it sites out. It is not fancy but it is tough as nails. Do you have a custom made cover for your John Deere (just kidding). I kind of still have my land line. It connect to my modem and I kept the same number. The reviews on this little box I bought from T-Mobile does not get very good reviews. Obviously if we loose power the phone will go off. It is pretty rare we loose power and then it is not for very long. If I were remotely located I would keep the land line for sure. Hope everybody has a good weekend.

My backup rider is my Dads old Craftsman GT 14 from that era. I believe its a 14 hp Tecumseh. It comes out of retirement when my Dad or my John Junk 318s brake. FYI rear wheels from sears fit Deere.

55 Tony
04-14-2018, 10:19 AM
Last year after 3 or 4 years of my top of the line Husqvarna intermittently missing and backfiring and taking it to 4 different dealers a few times for repair, they gave me my money back! The guy I dealt with said they don't normally refund the sales tax (9.75%) and they usually depreciate it's value but he refunded the entire amount for me. Did a lot of searching and couldn't find anything I liked till I looked at the smallest Kubota. It was way more than I needed, but with 7 year 0% financing and the money from the Husqvarna, and some more, I went up a notch or two and got one with a front end loader. Wow, never know how useful they can be till you have one. Now this year Kubota came out with super small lawn mower/tractors. Also some with a little loader and a little backhoe. As much as I would have liked to get a backhoe, I'm glad they didn't have the tiny ones last year or I might have bought one. I'm hoping that when the loan is close to getting paid off, I'll trade it in for one with the loader and backhoe. Those tiny ones they have now look cool, but I already strain the larger one I have using the loader with teeth on it for digging. A couple weeks ago I sold my last Husky/Bolens "garden tractor". I had 3, two I used and 1 that was getting really getting weak. Talk about tough garden tractors. LOL, with the mower deck off the newest one (1971) I could go (with a hydro foot pedal) from reverse to forward pulling wheelies all day long and not break it. If they were 4 wheel drive, I would have bought a brand new deck for about a grand and kept using it.

Land lines, I sort of have one but not really. I have a little box that is actually a cell phone inside, but you plug a phone into it and use it to make calls like a land line. I disconnected my phone wires outside and inside I plugged the whole house to the black box. It has battery backup for when the power goes out. Unlimited calls in the US for I think $9.99/month. Poor internet service here, I had a radio and antenna setup for internet but replaced it with a mobile hot spot that I keep stationary. That too is actually a cell phone in disguise.

Rocketman
04-14-2018, 10:22 AM
Mine is a GT-18 and it originally had an 18 horse Onan engine on it. You could get all kind of implements for it back in the day. I could have bought a pretty good new tractor for what I spent on the Vanguard engine but it was such a good old tractor I hated to scrap it. I guess it is kind of like an old Chevy.

chevynut
04-14-2018, 11:09 AM
Maybe when I buy my Montana land I'll get a "real" tractor to do the stuff I need to do up there. For now I have 2.3 acres and mow pretty much all of it. The new Deere is the E150 with a 22 HP V-twin and a 48" deck. It's a little bigger than the 42" Wards mower I was using so now I'll finish mowing quicker. I actually kinda like the mindless mowing job once in a while.

Been working on the 502 this morning trying to figure out my spark timing issue, and I think I found it. I hate glitches that corrupt data. I sure like the way it sounds now better than it did. When I first started it up it sounded like it does now, but somewhere along the way it somehow changed.

It's a pretty cool 49 and windy today, but we never did get the snow they forecasted. Now it's supposed to be in the 70's on Monday.

Glad you're safe Nick!

markm
04-14-2018, 04:51 PM
Mine is a GT-18 and it originally had an 18 horse Onan engine on it. You could get all kind of implements for it back in the day. I could have bought a pretty good new tractor for what I spent on the Vanguard engine but it was such a good old tractor I hated to scrap it. I guess it is kind of like an old Chevy.

Our John Junks have 18 hp Onans, mine is going to get a Vanguard in the future. A 318 has front and rear Hydraulics and power steering,

55 Tony
04-14-2018, 05:35 PM
I sold my 3 bolens and all but 1 attachment. A 4' sickle bar cutter. I thought I posted this and some other stuff before so if you see it and I don't, just ignore this.

My Kubota has a 23HP Diesel and the most quiet mower deck I've ever had!

busterwivell
04-15-2018, 01:51 AM
8 hours? Are you mowing a state park or something? :p You seriously wax your mower? :geek:

John Deere seems like nice equipment. Glad mine has cruise control and a beer holder. :D
LOL! 5 acres..........yes, I wax my mower. Mine doesn't have cruise control, but it has 2 beer holders.........

chevynut
04-15-2018, 08:34 AM
Spent most of yesterday power raking the yard and sucking up the grass with the new John Deere. I put the new "high lift" blades on it that came with the bagger, and they sure improve the suction. I only bag the grass from the lawn around the house, about 15,000 square feet. The rest of it is brome pasture grass, so I just let it lay.

Today I have to fertilize the lawn and turn on the sprinkler system. Hope there's no leaks. :eek:

I ordered a Genie 1 1/4HP garage door opener with "Alladin Connect" for my new shop. The door is 18x8 with insulation and interior panels so I figured it needed a big motor and it wan't that much more $$. The Alladin Connect will alert me on my cell phone if the door gets opened while I'm gone, even if it's opened manually. I hope it's not too far from my wifi router.

Supposed to get to 58 today, and finally NO WIND! Have a great day.

Rocketman
04-15-2018, 08:58 AM
Good Morning All:

It is a beautiful day here to day with no wind but it was 40 degrees when I got up this morning. That may not be cold for some of you but for Texas that is dang cold for the middle of April. For the second Saturday in a row I cancelled on a car show yesterday because it was too cold. If it had not been for the wind I probably would have gone. I am too old to go sit and stand out there and freeze my butt off and tell myself I am having a good time. It is like playing golf in crappy weather and saying you are having a good time. Not too much on tap today. I have some work to do in my office and I have to bathe the dog. My wife and I may take in a movie this afternoon. Hope you all have a too day.

busterwivell
04-15-2018, 02:31 PM
Today, it's about 90 degrees. Had a friend come by and we did an oil change on my lift, and worked on his cruise control on his 72 Chevelle. Then, put my 66 Chevelle up on the lift and cleaned off 900 miles worth of bugs from our run to GoodGuys Del Mar last weekend, planted a new naval orange tree............and now, it's beer 30.

NickP
04-16-2018, 06:11 AM
Tough morning so far :( Deby woke me up at 5AM saying she got an email from her Dad needing help.. Arrived to find him completely disoriented and unaware of where or who. He's better now and beginning to recall things better. If time allows, prayers needed.

bigblock
04-16-2018, 07:57 AM
Nick sorry to hear about your father-in-law, hope he recovers. Been raining here since Sat. night, about 3in so far, they say we could see some white shit again, played golf Fri. it got up to 86 then you get this again. Towards the end of the week they say it is to get back to the 60's and something called sunny? Getting ready to write the checks to that spending minding government that we all know spend this money in our best interest, but I see parts I will have to wait to buy:cry: Everyone Have a Good Day:p

chevynut
04-16-2018, 10:38 AM
Hope everything is going well Nick. Sounds scary.

I got the lawn fertilized Sunday and my wife started complaining about all the dandelions in the back so we went to Tractor Supply and picked up a 20 gallon tow-behind sprayer. So I spend a couple of hours spraying pretty much the entire lot with 2,4-D. I didn't turn the sprinklers on because they were forecasting high 20's later this week, but now nothing lower than 33.

Looks like the 74 degrees forcast for today isn't going to materialize either.

This morning after checking out the stock market I finished up a pair of my hollow door hinges and got them shipped. Now I'm going to try to finish sanding my parts and see if I can get them into the final coat of K36....at least SOME of them!! :)

Custer55
04-16-2018, 01:07 PM
It was the White weekend from hell up here in Wisconsin. (truly the great white north right now) It snowed all weekend starting late Friday until late Sunday evening and we have had more flurries today. Amherst, WI recorded the highest snow totals of the weekend at almost 33" of snow. Amherst is just a few miles east of our house and Ellis, WI had 28.5" which is a few mile north west of us, so we had to fall somewhere in that range. It's hard to tell exactly how much because of all the blowing and drifting. Now I just heard there is a chance for another 3 to 5" on Wednesday. We might finally get some highs near 50 by this weekend. I sure hope so. Enough is enough already!!! :cry:

Rocketman
04-16-2018, 01:34 PM
Good Afternoon Guys. I had to take my wife for two root canals this morning. She has a real fear of dentist and it has taken me two years to get her to a dentist. That was a huge step. Nick I hope your father in law does a quick recovery. bigblock I mailed my check to the gobment today. I figure about half of it goes to waste and government inefficiency and the other half is actually used. Then when we get back I have a notice of reassessment for the appraisal district that my value was going up about $24,000. I guess it is better to get it all over with in one day. Custer I did see where you guys got like 18 inches of new snow. I can't fathom that. I hope everybody has a decent day. It is a very nice day in Dallas.

NickP
04-17-2018, 05:27 AM
Good morning all. Short update on FIL. Seems to be doing much better. Scans and other test today, hopeful for good results. Many thanks for the well wishes.

WagonCrazy
04-17-2018, 07:16 AM
Best wishes (and a prayer) for your FIL's recovery and health Nick. May the Lord watch over him.

And I too sent my "build the wall" money into the Feds, and my "build the bullet train" money into CA. Worst day of the year for me...brings up all kinds of negative feelings about working my ass off and not being in any control of anything anymore and watching the elected leaders squander it. Yes on the wall (only because it sends a clear message about rampant illegal immigration) and NO on the train (because we need to spend money in our state supporting the legal folks and for systems that increase fresh water supply for the 40 million people who are here). Go ahead now, rip me up guys. :p

BamaNomad
04-17-2018, 07:26 AM
I e-filed mine last night at 11:35 pm... also emptied my bank account with the same action!~

bigblock
04-17-2018, 08:00 AM
I agree with the wall but if we had made a gov. with any ba##s we wouldn't need it. Something that has always pi#* me off is how do some people get back more money then they paid in during the year:? anyway we are still getting flurries today. I think Mother Nature and the IRS love marking it depressing some days. Well I'm going to look at the bright side I'm above ground and the BEER is cold. Have a Good Day!!

Rocketman
04-17-2018, 08:09 AM
Nick, glad the father in law is stable. Thought and prayers are with your family. Wagon, I love California but I honestly don't know how hard working tax paying folks live there. I remember Jerry Brown from the 70'. He was crazy then and it doesn't look like age has helped him. Bama I hit the send button on my e-file late Sunday night. I had the taxes done Friday and even though I didn't have to send the check until yesterday, I didn't hit the send button until Sunday night. Now I need to file quarterly estimates. If I don't do that I will get hammered with penalties when I file next year. Hope everybody has a good day.

chevynut
04-17-2018, 08:56 AM
Good morning guys!

Yesterday was busy....I got the hollow door hinges shipped, came back into the house and got a call for a set of seat mounts. I put them together and they're ready to ship today. I can't believe how many of them I've sold recently.

After futzing around with my engine yesterday and re-booting the PC 3-4 times to fix runtime errors, the starter quit working. So I decided to quit messing with it and pulled the headers off. They're boxed now and going to Jet-Hot in OKC today and they should be back in a little over a week. In the meantime I have to figure out why my starter quit engaging. I ordered a new disc drive for my other XP PC too so I can hopefully get something that works without all the problems I've had. Now I'll have to get the OS software. It's always something.

We've been sitting on our taxes for a few days and finally e-filed them last night along with our slavery payment. Got the CO taxes filed and we get a refund, partially off-setting the FED taxes. Jerry Brown is a moron....that's about all I have to say about him. :D I don't understand why DOJ isn't charging and prosecuting some of these government officials for obstruction of justice or something. They have to be breaking some laws by refusing to cooperate with the feds and warning criminals when ICE is coming. Glad to see the sane people in Commiefornia finally revolting against the government.

I shot a big 6 point bull elk on the first morning of my first ever elk hunt when I was 16 years old. I've been storing the antlers for decades, and a couple of years ago I got a nice 6 point bull in New Mexico so I decided to have it mounted with the antlers from my first elk. I got the shoulder mount back a couple of weeks ago and it won't fit on the wall. The right antler hits the wall and is actually about 2" into it. Now I have to get the taxidermist to fix it somehow. :(

I still haven't gotten a call from my painter. I texted him over a week ago and asked him to call me about my Nomad, and he said he'd call when he gets a chance. I have a bunch of questions and need to get a material order in so I'll just send him and e-mail and ask him to reply to it. Hope this isn't a sign :geek:. I got the fender lips sanded smooth and now they're ready for K36 if I have enough left. I'll try shooting them today.

We're heading up to Montana this weekend to visit my daugher-in-law and her husband and to look at a few properties, so I have to get it all set up with some realtors. That should keep me busy for a couple of days. :)

Rocketman
04-18-2018, 07:07 AM
Good Morning Everybody:

Another day of good weather today in Dallas. Not too much on tap today. I have a couple matters to tend to and then oldest grandson (15) has a UIL concert at 1:00. It is a big deal and it is nice to be able to attend now that I am retired. I am liking this retirement thing. Have a good day everybody.

bigblock
04-18-2018, 07:57 AM
Well another day of Ohio weather:cry: It's sunny now and 36 it's supposed to get to 50:D but tonight it's going to start raining again and turn to white *&#* during the night so we'll see what tomorrow will bring. The grass is growing like it's June what's up with mother nature?? Sent everything to the gov. yesterday to find out I could have held on to it 1 more day. Dug the roller out just waiting to use it. Better weather is coming, right? I love retirement also, but I want better weather. Have a Good Day:)

chevynut
04-19-2018, 08:38 AM
Good morning Trifivechevys!

Beautiful morning here and 45 degrees but snow's supposed to hit this weekend. Glad I got the lawn fertilized. Luckily I'll be gone to Montana and the forecast there is for nice weather for the next few days. :)

Spent most of the morning yesterday at the bank trying to get a HELOC to help buy land if we find something we want. It's amazing how they try so hard NOT to give you a loan. Everything boils down to income, regardless of your assets, and when you're retired you only take the income you need to pay your bills. My income dropped to less than 1/3 of what it was before I retired but it didn't affect my net worth. Beware of this issue if you retire and want to get a loan. I started taking Social Security a few months ago partly so I could show some steady income.

I didn't get much of anything done on the Nomad yesterday but I did do a little filler work on the Hemi55 firewall. I don't plan to do much more on it but I need to start working on the floor and toe boards.

Talked to my painter, Matt, yesterday and he's really helpful and patient. He told me that I should spray the bedliner BEFORE paint. He's done it both ways and he said it works out better if the bedliner is on before the car is painted so you can take some rough edges off of it if needed. I also got paint/clear quantities from him so I can get stuff ordered. Matt's shop is actually a full-service restoration shop, except for interior work. So it turns out he may be finishing up the Hemi55 for Steve. I happened to mention the Hemi55 to Matt and he said he had an opening coming up after they finish a couple of cars they're working on now. Steve was happy to hear that. ;)

Going to keep plugging away on the Nomad parts today and get stuff ready for our trip. I've called a couple of realtors who are going to show us some Montana properties. We still like the very first one we were shown last May but the owners don't act like they want to sell it very bad.

chasracer
04-20-2018, 06:14 AM
Morning everyone! Just reading some of this thread and it looks like most of us share a lot of the same opinions. Not so sure that is always a good thing but it is what it is. I also have a lot of catching up to do on this thread. Actually I would like to go back to last week and bring you up to date, so grab a cup and enjoy.

Tax day wasn't a biggie for me, a few years back my sister insisted on selling the home place that we used as a rental and we took a loss on it so that's got my lousy little piece of yearly money covered for quite a few more years. I am an advocate that no one at 70 and making less than $50k per year should ever pay taxes. We did enough, let the young ones fight the battle now - we had too. Moving on, I do a little bit of handyman work, some automotive work, take care of my two Yorkies, the house and when there's spare time I get to work on my projects. You might notice that the projects are at the end of the list and that's pretty much the way it works.

So last week I had a small roofing job that I had hoped would take maybe a day and a half to do, well once I got into it that ended up being an extra day. Funny how people don't tell you the roof's been leaking for a really long time. I ended up having to plate some rafters to have anything to nail the new sheathing to. So that was about 3 days out of my week. On Friday, I got calls for three more small jobs. A faucet replacement, adding steps to a deck and a minor remodeling of a front porch. For the rest of the day I tuned up the mowers and started getting the grass and weeds cut down. Weather was decent with mid-50/60.

Saturday was race day at Virginia Motorsports Park but honestly I just didn't feel like dealing with it. So two of my boys went but didn't have much luck. I stayed home and the wife and I decided it was time to put the new top that had been sitting for a couple of years on her Toyota MR2 Spyder. Another one of those, this should be done in a day deals. Ha! Anyway got the old top off and about half of the new top on when we called it quits at 6 pm after working on it all day. I had broken my rivet gun (I can't live without that tool) so we got cleaned up, went by the store picked up a new one and decided to grab some food. Something decent not fast food. Ate at a place called the Carolina Ale House. We walked out of there both agreeing that it was the worst meal and service we had ever had. I mean from beginning to end, it was horrible.

On to Sunday, I figured I would flip on the roundy-round boys on the tv and finish up the MR2. Figured I would have time for some wiring work on my project afterwards. Nope, shouldn't make plans like that. I spent just about the entire Sunday getting that top finished. The old one and the new one installed quite a bit different according to the instructions but it looked nice once it was done. After I finished that I walked down to a neighbor's house and picked up her Acura MDX (forgot to mention she had called about it) and it needed the windshield washers front and rear repaired, the glovebox was laying in the floor and the rear hatch supports needed to be replaced. I came home with it, figured out what parts I needed and got those ordered.

Sunday night it started storming, then it rained most of Monday until later in the afternoon. Did I mention that I sell Amsoil on the side a little? Well I just went back to being a dealer and tried one of their dealer website deals - it's cookie cutter for everyone unless you want to spend $200 a month with them for something custom. I cancelled their deal and started building my own. I guess I forgot to mention that I was in Information Technology for 25 years or so. So I spent Monday off and on working on that some.

Tuesday was a decent day - actually broke bad and washed my race trailer getting a lot of the dark streaks off of it. I have found that if I squirt some Awesome from the dollar store on it, let it sit for a minute or two, scrubbed it with my soft brush then wash the surface with Turtle Wax Spray and Wax wash, it comes out rather good. My trailer is almost 20 years old now so it's not perfect but still doesn't look too bad. I also had time to work on mounting my Co2 bottle, run the lines for that and got back to some of the wiring I am working on. Right now I just finished the instrument panel and next is making some of the connections between the panel and the main wiring. I want to be able to disconnect the panel and pull it if needed for repairs or updates.

Wednesday was another decent weather day and I had to meet with my daughter-in-law that runs her own painting deal about that porch project. After that it was an emergency shower faucet repair. After running around town a bit picking up those parts for the Acura, I got back to my garage and repaired the glovebox and rear struts.

Thursday was pretty too - wow, like 3 days in a row - it's getting better! We are getting ready to take back a small house we own that the tenant has tore up from one end to the other. It looks to be like about 2+ months of work plus getting a new roof on it (hiring that out) to get it flipped. Pisses me off because the house was really nice when we sold it on a "rent to buy" deal. I had to meet a racing friend that is giving me a quote to repair/replace the AC system on this house. I then went to the other side of the city to help out one of my sons and picked up a new driveshaft we had to have built for the Corvette roadster. Seems that when you go with a Reid case on your fresh Powerglide and get the roller bearing tailshaft option, nothing friggin fits after that. The tailshaft takes a special chromemoly input shaft piece that was $170 itself and the thickness of the Reid case pushes everything back about .750 - .800 so the length of the driveshaft we had wouldn't work either. So it was have Standard Parts in Richmond build us a new one. And this is probably the 4th or 5th driveshaft that they have built for us - always dead-on perfect. Love those guys down there, they know their stuff! So went by Amsoil warehouse and picked up some orders, then drove to my son's house and dropped off the driveshaft. Then went to pick up the windshield washer parts that had come in and finally headed back to my garage. I got the work done on the Acura although it was a PITA. It had somehow gotten debris in the washer reservoir which in turn got into the lines. I ended up rigging up the regulator for my airbrush with a nipple to fit the water lines and used about 10-12 psi to blow air through the system. It had 2 breaks at the rear hatch and 1 under the hood. Plus I had to pull the reservoir out to get it cleaned out and replace the two pumps. I do honestly earn my extra money. Anyway, delivered the car back. Came home and finished mowing the back area. I have about 2.5 acres to mow so I usually do the front, sides and back in sessions.

And that brings us to Friday - today. It's a bit after 9am right now. I have a little bit more grounds work to do, going to spread some stuff on the lawn today. Should be able to get my new RPM activated switch installed - made the mount for it the other night and get that wired up today too. Tomorrow is race day at Richmond Dragway, I plan on being there to help my son with the Camaro and see if we can't fatten the week's pay voucher a little bit. Oh and did I mention that I retired about 5 years ago?

Have a good day everyone - hope you enjoyed this mess.

chevynut
04-20-2018, 06:58 AM
par·a·graph
ˈperəˌɡraf/
noun

1. a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.:p:D

Speaking of taxes.....what pisses me off is having to pay taxes on social security that was originally from taxes you paid all your life. IMO you shouldn't have to pay one cent of tax on your social security payments, and you should be able to make as much as you want on the side without getting penalized.

It's a brisk 40 degrees here this morning and we're hitting the road. Y'all have a great day!

chasracer
04-20-2018, 07:08 AM
Ha! Yep, I'll stick with that going forward.

I agree with you on the SS taxation, once again it's not right but no one ever wants to change it. I am not stupid but why we don't have a flat sales tax is beyond me. This government is so stuck in the old ways of doing things it's ridiculous.

Rocketman
04-20-2018, 07:14 AM
Good Morning Everybody:

I took my wife for her annual mammogram yesterday morning so I never got back to post on this thread. She got good results which is always a relief since she had breast cancer almost 9 years ago. We stopped and had lunch to celebrate another year. Next year will be a milestone at 10 years. We went over to one of the nearby cities in the metroplex to hear our son play and sing. It is just a small club/restaurant that he plays at pretty often. He does mostly C&W and some older southern rock. We are both very proud of him for what he has accomplished.

chasracer, welcome to this thread. It sounds like you are a busy multi-talented guy. I am glad you joined and hope we are able to keep this thing going.

I have a couple things to attend to in my office this morning and then it is outside to do some of the yard work and other stuff I need to tend to. It is cool here (50 degrees) this morning but I know some of you would probably consider 50 degrees a heat wave. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so that will be the third Saturday in a row I have missed a car show. I hope everybody has a good day followed by a great weekend.

bigblock
04-20-2018, 07:47 AM
Good morning everyone, it's bright outside the news called it sunshine? looked it up on the IN and sure enough that's what it is. They say we are to have 5 days with NO snow or rain:D:D after all this is OHIO if you don't like the weather wait 5 min's and it will change. Max and Sadie our looking forward to spending to day outside. Sadie is shedding really bad, combed her the other day and took a other dog off her:D I'm going to get outside and enjoy it while I can. Have a Good Day everyone!!!!!!

Rocketman
04-21-2018, 10:24 AM
Good Morning Guys:

My car show today got rained out. This is the third Saturday in a row I was supposed to go to a car show and the weather has interfered. The prior two were too cold and then rain today. Oh well, I will try again next Saturday. Hope everybody has a good weekend.

chasracer
04-22-2018, 02:07 PM
Wow - not sure what happened to Sunday around here but my plans called for doing a little more yard work then working on one of my hot rods for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, last night my middle son, Phil had an issue with the Camaro at the drag strip. We went 5 rounds of racing but in the last run either the car jerked him back in the seat or getting out of the car messed up his back. Had him in the E.R. at 6:00a this morning and he's been diagnosed with a herniated disc. Not sure what will come next but we had just made plans to attend the World Footbrake race in Bristol, TN the first week of June - taking two of our cars and see if we can do some damage. I have broken my back in 4 places before so I have a good idea of the pain he's going through and hopefully he'll recover quickly from it.

Troy
04-22-2018, 08:52 PM
Not much here today, just church and nap time, then made Lamb Kabobs mmmm! Yesterday I cut and buffed the rear spoiler for my wife's 2014 Mustang and installed it, looking great!!! I also cleaned up the garage. Getting ready to prepare the engine for my boat next so I can sell it!!!

NickP
04-23-2018, 04:57 AM
Good Monday Morning!

chasracer
04-23-2018, 05:50 AM
Morning Everyone!

My son is doing a bit better today but downside is he has to get on a plane for work later today. Hope it's a smooth flight.

I'll be putting out some weed killer today then back to my wiring project - almost finished! Next is drop the carb back on, put the headers on, oil prime it and light her off.

Rocketman
04-23-2018, 07:12 AM
Top of the Monday morning to everybody. We have a nice day in the making here this morning. I am going to get some yard work done today. I have a lot to catch up on now that I am retired. Hope everybody has a good week ahead.

chevynut
04-23-2018, 08:42 AM
Sitting in Emigrant Montana watching it snow. We got in a couple of days of fishing on the Yellowstone River and caught some nice rainbows, cutthroat, and browns. Drove down to Gardiner and couldn’t believe the number of deer and elk everywhere plus lots of bison. The weather may prevent us from seeing the properties we want to see since roads are probably really muddy. It’s a few hours from here so we’ll see how it goes.

Hope you you all have a great day.

markm
04-24-2018, 06:07 AM
Mowed my place yesterday for the first time this year and my 318 Deere started running rough lit out a huge cloud of blue smoke and died. let it set awhile and restarted and finished mowing. Think I am in line for one of those Vanguard swaps like Rocketman, would appreciate any info on this matter.

55 Tony
04-24-2018, 06:16 AM
Good Morning. I was out in the shop and it's just a little cold at about 64°. I ran out of propane. It doesn't take much this time of year but it's nice to just run it a little to take the chill out. Have some errands to run so I'll just get my little grill sized tank filled and worry about the 100# ones for in the summer when hopefully the price will go down. They are a pain to load on a trailer with low sides. They used to allow me to lay them down in the back of the van but no more. They will allow a couple little ones in the back of the Subaru. They won't come out for anything less than a 250# tank. It's supposed to be raining but it's sunny. I had overseeded parts of the lawn and would like a little more rain than the 1/4" we got last night. I little a few times a day would be good. I'm off to run errands.

Rocketman
04-24-2018, 08:55 AM
Mark I bought my Vangard engine from some place in Minn. The guy was familiar with my GT-18. They do tractor pulls up there with lawn tractors and said they use the GT-18 in tractor pulls. He make a couple modifications to the wiring. had a bushing for the crankshaft pulley and shims to raise the engine about an inch. Other than drilling holes in the frame to mount the engine it was a bolt in installation. I could not remember the name of the place but bing was my friend. It is Jim's Repair. Here is the link to it. http://www.jimsrepairjimstractors.com/Engines.htm I am out running errands today. Hope everybody has a good one.

Florida 57
04-24-2018, 10:17 AM
Finally getting the much needed rain in our area.Cattle are both getting a shower and life back into their food supply (grass.).Palm Tree farm is getting a big drink of water as well.Thank you Dear LORD. Sold a bunch of parts this weekend and made it to both the PO and FED-X before today`s downpour.

WagonCrazy
04-25-2018, 06:47 AM
Spending (yet) another morning down at city hall to take (yet) another set of revised plans in and get my new garage project permitted. I'm at the 5 month mark now, since initiating this process. Still without a permit to put a shovel in the ground. Architect, Planning Dept, Oak Tree Preservation district, Gas Co, Bldg & Safety, LA County Fire Dept, Santa Clarita Water Co, and the list of those with their specific requirements (and fees) goes on and on. :(

bigblock
04-25-2018, 07:20 AM
WC it's all about the $$$$, Well the weather on Monday was fantastic 70's and sunny, got to golf with a bunch of retiree's that we get together often. Tuesday the rain came back and temp's dropped back in the high 40's. Today is more of the same, rain. Working on getting the pool filter cleaned so when the weather gets better we can use it. Hope to get back on the 56 this weekend. Hope everyone is have a good day:)

busterwivell
04-25-2018, 08:23 AM
WC, sorry to hear about your problems getting a garage. When I decided I needed a 24 x 50 garage, it took a month from when I signed the contract until I was parking in mine.
Temps here in the mid-90's, summer's comin'!

Rocketman
04-25-2018, 08:59 AM
That is a long time to get a permit for a garage. I think Texas would be about 2 weeks. I guess that is part of the price you pay to live in California. Weather here is cooler today (61) and rain is in the forecast. I think I am going to the social security office today to try and get my part B medicare premium reduced. They hiked it up last year due to me income. I don't have that income now that I have retired. The increase was $53/month on both mine and my wifes. Wish me luck on that one.

Hope everybody has a good day.

BamaNomad
04-25-2018, 11:07 AM
Besides their outrageous efforts to extract every dollar from hardworking people like wagoncrazy... the california legislature is now trying not only to control/change our constitutional 'free speech' rights, but are getting into controlling our thoughts, our religious views, even to the point to restricting speech related to doctrine from the Bible...

https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/04/23/anti-first-amendment-bill-poses-imminent-threat-in-california/?utm_source=TDS_Email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MorningBell&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT0dOaVpUVXhNR1k0TXpGbSIsInQiOiI2b1 VjSTFkempPSlRPdVAyWlRlMktZSVk2eU9zd296MExKT0ZzcVVl T1BFMEVGSUQ0ZFBDSUJlTUY2QXBnTGpUUmZSV0J3UUZtcjRcL2 1zenR5N1FiSmNrXC9nOXIxVk9KZGlVbGI1OEZpSnhzNm9zZXho ZFZPNnUyTEI4UmNvSWwyIn0%3D

I think it really is time for *portions of* California to be excluded from the USA... :(

Rocketman
04-25-2018, 12:45 PM
The only thing is they are going to need the rest of the country to bail them out when the entire state takes bankruptcy which they will do because they can't support the cost of all their insane social programs and the cost of taking care of the illegals. Of course this is just my opinion.

55 Tony
04-25-2018, 02:14 PM
Re: California
It seems about 95% of what I buy is marked that it is known to the state of California to cause cancer. Or is it that it only causes cancer in California? ;) Anyway, about a week ago while watching a TV commercial for some steak house where the steaks are grilled over an open flame, it made me wonder if restaurant menus in CA have a disclaimer that steaks grilled that way have been proven to cause cancer? Or do they hang the sign over the door as you enter? Or are flame, grilled with charcoal, anything that causes the fat to burn and smoke the steak banned there?

55 Tony
04-25-2018, 02:30 PM
Permits are good in some instances. Where I live there are NO building permits. Only electric and sewer. I built my garage with pre engineered roof trusses that gave me an upstairs, and they were code compliant everywhere, the rest was a no brainer. Then years later I had a guy build steps up to the loft upstairs. The guy was an idiot but they seemed to be strong. They didn't look perfect at all, but it was in the back of the garage so I left it go. Then a friend came over and pointed out some things he really screwed up on as far as safety goes. So I canceled the check I paid him with. Turned out I canceled the check from the wrong account and he got his money. :( I patched things up so they are safe, but if they had required permits, there is no way he would have gotten away with what he did.

BamaNomad
04-25-2018, 03:54 PM
Sometimes the 'inspectors' are no more knowledgable than the idiots which made the mistake in the first place.... :(

WagonCrazy
04-25-2018, 05:12 PM
Thanks for your thinly veiled support guys. :p Dont' worry...I have a thick skin about living here in CA. There are still a few of us that aren't losing it to the lefties.

Building anything in Los Angeles county is a chore anymore. The only harder place (translation...more costly) is building along the coastal counties. There, you have to deal with the CA coastal commission for approval even on as little as adding 1 bathroom to your existing house. They are tough. They are protecting the oceans from us all...
Anyhow, enough of my rants. I was not able to get the permit done today...the Oak Tree Preservation dude hasn't signed off on the trenching I'm about to do under a couple of 200 year old trees...
Have some more finagling to do.

55 Tony
04-26-2018, 04:27 AM
I was not able to get the permit done today...the Oak Tree Preservation dude hasn't signed off on the trenching I'm about to do under a couple of 200 year old trees...
Have some more finagling to do.

Glad they don't control that here. I've been cutting a few down now and then as they get in the way of my mountain view. I have a few acres with plenty others so they are not in short supply here. Although only 1 is really old, about 4' diameter. For some reason long ago when the place was cleared for wood, they left one and I WILL do anything to save it. The previous owner leveled some ground and buried a lot of roots and some of the trunk. (it's on a steep hill) When I had rented a backhoe for some other work, I dug it out again.

NickP
04-27-2018, 05:35 AM
Good morning! Trim, trim, trim. I forgot how much there is in a 57 BA, ugh.

chevynut
04-27-2018, 07:36 AM
Good morning everyone. We made it back from Montana late last night and everything is "cool" here at home. We looked at 4 properties while we were there and ruled out at least one of them because it isn't wooded enough and it's not in the right location for what we want. We took a 3 hour hike on the one we've been trying to buy to take a closer look at it and we both still really like it because of the trees, rocks, and grass. The only downside is there's no water on it. One property has a house, shop (40x55 with at least 14 foot ceilings), acres of hay fields, and a stream on it but the stream is seasonal. Neither of us likes the house (modular) so if we decide to make an offer on it and buy it we'd either move it, or add onto it. I really wish the house wasn't even there. If we made an offer we'd also plan to buy the adjoining property if we can get it so we talked to the owner of that parcel too. It has no improvements, it's wooded, and it adjoins BLM land on 2 sides. I probably wouldn't want the property with the house and shop without the other one.

Today I have to re-group and figure out where I'm at in the shop. A guy is bringing a frame from Texas today for a C4 conversion and I have to ship a few things that sold while I was gone. Also need to call Jet-Hot to find out the status of my headers, which should be about finished.

Have a nice day!

chevynut
04-28-2018, 08:11 AM
Good morning! It's already 50 and we're expecting a high of 72 today. Didn't get much done yesterday but had a nice visit with my new Texas customer. He dropped off his seamless frame and is headed back home. His car is a 55 2DHT and he's putting a BBC in it because he says "everyone has an LS". :)

I ended up hooking up my sprayer to my new mower and spraying my entire lot with 2,4-D to kill dandelions and other weeds. They're really bad this year.

I'll probably spend most of today doing yard work, turning sprinklers on, etc. I don't get out to the shop much on weekends. :p