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Perhaps one of the most profoundly courageous people on the battlefield, they are not well trained in combat, but in the art and skill of saving life at the extreme risk of losing their own
A few years ago I had the honor to work on a Corpsmans Bronco truck. It was in the Auto Hobby Shop at Millington, and the guy was totally lost as far as putting a new engine into it. He was transferring soon, and I found as I talked to him that he was going to go through the "SHORT COURSE" at being a marine at MCB Camp Pendleton.
He had been drafted out of the NAVY to serve with US MARINES.
But his truck was in pieces at the auto hobby shop. A local towing service had convinced him he needed a new engine when it quit running one day - what I later found was that the engine (with only 20K miles on it) had a bad ignition module (ten bucks to replace!) but by then he had the old engine out, parts scattered everywhere, and wasn't listening to the guys (civilian) who ran the auto hobby shop.
He got passed on to me by my buddy across the street, and I put that thing together in the worst of summer heat around here. It's why I have a 351M in my garage with only 20K miles on it, he gave it to me as a trade for what I did for him.
I did it mostly for beer, and so that the A-Holes who obviously wanted his engine wouldn't have it.
Sometimes civilians are parasitic JACK HOLES!!!
Before it was all over, he paid to have it towed to my house because the Auto Hobby Shop fees were getting too high
We got it put together, and turned around and RE-SEALED the water pump seals (after finding that they leaked) in plenty of time for him to drive it to his new duty station.
I have pictures:
What would you do, for a man who volunteered to save your life?
I set it up using Red Juice anchored STUDS, so that it would be simple from then on (RACE TECH)
And nickle plated lock nuts
"M" engines and Clevelands are a pain in the butt to seal right....
We used up a whole tube of glue on that!
But his biggest concern?
Being a Corpsman, he need to have clean hands and fingers to help people.
Perhaps one of the most profoundly courageous people on the battlefield, they are not well trained in combat, but in the art and skill of saving life at the extreme risk of losing their own
A few years ago I had the honor to work on a Corpsmans Bronco truck. It was in the Auto Hobby Shop at Millington, and the guy was totally lost as far as putting a new engine into it. He was transferring soon, and I found as I talked to him that he was going to go through the "SHORT COURSE" at being a marine at MCB Camp Pendleton.
He had been drafted out of the NAVY to serve with US MARINES.
But his truck was in pieces at the auto hobby shop. A local towing service had convinced him he needed a new engine when it quit running one day - what I later found was that the engine (with only 20K miles on it) had a bad ignition module (ten bucks to replace!) but by then he had the old engine out, parts scattered everywhere, and wasn't listening to the guys (civilian) who ran the auto hobby shop.
He got passed on to me by my buddy across the street, and I put that thing together in the worst of summer heat around here. It's why I have a 351M in my garage with only 20K miles on it, he gave it to me as a trade for what I did for him.
I did it mostly for beer, and so that the A-Holes who obviously wanted his engine wouldn't have it.
Sometimes civilians are parasitic JACK HOLES!!!
Before it was all over, he paid to have it towed to my house because the Auto Hobby Shop fees were getting too high
We got it put together, and turned around and RE-SEALED the water pump seals (after finding that they leaked) in plenty of time for him to drive it to his new duty station.
I have pictures:
What would you do, for a man who volunteered to save your life?
I set it up using Red Juice anchored STUDS, so that it would be simple from then on (RACE TECH)
And nickle plated lock nuts
"M" engines and Clevelands are a pain in the butt to seal right....
We used up a whole tube of glue on that!
But his biggest concern?
Being a Corpsman, he need to have clean hands and fingers to help people.
~I'll never forget that.
Wherever he has gone, I wish him well.
AMEN
Do you want to do my 95 F-250?
I would be willing to have it towed to you and give you all the Beer and Pizza you can consume at one sitting?
Semper Fi
One sitting wouldn't be enough - something has to constantly feed the mania that all of my creativety comes from...
Besides, I don't have air conditioning established in my tiny little garage yet. Most serious work consists of a lot of crawling around on greasy gravel in my non-paved driveway.
Ask me again in a year or two....
(Maybe the mosquitos will be scarcer by then)
Maybe I'll have a bigger shop, and a concrete slab laid to work on. I can't see the future real clearly right now, and am working on it.
The combined heat and humidity factor when we did that was around 110 - 120, it was full July summer in one of the most humid areas I have ever lived in.
My buddy across the street has a term for heat like that, he calls it "NASTY HOT" and doesn't come outside. But then - he has a three bay air conditioned garage at his house.
One sitting wouldn't be enough - something has to constantly feed the mania that all of my creativety comes from...
Besides, I don't have air conditioning established in my tiny little garage yet. Most serious work consists of a lot of crawling around on greasy gravel in my non-paved driveway.
Ask me again in a year or two....
(Maybe the mosquitos will be scarcer by then)
Maybe I'll have a bigger shop, and a concrete slab laid to work on. I can't see the future real clearly right now, and am working on it.
The combined heat and humidity factor when we did that was around 110 - 120, it was full July summer in one of the most humid areas I have ever lived in.
My buddy across the street has a term for heat like that, he calls it "NASTY HOT" and doesn't come outside. But then - he has a three bay air conditioned garage at his house.
How about next winter?
I would love to rebuild my 95, but putting that much money in it is something I really need to think about.
I test drove a New 250 Lariat last Friday. Feel like a kid in the candy store.
You're in Sand Dog? Shucks, if I get my little blue buggy up and going I might just run on out to SOCAL and see what I can do for ya THERE...
I'd likely be staying at a state park campsite I know of though. (if it's open in the winter). There's a nice little campground just south of Ramona that I forget the name of, and Woola would be okay there.
*I have a brother in Spring Valley, but under no circumstances would I stay over at his place. There are no words to describe why not. Larry is - very challenged.
What base are you closest to? We could use the auto hobby shop as a huge advantage, and if we had a trailer, or an FTE buddy with a trailer, we could actually pull the engine on base, drop the block and heads off at a machine shop, and carry the rest back to your place until it's assembly time.
I'm assuming that by then the Suzuki is up and running, and passes all of my confidence tests for reliability
An MWR Auto Shop would have whatever odd tools we might suddenly find we don't have, and expert advice besides. If you are close to Miramar - I KNOW THE SHOP MANAGER on a first name basis. I doubt Mike would ever forget (or forgive) me after some of my escapades there.
I think I still hold the record time for pulling a factory 4bbl 351 Cleveland out of a Grand Torino -
It was 20 minutes, from pop the hood to bench top.
I was replacing a clutch plate...
From pop the hood, to backing out of the stall was about an hour and forty five.
People who saw me do it said it looked like a NASCAR pitstop, but I knew that SOB from top to bottom by then.
I had built that engine at that very same hobby shop.
*If it's still set up like it was, MWR has a deal with both a local machine shop and a NAPA store, but NAPA is high priced regardless.
San Diego is also the home base of Schnieder Cams, JBA - J. Biddle American, who specialize in Ford (Near Montgomery Field in Clairmont Mesa), and also ORW (Off Road Warehouse) has a big store there.
If you leaf through the yellow pages, you might find a truck scrapyard I once went to for a dually axle up in Lakeside, I don't recall the name offhand. They hang onto trucks, instead of just crushing them.
"GEAR VENDORS" - an outfit that makes new overdrives and conversions is also based out of East San Diego County, so there are a lot more resources and much better weather there than here.
Clairmont also has a metal supplier, and there was a fastener supplier I used to deal with somewhere in the area.
~Be thinking, even though your order of battle is usually the first casualty in any effort.
Hells bells, if I get up and running, and we really do this - think of the videos we could shoot!
03-04-2015, 12:03 PM
