Where did January and February go? I mean, it seems like it was just New Years eve like a week ago.

 

Happy March youins! Have a great day all!

 

Hello to all, and good morning. Thank goodness it's Friday and....MARCH 1, 2024 is also NATIONAL PEANUT BUTTER LOVER’S DAY | NATIONAL SUNKIST® CITRUS DAY | NATIONAL DADGUM THAT'S GOOD DAY | NATIONAL PIG DAY | NATIONAL HORSE PROTECTION DAY | NATIONAL EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION DAY.

Also on March 1st in 1781 – Continental Congress officially adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States of America after ratification by the 13th state, Maryland. 1872 – Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park.

Ron Howard and Catherine Bach are 70 today. And also on March 1

• 752 BC Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women
• 86 BC Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus
• 293 Roman emperor Maximianus introduces tetrarchy (rule of four people) elevating Galerius and Constantius Chlorus to Caesar.

Did you know that on this day, March 1, 1941, the first issue of the Captain America comic book was published? March 1st is officially Barista Day and World Compliment Day.

This day marks the 61st day of the year, and there’s another 305 days left in 2024. And March 1st of 1932 Aviator Charles Lindbergh's son is kidnapped. The toddler's abduction and death was one of the most publicized crimes of the century.

 

Wow! It's March already. No meetings at work today, hopefully I will be able to get some things done.

 

Morning all,
Still not firing on all cylinders (ME). I guess my body wants the warm weather. Another dusting of snow last night. It's supposed to warm up this weekend.

Thanks RC I've rented tools from O'Reillys before but didn't even think about them having A/C tools for rent. And no dye, I haven't put anything in the system yet.

There's a pretty neat swap meet in Louisville,KY weekend after next Kyana. https://www.kyanaswapmeet.com But that's 4 1/2 hours each way and would probably involve an overnight. I could probably save money and time just buying what I want and having it shipped.

Guess I better do something today, even if it's wrong. Catch ya'll tomorrow.

 

good morning missouri.. nothing planned yet for today... gloomy out there and just a bit nippy so i dont think much will be going on..

i wish what ever is causing the new miss in the van would go ahead and trip a code. so i know which coil to change next.. i have new coils, a set of spark plugs and injector o-rings i bought awhile back that i was planning on changing out when the weather stays warm.. i am hoping none of the spark plugs give me trouble.. i have read some bad things about the 5.4 spark plugs breaking off.... i have a can of kroil oil i will soak them with once the coils are out of the way,,

the rest of ya'll just hang on .. spring is on it way...

 

Yes RC the 04-08 5.4 3 valve has a bad rep on spark plugs breakage. To the point it is so bad Ford came up with a repair tool kit. That most dealership mechanics have.

And as the story goes on the timing chain tensioners getting brittle (from lack of oil changes) or a bad design. When they break up/fall apart and get in the oil system, the plastic can clog the oil pick up tube screen. And that can oil starve a bearing..

And then the timing chain being loose can slap the (aluminum) timing chain cover and wears/rubs on it and you get aluminum shavings in your oil...

FordTechMakuloco is a good source of info. https://www.youtube.com/user/FordTechMakuloco

What a day, 8 hrs of plasma table, lap top and the grinder. And I had to lend a long skinny arm reaching inside a Altec chipper truck boom to connect some new hydro lines.

 

Morning all!
Gwen and I went out for pizza last night and they had live music. It was a high school kid and she needs a lot of practice. We decided to go to Bones, it's a local bar that has been around for ages. Gwen used to go there a lot in the late 80's early 90's. They have a piano guy that is good.
We were heading out at 10 to go home when Gwen spotted some friends. We ended up staying until midnight at the piano and talking with her friends and the piano guy and his wife.
Of course I still way up just before 6am anyway. I'm sure I will need a nap here soon.

 

Morning all,
Today I get to move Mom's stuff in to assisted living. Bed, end tables, desk, vanity etc. Hopefully I've got a grandson and his buddy's help. What a racket. Bare room with a TV. It's like renting an apartment only 3 times as much. But hopefully Mom will be safer there having someone close by all the time.

I had originally planned on trying to figure out my 56's engine issues today but as they say "Duty Calls".

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the weather as well as family and friends.

 

The E series vans never received the 3 valve engines with the plug breaking issues. The trusty 2v soldiered on in those things.

 

Well, the house is sold. The tiny house/temp place is liveable. Now to deal with organizing the things we need in here and disposing of the things we don’t.

 

good morning missouri.. been outside looking at my dog pen.. this morning my dog 'spot' escaped so i was trying to figure out how.. spot is a good dog and after escaping she just came up on the front deck and was waiting to be let in.. ha ha ha ha ha ..

thanks for the info rich and cb13.. i dont know how to tell the new engines apart i am lost after the 80's or so.. it is good to know that my van will not not have the spark plug problem....

cb13 that is good news on the homefront.....

rich i hope all is good with penny ... and glad to hear that you are working.. hopefully that will keep ya out of trouble... ha ha ha ha

 

Well a Dollar store errand and got Penny out the house. She needed some fresh air and sunlight, she is feeling better.

BJ sometimes a move like that is the best for their own well being. Even though it is a hard decision, it usually is the best decision.

Cameron good to hear RC's van did not get the troublesome engine.

 

Went to see one grandson's basketball game this morning. The other grandson was supposed to be playing here shortly but he is out sick. Two more Saturdays and their season will be over. Ran a couple of errands while we were in town. We usually try to multi-task when going to town.

==================

Clarence is back on the road!!!

Thursday Sherry and I drove Clarence to Jefferson City to meet up with several friends for dinner. That's about 45 minutes each way.

• Oil pressure stayed right at 60 psi
• Volts stayed right at 14V
• Water temp stayed right at 190*
• At 70 mph tach read 2,000 rpm consistently

As you know, most old cars and hot rods have a "sweet spot" where it seems to like to run. It turns out that's about 65 mph in Clarence, although it was perfectly comfortable all the way to 85 which is the fastest I've had it since the rebuild. And unless I happen to go to a drag strip it's not likely it'll ever be that fast again. It's been under reconstruction for the last 5 1/2 years and hasn't been driven except for onto and off of trailers and into and out of various shops.

The heater WORKS! I bought this thing 51 years ago and this is the first time it had a working heater. fwiw; it's been over 30 years since it had any working gauges. The gas gauge consisted of a 2-gallon gas can in the back for use when it ran out of gas.

The 6-way seats are comfortable. They came from a 2012 Silverado pickup.

Swap meet 15x7 aluminum slot mags are temporary. They have been in the shop "attic" for at least 20 years. They will do 'til I decide and buy new wheels. I'm leaning towards 15x7 polished American Racing 5-spoke wheels.

The polished stainless steel hood trim isn't on in this pic. You can see the holes where it gets mounted. Well; you have to blow up the pic and look really hard. The spears go above and below the horizontal opening on the hood sides. The clips to install them came in the mail yesterday. Soon they will be installed.

Watch for it anywhere and anytime. It could be anywhere in North America this summer. Specifically We plan to be at the OMR and Truckstock. Who knows where else we'll be? Actually we have plans to attend several "regular" car shows and cruise nights. And if there are any FTE GTG's I'll probably be there.

 

Good afternoon all. I finally got around to working on the 1 ton, no voltage drop, so I dropped the starter, guess I'll get it checked Monday and reinstall or replace it, depending on the test. It was beautiful out today and tomorrow promises to be even better.
Mike, your dash pictures reminded me that I need to get the Buick inside and paint the interior before April 1, it goes in for upholstery and new convertible top then.
Have a great evening youins!