Dang quiet the last few days on our forum...I'll start off with:

Been busy tending to a sick horse, seems she got something in her eye...Vet bill is about a solid mortgage payment...sure wish I could get horse insurance under a blanket policy...been having to treat her eye ten times a day with different stuff...good news is the pressure in her eye is way down, hopefully the other "big-vet-word", epi-something or another, goes away soon enough too.

Asisdes from that, I did get a chance to wire up the HF spot welder I got last week, works pretty dang well...but have to keep it minimized to a "little here and a little there" work, as it was getting pretty hot..definitely not a "production" piece of tooling, but will fit the bill for what I need,...should have the '31-other brands cab together this week...least to the point of fitting the rockers up and get it close.

Other than that, we all know Dan's a Weenie, if ya didn't, it's his fault you wern't informed.

 

Mike,
Sorry about your horse problems. I hope she makes a speedy recovery.

Well, I mentioned the story of the knocking sound in my engine. I am taking Wednesday off and am going to try the little trick of pulling the plug wires to determine which cylinder has the wrist pin issue.

Wednesday night I will go to the auto-body class I am taking. I can't really call it a class. It is more like an open shop (with awesome tools) with an expert to give advice and demonstrate things. This week I am going to weld/fill some drilled holes in the bed and pound a few dents out.

Depending on money, I might buy a 4bbl intake manifold and carb to replace what I have. I am tired of fighting with this one to see what the problem is. I also look forward to a few extra hp and maybe a little better mileage. Any suggestions on manifolds or carbs? I heard that 600-650 cfm is ideal for my engine.

In the Bumpside forum I posted a question about doing cab swaps. Dan has a decent cab on his '72 that I was eyeing up to cut out the cab mounts, floors, rocker panels and the rear cab corners. A long time ago Dan suggested doing a cab swap. At first I was wondering if I could still even count it as the same truck I grew up with if I did that since I am also replacing the whole front clip. The only parts that will be the same as when I was growing up would be the bed, frame, engine, wheels, doors (I am keeping my doors since the VIN plate is on the DS door.) steering wheel, gas tank, and a few other parts from here and there. After realizing that it would be a tough job to get everything welded in correctly and ensuring the cab sat correctly on the new cab mounts, it might just be easier to do the cab swap. I would have to paint the inside of the cab as well.

As for other things, 45 people from my company got laid off last week. Forty-five out of 11,000 doesn't sound like much, but this is first lay off in the company's 31 year history. I know at least a dozen of them and really feel for them. I know they are getting a generous severance package and outplacement help. My bosses keep saying we are safe, but I get the feeling these people were feeling safe too.

Anyway, that is enough about me. I can't wait for us to get back to work on Thumperoo after the New Year.

 

Right back at ya, Buddy...

As for me, I've been pretty busy with this Dickens' fair thing I'm involved in. Traveling to the Bay Area for exhaustive rehersals every weekend, building the set in the Cow Palace...it all adds up. This weekend we open, on Friday the 23rd. Opening weekend will be all three days so it looks to be a long one. But so far I'm having the most fun I've ever had with my clothes on...

The group of folks I'm performing with have been so incredibly welcoming to me and made me feel ilke a long-time member of the group already. I've even been promoted and will be performing onstage with them (I was originally supposed to just wander around our area playing sort of free-lance, but I've already learned most of the songs and they feel it would be a waste not to have me up on stage with them, so I got the word on Sunday... )

So drop by the Cow Palace for a fun time and a unique Christmas experience. Here's a link for more info:

http://www.dickensfair.com/

Of course, all this leaves little time for working on vehicles so my projects are on hold till after the holidays. We're almost finished with the storage building at work, so I may be able to move Thumper down there before too long. We'll see...

 

This is really the first time I've put anything on this forum of much length except for a rant or two. Have you read the "PO" thread on the 48 to 60 forum? It's a classic rant for all of us Previous Owners and Current Owners.

Anyway, I've been working on my '56 pickup for a few months now and after almost two years it's getting closer to running again. Lots of changes for what was going to be a simple engine and trans swap. The white board in the kitchen is getting many lines crossd out and what's left is mostly easy work. I think. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Lately the biggest item is my daily driver is now gone and I'm waiting for a new car. I used to have a '99 Taurus. It really was a pretty good runner, but after 148000 miles it started to take too much to keep it going. I started out when I was 15 with a '57 MGA roadster and have had a few Brit cars over the years. Right now I'm commuting in my '72 Mini and smiling all the way to and from work. So, the new car will be an new Mini Cooper S. I know it isn't American, but oh well, I'm gonna drive it anyway.

Hope the horse gets better soon. Although not much of a rancher myself, I've been around uncles a lot when I was a kid that made their living ranching and it was always hard to see them worrying over an injured or sick animal. Small farms and ranches are much more than just a job. Lots of your heart goes there, even if you keep horses for riding only.

 

I bet most of the people in this chapter own an import or two. With gas prices as high as they are I doube many can afford to drive their trucks as a daily driver. My truck costs me $22 per day to drive to work. My Corolla costs me $5.64. I hear the Mini Cooper is great for tall people (front seats of course). I would like to see it once you get it.

As for truck stuff, one of my neighbors had a '71 f100 that he just got rid of and dropped off all his materials for me. I have a book on Ford Auto transmissions now for that era. Since I have a manual transmission (the trusty np435) I don't need it.

 

I just made it through a similar decimation (literally a 10% staff reduction) and a lot of good friends were let go. One especially good friend died of a heart attack during all the upheaval. It's rough, but I'm still gainfully employed for awhile longer.

Mike, I empathize with you on the vet stuff. I've had horses most of my life. Once I aged to what most might consider an adult, I came to believe that the only people that really enjoy horses are vets, breeders, and farriers. I hope everything works out well soon.

Me? I've just been working. I am trying to wrap up a project that has me up against the wall. It is one of those where the deadline is "yesterday". I'm not sleeping very well as a result.

Oh, and I'm planning a road trip to Mexico toward the end of February.

 

I got back from helping with fire rebuild in San Diego last week. Nice to be home. The bad part, I think I need to sell my 67. I'm out of room, and the neighbors are complaining about the used car lot at my house. I thought 1200 seemed fair, and the only interested people were from 2000+ miles away.

 

Sorry to hear about the horse Mike. Hope it recovers quickly. Haven' been too busy with any project, or anything important, just going to work, and trying to get caught up on my bills. Maybe be heading to Oregon in January to get my brother's Ranger. (Unless it is snowing)

Currently don't own any imports, but I have owned several in the past, and with the current gas prices, it makes sense. Of course there are still quite a few domestics that get decent gas mileage.

$1200 for a '67 bumpside, and nobody closer than 2200 miles was interested? Wow, that hardly seems possible. I would think it would be a popular truck.

 

just putting my .02 in. sorry to hear about the horse mike, and the others with the layoffs at their place of employment.

sorry to hear that someone has to sell their beloved bumpside.

ive been busy with work and cleaning up the parts for my drum-disc conversion and power steering upgrade. that has been put on hold until after the holidays. promised myself that my son will have a x-mas this year.

other than that, hope everyone has a great turkey day.

 

Hope the horse is starting to get better.... Sorry, to hear about this.

I'm still searching for that job. Been out 7 months now.

Good news is my wige is still with me, pickup truck is running good and my dog didn't die.
(you know all country songs ..... )