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Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. Had a nice, if not benign day. Laundry, Awful house, mowing. Hm, like any other day. But it was my birthday and I felt special. Mom made a lasagna for our supper and she got me a book and a Swiss Army knife. I lost mine about a year ago and never have been able to find one. I suspect my sister got it for her online.
My friend Leo called and we talked for almost an hour. It would have been longer but the phone was going dead and I needed to get to Mom's. I'll call him Monday because that's his birthday. My best friend called after dinner and we talked nearly two hours. Lots of texts. Couple other calls. Very nice.
The B2 is beautiful. I can't imagine how many computers are needed to keep that guy in the air. I watched a show about the original flying wing aircraft and absolutely loved it. I think it was Northrup who built it. After the program all the planes were taken out and smashed and scrapped. Seems a waste, keep one for posterity.
Tomorrow is Walmart and more mowing. Early and late overtime next week. Right now, bedtime.
Mike - Yes - John (Jack) Northrop designed the flying wing in the 1940s. There were several successful flying wings he (his companies) designed and developed w/o external funding. He got some $$ a couple times both USN & USAF wanted them, then a pissing match ensued between the two, then Congress pulled the plug, program(s) shut down a couple times, your basic Congressional laundromat bickering. Finally, USAF won & Northrup eventually won & designated military aircraft the B-2. It went through a series of prototype modifications. Northrop won the GBU/MOP ordinance as well as I recall.
Nice your Mom recalled to get you a Swiss Army Knife - that’s way cool.
Interesting tonight I watched Strategic Airlift Command. That plane was the B-36. Odd combination aircraft known as the “pusher” with six prop engines mounted on the trailing edge of the wings with four smaller turbine jets added on later as a modification. Perhaps more interesting was Jack Northrup’s original flying wing designs also incorporated wing trailing edge prop engines.
Without getting political I think (word on the street) six GBU-57 were dropped into the same hole @ Fordo. SIX!!!
+ 1 Yes , what a nice tractor We have had some nice days now this weekend , it,s holiday here called " midsommar" so
we drove the 98 with the top down and yesterday a nice ride with the bikes. It,s really nice when my wife drives her own bike
because i don´t like to have extra luggage behind me. Much more fun to ride solo and she drives her Harley Streetbob fine.
Was visiting a little cruise-in yesterday evening and looked at some nice Oldsmobiles but have no pics of that. We have a large self picking strawberry
place about 5 miles from home so we have some
strawberry eating here
Have also been some service to the Suzuki atv and the hydraulic woodcrane on our Ford 5000 , hoping to get into the woods
and sell more timber next winter. Sold some aspen tree last time and there was good money for this ( to buy other things for )
But everything depends on the health so we,ll se. Have also have thoughts about selling / trading the Dynamic 88 to a
newer classic car with three point seatbels instead of the lap belts .
So have a nice day everybody ( it,s 9.00 am here now )
It,s really nice when my wife drives her own bike because i don´t like to have extra luggage behind me. Much more fun to ride solo and she drives her Harley Streetbob fine.
Glenn - I agree, so much nicer to ride solo. I don't like riding two-up - unstable configuration. Nice your wife rides fine on here Street Bob. Those strawberries look good.
There will be a separate post with lots more pics later. Hope everyone is having a great day. I've got a nice spot in the shade, with a nice breeze and it's bearable, barely!
Well it only got to 97° today so it wasn't too bad at the Car Show, lies, all lies! It actually didn't seem too bad until around 1:30 when the breeze seemed to go away. The last couple of hours were pretty brutal even in the shade. I had a nice time though. Managed to crack the Top 25 out of 263 entrants. You can check out the pics at the link below. Hope everyone had a great day, I'll try to catch up with all the goings on in the morning, I'm whooped!
Good start to the morning. I'm almost at 30 and still have over an hour and a half to lunch. Might get close to my personal best today.
Didn't get **** done yesterday. Slept in a little, went to Walmart, got home and had lunch and then zonked right out. Slept for over two hours. Mom thought I was having a stroke or something. I think it was this new medicine I've been taking. Anyway before dinner I went out and reattached some of the spindles on the porch railing. Tiger runs out to chase the squirrels and crashes into them and pops them off. They are nailed on but I'm reattaching them with screws, that might hold them a little better.
So that guy (I forgot his name) with the 72 Cutlass posted pictures of a car show he went to, and what was in there? A 68 Valiant! Chris you never post pictures of a 68 Valiant. You must not care, sniff. I really need to find a good show to go to, I haven't been to a real car show in I think years. Well, in the United States anyway.
You know how people will see a hot rodded classic and say, well, better that it was resto modded than to lose it all together. I think I just saw an example where it would be better to let it go than to resto mod it. There's a 53 Buick, Skylark on craigs. Sibling to the Olds Fiesta and Cadillac Eldorado. It has a 454, whatever electronic trans, the interior is a mish mash of original and stupid, Camaro front clip. My only hope is that this was a total basket case with lots of parts missing. Even still, I hate to see this.
Well I think I'll go get a snack. The sugar pops I had this morning at 2 just aren't doing it. Hope everyone has a great day.
So that guy (I forgot his name) with the 72 Cutlass posted pictures of a car show he went to, and what was in there? A 68 Valiant! Chris you never post pictures of a 68 Valiant. You must not care, sniff. I really need to find a good show to go to, I haven't been to a real car show in I think years. Well, in the United States anyway.
Wow, I've posted every picture of ANY VALIANT I've ever seen at at cruise or a show and still no respect, no respect I tell you! Mike, maybe this will make up for my lack of a '68 Valiant, it was at the show yesterday. Maybe you can even tell us what Model it is, it had absolutely no info on it, but it sure was in great shape and had all the cool peripheral trappings on it.
Oh Chris, I know you still love me! But that was a good imitation of Rodney Dangerfield! A 68 Valiant is a rare bird at a car show.
I don't know anything about half tracks. They are neat looking, and I bet would tear up the asphalt on a tight turn. A cursory look on the internet and I'd say that was an M3, there were several manufacturers. What we should be seeing on the front, where those boxes are, is a roller. That enabled it to climb fairly steep grades, or at least get over a hump that the front end would have hung up on.
I don't know anything about half tracks. They are neat looking, and I bet would tear up the asphalt on a tight turn. A cursory look on the internet and I'd say that was an M3, there were several manufacturers. What we should be seeing on the front, where those boxes are, is a roller. That enabled it to climb fairly steep grades, or at least get over a hump that the front end would have hung up on.
Mike - I know you can't tell from the pic, but this half track had what I'm assuming would have originally been steel tracks, replaced with rubberized tracks that allowed it to travel the city streets without chewing up the asphalt.
I occasionally use Dangerfield material in my day to day life.
Speaking of no respect, the weather had none this weekend. Taught a 2 day Appleseed at Redbrush Rifle Range local to me. It started warm, got hot, then got dangerous. We took both early afternoons inside the clubhouse to teach in there and cool down. Started one guy short on Sat, were 4 guys more down Sun am, then lost 3 more at lunch. Ended with only 2, but on a good note. We had to call an ambulance for a guy on another bay for heatstroke. It was to the point that I hit a moment that I had not since 2018 in marathon training. I was out of electrolytes and water did not help. The next day I used Gatorade a lot and that kept me sorted. Being low on electrolytes makes you sort of sick / drunk and it takes a while to climb out of. I didn't feel dangerous, just awful. Sunday was better, it was just at damn hot.
However, the winner is the following. I ordered a pizza on the way home after dropping gear off at the property. Pizza Hut was running, but their AC was dead, and the facility was at 110 degrees. Pizza was excellent. Those guys were hurting.
Speaking of no respect, the weather had none this weekend.
John - Ya, it certainly was a scorcher, and dangerous for any type of physical exertion outside. I'm sorry for all of you guys who got ill, but glad you're OK now. Like I said, I was just sitting all day in the shade, most of the time with a nice breeze blowing. Plus, I had 4 litres of bottled ice water throughout the day.
The ride home sure was hot though with no A/C. Truthfully, I was worried about how my car would do as it has a tendency to run warm when it starts getting over 90°, and it was 97° when I left out of there at 3:30. Most of the 30-mile drive home was major highway. I was happy the car held steady between 185° - 190° doing 65mph until I got off the highway. Getting off at the exit ramp I had to stop at the bottom of the ramp, and the car immediately started spiking near 200° and I flipped on my auxiliary pusher fan and it brought it back down to 195° the rest of the 7-miles home. I didn't think that was too bad considering how damn hot it was!
That is good performance on the highway. Your unit may have a 180 or 185 thermostat in it. It sounds like the cooling system is fine. At speed, the test is to the radiator. At idle, the test is of the fan. Do you have dual electric fans in the car, or is there still a mechanical fan?
That is good performance on the highway. Your unit may have a 180 or 185 thermostat in it. It sounds like the cooling system is fine. At speed, the test is to the radiator. At idle, the test is of the fan. Do you have dual electric fans in the car, or is there still a mechanical fan?
John - First I'll say I have no rationale from the previous owner as to why the car was set-up this way. There is a non-clutch mechanical fan, but it is one of those damn Flex-fans. I'm no expert, but I'd bet that Flex-fan doesn't move nearly as much air at idle or slower speeds as a standard mechical fan. There is only one electric fan, a large (17" ???) pusher fan on the outside of the radiator centered on the opening of the back of the radiator shroud. The electric fan is turned on/off via a toggle switch on the lower part of the dash.
I'd get rid of that flex fan. I've heard for years that they weaken as they flex and at any time one of the blades can separate. Could be on the highway and the blade embeds itself into the radiator, or could be at idle in the garage and it embeds itself into your forehead. Having said that I've never seen that happen but have heard plenty of stories. Could be lore, could be...
Speaking of tracked vehicles, i watched some of that Army parade last Saturday. They said that the tanks and the really heavy stuff had to go a certain speed, not faster or slower, or it would destroy the streets. The asphalt wasn't designed for that kind of weight. I find that a little funny. I'm sure the Streets department doesn't.
Got a couple errands to run after work, and I need to try to take pictures of the pickup's frame. A guy at work said his brother works at a body shop that does frame straightening, and said to send him pictures of the truck and he'd see if they could straighten it. Hey it's worth a shot.
John - First I'll say I have no rationale from the previous owner as to why the car was set-up this way. There is a non-clutch mechanical fan, but it is one of those damn Flex-fans. I'm no expert, but I'd bet that Flex-fan doesn't move nearly as much air at idle or slower speeds as a standard mechical fan. There is only one electric fan, a large (17" ???) pusher fan on the outside of the radiator centered on the opening of the back of the radiator shroud. The electric fan is turned on/off via a toggle switch on the lower part of the dash.
Oh, that's horrible. Flex fans are the worst compromise between fixed and clutch fans and have all the negatives of both and none of the advantages. The flex fan is why the electric fan is there as it is inadequate, and, like Mike said, can come apart and kill your hood or someone. I'd recommend an OEM clutch and fan, and it's something you should be able to do in an afternoon with time for beer.
Oh, that's horrible. Flex fans are the worst compromise between fixed and clutch fans and have all the negatives of both and none of the advantages. The flex fan is why the electric fan is there as it is inadequate, and, like Mike said, can come apart and kill your hood or someone. I'd recommend an OEM clutch and fan, and it's something you should be able to do in an afternoon with time for beer.
John - I agree with you and Mike completely, not a good set-up for sure. I'm not super concerned about the fan blades failing with the car not being driven any more than it is, essentially around 1.5K-miles a season, but you never know? I don't have enough faith in my own mechanical abilities to take it on, especially in regard to assessing how it's set-up right now, and exactly what parts would be needed to convert it. I wouldn't necessarily need a clutch fan set-up because I don't really care about a constant hp drain, but I would like to get rid of the Flex-fan. I may look into having the Old's expert that did my rear wheel bearing replacement take a look at it and have him give me his recommendation and see if he might be willing to do the work?
Last edited by Dream67Olds442; Jun 23, 2025 at 11:24 AM.
You'd need a socket set. Take the upper radiator support cover off (6 bolts), then the flex fan, 4 bolts, then, if you want a fixed fan, 4 bolts back on. Hardest thing is holding the water pump from rotating when wrenching on it. It's not bad at all.
You'd need a socket set. Take the upper radiator support cover off (6 bolts), then the flex fan, 4 bolts, then, if you want a fixed fan, 4 bolts back on. Hardest thing is holding the water pump from rotating when wrenching on it. It's not bad at all.
John - I'll take a close look at it. I'm assuming the 4 bolt pattern is pretty much universal? If I decide to go forward, how many blade fan should I be looking for, I know there are many varieties? I will look on here 1st before looking elsewhere.
I just keeping thinking there must have been some type of mechanical/physical issue why the guys who restored my car put that damn Flex fan on there. They did so much else right, I just can't see them putting that on there without a good reason??? I may try contacting the original owner?
I think it's 4 bolts on the water pump. The solid 4 blade fan bolts on as a unit. The clutch fan also can bolt on as a unit, but the fan bolts onto the outside of the clutch with like seven bolts. I've got one in the basement I can photo. Clutch fans are seven bladed I think.
I saw the '68 Valiant by the guy w/ the '72 Cutlass when he posted images ~1wk - 2wks ago. Very, very nice Valiant, it was. I played golf today like an old lady. Going to play again tomorrow. I've been working in the yard/landscaping far too long & too hard. Pulled/Tore a large muscle on my right flank (backside) last Thursday. I think I'm over the pain - but the pain was horrible, not excruciating but very horrible. I had 8 leftover Oxy-5-325mg from my tooth extraction/implant last yr. So, I took one each x3 times over three days, alternating w/ Acetaminophen to remain below 3g/day. It's an M3, M6 or M16 I think - honestly don't really care. That Studebaker "Big Six" firetruck made my day. I spent a few minutes researching gpm of various firetrucks. That 1927 was rated @500gpm, many today are rated between 1,000gpm - 2,500gpm. Found an industrial firetruck rated @ 16,000 gpm. There was an image of it in action. Boy Howdy does that think throw out some volume.
Found an industrial firetruck rated @ 16,000 gpm. There was an image of it in action. Boy Howdy does that think throw out some volume.
Norm - I hope your muscle strain/tear goes completely away and stays away! Man you're right, that industrial truck sure throws some water! That's almost 270 gallons per second, I can't even wrap my brain around that!
Norm - I hope your muscle strain/tear goes completely away and stays away! Man you're right, that industrial truck sure throws some water! That's almost 270 gallons per second, I can't even wrap my brain around that!
That's up there for an industrial fire truck for sure. I took a tour of a flood control system outside Amsterdam and they have water pumps which can move ~1,000,000 gpm.
Chris both the firetruck and half track are cool. you should give a shout out to Scott Winn, on getting a fan blade, that is one of the thing that I am getting from him, a six blade, 19 1/2" dia. for my application, getting rid of a flex fan in the process. If your car did not come with a/c or heavy duty cooling, then it would be a 4 blade fixed fan. Scottwinn@sbcglobal.net.
Chris both the firetruck and half track are cool. you should give a shout out to Scott Winn, on getting a fan blade, that is one of the thing that I am getting from him, a six blade, 19 1/2" dia. for my application, getting rid of a flex fan in the process. If your car did not come with a/c or heavy duty cooling, then it would be a 4 blade fixed fan. Scottwinn@sbcglobal.net.
Dan - Here's my question for you. Regardless of whether any given car originally had A/C or heavy duty cooling, if you live in a hot climate, wouldn't you want the 6 blade because it moves more air? I don't give a **** about originality, I just want what's going to provide the greatest cooling effect. Will the 6 blade fans bolt directly to the water pump?
Chris, blades are not a measure of how much air is moved. The four blade fan attaches to a metal shaft in the center that goes to the water pump, thus the hub is much smaller than the large clutch mechanism. The point of the clutch fan was to slip when it was not needed, being less irritating to check engine and use less power when the clutch is cold and it is freewheeling. They should push close enough to the same amount of air when the clutch is hot that it doesn't matter which is used for performance cooling. Perhaps the 7 blader was an improvement over the 6 blader, but you don't need it. Heavy duty cooling was mostly mandated for air conditioning and racing. You are cruising without any AC, any OEM setup is fine for your car provided the car is fine going down the road (which is when your fan could be entirely gone and the car would not care as slipstream air pushes more than enough through the car.
I would get a four blade fan, bolt it on, and make sure all the factory radiator seals are there and working (the rubber strips on the sides of the radiator.) Test it a lot. Like the whole summer. Then, eventually, when confident, remove the accessory fan and only if you want to.
I would get a four blade fan, bolt it on, and make sure all the factory radiator seals are there and working (the rubber strips on the sides of the radiator.) Test it a lot. Like the whole summer. Then, eventually, when confident, remove the accessory fan and only if you want to.
John - Thanks for the tutorial. I trust your knowledge and will look for an OEM 4 blade.
For Dan - Thanks, I trust your knowledge too, but it just made sense to me that a 6 blade would move more air than a 4 blade and that's why I asked.
...but it just made sense to me that a 6 blade would move more air than a 4 blade...
Chris - In general, your assumption is correct, as long as two of the variables both remain constant:
(1) Size/Pitch of each blade remain constant; and,
(2) Speed remains constant.
I,m using the sixblade fan with clutch from the(ac) Dynamic in the 98 now instead of the rigid mount
seven blade because i felt the suction thru the radiator was better. The clutch fan is mounted to the clutch with 4 bolts. There was also a difference in pitch and looks of the blades of the 6 and 7 blade fan.
Have also have thoughts about a electric pusher
fan as a backup for city cruising .
Got up a few minutes before the alarm, and for some reason was running late until I left the house. Eh, got to work before 4 that's all that matters. Most people don't even get here until just a couple minutes before starting time.
Chris I'd go you one further. Put an electric fan on the engine side of the radiator and wire it up to come on automatically. The new cars all have this. Leave the toggle switch fan in place for a backup. For a while the flex fans were all the rage, and perhaps the man who restored your car just fell in with the crowd.
Here's some trivia about blades and moving air, I heard this from a home improvement "expert." A four blade ceiling fan moves more air than a 5 blade fan. But people buy 5 blade fans because they look nicer. Hm.
Couldn't take pictures of the pickup yesterday because the battery was dead. Last time I started it up, only a couple weeks ago, it was a little slow and I thought uh oh, something's afoot. Sure enough. And of course I had backed up into the weeds so I couldn't even get to anything. I won't get back to it for a couple days now. It's always something. If it ain't one thing it's another.
Time to start the day. Hope everyone has a good one.
"Back to the Fifties/ The Great Race" was a great time. The Minnesota state fairgrounds was a great place for them. It is a huge fairgrounds with many permanent buildings- almost like a small town on it's own, with streets, etc. Boy it was hot! I found that I don't have the stamina to do things as I used to, especially with the heat. Some of the things I would have walked to see I decided just weren't worth getting out of my lawn chair in the shade for.... I'm glad we didn't take the Olds since it is a '71- too new to be able to be in the event. We took our Acadia and it did great. We went on Friday in the middle afternoon and looked at cars going on the great race and others for 2-3 hours. Stayed at a "microtel" ( small but not bad). Went back on Saturday ( now it was hot!!) about 0930. set up a chair and a small folding wagon in shade by the starting line of the "Race". Walked some and looked at more cars- there were LOTS of cars- I was told attendance was down but last year had 9000 cars., anyway there were LOTS!! At about noon the Great race started. They leave at one minute intervals. Some of the cars were real spectacles! Sort of like chitty chitty bang bang oddities!! About 100 cars I think.. Left the event and went back to room to cool off, grab shower, and go to a cool bar/restaurant to meet with 2 grandkids for dinner. Then back to room. Sunday morn I left Linda in room and met my buddy back at the event for the Sunday morning only swap meet.. Oh yeah it was hot on the asphalt lot! BUT got some goodies, bought some trim rings and a front bumper for the Olds. Price was too cheap on the bumper- I don't need it but couldn't pass. We left our room at 1000 and got back to our house 11 hours later. A long trip for sure, with lots of 2 lane roads thru Northern WI and U P.
Chris - In general, your assumption is correct, as long as two of the variables both remain constant:
(1) Size/Pitch of each blade remain constant; and,
(2) Speed remains constant.
I,m using the sixblade fan with clutch from the(ac) Dynamic in the 98 now instead of the rigid mount
seven blade because i felt the suction thru the radiator was better. The clutch fan is mounted to the clutch with 4 bolts. There was also a difference in pitch and looks of the blades of the 6 and 7 blade fan.
Have also have thoughts about a electric pusher
fan as a backup for city cruising .
Glenn - Thanks, appreciate your input. I do like the electric pusher on mine for a back-up.
We have had some nice days now this weekend , it,s holiday here called " midsommar" so
)
