Mike - I'm thinking you aren't going to be doing much of anything outdoors the majority of the day today. It's going to be more than a little rain for you & James. Batten down the hatches!

 

Mike, Maybe ya could go outside and have a shower with Octagon soap




Me? Naturally I have a funeral before heading norte

 

Good morning guys,
Cool at 52 right now, dreary, and wet. It's been raining steady since about 3:00 am and is supposed to continue all day. No outdoor fun on tap today! No other plans I am aware of, but momma might have other ideas I'm not privy to yet.

Hope everyone has a great day, and stays dry if you're in the path of all this moisture!

 

Good morning everyone.

Rain when I got up this morning, but it's stopped for now, wouldn't mind if that was it. I was successful in warding off Tiger. I didn't get up until almost 9.

I don't know what I was thinking. I certainly am not going to work out in the rain. Though if it doesn't rain anymore today, I might go over to the shop this afternoon. I don't see Octagon soap very often. Nor do I bathe in the lake.

I used to us permethrin to ward off bugs, mostly ticks. Worked great. I had this spray I'd put on my clothes, and it would last two weeks, even after being laundered. Then one day my dog became very ill and Xrays showed his lungs were full of cancer. I found out later that permethrin was highly cancerous to dogs. Not sure why the other dog was unaffected, maybe because she had flipped her lid and dogs are only allowed one malady at a time. Anyway, I'm careful now as to what I use as far as bug spray and the like.

Well I'm finally ready for the day, but I don't have any food in the house for lunch, so I guess I'll go get something. I had the last piece of apple pie for breakfast. I'm sure I can find something thrilling to fill my time this afternoon.

Hope everyone has a good Saturday.

 

Good morning guys,
Today started early when both dogs got me up at 0500, a little earlier than I would have liked. A little cool this morning at 40, but supposed to be sunny with a big temperature swing up to 70 by late afternoon. Should be a really pretty day.

No big plans for today, but I think I'm going to start in on detailing my car to get it ready for the show I intend to enter it in next Saturday, plus it just needs a thorough once over after sitting all winter. There's supposed to be several nice days this week so I don't have to get it all done in one day.

Got a ride planned (I hope) for tomorrow morning/afternoon with one of my regular riding buddies. I added "I hope" because he's supposed to be planning this one, I have no clue where we're going. If there's anything interesting, or particularly scenic views, I'll try to snap a few pics. Tomorrow is supposed to be full sun and a high of 80.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!

 

Good mornin! Put new seat in truck temporarily with wood wedges and just sitting in there, took for a short ride to see if it felt good, it is good so now I have to mount permanantly with steel. Anyway truck quit! I was lucky to coast it into a parking space. No fuel but just filled! Called my buddy and he came with his Chevy pickup and a tow strap. He towed me thru town back home, how embarrasing! Ordered a new fuel pump thru Rock Auto. Appears that is what problem is. Went to get a fuel pump at local parts stores and had to be ordered. When I said for a 1985 300 6 f150 the one counterman said " holy ***** that's old" I said no the truck is a 1956 and so am I now that's old, the engine is 1985. Oh man, speaking of old, when I was hooking up strap to front of truck a young man walked by in nice dress clothes. He saw me crouching down and said "here let me do it". I said "no I'll get it, look at the old clothes I have on" and thanked him. Later on I was telling my wife about the nice young guy, and asking her why the guy was asking me if he could help. She said it's because of your grey hair, etc.... Oh man I'm sure that's true. A old codger needs help, I will help to poor old cripple! Funny how such a nice gesture can make one feel like a fossil, I guess I am a Old Fossil, ( that's what we used to call old folks when we were about 18!)

 

Greg - Sorry your fuel pump went out on you. Man, when we were teenagers I remember someone in their 60's was ancient. Sure gives you a different perspective and something to think about when you're on the other side of the equation. Although you obviously did not need the help, it sure was nice to hear a story of a young man stopping to offer to help you.. Gives me a glimmer of hope for my grandkids future! Good luck getting the truck running again!

 

I would refer to the young man as a "Geezer Pleaser" i.e. someone willing to assist the decrepit. There are several guys who play golf with us who are getting up there in numbers - 80+ years old. Of course no one wants to land in and hit out of a sand bunker, but when it looks like a golf shot is going to land in the sand bunker and instead does not land in the sand bunker that's what I call a "Geezer Pleaser". BTW, when I was in my teens we called old folks (my age) - "Old Geezers".

 

Good morning everyone.

Beautiful out, if not a little chilly. Not sure what it's supposed to get up to today, but the sun helps regardless. Actually I plan on inside work this afternoon, but I'll have the back door open to get some fresh air in the house.

I dare say I'm the youngest of the group here, though I'm no spring chicken. Some years ago I knew I was in trouble when some kid came up to me and said hey mister. I don't get around as well as I used to, with a bum hip, but I still try to do my own stunts. And I'd certainly offer to help someone older than I if they needed it, or younger if that were the case. We used to make fun of my Dad when he turned 40 and said he was over the hill. I don't find that quite so funny now.

So it stopped raining yesterday and the sun came out for a little while. I went over to the shop to do stuff and it started raining again. I was under a big tree so I kept working. Eventually it rained hard enough the rain went through the tree so I cleaned up and came home. Oh and guess what, wet ground and rain notwithstanding, I got home and found a tick on my side. Little bugger...

Okay Walmart then busy afternoon in the house. Work tomorrow, and I'll be in inspection. Training one of the clowns no less. Should be interesting. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

Saturday saw me finally get my fan shroud back in, and got rid of that universal upper radiator hose that seems to invite some folks to be extra-snarky. I'm trying to find a balance between restoring / repainting and cleaning / detailing. The air cleaner cover, of course, got the full restore treatment, as did the radiator (3 years ago), fan shroud, upper radiator mounting bracket, and the voltage regulator cover.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Jeff - Nice work, looks 100% better under there, much more appealing to the eye!

 

If this friggin' weather would cooperate, I'd be able to get out there with a scotch brite pad and clean up some more under the hood. Now that I'm this far along, I can pause that activity and get to troubleshooting the top. Will take the easiest, simplest approach first: check fluid in pump. If low/empty, refill -- then look for leaks. Maybe I'll get lucky, but I'm like that Hee-Haw song... "If it weren't fer bad luck, we'd have no luck at allllllllllllllllll..."

 

Good evening guys,
Absolutely beautiful day, bright sunshine and high of 73. Busy but productive day. Since I'm riding tomorrow I did my Monday weight lifting workout this morning. Then I went out and mowed. Then I started in detailing the 4-4-2. It was pretty clean already so first I did all the painted surfaces with Meguirars quick detailer, then I polished the chrome and the stainless. All that's left on the exterior are the wheels and dusting the engine bay. The interior will need a quick dusting and vacuum the day before the show next Saturday. I'm pooped!

Still don't know where we're riding tomorrow, my buddy just said I should meet him at 1000 and that we should be home around 4:00. It's supposed to get up to 82 tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week!

 

Jeff - I will keep my fingers crossed for you that the top is something simple. Good luck!

 

Hi everyone.

Didn't do too badly at work. Got out before 1. The washer was cranked up before 630 and ran all morning. This I don't understand because the bad lead was there, maybe he was having a brain hemorrhage. Anyhoo, I wouldn't mind if this were the norm for the week. As opposed to the Norm for the forum.

Jeff the air cleaner looks nice. Actually the whole engine compartment looks nice, not many are that clean. Wasn't there a guy on here some time ago that put ram air on his Starfire?

Question for the land barons. In regards to filling out Schedule A for my taxes, are real estate taxes and property taxes the same thing? The 1098 I got from my lender(who didn't lend me anything, they bought the mortgage from the people who did lend to me) lists property taxes and Schedule A asks for real estate taxes. I seem to remember in the past separate items for both. The person reading from a script when I called only talked in circles, she didn't know what I was talking about, and couldn't connect me to anyone else. She suggested I call my county.

Well it's absolutely gorgeous out. Bright sunshine, warm, I think I will go mow. Hope everyone is enjoying Monday.

 

Mike, Yes Real-estate taxes are propery taxes

 

Thanks, it's coming along ok I think. There's a guy on FB, one of the Graber brothers (I think) that is doing a pretty radical ram air hood on a Starfire. One big wide scoop. Not sure if that's what you're talking about, or if the one you saw would have been the under-bumper scoops. That would be pretty awesome, too.

As far as real estate taxes / property taxes: yes, real estate taxes are property taxes. However, property taxes also include other "property" that is not real estate, such as vehicles or equipment that you pay taxes upon. Here in MI, for personal tax returns, our annual vehicle registration is considered property tax when it is based on the value of the vehicle. This is ONLY when it's based on the value, though... for example, I cannot include my registration for the 64 because that one is not based on value, but instead by a different table based on it's age. Also cannot claim my registrations for the pontoon or SeaDoo's, because those registration fees are based on the class of watercraft, not the value.

 

Thanks Jamesbo.

Thanks Jeff. We have a separate item for personal property tax. It's all very convoluted. I do remember seeing Real Estate Tax on my 1098 in the past, but don't remember if it also had property tax as well. I guess not.

The guy doing ram air on his Starfire was doing under bumper scoops. He had to relocate a couple things under the hood if I remember right and everything was packed in pretty tight, but it actually looked original. Wonder if it did any good. I want to put ram air on everything.

Now that I've sat here almost an hour wasting time, I think I'll go mow.

 

Har...har...har...

 

Looks nice under the hood, Jeff. Weather really cooled down here and actually snowed earlier, yuk....

 

Mike, Personal property is non real-estate property

Land tenements and hereditaments

 

It sure isn't cool here, 82 right now at 4:30. Had a really nice ride, about 150-miles, all on 2 lane country roads, most of it twisty and wooded. No outstanding landmarks or vistas, so no pics this time. I must be starting to feel my age a little more, these last two rides I've been on really seemed to take it out of me even though they really weren't that long?

Since my wife (or I) really didn't know when I'd be home, I told her I'd run out and get food for dinner when I got home. I ended up running just up the street a couple miles and getting Taco Bell. We had stopped getting Taco Bell from the one closest to our house at least 2-years ago because the food had gotten so bad. We both agreed to give them a try tonight. I don't know if it is the the fact of it being so long since we've had it, or if their food has actually improved, but we both thought it was good tonight.

Well, I'm not anxious to do so, but I'm headed out to get the bug grime off my bike here in a minute. I'll do that this evening and then wipe it down with Quick Detailer tomorrow morning. Then I'll move on to finishing getting the 4-4-2 ready for next weekend's show.

Hope everyone had a great day and a relaxing evening!

 

We have a low pressure system passing through today/tomorrow, with high temp of 75 and some rain here in the valley. It should be getting to you soon.

 

Kenneth - We're supposed to get rain Wednesday all day, that's probably it. Tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today, sunshine and low 80's. Looking at sunshine and mid-70's Saturday for the car show which I'll be really thankful for if it happens.

 

Hmm now it looks like we have badgers in the lawn bad start of a day.

 

Glenn - That does not look good! I'm not sure if your terminology is the same in Sweden as the U.S., when you say badger, do you mean these???



If these are what are causing all that damage I really feel for you. Are you allowed to trap or kill them yourself, or do you have to call a professional exterminator? We think we have it bad when we have a little mole in the yard.

 

Hi Chris , yes but they look a little different in Sweden ( we call them "grävling" here )



Yes we have a lot of lawn repair but it could be much much worse if it was wild boar that been here
but have not seen any wild boar here but they live about 15 us miles from here so it,s a matter of time.
We are living next to a golf course and i,m pretty shure that they will be hunted if they are on the golfcourse.
Are there any wild boar in the US ? .

The wild boar are the real lawn destroyers , the weight of the boar above is 200kg ( 440lb ? ) a wounded boar are also known to be one of the most dangerous animal.

We have a couple of traps out but not seen any in them yet, there are many hunters here so extermination are no problem.

 

Wow! They made a mess of that soccer field. We do have wild boars here as well, pretty much in the South & Southwest U.S. In Michigan, where I live. feral pigs are starting to be a problem in rural areas. Landowners and hunters are allowed to shoot them.

 

Glenn.- To add to what Dan said, I have seen entire mountainsides in the Smokie Mountains of the southeastern U.S. that have been laid bare by wild boars. Wild boar hunting is a popular big game in the U.S., plus the Department of Natural Resources at the Federal and many State levels have initiated large trapping programs, with the trapped animals slaughtered and the meat donated to disadvantaged people. I have done quite a bit of big game hunting (elk, mule deer, and whitetail deer), but I have never hunted wild boar, I think it would be fun though.

I have read badgers are pretty much nocturnal creatures like their close cousins the skunks. Might be fun sport to stay up late with a spotlight close to where they're active and pick them off when they come out, unless you live in an area where you can't discharge a firearm because of local restrictions.

 

Hi everyone.

This was the first day of training the clown. Yesterday was the regular guy. I have to say I was surprised at how well this guy took to the work. He was a quick study. We'll see how much he retained when we do it again tomorrow. He was attentive and asked questions. I was almost impressed.

Nice here, a little overcast but probably around 80. I'm going to go stir up some ants and ticks in a minute.

I have to say I've never seen a critter that looked like that. I would have guessed ground hogs doing that to the lawn. Does wild bacon taste any different than regular bacon? Our beloved Bee-Oh-Pee has wild hogs in Louisiana that tear up his yard.

Might stop in to Walmart this afternoon, that's where I get gas for the car and I could use a few extra things. Then head over to the shop for a little while. Such a nice day out.

Have a great afternoon everyone.





​​​​​​​

 

Mike, Yes they don't even taste like pork. They eat alot of acorns around here . I had a friend in the hills that would trap them and feed them corn so the meat would taste more like pork

Locked and loaded my 45 acp to go to town to the dentist. Some one drop their gum on Ga 400 [aka Alpharetta autobahn] and reached over to pick it up and there was a pile up. I was 1/2 late and they said, Sorry we need to reschedule 2 hours of my life gone that I'll never get back

 

That's where a good air rifle can be useful.

 

Spot on Kenneth!

 

Good evening guys,
Weatherman was right, sunny and high of 84 today, too warm for this time of year really. It was still 78 at 7:30. Actually turned the A/C on because it had gotten up to 78 in the house and was kinda humid.

Finished up the exterior detailing of the 4-4-2 and spent a little time wiping down the engine bay, polishing the chrome open style air cleaner and chrome valve covers. Only thing left to do is a quick dusting of the interior and vacuuming the carpet. I bought a trunk organizer unit over the winter to put my car show cleaning supplies, fire extinguisher, and scissor jack in. After I get to a show I can pull it out of the trunk and stow it away under the rear end when the judging is going on. I'm excited to enter the car in another show Saturday, I hope the weather cooperates.

Hope everyone had a great day!


Being an AC/DC fan - She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, she was the best damn car that I had ever seen!

 

The engine bay looks awesome Chris about firearms in Sweden, common people here do not have firearms
in their home , you must go education to buy firearms and ammo. So only police etc , hunters and criminals
own firearms here. I know firearms are popular in the states , i have worked on the ammo factory Norma earlier.

 

Looks nice Chris. I think you explained that Comp Cams thing is a pressure resuvoir? Thunder storm here about 5am, now just rainy.

 

Chris, that engine bay looks great. I'm jealous.

 

Glenn - Thanks for the compliment on the engine bay. I did not know about the firearm restrictions for the general public in Sweden. When you say someone must have "education" to own a firearm, do you mean that they must attend and pass one or more classes, that I am assuming are government sponsored? Here, I believe it was in the early to mid-70's that many U.S. states started requiring people to pass a Hunter's Safety course to get a hunting license. I know I took the course when I was around 14 or 15, around 1975, I still have my original certificate. Pretty cool you worked at the Norma factory, they make great ammunition. We have an Olin factory near us that makes ammunition for Winchester. Like Kenneth suggested, can general citizens own air rifles?

 

Greg - Thanks for the compliment. You're correct about the Comp Cams reservoir, it collects vacuum to operate my power front disc brakes. Similar to why the W30 optioned 4-4-2's did not have power brakes, the aftermarket cam put in my motor when it was rebuilt is aggressive enough that it does not generate enough vacuum to operate power brakes or accessories. The reservoir collects vacuum off the intake, it builds up, and then it can be used to assist the operation of the power disc brakes. Not the ideal situation for sure, I have to let the car run for a few minutes to build up some vacuum before taking off, not too long, just a few minutes. It probably isn't a bad idea to let these big old motors warm up a little before taking off anyway.

 

Jeff - Thanks for the compliment. I can't take much credit for it other than keeping it clean. The father and son in Warren, MI that did the restoration of my car in 2015-2016 deserve all the credit for making it look presentable and appealing.