1969w3155

Well, the forecast for here was 1.2" of snow. We got about 8", the heavy wet ****. Got a bacon wrapped steak in the broiler, and some cold Oberon in the fridge. I'll relax after dinner.

Jamesbo

Headed out to slosh around and smack whitey

Have a great day Olds friends

Greg Rogers

April 15th !! Good thing we got out the lawn chairs...

Allan R

Good morning

Tis the day before the big day. Tomorrow AB elects a new gov't. I don't want to jinx the process other than to say I hope the socialists lose their ***. So far the advance voting has been staggeringly high, which is a good sign.

The Missus' TV crapped out on Saturday. I watched the morning news and turned it off. A couple hours later she asks me to 'fix' her TV. Black screen of death. It would start, show the startup screen for a second then flicker and black screen. It's toast. No point in fixing it since it probably costs as much as buying a new one. I checked the web and decided Best Buy had the better deals so I headed down to buy a new one. When I walked in everything was 4K UHD. I was looking for just a 1080 LED smart TV. As luck would have it, there was a slightly smaller 43" Sharp 4K TV on sale for $349.00 which is about 1/2 price here. That's the one I ended up getting after checking with the missus if she would want slightly smaller or the same 49" that bit the dust. Setting up the TV service providers Remote was a bit of a pain to sync the TV and cable box but I got it done. Picture looks good and she's happy. Old TV is going to the Eco station for recycle.

The Players Championship wound up yesterday. Team Bottcher vs. Team Koe. An all AB affair considering there were teams from around the globe competing. Although my favorite (Niklas Edin) didn't win, Brenden Bottcher put on a show that worth 3x the price of admission. What a clinic and a nail biter to the very end. Bottcher pockets $40K for a few hours work; not bad for the young skip.

Greg - That looks incredibly pretty even though it's probably a real PITA to deal with right now.

Jim - Slosh away. If it's that bad I'm sayin 46/45

Dan - You in the same boat as Greg? Probably would save your back if you fired up the snow blower.

Jouni - Enjoy the first day of work.

Cool here and occasional drizzle. Nothing surprising I guess.

redoldsman

Good Morning Guys:
Thanks to Allan for checking on my status. I have been out of sync for a few weeks since we returned from New Orleans. My biggest news is that my friend and hero Sgt. RV Burgin passed away and was buried last Friday. He was 96 years old and a Marine from WWII. I had the honor of carrying him in the Dallas Veterans Day Parade in 2014. He was 92 at that time and was in his dress uniform he wore in 1947 when he was presented the Bronze Star. He also received a Purple Heart. He wrote a book in about 2010 title "Islands of The Damned". I had read it and then met him at a car show where he had a table selling books. We stayed in touch and I visited with him about two months ago. He had deteriorated in the last year and died in his sleep. There were probably 300 people at his funeral including a 91 year old retired 3 star Marine General and for Texas Governor Rick Perry. I feel very privileged to have known such a man. Many people felt that way. He was a very soft spoken hero. I will try to include a couple pictures.

1969w3155

Allan, you are right, Greg got the same dumping of snow that I did. My side walk is clear except for a couple of feet by the garage, which I'll clear out for the mailman. No need for the blower, which I put up for the season on sat. Temps today in the 40's, 60ish tomorrow, so I'll let mother nature clean up after herself. Glenn, fine pics of your friend. May he rest in peace.

Jamesbo

Glen, So sorry for your loss, Truly the greatest generation

Allan, 46/44 blowing like a Gail, some of my normally " perfect shots" got caught in the wind and dropped like turd from a tall Indian

slantflat

Hi everyone.

Sunny out but a bit chilly and windy. Boy was it nipply out this morning.

Glenn what an incredible man. May he Rest in Peace. I'm so sorry you've lost your friend.

Jamesbo I need a recipe for fresh green beans that's easy. We're having a lunch at work on Wednesday and that's what I have to bring. I opted for the fresh ones instead of canned. I'm not going to eat them either way but I thought it would be nice to have something not processed.

Allan I just got my Mom a 43" LG from Best Buy. Her old TV was so old, it wasn't compatible with her cable. She'd be watching a show and the picture would freeze, then go into some weird boot up mode. The repair tech was out a number of times, and finally one of them said the TV can't process the signal, and just goes berserk. New TV solved the problem and it's about twice as big.

Finally figured my taxes yesterday. Tiger and I are going to mail them in a little while. The booklet said that tax rates went down, but my refund did, too. Of course they've been taking out less each time, so I guess it evens out.

So Notre Dame cathedral is on fire and burning out of control as I write this. Hundreds of years of history up in smoke. A church spokesperson said the entire wooden interior is on fire and the fire department is having a tough time getting water into the fire. After 700 years, I guess Someone decided it didn't need to be here anymore.

Gonna change clothes then head out. If Tiger says pretty please we might stop at the Awful house. I'll have to see who's working when we drive past. Hope everyone had a good Monday.

Jamesbo

Mike, jes snap and string them put sum sliced salt poke[ poke belly , streak o lean, or plain old bacon] in them with a little water, sorta steam them fer a few minutes, then add more water an cook fer a couple of hours. I always add bacon dripping but I'm not sure if you have any left over from never making breakfast

When they're done and cooled it should have the same consistency of congealed salad [alot of poke fat in the water]

I sure hope Quasimodo is OK

Vintage Chief

Sorry about his passing. Very nice story.

Greg Rogers

Glenn. sorry to hear of his passing. A true hero, no doubt.

Allan R

Glenn, it sounds like you have lost not only a friend but a legend. My deepest condolences. No doubt he was as proud to know you as well; our generation seems to understand values and true heroism more than the millennials who take the freedom earned by soldiers like Sgt. RV Burgin for granted. He sounds like a truly impressive man and I'm so glad you had the privilege to get to know and befriend him. I only knew one vet locally who served in WWII and he absolutely wouldn't talk about his experience. He was one of the survivors who landed on Normandy and saw a lot of his friends and colleagues killed that day. He did say that "Saving Private Ryan" was as close to reality on film as that day got. Did your friend ever share his experiences or did he prefer to keep them buried?

Mike - I hope the LG you got your mom works out for her. I'm a little leary of them after having bought LG appliances. I've had trouble with the stove, dishwasher and microwave. I've owned Sharp before and it was pretty decent; only thing is it was a CRT 27" screen. Probably wouldn't work with today's tech either.

Saw that Notre Dame fire as breaking news this morning. Such a sad loss of history. Notre Dame survived the centuries of wars and ends up being gutted by ???an arsenist???. That would be really cruel to have one person destroy the opportunity for everyone to visit and relish the magnificence of the historical interior. I'll wait to hear what the cause was as I may be passing judgement prematurely.

On the way home from the market today there was a huge police presence on Hwy 28 just entering the City. No less than 7 police cruisers, a SWAT team, ambulance blocking the road for inbound cars. Right at the peak of rush hour. I asked my neighbor who has liaison with the police what was up and all he would say is it was something really serious. I guess that will be on the evening news as well.

Chatted with Clint today and he sounds like he's doing ok. Lynne is also doing ok. All is well in Morrison. Oh, he did say that he's getting a new dash for Britt from Ron Roth. That car is going to look like brand new inside when it's installed.

Inline

Morning. Early one.

So yesterday was first day, and a great 13.5 hours it was! 13 to 15 hours a day is pretty optimum to get a good income, and have a little time still at home. My Frod on the other hand seems to break in hands. No use to try fix oil-burner if it breaks.

Okay, gotta go in a hurry, just thought to stop by.

Have a day all!

redoldsman

Allan, RV Burgin was a legend. He served in the Pacific and was featured in the HBO Miniseries "The Pacifc" that was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Peleliu was the worst place he served. When the Marines went ashore there were 235 in the outfit he was in. When they came off the island 30 days later there were 85 of them left. It was a hellhole and the Japanese were absolute savages. He also served in Cape Gloucester and Okinawa where he was wounded. I asked him once how many enemy he killed and he said 35. He didn't talk about the was for 30 years and then decided the story should be told. That was when he decided to write his book. I have the electronic copy on my Kindle and an autographed copy. Taking him in the Veterans Day Parade is the most worthwhile thing I will ever do with my car. I wrote and article for the NTOC Newsletter entitled "My Day With A Hero". The trip in the parade was filmed by a film crew and is going to be part of a documentary. They are hoping to have it ready for release in July. He was truly one of The Greatest Generation and I was very fortunate to know him. I just wish I had known him longer.

Allan R

Good morning everyone,

Another hour or so and I have to head out to the leaching center. I think they learned their trade from the tax man.

Glenn - Chances are I saw him in that mini series as I remember watching it on the Smithsonian Channel. He survived a war of great cruelty and I'm glad he decided to share his story.

Jouni - 13-15 hours at work, 2 hours in the car each way and you still have time for a family?? Are you a 'minuteman"??

Today is the election!! Can't wait to get out and vote. I hope Marc had a chance to vote in advance before heading out to the island. Got my fingers crossed that the ugly sea of orange will change to a sky of blue.

redoldsman

Thanks Guys. When I took him in the parade in 2014, there were 4 survivors of the invasion of Peleliu. Now there is only 1 who is a little younger and lives in Florida.

Hope all of you have a good day. My Olds has a miss in it that is driving my crazy. The car was running fine and then I decided to put a Pertronix module in it. Then it ran like crap. Put the points back in and it still runs like crap. I have replaced everything in the ignition system including the plug wires and it still has a miss in it. I don't think it is a fuel system miss.

Later

Glenn

Allan R

Glenn - maybe check the rotor and cap? The only way you're getting a miss is on a bad rotor connection or cap. Worth a look.

Re: Pelelieu. The documentary I saw on that said it was THE bloodiest battle of the island hopping campaign. Worse even than Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. I can't begin to imagine the horrors those guys went through. It saddens me that the last of the few are going to be gone soon. We owe them so much. I for one am eternally grateful that I don't wake up in the morning having to speak Japanese or German.

Ok, off to exercise my democratic right to vote. The polling station looked really busy when I drove by there at 9:15 on the way to the leaching center. The missus will be ready shortly so I just have time to touch base. Funny thing at the leaching center. The lady lab tech asked what nationality my Dr was because his last name is Sardesai. I smiled at her and asked if she was hitting on him. She laughed and said she was just curious. No not oriental, but somewhere in the Mediterranean. He's a very nice fellow - so far. I need to make a follow up appointment with him to discuss the results of the lab work.

Tight schedule. Gotta be back here for the insulation guy to go up in the attic and give us a quote. Later, crocodiles....

slantflat

Hi everyone.

Beautiful out. No wind, really nice. It could be warmer but with all the sun it feels warm.

Chiro today. Also going to trade in my beans for pie. Not enough people bringing dessert and no one wanted green beans anyway. So I'll stop at the store on the way home.

So here's something weird. I was laying in bed the other night and I thought I kept seeing a little green flash. Sort of like the ready light on a smoke detector. Except there isn't a smoke detector in that room. So I got up to look, and it was the light bulb in the ceiling fixture. It was the curly cue looking CFL. The fan was going so I turned it off, thinking, electricity was bleeding through to the light. Nope, it still flashed. So I removed it. Weird. It's been in there for years, wonder if it's been doing that the whole time. I put a regular 60w in. I don't want that thing to blow up or something when I'm not around.

Okay have a good afternoon everyone.

Vintage Chief

Mike- If that CFL is on a dimmer switch or illuminate switch that is normal.

redoldsman

Allan, I have replaced the cap, rotor, wires, resistor and coil. I have checked voltage. Still have the miss. It does not act like a fuel issue. I am going to put the Pertronix back in later today and see. This thing is driving me nuts. It just isn't that much to this simple ignition system.

Vintage Chief

Glenn- Like Allan suggested. Although, if it were me, if you dropped points/condenser back in I’d start w/ dwell>timing FIRST to ensure you’re hitting TDC when those distributor lobes are spinning.

Allan R

Glenn - Have you pulled the spark plugs to see if you have one that's dirty or not gapped properly? I'd check those also because if the other components of the electrical are working fine, the only other thing that could cause a dead cylinder is a faulty plug.

redoldsman

I checked the compression and the plugs. Compression is 110-115 on all cylinders which is not bad for an old engine. A couple of the plugs were wet like they had not been firing. I have the distributor out and am going to put the Pertronix back in. The only thing I have thought about is if the distributor is getting a good ground to the block. I think that is a long shot but it is something like that. The timing did not change from where it was although it is off a little since I had the distributor out but it is close enough to start. Puzzled.

Vintage Chief

Obviously, you know the couple of plugs which were wet are not firing at the correct time. So, swap those two plugs with two other plugs. Fire it up and see if they're still wet. If they are still running wet, then it's going to be either the plugs themselves or the wires leading to those spark plugs. Even new wires can sometimes not be 'good' wires (ask me how I know this). And, be certain you have both ends of those two wet spark plug wires seated firmly in their end casings - sometimes they're a bugger - I've buggered them up thinking they were seated firmly only to find they were not.

redoldsman

Thanks Norm but I have changed the entire set of plugs and replaced the plug wires. It sure acts like and ignition issue but maybe it isn't. I have been fooling with this stuff a long time but this one has me puzzled.

Vintage Chief

The point which I try to go back to is your statement: Something changed at the time you put the Pertronix on the system. What was it?

Vintage Chief

Glenn- You said a couple things which I wouldn't necessarily be comfortable with - but, that is just me - and, I'm a stickler on tune-ups. I HAVE to know the engine is sitting at the EXACT dwell (on a points system) - good enough to start is yeah, exactly that - good enough to start. That means the gap in the points are good enough to start. It says nothing about the point gap being set at exactly 30*@ at 1100RPM. That would tell me (on a points system) that each lobe on the distributor is opening and closing the electrical field to the coil at the absolute correct time. This can ONLY occur when #1 is at TDC. You cannot move forward with adjusting timing until the dwell is set correctly - there is just absolutely no way of getting around this.

When you say the "The timing did not change from where it was although it is off a little since I had the distributor out but it is close enough to start." That doesn't really say anything to me. Close enough to start is just that, but tough to nail down a engine miss. Sorry. If you had the distributor out, and you're saying the timing is off a little, throw up some numbers. A little can mean a lot, but w/o numbers there's no diagnosis. Sorry, but there isn't. You need 30* Dwell w/ #1 @ TDC and 12* BTDC for a sbo. Not carved in stone w/ a Pertronix since the IGN SW in the dizzie of an HEI reads the dizzie lobes and is not dependent on the mechanical opening & closing of the points. So, being at TDC is not necessarily the issue w/ a Pertronix. However, w/ that said, you are only offered several 'spots' in which to set the distributor when installing the Pertronix I believe - is that not correct? I don't know what they are, but don't you get like three or four places to set the distributor for HEI? You sure you set the Pertronix correctly during install? Then, when you removed the distributor again, you sure you're at #1 TDC for the points? Just trying to help you figure out what changed when you installed the Pertronix.

Vintage Chief

To completely weed out an engine oiling issue, you'd really need to perform both a dry & wet compression test on each cylinder - in particular the cylinders which had the spark plugs which were wet. 1st to determine if it's engine oil or gasoline, which can be done on a paper tissue; 2nd, determine if the compression test on the wet spark plug cylinders increases when injected with oil during the compression test.

redoldsman

Thanks for the suggestions Norm. This is one of the old distributors that you have to set the points with a feeler gauge. You will never get then exactly to 30 degrees. I could put a 56 or 57 distributor in it with the external adjustment points. Here is where I am this afternoon. The Pertronix is back in and I had marked the distributor when I took it out. The car cranked right up although I had to set the idle up to keep it running. If I set the timing where it belongs the car dies. I understand about dry and wet compression checks but I know I have enough compression for the car to run okay. Might check again when I get the miss out of it. So here is what I think it is. A vacuum leak under the carb. If I spray starting fluid under the right side of the carb when the car is running it seems to smooth out for a brief moment. I believe a vacuum leak could cause the kind of miss I have. The entire ignition system other than the distributor is new. It is a steady miss which indicates to me it is not fuel. I will probably pull the carb off tomorrow. I rebuilt it about 4 years ago but that was with a kit from Fusick which like most any of them is from China. Carb mounting bolts are tight. Maybe it will just be a base gasket if I am lucky. More to come guys. Stay tuned.
Glenn

Vintage Chief

Well, Glenn, you know what - I figured you'd heard enough of me, but guess what. I was going to tell you exactly the same thing you just described - a vacuum leak.
BTW, I have the same old distributor in which I can adjust mine to exactly 30* - in fact, I rebuilt my old distributor last year.
Anyways, yes a vacuum leak can present this issue for sure.
Here's the best way to go about what you're doing though.
I do hope you have a vacuum gauge - you should own or borrow a vacuum gauge to diagnose this issue.

I will say once again though, ensure you are spot-on w/ your timing. You need to be @ 12* BTDC; and I'll explain in terms of the Pertronix, as well.
Hook up your vacuum gauge to a 'manifold' vacuum source - the ATM manifold is the best manifold vacuum to perform this.
Hook up a 'T' if you can, or go directly into the manifold.
Start the engine and let it idle at operating running temperature. Read your vacuum - you want to achieve between 17"Hg - 20"Hg. Turn both the LH and the RH carburetor idle screws either inward or outward to achieve the absolute HIGHEST vacuum you can achieve and write down what the vacuum pressure is.
Again, you should be able to achieve a "STEADY" 17" Hg to 20" Hg.
If you cannot establish between 17" Hg to 20" Hg you have a vacuum leak.
If you can achieve the highest vacuum and it is w/in the realm of 17" Hg to 20" Hg; AND, the vehicle still has a miss here are two suggestions (barring you have no vacuum leak):
(1) HEI systems like manifold vacuum as opposed to carburetor PORTED vacuum. So, consider switching your Pertronix vacuum advance from ported to manifold; and,
(2) Consider advancing your timing an additional 5*

Vintage Chief

BTW, Glenn- you know when you set the points w/ a feeler gauge, the stock distributor has a metal sliding plate to open a window which allows you to "dial-in" the exact dwell. In doing so, you are really doing nothing more than setting the EXACT dwell of the distributor via the POINTS gap. That metal plate with the Alan screw inside does nothing more than open and close the points to the exact dwell the distributor lobes need to open and close the electrical field to the coil. Since dwell refers to how long the points remain closed, increasing the dwell causes the points to close a bit sooner and open a bit later as points ride over the dizzie cam.

Vintage Chief

Glenn- Before you go too far w/ pulling your carburetor off, do the obvious first. This started when you installed the Pertronix.
(1) Check every one of your vacuum lines to make sure none are loose, cracked, and hooked up to the right ports - including the brake booster port;
(2) Ensure if you have any emissions stuff not hooked up, they're plugged correctly; and,
(3) Put those hose clips on your ports if they need it to secure the vacuum line.

Finally, a little trick.
If you have a stock Quad-Jet and it's the base plate you suspect has the vacuum leak - simply turn the gasket over and reinstall. It should be the exact same intake manifold openings but upside downside.

redoldsman

Norm, this is my 54 Olds. There was no emission stuff in 1954, not even a PCV valve. It has a Rochester 4GC carb on it. I have checked the 3 vacuum hoses I have including the one to the power brakes which are under the floor. I feel pretty comfortable it is a vacuum leak at the base gasket since the engine speeds up when I spray starting fluid at the base of the carb on the right side. Thanks for the tip on flipping the gasket over. It is supposed to be raining here tomorrow so it will be a good time to be in the garage if the wind is not blowing too strong.

Greg Rogers

I think you are on the right track, Glenn. I found a vacuum leak at the carb base gasket on my 71 350 after looking all over at other less obvious things ( I know completely different engine) I also had a miss on a 78 Olds 350 that was on the same cylinder that the vacuum advance came off of on the intake manifold. Ended up being the vacuum advance plunger deally had a ruptured diaphragm causing a vacuum leak to that cylinder which didn't fire well at idle. Fixing both these things on these 2 different cars smoothed out the miss. Good luck, You'll get it! Greg.
Most the snow is melted here again. I sure would like a spring sunny day but it seems to be gloomy/cloudy...

Jamesbo

Blue bird day down here

Gonna plow my garden

Have a great day Olds friends

Vintage Chief

Glenn - I owned a 1953 GMC 5-Window Pick-Em-Up truck w/ the 228 Stovebolt Six 3-on-the-tree for awhile back in 70s. Loved the ease at which I could work on that truck. Nice show-stopper w/ those side opera windows in it. I did a frame-on restoration. Cool old truck.

Vintage Chief

I'm always amazed how long it takes to get anything done these days.

The Empire State Building took one year and 45 days to build, ~seven million man-hours among 3400 (hard-working) men. It's 103 stories tall (1,250 feet to top floor). That's eleven and one-half months!
It took the construction crews around here five years to build a 1/8 mile bridge and 5 mile adjoining four lane highway.

Golf game has been making significant improvements. Fairways are a least one month ahead of normal growth thanks to all the rain, a mild winter and warm spring. Nice to have some grass under my *****!

Jamesbo

Vintage Chief

Plowed garden looks nice, Jim. Did he give you much trouble pulling the walking plow?

slantflat

Hi everyone.

Beautiful out. It seems warm until you think about it then it seems cool. But it beats cold and rain.

Lunch went over well today. Lots of food and we sat around for the longest time afterward. Still finished up a little early. I've been working in inspection this week and the lead came and told me the official news; we(the mechanics) aren't taking over the wheel inspection, and he isn't sending any more people to school. So it's me and the other guy. He said we'd only have to go work there one week out of the month, and that would be to keep us current. I mean, we went to the class and have been certified Level One Special, why waste it. I think this is rather acceptable, since the rumor is three mechanics are getting leveled out because we are now overstaffed. One of those would be the fat a$$hole that causes all the trouble, and another would be the Irritating man.

Jamesbo in that picture of the garden, what is inside the rock wall on the right side of the picture? I love that look. Wish I had enough rocks to do that sort of thing.

I can't decide what to do this afternoon. Run errands or mow. I should go to bed, I'm plum tuckered. That probably wouldn't work out the way I'd like it to. So I'll go find something. Have a good afternoon everyone.