Thursday, January 1, 2009
I took advatage of the day off to get some work done on the TT front wheels, filling some cracks and sanding them. I hope to start painting them this weekend. Another thing I did today was to write a commentary on doing it yourself. Tonight I made some cornbread and had it with black eyed peas for dinner. That's the traditional New Year's meal for good luck in the coming year.
Friday, January 2, 2009
I spent over four hours sanding spokes on those TT front wheels, and painting the carburetor off the touring. After an hour off to do some grocery shopping and go to the bank, I did another couple of hours sanding. I was going to do some sandblasting, but didn't get to it. I'll have to take care of that in the morning, before the weather goes south.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What a wonderful day! I lazed in bed until almost seven, then I went to town and finished sanding spokes, and put the first coat of paint on the TT front wheels. I also put the second coat of paint on the carb for the touring. I can start reassembling that carburetor tomorrow. By the time I got home about eleven the temperature was over 50º and the humidity was under 50%, so I was able to have a sandblasting session of over four hours. I finished the two front rims, did the spindles, and the running boards, and the rear radius rods. I also did the timing gear cover for the Packard, as it needs new paint before I put it back on the car. Then I took all those parts to town and did more painting. I painted the other side of the two font wheels I did this morning, then I painted those two front rims and put them in the oven to cook. If I can get the second coat on the rims tomorrow, they should be ready to mount when the new tires arrive next week. By the time spring arrives in 77 days I hope to have the TT chassis reassembled enough to be able to roll it around. Then I'll start on the engine and transmission.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
In another burst of progress, today I painted the rear radius rods that you see me sandblasting in the picture, finished painting the rims, and finished most of the carburetor reassembly.
Monday, January 5, 2009
This afternoon I got the spindles and spindle arms painted. Doing a little each day, I'll have it all back together eventually.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Today I took the rims out of the oven, and took them to the tire shop to have the new tires mounted. I expected to see tire changing machinery used, but the old fashioned tires are installed the old fashioned way, with a prybar. Knowing that, I'll do it myself next time, and save $21.36.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The replacement carburetor bowl for the touring arrived this morning, so after work I painted it and put it in the oven to cook. The only work I did on the TT was to dig through a box of old nuts and bolts and find a tie bolt and nut for the front springs. All I had to do to the bolt was shorten it to 21/2 inches and add more threads.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Drat! I tried to finish that carburetor today, and found that the fitting which holds the bowl in place wouldn't hold the bowl in place. Not enough of the threads left for it to screw into. Tomorrow I'll see if the carburetor from the TT will work as a substitute.
Friday, January 9, 2009
After work this morning and a little shopping, I was home by eleven and took advantage of the warm weather to get down to the woodlot and bring in more firewood. I spent about three hours partially cutting up a dead tree and splitting some of the pieces. The temperature was over 60º, and I soon warmed up so much I had to switch from wool cap to straw hat. I split about half the pieces, which looked like a week's worth, and my back told me that was enough for today. On the automotive front, I did look at the carburetor on the TT and it appears good enough to substitute on the touring. The touring is a 1923 and the TT is a 1924, but the two vehicles were made only four months apart, and they used the same carburetor. If the TT's carburetor works, I'll use it to run the touring while I repair or replace the bad one.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
After doing laundry, I spent the cold day indoors. The carburetor off the TT looks good, so I spent the day dismantling, cleaning, and painting it. Tomorrow I'll put it back together and, if there's time, I'll try it out. I thought I'd go to a movie this evening, but when I arrived at the theater there was a long line that extended out the door. I wasn't about to stand out in freezing weather waiting for people to buy their overpriced junk food while I missed the first reel of the show, so I went back and finished painting carburetor parts.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Today I reassembled the carburetor, but didn't have time to try it out. Maybe tomorrow.
Monday, January 12, 2009
It worked! Today I put that carburetor on the car and tried it out. It took a little adjusting, but I got the car running pretty much he way it's supposed to. The ammeter showed no charge, though, so it seems the generator needs attention.
Tuesday, January 13, 2008
No mechanical work today. I took the afternoon off to wash dishes and make some cornbread.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Ford shop manual says the generator problem may be a dirty commutator. I'll clean it up and see if that cures the lack of charge.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Brrrrr! With a morning low of 9º and a high around 20º, I spent some time this afternoon bringing in wood and getting some heat in the house. The stove in the kitchen does its job really well. When I got home it was 28º in there, and in about a half hour the stove had it up to 70º. I hope that this spring and summer I can find the time to build up a bigger wood supply. I'm being pretty stingy with the wood supply this winter to make it last. Just 66 days until spring.
Friday, January 16, 2009
This was the day to do a little shopping and run a few other errands. I also visited a local real estate office where they want me to help with their website. I have my doubts about taking on the chore, but I guess I'll do it if it doesn't take up too much time. I took some time to do a little on the TT project, preparing the drive shaft case for sandblasting. I'll take care of that job on one of these warm afternoons that's predicted in the next few days.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
I tinkered with the touring car this morning, then went to an auction in Winfield at 10:00. I went to take a look at the tools that were advertised. There were several items of interest, but it was obvious that the auctioneers were going to spend several hours slogging through a sea of junk you couldn't pay me to haul away. I went back to tinkering. I cleaned the commutator in the generator, but that didn't cure the lack of a charge. I was hoping for an easy fix, but electric problems can sometimes drive you nuts. After about three hours I went back to the auction and found they were still far from anything I wanted, so I went and took care of a little more shopping. When I returned to the auction they were on the furniture. There were some chairs I wouldn't mind having, but the bidding went higher than I was willing to pay. Finally, late in the afternoon, they got to the tools. I bought four good hammers, 52 combination wrenches from 1/4" to 15/16", a couple of 1/2" ratchets, and over 100 sockets. I paid a total of $39.50, which works out to about 3¢ per item. That's the kind of shopping I like.
This evening I went to see Eastwood's Gran Torino. Often when sitting through previews full of thundering noise and MTV quick cuts I find myself wondering, "Can't we have something for grownups, about something real?" Well, this picture is one of those. A good story well told, with some wonderful writing brought to the screen by a great director.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The warm day arrived, and I spent the afternoon outside, sandblasting that TT driveshaft case. As the sun moved behind the barn and the shade spread over my work area it became mre and more difficult to see what I was doing. Before my next blasting session I'll have to put a new plastic window in my hood.
Monday, January 19, 2009
When I got home from work today I split firewood. There are always chores to take time away from other work. In the winter it's cutting and splitting wood, and in the summer it's yardwork and mowing.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
This morning my doctor carved a persistent scab off my cheek. He's sending it for lab work to find out if it was anyting serious. After work I took the Suburban to town and left it at the garage to see if they can find a replacement for the bent rear axle shaft, then Zeke and I walked home.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Most of my time after work today was spent on grocery shopping and bringing in firewood.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
I used the warm afternoon, over 60º, to split more wood. The forecast is for highs in the thirties this weekend, so more wood will come in handy.
Friday, January 23, 2009
This was the day for a variety of chores. I took the title for the defunct Buick to the salvage yard and got a check for $50. I took the sandblasted TT torque tube to town and painted the top of it. I shopped for groceries, and I took the generator from the '23 touring to the electric shop so the rebuilder can check it out to see what repairs it needs.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
I started out at 6:00 AM and drove to Hutchinson for the midwinter Model T clinic, which this year was devoted to pouring and boring babbitt bearings. No matter how well written a description is, to understand a process you can't beat watching the job being done. After the clinic I headed home. In Wichita I did my most unfavorite kind of shopping, where you go from store to store looking for something that should be easy to find. In this case it was just an ordinary men's cap. Not a baseball cap with sports logos all over it, just a simple men's cap. After having no luck at Wal-Mart, KMart, and Sears, I found one that was OK at Dillard's. BUT, it was $27.60, marked down drom $46! Finally, I found one, and only one in my size, at Penney's, for $20. For someone as Scotch as me, $20 is still pretty high for a cap, but I realized that I wasn't likely to do any better anywhere else, so I bought it. I went to dinner at Buffet City, where I observed once again that buffets attract a lot of very large people. After a very full day, I arrived home about nine PM.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Since I was off to Hutchinson yesterday, today was laundry day. After doing the wash I finshed painting the TT torque tube and worked on some other parts.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Today I had a date with the dental hygienist. By the time I finshed there and gassed up the car, the afternoon was spent. I didn't want to take the time to build a fire to heat the kitchen and then get dinner, so I went and ate at Chinese Chef.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
After work I took Zeke to the vet to get his stitches out, then I went to pay for the Suburban. It just had a new rear axle shaft installed to cure a wobbling wheel.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Today it was my turn to have stitches removed. I got the news that the piece of my face that the doc carved off last week was a case of actinic keratosis, not a skin cancer. It's nice not to have something serious.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Today was the beginning of the warmup. After several days with highs in the teens and twenties, this afernoon we got up to 40º. My TT chore was installing new bushings in the spindles.
Friday, January 30, 2009
As usual, after leaving work about nine AM I did a little grocery shopping. After taking the car home, Zeke and I walked back into town to get the Suburban. While in town I visited the real estate office where they want me to help operate their website. I guess I'll ake it on if it doesn't take up too much time. We'll see how that goes. Back at home, I moved the Dixon mower from the west end of the shop, where it was parked in front of the tractor, back to its usual location in the east room of the shop. Then I spent most of the afternoon splitting wood.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
I took advantage of a beautiful warm, sunny day and spent several hours on barn cleaning. I cut up wood scraps for firewood, stacked leftover sheetrock, filled a trash barrel with lots of junk, and swept out cottonwood leaves which had blown in during the fall. The object of all this activity was to clear space for the mowing tractor, currently parked in the west room of the shop, where I want to put the Model T touring when I bring it home. With just 49 days until spring, there will be more and more days suitable for joyriding in a touring car.