It's Finally Bazooka Time Again!

 I watched The Prizefighter and the Lady on TCM yesterday morning - old film from 1933. Not exactly great cinema but it starred Myrna Loy and Max Baer so I tuned in. The denouement* was the big championship match between Max and Primo Carnera and was refereed by Jack Dempsey. All great heavyweight fighters from the past. 

And then later on I got a call from Bazooka Joe - he's fighting in Des Moines, Iowa next Friday and wanted to know if I could work his corner. Unfortunately, I had to turn him down. Joe says he's been training steady, doing some trail running as well as speed work and working on some of the things he needed to improve. This will be Joe's second pro fight and his opponent's first. Joe's been waiting to get a fight since his pro debut in December of 2018 that ended with Joe stopping the guy in the 2nd round. I think that's the last time I was at a fight - been way too long. I did renew my coaching license for the year which included taking the new Green Level exam, updating me from the Legacy Level I. The way things are going, I'll be lucky to have an opportunity to use it this year. I haven't heard anything definite but I'm assuming the Golden Gloves is cancelled again this year. Just like with the schools being affected, the virus has been playing hell with amateur sports programs. Damn shame.

After I did a bit more snow shoveling, I ran over to the storage space to check to see if the plates I made for the engine stand were going to work. The plates look good but I need a couple of different bolts. I had measured the diameter of the holes in the cases with a tape measure and it looked like a 7/16" would work but no go. The threaded part of the bolt will start in the hole but not the body. I'll have to get a couple of metric bolts or take the time to go through the boxes and see if I can find the ones that hold the motor in the frame. 

Looking at the photo, The old Yamaha doesn't look much like the BSA a couple of posts back. In fact, it doesn't look like anything more than a clapped out 43 year old basket  case. That being exactly what it is. However, I prefer to look at it as a diamond in the rough. If it wasn't for the fact that I had rented the storage space, I would have taken a pass on these gems. I didn't need any more projects but a quasi-flat tracker should be fun. I can make a track around the perimeter of the corn field and have a few giggles - at least until I crash hard and break another wrist or collar bone.

Didn't do anything in the shop other than cleaning up and putting the tools away. Might work on making some parts for the side hustle today and maybe a little something on the jitney.

* Big word I learned in a film appreciation class I took in college years ago. The only elective I took in all those years of schooling that wasn't something trade related. Fun class - watched classic films and ate popcorn.