No Dogs Or Irish

 

No dogs, anyway. I put a mile in yesterday before it started raining - wanted to get in three but you never know what the weather's going to be this time of year.

The new sprockets have been shipped along with some Heim joints for the radiator support rods. Did some cogitating on the brake lines and the radiator hoses. I need to bolt the water pump on the block and see what I'm going to need to do to get the lower radiator hose hooked up. The pump outlet is smaller than the radiator outlet, and it looks like it might be a bit tricky to get it plumbed without kinking a hose. I'm about caught up on the running around, so I'm planning on working on the car today for at least a little while.

I'm taking the dog to the vet again tomorrow. Looks like the rain will be gone. I'm planning on hiking a bit at the arboretum not too far from there while the dog's having his repair work done - need to get my 75 miles in before the end of May.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #22

 

Surly got me this one for me from the House of Chingasos. When I worked at my first teaching gig years back, one of the guys started calling me chief and it stuck. In Spanish Chief is Jefe and about half of my guys spoke Spanish, so the shirt works that way. Plus, the skeleton on the bike is plenty cool - so that works too. And, Surly knows of my affection for cool tee shirts, so we're looking at a tee shirt hat trick. 

Things are greening up around here but it's been unseasonably cold - there was snow on the ground Saturday morning when I got up and the daytime high temperatures have been in the mid thirties. I went for a walk yesterday and it was just above freezing when I left. It wasn't a bad day to be out. The sun was out and there was only a slight breeze, and since I've been out in the weather all winter, I'm conditioned for the cold. It'll take me at least three weeks to get used to the hot weather when it finally comes, like it always does.

Since it's been cold and I've been reading a few books, I haven't done much on the projects. I started working on the jitney steering but I'm going to order a couple of larger sprockets before continuing. The ones I have are 2-1/2" but if I have to put much tension on the idler sprocket both runs of the chain will be damn near touching. I'm getting a couple of 3" to give me a bit of cushion and I think the chain will run around the sprockets a little more smoothly. Got plenty to do in the mean time.

Book Reviews

 

I bought this one on the cheap from Amazon. It was published in 2008, so it's a little outdated, but it sums up my political views pretty accurately. Leave me alone and keep your hand out of my pocket. The book offers a plan to straighten things out but I think the time for that has passed. It does a real good job of explaining how we got into the mess we're currently in, however.

I just finished this one yesterday - just the thing to feed my paranoia. I wasn't aware of any of Dr. Fauci's background or his involvement in public "health" prior to his dealings with covid. His dealings with HIV & AIDS was an eye-opener. I wouldn't want that on my resume. Thousands of people have died due to his policies and the others involved with him over the years. No way he should have been calling the shots for covid. Scary stuff has gone on. It's a bit tough to read trying to keep all the players and the organizations straight, but it's a definite must read. Well researched and documented.

Clamp It, Jed!

 

The plastic handle on the chicken waterer broke recently. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience when the temperatures were below freezing since all I needed to do was move it outside the door, flip it over and pour water in. However, now that the temps are warming up, I turned the water back on to the sillcock so I can use the hose up close to the house to clean and fill, and then I have to carry the waterer back to the coop - it's a lot easier with a handle.

At both of the high schools I worked at, I had a Hossfeld #2 bender in the shop. They're just about the handiest thing going in a fab shop. The standard kit came with several attachments, a couple of which I never used, and a couple I used quite often. I also had tube bending dies I bought. There was one piece that was for bending square corners and another that was used on top of the bender for bending up round rings or making radius bends. 

The aluminum piece in the photo is the new handle for the chicken waterer. I would have used the square corner bending attachment if I had one for my Chinese baby-sized bender. Not that bending the piece in the photo was a toughie - it's that it's easy to control the finished size using the attachment. In my case, the handle needed to fit inside a couple of ears on top of the waterer, so the size had to be pretty close.

I've been thinking about making an attachment like that for my bender but I don't know how useful it would be with the small size of my bender. I would get some use out of the one for bending rings. Maybe add that to my wish list.

The clamps in the photo were only $2.99 each at Harbor Freight the other day. They seem to be well made and at that price, I think I'll keep them in the shop and maybe pick up another couple for the wood shop next time I go there. I was looking for a couple of the heavy duty 18" bar/spreader clamps. The cheapie ones break if you squeeze the handle too hard. The HD ones are supposed to have 375 lbs of clamping force but since they're plastic, they're pretty bulky. I took a pass on those. I might buy a couple more of the cheapies, I'll just have to remember to go easy on the squeezin'.

Another Pic

 

Another photo with the new phone. I played around with it yesterday to start getting the feel for it. It's got a "pro" setting where you can set the white balance, brightness, contrast, add effects and all kinds of other jazz. Now that I know about it, I'll have to spend some time getting comfortable with everything. It's said spring is supposedly on the way, so I'll have to get out on the motor bike and take some shots after it warms up - might be snow in a day or two. Speaking of motor bikes, my buddy called me on Sunday with an update on the Ducati motor for the vintage trials bike. He tells me he's pretty close to being done with it. 

I worked on my taxes yesterday again. I've about got everything ready to go to the tax lady next week. I need to pull out last years to make sure I haven't forgotten anything she'll need and organize it all. I'll get that done in the next couple of days. I have to start taking my Minimum Required Distribution on my retirement accounts. I've got until the end of the year but I've got an appointment with one of the advisors next week. I'm curious as to what he's going to tell me, since I'm afraid the stock market is going to crash one of these days soon and I don't know of any other investment that's going to pay anything close to what the inflation rate is.

I did get the sheet metal on the dash hood wrapped around the stiffening rod yesterday. Not much of an accomplishment really, but now all the opening around the cockpit is done. I like how it looks - nice rounded edge on everything and it's plenty stiff.

Test

 

I had to take the dog to the vet yesterday to get his teeth cleaned and ran a bunch of errands while I was out. I went to Harbor Freight to pick up a couple of new style clamps, a back brace and the bundle of grinder stuff that has grinding, cut-off and flap wheels. It's a really good deal at $9.99. On the way home I stopped at Target since they're the Consumer Cellular dealer.

My old flip phone has been acting up and trying to type anything for a text was a super-duper pain in the ass. Either nothing happened when you pushed down on a key or it would double strike. It took pictures but the quality wasn't much to write home about. I upgraded to a cheapie smart phone and now I'll have to figure out how to work all of the features. The tech guy transferred all of my contacts for me and gave me a quick run down. I can call out and answer an incoming call, take a photo and a selfie, and send a photo to my laptop, as seen above. Nice photos as well. I'll have to decide if I even want to fiddle with accessing the internet but for the time being, get a protective cover and use the phone as a phone and as a camera instead of my old digital.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #21

 

Might be tough to tell from the photo but the imprint says Houston Police. I got this one as a gift from a former student of mine - I'm not sure where the oil/grease splatters came from. When he was in class, he helped me out on a variety of projects, including working after school. We've stayed in touch over the years after he moved to Houston. He worked a variety of welding jobs after graduating, including running a small business of his own. He finally got hired onto the Houston Police force after years of trying. Last time I saw him he was up this way visiting his mother and needed some help with a repair job he was doing for her. I cut some wood for him on the table saw and chop saw and we had lunch. I really need to call him and see how he's doing.

Since I'm not planning on running a speedometer on the jitney, no need for the speedometer cable. However, the cable has a 2" diameter plastic plug on the end of it that the cable runs through. The cable isn't in the middle but rather is offset with four different spots that are marked with ratio numbers. Depending on the gear you're running, you spin the plug around to give you the proper speed reading. The plug has slots in it and the keeper has a couple of legs with turned down tips that hold it in the trans and keep it from spinning. 

I made the blank-off plug to close up the hole in the trans first as seen in the top photo and then when I was going to push it into the trans I thought, how will I get it back out if need be? The O-ring will keep it in there snugly and the top flange sits down into a recess so you won't be able to get a grip on it. I chucked it back up in the lathe and drilled and tapped it for a 1/4" screw, being careful not to drill all the way through the piece. I put a set screw in the hole and while I was tightening it up got to thinking about unscrewing it later on when it was in the trans. If the setscrew seizes up the whole plug will rotate when trying to remove the setscrew to install a slide hammer or eyebolt. Because of that, I drilled a couple of holes in it that matched one of the wrenches for a small grinder. 

I should have thought the whole thing through better before starting, but it worked out and it's installed. It'll be a while before there's any oil behind it, but if it leaks I should be able to get it back out again without too much fuss.

That's All Right Mama

 

This was recorded two days before the tenth anniversary of Elvis's death. Surly and I were in Memphis for a motorcycle race that weekend. We were planning on going to Graceland but the crowds were more than I wanted to deal with and it was hotter then the hub bolts of hell that weekend - wouldn't have been much fun standing in line. We did make it to the Carl Perkins Museum on another trip. It was next door to the Chatanooga Choo-Choo Motel, as I recall. We got to see the blue suede shoes and his fringed coat. About as exciting as seeing Elvis's K model Harley at Niagra Falls, the Corn Palace or Wall Drugs. Now you can see why I miss traveling so much. Cuzzin Ricky and I still haven't seen the world's largest ball of twine. Next trip to Kansas.

I got the transmission mount installed on the jitney. A small milestone but an important one. The engine and transmission are at the proper 3 degree inclination, so it's all good there.

I'm going to work on wrapping the sheet metal around the support rod on the dash hood and work on getting the steering hooked up next. I need to weld the shock mounts onto the radius rods and get the braided steel brake lines ordered for the front brakes. Steady by jerks, like always.

Got out and walked three miles yesterday. Had to go solo but I need to get 25 miles in on the month to stay on pace. Unless it's real windy today, I'll get out on the bike today. I'm planning on hiking a bit tomorrow at the arboretum. I was a member there a few years back and I'm thinking of joining again. It's a nice place to walk around and to take photographs. If you're a member you can bring a carload of people in at no cost - nice place for the boxing coaches to do our Sunday walks.

Road Trip!

 

Cuzzin Ricky was looking to buy a piece of equipment in Michigan, so I was invited along with the promise of breakfast and pie. As it ended up, we skipped breakfast but stopped at Crane's Pie Pantry for lunch and pie instead. I had been there a couple of times before, it was only about 20 miles from where we were and it was right on the way home. I had a veggie burger and a piece of pie and I bought a whole one to bring home. Crane's has been in business since 1916 and in addition to the winery and non-alcoholic ciders, they have various flavors of hard cider. I bought a can of the apple flavor to sample. I'm hoping to make some cider of my own again this year, rather than letting the apples go to waste again. I made apple wine before but I'd like to try my hand at making some hard cider.

It was really nice getting out again. This was the first trip we've taken in over two years. Next up will be a trip to a race track. Time to get back out into the world. We talked at lunch about going back to Alaska and both of us want to go to Hawaii. We're not getting any younger, maybe do both of those next year.

Corned Beef, Gargoyles & Whiskey In The Jar

Broke training yesterday like I always do on St. Patrick's Day. On my way home from the meat market I saw an old lady out by the road at the end of her driveway. I didn't think much about it until she flagged me down. I rolled the window down and she asked me to call her cell phone. She had been working in the yard, laid it down and couldn't find it. She gave me the number and we found it when it started ringing. She seems like a nice old bird - maybe 80 but pretty spry. She's one of those who puts her hand on your arm when she's talking to you. She gave me the condensed version of her life story while my corned beef was getting cold in the truck but I enjoyed the conversation and was glad I could help.

I got some pieces cut out that will get welded to the frame for the transmission mount to bolt to. Had I been a little more ambitious, I could have gotten them tacked together and fit to the frame. However, I did get another bike ride in and got a bit more work done in the basement. Got a few things tossed out. Still got a ways to go until it's ready to occupy for a few days at a time in an emergency but it'll happen. 

The chain for the steering on the jitney showed up yesterday. I ordered some goggles at the same time. Since I had my cataract surgery, I don't need glasses for driving but I need eye protection and the law requires you to have eye protection with you when riding your motorcycle. These will work with the open face helmet I bought last year. Might be a little over-kill for riding around town but they're hard to beat if you get caught out in the rain or riding next to a freshly worked farm field on a day like Wednesday with gusts blowing that sandy loam into your face. These have the studs for tear-offs - that really would be over-kill, though.

The local radio station was playing some Irish music and Irish performers yesterday and they featured Irish Rockers Thin Lizzy in their Then & Again segment - the same song done by two different performers. Not exactly a traditional rendition of the ballad, but that's why I listen to that station. 

St. Paddy's Day

 

And a grand day to one and all. 

I received an updated report from Ancestry recently, and while I'm definitely a mutt, 12% of me is Irish, so that should allow me to celebrate a bit today. I'm planning on having corn beef and cabbage today from the local meat market. Might even have a wee dram of Irish whiskey as well. 

Yesterday the weather was about 98% perfect in my book. Sunny, temps in the low seventies but just a bit too breezy to peg the meter at perfect. I went out for a bike ride in the early afternoon. Easy 16 miles per hour heading north, struggle to do half that heading back in. Good muscle builder, however. 

I went out to the shop later to finish making the parts for the trans mount and found another racoon in the trap. Fortunately, my set-up to keep the trap on the boards worked well. Unfortunately, just as I swung the trap over the side of the attic ceiling, the little darling decided it was the perfect time for a bowl evacuation. The part that hit the floor wasn't so bad but I didn't appreciate getting it on the rungs of the ladder below me. 

I didn't get anything done on the jitney after that. By the time I cleaned everything up and dispatched the 'coon, it was time to get myself cleaned up for my appointment at the "massage parlor". In addition to typical deep muscle massage, I get a half hour session of Cranial Sacro Therapy (CST). I'm not sure how valid the whole concept of CST is, but it does seem to help me a bit. Might be the placebo effect, but as long as I think it works, it does work. No doubt about the regular massage, though. When my back muscles tighten up, the chest muscles tighten up and then I'm in constant discomfort. Nothing I would describe as pain but definitely an irritant. Felt really good last evening after dinner. Actually, what I felt was nothing - no tightness in the chest or back. I can feel a little something in the back this morning but nothing like before my appointment. I really should have taken better care of myself when I was younger.

Going out to the shop later today and I've got some things to do on updating my preps. Tornado season will be here soon and I want to get a bit more prepared for all of us to be comfortable down the basement, including the dog and the cat. Lots of buzz about nuclear war these days but that's not really much of a concern for me. If I move some of my camping stuff down there and get a place to sleep, I could live down there damn near permanently. From what I've read, depending on your distance from the blast, a couple of weeks and a couple of good rains and you should be safe enough to go back outside. I don't know how contaminated the main living space in the house would be, though. If I thought a nuclear attack was a real threat I'd invest in a Geiger counter or just put my head between my knees and kiss my ass good-bye.  

Trans Mount

 

I finished the trans mount yesterday - came out nice. I bolted it to the trans and figured out what I need for the frame brackets. I'll work on those today.

Since the weather was so nice yesterday, I went for a bike ride - nine miles. It's supposed to be warm again today, so I'll try and get out again. I'm sure glad it's warming up. I like working with the big shop doors open. Much more pleasant without the noise from the heater. I did swat my first mosquito of the season the other day - rare that it's a perfect day but yesterday was close. Just needed to be a few degrees warmer.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #20

 

Wonderful sentiment for these troubled times. 

I've been thinking about Ireland quite a bit lately. I was over there a few years back at this time of the year. The Chicago public television station was doing one of their fundraisers Saturday which featured Celtic Woman, a group of ladies singing Irish songs from different locations around the country, several of which I was lucky enough to visit while there. 

That's yours truly kissing the Blarney Stone. I really am blessed - got a bit of talent, a little coin jingling in my pocket and wonderful family and friends. However, I don't have a souvenir tee shirt from my Ireland trip. I bought a hat while on the tour of the Guinness brewery instead. But I do have this one to showcase today:

Acme Championship Wrestling was started by my buddy Jimmy a few years back - why, I don't know. Maybe to pay for his beer tab since he wasn't boxing anymore. He puts on a few shows per year at local venues - at the gym, American Legion, and a few of the community schools. It's pure cornball wrestling with guys getting whacked with garbage cans and folding chairs. The wrestlers all have a stage name and costumes. I took the grandsons to one of the shows at the high school and it wasn't a bad show - not really my cup of tea but for a local show out in the sticks, you can't expect Verne Gagne or to be able to buy any of his amazing Dyna-Power.

Dashing!

 

Photo From Here

That's the ticket right there. That's what I'm shooting for with the jitney only with walnut rather than aluminum. My throttle pedal will be mounted to the floor with a cable running through the firewall. There's not much of the windscreen visible in the photo, but I want something similar. The weather's warming up this week, so I'll be spending more time out in the shop. I've got just about six months until my target date for the maiden voyage. As long as I stay after it, should be achievable.

Our regular group hiked 5 miles yesterday. I'll need to get 75 miles in before May 31st - got a decent beginning now with 11.6. I'm planning on adding a hike of a few miles in the middle of the week to add to what we do on the weekends. My running buddy posted that we would be at the park yesterday, thinking the guys training for the Golden Gloves would come out and get a few miles of roadwork in. Nope. All coaches, no fighters. I don't know what kind of shape those guys are in since I haven't been going, but I have a feeling it's not fighting shape and the Gloves starts in about three weeks. 

The head for the engine stand looks a lot better now. Pretty welds and a coat of paint does wonders. It wasn't a high priority job by any means but I need to make fixing, cleaning, finishing or scrapping a higher priority than it has been in the past. 

The chain for the jitney steering will be here in a couple of days so I can keep moving forward on that. I need to bolt the cylinder head on to locate where exactly the remote oil filter will go on the firewall. While the head is on I can see what it will take to hook up the radiator hoses. I think the top one will be pretty straight forward. However, the lower one will take a bit of work since the water pump and radiator outlets are different sizes. I don't think it will be much of an issue, just one of many details to work out.

I'm looking to finish the trans mount today. Maybe some outside work since it should be warm.

Checkin' In

 First post with the new laptop. The keys all work like they should, which is nice. I made the mistake of eating some homemade chocolate chip cookies while surfing one night on the old one and the crumbs got into the keys - you would have thought the crumbs would have broken down after working the keys a couple of times, but pretty scratchy all the way to the end. Actually it was the fan and the battery that caused me to pull the trigger on the new one, that plus the ever increasing inflationary costs. It wasn't going to get any cheaper by waiting. 

I spent part of yesterday getting it set up while I was making a big pot of vegetable soup with the root veggies from the CSA - parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, black radish and cabbage, along with onion, carrot, green pepper, cannellini beans, crushed tomatoes, a quart of vegetable broth, some wheat pasta, and seasonings. Pretty tasty in a mild sort of way. Not bland but earthy. Just the thing for a late winter day with fresh snow on the ground.

Anniversary today - 51 years. Obviously not the big event the 50th was. Oh wait, that wasn't a big event either. Damn you covid and all those responsible for it. Anyway, it's unseasonably cold today again with wind chills forecast around zero, so we're going out for dinner tomorrow for a little celebration. Nothing fancy, just a change on venue. 

Wild Kingdom

 

Apparently it's racoon nesting season again. I caught another one in the trap but not before it made a big-ass mess in the shop below and the attic above.

There was a hole in the ceiling from the last go-round but it's bigger now. I had a piece of the same insulating board over the hole but now I'll have to cut another. It's at the point I should just replace some of the ceiling but I need to get the building secure first. 

The trap was just sitting on some boards on top of the rafters so the coons moved it around while trying to escape. After cleaning up the mess top and bottom, I bought some hooks and chain to fasten the trap down to the boards. I also shot some screws into the boards to prevent them from moving. This should keep the trap off the ceiling insulation but I really need to do a little more investigating to see what I can do to prevent a repeat performance.

I've spent the last few days working on odds and ends - went hiking on Sunday, 6.6 miles, started on the taxes, cleaned up the racoon mess, and started on a bit of spring cleaning. This head for an engine stand is for a motorcycle engine - I think it's for a Sprint motor but I'm not 100% on that. When I made it I had a student weld it finish but he had the MIG set too cold. The welds looked pretty sad so I ground them down and put a wash coat over the top of them. I'll sandblast and paint it and throw it in the storage space. I'll need it some day down the road, or Surly will.

Tee Shirt Tuesday # 19

I heard this one on the local station the other day - been years since I'd heard it. That's why it's my go-to channel whenever I'm in the truck. Variety is the spice of life, baby!

I've got a new laptop on the way, the battery and fan in the current one have about given it up so I'm cleaning out the photo files. Here's a few things that were languishing in the files:

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And now for the main event: the tee shirt. This one is quite a few years old. I've been retired from the high school ten years now and I got the shirt a few years before that, if memory serves. My buddy Kevin was the mover and shaker on taking students on the Tech Trek, which was held on the campus of Indiana State in Terre Haute. The students worked as teams to solve problems with what ever supplies they were given. Once they got their assignments, they were on their own. That meant Kevin and I had some time to kill. On this trip we visited the home of Eugene V. Debs, which is located on the campus.

I had read quite a bit about Debs and the labor movements prior to that, and was aware that he ran for President while incarcerated in federal prison after speaking out against World War I. Plus, as a railfan I was aware of his involvement with the railroad union. I do find it interesting with all the talk about Socialism these days, you never hear his name mentioned. I'm certainly no authority on Socialism, but I think his idea and the current interpretation are pretty far apart. Hard to knock a guy who was willing to go to jail for trying to better working conditions for the average Joe and spoke out against war. 

Bike, Hike & Chickens

 

Warm day yesterday - temps in the seventies. Went for a bicycle ride even though it was breezy. We did 12 miles and then I stopped on the way home and picked up a couple of chickens that were no longer wanted by a friend of my running buddy. Like always with chickens, it'll take a while to establish the pecking order. I don't know the type of breed of either of the new ones, but the guy said they lay different color eggs than what is normal. Have to see about that.

I'm going hiking today. My running buddy and I are signed up for a hiking program that requires us to hike 75 miles before the end of May, meaning we'll have to average a little over 6 miles per week. I'm looking forward to getting out and hiking some trails I don't normally get out on. Since I haven't traveled anywhere for the last two years, this will be a pleasant and healthy change for me.

Pigs!

 I went out on the bicycle for the first ride of the season. It's always interesting to see what has accumulated along the side of the road over the winter. Lots of empty beer cans. Miller Lite always seems to be the dominate brand, followed by Busch Light and Budweiser. I still maintain the fall of the Empire started with light beer. What kind of a man can't handle a regular pale lager? Part of the diet plan? Yeah, right.  And what kind of man throws the empties out of the truck or car window? Never heard of a dumpster or recycling, you pigs. 

And then there's this. I ride and drive that section of road on a regular basis and I've never seen a dog like this one around. It doesn't look like it was hit by a car, so I'll have to go on the assumption some cold-hearted bastard dumped it there in the ditch. Probably drinks Miller Lite. It looks like it had pups not too long ago and it hasn't been there very long or the coyotes and vultures would have been tearing into it. I hate to leave it there but I called the county sheriff's office to see what could be done and was told the county highway department won't come get it if it's in the ditch and he couldn't recommend any other agency that could help. This does not make me happy.  

On a more up-beat note, I started fabbing up my transmission mount yesterday. It's supposed to be really warm today - might go for a bike ride. Maybe the Himalayan, maybe the push bike, maybe both. Depending on what I decide, I might finish the trans mount. The jitney's taking shape.

Headlights!

 

I got the second shock tower/headlight mount tacked on yesterday. Took a little bit of finagling but the little digital level I bought recently was a big help. Easy to match both sides with the magnet and a direct read-out of the angle, rather than having to try to interpret the water bubble in a torpedo level.

I need to get a chain ordered for the steering and a couple of brake lines. Won't be much left on the front end after that. I got an e-mail from Speedway not too long ago featuring battery boxes. I'm thinking of mounting the battery on the outside of the frame on the left side and putting a step on the right side. Need to start mulling that over as well as mounting the fuel cell. Just need to keep picking away at it. 

Dash Hood Support

 

I got the aluminum rod fit to the bead on the dash hood yesterday. Didn't get much else done due to having to get a couple of chores done and a visit to the eye doctor for both me and the Missus. I'll get the dash out of the way and then bend the flange around the rod like I did on the cab. I'm hoping to get the second shock tower/headlight bracket tacked on today as well. Things are taking shape.

Tee Shirt Tuesday #18

 

Souvenir from Jimmy's fight on "The Rez". Actually, it was at the Comanche Nation Casino. They have their own sports commission and I was licensed as a "second' for the fight. It was hotter than hell when we were out there - it had been in triple digits for 30 days in a row prior to our arriving. The fight took place outside but it was still over 90 degrees at fight time. The outcome wasn't exactly what we had hoped for. His opponent hurt his right arm in the first round and came out throwing left hooks in the second. He and Jimmy both threw one at the same time but the other guy's landed first and Jimmy went down, fight over. His opponent said after the fight if he hadn't taken him out in that round he was going to throw in the towel. So close but yet so far. That's the fight game, though. The promoter and the folks at the casino treated us like royalty. Very professional and generous with nice rooms and a meal allowance.

Surly popped in Sunday, so I had him turn the crank on the bead roller. I can work on bending up the aluminum round to fit inside the bead on the dash hood now. It's supposed to be warm again today and tomorrow, so I'll try and get that done while it's warm. The bender is in the back of the shop and the dash hood needs to be on the frame to get my bends correct. I don't heat the back of the shop, so I'll pull the curtain back while I make a 100 trips back and forth without worrying about losing my heat. 

I did a little work on the shock towers yesterday. I got the first one straightened out and have the second one ready to tack on. Having one done, it was easier getting the proper angle on the second one. 

Since I've pretty much given up on the Bonneville idea, I'm thinking the high back on the bucket needs to go. Maybe make a bomber style seat for it or cut the top off the one in the photo. I'll wait until I get the floor in and the roll cage done and see how it looks then. I remember reading about a race in Pennsy that's a run what you brung on the dirt. Be nice to have the extra protection of the high back if I was fool enough to try something like that.