Graffiti

 

I went to a lot of trouble to be able to post this picture - shame it's not a better photograph. The sun was shining on the screen of my little flip phone while I was on my bike ride, so I really couldn't see what I was looking at. And then I couldn't get it to load up in my e-mail program so I sent it to my gmail account on the desktop computer and then sent that to my laptop. Tech version of Tinker to Evans to Chance.

The point of all of this is that Christina Orange is a whore. Not just your run of the mill whore but a cheating using bar whore according to the signatory Best Friend. Which reminds me of this: 

I started teaching in 1976 at Washington High School in East Chicago, Indiana. It was a comprehensive high school with a diverse student population - Blacks, browns, first and second generation Eastern Europeans, and occasionally, a student from south of the Mason-Dixon line. Interesting mix and for the most part everyone got along. The mills were booming and a lot of my students went to work right after graduation in a good paying job with insurance, pension, etc. I really enjoyed the job and it was a great experience for me. And every morning as I pulled in I was greeted by "Rosalinda is a ho" in big letters painted on the side of the building. I never knew who Rosalinda was, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for her.

Meanwhile back on the bicycle ride, I put 30 miles in before it got too damn hot again. No sore muscles later on, so I think I'm ready for the big ride coming up this weekend. We'll do either 41 or 62 depending on weather conditions. I plan on getting one more 20 miler in Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I did see something interesting besides the graffiti while out. As I was pedaling down a pretty sparsely traveled country road, I went by a guy standing at the end of his driveway holding a few tomatoes and he didn't look too happy. I'm thinking somebody pissed him off and he was planning on settling the score with the tomatoes if they drove by again.  

Break It To Me Gently

 

This one's been around for 60 years now but has aged well.

I had a photo I took on my bike ride yesterday I planned on posting but when I sent it from my phone to my e-mail account it never came in. And I sent it twice. And I sent a picture from my other computer and e-mail account that didn't come in either. And all the emails that were in the mailbox were all jumbled up rather than being listed in chronological order. Don't know what's going on but what's life without a few annoyances?

I am able to load up photos from my camera again, so I've got that going for me. Now I just need something worth posting. 

Yodeling Altered

 

If I had really deep pockets, I'd build me a fuel altered. Driving that stock car last Sunday was cool but driving one of these things would have to be close to the ultimate driving experience.

Lots of horsepower with a short wheelbase - just like Wild Willie from back in the day.

Since the jitney is stretching the finances about as far as I'm willing to go, can't see there ever being a fuel altered in my future. An "econoline" dragster would be conceivable if I wasn't building a car and had a line of future projects a mile long waiting in the wings. And because of my eagerness to remedy that, I didn't make it out to the shop at all yesterday. 

I got twelve miles in on the bike in the morning, came home, cleaned up and took the Missus to the eye doctor. She's not a morning person so tries to get her appointments scheduled in the afternoon. While that works for her circadian rhythms, it blows a big hole in my day. However, no further appointments on the schedule for the next couple of weeks. 

I'm planning on a 20 mile ride this morning and then doing a little something in the shop. It's going  to have to cool down a bit before I get to eager to jump in with both feet on anything, though. The days when the heat index is 100 plus suck the ambition out of me. Which brings me to something I'd like to do that doesn't require sweating: yodeling. 

While you can't go wrong with Patsy Montana, Susy Boggus does a top notch version.

I didn't realize any current Country and Western artist did any yodeling - except Ranger Doug of course. He's one of the best.

Since I'll never have a fuel altered and I don't know when I'll be able to get to Hawaii, I should work on learning to yodel. One of the few remaining things on the bucket list. I could practice out in the shop without annoying anyone - and it might keep the wild animals away! 

Have a good weekend!

Bitchin' Wheels

 

I got out into the shop yesterday about 7:30. It was already close to 80 degrees and steamy due to all the rain we got the night before. I set a box fan up blowing under the car but I still had a hard time keeping my safety glasses from fogging up and my welding jacket was sweaty by the time I was finished.

The welding was a bit tricky due to the fact that the fit-up wasn't perfect. It never is when things like this break since the part will bend or stretch when coming apart. Plus, the bottom of the frame rail is paper thin. There was also two brake lines, a fuel line and some wires real close to where I had to weld. I wrapped the lines and wires with a chunk of fire blanket and then further protected them with a sheet of plywood with some sheet asbestos stapled to it. The job looked pretty decent when I finished up but as Brother Johnny used to say: "You can't make ice cream out of shit."

I took my tires and wheels to the tire shop later in the day and they got me in and out right away. The tires are from the original Firestone molds. I might have to doll them up with some tire paint on the Firestone logo and lettering. Most all of the old Champ cars from the thirties and forties ran Firestones with white lettering on the brand name. 

I'll probably order the rear wheels as soon as the September Social Security check comes in. I'm still on the fence about running a quick-change rear - big expense but I probably won't be happy any other way. Maybe just get that first so I can complete the chassis. I did notice while under the Jeep that it has an extremely short driveshaft. That's been one of the concerns I've been thinking about. As long as I get the angle of the differential matching up with the angle of the engine, I should have enough length on the driveshaft after I splice in another 11 or 12" on the frame rails.

Anyway, the Jeep's done, I can move the jitney back up front and I can work on some parts for the side hustle or do some welding on the Rickati frame. Never a shortage of project work. 

New Wheels And Old Bike

 

Photo of my trusty steed - I took it out to the shop to oil up the chain yesterday. I've gotten one helluva return on my $4.00 investment. Of course, I've had to replace some things over the years - wheels and saddle most notably. This rig and I have been all over the country. I was ready to post another 100 mile update on here but I was 1/10 of a mile short when I finished my long ride last week and when I was putting the front wheel back on I straddled the bike to hook the brake cable back up I must have pushed against the button and reset the trip odometer to zero. The total mileage is 1764 and that's after changing out the speedometer several years back, so the absolute mileage is probably well over 3000. The new number should be well over 2000 by the season's end.

My wheels came in yesterday. The color rendition in the photo isn't very accurate. The wheels are more of a dark gray - they're going to look good on the finished project. I'll get the tires and wheels to the tire shop and have them mounted in the next couple of days.

I moved the engine back on the jitney, raised it up an inch and then welded the motor mounts in place. Afterwards I moved the car back to allow me to get the Jeep in the shop. I crawled underneath it to get a better idea of what it will take to get it fixed and then I bailed out. According to the Chicago weatherman, yesterday was the hottest day of the summer. My thermometer read 95 and the heat index was about 107. No wonder I was sweating like I was. It's supposed to be hot again for the next few days. I'm planning on getting out in the shop early today and getting after it. I want to get the Jeep done and gone. 

I got the results of my appeal from the US Post Office - rejected. No real surprise there. The reason given was I didn't have any supporting documents such as a receipt for the brake shoes. I then received an e-mail survey asking for my opinion on the service I received. For all the good it will do me, I explained that no one has receipts for all the individual parts of a vehicle purchased and that I had sent them an eBay listing of a new set of brake shoes. I don't know what one would do to prevent this sort of thing if you found yourself in a similar situation. Regardless, I'm done with it. I've got brake shoes on the rear wheel, so I'm golden.

Stock Car Ride

 

I finally got a chance to drive the stock car Sunday. The Missus got me the ride for Christmas a couple of years ago. I got rained out the first time and I cancelled out last year due to the cooties. While the cooties are still a problem I figured it was time to get out just the same. 

They suggested doing a ride along to get more comfortable before driving so I took them up on that. The young gun who wheeled me around is a regular driver there and he wasted no time at all getting around the track. The car had a big motor so it really ripped and the driver had the ass end hanging out all the way around the corners. So I did learn what is possible to do on the track.

I was the second to last driver to go out for the day. The track was freshly watered, so no dust and I was out there by myself. It took me a couple of laps to get the feel of the car but I got things rolling pretty good after about five laps and then got the ass end hanging out a ways my self on the last five. 

It was a lot of fun. I've never really wanted to be a race car driver, motorcycles were always more my style but I'm glad I got a chance to do this. The people were all very nice, friendly and helpful. Safety was stressed at the orientation and the cars all ran well. Some of the driving suits were pretty shabby but if you purchase your ride through Groupon, like the Missus did, it's a lot of bang for your buck.

If It's A Rocker, That'll Get It

 

I've been listening to some Chuck Berry in the shop lately. A lot of his songs are a bit repetitious as far as the guitar work goes but it'll definitely give you happy feet. I'll see if this one stays up since White Bird flew the coop a couple of posts back. Apparently someone didn't want it to be a beautiful day.

My front tires and lug nuts showed up yesterday right after I got back from my bike ride. I was surprised to see the big brown truck on a Saturday, especially since I had received an e-mail saying the delivery was scheduled for Monday. No big hurry anyway. The wheels won't be here for a while and the car won't be on the ground for an even longer while. I'm just getting some of the big ticket items before the prices go up any more.

I took a couple photos of the tires with the little digital camera like I always do but when I put the card in the computer the pictures wouldn't load. I took the above photos with my cheapie flip phone but I'm puzzled as to why the photos from the camera wouldn't load up. 

I got a text yesterday from a friend needing a welding repair on his Jeep. He brought it up on a trailer and it doesn't look too tough - not fun but I've done a lot worse. I'll need to move the jitney out of the way first so I can back the Jeep in on the concrete. The weather should be good for working today but I've got a previous engagement - I'm driving a late model stock car on a dirt track today. Should be big time fun.