I Think I'll Stay Close To Home This Weekend.....

 Don't go stupid places, don't hang out with stupid people, and don't do stupid things!

Not *expecting* anything to go sideways, but we're prepared if it does.

Pray for America, and keep your head on a swivel! 

L.A. Insurrection.....Follow The Money....

 Interesting article from Not The Bee.....

Busy, Busy, Busy....With Rain!

Well, last week it was nice........

 50* and raining, with more on the way. Total rain for May was 2.97", and my Taylor rain gauge, and the digital gauge in the Davis weather station are in agreement. And we're at 1" of rain for the last week.

SLW went down to DIA to pick-up her two best friends, and only came home with one.........her other friend had missed the flight by minutes, but she was able to get another in two hours. She took the shuttle up here because she didn't want SLW or I to make another round trip. One of the two was her Maid-of-Honor at our wedding, and the other is the Pastor that married us. It's turning into an "interesting" trip for The Three Amigos! 

 If SLW's third bestie were also here.....I'd start to look for suitable shelter.......

Come to think of it....these three all together here may have been what triggered that M8.2 solar flare....hmmmmm.  Info about the resulting CME, which was aimed smack at our face, can be found here.

Sprayed the back yard with Weed-B-Gon and nuked the gravel borders with RoundUp. Was going to do more, but I had other things to do, and now we've got some thunder-boomers rolling through.

Geesh......I really have to post more often, just to keep you all 'in the loop'. 

During these cool rainy days when I can't paint or clean parts, I duck back down into The Lab, and tinker away. The Fisher is under the microscope again, as I track down a stray voltage that's flummoxing things up. I'm getting a handle on it, but after this unit is finished I doubt if I'll be taking on any more "For Hire" jobs. It's just too much distraction. I should have been finished with my TEAC A-7030 Reel-to-Reel deck, and it's still just sitting there.

And yes, the Supra is in the Hangar Deck being worked on. I've done a lot of work on it, and spent some time reorganizing SLW's side of the garage. I'm going to move the Supra about 3' to the center of the garage for easier access to the interior, and extra room for "whoever" comes out to pull the windshield. I have to remove the plastic defroster vents to get at the screws that secure the top dash pad to the firewall so I can pull the pad out. This is required to remove the failed heater core, a "Work In Progress". Annnd I've damaged the pad getting one of the defrost vents out, hence the "Pull The Windshield!" command being given. So while I'm working out the logistics on that, I'm keeping busy cleaning up all the surface rust in the left side of the engine bay. I pulled both headlight assemblies out, along with the motors and connecting links. The links just needed a good cleaning, but the headlight "buckets" need to be sandblasted along with the suspension mounts. I've been holding out on going to the sandblaster as it's been rainy the last two weeks, with very high (for here...) humidity, and I don't want to the Naked Steel to rust on the way home.

Right side headlight mounting position. The big black spot is from when I painted the bumper. Guess I didn't mask things as well as I thought.

 The left side has cleaned up a bunch, but the entire left front corner will get resprayed and "faded in".

 

This is the headlight bucket from the left side.

This headlight always seemed to raise and lower slower than the other one. Turns out the pivot was rusty, so I used a bunch of Blaster! to free it up, and now it pivots easily.

There are two "tow hooks" mounted to the front frame, and one needs attention.

This is the right side one.

I can't find any pix of the left side, but this is what it looks like with the tow hook plate removed.

 And the plate.

 

And the bolts.

 

The grey paint on the tip of the left bolt is the Toyota "Electro-Dip" primer. The middle one is degrading, and the right one has lost all it's protection. These will be replaced.

Worried about rust in the frame rails, I dug out my endoscope and used it to inspect the internal structure of the frame rails after I pulled the rubber plugs.

 The right hand side is clean as a whistle inside, while the left one showed some rust, but nothing bad, just surface rust. The frame rails will be coated inside with some of Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating. In fact, I'm going to go along under the car, and pull all the rubber plugs that are used to cap voids, and spray this stuff inside there, too. They say Rust Never Sleeps, and on these cars it never even takes a nap!

This weekend and the coming week look be be warm and dry, so I'll be cleaning and painting things in the garage, and doing a dive under the dashboard to remove the clutch master cylinder and the power brake booster so I can get cracking on the entire left side of the engine bay.

Stay safe, my friends, and keepeth thy head uponst a swivel! 

Let's See....Where Was I....?

 Had a post going, then got busy, then got clobbered with a "24 Hr Bug", etc, etc, etc.

Sooooo.....I isolated the issue with The Fisher down to the "Darlington Power Packs" that I've mentioned before here. The one in the right channel failed, probably when the Zener Diode in the on-board regulator shorted and nuked the transistors on the board. So I still have some more sleuthing to do to nail down the exact problem.

Yes, I've working on this receiver for over a year now. I'll be very happy to see it finished.

As far as my Toyotasaurus Supra goes, well....I've really been digging into it, and finding several things of interest.

To fix the rust properly, I had to pull the mounting brackets for the "Strut Rods", more accurately called a "Lateral Locating Link", because they 'stick into' the engine bay, and you can see them.

I took the whole shebang off the car first. Both strut rods and their mounts, and the antisway bar. Pulled twelve bolts, four nuts, the end links for the sway bar, and it dropped right out.

 Then I separated the parts. The nice one is from the right side of the car. The rusty one is from the left side of the car, where it lived under the battery, and took some guff!

 These will get sandblasted, and then repainted with some of Eastwood's "Extreme Chassis Black" paint. This paint is very good. It takes a while to fully cure, and of course, surface prep is important, but once it cures, It's ON There! 

I was planning on replacing the brake master cylinder, and it's a good thing I pulled it off. It was just starting to weep brake fluid out the back. It appears to be the OEM cylinder, as it's made by AISIN, which is an OEM to the Japanese auto industry. 40 years and 168,000 miles ain't bad for an OEM part!

 

As soon as I get under the dash, I'll pull the hardware for the brake booster and clutch master cylinder.

 That will allow me to get back in the corner and repair the damage from the "Great Brake Fluid Deluge of 1998".

 

 I also have a bunch of spots in the driver's footwell that need to be repainted, the result of the brake fluid leak. At least I have all the nasty carpet backing scraped out of the interior, and I went over everything exposed, and scrubbed it with my mix of Simple Green, Denatured Alcohol, and a good squirt of dish soap. It's amazing how much dirt and dust a car collects behind the interior pieces, and inside the doors.

 

And finally....I found this:

 

 That's one of the two main engine ground wires. It's a 10ga wire, and there's another one from the cylinder head to the firewall. This one is supposed to go under one of the starter mounting bolts. This means the "mechanic" who replaced the starter not only didn't put this back in place, but he coiled it around the fuel line so it wouldn't hang down and show.

 

Yep....did the job wrong, and then tried to cover it up! I've several other things like this on the car. One was improper hardware bolting something on the engine (wrong type bolt, and too short),  another one was really bad Bubba Work on some of the rubber air couplings in the intake tract, another was the really BAAAAD stereo installation, and another is the VERY sloppy alarm installation.

 

 

And I put new brakes on SLW's car. She had about 10k left on the pads, but she's going on a trip, so I thought it was prudent to go through her car and fix anything getting worn out.

Got some rain coming, but it'll be nothing like they get on the Eastern Plains here!

 

 Have a great and safe weekend, stay in CDX YEL, and enjoy life.

 

 

 

Catching Up....

 Yuk....got some kind of tummy bug or something, so I was down all day yesterday, and feeling somewhat better today.

 Found the problem in The Fisher, and now have to troubleshoot it.

Finally have all the rusty parts off the Supra, and will proceed with refinishing things when I'm feeling better.

 

Soggy Week....

 We got .77" of rain today, which brings us to 1.5" for the month so far. Had a hail storm go through and it dumped enough small hail to cover the yard and street. Pretty soft hail, so no damage, but Luna didn't know what to make of it. I opened the door to let her out, and when se saw the hail bouncing off the patio she recoiled, jumped back a couple of feet, and gave me a "You're kidding, right?" look.

So, it's been a bit too cold and too humid to do much in the garage besides organize things and clean up the area. Going to be in the 70's~80's over the weekend, so I'll be able to jump back in on things like removing the steering rack, and the rusty bits on the left front corner of the car.

Keep dry, and keep your head on a swivel!

Happy May Day, and a Supra Safari

 As opposed to "Mayday", which usually isn't a happy day.....

Weather's been pretty nice, so I'm doing my Day Shift activities outside, and then go on Second Shift for my projects. Day Shift is mostly yard work and general chores / clean-up things, and being with the grandsons when they're here, usually two days a week.

Still working on the Fisher, and it's going to be hand-to-hand once I really get back into it. I checked for stray bits of wire causing a short, carefully checked the back of the board for solder shorts, and pulled the heatsinks off the four transistors to verify they were properly oriented.

No joy

So now I have to start disconnecting things from the Power Amplifier stage to see which supply is drawing all the current. Stay tuned.....Details to follow.....Film at eleven.

On to more enjoyable things, like an old car.

First off, I'd noticed that the power steering fluid I put in when I installed the new hoses 2,000 miles ago (Yes, I flushed the system until it ran clear) was already getting a distinct shade of brown indicating it, or something, was breaking down and putting trash in the fluid. The right side steering rack boot was ripped when I bought the car, and the rack was dripping oil. I put a new boot on it when I rebuilt the suspension, but now I see the left side boot is ripped. It's dry, but but it only a matter of time before the seals go out on this side.

SO......A "Re-manufactured" power steering rack assembly (bought it 11 years ago!), new power steering pump, upgraded power steering fluid cooler, new outer tie rod ends, and new urethane bushings are going to be installed.

 The 40 year old OEM rubber bushings are pretty tired, and starting to squeeze out of their mounting brackets, so replacing them will make the steering more precise.

And the obscenely dirty, rank, gross, grody-beyond-the-max and possibly hazardous, carpet is OUT of the car!

In the Summer of 1998 (I found the receipt), the master cylinder for the clutch blew the seal out, and dumped about eight ounces of brake fluid inside the car, soaking the carpet. Since the seal rarely fails all at once, it was leaking inside for quite a while. I can imagine the Original Owner going bonkers adding brake fluid to reservoir constantly, and never seeing a drop under the car! Now it's bad enough to have a spill like this, but you clean it up as quick as you can. In this case, it looks like the carpet, the carpet backing, and the sound deadening mat on on the floor pan marinated in brake fluid for 27 years. And they all bonded together. The only way I can get the backing off the mat is to vigorously wire brush it.

This is after about 45 minutes of brushing it.

Still have more crud to get out of there, but it's coming along. I'm concerned about the mat itself, as it's butyl rubber, and may have to be scraped out and replaced. If it has to come out, I'll replace it with something like "Dynamat".

The passenger side isn't as bad, as all of the brake fluid dumped into the driver's footwell, but it's still going to take a bunch of brushing. All the grey stuff next to the transmission tunnel is what has to come out.

 

And we have a new addition to the fleet.

 The car on the right is the one I bought for myself a couple of years ago. I ran that one while grandson #1 drove my older ARRMA "Senton" short-course truck. He liked mine so much that I bought him the "little brother" of mine. It has a smaller motor and battery, but still goes like stink, and runs beautifully.

Let the games begin!

 

 

 

 

New Workbench

 

Yes, four days old, and already cluttered....

It was on sale at Home Depot with free delivery, so I went ahead and ordered one. A trip to Harbor Freight netted me a belt/disc sander, and bench grinder, and finally, a decent vise. 

The WEN drill press arrived Friday morning, and was a snap to assemble. The other drill press I had was more of a toy. It would do wood, plastic, and aluminum OK, but steel? Uh....no. It just didn't have enough torque to go through more than 1/8" of the stuff.

The belt/disc sander and bench grinder are Very Nice Things to have when fabricating, and nothing beats a wire wheel in a bench grinder for cleaning bolts.

The bench vise replaces the on I left in Long Beach like a dummy. I had the bench height adjusted where I like it, and then I put the casters on it, so now I have to lower it 2" to what I like.

And of course, a nice light over it. 

Remember the "Electrical Board" I built for the grandsons? They LOVE it!

Definitely a hit, and I hear murmurs of his cousins wanting one now....

They thought it was MAGIC when I hooked a coil I wound to the voltmeter and ran a magnet through it. 

ELECTRICITY FROM NOTHING!

They're having great fun learning new things, and getting patient, clear explanations of how it happens.

I love this picture for some reason...

 

And this is where I'm currently at.

Pulled the driver's side headlight bucket out to get at the RUST that was lurking under it. This has been completely scrubbed with a brush using my Magic Mix of Simple Green, Denatured Alcohol, water, and a good squirt of Dish Soap. 

Then I went over it again with the same mix and green Scotch-Brite. That really got it clean. I even managed to get a good portion of the really stained areas back to being white. Now I'm working on the rusty battery shelf, and I have to pull the mounting bracket for the Front Strut Rod ( a 'Lateral Locating Link' in tech terms) out of the car to sand blast. Which means I have to take the other one out, too, or the finishes won't match. Not hard to do, and it has to be done to change the front sway bar, so I'll swap out the front bar when I put it back together.

 The black shelf is the battery support, which I've already sanded and put a Rust Converter product on. The hugely rusty bracket is the one that has to come off.

And we had some really interesting clouds a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you all have a very Blessed and Joyous Easter.

Rejoice! He Is Risen!

Still Here, Busy As All Get-Out!

 I just haven't felt like posting. When I photograph and post things, it takes me away from doing things, and that can be a bit annoying....

Fed the trees and shrubs, checked (and repaired) the drip system for any damage sustained over the Winter, and got the hoses and sprinklers out and ready-to-go. If anybody wants some "Guaranteed To Germinate" Maple seeds, let me know. I've got a two gallon plastic bucket full of them!

Finally broke down and bought a decent workbench. It's a "Husky" from Home Depot. It was on sale, with free delivery. I put locking casters on all four legs so I can maneuver it around when required. It's set up, and I'm going to hang a LED shop light over it tomorrow, along with bolting down my new vise. Annnnd the new drill press is arriving Friday. Not sure if I'll bolt down the bench grinder yet. I'll wire wheel a bunch of bolts and see if it moves around any.

The Fisher RS-2010 is drawing excessive current. When I powered it up in the past, it would draw around 3 Amps at 120 VAC. Now that I've rebuilt the Power Amplifier Board it draws SIX Amps at about 25 VAC, indicating I bollixed something up, so I stepped back for a few days. I'm pretty sure I know what it is, as there was some ambiguity in getting two of the transistors in each channel properly oriented.  Not the first time I've goofed, and it won't be the last!

Work is proceeding at an accelerating pace on the Supra. I'll post some pix in the next day or two.

80* Last Week, and Snowing Tonight....

 Just gotta love Springtime in the Rockies!  

We've received a bit over an inch of rain this week, accompanied by daytime temps of 30~50*, nighttime temps in the 20~30* range, and a lot of wind.

Going to be warming up all this week, so I'll be back in the garage.

Results of the Fisher Smoke Test are negative; NO smoke was released!

More to come....

The Fisher Saga Pre-Test Tales

 The Last Transistor, and associated "extra" components, has been replaced. I verified my work with a checklist, and it's very close to being powered up. I have some tidying up to do, along with cleaning the soldering flux off the back of the PA Board, and I'll do that tomorrow with fresh eyes.

And I finally bought a decent workbench for the garage. Now I have a place to mount a proper bench vise, belt/disc sander, bench grinder, and a drill press.

 

Stand by for pix!