Tuesday, July 22, 2025

And The Skies Were Opened.....

 Yowie....started raining about 45 minutes ago, and we've already received over ..4", and the rainfall rate just went up to 2"/hr as another cell moved over us.

Flash flood warnings are out for the burn scar areas, with some of them getting over an inch of rain in an hour, with more to come tonight, and through the rest of the week. 

The heat broke, going from 94* down to 67* in about an hour. So nice to have a rain like this. "Whiskey's for Drinkin', and Water's for Fightin'", and we thank the Good Lord for this rain. 


 

Friday, July 18, 2025

What's Up, More Paint, and Rain.....

 Another two weeks of Summer have passed. Got a decent amount of rain a few days ago, a full quarter-inch, and we got another tenth last night. Been high 90's here, but cooling off nicely at night.

Got a whole buncha parts cleaned and painted, and commenced work on the wiring harness. 

These are the headlight buckets with a their first couple of coats of "Super White II" on them.


 And the wiring harness, unwrapped and being cleaned and repaired in a few spots. Cracked wires, stiff wires, missing insulation, and things like that.


 This section of the engine bay is almost finished. I still have to scuff sand it and spray on the Super White II top coat, and then paint the bits that are supposed to be black.

 And I bought a new tool. It's a "Ratcheting Rivet Nut Setter", and is exactly what I need to put threaded inserts into frame rails and things.


 I'll be putting two 8mm inserts into the right frame rail so I can bolt my remote oil filter to the frame. The oil filter on these engines is located on the side of the block, angled UP. Which means as soon as you loosen the filter, a quart of dirty oil cascades down the side of the block, making a big mess.

And been doing yard work, chasing grandkids around, "Fixin' Things", and waiting a couple of weeks to get to see our Doctor again. She left the previous office (Yeah, THOSE guys) she was at, and has now joined UCHealth, which is the heavy-hitter out here, and whom our first provider with this Doctor was with. SLW saw her earlier this week, and she was able to get me an appointment much sooner than I expected. 

Enjoy the weekend, and always be alert! 

Monday, June 30, 2025

PAINT!

 Got a bee in my bonnet and shot some paint yesterday.


 Two medium coats of Eastwood :Safety White" Rust Encapsulator, and I'm happy it's a very good match to the OEM paint. I still have to top coat it with Toyota paint code 040, "Super White II", but it looks WAY better than it did.


 And the left front corner of the engine bay where the battery lives is finally rust-free!


 

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Lazy Day.......

 Low 90's today, cloudy and breezy, and we'll probably get an afternoon shower because it's that time of year here.

Yes, The Fisher is still on the bench, but I've narrowed it down (again....!) to a voltage that is missing. Might be a broken trace on the circuit board, might be a bad solder joint (unlikely but possible), or a solder "splash" that's shorting something out. 

Found a local place that's great for getting odd bits sandblasted at a reasonable price and almost instant turn-around, so I've got a few more things to take to them.

These are the rusty suspension mount brackets, tow hook, and the headlight buckets back from blasting. The plastic sheeting is the weather seal that attaches to the inside of the door frame, under the upholstery, and keep water out of the car. 


 Before:

After: 

Quite a difference.

And this is after two coats of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator. It's a heavy-duty primer loaded with zinc that's very effective at preventing future rust.


 

Today will be an "Under The Car Day" as I have to get the exhaust down-pipe loose from the exhaust manifold, pull the clutch slave cylinder and flex hose, and pull the fuel hose so I can get a new one fabricated. Then I have to get inside the car to get the hardware loose from the brake booster and clutch master cylinder so I can pull them out and fix the rust behinds them from when the clutch cylinder failed and dumped brake fluid everywhere, which did a number on the painted firewall.


 Annnnnd.....In the "Bubba Strikes Again" files, I found this loose ground lead wrapped around the fuel line from the tank.


 There are two of these ground leads; This one that is supposed to go under one of the starter mounting bolts, and another one from the cylinder head to the firewall. It's bad enough that the "mechanic" didn't put it where it should go, but then he wrapped it around a handy bracket so nobody would see the wire dangling under the car.

Oh, well......

So enjoy your weekend, have a Blessed Sunday, keep those heads swiveling and stay vigilant. 

 



Friday, June 20, 2025

ACCCCK! A Hunnert Degrees Today!


 And more to come tomorrow. Supposed to drop back into the 80's on Sunday, but we'll see.

But hey....It's a DRY heat! Humidity was only NINE per cent today! 

 

Enjoy you weekend, keep that head swivellin', and exercise your 2A rights! 

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Friday, June 13, 2025

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! 

Post Coming Soon.....<i>Please Stand By</i>.....

  With apologies to The Control Voice.... Yup.....got The Busies the last few weeks. Lots of stuff happening this week, including my Nuclea...