Hi Jimmy,
Well, Mr Murphey seems to have been waiting in the shadows on this whole truck deal. I took a summer class to have skilled instructors guide me at touching up the body repairs needed on Apollo...only to find diasters under the repainted flanks of said truck.
I took no photos of the work as I now realize...but had decided to repaint the whole beast. that is until I ran out of time in class today. Yep, class is over, truck is primered (at least its white to match...) and no more can be done for a year until I clear the next set of schooling I do.
I need to get some updates and photos here but ain't managed it yet. I am not lazy, I am buried!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
In OTHER News...
Hi Jimmy,
My Girl, Ajay, as she's known to her friends....is a fencer. As of late she and my buddy Eric were asked to take part in an Art Exhibit. It was way cool, and here is a link to explain it all..
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1177693.php
Proof positive that she exists...!
My Girl, Ajay, as she's known to her friends....is a fencer. As of late she and my buddy Eric were asked to take part in an Art Exhibit. It was way cool, and here is a link to explain it all..
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1177693.php
Proof positive that she exists...!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
It's That July Fourth Deal...
Hi Jimmy,
Its been quite a week pounding away on Apollo. I have finally, only moments ago, managed to put the interior from Cracker into Apollo. Its taken days to get it all to fit right. Apollo seems to have had every possible screw/ nut/ bolt stripped or replaced with the wrong one over time....
I found that somebody in the past had put fancy tar/ foil insulation in Apollo, so it saved me that effort. However, the factory roof insulation was sadly lacking. In fact, when I pulled down the headliner I found the insulation had been reversed and stuck to the liner instead of the roof! I pulled it off, and between what I had from Cracker and itself I now have the entire roof, front to back, insulated like it MEANS it.
I need to find three larger self tapping screws to make the center console solid as it should be and all is done. It sure rides better with good seats in it too. Gas prices be damned...Apollo is rolling...! I'll add photos to der blogenstein later.
Congrats to NASA for getting Shuttle in the sky once again!
Randolph
Its been quite a week pounding away on Apollo. I have finally, only moments ago, managed to put the interior from Cracker into Apollo. Its taken days to get it all to fit right. Apollo seems to have had every possible screw/ nut/ bolt stripped or replaced with the wrong one over time....
I found that somebody in the past had put fancy tar/ foil insulation in Apollo, so it saved me that effort. However, the factory roof insulation was sadly lacking. In fact, when I pulled down the headliner I found the insulation had been reversed and stuck to the liner instead of the roof! I pulled it off, and between what I had from Cracker and itself I now have the entire roof, front to back, insulated like it MEANS it.
I need to find three larger self tapping screws to make the center console solid as it should be and all is done. It sure rides better with good seats in it too. Gas prices be damned...Apollo is rolling...! I'll add photos to der blogenstein later.
Congrats to NASA for getting Shuttle in the sky once again!
Randolph
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Mr. Murphy's Memorial WEEK...
Hi Jimmy,
GEEZ! Could the week start out weirder? I decided to leave the interior of Apollo in peices so I could get the CD Player installed and the speakers re-wired. Now I COULD do this myself, but for 100 bucks I take it to a shop that has all the tools, the parts and supplies and its done in 30 minutes. Good deal!
THEN, the truck had an over-heating fit on the way home. I'm seeing Murphy over in the corner by now. I got a radiator and installed it, and it all runs cool as ice now (and the A/C is a LOT colder too...). While I was under the hood I pulled th cap and rotor..and low and behold its one of those crappy Ford ones with the aluminum posts in it. It was corroded all to hell, so in went the nice brass contact one I had picked up a few weeks ago. The truck purrs now, and doesn't feel nearly as bad in traffic.
One would think all was working out by now...BUT...during class I started on the right rear quater panel, taking out the dimpes and minor ripples. I noticed a bubbled part of the paint...and found bondo under it. The more I sanded, the more I found...until I had the paint off the entire rear portion! The bondo was over .5 inch thick in most places! What a butcher job! Seems I found proof today the entire truck has been painted before...and also had very bad bodywork done on it. I WILL set things right....
GEEZ! Could the week start out weirder? I decided to leave the interior of Apollo in peices so I could get the CD Player installed and the speakers re-wired. Now I COULD do this myself, but for 100 bucks I take it to a shop that has all the tools, the parts and supplies and its done in 30 minutes. Good deal!
THEN, the truck had an over-heating fit on the way home. I'm seeing Murphy over in the corner by now. I got a radiator and installed it, and it all runs cool as ice now (and the A/C is a LOT colder too...). While I was under the hood I pulled th cap and rotor..and low and behold its one of those crappy Ford ones with the aluminum posts in it. It was corroded all to hell, so in went the nice brass contact one I had picked up a few weeks ago. The truck purrs now, and doesn't feel nearly as bad in traffic.
One would think all was working out by now...BUT...during class I started on the right rear quater panel, taking out the dimpes and minor ripples. I noticed a bubbled part of the paint...and found bondo under it. The more I sanded, the more I found...until I had the paint off the entire rear portion! The bondo was over .5 inch thick in most places! What a butcher job! Seems I found proof today the entire truck has been painted before...and also had very bad bodywork done on it. I WILL set things right....
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Cracker Skylab: RIP
Hi Jimmy,
Back In Feb we took Cracker Skylab to Vegas for a big fencing competition. He appointed himself well with great milage and never missing a beat. Comfortable to boot.In the parking lot of one of the megaplaces we took a quick photo...which turned out to be the only good one I got of him before his wreck. (BASTARDS!!!). It's pretty easy to see how good a shape the truck was in...
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Evie's been Adopted!
Hi Jimmy,
Back in 1994 I got Evie, a brand new little Ford Escort. She is Calypso Green...which is a color that looks like it changes under differing lights. I took care of her and drove her a total of 261,000 miles. She had one issue during that whole time- and still runs like a charm....but...there isn't enough room for a wrecked truck, a truck that needs TLC, a Miata and a Jeep...(sigh...). She little Evie was offered for adoption.
My buddy Lou bought her for his son. Sam is quite cool, was once a fencing student but the call of the silver screen lured him away. NOW, however, he is getting into music and needs a car. LAST thing a musician needs is any sort of hot rod or custom car...too much damn time goes into keeping them running, and that don't even touch the money ity takes. I SWEAR 90% of the reason I never got anywhere with my own musical dreams was it was pissed away under a shadetree trying to fix the junker to make it back to work to get enough to fix the junker....I hope Evie is Sam's first step to making it....serve 'em both right! (I did tell Lou I'd probably buy her back if they want to get rid of her in a year or so when Sam is too cool for her...).
So it's been way to long since I updated here. I got Apollo running ok, and have Cracker 95% taken apart. I have to get the windows out and take off the doors and I am done. Hopefully this week.
I have taken a class at the local school for paint and body...might get to paint Apollo, but will fix all the minor crap for sure.
Oh well, The Girl is making floats now...gotta go! All this to turn 45 in a few hours.
Someday I AM!
Back in 1994 I got Evie, a brand new little Ford Escort. She is Calypso Green...which is a color that looks like it changes under differing lights. I took care of her and drove her a total of 261,000 miles. She had one issue during that whole time- and still runs like a charm....but...there isn't enough room for a wrecked truck, a truck that needs TLC, a Miata and a Jeep...(sigh...). She little Evie was offered for adoption.
My buddy Lou bought her for his son. Sam is quite cool, was once a fencing student but the call of the silver screen lured him away. NOW, however, he is getting into music and needs a car. LAST thing a musician needs is any sort of hot rod or custom car...too much damn time goes into keeping them running, and that don't even touch the money ity takes. I SWEAR 90% of the reason I never got anywhere with my own musical dreams was it was pissed away under a shadetree trying to fix the junker to make it back to work to get enough to fix the junker....I hope Evie is Sam's first step to making it....serve 'em both right! (I did tell Lou I'd probably buy her back if they want to get rid of her in a year or so when Sam is too cool for her...).
So it's been way to long since I updated here. I got Apollo running ok, and have Cracker 95% taken apart. I have to get the windows out and take off the doors and I am done. Hopefully this week.
I have taken a class at the local school for paint and body...might get to paint Apollo, but will fix all the minor crap for sure.
Oh well, The Girl is making floats now...gotta go! All this to turn 45 in a few hours.
Someday I AM!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
I WAS Afraid to Look....
Dear Jimmy,
Things are rather annoying right now, so I figured I'd post a photo of a decent enough looking tractor to lighten the day up....ok, enough of that crap....
I am sure I have dozens of things more important in life to do than to fix another old truck. Cracker Apollo has all the basics in place, but like I mentioned before...has been hacked at by untrained monkies. Today I got to looking under the hood...well...after I tried to tighten the simple between-the-seats storage box that was loose in fitting the floor. Turns out the monkies had used some bigger size bolts for something that left wear patterns but was now missing. The poor box itslef is covered with holes made with a Demel tool or worse. Whatever, it ain't bolting down solid...and the floor of the truck is what it mounts too. Time to go get more, larger, self-tapping sheet metal screws to drive into it and solve the issue.
THEN I looked under the hood. Coming off the battery is a wad of nasty looking wires running every which way under the hood. Guess every time they wanted more power they ran yet another wire to the positive cable and put in a longer bolt. I will have to search out a terminal block of some sort, and run a cable to it, and then split up the wiring in a more professional manner for sure. It would scare me to depend on things right now. "Truck Fire" comes to mind if something goes wrong.
Then there is the wonderful K & N air filter. They are good for a million miles...unless, of course, you drop your truck under water while running, in a muddy river, and never clean it up afterwards, and don't care about the truck in general....well...you get the picture. The filter is almost solid packed with mud. Its amazing it runs at all, and how it passed smog is beyond me. The local auto parts store has no clue what number the replacement filter is- but there is one on-line that might be it. I am going to toss it in the Miata when I run south for class tonight, and stop at K & N Copr HQ. They have been helpful in the past in getting the correct number for me and others. Guess you really don't want a guy with a grimy filter with no options standing in your lobby when bigwigs from other companies are due to drop in....
It appears there are actually speakers in all four places there are supposed to be speakers. However...the wiring under the dash seems to have been hacked for some sort of amps or what not. Just why in the hell would idiots put amps in and leave the stock Ford speakers anyway? I am hoping that the set of speakers from my little old Escort will fit (I think they will), and I will install them and wire clean from the start..rather than using existing wires. I mean, have you ever seen 3 splices in the space of 1 foot or less...instead of just using a longer wire.....?!?!?!?!??
Speaking of the dash, the right side bounces when I drive along. I found a broken peice of a plastic thing that the rest of the dash mounts to. It will have to be replaced for sure, and its a good deal that I have a perfect one from Cracker Skylab to use.
Lastly, on wiring...I had water in one of the fancy off raod lights mounted on the front. Took it apart to clean it, and found it had been submurged at some point ( got me guessing why the rest of the truck looks the way it does under he hood). Now, I need to get new connectors, paint the housings and polish out the netal reflectors before putting them back on. At least they will be solid then!
All in all, its very frustrating to have lost a PERFECT Truck with no issues. I will set this one right as I go along, but I didn't need the extra work to do right now!
Wish me luck..I am going to need it!
Friday, May 26, 2006
Introducing....
Hi Jimmy,
Here it is...the replacement Truck! The original one was a 1993 Ford F-150 with a total of 34,000 miles on it. I didn't have a scratch or dent on it anywhere and had all new belts, tires and a rear bed cover.
This one, however, has a ton of miles on it and some worn out stuff. Its also a 1993 Ford, but its an F-250 four wheel drive. It has some great upgrades, but many seem to have been installed by untrained monkies, as the wiring and fitment is CRAP! It means I will have to take this truck apart to get it all cleaned up, adjusted, and properly installed. The first step was what I call "Restoring the vehicle's original dignity". That means...removing all 21 stickers plastered all over the outside of the truck including that pesky one on the freaking roof I didn't even see until later!
The idea is to take apart the first truck and install needed parts into the new one. The rest of the parts will get stored for later use if needed. At least I won't suffer knowing my beloved truck is being picked over and abused in some junkyard. I suspect the remaining amout will be sold off as scrap since there won't be anything left.
Now...the big problem...how do I drain two full tanks of gas that I had just put into the original truck 5 miles before the wreck? I mean thats almost a hundred dollars right there!
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Stones Song
Hi Jimmy,
Remember that Stones song that went "You can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you might find, you get what you need..."?
OK...I can see the theme for the day unfolding already! I have been planning, planning, planning my return to school so I can get certified to work on aircraft. I mean, why not? I haven't done this in life yet and always wanted to. It just took me 44 years to figure out I wanted to try it.
So this morning I finally got to register for classes...and to my dismay I found NONE of the ones I need are offered over the summer! My girl suggested I take some other class, just to get a higher priority on enrolling for them for the next semester...so I signed up for a Paint and Body class. With the impending arrival of a new truck that needs tender loving care...and some body work....I might be able to prep and actually paint said truck myself over the summer for a much reduced fee than letting a body shop do it...THEN...I will be able to do paint and prep work on aircraft also...;<>!
I love my girl, she has such a good head on her shoulders and even uses it a lot.
I have been trying to get into this whole MySpace thingie too..and found a page that claims to be Jimmy Buffet...hmmmm...I wonder if it is actually him or not.....
Remember that Stones song that went "You can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you might find, you get what you need..."?
OK...I can see the theme for the day unfolding already! I have been planning, planning, planning my return to school so I can get certified to work on aircraft. I mean, why not? I haven't done this in life yet and always wanted to. It just took me 44 years to figure out I wanted to try it.
So this morning I finally got to register for classes...and to my dismay I found NONE of the ones I need are offered over the summer! My girl suggested I take some other class, just to get a higher priority on enrolling for them for the next semester...so I signed up for a Paint and Body class. With the impending arrival of a new truck that needs tender loving care...and some body work....I might be able to prep and actually paint said truck myself over the summer for a much reduced fee than letting a body shop do it...THEN...I will be able to do paint and prep work on aircraft also...;<>!
I love my girl, she has such a good head on her shoulders and even uses it a lot.
I have been trying to get into this whole MySpace thingie too..and found a page that claims to be Jimmy Buffet...hmmmm...I wonder if it is actually him or not.....
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
A Tale of Two Trucks
Ok...so its NOT a Truck...or even a Ford...but it IS my Jeep and I can now post photos to this silly thing! One must always have an example of something you actually finished before starting a new adventure. It gives Mr Murphy something to ride around in instead of hanging around the garage...
Ouch...That Hurt....
Hi Jimmy,
Well, Mr Life got in the way of all my plans it seems. A month ago I was driving my 1993 F-150 XLT truck and got hit head-on AND from behind. It totaled the truck and rather messed up my head too. Nothing external on me showing damage, but it triggered all sorts of brain injury problems from a previuos bad wreck.....so I have been a veggie for a month now.
A word about the F-150. It wasn't JUST an F-150...you see, it was my father's and we flew down to Florida to pick it up in December and drive it back to California. It had only 34,000 miles on it, becuase dad just NEVER drove it! The goal was to use it to move equipment for work when needed, and to try and keep it as perfect as possible. It never even had a brake job it had such low milage...and I am more than upset to have it destroyed.
In typical fashion, I refused to admit it was totaled and brought it home. The insurance company gave me a payoff subtracting the value of what I kept. Only Sunday did I find enough damage to the frame to make me decide it wasn't going to be fixeable....that and the big peice of the tranny laying under the truck with a pool of fluid around it. At this point the amount I got from insurance couldn't possibly fix it to even near drivable condition......
....so.....like everyone was telling me, I have been searching for a truck to replace it with. Yesterday I found one, with a worn out interior and some issues...but instead of an F-150, its an F-250...you know, a BIG, HEAVY DUTY TRUCK that sits higher andtends to run over other things in wrecks rather than get destroyed! Ok...I have over-reacted to my wreck. That's ok, it fits me.
The inside of this one ain't looking so good, and its covered with nasty sickers. I paid for it, and on delivery the starter died! Its been fixed and I will drive back down to bring 'er home tomorrow. Then the work of taking every single peice of good parts off the original truck begins. Some when be transfered in right away, others will be stored in case I ever need them. You know..the complete A/C system and the like...doors, electric window parts...etc..
Once I figure out how to put photos on this here Blog I will do so. I'll have some of the original Truck- named Cracker Skylab....and the incoming monster which seems to be named Cracker Apollo already...(Its so big it reminds me more of a Saturn Five than a Saturn 1B like Skylab used....).
I have always said I need a "B.U.T"...and now I will have my Big Ugly Truck.
Stay turned as this blog becomes "A Tale Of Two Trucks" for a while....
Well, Mr Life got in the way of all my plans it seems. A month ago I was driving my 1993 F-150 XLT truck and got hit head-on AND from behind. It totaled the truck and rather messed up my head too. Nothing external on me showing damage, but it triggered all sorts of brain injury problems from a previuos bad wreck.....so I have been a veggie for a month now.
A word about the F-150. It wasn't JUST an F-150...you see, it was my father's and we flew down to Florida to pick it up in December and drive it back to California. It had only 34,000 miles on it, becuase dad just NEVER drove it! The goal was to use it to move equipment for work when needed, and to try and keep it as perfect as possible. It never even had a brake job it had such low milage...and I am more than upset to have it destroyed.
In typical fashion, I refused to admit it was totaled and brought it home. The insurance company gave me a payoff subtracting the value of what I kept. Only Sunday did I find enough damage to the frame to make me decide it wasn't going to be fixeable....that and the big peice of the tranny laying under the truck with a pool of fluid around it. At this point the amount I got from insurance couldn't possibly fix it to even near drivable condition......
....so.....like everyone was telling me, I have been searching for a truck to replace it with. Yesterday I found one, with a worn out interior and some issues...but instead of an F-150, its an F-250...you know, a BIG, HEAVY DUTY TRUCK that sits higher andtends to run over other things in wrecks rather than get destroyed! Ok...I have over-reacted to my wreck. That's ok, it fits me.
The inside of this one ain't looking so good, and its covered with nasty sickers. I paid for it, and on delivery the starter died! Its been fixed and I will drive back down to bring 'er home tomorrow. Then the work of taking every single peice of good parts off the original truck begins. Some when be transfered in right away, others will be stored in case I ever need them. You know..the complete A/C system and the like...doors, electric window parts...etc..
Once I figure out how to put photos on this here Blog I will do so. I'll have some of the original Truck- named Cracker Skylab....and the incoming monster which seems to be named Cracker Apollo already...(Its so big it reminds me more of a Saturn Five than a Saturn 1B like Skylab used....).
I have always said I need a "B.U.T"...and now I will have my Big Ugly Truck.
Stay turned as this blog becomes "A Tale Of Two Trucks" for a while....
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
25 Years Ago TODAY!!!
Hi Jimmy,
Do you remember what YOU were doing 25 years ago today? I DO!!!
I was standing waist deep in freezing coastal water along the Causeway leading into KSC. I had been up all night with a group of friends, one of whom worked for Rockwell Int and had gotten special passes to bring in a car load of people to watch THE FIRST SHUTTLE LAUNCH EVER!!!!!
I'm telling you, there was nothing like it. Yeah, the Saturn Fives rocked, and so did the Saturn 1B night launch for SkyLab.....but that HUGE machine breaking free, rolling over and then heading out for space was just too cool for words!!!!!!
I always wondered if you were there, given your star status and all that. I know the band Rush was, as I saw their bus roll by to the special vistors area ....lucky bastards! A couple of months later they had a tour bus with a painting of a shuttle launch on the side all to themselves. It was way cool...
So today I am wearing my loud screen printed tee shirt I got at KSC last December....it's covered in flames and has a shuttle blasting up at you on my chest. Its gotten a number of comments thus far, all of which I use to let everyone know why today is just so damned important and cool!!!!
Yeah, airplanes are cool, sailing ships are too...but Spacecraft are a notch above both of these. They live in a Space of their own.....hey, were you at the Spaceship One launches? They were just like NASA in the good old days, with a total "Can Do!" attitude going on. Then agan, probably the coolest thing in the end was watching the Spacecraft being towed along the flightline with a good old Ford Truck afterwards....with Richard Branson sitting on the tailgate swinging his feet!
SPACE RULES!
Now just where is my Estes Spaceship One model hiding.......?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUTTLE!!!!!!!
Do you remember what YOU were doing 25 years ago today? I DO!!!
I was standing waist deep in freezing coastal water along the Causeway leading into KSC. I had been up all night with a group of friends, one of whom worked for Rockwell Int and had gotten special passes to bring in a car load of people to watch THE FIRST SHUTTLE LAUNCH EVER!!!!!
I'm telling you, there was nothing like it. Yeah, the Saturn Fives rocked, and so did the Saturn 1B night launch for SkyLab.....but that HUGE machine breaking free, rolling over and then heading out for space was just too cool for words!!!!!!
I always wondered if you were there, given your star status and all that. I know the band Rush was, as I saw their bus roll by to the special vistors area ....lucky bastards! A couple of months later they had a tour bus with a painting of a shuttle launch on the side all to themselves. It was way cool...
So today I am wearing my loud screen printed tee shirt I got at KSC last December....it's covered in flames and has a shuttle blasting up at you on my chest. Its gotten a number of comments thus far, all of which I use to let everyone know why today is just so damned important and cool!!!!
Yeah, airplanes are cool, sailing ships are too...but Spacecraft are a notch above both of these. They live in a Space of their own.....hey, were you at the Spaceship One launches? They were just like NASA in the good old days, with a total "Can Do!" attitude going on. Then agan, probably the coolest thing in the end was watching the Spacecraft being towed along the flightline with a good old Ford Truck afterwards....with Richard Branson sitting on the tailgate swinging his feet!
SPACE RULES!
Now just where is my Estes Spaceship One model hiding.......?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUTTLE!!!!!!!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Struggling with the BIOS Gods....
Hello Jimmy,
Not much to report today, I am falling behind in my projects as I struggle to get a new video card to work in my computer. It all DOES have a longtime goal....as I want to be able to actually use the MS Flightsim I have to get closer to flying on my own some day.......
Guess I better reboot and get back to things....
Not much to report today, I am falling behind in my projects as I struggle to get a new video card to work in my computer. It all DOES have a longtime goal....as I want to be able to actually use the MS Flightsim I have to get closer to flying on my own some day.......
Guess I better reboot and get back to things....
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Letters To Jimmy Buffet
Ahoy,
Here it is. Figuered I needed to get in gear after reading the Intro to "A Salty Peice of Land" by Mr. Buffet. I have ben sitting on my ass far too long and not getting much done. Mr Buffet always kicks me in the ass and gets me dreaming again.
This blog is a completly shameless attempt to catch Jimmy's attention, meet him in person, and get a ride in that sweet Seaplane of his...with him at the controls. Guess I can get on to that after explaining how I went from hating him more than any other musician on the planet to finding him to be just about one of my favorites. (Must leave room for Mike Scott and the ever waywar Waterboys crew...!).((Oh, and Van Morriosn too...)).
Along the way I'll also be making notes as to how the changes in my life are going, what I am improving, and what happened to such well thought out plans along the way. (I can just hear Mike singing "If ya wanna make god laugh...tell him your plans!). At least this way I will be going somewhere again. I got my sites set straight ahead, but I ain't sure what I'm after....sometimes.
Cast off the lines...
Here it is. Figuered I needed to get in gear after reading the Intro to "A Salty Peice of Land" by Mr. Buffet. I have ben sitting on my ass far too long and not getting much done. Mr Buffet always kicks me in the ass and gets me dreaming again.
This blog is a completly shameless attempt to catch Jimmy's attention, meet him in person, and get a ride in that sweet Seaplane of his...with him at the controls. Guess I can get on to that after explaining how I went from hating him more than any other musician on the planet to finding him to be just about one of my favorites. (Must leave room for Mike Scott and the ever waywar Waterboys crew...!).((Oh, and Van Morriosn too...)).
Along the way I'll also be making notes as to how the changes in my life are going, what I am improving, and what happened to such well thought out plans along the way. (I can just hear Mike singing "If ya wanna make god laugh...tell him your plans!). At least this way I will be going somewhere again. I got my sites set straight ahead, but I ain't sure what I'm after....sometimes.
Cast off the lines...
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