Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Wanderer

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts


  • so I bought this because I couldn't find any used air ducts - it's a molded bit that goes from the center HVAC to the left of the driver - I was doing a bit of whining and then thought "I wonder if I can find a new one" the answer is yes, yes I can... so it's on its way and this will be used for the passenger side


    first job was one I've been avoiding because it's such a pain to do - running the cruise control wire down the column. I guess I'm going find out why they just didn't run it down the same hole as the signal wires... until then, I should have cruise control again

    I was smart, I left the wire

    then I wasn't when it detached on the way through
    so time to take the column a bit more apart

    hey look, new stalk installed

    dash cap on... except for the aluminum-ish bit ... oh yeah, it broke into a thousand pieces


    I think I'm going to retract my comments about the cap. It's a functional cap, but it's not terribly accurate so there are issues


    started installing my HAM radio


    and my radio


    radio is now wired, I just need to make the hole and get an antenna adapter. I still don't know what I'm going to do about the broke bit. Probably should just glue it together... we will see.
    Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; April 23, 2017, 09:38 PM.
    Doing it all wrong since 1966

    Comment



    • this update hardly seems worth it, but here it goes


      fortunately, I didn't forget about the need to fix the ground before I put the dash back together


      it all even works - I have to take it apart one more time and get the antennas for the HAM quad band radio (it transmits on GMRS, FRS, and CB frequencies along with commercial (aka race radio) bands, and technician frequencies) - I decided to use 2 antennas and a switch so that I don't have the same issue I'm having with my one-antenna-to-rule-them-all-easy-to-break issue.
      Doing it all wrong since 1966

      Comment


      • fixes and gauges - or, how many ways can one fix plastic parts?

        first the aluminum looking panel that snapped...

        gorilla glue is a good thing



        this is already making me itch

        aiming a bit too high

        but wait, I have sewer pipe


        Buick isn't sure


        meh, what does he know - he's just a dog

        the purpose of the bondo is to keep the fiberglass from leaking through when I cover it all with a coat of fiberglass


        thus it just gets smeared on
        looks like the gorilla won again


        one of the antennas for the dual antenna setup

        Doing it all wrong since 1966

        Comment


        • Opinion?

          Specs:

          • 1/3 hp compressor motor, the most powerful in the RV industry today
          • Running Watts for Cooling - 1225 to 1450 Watts
          • Approximate full load amps - cooling - 11.1 amps
          • Evaporator Air Delivery on high speed - 200 CFM
          • Dimensions: 44 2/25" L x 32" W x 10" H
          • Weight: 92 lbs
          • Optional 5,600 Btuh heating element to take the chill out of cool mornings.
          Doing it all wrong since 1966

          Comment


          • and this is exactly what I'm doing except not a hearse
            A Corvette LT1 engine, rebuilt and upgraded transmission, rearview camera/monitor, HID conversion headlights, 23" TV/DVD player, 9200 BTU 120V A/C, 100 watt solar panel w/control panel, 4-100 amp/hour battery Bank, 2000 watt Xantrex inverter/charger/transfer switch w/control panel, 30 amp 120v service, latex foam/memory foam mattress, porta potie, battery inter-connecter switch, receiver hitch, and all the creature comforts the 1996 CADDILAC FLEETWOOD luxury vehicle provides the driver and passenger.

            Doing it all wrong since 1966

            Comment


            • And yet another solution (though this might be for my wife's Jeep)
              https://climateright.com/air-conditi..._product-specs
              Doing it all wrong since 1966

              Comment


              • Those amp figures are for 115v. "shore power"..to convert to 12v, multiply by about ten (right...?), making the big one 110 amps, then factor in around 80% inverter efficiency...even knowing you don't have to run it at full blast, I'd sure go for the smallest a/c I could get away with. Unless you're running a generator which I don't remember if you were doing, or have 100 watts of solar, like the hearse guy (they can do that?) and up it a little. Just thoughts, I ain't the expert, for sure.
                Last edited by Loren; April 27, 2017, 12:23 PM.
                ...

                Comment


                • That is about the smallest there is.... it draws 1320 watts (which helps with the conversion process). I have a 2500 watt inverter in the vehicle
                  Doing it all wrong since 1966

                  Comment


                  • Now the dash is in for real


                    a bit of grinding work but I had to glue again so no skim coat


                    aforementioned fix


                    the antenna for the ham portion of the radio





                    Doing it all wrong since 1966

                    Comment


                    • The kid's F350 has 3 guages on the pillar... I don't really like them there.. Might be because whom ever installed them did not hook the lights to the dimmer switch/dash lights.. They glare at you at night..
                      Your's is looking pretty good!

                      Comment


                      • THE WANDERERS #12



                        SMOKEY AND THE BANDITS - PART III

                        By Rick Sieman





                        When we last left Carl and Emma, they were spending some time with Officer LaRue Honker in Log Jam, Georgia. You see, Officer Honker shot a hole in Carl's engine by mistake, thinking he was aiming a radar gun. While Honker's brother-in-law was fixing Carl's motor, Carl was assisting the peace officer in ticket writing, and having a good time at it.
                        A string of 4-x4- crooks had been operating locally, foiling the best efforts of the Log Jam Police Department. Carl and Larue were busy making plans to apprehend the 4x4 thieves.

                        ***

                        We join them at the kitchen table at Officer Honker's house.
                        "More okra and possum jowels, Carl?" asked Velveeta, Officer LaRue's wife.
                        Carl subdued a small burp. "Gosh, no thanks, Velveeta. I'm packed to the snouts. But I could use just another taste of that good old home brew."
                        Velveeta picked up the mason jar in front of Carl and moments later returned it full. She smiled. "LaRue, Emma and I are going to go in the living room and watch WWF wrestling. There's a big tag-team match on tonight, with Greg "The Hammer Valentine and The Honky Tonk Man, taking on George "The Animal" Steel and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. We'll leave you two boys alone here in the kitchen so's you can figure out how to trap those crooks. There's some pecan cookies next to the fridge if either of you get hun­gry."
                        LaRue took a deep sip from his mason jar and his eyes widened a bit. "Carl, we got to figure out some way to nab these guys. I think that tryin' to chase 'em down is a lost cause. All's we got is my Land Cruiser and that just ain't fast enough. "
                        "LaRue, when will your brother-in-law have my Suburban done?"
                        "Two days. Mebbe three at the outside. Whyzat?"
                        Carl took another deep pull on the mason jar. "Well, why don't we just chase em down with The Whale? It's got plenty of beans and great suspension."
                        LaRue emptied his mason jar and refilled it, "Nope. That'd be way too dangerous. We might hit one of those New York lawyers while we chase em down and get sued to death. We gotta think of some other way."
                        Carl emptied his jar and refilled it, then took a long sip. "Well, howsa 'bout we leave the keys in The Whale and let them steal it?"
                        LaRue slurped the mason jar a good three inches lower. "What good zat gonna do? Then you're out a perfectly good truck."
                        Carl sucked down about half of his jar and shuddered. "What if I'm in it?"
                        LaRue took another deep slug. "Then they'll steal you, too. That'd be grand theft auto and grand theft of a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer. Pretty serious stuff. Probably a federal violation. FBI might want in on the deal."
                        Carl drained his jar and refilled it again. "We don't need the FBI. I'll hide in the boat on the roof and when they steal The Whale, I'll nab 'em. You can wire me for sound and I'll keep you posted. This way we can follow 'em to their hideout. Whaddaya think?"
                        LaRue emptied his jar. "I think I'll have another drink. It stimulates the thinking process."
                        Carl weaved a bit from side to side. "Yes, but we better have some of those cookies. You should never drink on an empty sto­mach."
                        "Good idea! But first let's refill these mason jars. Cookies can make a man damned thirsty!"

                        An hour later, Emma and Velveeta shut down the TV and walked into the kitchen, to be greeted by the sight of two rather large grown men snoring, faces flat on the kitchen table, with cookie crumbs dribbling out of their mouths. It took a good half-hour to drag them both into bed.

                        ***

                        Two days later, both Carl and LaRue were still recovering from a Class AA hangover as they wandered into the crusty old Sinclair station run by Honker's brother-in-law. "Carl, this here's Fred­dy. we call him Frogman, Froggy for short."
                        Carl shook hands with the tall, lanky, freckled, red-haired mechanic. "Well, Froggy. How's she goin'?"
                        Froggy carved some grease out from under a fingernail with a large straight slot screwdriver. "She's done, Carl. And if I have to say so myself, she's better'n when she came in here. I found a coupla valves that were burnt on the edges, and you was pumpin' some oil on number three and number eight cylinders. I put a good seasoned block in and set up the tolerances jist like I would for a stock car that was gonna run at Arlington.
                        "Take 'er for a spin and don't worry about breakin' 'er in. I run it on the dyno over at Hank's Speed Shop for a good three hours."

                        Fifteen minutes later, Carl pulled back into the service bay, with a big grin on his face. "Shoot, Froggy, I smoked the tires off the line like a pimply-faced kid in a little deuce coupe. You are a certified genius."
                        "Yes, I know."

                        ***

                        LaRue and Carl huddled together in a booth at the Frosty-Freeze stand and made their plans. " Okey-dokey, Carl. Here's the deal. We leave The Whale parked in front of Shorty's Bar and Grill and Bar."
                        "Why is it called bar and grill and bar, instead of just bar and grill?"
                        "Boy, are you northerners dumb. It's got two bars in it. Any­ways, back to business. You hide out in that big boat on the roof and I'll make sure the keys are on the dash and the driver's side window is down. Now we know that at least seven of the 4x4s have been stolen from this spot, and always on a Saturday afternoon. I figure we're about due for another hit."

                        Carl clambered up into the boat and settled back with a copy of Field and Stream. Just about the time he was halfway through the article on how to get lunker trout on macaroni and cheese balls, he heard the familiar sound of the door on The Whale slamming shut. A moment later, the macho growl of the 454 rumbled into life. Then, with a squeal from the rear tires, The Whale pulled away from the curb and the chase was on!
                        Carl pulled out the small walkie-talkie. "Ten-four, over and out, roger-wilco, code seven, do you copy me, Smokey Bear?"
                        "Jeez, Carl, will you knock off the radio jive talk and just listen up. I'm about a half-mile behind you in my Land Cruiser. I'm gonna fall back 'til I'm out of sight. After that, I'm gonna hafta rely on you for radio directions. You let me know about turns and all that stuff. This is Smokey, out!"
                        "This here's Carl, in!"

                        ***

                        About an hour later, The Whale creaked to a halt and Carl peeked from underneath the lower lip of the boat cover. He was in a clearing with a small cabin and dozens of trucks with camou­flaged, tarps were all over the place. Perhaps a half-dozen rough-looking men lounged around the makeshift hideaway.
                        Carl got on the radio and whispered, "Uh, Smokey, this here's The Whale. I'm in a hollow with a cabin and a whole bunch of what appears to be stolen 4x4s. What are you gonna do? There's too many of 'em for one man."
                        "Just leave it to me. Over."
                        "Under," said Carl.

                        Ten long minutes later, Carl heard and a loud voice boom, "Don't anyone move! Y'all are surrounded by the Georgia National Guard. This is General Jones speaking. We will not shoot unless anyone makes a move, but if you even hint about doing anything funny, my men are under orders to open fire with bazookas, ma­chine-guns and hand grenades. We have poison gas if you want to play it rough, and we also have killer attack dogs with us who haven't eaten for three days."
                        The men all got big eyes and looked toward their leader for advice. He simply put his hands up in the air.

                        LaRue's voice rang out again. "Now, I want the smallest man there to pick up a 2X4 and hit the tallest man on the head with it real smart-like. If he doesn't drop, we'll put a bullet or two right in the middle of your shorts."
                        A moment later, there was a dull thunking sound, followed by a groan.
                        "Now, the next tallest man gets the same treatment, or I turn the dogs loose!"
                        There was another whacking sound and a body hit the dirt. In a few minutes, only one person was left standing: a short man with a 2x4 in his hands and very wide eyes.
                        The voice rang out again. "Now then, you there with the 2x4. Hit yourself on the head with it!"
                        There was a dull thunk.
                        "Do it again. This time with some spirit, or I light off the flame-throwers and then send in the dogs for a barbecue of the leftovers!"
                        This time there was an even louder thunk, followed by a groan and the unmistakable sound of a body falling to the ground.
                        Carl stumbled out from underneath the boat and surveyed the scene around him. All of the men were on the ground, out cold. Officer LaRue Honker emerged from the bushes, with an ear-to-ear grin.
                        Carl shook his hand. "LaRue, I am impressed! How did you ever come up with that slick idea of getting them to knock each other out?"
                        "Had to. Left my gun back at the gas station by mistake."
                        "You mean ... "
                        "Right. We coulda been screwed, blued and tatooed."

                        ***

                        Two days later, Carl and Emma bid a tearful farewell to LaRue and Velveeta. "Where y'all headed to now good buddy?" asked LaRue.
                        "South, old friend. To Miami. We could use some peace and quiet and, as I recall, Miami is a slow, kicked-back town with a lotta old, retired people."

                        ***

                        Miami? Slow? Whoa, folks, what are Carl and Emma headed for?
                        Doing it all wrong since 1966

                        Comment


                        • Finally, I can get close to finishing the carpet.

                          first a skim coat for the gauge pod



                          *commercial break*

                          Today's episode is brought to you by Singer Sewing machines - when you can't afford the best, buy some Chinese product with an American name, Singer, because you can't afford German or Japanese quality.
                          In my defense, my plan is to sew webbing for a dog crate - so a $20 sewing machine makes a lot more sense then a $1,500 sewing machine.... someday, but not today - though I'm grateful not to be sewing the webbing by hand

                          back to insulation.... $60 for 240 square feet, one side foil, from Home Depot


                          first replace the soda-encrusted issue


                          add a bit of extra padding to where I suspect my mastiff will sleep


                          starting to look just about like it did before


                          and the back (note the dust floating about? yeah, it is a bit itchy)




                          In a pinch, I could make that tank work.... but I think not, this isn't a rock-crawler so I'll build a custom tank for underneath

                          and on that vein, I still am not completely sure the lay out


                          that's all for today, thanks for watching
                          Doing it all wrong since 1966

                          Comment


                          • Nice progress. What did you get for carpet and are you happy with it?

                            Is this what you got for the insulation?



                            Did you glue it down?
                            Chris - HRPT Long Haul 03, 04, 05, 13, 14, 15,16 & 18
                            74 Nova Project
                            66 Mustang GT Project

                            92 Camaro RS Convertible Project
                            79 Chevy Truck Project
                            1956 Cadillac Project

                            Comment


                            • carpet from these guys
                              Update your worn or torn interior flooring with ACC replacement carpets Experts in automotive flooring and carpet for any year make model. Get 30 off of re


                              I paid extra for their backing. It's about as good as any other I've seen - it still requires a lot of work to get it to look decent

                              yep, that's the insulation and yes, with contact cement.
                              Doing it all wrong since 1966

                              Comment


                              • I hate leaking vehicles - so I spend more then a bit of time fixing that stuff.... this was a 90% fix, I bubba fixed part of it but will fix that too when I do the manual swap

                                seal replacement


                                and the rear one (I have bad words to say about that spring... I didn't notice it and put the first seal in - the driveshaft wouldn't go in... ugh)

                                more parts

                                who would have thought you could still buy this new, from GM?


                                tach sensor

                                and glue the magnets to the balancer

                                and more sanding done on this.... thinking a crinkle finish will hide all sins

                                the sensor installed

                                and antennae installed

                                I think I've circled back to this layout.... sink and cooktop will go on the driver's side

                                larger battery goes here



                                well, there's a couple evenings work...


                                Doing it all wrong since 1966

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X