Ok a couple things before we get into this weekends festivities. first, I had the fuel sender gasket weep AGAIN, and took it out to find this: JUNK! So I dug into my gasket stash and made one out of some cork gasket sheet that I had. Fixed. Next Speedway motors did a short little interview of me when I was at the cars and coffee back in august, and it was released last week! (its on instagram and tik-tok, I don't know if there's a version that could be linked here of not?) Even that number I gave is outdated now. On wednesday night I finally got around to ripping the heater core out, and addressing the problem I cut the two holes in the firewall kinda too small and tight to the heater core, and it eventually wore though a little spot on the heater core and caused a leak on the way home from Oklahoma. you can see the rust spot under the hole. Patched and ready to reassemble. and installed! This time with bigger holes, grommets and some shims to hold the core more steady. Oh, and I stuck a 170 degree thermostat in. this time with no holes. it held at 170 all weekend, and never had a problem, and provided some actual heat for my feet. I even drove it to work friday to test it out. Saturday morning I headed out, and by the time I hit Hannibal I was able to shed some layers. eventually I got there. The art show put on by my buddies Dennis and Joe, was in a cool old car dealership in downtown St Louis. My setup: an excerpt from my Instagram stories, and a shot of my truck, er , hot rod, parked in a back alley. Just for my record, it was in a tow-away-zone. Here's a photo Dennis took of me in 'siesta mode' After I hung out for awhile and had stuff situated, I went down to the "Crusing Lindbergh" deal and met a few guys with good taste in hot rods.. Had a good chat, then went our separate ways, but as I went to leave the parking lot, I noticed the voltage gauge was only reading 12.5 or so, instead of the 13.2 that's the norm So I made it up the street a block or two before I pulled into a parking lot and tried changing the belt. Good views of the cars going by, this truck had the look and the sound right on! Unfortunately the new belt did not solve my problem. So I messaged my buddy Dan, and asked if I could come by his shop, since it was getting dark. I got right to work pulling off the alternator, and dissecting it. I found some grass, and a slightly darkened spot on the rectifier, so I could only assume that was the problem.. I borrowed Dan's truck, took it to the nearest O'Reilly's to exchange, and they didn't have anything even close to it, but the Hub 15 miles down the road in Affton had the alternate that they would exchange. So down the road I went, and after a quick stop at the QT for a snack and a drink (I never actually ate dinner) I was back at dan's installing a new unit. fired it up and had 13.2 right on the dot. Dan and I chatted for a bit, and I remarked how it was just over one year since I picked up a pile of parts from his driveway. (see Page 1) I drove to another buddies place to sleep for the night, and after a shower and a few hours of sleep, I got back up to go to the show. After a stop for coffee, I parked right out front. After what seemed like only a couple minutes the day was over and I was loading up. thankfully I had less to bring home than I took. still a full car for the ride home. Fortunately for me, Nick said I could crash at his place, so I didn't have to make the trip home after the show. after some Mexican food, A good BS session with nick, and a nice nights sleep, I was ready to make the trek home on monday morning. After dealing with traffic on the way out, I eventually got into a rhythm. and the "leaving over the bridge" shot. See corresponding image from last time I drove to St louis, HERE. I made it home, just stopping twice for gas, and once more just to check the oil level. I ran it pretty hard, averaging around 75 mph, and It got about 18 mpg between Hannibal and Cameron. Total milage now, 9050. closer to the goal, but not there yet. should be in Lincoln, for the Speedway motors cars and coffee, over the weekend. . . . Another note, It was hard this week to deal with the fact I won't be seeing any more comments from Jim Stanley on here. He had become a good friend in the past year, even though I've known him most of my life. I'll miss his friendly banter at shows and our talks about roadtrips, including him taking me to go get gas when I ran out on the way back from a show, (the one time I rode in his car) or this last years trip to Indy where we met up and he regaled me with the tale of his trip (Mismatched shoes, two batteries, and a pile of oil bottles to rival yours truly.) these two posts are among my favorites on this thread. It means a lot to inspire people, especially those who are always there to cheer you on. RIP buddy. Thread for Jim: HERE
Jim was as good as it gets. He will be missed everywhere. Inspiring? Good gravy man, you ain't afraid of 'nuthin...what's not inspiring to the rest of us to get out on the road than that?
Ok, just for grins, went back and looked at dates.... Oct '22 pile of parts, announced it's on the road and running March of '23 and just short of 10k miles Oct '23. So, in answer to the guy who posted on a another thread "Can I build a car in a year" the answer is yes, yes you can...and have more miles on it than most people put on their cars the entire time they own them to boot!
Meh, I heard he trailers it everywhere. Power parking pouser with a dirty hat is all he is. kidding, we bust each others chops pretty bad but in all honesty he has inspired some upcoming changes in the garage
How can we not be inspired by Joey & his can do, go get em, people are important attitude! His wife is smiling & joining him on jaunts, they must be doing something right
Thanks for more updates Joey. Pretty sure I recognize Dan’s shop and cars. Oh, and that little pickup is way cool. Seems like I ran across it in St. Louis once too. I just can’t remember whose it is.
Its Bill Bierman's there's more photos HERE thanks Dave, thanks to all you guys. Its been a fun ride. . and it just starting. once I get to 10k miles, I'm gonna start V2... and two new projects.
Got a cool surprise the other day when I looked at Shane Garletts coverage of the Roc for Hop up. A great photo of me and the wife rolling out of the Roc, Stopping to talk to @mctim64 during the reliability run, And a comparison of a nice, expensive motor, and a cheap reliable motor. And @Bass dash. Anyway, I headed out Saturday morning for the speedway cars and coffee in lincoln, (a little over 2 hours away) It was chilly and I was in full winter mode. With temps hovering in the 30's when I got there, I was frozen, (except my feet, the heater worked great!) So I parked in the circle drive and went right inside to find Tim (@CoolForSchool58 ) We sat around for a couple hours while I warmed up, and then I grabbed a part from the counter , and followed Tim north. The secondary goal for the weekend was to pick up an axle from My buddy Erik. Once we picked it up, I went to lunch with Erik in his falcon ranchero, and then split for home. It was a long couple hours home, and at an average of 37 degrees, it was cold. But after what seemed like forever, I was home. You can see the axle in the passenger space. Now sitting at about 9400+ miles. hopefully we hit a warm streak in here somewhere, or the last 600 is gonna be really hard fought.
Bbbbrrrrrrrr come down and have some tacos on a warm Sunday we’ll drive around on curvy roads til it clicks over lol
ok, short update of the past two weeks. bought a table spot at our local (40 miles away) model show to sell some parts I had accumulated, and so the morning of the show, Mike came by the house and started following me down. well, I didn't make it far. I was about 15 miles out of town, when I glanced at my temp gauge and saw it already past 230. I instantly shut it off and took it out of gear, and coasted to a stop off the roadway, thankfully we were on a section of highway with a wide shoulder. After a very quick and confused glance at the motor, I tried to start it again... no bueno. It was obviously hot and unhappy, but the radiator didn't seem hot, and the intake wasn't that hot either... We were already late for the show, so we made the decision to tow it a couple miles to my buddies house, and leave it till we got back. Yes, that's a small ratchet strap. We piled all my crap into mike's truck and headed for the show. I brought one model with me, and it won an award! We also sold a bunch of stuff. But all day in the back of my mind, I was trying to make sense of what had happened that morning. After the show, We stopped on the way home, and looked it over. Feeling really dumb, I found very quickly, that I had thrown a fan belt. adding insult to injury, I couldn't (and still can't) find my spare. So I put a tarp on it and left it at my buddies house for a couple days in his driveway. Once a new belt came in on monday after work I went and retrieved it. It drove home no problem. But it still weirded me out, and it fouled the plugs pretty bad, so I had to clean stuff up, do a bunch of double checking, and some tuning, while I drove back and forth to work last week. I knew that I had to get it together cause this sunday was another art show in KC. I told my wife saturday night, "Once I start driving, I should know pretty quick if it's gonna make it or not" So I set out Sunday morning at 7:30 (again, it was COLD) and what do ya know, it ran great. Got down there, sat up, had a great time and sold some stuff. A good day overall. I will admit, I've been spliting time here lately, working on a new project, its kinda OT for here, but only cause its a 69 (other than the front end and minor details, its the same as the 64). hopefully its on the road by spring. Spy photos: Oh, btw, I'm around 9600+ now. I should be there soon. . .
Well, its been a wild couple weeks. Sickness, Family Thanksgiving, Snow, and other obligations have kept me from putting many more miles on, other than the trips through town and to the store and back. but I did take the time to drive it to family pictures, and we got some great snaps. Then of course, baby girl had to drive her car. Hopefully be back in the saddle soon! I've got one month left! . .
FINALLY!!! I made 10,000 miles! I was looking at the weather forecast and I saw that yesterday was supposed to be the nicest day by far, so I took off work at lunch, and set out. I had been talking to @32fenderless (Jason) about some steel tubing he was willing to donate for the rambler project, and even though I could have driven a short distance to St Joe, and bought a piece of tubing for less than I would spend on gas, I decided to make the trip. So A little bit of planning went into this, as I needed around 330 miles. The standard trip to Jason's shop, would be around 280. here: But since I needed more milage, I decided on a more circuitous route. here: While I hit interstate on the way up to save time, I drove the whole way back not only on highways, but I actually hit some roads I had never been on before, (actually found a nice, smooth, fresh paved road too!) Anyway, at about noon, I left out, and headed east. I needed to make the speedometer read 7300* by the end of the day. *I drove 2000 miles on the way to Texas, a few more hundred before I got the speedometer in, and at different times the speedometer has stopped working (once on the way back from Minnesota for 300+ miles) so from my records and calculations I had about 2700 miles not recorded on the speedometer.* by the time I hit interstate I was already past 7000. I made good time in the left lane, I had at least 5 people video Me as I went by. I mean, how could you not want a picture of this face? Anyway... Right south of des moines, I nearly got caught going a fair bit faster than I should have been by a trooper, but was able to fall in line and look 'normal' enough I guess... after taking it easy around 5 highway, I made it to Jason's shop. After eating my sandwich and chips I had packed, I decided to make my way south. Oh, and I had to stop and fill the oil a couple times... Eventually I rolled into Bethany, and after a quick stop at my buddies shop, I was on my way again. I got to watch a beautiful sunset, and had to drive in the dark for the last 45 minutes or so. but as I rolled off the highway to get to my house, It rolled over. by the time I got to my house, it was 7301. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. (wordy sappy stuff following) This summer has been amazing and a year ago today I would have never guessed this car would let me do so many things, go so many places, or meet so many people. I'll be the first to tell you, I couldn't have gotten here alone. from people like @redzula , Florian, @Mpls 40 , @titus , Erik, @DirtyDan , and everyone I'm forgetting who opened their homes to a scruffy hot rodder. also big thanks to @Anderson , @Bass , @TexasSpeed , @rob lee , @tdog, (and everyone listed above) that let me wreck their productivity at work or at their home shops, just to show me around. And a big thanks to everyone that helped, with parts, service, or lending a hand on the road. you guys are what makes hot rodding fun. Special thanks to @Austin kays for stepping up to throw all my junk motor parts into something that made it 10k miles, and for all the help getting it sorted. Also, Special thanks to my buddy Mike, for helping do dirty work, and being comedic relief when I was stressed over my self-imposed deadlines. And finally, thanks to @J.Ukrop for the push to start this tread. I'm just getting started, but the plan is to rip into the motor and get some machine work done (like @Austin kays said I should have done last year) and then get some bodywork lined out. And I've gotta have a top if I wanna drive to Bonneville in august... . .
Looking at the photos of the year - via Instagram where I could just flip threw them- It kinda blew me away not that you got that many miles in in less than a year but that you got THAT many stories crammed into less than a year. good shit
Congratulations! Many rods don't get a 10k shakedown in their first TEN years. I have enjoyed the stories and adventures along the way. See you down the road.
As I said on IG... Fuckin Legend. Happy to have played a very small part. From never having met you... to picking up the Turtle Deck and delivering it to the roc to some rando I only knew from Instagram pictures. To 6 months later providing a friendly roof for the night and finally 2 months later another cross country roadtrip at a moments notice no questions asked. I agree with @Tim the milage you managed is amazing but the amount if different trips you planned and completed is what's really bonkers.
haha I can't see myself with that title... Couldn't have done it without ya buddy! don't forget about the swapping of ford bearings in your driveway! (still the ones in the car btw) It's been a fun year! you never know I might come visit ya at your new digs sometime! I need a ride in that coupe! Haha my wife would out me in an instant, "Planning" isn't in my vocabulary, I Just decide to go and figure out how to make it work. Hot rod people are the best cause there's not a single time this year that I had something happen that wasn't closely followed by a hot rodder stepping in to help. Its all about the adventure, and you just gotta go do it. . . P.S. also keep in mind that dollar general has cheaper oil than gas stations.
anytime buddy, well get her sorted so it doesnt need more oil then gas haha... OFF TO THE MACHINE SHOP!
King....or krazy. LOL! 10k in a year.....that's a heck of a shakedown! My hat is off to you dude....you rule!
I'm not dead! At least not yet. Had a good Christmas season, spent time with family, and relaxed. I sent out this years Christmas card, And my wife sent one out too, and the T made it on the card! Otherwise I have mostly been reorganizing the shop, getting ready to piece together a model A coupe for sale, then I can start work on the speed coupe again. here's the shop side of my shop as it sits currently, with 7 projects in it. But this isn't a general shop thread, now is it? Well mostly due to the large amount of snow, ice, and subsequently, Salt, that has been on our roads, The roadster hasn't moved yet this year. But that doesn't mean I haven't been trying to make some progress. Just last week @32fenderless picked up the new block for the roadster. It's been decked, bored, checked, and cleaned. I'll have to grind it to match the block that's in the roadster, but its way less waiting and it was pretty cheap for what it was. Once I have it in hand, and start tearing the T apart, it should go pretty quickly. there's a couple things I'd like to drive the T to in may, so as always, I'll be thrashing. And if that's not enough to do, I've also decided to continue working on the top for it. I did some more shaping on the front bow, and started welding the frame work together. hopefully progress continues soon. .
Nope, gonna get the valve guides fixed on my early double hump heads, and run them. They are out of my dad's old work truck that I rode in the whole time I was a kid, so they are kinda sentimential.
The Jalopy Journal
