bobss396

Road trip...

My son's ex girlfriend, her dad has a '65 Bird that is slowly sinking back into the earth, he is not mechanically inclined, the car is exposed to the elements. I ran into someone at a cruise night with a real nice baby blue '64 Bird. We were talking and he was floored that I work on my own cars. He was trying to get me to do work on his car. No thanks. Another Bird owner I met at a car show, he needed a "simple" dual master cylinder conversion done. The fly in the ointment with that is the driver-side fender strut that gets in the way. That got left off... the labor on the master and booster install alone was around $700. There is not a lot of room to fab/install new brake lines.

I'm not big on selling on eBay lately, but I do see bulk lots of parts for sale. I also see guys in my club that bring them in and give them away.

I built one, another BACK IN THE BOX dealie... I put the Talledega nose on it, that is the major difference AFAIK. I did the NASCAR version pretty much OOTB.

Going back to 2012, 1 annual check-up can = 6 months of doctor visits. I have been using my heart doctor quite a bit, I had a falling out with my primary care doctor during the Covid days. I need the "up periscope" test done, my ENT saw signs if acid reflux, although I feel fine. Many years back I was constantly plagued with crippling heartburn. These days, I may get it 2x a year. I have to be careful to take my morning medications AFTER I eat, or else I'm running to the head. My dad had diverticulitis big time. My last "up periscope" test showed I had signs of it. I recall him having issues with food when he was barely 50 years old, maybe even younger. Everything my mom cooked was bland, zero spices. One guy I know had surgery last year for it and he is under 50. He was prone to serious infections and they removed 18" of his plumbing.

The body cools off fast once you take it out. If I'm working on multiple coats, I give it 2 hours at 105 F. More often than not, I'll color sand between coats. So that really cools it off. I have never thought of it being too dry. I use mainly lacquer-ish auto touch up spray cans, MM Extreme Lacquers and Tamiya TS cans.

I drove an old GMC tow truck with the V6... great power but it loved gas. I may do something similar since I have some 3D printed GMC conversion pieces.

I was in NYC that day, I had a job interview up on 57th street. I had time to kill despite it being cold and a drizzle going on. I walked up to the planetarium and the Dakota. I always liked the building and was a Rosemary's Baby fan. I stood in the exact doorway where Lennon was killed only 6 hours later. I was home that evening when I heard the news on the radio. The album came out, real eerie to listen to.

I have one of those kits and some red mud weathering powder.

There are a lot of things that come out if the paycheck every week. I also had life insurance policies. I'm not sure what rate I was taxed in general, I'd say at least 35%. When I take 401k money out, that is taxed at 26% and makes Uncle Sam happy. Other hits that nobody mentions is that SS is now taxed. My Medicare started at $144 a month, they jacked that up to $370 due to me taking out a lot of money a couple years ago. My supplemental BCBS keeps going up, it started at maybe $170 and is closer to $300 for 2025. I have an rx plan, do not recommend Cigna/Express Scripts.. that's another story. I have a few prescriptions that are pricy. Overall my out of pocket expenses are few. I have some doctors that take a $20 co-pay. I get some small bills now and then. Short hospital stays, I pay nothing. My lifestyle has changed very little in retirement. My nest egg is still above where I started in 2020. I'm carrying a big mortgage... nobody in my financial circle is of much advice for that. But my interest rate is low. I have 3 car loans, also good rates but I should start paying them off. I go out to eat with my girlfriend a couple of times a week. I stop at my local bar for a beer and burger as well.

Very nice, I should try a 1/16 kit. I saw one a local guy did of the Bobby Isaac car.

I had to get used to spending money too. I am frugal by nature, not cheap by any means. I have had to do things with the house, a new roof and fence in 2021. That was $25k in almost one shot. I started with one company in 1981 and stayed for 38.5 years. Guys I knew who were retiring in 1986 were giddy over having a $200k nest egg. Before 1983, we just had a pension and could buy company stock at a discount. Then the 401k came along, I was 28 and jumped right in. Through it all, tough years, good ones, I kept putting money away. So I have that and 2 pensions coming in. I worked with another guy whose parents were 90. They scrimped and saved. Never went anywhere, no vacations... they did nothing. Their nest egg was like $300k, the last years of their lives, a lot of that went to 24/7 health aides.

My in-laws moved to an over 55 place in Florida. The FIL had the gift of gab and everyone thought he was rich. Anyway, the place was crawling with young-ish widows, age 65 to 80. And they were all over him when he was out alone. Some were just about scraping by, so they were looking for a sugar daddy.

O yeah, the check engine light comes on more often. I don't have too many appointments coming up right now, but when I do, it blows a big hole in my week.

My brother's buddy built a stout 1957 Chevy while in HS, in 1975 or 1976. 454, dual quad tunnel ram, M22 rock crusher. BUT... he kept the stock-ish rear. They popped like party balloons. I'm not sure what happened to the car, the last time I saw it, there was a Dana 60 rear on the garage floor next to it. I started out my Ford, I had a custom driveshaft made for it, but kept it 1310 for the u-joints since it matched the stock 3.56 rear. I should have bit the bullet and upgraded to at least a 1330 when I ordered the locker rear for it. This is why I don't do hoke shots or burnouts with it.

There are a lot of things like harnesses available for almost any part of these cars. With the Birds, by 1961 they were getting quite complex. Lots of luck with a plug & play harness that is not specific to that car. Close enough will not hack it. Sure you can get almost anything regarding wiring. It is a specialty and will run some bucks. I put an aftermarket harness in my old Ford. That was pretty simple and encompassed less than 60 wires total.

I'm a couple of months away from 70 too...

The AMT 1965 Ford kit has the narrow Cragers in it.

We had 2 back to back blizzards in 1978. The 1st one, I left work early and stopped to check on my parents that were close by. I'm driving up the block and there are 2 guys with something on a sled... my brothers. They had 3 cases of Miller Beer and a 1/2 gallon of Old Grand Dad tied to it. The next few days they holed themselves up in the basement racing slot cars. My 2 mile ride to my house...took me 3 hours with stuck cars. No work for 3 days, I was glad the power stayed on.

I was looking at a pretty nice '62 Bird just as the plandemic hit in 2020. White, red inside, nice all over. It needed a exhaust manifold and some front end work. Due to a lot of uncertainty at the time I passed on it. They are nice cars, even up to the '66. But you need to do your research on them. The sequential taillights are one item, I think there is a digital conversion package for that now. Front disc conversions are not cheap. Hanging a dual master cylinder interferes with the driver side fender strut, under the hood. Interior stuff is expensive even used, electrical work gets complicated real fast. But for style and comfort, the '64-'66 are hard to beat.

I was out with my '59 Ford I'm 2018. I was heading to the gym and had my foot in it. The Muncie M20 I had in it was not in peak condition. It popped out of gear at 5000 RPMs on the 2-3 shift. BANG!! I was glad the engine sounded good.. limped home in 4th gear... slowly 🐌... like 20 in 4th gear and it was LOUD. I didn't dare try any other gear as I might have been stuck. We took it out, opened the side cover and looked inside. Broken main gear, 3rd was a hot mess, the countershaft was bad. I dropped it off to a guy we know, he went through the whole thing and I had it back a few days later. New Italian gear set, new rebuild parts and some good used parts. Dodged an expensive bullet with that one. I wasn't sure it could be fixed.

On stock cars, we all had them in place. So the shaft just banged off the floor pan. As soon as you heard it, you know what just happened.

I was leading the feature at Islip in 1983 with my big block Nova. Came out of turn 2, pedal to the metal. I had the loud noise from hell under the car and it felt like neutral. I finished poorly. The blow proof Lakewood u-joint blew, taking out the driveshaft yoke. I had to conjure up a new shaft for the next race.

I did a 15 lb bird and 2 types of stuffing, regular and cornbread. Both were a mix with a 1/2 lb of sausage mixed in. Next time I will add more broth as they were a tad dry. I gave my kids lots of leftovers to take home. The salad I made was too big, so that will keep me fed this week too. The frame had some good meat on it, I still can make a few sandwiches out of it. For Xmas I'm going with a fresh ham and a Spanish rice dish.

And... turkey barley soup. I threw the carcass into water, got lots of good meat off it. Leftover veggie platter carrots and celery, chicken broth and spices. Guess what ill be eating all week.