Ace-Garageguy

When in doubt, seeking actual knowledge rather than opinions is recommended. https://www.shapesbyhydro.com/en/knowledge/a-quick-guide-to-the-machinability-of-aluminium-alloys/ https://industrialmetalservice.com/metal-university/choosing-an-aluminum-grade-thats-right-for-your-machining-process/?srsltid=AfmBOopg409BWPUPkrmEdlzSLYZfGVSs03j74dm926tOpcJtd8F90_pX

Gravy with chunks of sausage floating in its floury milky peppery goodness dumped lavishly over hot buttered biscuits is one of the great joys of cold winter mornings down South.

Smart...boy howdy; if I'd known at 18 what I know now, I'd have more money than Jeff B., Elon, and Bill G. combined.

My understanding is that you're correct. IIRC, from 1908 to 1913, Ford model Ts could be had in colors including red, green, and blue. As demand and production increased, the paint technology of the time made black the quickest to get out the door. As paint technology advanced, around 1926, colors that could also be put through quickly became available.

You know Dan, far as I'm aware nobody ever said they had a problem doing something like this with an "empty rusty shell". This is called "comparing apples to oranges", or in less polite circles...a strawman. What I said is that somebody asked me to gut a slightly rough...but-decent...daily driver XK-120 Jag and convert it to an EV. And that I refused on the basis of being unwilling to destroy a perfectly good, operational original vehicle. EDIT: I even went back and READ my own post, where I said specifically "if it was an empty shell I'd consider it". My statement is right there, and the post hasn't been edited since Nov. 25, when I made it. EDIT 2: And FWIW, if somebody wanted me to hack up a complete, functioning, survivor '32 Ford roadster into an ICE-powered hot-rod, I'd refuse on exactly the same grounds. EDIT 3: Manual gearbox lead-acid EV conversions were fairly common the the 1970s. I've worked on more that a few that were brought in after being bodged by DIYers who'd never used tools on anything that had to function. Two I remember were a Fiat 128 sedan, and a Bradley GT on a VW pan. EDIT 3A: One of my employers, an independent Porsche shop, wanted me to do a 914 electric conversion a long tome ago. The 4-cylinder cars were plentiful and cheap at the time, and I had no problem with converting one that had become a beater, was somewhat rusty, etc. But the shop owner seemed to be under the impression that because I'd been involved with relatively primitive EV conversions previously, I should be able to do it in a few hours for a couple hundred bucks. Wrong. As this was pretty much his attitude regarding everything (he was a trust-fund-baby who'd never had dirty hands), we parted company soon afterwards. EDIT 4: It would have been nice if the builders of this BMW had managed to center the RF wheel in the arch. It's forward placement is kinda jarring early in the video, but is either hidden by the cars position or has been put right later on. EDIT 5: It still sounds like a golf cart.

Digging through some HO train stuff at one of the local "antique" emporiums yesterday, I came across two rather poor conversions of EMD F-units to FL9s...both powered for $10 each. Any decent powered HO chassis is worth ten bucks, easy, especially if they have all wheels powered and flywheels, as these did. (Sorry, no photos of the actual models yet...) In reality, the FL9 was a stretched F-unit that could operate as a standard diesel-electric or as a full-blown electric-only locomotive that got its power from a 'third rail', kinda like a toy train. EMD built the FL9s for the New Haven railroad during the late 1950s so they could operate in Grand Central Terminal, where only electric locos were allowed due to emissions. (The last FL9s were retired in 2009, after running more than 50 years in revenue service) They had an unusual B-A1A wheel arrangement, with a 2-axle lead truck and 3 axles in the rear. To the best of my knowledge, the only other American locomotive to use that wheel arrangement was one flavor of Fairbanks Morse "C-Liner", of which I'm particularly fond because of its styling. But here's where it gets interesting, at least to me. Though the powered chassis with B-AIA trucks appear to be vintage factory-made units, of the correct length for HO scale FL9s (the bodies for the two were made by an unknown modeler by stretching conventional F-units...not very well, and both are broken at the joints from having been dropped). AFAIK, no vintage models of the FL9 were factory-made. Rapido makes several versions today, but the power chassis I have look like old Atlas units, and nothing like Rapidos. I had intended to convert a couple of my old AHM FM C-Liners to the B-AIA axle config (as all the models I have are B-B), and doing the bodies is easy, as the FM locomotives all used the same length bodies, not stretched like EMD did on its FL9 and FP7 locomotives. Difference in 5-axle (B-A1A) and more common 4-axle wheel configuration, shown below: BUT...to convert the C-Liners, I'd have to shorten the two B-A1A power chassis I found, which I can do but don't really want to. I haven't looked closely at the trucks on the two chassis to see exactly what they represent yet, either. Bottom line at this point is that, although I've done some online research, I still have no idea what these two B-A1A chassis came from, or who made them. As I said, they're definitely factory, not reworks. I love a mystery...

Them cars ain't gonna check theys own antifreeze, sos I better git to it afore it hits 18 tomorrer night.

Consequences of incompetence often affect innocent bystanders.

Superior performance and ability and accomplishment are often denigrated and criticized by the jealous and envious and insecure.

I feel your pain. They're the only provider of the fast cable connection I need at my current location. Intermittent unexplained outages seem to be what they most excel at.

Forecast low here Sunday night of 16F, which will be the second time it's been in the teens so far this year. It's NEVER been in the teens so early in the season as long as I've lived here, so I figure it must be the atmosphere warming that's making it colder. I'm so glad I understand all that complex dynamic.

"First things first" she said "like I'll need your banking information and employment history", which I thought was a bit much for an after-work coffee date.

Hot dog...imagine a fiery room full of porcupines and rattlesnakes, 'cause that's probably the place I'll go.

First model was an airplane definitely. The old man built planes and I wanted to be like him. Though I don't remember which one it was probably Revell. I bodged quite a few aircraft. First almost decent one I built was the Revell B58 Hustler. First car model was the Revell Ford Country Squire, which I must have brush painted 15 times without stripping (though I tried, with Testors enamel thinner), and it STILL looked horrible. EDIT: That was when the realization hit that paint would not cover poor workmanship, and that what was under the paint was at least as important as the paint itself.