What Pleased You Today!

[johnyrotten]

On my yearly trip to a local motorcycle swap meet I managed to find 90% of what I needed for the two ironhead's in the garage. Everything was N.O.S. as well, none of Ted's parts are going on either bike if I can help it. Best part, less than a hundred bucks spent. Found spares for the kz, and brake pads for the old lady's s40, too. 

[Falcon Ranchero]

Went to see a 1992 Ford F-150 for sale today; it was somethin' else whoa. Have to admit, it was a dang noice truck. 2 WD, automatic, V8, working A/C, garage kept for 28 years, never saw winter until just last winter. Test drove it; I really like the thing. Has a nice classy interior, but awesome crank windows. Stops on a dime, but you gotta step a little harder on the gas for it to go, but otherwise a fabulous truck. Two -tone light/dark grey. Full bed liner, Brand new beefy all-seasons, but they'd be good for winter. Radio with cassette player. Nice big chrome mirrors. Hesitant seller asking $12,500, but an offer would be considered. ?

Edited October 6, 2024 by Falcon Ranchero

[espo]

1 hour ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Went to see a 1992 Ford F-150 for sale today; it was somethin' else whoa. Have to admit, it was a dang noice truck. 2 WD, automatic, V8, working A/C, garage kept for 28 years, never saw winter until just last winter. Test drove it; I really like the thing. Has a nice classy interior, but awesome crank windows. Stops on a dime, but you gotta step a little harder on the gas for it to go, but otherwise a fabulous truck. Two -tone light/dark grey. Full bed liner, Brand new beefy all-seasons, but they'd be good for winter. Radio with cassette player. Nice big chrome mirrors. Hesitant seller asking $12,500, but an offer would be considered. ?

With ventage of the vehicles you are looking at the value has more to do with the overall condition and how desirable they may be to you personally. 

[johnyrotten]

16 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Went to see a 1992 Ford F-150 for sale today; it was somethin' else whoa. Have to admit, it was a dang noice truck. 2 WD, automatic, V8, working A/C, garage kept for 28 years, never saw winter until just last winter. Test drove it; I really like the thing. Has a nice classy interior, but awesome crank windows. Stops on a dime, but you gotta step a little harder on the gas for it to go, but otherwise a fabulous truck. Two -tone light/dark grey. Full bed liner, Brand new beefy all-seasons, but they'd be good for winter. Radio with cassette player. Nice big chrome mirrors. Hesitant seller asking $12,500, but an offer would be considered. ?

That sounds like a nice truck. No obd2 deal with, fix it with a hammer simple. See if he bites at 10 grand.

[bobthehobbyguy]

We had a birthday  party this weekend for my niece's husband. My great nephew who will be 7 on Halloween this year's l8kes to draw so I gave him some crayons and some paper for drawing. He decided to do some drawings of each of us and I was impressed that he has a knack for drawing what he sees.

Second we had a party a couple of weeks ago for my sister. Instead of shoving a cell phone in his hand my niece has him draw or they play tic tac toe. I decided it would be fine to do a doodling game. I would add a shape and then he would add to the drawing. It was fun. I made a comment about how much fun it was and my niece said that he had wanted to play that game when they got home.

I'm pleased it was a big hit. I thought it would be fun.

 

[Dave Ambrose]

Finished one of my summer projects. The lathe was an impulse buy while we were on vacation. With all the camping and telescope gear we were carrying, we almost had to fold space to get lathe on board. Picked up a top, and the tool chest after we got back home. I have enough tooling to do useful stuff now, and this is likely to become a well-used tool in my shop. 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

43 minutes ago, Dave Ambrose said:

Finished one of my summer projects. The lathe was an impulse buy while we were on vacation. With all the camping and telescope gear we were carrying, we almost had to fold space to get lathe on board. Picked up a top, and the tool chest after we got back home. I have enough tooling to do useful stuff now, and this is likely to become a well-used tool in my shop.

Very nice. 

If you're a modeler or maker or tinkerer, once you have a lathe and explore its capabilities, it's hard to imagine life without one.

Besides my little Unimat lathe/mill, I finally sprung for a used Sherline lathe and mill setup with tons of tooling last year. One of he shops I work with has an Emco unit a little larger than yours.

There's hardly a week goes by that at least one of them doesn't get used...(or when I wish my big gap-bed lathe that'll swing a 16" OD part, and my Chinese Bridgeport milling-machine clone weren't in storage).

[Jim N]

We do not see the Northern Lights very often in northern Kansas, but last night at 9:30 my wife and I were taking pictures with our iPhones.  Here are a couple.

[A modeler named mike]

23 minutes ago, Jim N said:

We do not see the Northern Lights very often in northern Kansas, but last night at 9:30 my wife and I were taking pictures with our iPhones.  Here are a couple.

Supposedly, individuals near my location in Maryland even saw them. From my point of view all I could see was the glow of hi-intensity light coming from the high school football field across the road.. ?

Edited October 11, 2024 by A modeler named mike

[Jim N]

49 minutes ago, A modeler named mike said:

Supposedly, individuals near my location in Maryland even saw them. From my point of view all I could see was the glow of hi-intensity light coming from the high school football field across the road.. ?

Thank you Michael.  They are supposed to be visible through Sunday.  Hopefully you will have a clear night before then to see them.  The Lights were not very visible at the time we were out.  We had to set our phones to the night setting at maximum exposure to get these photos.  Holding my breath and the phone still for about 12 seconds was a bit of a challenge.  The best viewing time in our area is from 9:00 until 2:00.  We were not staying up until 2:00 a.m. to see them.  Maybe later would have been a good time to see them with the naked eye.

[Dave Ambrose]

On 10/7/2024 at 10:17 AM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Very nice. 

If you're a modeler or maker or tinkerer, once you have a lathe and explore its capabilities, it's hard to imagine life without one.

Besides my little Unimat lathe/mill, I finally sprung for a used Sherline lathe and mill setup with tons of tooling last year. One of he shops I work with has an Emco unit a little larger than yours.

There's hardly a week goes by that at least one of them doesn't get used...(or when I wish my big gap-bed lathe that'll swing a 16" OD part, and my Chinese Bridgeport milling-machine clone weren't in storage).

My list of projects for this is growing. It's primary application is likely going to be telescope making, which is extreme tinkering. I can now properly trim screws to length, and that will be important too. I daresay that I'll find some model car uses for it, but I haven't come across any yet.

I haven't had access to a good machine shop for over 30 years, so this will be a fun reunion.  

[89AKurt]

Had a wild hair and camped in the Grand Canyon.  I drove Blue Cloud into the Grand Canyon.  Even got a permit, to camp in the Grand Canyon.

Nice graded dirt road most of the 19 miles, the last few miles literally follow the creek.


(pictures are coming out)

They built log ramadas with concrete picnic tables.

Next morning, drove to the landing beach for some glamor shots.

The constant roar of the rapids was a nice change of pace.

[Engine 51]

Got to explore a 747-400 up close and personal. What a great day, had access to areas of the plane very few get to see…One bucket list item checked.

[Falcon Ranchero]

Went to see that 1969 Chevy Nova that I mentioned in some other thread. Test drove it, and that was neat as it was the first classic car I ever drove. Not gonna take it though; needs too much work and it’s just a 4 door 6 cylinder, but still cool.

Edited October 13, 2024 by Falcon Ranchero

[JollySipper]

3 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Went to see that 1969 Chevy Nova that I mentioned in some other thread. Test drove it, and that was neat as it was the first classic car I ever drove. Not gonna take it though; needs too much work and it’s just a 4 door 6 cylinder, but still cool.

My first car was an old Dodge Dart four-door six cylinder........... Wasn't the fastest or coolest car, but the slant six never let me down! It got me around until I was able to get what ended up being one of my favorite cars ever, my '80s Thunderbird.

What became of the Ford pickup? That sounded like a nice truck..........

[Falcon Ranchero]

11 hours ago, JollySipper said:

What became of the Ford pickup? That sounded like a nice truck

Still kinda considering it; it’s a dang nice truck, but I honestly think it’s too nice to drive in the winter and I guess I was dead set on getting a classic car; whether that happens now or next year. May just end up holding out.

[espo]

5 hours ago, Falcon Ranchero said:

Still kinda considering it; it’s a dang nice truck, but I honestly think it’s too nice to drive in the winter and I guess I was dead set on getting a classic car; whether that happens now or next year. May just end up holding out.

You might look into how much it would cost to have the pickups chassis cleaned and undercoated if you're worried about the effects of winter driving. While the pickup might not be the coolest driver, depending on your preferences, the return on your investment when you do sell it will be far better to help you step up to your next vehicle.  

[NOBLNG]

I got my mini lathe working again. I ordered a complete control box from Little Machine Shop. Five wires to connect and I’m back in business.

[Rodent]

On 10/13/2024 at 5:35 AM, Falcon Ranchero said:

Still kinda considering it; it’s a dang nice truck, but I honestly think it’s too nice to drive in the winter and I guess I was dead set on getting a classic car; whether that happens now or next year. May just end up holding out.

No. A 2wd pickup with a (likely) open differential is not a winter vehicle unless you want to lug around 500 lbs of ballast.

[Falcon Ranchero]

Yeah my dad said i'd need a load of sand bags in the back. The other thing was that if I did get the truck, that would mean no classic car in spring (or if somethin' nice shows up before snowfall) and we wouldn't sell the truck after just 6 months and throw away $1000 of tax just to have something to drive now. Just gotta keep waiting; rather have a '67 Mustang coupe or a LeMans or something like that; sacrificing that fact that I could easily get a cheap little car for now and winter.  A family classic that I could drive 3 times a week to school and back in spring-fall sounds more appealing. The waiting for that just kills me though.

Edited October 15, 2024 by Falcon Ranchero

[Falcon Ranchero]

In terms of what pleased me thus far today was when I got the math unit test back with an astounding mark of 35/35. I hate math with a passion but damned if I'm pretty good at it.

[89AKurt]

What pleased me yesterday, getting to the top of a mountain I never been to before.  I live about where the back corner of the pickup is, on the horizon under a taller mountain (Granite Mountain), which is about 50 miles away.  Everyone goes east on AZ169 to I-17, then turn right to Phoenix, or left to Flagstaff, but never go straight ahead.  I looked at maps and arial photo GIS to see if it was worth going to the Formerly Known As Squaw Mountain.  It was, and it's now it's Porcupine Mountain.

What pleased me the other day, resurrecting this old model rocket, with a new shock cord.  1978 was the last launch.

Which followed up the first time of using a range north of me, and figuring out that I can clip off the ends of a Slo-Mo film in the phone, before downloading, and then also getting a screenshot.  I was pleased to find the cool ABS box at the swap meet, to put all the launch stuff into.

I could carry over some "irks" to the other thread, but I'm feeling good so I better be happy. ?

[JollySipper]

8 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

I could carry over some "irks" to the other thread, but I'm feeling good so I better be happy.

Or get banished to the cornfield?

[espo]

On 10/15/2024 at 10:09 AM, Falcon Ranchero said:

Yeah my dad said i'd need a load of sand bags in the back. The other thing was that if I did get the truck, that would mean no classic car in spring (or if somethin' nice shows up before snowfall) and we wouldn't sell the truck after just 6 months and throw away $1000 of tax just to have something to drive now. Just gotta keep waiting; rather have a '67 Mustang coupe or a LeMans or something like that; sacrificing that fact that I could easily get a cheap little car for now and winter.  A family classic that I could drive 3 times a week to school and back in spring-fall sounds more appealing. The waiting for that just kills me though.

A thought on a winter driver, may no longer apply as it was a long time ago in the latter part of the last century. I would buy some $50 to $100 dollar car just to drive in the winter months. I could usually sell it off in the spring often for more than I paid for them. These weren't the most desirable cars and often large heavy more door sedans seemed to work well but still very serviceable for the job at hand. Very few cars of that era had anything resembling a locking differential or even front wheel drive. A set of oversized snow tread recaps and a few midnight parking lot practice sessions to learn how they would handle in the snow and ice. That part was sort of fun anyway. As for the sandbags, we all put them in the kickup over the differential in the trunk. The absolutely best car ever in the winter of 1966 was a '53 Buick Special with the straight eight and Dynaflow transmission.  

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 10/15/2024 at 11:09 AM, Falcon Ranchero said:

Yeah my dad said i'd need a load of sand bags in the back...

Yeah, 2WD pickups are kinda useless in snow, even worse in ice, especially if they don't have limited-slip diffs.

Neither of my pickups have limited-slip (both bought used) and it simply defies my understanding: why would ANYONE buy a new truck without it?

Edited October 19, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy