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It's called tuition, the cost of learning. We all have moments like that. If you make the same mistake again then there might be an issue. :haha:
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:haha:

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The more you pay the better the lesson learned, I think that's how it works :lol:

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hard lesson from the school of hard knocks

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Modges, I am just glad it was not a person that was the object of my outburst. No doubt many police and at least one hospital would have been involved had that been the case. LOL . Sometimes it amazes me the level of language I can sink to due to my Soldiering experiences.

Someday I will be a graduate from this University of Life, and that might be a bad day indeed... I could not imagine you losing your cool like that on your build. I read every page and your build had some set backs, but seemed like it went very smoothly. Perhaps I did not read between the lines very well....

Yes CRGRS, yes.

You may be right Jeff, the higher the dollar amount the deeper the lesson learned...

Yeesh, they suck sometimes dont they?

Ok boys and girls, todays lesson is to ALWAYS remember what the original vehicle was for the parts you are working on! This is what happens when you are working with 1981 suspension, but tell the kids at the parts store you want ball joints for a 1966:

This is as far as I can get those castle nuts on with the incorrect ball joints. This is finger tight, but trust me, they dont go much farther...
Attachment 960988

I am sometimes reminded that as a grown man, armed with power tools, it is possible to be mightier than things like nuts and bolts!! As soon as I took the socket off the castle nut and saw the hair-thin strands of metal I just knew what had happened....
Attachment 960989

No, boys and girls, these are NOT supposed to bulge on the end like that, eveyone that noticed right off gets a gold star for today!!
Attachment 960990

So now resupplied with another $130 worth of ball joints, I am ready to try this again. Oh, and I have the right spring compressor now too.... just sayin

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Did you ever find your 8lb sledge?:ito:

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Yeah.... I can fling it like a manly man having a temper tantrum like a 3 year old child, but I am still not Superman. It did not go far after bouncing off the deflection plate on the bottom of the crossmember.

Scared the :devil: out of my poor wife though. I am usually the calm and collected voice of reason.

Thanks for asking though, taking care of one's tools is important :smoke:

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We all have our moments, hope you are back on track my good man!

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Scared the :devil: out of my poor wife though. I am usually the calm and collected voice of reason.
[/QUOTE]

well lets see... does a field goal kick of her cat count for uncontrolled anger.
when the cat decides my, new from the upholstery shop seat, is a scratching post, i can invent new profanity with a fast physical reaction... wifes still not speaking to me but i got the 3 point goal.

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well lets see... does a field goal kick of her cat count for uncontrolled anger.
when the cat decides my, new from the upholstery shop seat, is a scratching post, i can invent new profanity with a fast physical reaction... wifes still not speaking to me but i got the 3 point goal.[/QUOTE]

yet another reason to dislike... if not detest cats:censored:

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Ok... this is definately a support forum.
I like this !!

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Has anyone used these?
They are Gabriel Load Carriers. We have these on both our Pontiacs and I really like the ride they give (and the look would fit this build awesome) !!

Attachment 961186

As I start my reassembly of this rig, I am probably going to be asking a lot of questions about parts like this, so any comments would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks guys, and yeah CRGRS I think I am tracking now.... until I melt down again!! :lol:

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Wow, seems you've had a bit of a rough go at it for a bit. Like mentioned about though, that is the cost of knowledge sometimes. Glad to see that you have it under control, and are back on track. Aren't understanding wives/girlfriends great? lol. Keep it up my friend.

:metal:

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Question for ya, did you get your distributor orientation issue figured out? I know some tricks I use all the time from when I was a mechanic that are darn near fool proof....heck, they are Fryer proof, lol. I've never had one lined up wrong or fail to start on me yet (assuming parts are all good of course).

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I have not revisited that issue yet, no.
Right now my front end has consumed me, and now I am on a short time table, wife and I are going home on leave next week so I am really trying to get the front end done and back on the truck before we bug out of here.

After the front end it should be engine and tranny install ..... then ???

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yet another reason to dislike... if not detest cats:censored:[/QUOTE]

LMAO!

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I have cats so kicking one seems idiotic to me at best.
I did have to throw a kleenex box at mine today tho, didn't exactly intimidate the little bastard.

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Missed this the first time through, and it is a perfect example of one of the many reasons why I don't have cats anymore. I grew up with them and have always had them until a couple years ago...just got sick of it all I guess. I love my little Boxer pup!

Well, when you start getting close to the time to get back on it shoot me a PM. I've got a real easy way to get it all set in there right, and I'll bet it fires on the first try (again if everything else is working right). I'd be happy to help you out bud. :metal:

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Thanks Fryer, I am going on vacation later this week, so it will certainly be September before I am ready to do this.
First though is getting my transmission completed so I can slide it in along with the motor in one stroke.

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Sooooo I got some stuff done!!

Once I got the proper ball joints installing them was a piece of cake. The cool thing about learning things the hard way, is when you learn how to do them right.... well suddenly what you thought was going to be a cruddy task turns out to be not so bad at all.

After that it was a simple matter of putting everything back on it and completing the suspension. Bolting that sucker back onto the frame was quite a satisfying moment for me. Keep in mind I have never done anything so aggressive as this build before, so my small victories are pretty awesome still for me !!!

I knew before hand that the engine frame mounts were going to take some attention. This is how I attended to it:

The top of the frame mount where it bolts to the frame rail needed some holes drilled, and it had a 1/8" gap I was not happy with. I made these shim plates to fill at least half that gap space.
Attachment 963976
Attachment 963977

I also sunk a hole for the bottom of the frame mount so I would have 4 bolt points.
Attachment 963978

And here it is all together....
Attachment 963979

And here is my front end as it looks now! I got the PS pump on, and I really have to echo the props to Captain Fab for his adapter plate and the fantastic template and instructions he provides!! He stuff bolted right up like it was supposed to be there !!! Also that collapsible steering column shaft works like a charm too, and bolted right up to the rag joint on the PS pump.
Attachment 963980

I was so pumped up with putting stuff back on the truck that it was hard to stop, but a growling stomach convinced me it was time to head up and get some dinner and call it a day.

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Sweet progress, congrats!!

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This photo is for the sway bar, and my trailing arm. I had to drill the holes for that and want to be sure I got it right, if I got it backwards, well .... I will have to fix it I suppose.
Attachment 963986

And one last shot just because I am gushing with accomplishment at this point. Funny how motivating reassembly can be after so many months of tinkering, cleaning, cutting, welding, painting and sanding with no real discernable progress!
Attachment 963987

Now suddenly I am not happy with the top half of my steering column and am contemplating the shortening and reduction of the steering wheel radius that Astronaut did. Mostly because it is dirty, and if I take it off to clean it, well I might as well mess with it too !!!

By the way, to the naked eye all that red is not so glaringly bright Dorthy of Oz ruby slipper red.... and what looks like white is actually pewter grey on the steering shaft and the engine mounts.

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Thanks Alan, you really slipped that one in on me as I was trying to post my second set of pics !!
Truely thank you for taking the time to look sir, and for all your advice!!!

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looking really nice man! gotta love when all your hard work finely turns into something.

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o ya i know the feeling man !!!!! i dig all the red suspension goodies
lookin good man!! :metal::metal:

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Awesome progress McMurph!

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Looking good McMurphy!

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looks killer. McMurphy

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That looks awesome!!.....congrats on making so much progress.
Really nice work.


TC
:chevy:

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Man you are making some REAL progress. :metal:

I also have never ventured this deep into a project,,,,,,,,,,,, I sometimes catch myself doing the happy dance (not to be confused with the pp dance) when things fall together and it looks like I really know what I'm doing.:four:

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Thanks Kro! and I totally agree, hard work is fine, but satisfaction comes from seeing results from it that you can be proud of.

Thanks Coulter! I dont think I could match your build, you are just crazy better at this than I am, but I think when you see the whole thing at the end, you will like it a lot more! You strike me as someone who appreciates balance of color and theme...and in that area I certainly have plans to deliver.

Thank you CRGRS, always glad to see you chime in!

I been looking at your 4x4 work with Kro, and it makes me itch to get on my 77 Cheyenne! It is a mountain truck we got so we could be sure to get in and out of our retirement spot. I should post some pics of it.... we call it The Beast.

Thanks for looking Pirate!!

I think I am in love with this stage of the build already...assembly!!

Hahahah I am with you there, perhaps I should do some of that more often, to balance out that nasty temper tantrum I had last week !!

Well men, the Army gives us 30 days paid vacation a year, and my wife and I have a 14 acre slice of pure heaven on the edges of Mt Spokane State Park we are getting ready. My wife Trish only has 5 more years till she hits her 20 in the Army so we have a lot to do there, which is why we only take our leave once a year.
So.... we live in a camper with no internet and only limited cell phone signal.
Long story short, my build is on a 30 day hold at this time. Thursday I will be firing life back into The Beast, and unpacking the camper, Friday we are looking at 2 more classic rigs and hopefully meeting some board members for lunch or dinner or both!!
After that it is working on the land and getting my Tempest ready for the GoodGuys show!
I will pop in on the site tomorrow but after that it is uncertain when I will be online again... just too much to do, too many people to hang out with, and too much sun to soak up to be farting around on the computer...ummmm....like I am right now !!!!!

Thanks for taking a look guys, I really appreciate your time and attention.

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Hey, thanks for the call-out McMurphy! I've always said that what I lack in skill, I make up in motivation. Someday I will have that nice heated 2,000 Sq. Ft. shop out back that I can work on these in, but for now, I have to make do with a driveway :)

BTW, your build is coming along super quickly! Your parts look good and I just can't believe how much progress you've made. Keep it up!

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Hope you have a great vacation, how about you get your lovely to take a picture of you and markeb, and or others to post up when you are back on?
While we have our own military, we are mindful of the importance of our big brother to the south. Thank you to you and your wife for your contribution to maintaining the security, and the liberty we enjoy here in Canada. Enjoy your leave, you deserve every minute of it!

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Checklist for McMurphy when he's back: motor, wiring, YouTube Video!:five:

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vacation sounds nice right about now, lol!! take lots of pics for us! have a great time and we'll see you when you get back!!

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I wouldnt say that at all man.. you have done alot of really nice fab work and have some really cool ideas!!! cant wait to see how the rest turns out

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you have all the skills necessary and it shows in your work. plus a hugh amount of vision to make it unique.

be safe in your slice of heaven and hurry back to us...

and by the way, the wife is speaking to me again and the cat is fine.:lol:

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Enough with vacation already!
You need to spend a fraction of the time off working on your baby!
All kidding aside, hope you are having a great time!

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It was great meeting you at the Goodguys show. Sorry we couldn't stick around to meet your better half but mine was running on no sleep and works the graveyard shift. A lot of cool innovations on your Pontiac, maybe we can see the other one too next year? Hope your vacation turns out to be relaxing and a lot of fun.

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Aye, some day I too will have an awesome shop to do awesome work in... or at least I hope I get up to awesome work Heheheh!!

Vacation was great, and meeting Markb and Captain Fab was for me the highlight of the Goodguys show!! Both these gentlemen were very gracious and fun to talk with. Mark even invited me to sit in his truck, but it was enough for me to just see it with my own eyes, even though I felt like I knew the whole rig from inside out.
And to say that it was deliciously hot that weekend would be an understatement! I think I finally thawed out all my Alaska frozen bones while we were home.

I think first on the list will be getting all the clutch stuff and a tranny cross member and getting the power plant back on the frame.

Nothing in the world can beat 30 days of paid vacation, but dang it goes fast !!!!

Stay tuned, I am soon to be back at it!!

Imagination is just day dreaming on the side of hill without the stubborness and hard work to make the dreams reality.

Ok ... Ok !!

Sir, it was fantastic meeting you and your lovely family that day, and yes it was a shame you had to leave so early. Not that the show got any better mind you, but there could have been beer...... LOL
Thanks for letting me see your truck, that rig is so sweet and the amount of work you have put into it is amazing. Kudos my friend !!

I will try to put up some photos this week of Vacation before I dive back into my build, but as a bit of a teaser....

I really gotta send a shout-out to the people of Spokane, they are among the nicest people I think I have ever lived around. They really know how to appreciate things, be it Soldiers, or old classic cars!! We were lucky enough to be both of those for them.

This is what it looks like to lead the pack!!
Attachment 981287

This is what it must be like to come in first place !!
Attachment 981288

Being the pace car, and being asked to do it in my Army uniform was a true honor, and if any of the SRP racers see this..... Thank you !!