Ohio Meet A Sucess!!!!!!!!!!!

[Huck]

Not wanting to leav anyone out of the photo contest for the best looking truck dude---Oscar Meyer-----Mike's buddy when he is thrown out of the house!

[jewels.]

hi all! yes - i made it home! sry i havent posted, but i was replacing the fuel filter on a friend's escort this afternoon.

(BTW, fine69, your intuition was correct, it WAS the fuel filter on that escort - car runs great now!)

this is gonna take a few posts because of the number of images - so here it goes:

ok - so the trip started out good - 1.5 hrs from home to New Castle, Indiana, where i accidently filled the tank with deisel fuel. (yes, i picked up the green hose instead of the black one!) I was lucky to catch the mistake before i started the engine. so, i spent 2 hours at the flyin J gas station. shadetree lives close by, so he brought a spare underbed tank, and we siphoned out the gas into the spare tank. i owe him a huge favor! great guy!
pics:

shadetree arrives at the flyin J!


shadetree starts siphoning


hmm- lots of diesel - still siphoning ten minutes later!


done siphoning!


and here is our little mini car-show in the flyin J gas station!



after that two hour fiasco, i headed on to fine69's, and found this cool car carrier along the way!

[jewels.]

THEN I ARRIVED AT fine69's PLACE AND IMMEDIATELY KNEW I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!!

fine69's 68 and 69 camper


a parted red 68, fine69's tan rare extended cab, bigblue72's truck (in the garage),
a yellow stepside to be parted, and a burb being parted
AND LOOK! TWO FULL HUGE GARAGES!!! of parts, parts and more parts!


from left to right,
huck's blue 72 truck,
longhornjeff's green 69,
bigblue72's blue GMC,
and dmurphy's black 68
(i dont know who owns the other cars)


a sweeeeet yellow longhorn
(BTW, who's is it --- i was too busy gawkin at the truck to find out! is it Dwaite72longhorns?),
cheesewagon's 71 burb,
a 68 dumptruck that someone saved from the crusher,


my 68 stepside on the left,
and longhornmail's truck on the right


ok- so the first line of business was all of the guys replacing my fuel filter because UNLEADED/DIESEL gas was drippin on my intake!
then, dmurphy68 decided he needed a sheetmetal panel from the side of the parts burb, and they went at it:

first, the sawsall
(thats fine69 in front, and dmurphy68 cuttin, and Dwaite72longhorn, i believe)


on the left is jeff (dont know his board name), then dmurphy68, then fine69 ---- is jeff drinkin a beer already?!?

[jewels.]

still not done, so mike (fine69) digs out the torch!


ahhhh - at last!


then we decide to upgrade bigblue72's truck from points to HEI. first, i climbed into bigblue72's truck


i guess his fender well left a nice rusty spot on my ass afterwards! (i dont have a pic - but someone does! )
i also discovered bigblue72's solution to a washer fluid jug --- if it doesnt fit, make it! man - you need a washer jug!


then, when we couldnt get it to start, mike (fine69) came to the rescue
--- almost convincing us that bigblue72 might have his timing belt install 180degrees off! (it wasnt true, but that truck had us fooled!)
(that is Dwaite72longhorn on the left, fine69 in the middle, and bigblue72 on the right)

[jewels.]

andy - what are you doing to bigblue72's truck?


while all that was going on, andy (longhornmail) managed to replace my ignition bezel that i have been tryin to replace for a good five years now! woohoo!! thanks andy!

and someone else (pierce, i think) yanked a 6-cyl manifold out of the yellow stepside.

i think andy and jeff were working on removing a rear-end, from one truck.

and i think BUXMANN was after another front fender on one of the trucks.

later we added HEI to my truck --- this is Dwaite72longhorn:
look at the yellow wires! whew those are bright!


some of the guys decided to take off in the late afternoon/evening....
here is huck leavin:


ohiodan is taking off. thats jamie in the red hat, but who is in the black hat - is that ohio dan's son?

[jewels.]

while replacing the HEI, i managed to bust my heater core by sitting on the hose! oh well - another project for another day



fine69 took my truck for a test drive to see how the HEI was working (it turns out that some of the wires were in the incorrect firing order - so it ran really bad to start out). but after that was fixed, fine69 decided that my truck ran like a piece of SH**, so he decided everything on it needed to be fixed or tuned. first, he handmade some bushing for my 3-on-the-tree linkages

nice work! he had a really hard time getting this shifting linkage adjusted --- they worked on it for a couple of hours!



then he adjusted the linkages on the top as well:


finally, mike (fine69) decided that my steering column was turned wrong, causing my shifter linkage not to work properly, so he climbed under the dash to try and fix it.... longhornmail (andy), longhornjeff (jeff), and the other jeff were also helpin out...


on another test drive, mike (fine69) decided that my steering column had too much play, so he tighted it up.

and on another test drive, mike (fine69) decided my clutch needed adjusted up, so he fixed that.

and on another test drive, mike (fine69) decided that the gears were grinding too much when i shifted, so he adjusted that, and gave me a good lesson in how to properly shift a 3-on-the-tree (i guess i have been driving a poorly adjusted one for 10 years! )

[jewels.]

at one point (before mike/fine69 got the shift linkages working), i was kicked out of the garage for "thinking too much like an engineer and not like a redneck" - so i took these pictures --- it is now raining and dark outside: (i think it is the middle of the morning about now)


shhh - someone is sleeping in that blue truck in the back (just to the left and behind the red truck) i didnt even know they were out there!


someone else decided that my hood did not latch well, so they greased it all up: (who did that?)



on yet another test drive, this time andy (longhornmail) took the truck for a spin, he decided that my headlights were too dim... he fixed the ground with a little sandpaper:


and one of the final modifications made to my truck included the solution of the year award! to all the guys left working at 3am! to close off the louvers in my hood, and prevent additional water damage to the engine (which is significant), the guys suggested flexible adhesive:

[jewels.]

we finally ended the day by listening to some of mike's (fine69's) great stories:
in the back is Dwaite72longhorn, mike (fine69), and jeff
in the front is fine69's wife, andy (longhornmail), cheesewagon, and jeff (longhornjeff)


cheesewagon made friends with the kitten!



then everyone left -- and i had fun taking some digiphotos in the dark:

longhornjeff's truck:

[jewels.]

and longhornmail (andy):




i camped out in my cab that night in the yard, and took off the next day at 11am. drove home, and slept for 6 hours straight. (which is another reason why i havent posted yet).

bottomline - we all had a fabulous time! we worked on trucks for more than 14 hours! it was great! i have now decided that this is my new favorite activity! who is next? huck? i heard you were having a meet? woohooo!!!

to answer all of your questions:
weasel - yes i learned how to read a gas pump
blue_71 - yes andy flirted with me -- what would you expect?
ohiodan - yes, my new nickname is Diesel Queen!
bigblue72 - i will bend over fenders and crawl under the hood for you anytime! you were great to meet!
jef5150 - yeah - is diesel always labeled with a green handle?!?
andy - thanks for all of the compliments on my truck - yes - i will be the first to point out all of the flaws in her to the next person
huck - yeah - i totally forgot about that! i put the engine mounts on the opposite sides because i thought the engine set too far back with the mounts in the proper place --- it looks interesting - check out the photos above!

mike, rhonda - thanks so much for the great time! it was a blast! we must have another meet next year! i'll come!

i walked away from this think with a brand new truck, and ten more projects (louvers to seal, an engine to chrome, a heater core to fix, a wingvent window to replace, and a door crank to replace).

thanks so much to everyone!
ciao! (and yes, thats italian for goodbye! )
jewels.

[dmurphy68]

Jewls the guy in the middle is not buxxman but me

[jewels.]

Originally posted by dmurphy68
Jewls the guy in the middle is not buxxman but me

oh - i am so sorry -- i will fix the post! please forgive me!

thanks!

oh - BTW - you are crazy! i can't believe how much body work you are gonna do! i have to see the result when you are finished with those panels!

it was great to meet cha!
jewels.

[dwaite72lnghrn]

The wires getting crossed and the 2 hour set back was to many hands in the pot and most likely my fault, Not use to working on trucks with Humans. Yes blame me I greased your latch. Also it is my yellow long horn. And I know you are partial to those looms(high school shop class or something) but get rid of them and get a nice one that lays along the valve covers.
Also 6772king and badeblazerbabe cam in from Grove city to say high then turned around and headed back 4 Hour one way drive. He had oil pump problems and could not bring his truck but was great to have him there.

[jewels.]

Originally posted by dwaite72lnghrn
The wires getting crossed and the 2 hour set back was to many hands in the pot and most likely my fault, Not use to working on trucks with Humans.

oh - we werent blaming anyone - although the guys like to blame me all the time cause it was my truck - dont sweat it!

Yes blame me I greased your latch.

aww - i wasnt complaining -- in fact --- i should be praising you --- that sucker was a b**** to close before you greased it!

Also it is my yellow long horn.

wow - not THAT was a beautiful truck! my compliments! i remember asking you about it--- but i didnt remember who i was talking too! (must have been a long night) - great truck! wow!

And I know you are partial to those looms(high school shop class or something) but get rid of them and get a nice one that lays along the valve covers

i actually dug up some old looms that were on my old 6-cyl, i think --- i got them out when i got home because i was paranoid about slicing another wire. i have those on now--- but they are just black plastic. i will have to go find the ones that bolt onto the valve covers - like you suggested --- those will look nice!

thanks for all the help! you were awesome!
jewels.

[Blue_71]

blue_71 - yes andy flirted with me -- what would you expect?

from andy? oh you know i would never expect that

[Longhorn Man]

OK, maybe I flirted a little without knowing...(the wife is ALWAYS complaining about that) however, I should point out that I was one of the light flirters
I wasn't stealing fuses...I swear!

heh heh heh
The Jeff with a beer...I don't think he is on the board...wasn't that mike's brother or cousin or something? I dunno, it was getting late.
Is anyone else saving ALL of these? I must have 100 pics in that folder so far...actually I just counted them all...I gave up at 82 pics. Anyone have anymore for me to save?

[jewels.]

longhornmail,

hope i didnt get you in trouble with your wife! no, you werent the biggest flirt there. i take it all in stride. just like i do the diesel jokes. no harm in flirting!

if you guys would like, i can put up all the pics in a single zip folder on my website so you can save them all in one shot (the ones from me). in fact - after i get them all saved - you can get them all from that folder. deal? i'll post the link in a short bit.

ciao!
jewels.

[jewels.]

ok - i have put all of the pictures from this entire post on my website for downloading. just click on the link below, and you will download a zip file containing all the pics.

WARNING! This file is 8 MEGABYTES! That is too big for a dialup. You would be better off saving each picture individually at that rate. An 8 MB file will take about 10-15 minutes for an average highspeed connection (cable, dsl, T1 or T3).

You have been warned!

Download 8 MB ohio board meet pics

Enjoy!

Ciao!
jewels.

[dmurphy68]

it only took 30 secs for me

[LonghornJeff]

TTT

[CPNE]

a 68 dumptruck that someone saved from the crusher

I feel sorry for all you "newbies" that never had the pleasure of knowing Randy (aka Fast68). Nice guy but give him some acetelyne and he turned into "Mr. Hyde". Fine69 didn't share any stories about this?

Jewels, how is it possible to mount the v8 forward and not have problems with clutch linkage, shift linkage, tranny x-members and driveshaft length? Not being critical, just curious as I'm setting a sbc/3 speed in place now (yes I'm building a factory correct 3-on-the-tree truck ) and I suspect if I don't get it in the "stock" location, everything else gets mis-aligned.

Looks like everybody had a great time!

[jewels.]

Originally posted by CPNE


I feel sorry for all you "newbies" that never had the pleasure of knowing Randy (aka Fast68). Nice guy but give him some acetelyne and he turned into "Mr. Hyde". Fine69 didn't share any stories about this?

CPNE, yes, i knew fast68. i have been on the board for a while, just not as involved as i have been in the last 6 months or so. i always read the posts, but rarely posted. in fact, i had another board name at the time --- ChevyLady. i probably still own that board name, i suppose. anyways, i was reading some of his old posts the other day (that i stashed on my computer). and you are right--- he is CRAZY! BTW, can anyone remember why he got kicked off? i still cant seem to recall. (or maybe its a hush hush thing, not to be discussed here.)

Jewels, how is it possible to mount the v8 forward and not have problems with clutch linkage, shift linkage, tranny x-members and driveshaft length? Not being critical, just curious as I'm setting a sbc/3 speed in place now (yes I'm building a factory correct 3-on-the-tree truck ) and I suspect if I don't get it in the "stock" location, everything else gets mis-aligned.

LMAO! I guess you would have had to have met the guy I was working with when I rebuilt the engine. He loved to rig things up to make them work. Mike (fine69) had the pleasure of experiencing some of this guy's former work when he tackled my truck this weekend.

Hey, Mike, what do you think of Jimmy's work? What? He's a what? He is worth what? Don't ever go back to him? Are you sure?

Anyways, we didnt have any problems with the tranny because we fabricated our own driveshaft length. We pulled an extra-long drive shaft from a chevy van, and cut it down to fit. Had a shop weld it back together. (I told you Jimmy liked to 'rig' things to fit). As for the X-members, I don't remember having any issues. I'll have to get under there and look again for you.

And as for the shift linkage, that might explain why Mike was so pissed this weekend when he was adjusting it all. Although, he did an awesome job --- runs like stock. But, the linkage does run pretty close to the clutch pedal bar, which comes out of the firewall - there were some interference issues there. But, Mike managed to work around them. See:


I do remember having some issues with the clutch linkage hooking up correctly, but I think we either used a 6Cyl setup, or a backwards 8Cyl setup. (Cant remember --- I'll have to check my notes).

Overall, it was an interesting mod.
Hmm - now that I think about it --- better stick with the stock location. Get the mounts on the correct sides. I know the engine may be way back into the firewall, but you wont have clearance issues, clutch linkage to think about, or a drive shaft to fabricate!

Good luck! Let me know if you need more pics!
And let me know if you have more questions!
jewels.

[badblazerbabe]

Just wanted to say Thanks to Fine69 and his wife for the get together, would have liked to stay longer but had to get back on the road again!!! A bunch of great guys out there!! Thanks to Everyone who swapped parts with my husband (6772king) A big Thanks to Jamie72 and his wife for bringing along the seats!!! That what he has been waitng for!! (Sorry Lomghornmail I know you wanted them!!) Even though I dont have a 67-72 yet (Notice I sais yet!) I would love to have all of you guys and anyone else for a get together at my place!! I don't know if it to far of a drive for Fine69 and a few other of you ohio people but let me know! Sorry I didn't get to meet you Jewels and sorry to hear about the problems you had!! Thanks again!!!

[CPNE]

Hmm - now that I think about it --- better stick with the stock location. Get the mounts on the correct sides. I know the engine may be way back into the firewall, but you wont have clearance issues, clutch linkage to think about, or a drive shaft to fabricate!

You're an engineer. Things are designed in a particular way for a reason. Sometimes the bean counters overrule but for the most part a good original design is hard to beat. It looks like a lot of effort went into your current setup. I have to admire the ingenuity displayed. When I get my engine/tranny on the frame and the clutch zbar in place I'll take some pics for you. No cab or shift linkage but it'll give you some reference to go by.

[marcuspboldt]

Looks like y'all had a great time, I hope we can do something like that around my neck of the woods sometime!

[Southpa]

I guess thats the most board members we've seen all in one place so far. Nice to see everyone's rides all together like that.
Jewels, what you saw of Fast68's posts were the tail end. We've known him for the past 3 or 4 years and he WAS one of the first ones here. He was also very knowlegdable and helped out tons of people. But I guess things went sour and personalities do change.

We were all in chat the other night and joking about the pic with Mike (fine69) holding that cutting torch. Shadetree made a remark sounding like, "hmmmm... looks like Fast69". Mike didn't like that very much, . Sure got a good laugh.