Hello Dave,

Very interesting thread. Love your car. Appreciate all the work you put into it. Remember....its a labor of love and then some.

Louis

 

Having the best sound is certainly their reputation, in most any application. We'll know more about what the future holds for the car in the next few months.

Hey Mike. Thanks for the comments. I thought sure I'd run into you on Woodward at some point this summer, but it just didn't work out. Must have seen Darren out 3 or 4 times. I look forward to seeing your Camaro back on the road next summer, maybe at an MIFB outing, or the MIFB Meet and Greet.

Thanks Kymmee. You know, I bought a nice digital camera last year, and I never seem to remember to bring it with me. I always end up with cell phone photos!

Thank you Louis. I appreciate that. Yes, there are always an overwhelming number of chores and to-dos, but it's a nice problem to have.

 

Dave Car is looking great. The tiny details payed off big time. I am pulling my catback 3 inch stainless steel Magnaflow its got low miles if you are interested let me know.

 

Thank you sir!

PM sent.

 

Hey Dave, Great find on the Magnaflow stainless exhaust. If you have the time and can get some Grade #5 steel wool (it feels like a soft towel) and go over the entire system with it, you can make it look like new. Get a can of VHT Heat CLEAR spray paint and go over all the pipes now. Now might also be a good time to HOG out the interior of the cats. It will really improve the sound quality and relieve some extra back pressure. Here in New Jersey they passed a law this past May, that if you have a 1996 and older car, you NO LONGER have to get the car inspected or get a sticker, so go MOD AWAY. Ed

 

It was nice here on Friday the 18th. Our last really nice day until maybe spring. I had the day off, so I took my wife (and the T/A) out to lunch.



Unfortunately, when we got home, I received a call from my oldest brother that my Dad had passed away. This was not unexpected, as he was in hospice care. But still a very sad day.

Dad was great guy. Grew up during the depression, single parent home. Chipped mortar off of old bricks to sell as recycled building materials as a kid after the 2nd world war. Volunteered for service during the Korean war, and among a host of other accomplishments, married his high school sweetheart (married until his passing, 63 years...they met at a movie theater they both worked at..she was the candy girl at the candy counter, Dad was an usher), built his own home from the foundation up (and later a two car garage, a major addition to the house, and lastly tripling the size of the 2 car garage), raised 3 boys through the 60s, attended night school, and had a fantastic career of 40 some years with a company where he started out entry level, and became a V.P.

He also always worked on his own cars, as much as possible, and had a great appreciation for classic cars, a passion he passed on to all of us boys. His Dad had a Hemi powered '53 Imperial, a '26 Dodge, a newer Olds '98, a wood Chris Craft speed boat and a moped in his garage when he passed. So it runs in the family. I still remember Dad rebuilding the inline 6 in an early '60s Ford Falcon that was our family's first "2nd car". I was fascinated by the rows of neatly organized parts. And I'm sure that was a part of why I went to school for a degree in Automotive Technology.

I could go on and on about him. But let me just say Thank You to my Dad for all that he did for me. He sure will be missed.

 

Sorry to hear Dave. My condolences to you and your family.

 

Sorry for your loss Dave. A very touching eulogy to a loved Father. It's a shame that when we reach a time in our later years, that we cannot enjoy them because of what nature does to our bodies. Remember the good times and that he is in better place now.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss Dave.Dads really do have a special place in our Hearts.

 

My condolences to your family Dave. You all will be in my prayers.

 

Hi Dave -

Sorry to hear about the passing of your dad. Enjoyed hearing about how his passion for cars has become yours too. He sure sounds like he was a great family man too. I lost my dad six years ago. I thankful for all the great memories I have doing things with him and I can tell you do as well.

I've enjoyed reading your posts on this thread and look forward to more to come. Of course I'm very partial to the '88 Tran Ams.

Deepest sympathy to you and your family.

 

Thanks guys. We boys were lucky where parents were concerned.

kfsullivan, if I can get things organized properly, I'll have the T/A in the front garage this winter (which is technically NOW, but I'm running a little behind as usual), and will have more progress to post about. Otherwise, we'll be waiting for the earliest of the spring thaw to begin tinkering again.

 

Not much to report guys. After losing dad in November, we lost my Mom in January. It's been a pretty crappy 6 months or so.

But, spring is just around the corner. It was very noce here in Michigan this weekend, so I did start the old gal, and let her warm up to operating temp, backed her out of the garage just to use the transmission and rear axle, and to rotate the tires around. She started right up (Battery Tender to the rescue) as if I drove it ever day.

I have a few more projects for this spring. A few materials marshaled in the garage, and I hope to be working on her again soon.

 

Sorry to hear about the loss of your parents. When I read the above post with you talking about your Dad, it sounds as if he was a lot like my Dad! I lost mine in 2016 also. He was in the Korean War and worked on his own cars too! That is where I believe I got my passion for hotrods from. Anyway thanks for bringing a smile to my face today as it made me think of the good times and all of the things I learned from my Dad.

 

Thanks Kymmee. Yep, I owe my parents a ton. Lots of good memories.

Boy it's tough not taking the car out when it's this nice. 65* today. We're getting closer.

 

Yeah, we have the same nice temps and weather just now, but what I'am waiting for is some heavy rain to WASH the SALTS and dust from the roads. Just riding around now and the DD looks like a box of TIDE dishwasher soap went exploding all over the finish.

 

Same here Ed. I won't take it out until we get some good rains.

How's that 4th gen. life treating you, Ed?

 

Springs not too far off. Time to start prepping for a busy April with the T/A.

One problem I've had since getting the car...getting under it! My 4-post lift is still some years away, so I needed to gain better access to the underside.

As much as I hate ramps, they seemed like a good option for some maintenance work. I picked up a pair of plastic ones that seemed quite robust. Alas, as I've seen many times with ramps, the tires simple push them away.

So my plan is to attach them to a couple of plywood steps, with very tapered leading edges. This will make them more stable, and prevent them from pushing away from the car as the tires touch them. Well, that's the theory anyway.

I love working in the shop with football/baseball/NASCAR on the radio. Yesterdays race from Las Vegas gave me the time I needed for the first ramp. Cut, shaved, drilled, glued and Liquid Nailed, then screwed and clamped.

 

Good Idea Dave, are they going to be the length of the wheels , Front to back back ?

 

If you are asking if the rear tires will be on the boards when the fronts are on the ramps, no.

The bottom sheet is 5', the top sheet is 4', the plastic ramps an inch short of 3'. So there's a 1 foot "pad" for the tire to hit before the next step.

Was going to work on them some more tonight. My wife and daughter were to go see a play tonight. But the daughter is sick, so I have to go to the play.

Pray for me.

 

DynoDave
I've read through your thread and am absolutely amazed at your persistence, talent and dedication to detail ....

I like to think of myself as a car guy from resurrecting rides, building/modifying engines, drivelines and suspensions, doing bodywork and fixing interiors but there is no way I have the patience you do for the small frustrating (to me) detail work you are doing that makes a show winner.

My hat is off to you and hope you see the benefit of all your work in the awards you are sure to win.

I'm going back to getting dirty and working cam/gearing formulas. Something I'm good at.

 

Welcome to TGO zaggy!

Thank you for your kind comments. She's not a show car, but is in good original condition. So I'm trying to make enjoyable improvements without straying too far from the OE look. At least for now.

Sounds like you are doing all the heavy lifting (powertrain and bodywork). My hats off to you...it takes a lot of skill, patience and knowledge to do those thing.

 

Do your ramps have these Rubber Blocks,these are to stop them from sliding

 

They did have. They slid anyway. They actually aggravated the issue, because they made the ramp stand up another 1/16 or 1/8" off the floor, making it all the easier for the leading edge of the tire to just push the ramp forward, rather than rolling up on to it.

As I plan to screw the ramp to the boards, I removed them, so they will sit flush.

 

I hope your plan works well for you.it's not too easy getting under our cars, unless you have a lift.

 

I hope so too, Franny.

If I don't get back on this tonight, I will this weekend.

I think I'm going to have to order some more paint. I like to paint most of my garage accessories Sinclair green when I can. In this case, just something to keep the moisture out of the plywood.

 

I used each of these indentations along the side as a place for a screw. Locations center punched, drilled, tapered for the screw head,
then the boards marked and drilled using these holes as a guide.



So these will secure the perimeter.



There's a pre-drilled hole at the front in the center of the ramp that will help hold things in place.



And there are two additional spots in the middle of the ramp that go all the way through underneath.
I was able to drill straight through to the underside.

 

Happy Anniversary to my T/A! I bought it 3 years ago today.



I got a some more work done on the ramps.

Always more runs to the store for what you don't have. So THIS is how my Dad and Grandpa's shops ended up so full of stuff by the time they passed.

Anyway, had to level the face of that front hole. The screw head would not sit flush.



That's better.



Holes for nuts countersunk on bottom of the plywood.



Then a little wood filler for the big blemishes in the plywood.



I'll get that sanded down, then I can start sealing the bottom of the plywood, and painting the top.

Ramp #2 is already chucked up in the workmate, both sheets with their leading edges cut at a 45* with the circular saw. Sanding those edges is next.

 

Both are sanded, with three coats of clear on their bottom sides. The first ramp received it's first coat of Sinclair green oil based paint this evening.

 

A little liquid refreshment, some Sammy Hagar...



...and the other ramp has it's first coat.

 

I have the same ramps, Dave. I need to make what you are making as well. Before I lowered my car I had a hard time driving on them, now it's impossible. Also, I need a new lo-pro jack as I have to remove my front ground effects to get to the k-member. Will be following your design.


Sorry to hear about your father. It is good you have many good memories of/with him.

Beautiful picture of your car as well. Makes me want that design too.


-Jim

 

I hope they do the trick CharcoalBird. I noticed one of them has picked up a curl, and not in favor of helping me. So we'll see how that works out when they hit the ground.

It's all a bit of an ill-conceived experiment. I have the bad feeling that the knife edged pine plywood is going to split the first time I drive 1.5 tons of Pontiac over the top of it.

The first coat of oil paint is now nice and dry on both ramps. I hope to get a second coat on at least one of them this evening, if not both.

 

Yea no watt BRO, deese boards R getting 2 damm nice two scratch up. Put on 1o moor coats of clear and use dem to start displaying UR car show trophies.

All kidding aside, what might work better is some black ribbed rubber runners, like they use on the edge of stairs or hallways. I think the more shine the smoother it gets, it's going to make it slick. You might even be able to staple a piece onto the bottom of one those puppies and set it down next to the other piece. Then SLOWLY start to drive up and see if they start to push away. Another thought is to install some threaded cement (concrete) bolts into the floor. Then drill out the four corners on your new base ramps. Now when you want to use your ramps, just install four HD bolts threw the corners and you should be good to go! Just my LOL, ED

 

I know the stair treads you are talking about Ed. I yes, I thought about that before sealing up the bottoms. I'm hoping the knife edge will allow me to get some weight on them before they can start to push away. We'll see next weekend.

Until then, more glass, please!

Second and final coat on the second ramp. I'll let 'em dry for a day or so, the screw the ramps down. Probably test them out this weekend.



While the brush was wet, I added a second coat to these pieces of threaded pipe. They're for some '50s/'60s vintage enameled steel lamp shades for the shop, 3 over the overhead doors, 1 over the service door. Haven;t been able to do anything with the shop in a very long time. Hope to have a few dollars to do a few things with it this year.

 

Ramps are done. Going to let the paint cure a little longer before I put them into service.



Not specifically T/A related, but these steel lamp shades for the garage have been waiting for their coat of Sinclair green for some time. No time like the present. Taped up. I'll try to get some color on them tomorrow.

 

It's been a few months, so time for an update.

Shortly after my last update, I bought my Dad's old van (1997 Chevy Express) for our summer vacation, towing, and other recreational purposes. He and Mom ordered it custom built for them, with all the factory and conversion equipment and colors they wanted. While he couldn't drive towards the end, Dad couldn't bring himself to sell the van. He said it was his favorite vehicle he'd ever owned. I can't go full on '70s custom van, but I do plan a few changes. To have it ready for summer, it's been sucking up all of my time and spare cash. Thread here...

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubbt...y-1997-express

Got it good enough to take my wife, daughter, and in-laws to my daughters H.S. graduation this week. Still needs a bit more work before vacation, but for the next couple of days, it goes on the back burner, and the T/A comes to the front.

I've had the car out for a few drives, but that factory muffler was getting BAD. Hole about the size of a grapefruit. I was supposed to go to the Michigan F-Body (MIFB) Meet & Greet at Baker's in Milford, MI this weekend, and I couldn't drive it any distance like it was.

http://www.mifbody.com/meetgreet/registrations/

While I was back in Illinois picking up the van, I hit a Cars and Coffee event with my brother. Standing in the repair shop looking out the window, eating a donut, I see a black Firebird with a TTOP350 plate. Our very own Tony from here on TGO! Had a great time talking to him. I mentioned the dilemma of needing a short term L03 exhaust repair to tide me over until I was ready for the stainless system, headers, etc. Tony generously volunteered a spare turbo muffler that he had. So a short drive down the highway in my new van, and I had a free donor muffler (a SUPER TURBO...says so right on the case), and a great time seeing his cars, and talking 3rd gens. Great guy, and I look forward to seeing him again at a future show or event.

The deal on the Magnflow was taking some extra time to materialize, so I started shopping around. I came across a Borla system for a little less than the Magnaflow, so I jumped on it. Another road trip in the van to Elkhart, IN., and it was mine.

So the Borla is the future, and the used SUPER TURBO is the present. Took it to the shop today. Along with a deal on a cat back pipe that had been hanging in their inventory probably since the '90s, the SUPER TURBO is installed (mine was so thin the hanger tore through the pipe, and was too thin with rust to weld....29 years old, you can hardly complain or be surprised). She's nice and mellow again. And because I have upgraded to a SUPER TURBO, I'm not claiming 171 H.P. from the L03.

 

Had a great time at the MIFB Meet & Greet yesterday. 344 F-bodies, 1st gen through 6th, cars from as far as NY state, great location, weather, super easy check-in as I was pre-registered, nice food off the grill at a reasonable price, nice people, beautiful cars, great charity...what's not to like? I even won a nice gift pack from Rodgers Chevrolet as part of the 50/50 drawing...have a new Battery Tender to play with.

 

Well, I expected to open this up and find all of my Photobucket images missing. But I can still see them. Maybe once I post this, and the server goes to fetch them again...maybe they will disappear?

The bucket has screwed up a decade or more of posts I've made on many forum. I have downloaded copies of all of my bucket account photos. Now I just need to find them a new home. This thread, and one other on another of my vehicles on another forum, will get updated links once I have them.

 

All the photo links that are mine are now fixed.

In summary, the bucket sucks, Flickr rocks.

I built a little "How to use Flickr" tutorial for another forum You can view it here...

http://wichargerguy.proboards.com/th...-photos-flickr

...if you're interested.

 

That web site says I have to register.can you post that tutorial here Dave.

 

Really? I did not know that...and I own the forum!

I'll have to be sure to talk to myself about that.

Let me see what I can do about moving it...

Better yet...I just went in to the ADMIN page, and changed a few settings. I'm not certain that I fixed it, but would you mind trying again to see if you can access that thread without joining the forum?

 

I'll have to give that thread a look Dave. I've switched to Flickr, but am having problems finding pictures on my Camera Roll after I thought I had successfully downloaded them. Once I get the hang of it, it seems like I'll like it better than PB.

 

Another member gave me this link to use Google photos. It works quite well.

https://ctrlq.org/google/photos/

 

It's showing now Dave ,Thanks.
The only problem that I see Is,when you post a pic here on TGO anybody can click the arrow and see your whole album. How do I stop that?
I noticed on your thread that when you fixed your pics that PB screwed up you don't have that arrow that allows you to click to the next pic.

 

I got sucked into that "camera roll" deal too when I first joined. Sent Franny a PM about it. If you follow the steps in that thread, you don't use the "camera roll".

 

Franny, if you go into one of your albums, and open one of the photos, and scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find these settings on the right hand side under "Additional Info".



I have mine set to be as "private" as they can be. This was done at the album or account level when I set it up...I don't recall which. But those setting are in there for you. I suspect that's the difference, and when people can scroll through your whole album, and they cannot through mine (I think that's what you are saying is happening).

 

Well at least I'm not the only one having to redo his entire thread after their image hoster decided to change how they provide the images.
Glad you came through and survived, though

 

Thank you. Yes, there are more enjoyable ways to spend your time, but once you have them reloaded at a new site like Flickr, it goes pretty quickly.

 

I literally have hundreds of pictures on dozens of threads here, I'd have to redo. Putting it off for now.

 

Cool story about running into Tony. It's like we're EVERYWHERE!