Hot Rod Forum banner

The "What Did You Work On Today" thread

3M views 36K replies 388 participants last post by  cerial 
#1 ·
4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drive til its broke
#22,861 ·
I got the old loud one out yesterday and was pleased to find little traffic on my little cruise loop. Ah, pleasant. When I was about to turn around, in a split second I straightened up and stopped just in time to avoid a head-on with a youngster playing double the speed limit in a blind curve approaching a stop sign on a dirt road. While I shook off the near miss, they blew the stop sign and put it back to the floor. Dangit, that flipped my switch. Out of curiosity as to what is considered normal driving, I caught up to their junk after holding it to the floor for about a mile. That little hatchback would only have needed a spot of gravel to flip half a dozen times, I let it go and found myself with the needle on 145. Its wrong but still.

Thats what is normal going to work at the mall kiosk is for most people. Every day, I use 100% brakes and gas, a lot, just to stay out of the way. The roads are just about too dangerous for me to use, its like trying to ride a bicycle through machine gun crossfire. For what? Just not worth it anymore. Hiding in a corner of the house is all thats left except for work. No wonder I always feel cornered. Did some budget fguring yesterday also and well... as I suspected, in a month there was zero dollars outside of essentials. Last year. Blue Cross now cuts into essentials and I'll be in the red from here on out. These are the times when I want to climb to the highest point I can find and yell "F#@$ EVERYBODY!"

End of whiny clueless little beotch rant. Oil changes in two today, here shortly. Horses made more sense.:drunk:
 
#22,864 ·
Up my butt? Ha. Yeah one job should be enough.
That's the great thing about being able to do things with your hands, you ALWAYS have a job! It's amazing how something comes along for you to fix, it's a good way to make a living.

Brian
 
#22,865 · (Edited)
I got the old loud one out yesterday and was pleased to find little traffic on my little cruise loop. Ah, pleasant. When I was about to turn around, in a split second I straightened up and stopped just in time to avoid a head-on with a youngster playing double the speed limit in a blind curve approaching a stop sign on a dirt road. While I shook off the near miss, they blew the stop sign and put it back to the floor. Dangit, that flipped my switch. Out of curiosity as to what is considered normal driving, I caught up to their junk after holding it to the floor for about a mile. That little hatchback would only have needed a spot of gravel to flip half a dozen times, I let it go and found myself with the needle on 145. Its wrong but still.

Thats what is normal going to work at the mall kiosk is for most people. Every day, I use 100% brakes and gas, a lot, just to stay out of the way. The roads are just about too dangerous for me to use, its like trying to ride a bicycle through machine gun crossfire. For what? Just not worth it anymore. Hiding in a corner of the house is all thats left except for work. No wonder I always feel cornered. Did some budget fguring yesterday also and well... as I suspected, in a month there was zero dollars outside of essentials. Last year. Blue Cross now cuts into essentials and I'll be in the red from here on out. These are the times when I want to climb to the highest point I can find and yell "F#@$ EVERYBODY!"

End of whiny clueless little beotch rant. Oil changes in two today, here shortly. Horses made more sense.:drunk:
I feel your pain a lot also.. It's season's we all go through just sometime longer then other's it seems.. Keep your head up you never know what tomorrow brings.. I know it's hard.. Been there for the last 13 years.. Got disabled with a roller coaster ride everyday since.. I wake up each day wondering what day it is.. UP or Down day.. I do find the more I stick my head into building Kustom cars The less I worry about.. Sometimes it's hard to do my best.. But keep pushing forward.. Again keep your head up.. You have a lot of hotrod buddy here...;)
 
#22,866 ·
Thanks to you men.:) For being part of my support group.:embarrass

The root thing is the hot rod. The all has allowed me to keep it. You gotta know it was hellacious fun to switch off my paranoid and let the 455 run flat out yesterday. If I focus on that part, that'll hold me a spell. I just get shaky because I been run into so much, and hate when that pops up during a cruise. Its just part of the commute.

The root feeling is pain. Somehow I done blew out my right elbow. Add it to the list of jobs that damaged this body part or that and stack that on the bum wrist, and yep y'all know... next thing you know, you just ain't yourself. So you cope best you can. Can't make dough without an arm (shooting for just switching to left handed at this point :rolleyes: ) and can't preserve sanity without the cubic inches machine... its a fine line, life is.

I changed GTP oil and quit. Got cold. But I did actually also work on, not maintain, it. A splash shield screw that holds the whole plastic front end abomination to the metal car had fallen out and I replaced it. So there, valid but not terribly manly post. Sittin on my duff rest of the day, this I know.
 
#22,867 ·
I know what you mean.. I spent most of my life in a Gym and even own one for sometime and always been in really good shape,, Had my neck fixed a few years back, Now my back has really been doing bad.. From top to bottom is shot now.. Had all kind of shot's and nerve blocks that didn't help,, I have to take a pain pill and pills to knock me out at night.. A long with my other problems.. It really don't help when your in pain day in and day out with life's worry's too... Life is hard sometimes but you always get through it sooner or later.. I always look at the people that have it worst then me and see how blessed I really am..I will be 53 soon and The way I felt my whole life I thought I could wipe this world,, Now it wipes me... I laughed the other day when I went to the doctor and she asked what's your pain level from one to ten.. I looked at her and said.. If I could be a 10 everyday no one would hear a word from me.. I told her I'm some wheres around 800, She said WHAT !!!! You heard me right.. My wife said he never ever and 28 yrs told me he was hurting.. I had a step dad that taught me there is NO PAIN BOY !!!! Keep moving... And I trained my self that way.. Now I found there is PAIN !!!

It get's a little better.. I always worry when it does.. I know something else is coming.. I fight it everyday I do thank My God because I know what I have is a blessing.. Good and bad..The good gives me piece and The bad makes me stronger, Don't always feel that way But it does..;)
 
#22,869 ·
Been having an issue with my '63 Falcon gasser's Super T10 4 speed. After the winter nap I took it to our monthly breakfast get together, and could barely get it into reverse! First and second weren't much easier, but went with some force, and no grinding. It was fine when parked last fall, and just started giving me headaches.
Weather today was spectacular, so I figured a good day to do the dreaded trans R&R. Pulled the trans, and then dropped the bottom half of my Lakewood 2 piece scatter shield. Removed the low mileage clutch, and pressure plate, but both looked like new.
I turned my attention to the new 4 speed, and pulled the side cover to inspect it. It also looked like new, so sealed it up, but dumped the gear oil and got some new 85-90w Stalube GL-4, as it's better than the Valvoline 90-140 that was in it when it was built.
Reassembled everything and poked the trans back in. Used to doo these off my chest in my 20's and 30's, but now I can't even get them on my chest in my late 60's! So balanced it on my floor jack while I raised it up close enough to stab. It went in OK, and I buttoned the driveline up.
Jumped in and fired it up in the driveway, and checked reverse and all forward gears. It worked like a brand new trans, but I'm not sure what I did right? I guess it might be the new gear oil, but not positive. I hope that was it, because I sure don't want to do this again sometime soon!
But I am contemplating buying an adapter trans jack to mount on top of my floor jack! Might save this tired old guy if ever I need to do this again!
 
#22,870 ·
Been having an issue with my '63 Falcon gasser's Super T10 4 speed. After the winter nap I took it to our monthly breakfast get together, and could barely get it into reverse! First and second weren't much easier, but went with some force, and no grinding. It was fine when parked last fall, and just started giving me headaches.
Weather today was spectacular, so I figured a good day to do the dreaded trans R&R. Pulled the trans, and then dropped the bottom half of my Lakewood 2 piece scatter shield. Removed the low mileage clutch, and pressure plate, but both looked like new.
I turned my attention to the new 4 speed, and pulled the side cover to inspect it. It also looked like new, so sealed it up, but dumped the gear oil and got some new 85-90w Stalube GL-4, as it's better than the Valvoline 90-140 that was in it when it was built.
Reassembled everything and poked the trans back in. Used to doo these off my chest in my 20's and 30's, but now I can't even get them on my chest in my late 60's! So balanced it on my floor jack while I raised it up close enough to stab. It went in OK, and I buttoned the driveline up.
Jumped in and fired it up in the driveway, and checked reverse and all forward gears. It worked like a brand new trans, but I'm not sure what I did right? I guess it might be the new gear oil, but not positive. I hope that was it, because I sure don't want to do this again sometime soon!
But I am contemplating buying an adapter trans jack to mount on top of my floor jack! Might save this tired old guy if ever I need to do this again!
I have already had to get the cradle for my jack,,when i bought it i used it for automatics,,now i use it for
all transmissions,,To many Octobers...

Try adding a can of Z Maz it is as thin as water ,But it Really Works it is in 16 oz cans but 1 is enough..--good to see you back,
 
#22,871 ·
I finally got that damn window channel in the drivers door! WHOO HOOOOO!!!

It may have looked like a simple problem if you didn't have it in front of you but this was not a quick fix. I couldn't get into the door to see it's location, and it was damaged when I removed it without thinking, 20 years ago! Thank goodness I had the stock door, I tried and tried to see in there to get some kind of measurement, no luck, it was just impossible to get anything, I gave up and cut a hole, solved that problem! And it wasn't even close to what I was doing so I am damn glad I did that. It still was a muther of a job, I must have pulled that sucker like putting a crochet needle threw a pot older out of the door modifying it and putting it back in about 30 times! Geeez, but it's in and done deal, the window looks perfect. Thank goodness my door has the extra hole from a speaker that I could get a little more access. I finished up by cutting the inner frame and shaping it as needed and it's ready for welding. Now all I need is to get my oxy tank filled.

Brian
 

Attachments

#22,872 ·
One thing I screwed up on was I had an extra pair of window frames so I could eliminate one cut by using the other frame and cutting it long. I did this and couldn't figure out why it wasn't fitting well. I then took the pieces of the two fames to find out that one was a different shape! Geeeez, it was from a 51-54 and it had knotch cut at the bottom for the vent window used on the later truck. What I didn't realize is the whole thing was different because they didn't use the thicker window frame around the glass! So I cut up the darn thing I could have sold.

Brian
 
#22,873 ·
One thing I screwed up on was I had an extra pair of window frames so I could eliminate one cut by using the other frame and cutting it long. I did this and couldn't figure out why it wasn't fitting well. I then took the pieces of the two fames to find out that one was a different shape! Geeeez, it was from a 51-54 and it had knotch cut at the bottom for the vent window used on the later truck. What I didn't realize is the whole thing was different because they didn't use the thicker window frame around the glass! So I cut up the darn thing I could have sold.

Brian
Ouch. That stinks but at least you have what you need to fix it. These details are challenging but soooo satisfying to do.

When I chopped the Merc, I went through similar challenges. After a 3 inch chop, I replaced all factory trim inside and outside including the vent windows. This is another case where each small project has it's own satisfying end. All these small projects add up to a completed car.

Great job. Thanks for posting Brian.

John
 
#22,874 ·
Ouch. That stinks but at least you have what you need to fix it. These details are challenging but soooo satisfying to do.

When I chopped the Merc, I went through similar challenges. After a 3 inch chop, I replaced all factory trim inside and outside including the vent windows. This is another case where each small project has it's own satisfying end. All these small projects add up to a completed car.

Great job. Thanks for posting Brian.

John

I understand completely! After getting that window frame all done and then the channel corrected, with the frame sitting there I felt like I had test driven the truck around the block!

Brian
 
  • Like
Reactions: John long
#22,875 ·
I understand completely! After getting that window frame all done and then the channel corrected, with the frame sitting there I felt like I had test driven the truck around the block!

Brian
Yupper. I believe it! There are people who can bounce around to several different projects and be just fine but I am not one of them. I need that rush that comes from completing the task at hand.

Its good to see you back on it Brian. Wouldn't it be cool if you could at least drive it on the trailer when move time comes?:thumbup:

John
 
#22,876 ·
Reassembled everything and poked the trans back in. Used to doo these off my chest in my 20's and 30's, but now I can't even get them on my chest in my late 60's! So balanced it on my floor jack while I raised it up close enough to stab. It went in OK, and I buttoned the driveline up.
I am contemplating buying an adapter trans jack to mount on top of my floor jack! Might save this tired old guy if ever I need to do this again!
I bought one of those for automatics as they have gotten significantly heavier since I was a younger man too. Problem with the adapter is, it sits so stinking high on the floor jack, that I need the car 2 feet in the air to roll it out from under. Pic is my '62 Impala with TH350. I couldn't get it out, but didn't really need too to replace the frost plugs on the back of the engine.

 
#22,877 ·
Yupper. I believe it! There are people who can bounce around to several different projects and be just fine but I am not one of them. I need that rush that comes from completing the task at hand.

Its good to see you back on it Brian. Wouldn't it be cool if you could at least drive it on the trailer when move time comes?:thumbup:

John
That is my goal for sure! I want at the very least a roller, painted would be the best, that way it's simply an assembly project there.

But my dream, that's to be able to drive it around town where I drove it as a kid without any windows, THAT is my dream!

Brian
 
  • Like
Reactions: idrivejunk
#22,878 ·
I couldn't believe it when I found that the frames were different! CRAP! I got these pink zoletone painted frames from the woman who bought my original cab. I really wanted to use them.

Brian
 

Attachments

#22,880 ·
Yupper. I believe it! There are people who can bounce around to several different projects and be just fine but I am not one of them. I need that rush that comes from completing the task at hand.
:drunk: The Green Mustang left for paint, the F1 went to co-part and the '65 Impala is supposed to be gone this week. It's going to be lonely in the back room...:D







 
Top