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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.
 
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#14,525 ·
Today I went with an idea of Nick's and it worked out so damn good! He called me the other day asking about putting a switch in his car to kill the radio like when you turn the ignition off. I thought it was a bad idea and told him so. After we hung up I got to thinking about it and it was brilliant! Both our cars radios are almost out of our reach from the drivers seat, mine under the glove box, his in the glove box. So if we need to turn it off to talk to a cop....last night for him. :rolleyes: Or to talk to someone at a stop light asking about the Rambler, it's a project to turn it off or drop the volume.

I called him back and told him how it was a great idea. And I have a few toggle switches that we can use. Guys, these switches were in my truck when I bought it over 40 years ago! They were the light switches the PO had put when he re-wired the truck. They were mounted on the dash at the stock headlamp location and the choke location right next to the speedometer. You can see them in the photo taken the day I brought it home Dec 1974.

I removed them in the late seventies and they have been in a box ever since! How cool is this, one is now in my Rambler to flip the radio on and off, I love it! It's an odd switch so it really brings back memories. In the truck one was mounted vertically to control the head lamps, the other below it was mounted horizontal to control the park and dash lights. I remember like it was yesterday clicking the bottom one to the right to turn on those lights and in one movement flipping the upper one up to turn on the head lights. :D

I was going to spend a bunch of time lengthening the piece that goes under the dash of the Rambler for it being I had an extra one. But decided to just mount it in the ash tray being I never open it at all. The other photo showing the ash tray full of marlboros is the one I was going to use, it's from out of the my parts car. :D When I put the car in the Barrett Jackson auction I'll swap ash trays. :D

Brian
 

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#14,526 ·
I also aimed the lights on the Rambler too. These license plates are the ones my brother got from our cousin. They were on Harleys my Uncles rode, is this cool or what! The '42 is the one my brother's Crosley bike is registered to.

Brian
 

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#14,528 ·
Just for Starters

Okay I'm not a 220 lb. gorilla. And I mainly have been doing maintenance on cars for many years. But are those 70's starters getting heavier with age. Is that why they are going with the mini Hp starters cuz the baby boomers (like me) can't lift them anymore. Man found dead in garage with started on forehead. This is my first car with headers, what is the deal with that, an engineer with a hate for mankind, (woman design) Don't get me started. Yeah I put the starter back in my rebuild (in car with headers semi disconnected.):sweat: Finally used a mini floor jack to upload the thing, smarter not harder. Having fun with the first real car/engine project, maybe should have started when I could still lift one.:D 12/13/57 Baby Boomer
 
#14,529 ·
I also aimed the lights on the Rambler too. These license plates are the ones my brother got from our cousin. They were on Harleys my Uncles rode, is this cool or what! The '42 is the one my brother's Crosley bike is registered to.

Brian
Nice set of plates,great cond and the history makes them that much better,,are California motorcycle plates same size as car plates or just the way picture is taken,,in Ga they are much smaller and we only get 1,for the rear.

Edit just noticed they are different years and numbers,Duh,,:confused:
 
#14,530 ·
Nice set of plates,great cond and the history makes them that much better,,are California motorcycle plates same size as car plates or just the way picture is taken,,in Ga they are much smaller and we only get 1,for the rear.

Edit just noticed they are different years and numbers,Duh,,:confused:
Yea, It is the history that makes them soooo cool. The tags alone would not do that much for me but I love the story and sentimental value.:thumbup:

John
 
#14,531 ·
Yea, It is the history that makes them soooo cool. The tags alone would not do that much for me but I love the story and sentimental value.:thumbup:

John
Yeah we have photos (which I can't find any right now) of our uncles doing things like drifting sideways with a big rooster tail of sand on the beach in Monterey. Lot's of cool stuff with motorcycles and race cars, they took a lot of photos.

But my dad too, lot's of history on them Harleys and Indians. Our dad is the furthest to the right.

The plates are smaller David, just like motorcycle plates in other states.

Brian
 

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#14,532 ·
Yeah we have photos (which I can't find any right now) of our uncles doing things like drifting sideways with a big rooster tail of sand on the beach in Monterey. Lot's of cool stuff with motorcycles and race cars, they took a lot of photos.

But my dad too, lot's of history on them Harleys and Indians. Our dad is the furthest to the right.

The plates are smaller David, just like motorcycle plates in other states.

Brian
These guys weren't in Hollister in 1947 were they?
(start music here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UWRypqz5-o)

BB :thumbup::thumbup:
 
#14,533 ·
I sing that song when ever I see a "chopper" of a friend. I have a co-worker who is building one and had it at the shop for a long time, when ever he rolled it over into the bodyshop for a weld or something I would be singing this song. LOL

Brian
 
#14,534 ·
The first shot is of my dad on his first bike around 1935. The second one is a reenactment of the first on my brothers 45 around 2000, dad passed away in 2004. :( He wanted to ride that 45 so bad but knew it would be a very bad idea.

Brian
 

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#14,535 ·
Okay I'm not a 220 lb. gorilla. And I mainly have been doing maintenance on cars for many years. But are those 70's starters getting heavier with age. Is that why they are going with the mini Hp starters cuz the baby boomers (like me) can't lift them anymore. Man found dead in garage with started on forehead. This is my first car with headers, what is the deal with that, an engineer with a hate for mankind, (woman design) Don't get me started. Yeah I put the starter back in my rebuild (in car with headers semi disconnected.):sweat: Finally used a mini floor jack to upload the thing, smarter not harder. Having fun with the first real car/engine project, maybe should have started when I could still lift one.:D 12/13/57 Baby Boomer
I am a 300 lb gorilla but they have gotten heavier. I tore my right shoulder rotator cuff in 1994 trying to put an industrial engine Delco starter in a Caterpillar 657 scraper. I couldn't get directly under it and it tore loose. Ended up getting help tying a rope around the starter and another guy pulling up from the bottom. (The way it is normally done) BTW I was 185 back in those days but at least twice as strong as I am now. (Used to one hand those big Delco's when I could get directly under them.) And never got the rotator cuff repaired. Now have two artificial shoulders to go with two artificial knees and an artificial right hip. DOB: 07/28/1952 I can still one hand the car size full size Delco though. Left handed. :mwink:
 
#14,536 ·
I am a 300 lb gorilla but they have gotten heavier. I tore my right shoulder rotator cuff in 1994 trying to put an industrial engine Delco starter in a Caterpillar 657 scraper. I couldn't get directly under it and it tore loose. Ended up getting help tying a rope around the starter and another guy pulling up from the bottom. (The way it is normally done) BTW I was 185 back in those days but at least twice as strong as I am now. (Used to one hand those big Delco's when I could get directly under them.) And never got the rotator cuff repaired. Now have two artificial shoulders to go with two artificial knees and an artificial right hip. DOB: 07/28/1952 I can still one hand the car size full size Delco though. Left handed. :mwink:
Are you the six million dollar man?
 
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#14,537 ·
Nick got the headlamps adjusted on the Falcon, people had been hitting their high beams on him, no wonder they were facing skyward!

He also got the oil changed, I fixed the license plate light (the reason the cops pulled him over) and did some testing on the Alternator, it will be replaced.

Brian
 

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#14,538 ·
The first shot is of my dad on his first bike around 1935. The second one is a reenactment of the first on my brothers 45 around 2000, dad passed away in 2004. :( He wanted to ride that 45 so bad but knew it would be a very bad idea.

Brian
Great pictures of your Dad ,fond memory im sure thanks for sharing the photos old 32 Side valve Harley 346cc and the 45 Flathead and your Dad ,both were great bikes ,My kind of man :thumbup:


My dad had a Harley 45 when I was 8-9 years old then sold it and bought a Indian Chief 4 cyl kept it for years,
 
#14,539 ·
Nick got the headlamps adjusted on the Falcon, people had been hitting their high beams on him, no wonder they were facing skyward!

He also got the oil changed, I fixed the license plate light (the reason the cops pulled him over) and did some testing on the Alternator, it will be replaced.

Brian
I think the headlight aimers I used back in 1970 at the Ford dealership were even older than those pictured. Had a device you put on the garage floor, then set a dial on the aimers to correspond with the reading you got on the device. Then looked through windows in the top of the aimers to adjust the headlights. There was difference between the left and right aimer as well.
 
#14,540 ·
The first shot is of my dad on his first bike around 1935. The second one is a reenactment of the first on my brothers 45 around 2000, dad passed away in 2004. :( He wanted to ride that 45 so bad but knew it would be a very bad idea.

Brian
My Dad bought his first Indian when he was 15. He had a few different Indians and Harley's before he went in the service in '44. He got out in '48 and went straight to the Harley dealer with his saved up service money and bought a band new '48 61 cubic inch. He sold it a number of years later when I was born...:mad: He talked about getting another Harley almost to the day he died 3 years ago..:(

We have a pic of him sitting on my 1995 Springer with our 3 year son in front. Wish I knew how to scan pics into the computer. I offered to let him ride it, but I'm sure he knew, as your Dad did, that it might not be a good idea.

My uncle got out of the service in '47 and bought a new 74 cubic inch knucklehead. He still has it !!!
 
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