9/6/06

John has convinced me I “need” two toys. Well, he convinced me I need to keep at least one 1200 in the stable. He suggested “his” car but I think he might be a little biased. I'm thinking the Chickenhawk will be the car I keep. Here’s why: bitchin’ steel fender flares! Ok, I'm going to leave this train of thought and go back to the report of the weekend’s activities. Sunday morning I went back to the shop and pulled the old scuttle from the car. I set it aside and decided to have a look at the turn signal situation. They worked signaling right but not left. I was fairly sure it was the resistors I had installed so I went searching for them. Sure enough, the tape had melted and one of the resistors had burned out. I'm guessing it was the left. I took them out and tried installing the ten-ohm guys I had bought at the same time as the others. They didn’t work. I don’t know if it was too much resistance or what, but they didn’t work. I decided to take them out entirely with the thought that I'd worry about it later. We’ll see. I moved on to the installation of the windshield. I figured out where I wanted it and marked the holes. I began looking for bolts to mount the windshield but found none. I decided to head for Lowe’s. I found some bolts, washers, and nuts for the windscreen and bought two more countersunk screws for the uprights. I bought all of that then got a green Gatorade at the hotdog stand in the parking lot. Back at the shop I hemmed and hawed a bit before committing drill to aluminum. Just as I made the hole, Marty Smith showed up. We talked for a bit while I drilled the other hole and installed the driver’s side upright. I moved on to the passenger side, after plopping the scuttle back on the car for reference, and found where I wanted the holes. They wound up being pretty close to straight and level. The alignment isn’t bad enough that I'm going to worry about it. John didn’t mention it so it is either a case of me being too close and it isn’t that bad, or he was just being polite. But I digress and get ahead of myself at the same time. I drilled the passenger side holes and mount the screen. It looks good. I decide it is time to look at the mirror situation. I'm thinking that the old mirrors will work mounted pretty high on the uprights so I take them off the old scuttle. I hold one up to the car and think it will be pretty good there. I take the upright off the car and drill a mounting hole and an adjustment hole. I mount it up and move to the passenger side. Same thing there and I have two mirrors. I sit in the car to see how I like it. I like it. I decide to take the car for a mini hoon down to the lake to see how the wind blows around the shield. I roll the car out and clean the glass. It was richly encrusted with two years worth of dust, schmutz, and schmort. With the glass “clean” I took off out to the road. I didn’t bother locking up or even putting on the “elf shoes” because I knew I wouldn’t be gone long. I was stuck behind a car going to the lake so I could only muster fifty or so miles per hour but I wicked it on up to seventy on the way back. It is going to be much more pleasant with this glass, I think. I may have to make some side wings to keep my left, and the passenger’s right, ear from being too buffeted, but I may not. We’ll see. I park the car and clean up as it is beginning to get dark. Not to mention the weather was starting to look ominous. I called home to see if mom wanted me to pick up dinner but neither of us was very hungry. It was decided that I would not. On the way home I had a thought and stopped in O’Reilley’s to look for a rearview mirror. They had one so I bought it. I thought I'd be better off installing the mount tonight so it would have plenty of time to set up overnight. I called mom again to say I wouldn’t be home for a bit after all. I went back to the shop and sat in the Seven to see where I wanted the mirror. I decided on a place and went to mix some JB Weld. I needed just a little dab but got a huge glob instead. Rather than waste it I decided to fill the center of Mr. Wiggly's horn button. But first I mounted the mirror thingy. I held it in place with a big “C” clamp and then went out to Mr. Wiggly for the horn button. I filled it in but needed even more JB Weld so I mixed up a little in the horn button’s recess. I played with that for an hour or so to make sure all of the bubbles were out and it was nice and even. I finally left it and went home, grabbing five tacos and five bean burritos from Taco Casa for our dinner on the way. Monday wasn’t very productive so I'll go ahead and tell the story. I went to the shop and took off the “C” clamp. I mounted the mirror and had a seat to see what I thought of it. I think it will be fine. I called John to see if he was at the muffler place working on his SX. He was not so I asked what his lunch plans were. I picked him up at his house and we went to have some Pho at Pho Nam. I really like Pho. That would be Vietnamese soup, by the way. We eat and head for the shop to get the Weber carburetor for Steve/John’s red 510. John asks if there are any movies I want to see. We decide on “Beerfest” and head for the mall instead of the shop. After the film we do finally make it to the shop but the carburetor is in John's trunk and he doesn’t have the keys. See, that’s why you leave the keys at the shop when you leave a car at the shop, duh! He shoots some pictures of the Seven and we head back to his place. I drop him off and go home. So, that’s what happened over the three-day weekend. I'll tell you my thoughts on lightening my inventory tomorrow. Buh bye.