8/10/09

Well, that wasn't the least productive weekend I've ever had, but it wasn't the most either. Friday evening I went to the shop thinking I'd get cracking on the helper spring installation and rear brake adjustment. I got to the shop and jacked up the ass end of Lil' Wiggly. I'm not sure why I decided against installing the helpers then, probably the heat, so I had a look at the passenger side of the car. I removed the wheel and bashed the wrinkles out where they had been cutting into the tire. I had a look at the adjuster mechanism but couldn't finger it out from where I was sitting. I went inside for a drink and to consult the “Writ of Common Knowledge.” I don't have a Writ for that model B-210 so I compared and contrasted two other Datsun Manuels. Neither one inspired me so I removed the brake drum to see what I could see. The shoes were worn pretty badly, so I made the Executone decision that they needed to be replaced. I put the drum and wheel back on and lowered the car off the stands. I cleaned and closed up then went to the Boys of Pep. They had the pads, which I wasn't supposed to pick up until Saturday morning, but they’d have to order the shoes. “They should be here in the morning,” the guy lied. I took the shoes and the order receipt thingy to the register and the “girl” rang me up. I reached for my wallet to find an empty pocket. “Never mind,” I said. “My wallet is in another pair of pants.” I headed home, driving cautiously since Lil' Wiggly’s inspection has expired and I was carrying. I have a picture of my CHL in my phone and would have shown that to a cop had I been pulled over. I know it wouldn't have helped, but it was all I had for a defense. I would have accepted the tickets with a smile and moved on. At some point, John canceled on me for Saturday and asked if we could make it Sunday instead. I said, “Sure” knowing full well the whole weekend was shot as far as the shop went. Saturday morning I headed to the shop nonetheless. I went by the BoP first to check on the brake parts. The shoes had not arrived. “They’ll probably be on the noon truck,” the little girl behind the counter said. I sighed and went ahead and bought the pads. Once I got to the shop I decided I didn't really feel like messing with the brakes and got to work on the seat installation. I removed the passenger seat from Lil' Wiggly and set it on the hood. I dug out the passenger side Saturn seat and set it next to the other. We were going to have a problem. The Saturn seats sit flat on the floor of a Saturn. The B-210 seats sit on stanchions, one side almost two inches higher than the other. I couldn't see any way to make the Saturn rails work either. It looked like I could cut off the sliders from the Saturn seats and attach the B-210 sliders to make it work but seat height would be an issue. I went ahead and fired up the plasma cutter and removed the sliders. With the Saturn seat relatively flat on the bottom now, I began think about how I was going to mate the B-210 sliders to it. The tunnel side could just about bolt right together. The door side was going to need a spacer. I decided that two cross pieces would make life much easier so I closed up and headed to Lowe’s. I bought two 4’ sections of .25”x2.5” flat steel strap and headed back. I cut two 17” long sections and welded them to the flat bottom of the seat. I wanted to put them up inside the seat frame but there wasn't room, or something. Anyhoo, I fingered 1/4” wasn't going to make that much difference. I drilled and mounted the tunnel side slider to the seat. It looked pretty good so far. I took a measurement and found I needed almost 2” to get the seat level. I did a test fit with a 2x4 between the seat and door side slider. It looked pretty good. The butt of the seat didn't look too much higher than the driver’s side. Looks can be deceiving. I went back inside to think about how I was going to make the spacers. I finally decided on welding two sections of that 3/4” box steel together and then that to the seat frame. The slider would then bolt to that. It worked nicely too. I got the seat installed and it even looked fairly level. Of course I smashed my head on the door frame trying to get in. It sat too high. It sat way too high. It sat way too mother fucking high. I cracked my head again getting out. I was glad I hadn’t started on the driver’s side. I cleaned up and closed up then went back to the BoP. They had called but I ignored it. I picked up the shoes and tried to pay. My card was declined. The total was $20.57 but I only had a twenty on me. “Can ya float a brutha fifty seven cents?” I asked the cashier. Oh, everyone around was white so it wasn't an uncomfortable racist situation. She dug around in her change thingy and finally asked the manager. “Psh,” he said as he dug out fifty cents, “Come up with seven more cents and let him go.” I thanked him and mentally noted that I'd give him the $1.00 core when/if I actually returned it. From there I went home. I was flat wore out too. I took a shower and plopped down in my chair. I sent John a text saying the seat was too high and to call if he was going to the shop in the morning. I wasn't holding my breath. Sunday morning Roger called to see if I wanted to go to the Maharaja for some Injun food. I told him I'd been thinking about it and that it sounded good. Of course it was after we’d made our final plans that I remembered being flat assed broke. I called him back to back out but he said he’d float me. We ate and it was good. I went back home to laze about the house, feeling pretty confident that since I hadn’t heard from John yet, I probably wouldn't. Eventually he did text to see if I wanted to go see the GI Joe movie. I did and we made plans. Again, it was after making the plans that I remembered being broke. I called him back to back out and he said he’d float me. I hopped in Lil' Wiggly and headed downtown. We met in the garage and went to the movie. It was damned funny. Perhaps I'll review it later. We went back to the garage and had a look at the seat. John cracked his head getting in and declared it too high as well. We discussed mounting them without the sliders but it will have to be looked into before any final decision can be made. We left for our homes after that. And there you have it. That was the past weekend. Hopefully we’ll get the brakes done and the seats in so I can call that project “complete.” Yes, I used parenthesis because they are never complete. OK, that’s about all I have.