3/21/2011

OK, so when I mentioned the steel building, and subsequent moving out there, to mom on Friday, she reminded me that I have to stay on Burkett for another five years if we get that home equity loan we’ve been looking at. She suggested I scale down the living quarters to just a shitter and shower to which I countered with, “How about an efficiency apartment?” So, now I'm thinking that I'll do a 60’x80’ steel building with a wee little efficiency in one corner. I've drawn it up and I think it has potential. I'm meeting with “Nitro,” the guy I worked with back in ‘97, tomorrow evening to talk about it. I'll take my drawing along as a jumping-off point. We'll see how it goes. OK, so Saturday morning I head to the shop and get about halfway there when I remember all that paperwork they wanted me to sign. I went back home for it. I texted John as I was walking back in the house to tell him I'd be later than expected. Back at the shop, I went in to deal with the management. The little girl behind the counter looked to be fourteen or so. There was also a gaggle of children drawing and coloring on the floor. I went up to the counter and we got working on signatures and stuff. I was all worked up over nothing, or at least not much, and everything went smoothly. At one point one of the rug rats called the little tweenie “Mommy” which really took me aback. I didn't judge, and I'm trying not to do it now. So we’ll move on. Back at the shop proper, John was working on his B-210. We bent up some lovely brackets to mount his rear bumper which he then put on the car. We pulled the engine back out of Nadine and cleaned up the frame rails. I zooked the cross member in and then we rolled Nadine out to Lil' Wiggly's spot. By now it is lunch time so we lock up and go eat. El Azteca on Old Granbury Road south of 1187... meh. It was OK. Not great, not terrible. Back at the shop we backed his car in and I removed the “U” bolts holding the rear axle in place. I heated, un-bent, and re-bent the new “U” bolts for the lowering blocks while he mounted his front bumper and grille. Crawling under the car just to remove his bolts about did me in. I supervised his installation of the blocks. I've gotten spoiled by having John around. Whenever I get going on a project, he jumps in to help and eventually I wind up doing less and less until he’s done my whole... whatever I was working on. Now, I'm not bragging, or bitching. I'm just saying, it has spoiled me to the point where I don't really accomplish anything at the shop anymore without him there doing the actual work. OK, so he gets the rear of the car done and pulls around the building. The car looks tits! I'm jealous as hell that he has a running B-210. He pulls back in and mounts up the turn signals and park lights in the new bumper. We then roll Lil' Wiggly into the bay and close up for the day. It is a million o’clock. We go to Chili’s for dinner and discuss plans. He likes the idea of the efficiency apartment in the corner of the Boyd shop... I think. Yes, I'm pretty sure that was the consensus. We talked Lil' Wiggly's engine options. I think we’ve convinced me to put the super hot rod A-14 in there with a decent weight flywheel and more livable carburetor setup. I'll basically keep the four-speed which is in the car now, along with the lightened (but not like Explodotron) flywheel and relatively new clutch making the whole engine swap, potentially, a one day affair. Of course it will take more than one day, I'm not an idiot, but it will be much simpler than the L-series. Once we were done gabbing, I went home and crashed out. Sunday morning Larry calls to say he and his sister are just about ready to head out. We agree to meet at Blood Bath & Beyond before going to the range. We do but they aren't open yet. We hang out until they do then shop for a bit. I buy a butt-load of 9mm ammo, some .45 Colt rounds, and cleaning stuff for The U.N.C.L.E Gun. Oh, have I mentioned I'm calling the Beretta .22 The U.N.C.L.E Gun? Well, I am even though it is actually nothing like their gun. It’s the whole modular convertible pistol/carbine thing it has going. Anyhoo, we eventually go to the range. I shoot about 25 rounds of 9mm through Lil'Millie, the Taurus PT111 I got back from Pat. It seems fine, filthy but fine. Next I break out The U.N.C.L.E Gun. I shoot several magazines as a pistol then convert it to a carbine. I shoot several magazines as a carbine then convert it back to a pistol. I then repeat this procedure several more times. I really like that gun! I get to shoot Carrie’s Ruger LCR in .38 Special. I like it too. Larry lets me shoot his Mountain Gun .45 ACP revolver. Pretty snazzy. Eventually we pack up and leave. We have lunch at Taco Casa and I head back to Blood Bath & Beyond to buy a scope for The U.N.C.L.E Gun carbine. I need to get my sight picture up higher so my ear phones don't foul the butt stock and I want a wee bit of magnification for the longer range shots for which the carbine is made. I head to the shop to possibly clean the guns and to look at the options of single DCOE manifolds we have on hand. All I saw was the round-port unit. I'm not using that. I decide that I'll burn that bridge later and that I need a nap before cleaning the guns. I go home and take said nap. Mom informs me she’s going to the church for a bit so I head to the garage and clean The U.N.C.L.E Gun and Lil'Millie. .22s are a bitch to clean if you don't have the right sized cleaning patches. I had to cut them down just to get them through the barrel. Once I was happy with the cleanliness of the weapons, I oiled them and put them away. And that about wraps up my weekend. Perhaps we’ll discuss Lil' Wiggly some more tomorrow, or maybe I'll rant about how awesome that Rebecca Black song, “Friday” is! [ You can't argue with over 30 million YouTube views and counting... - SM ]