4/2/13

“So,” I ask, “you and your girlfriend need to borrow my truck to move?”  “Yes,” he replies.  “Sure,” I say, “just take Oliver Closehoff!”  Ba-dum-bum!  And that wraps up the Vaudeville portion of the show.  Ok, I've got to stop thinking about the Rat Rod for the time being.  If I don’t, it is going to take over from Lil' Wiggly and that car will never get finished.  So, after we go get the body and doors for the Rat Rod, we’ll shove them in a corner, or something, and get back to work on Lil' Wiggly.  If I remember correctly, we’re pretty much done with the ass-end of the car.  We still need to fill the differential with oil, but I think everything else back there is… no, we need to install the rear pads and bleed the brakes too.  I forgot about that.  But I think the fuel system is buttoned up from the tank to the pump to the regulator.  All the brake lines are done and the suspension bits are as installed as they can be.  Once I get the battery box installed, I can finish up the wiring and put the dash back in.  I think I might pitch the factory fuse box for a new one though.  Then again, I might not.  I need to go back in and finger out where all the wires go once more and get them hooked to the proper things around the car.  Oh, I still need to wire the fuel pump.  I remember now that we were having a discussion as to how I was going to feed it so the wire is just routed from the pump inside the car.  I'm thinking now, since we have the remote battery box and stuff, that I'll put in another relay for the fuel pump and use the one that used to feed it to excite the alternator.  I probably was a bit premature in taping up the under hood wiring harness.  I might un-tape it and redo it again.  We’ll see.  In fact, that is quite likely something I'll do… especially since I have to redo the whole interior harness as well.  Meh, electrical tape is cheap… ish.  As far as the engine goes, I think all we have to do is finger out that hydraulic throw out bearing thingy and get it installed then we can hang the damned thing in the engine bay.  I still don’t know how I'm going to mount the radiator, but that shouldn’t be rocket surgery.  I don’t know, if we can get back into the swing of things, and get back to working on the thing, we should be able to have Lil' Wiggly up and running in the next couple months.  I think my arbitrary 4th of July deadline is not out of the question.  If we consider this Saturday dead, since we’re going to Not Texas to get the Rat Rod body, we still have twelve Saturdays to get it done.  I think John wants to go to another car show next Saturday so we might lose one more… but eleven weeks seems like plenty of time to me.  And there’s nothing carved in stone that says I can't go to the shop on Sundays and do some work by myself.  In fact, that is how I see the re-wrapping of the harness going down.  Hell, if we bump the deadline from the 4th of July to BNSF Family day, we’ve got over 20 weekends to get it going.  THAT is a doable deadline… unless the summer doldrums kick in really hard and we just don’t feel like working on anything.  Still, twenty weeks otter be enough time.  I wonder if The Seven weeks between BNSF Family day and my birthday are enough time to get George done and on the chopping block.  If we went for an A-series and left the welded 4.11 axle in, I'll bet it could be done.  Thing is, what would be a better seller: stupid fast two liter or reasonably spritely 1.4 liter?  Damn it, now I'm beginning to think I might want to keep it for a while with the reasonably spritely 1.4 liter.  John, help!  I suppose, if I were to decide that two 1200s could stay in the fleet, we could bypass George and move straight to the Chickenhawk when Lil' Wiggly is on the road.  I wonder what engine B. R. Eastman is planning to use the in the Spit.  I suppose I otter ask him.  If he’s got his eyes on the same engine I'm thinking about for George, we’ll go ahead with the Z-20 and sell it.  That really is the best plan.  I wonder if the 1200 axle, with the welded diff and 4.11 gears, would survive very long behind the Z-20.  I mean, it would only have to live long enough for it to become the next guy’s problem, I suppose.  I think the general consensus is that it would be much happier behind an A-series.  Yeah, we need to yank that axle, install the B-210 axle from Lil' Wiggly, plop the Z-20 in with a five-speed and sell that car.  But it sure would be fun with those gears and a warmed-over A-14.  No!  I must stay the course!  George’s sale will help finance… well, if not the Oliver Closehoff, then the Chickenhawk revival.  Hmm, ever since I agreed to sell the Spit, John has been lamenting that I wouldn’t have an A-series car.  Perhaps an A-14, five-speed, 4.11 R&P, George otter stay in the fleet.  John, tell me what to do!  Oh, I just remembered that B. R. Eastman wants the dog-leg transmission from George for the Spit.  Stay the course!  Build George to sell with a Z-20 engine!  Stop waffling!  Let me think a moment.  If I have Lil' Wiggly, the Chickenhawk, Oliver Closehoff, and The Seven as my toys, would that be enough?  I should think so.  It is more toys than most guys have.  Would adding George with an A-14 be that big an addition?  Not really.  I really should be reasonable and build George to sell.  Psh, if we just did one simple thing one Saturday, the car could be considered “dead to me.”  If we just took a couple hours to swap that rear axle out, I would not even consider putting an A-series in it.  There, I said it.  The gauntlet has been thrown.  John, I think next time we’re at the shop to work, we otter do just that.  Put in a warmed-over A-series in George!  Ok seriously, next actual work day at the shop, we need to swap axles so I won't be tempted by George's siren song.  In fact, we could probably get the engine out as well that day.  I think we may have a plan.  And on that note, I think I'll call it a rant.