Morning coffee

[Jeff Norwell]

Damn Straight...Happy Canada Day!

[mustang6984]

Impressive looking! Both car and RCMP officer. Happy Canada Day back at ya'!   

[Marc]

That's quite the beaver. Happy Canada day!

[gasman826]

I was digging through the stash and found a couple of forgotten NOS boxes.  Two NOS outside door handle button kits and a pair of sway bar brackets.  The Custom had an incomplete set of sway bar brackets and I temporarily made the missing parts.  That was about 15 years ago.  I finally found these NOS pieces more than ten years ago and set them aside.  Guess it is time.

[djfordmanjack]

Beautiful parts ! and sweet boxes for the showcase !

[rmk57]

Beautiful parts ! and sweet boxes for the showcase !

  That was my first thought. The boxes would be keepers for sure.

[gasman826]

Since there is a mild heat wave, is everyone's AC working.  The last I remember was Rich Muise was putting in a manual water valve to make sure coolant was not flowing through the heater core.  I'm guessing that wasn't it.  Do you have VA GEN II or IV?

[RICH MUISE]

"mild"?....it's been mid 90's + 2 or 3 weeks now. I was going to do a small cruise/car show today in a small "cow town"40 miles from here, but it's suppose to be 96, so I'm not going. Mostly because my son is here, and he's not into the car stuff, at least what we're into. Besides, as of last Thursday Texas is now requiring masks everywhere in public, and no groups larger than 10, so I'm not even sure if the cruise/show is still going to happen.
Yes, I put a heater hose shut off valve in the '57, and I have VA Gen IV. I have my A/C working a little better, but definetly not where I think it should be. I am leaving the shut off valve in, even though the VA valve was apparently working. I found out the Gen IV system allows hot water into the system at all times except max air, even when "off", so I want to be able to cut off the hot water in the summer.
Most of the '57 projects are on hold as my son and I are knee deep in a bathroom gut and remodel. We're both loving getting to do a project together again after 20 years since the last time. We're both glad it's our small bathroom........just 5 x 10. We took 3400 lbs of tile and concrete to the (pay by weight) landfill last week. By this time next week, we'll have it operational again, then we're planning a trip to Colorado Springs. From there, he's going on to California with his same age aunt to visit his mom (my ex). I'll come back home and finish the bath trim and decor. After his trip to Ca., he'll come back here. He's got no work in Florida due to the virus.
Ha, one flip from 20+years ago.........I use to tell my son what I needed done, now, at 73, I'm the gopher boy!!

[RICH MUISE]

Almost forgot.....on the 19th we got the hail storm we'd been praying for for 3 years. When we bought the house, the inspector told us the roof was in good shape, but old, so we should prepare for a hefty roofing bill down the road. He then added, "pray for a hail storm". We got about a 1/2 hour of half-dollar-sized hail.....enough to do considerable damage to our old roof. Insurance is covering it 100% less deductible Yahoo! we have about 3500 sq ft up there, so getting it replaced for only the deductible is awesome.
Unfortunately, it also got our 3 daily drivers and my son's truck. My son and wife's cousin are not putting in for coverage. My wife's CRV got 7200, which we already received. I'm waiting to hear on my Outback as the damage exceeded the car's value. They wanted to give me 4400 after deduct., and take the car. I told them no, and we agreed on a lesser amount with me keeping the car. The adjuster told me they would be issuing a salvage title on it, but then I found out at the DMV that Texas passed a law a year ago prohibiting the issuance of a salvage title based on hail damage alone! another Yahoo!! Anyway, that caused a delay in processing. I'll check on it Monday or Tuesday.

[lalessi1]

A long while back we had a hail storm, damaged my 280Z. I got an insurance check for couple of grand, but I then I heard about "painless dent removal ". They actually fixed the car for a couple of hundred. They did a great job, the average person would have never known. I have been back for door dings on other cars since and I have never been disappointed.

[RICH MUISE]

Yeah, I'm going to check with them as soon as things settle down a bit. The mobile units have magically appeared all over Amarillo.

[RICH MUISE]

wow, 110 here today, humidity only 27 thankfully. Forecast for next 10 days 102+
We're tentavely heading for Colorado Monday if all goes to plan........only in lower 90's there.
On another note, the virus has been spiking in central and south Texas, but in declining active case numbers in Amarillo.

[RICH MUISE]

A little change in plans. I'm getting the '57 ready for a road trip today, and we're heading for Colorado Springs Sunday with both vehicles as he will be staying up there for a while after I head back. We've got some stuff we want to do in CS for a day or so (including visiting Les), then we're going to find an Alpine slide to go on that will replicate something we did when he was in his early teens. Maybe Winter Park? Anyway, he wants to spend a few days up there with just us two before he starts his visits with his relatives. Gonna be fun.....hope my breathing can handle the altitude.
Les, I'll call today or tomorrow to see if we can set something up for Monday.

[CobraJoe]

Sounds like fun, enjoy!

[RICH MUISE]

Got back from Colorado Springs yesterday. Another great trip. Man, I really miss the Springs. It's gotta be one of the prettiest cities in this country. Weather was good, a little rain, but not too bad. The '57 ran like a champ, but my son following me in his truck told me I had a little smoke coming out of my right tailpipe under load. So I guess I need to get that figured out. I wonder if it has anything to do with the 5/30 mobil one I recently changed to. My oil pressure also dropped a little when I changed.
I did get to meet with Les for a few hours and check out his newly finished ride. I love everything about it. Interior looks great, very tasteful and perfect execution. Motor looks and sounds great, and his A/C is COLD! lol, he had the stuff to check mine out for comparison. We both have an  identical Gen IV system and setup. My condenser is further away from the radiator than should be. His A/C vents read 44 degrees, mine read 68! gauge reading at the low pressure line are almost identical. He didn't have the high side gauge to compare.
I need to find a good A/C shop here in Amarillo to figure out what's going on.
One thing I noticed on this trip, getting to compare my ride height with Les', is that mine has changed more than I realized. I've lost more rake than I thought. I'm also getting more squeaks and suspension snap crackle and pops. Guess it's getting time for some serious maintenance and component replacements. I guess that's what happens when you drive the heck out of them. (this trip 912 miles).
I did finally get to spend 5 or 6 hours driving around with my son riding shotgun. That was absolutely great, although he's still not into the older car thing. He's also awkward with all the attention the car gets.
pics to follow later.