Scotts_DG8

Although there may be less costly buffers out there I too chose a Baldor Buffer and am happy with the one that I have. If you haven't looked into them a range of models available can be seen here: Baldor and TP Tools Buffers - TP Tools & Equipment Just throwing my two cents in. Scott...

This is Friday – 19-Nov-2010 and I felt the need to post an update here as it’s been almost a month. First I didn’t drop off the face of the earth it’s just that I’ve had to redirect my efforts to other task around the house. And as it’s getting closer to that first snow of this winter and my garage is not heated I’d pretty much decided that this project will have to wait until the spring at this point. There is though at least one thing that I do plan to get done this winter in my basement for this project and that is to go through all the wire harnesses. As I get into the wiring sub-project I’ll post an update but again, the major project will need to be put on the back burner until spring. For those of you that have been following along thank you all for showing your interest, it is for sure a good bit of motivation. Scott… BTW, I might also state here my interest in hearing about any other late model (68, 69 or 70) A100 vans and/or A100 pickups out there that may be sitting around and available along with any parts. I’m interested in finding; sun visors, another set of frameless pop-out windows (with gaskets), a complete sliding side step, an original rear bench seat, a complete headliner, a complete set of upper fiberglass trim panels and lower covered panels (Std. in a Custom Sportsman), bumpers (front & rear), an original jack and who knows what else…

Well you just may be as I sure the heck don't remember the joke but the sentence has stayed with me for years and it comes to mind only on occasion. Old age? Nah, Scott...

After reading through all of the pet peeves from the grammar police, there is only one thing that comes to mind; I’s dis da bus tha go’s ta skool???? I know that I too have been at fault, in my opinion on occasion but in reality it might be more often (hope not). My problem is that I type something up and hit the submit button and if there happens to be an error in grammar/punctuation I may not see it until later if at all. If there is an error in one of my posts that pushes a button in someone, please let me know. Sometimes it is the due to the passion of the reply, other times it just may be due to a background thought sneaking into the middle of a sentence. I know that I am guilty of not always going back and reading every word of what I wrote and I for sure not the type of person that will go back and correct something unless it is a key descriptive word or point I was making. Besides, if 10 or 20 people have seen it as it was posted and not commented then I’m for sure not going back in to add a missing “is” or misplaced “but”. My bad, as the saying goes (and I so dislike that term too). Ok, with that out of the way I would like to say thank you all for your ability to both educate and entertain. Scott…

I see that I’m late to the party here. I used Google Maps not the Google Earth to have a look at what I believed to be your home, which you’ve already confirmed. Note that I said home as that is where life experiences occur as opposed to a house as its but an impersonal object sans occupants. It looks to be a nice neighborhood. I will say that as I’d spent quite a bit of time in the U.K. there no question that the neighborhood does for the most part look like one that I would have seen there. I also agree, it’s quite amazing the amount of information that you can find on the internet which shows that there are few secrets in today’s new world, most anybody has the ability to pull/access this information which can be a great asset but sometimes maybe not so great. In this new world though just be aware of it, accept it (the cat’s out of the box and the clock doesn’t run backwards) and go forward from there. Scott…

Bernie, <O:p</O:pI do understand completely. I also seen cars sitting, often not covered, dissolving under the weight of elements, it can be quite a disheartening sight. Though I am at the maximum number of cars that I can store/own at this time (see picture, this is before reorganized the garage), it still does bother me when I come across one that has a sad look about it that pulls at me. Although I also too come across cars that I would like to save but more often than not a lot of these cars will fade away because it is an old car so by default is worth a lot of money to the owner if he would even think of selling it, after all it’s not the owners place to consider the cost (time/labor/money) to bring it back to life. And, of course you know if it is not one of the “popular” cars where money often is no object it will probably fade away because of lack of interest in paying the asking price and when the price does drop the car’s not worth saving then. <O:p</O:pOne last point/comment on my part. I’ve been told that I’ve got an eclectic “collection” and that I should focus on one type of car or another which leads into being told that I should sell some of the cars that I have. Each of the cars that I own represent something special to me and is without question tied to the era they were built in. I know I’ve disappointed several people when I stop any conversation on selling any one of them but that’s the way it is. <O:p</O:pOk, enough of the sideline talk. I hope that you are being productive because I, like many here, want to see the finished product. Scott…<O:p</O:p

Bernie, I agree about parking a car in the weather after spending a good amount of time making it presentable again. The thinking probably is that after putting a good new coat of paint on the outside/topside of the car and maybe changing the rubber seals it’s good to go outside again forgetting about the moisture coming up from underneath. Who really knows what the thinking or rational is though. As far as the DG8 goes, I don’t have real current pictures as I’d not really spent too much time on this car as yet. I do have some though that others might find interesting which I will try to find the time to upload into an album in the next day or two. I’ve been picking up the few missing parts it needs here and there as I come across them, it’s now though mostly a 99% complete car. There is a bit of a story as to why it’s not being worked on yet but this isn’t the place for going into that right now, this thread/story is about your Packard. Oh, and good job on the door frame wood. A wood frame is a bit of artwork in itself. Scott…

Bernie, First of all its I that hopes I did offend. I believe that I noted in your Dixie Flyer thread that your work is amazing. I’ve always followed your posts and enjoy them all. Your confessional, although not needed, just adds to my respect for all that you do. I can only hope that I am fortunate enough to remain as active and feel just now that there might be more that I could be doing. I concur that being able to follow along with your progress on this project not unlike the Dixie Flyer is a treat and I too hope that there will be more to follow. <O:p</O:pJust to give a bit of my personal background. I’m on the back side of my 50’s and although I own my own small home and it has a decent size garage I’m not exactly rolling in money. My garage/shop was a personal objective and it took me years to get it to where it is as but in a lot of ways does not stand up to oh so many out there. I too am in a situation where I have to pull a car out into the driveway to work on it but only because of the “Collection” of cars that I have. I would consider myself a collector in the sense that the 4 older vehicles that I own have been bought over time (mostly the last 20 years) as/when an opportunity arose. The plan is that all of my vehicles will be driven someday. I have a passion (illness) for old cars and trucks and probably have some sort of romantic mental association to the period in time each represents. I could easily be a hoarder of project cars if money were no object only because I dread ever seeing an fine example hot rodded/resto-rodded whatever term might be used. But alas I can’t save them all and besides my personal vision is not the all mighty word or view and others should have an opportunity to chase their vision/dream. <O:p</O:pIn closing I think I also stated in the Dixie Flyer thread, it takes passion, skill and an eye for art which you for sure have. I will continue to be a rabid fan, waiting for your next post/update. Scott…

John, We all have to accept change and go on but I would hope that it is some time before you finally through in the towel on posts. Besides a diversion now and then, in my opinion, keeps things interesting. But I do have a question on your generator project. It looks like the pad that you are setting it on is sand from the picture? Are my eyes just playing with me? Scott...

Bernie, Too bad on the rusty part but in the end it seems to have turned out rather well. I’ve worked with parts that looked as bad. What I’ve discovered was that after dismantling the part as much as possible a bit of media blasting in the blast cabinet to clean it followed by wire wheeling the part the part more often than not comes out looking nearly new. Just curious. Scott…

John, I always enjoy your (almost) daily updates on yours and Greg's activities. And just to confirm that I do read your posts I thought that the couple of picture that Greg's passed on from Vietnam were a bit hard to view. I decided to bite the bullet and try to enhance them a bit to see if I could make them a bit easier on the eyes to view. I've attached my efforts and hope this is alright with both you and Greg. Scott... Oh, did I tell you that reading you posts (most) every day with my coffee in the morning is a good way to start the day? No?, Well let me tell yah...

Dean, You may not know this but you were without question one of the key individuals on this site that inspired me to dive into my van project (which has yet again been waylaid by other projects/issues) along with I’m sure other’s restoration projects here on the AACA. I think it’s your story telling, the tasks/issues that you tackle along your solutions where you often demonstrate your varied skills that pretty much have us all glued to your posts. You have to know that a lot of us, if not all of us, that follow your posts really just enjoy watching you work and probably a good percentage of us I’m sure would like the chance to be there in person. And yes we, I believe, all know you’re not 100% involved in this restoration with all your other activities (nice job on the Hup engine and getting it back on the road) but it is still good to have you back in the saddle again so to speak, lead the way. By the way, it’s too bad that there was not another forum on this site for general projects where you, and I’m sure others here, could post their other creative projects/activities such as the house that your building. I’m sure it would be just as fun and riveting as watching some DIY program on HGTV or a How It’s Made on TLC and we all could continue to follow along and learn. Scott…

When I had my house upped to a 200 Amp service and a separate 100 Amp service put in my garage there was already a single 12/2 run out to the garage that ran two 4 ft florescent lights and two outlets on its own 20 amp breaker in the house that I chose to leave in place for the alternative/backup power to the garage. It’s come in handy a couple times when I’ve shut the subpanel breaker off in the house while doing other garage wiring. But then again, it wasn’t a planned action just taking advantage of what was already there. Oh, I did dig my own trench and bury my own conduit (about 80 ft distance) but had the electrician run the wires through the conduit. And another thing that I decided to do was to bury a separate conduit for a run of internet and cable to the garage at the same time (you can't run these with the power run), something that some others may want to consider. I had used my wireless link on my PC a couple time in the garage with so so results, having a direct link really makes a big difference. Just some other things to consider if you’re going to run your own conduit, a second/separate conduit could come in handy. Scott...

Do you have any parts for a '69 Dodge A100 Sportsman Van? Tie Rods? Drag Link? King Pin Set? Shocks? Scott...

Just thinking/questioning out loud on the effects of the “new” gas. Is there not a coating that one could get on/in a carburetor? Specifically, if one were to rebuild a carb, could you or a rebuilder submerge the body/parts while dismantled that would ward off the side effects of the new gas? I’m sure that it is not the end all solution but this is more a curiosity comment/question? I know that you can get coating for your gas tank, I’d already had this done to one of mine. If gas lines were also a problem maybe you could also flush a new gas line the same coating to thwart the effects the new gas might have on it. One thing for sure new gas is not going away, what other ways are there to fight the effects of it? As I said, I’m just thinking/questioning out loud on this. Scott…

It’s the morning of Thursday – 14-Oct-2010 and I have one last update on the F150 to close this diversion from the A100 out. As mentioned early on, the diversion started with the task of freeing the spare from under the truck so that the original spare tire could be replaced. It lead to the unearthing of the rusted spring shackles and shackle supports along with the leaky gas tank. Well I had already documented the completion of the shackles, shackle supports and gas tank so to close it out I finally remounted the spare yesterday. The wheel was pretty rusted as seen in an earlier picture but cleaned up rather well and a coat of primer and a rattle can of DupliColor Wheel paint made it presentable again. I had cleaned the original support bolts and nuts and applied a little grease on the threads while putting it all back together. It all went back in smoothly. So the F150 diversion is officially now completed. So maybe now I can get some more accomplished on the A100 before the cold weather starts to really set in. Scott…