Mike "Hubbie" Stearns
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Posts posted by Mike "Hubbie" Stearns
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Look at what I received today. I only took me about 7 months to find a great shop to do the work with an open mind. They modified a yoke and made the new driveshaft. All I need to do is install the driveshaft and I can take it for a drive ( as soon as the weather cooperates) for the first time. I’m looking forward to it.
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Looking good. Keep up the good work
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Today my daughter called and said she got to work and now the car won’t start. She came out after her shift and it started. She them goes to the auto parts store and the replaced the battery. When I get home she asked me to listen to her car because it sounds funny. I grabbed my volt meter and hooked it up. She started it and the meter read 11.87 VDC. I had her pull it into the garage so I could take the alternator off. This is a 2008 Chevy Malibu. What a pain in the. She and her boyfriend go to town to pick up one and dinner. After dinner I installed the new one and put the meter on it. Success. 14.5 VDC. It took about 2 hours work to do it. At least I got dinner out of it.
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Years ago, I did a job and got paid with a garage full of tools. After hauling them home, dad had a sale a couple of weeks later. He was in good with the local Napa. Anyone could draw a number ball from the container on the counter. They would write the name down for dad. On Friday he picked up the list for Saturday morning. The sale started at 8 am with number 1. 10 minutes intervals after that. Only 1 rule, cash only, no checks. There were 200 balls to start with. About 125, the guy walked up and yelled he would buy the rest at marked price. Dad told him to show him the money, them dad closed the door and started adding everything up. I made enough for college for a year. Dad took some tools that he wanted for his time and effort.
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Really good show. Not a lot of early stuff, but was able to find a couple of things I needed
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I do understand the “love affair” thing with a machine. I have what I call my 2 mistresses. They are housed at the local volunteer fire department. The first is a 1978 Ford LaFrance and the other is a 1992 Ford E-One. I have never gave them a name, I just call them “my Mistresses”
I’m glade your on the road to recovery. My father in law has copd. He has had for many years. He has his good and bad days, it all depends on the weather. The cold and wetter it is makes it a bad day so I do understand what you are going through. Keep your head up and enjoy a pint or two at the pub. Spring is just around the corner. Mike
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Mike, just wanted to hear how you are doing. I hope and pray you are still on the road of recovery. Mike
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Neat picture. You do what you have to do when things don’t Work out as they are supposed to.
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To me, that’s what it is all about. Weather it’s a car, truck, tractor, or motorcycle, they can all bring smile and good memories to all. They can cause us headaches and fight us, but in the end, it’s all worth it
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It’s a 96 Simon duplex
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I just picked this up a couple of weeks ago in Pennsylvania. My nephew and his son went with my wife and me to drive it back home. It’s about 550 miles one way. He road in the back all the way and didn’t complain one bit. He really enjoyed it. The only problem was an antifreeze leak that we had to fix. It was a town truck and only ran 58 mpg and got about 5 mile per gallon.
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I received the new yoke and nut on Thursday. I’m going to install today and get the needed measurement for the new driveshaft. That is if it works. I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel for this part. I also took the front fenders and hood metal over to my painter to prime. He should have them done sometime next 2 weeks.
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I checked into repairing my original engine. Talked to frank and sent him some pictures of the cracks. He quoted about $500 and would take about a week or so. That was pennies of the rebuild price of 10-12K. I didn’t have done, but would have if the rebuild price would have been less. There are several companies hat can do metal stitching and most of them warranty their work. It amazes me they they can fix it crack or hole and it be water/oil tight
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With all this odd weather this winter, I’ve been able to get the front fenders and hood blasted. They are waiting to be primed, probably next week , I’ve been doing lots of searching the net for parts and info. I did get some great news today though. Last Thursday, I shipped the yoke for the driveshaft out in hopes a company in Wisconsin could come up with a solution. I got an email and called the company. They are going to make a new yoke and send me it. I will need to install it and get the measurement for a new driveshaft. They will build it and send it to me. Once installed I can then take the truck for a drive ( under its own power ) and give the garage a good cleaning. I have been working for about 7 months on just the driveshaft issue and there is a lot of light at the end of this tunnel.
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Great pics ! I really like them
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Back then, they didn’t use torque wrenches. They just tightened till they were satisfied and lined up the hole for cotter pin. I think the lock nuts that don’t have the plastic ring would be better. Mike
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Matt, that’s great news and it sounds like your headed down the right road now. Keep up the good work. Mike
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Just an FYI. Johns place doesn’t do driveshafts. He sends then to action machine in south bend
i have talked to Chicago drive line and he’s not able to help. He also gave me another place to call. I was able to call them and at least he knew what a blood brothers joint was and is checking to see if they still have the fixture to be able to balance it when done. Action machine is also looking for some options.
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The funny thing is that I have the parts. The problem I have is I don’t have the knowledge or equipment to do it. I do know how it should look when done. All the places I’ve taken it to want to find a premade end that doesn’t exist. It’s like they have the ability to make it, but it’s too much work and it’s a one time setup soooo we will pass. One place told me it was too expensive to make a new female splined shaft since it is one of a kind. I asked what he meant, he said he had one similar made and it cost several thousand. He also explained that making a female spline shaft is quite hard and time consuming.
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Since I changed the engine in my fire truck, I need to modify the driveshaft. I’ve had it to several different shops and nobody around me is able to help. Can anyone recommend a good shop to do this work? I’m located in central indiana
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That's fine. Does anyone know where to get a good set?
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If you're doing it, you do it right
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Does this help
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I've been trying to find replacement hood latches. The ones that are with the truck are either broken or different. Can anyone tell me about what year and manufacture these were used on. Thanks Mike
Carb cleaning
in General Discussion
Posted
After some research, I asked my wife for an ultrasonic cleaner for Christmas. I wanted to be able to clean carbs when needed. My research, I found out that you can either use a commercial grade carb cleaner designed for ultrasonic cleaners at about $100 a gallon. The unit I got hold 10 liters. That means at least $200 to fill it with parts. You can also use water base cleaners like simple green. I have ordered a carb kit fore my truck and wanted to get it tore down and cleaned before the kit arrived. The first picture is before cleaning and the second is after an hour in the cleaner. I’m quite impressed with the results.
