Just wanted to say that I had very nice morning with my Grandson.. There was a doughnuts for Dads day at his school this morning and his dad was in New York on business. I was asked if I’d step in and was glad to do so. Zion was very happy to see me there and though it was a very short program, it was well worth my time. If I get a copy of the picture that the lady from the school took, I’ll post it at a later date!!
Sep
02
I haven’t had the time lately to do any updates. I do have things to share and just wanted to post this to let all my “faithfull followers” that there are new items in the works!! I did have my Nephew Jim down for a very nice visit and as always, the time went by way too fast!! We got new tattoos again and will share those pics soon as well. I had problems with starting my Vette and had a feeling it was the battery. It just didn’t seem to be holding a charge. I ended up taking the battery out and taking it back to Sears (still under warranty) They checked it out and it was fine. They did charge it back up for me and it seems to be holding the charge this time. No problems with starting my baby up!! On a different note, the NFL season is right around the corner. With Direct TV installed and us having the Sunday Ticket, I’ll never have to miss another COLTS game again!! Alice can even watch her Eagles too. Okay folks, more to come in the near future…
Jun
30
Is this cool or what. Notice the “Man Cave” sign now hanging by the door??
My dear sweet sister found this sign and knew that it’d go perfectly in my “Man Cave!!” Thanks Janet for seeing this and thinking of me:-) It’s VERY cool!!!!!
Jun
27
Looks nice, yes?? Trust me when I say, this is the “before.” As in most things I’ve never tried, I have no idea going in, how simple or difficult my next task might be. This seemed pretty easy at the start as I thought my problem with my exterior door handle was a simple clip that came off. NOT!! The door handle itself had broken. Thanks to my “friends” at Ecklers Corvette parts, getting what I needed was only a few dollars away. Naturally I ordered that part and thought I may as well replace both sides because one will look so much nicer and newer. I bought both sides and as luck would have it, the side I needed was back ordered!!
Step one is to remove the door hardware, window crank, door lock, door pull, etc., and then the door panel itself. Again, I’ve done this a time or three so it wasn’t all that tough!!
Okay, so here’s what I have now. See that little opening in the upper left hand corner of the door? That’s my space to work. That’s where I have to get my hand in and undo the old exterior door handle. Bad as that is, it only got tougher.
Getting nut #1 loose and out, no probleemo. Nut #2, not so easy. No room to get my socket on it. So little bites with an open end wrench. Thank God for patience and my magnet.
Once this was out I was able to see more clearly how it all worked together. That was all good and well, but now I had to reverse everything and put it all back together again.
Here’s the littler critter that created this whole mess. This is the part that broke off the handle. I’m 99% sure that this was the original door handle!!
Here you can see where the piece came from as you look at the new handle.
Another view of the old handle, top, and the replacement.
Here the new handle is assmsbled and ready for installation, but am I ready??
“Gently” and semi-assembled I put the new hndle back into position.
Here you can see from this view the 2 bolts that will hold this in place. This is where it got REAL interesting!! This is where I thank my loving, small handed, wife for feeling/hearing my frustration and asking if she could try to get the nut, on the left started for me. After many many attempts on my own, and inventing curse words that my father would be proud of, I said sure hony. It took her about 30 seconds to get the job done for me. Who knows how many times I would’ve tried and failed… Thanks honey again for your help!! So, bottom line, this was a bigger project than I though it would be. Secondly, this was a big exercise in patience. And last but certainly not least, I couldn’t have done this without Alice!! The door panel went back on with no issues. Now onto the other side. Uhhh, another day!!!
Thanks for looking and for the comments I’m sure you’ll leav…
Jun
25
Nothing beats AC Delco spark plugs!!
One of the many things I enjoy about working on my Vette under the hood…room to work!!
I don’t know exactly how long the old plugs were in there, but as you can see, it was time for a change.
Checking the gap is VERY important. I know the plugs come pre-gapped from the factory, but experience has taught me to check before I put them in, just to be sure!!
Once the installation is complete, it’s time to fire this baby up and check out my work. I’m happy to say things worked out nicely and my baby purred like a kitten!! (with lots of power)
Apr
29
This is actually right after the new trees went in and before I started pulling all the old flowers and relocating the “Petite Pink” shrubs.
This is from the pond looking at the back of our house/porch/lania and again before pulling the above mentioned.
Here you can see the final result (s) of my labor. New flowers in, old shrubs either pulled or moved and new mulch. I wish I had a better camera to show you how this looks at night with the landscape lights on. Very cool. Everyone’s happy:-).
Last view!! Looking at the end of the lanai. We though we lost these to the freeze(s) but they have come back.
I know none of this has to do with my Vette, but I have to work before I get to play!!
Apr
15
First comes this picture of a football that I bought before this last Super Bowl from the COLTS last time in Miami. Obviously with better results!! I will still find one from the past Super Bowl in spite of the loss!!
This is a banner from the afore mentioned that Alice bought for me for my birhtday. I also had big hopes of hanging one just like it right next to this one. Next year…
My replica Vince Lombardi trophy.
This is a poster/picture from the 1992 COLTS that I’ve, obviously, had for quite some time. “The Jeff George” Era.” It’s signed twice and I can’t tell you who signed it to save my life. But, it had to go on my COLTS wall of fame!!
Here a picture of my latest addition to the Man Cave. I replaced my tiny little 32″ flat screen with a 47″. This came thanks to the fine people of the Florida Lottery and a sweet little $1,000.00 winning scratch off that I had the fortune to buy. The 32″ went into the guest room.
Lastly, and this will only have meaning to some of you, comes this magazine. This was something I bought back in 1993 back in Indianapolis and it was their monthly publication. In this issue they were celebrating Bob and Tom’s 10th anniversary on the air. This was right about the same time they were going nation wide. I saved this magazine all these years and then got the crazy idea to see if I could send it back to Indy and have “the boys” sign it for me. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what happened!!
To those of you who “follow” my blog, I apologize for my absence. I plan/hope to be back on here a bit more regularly and have several Vette projects in the works. Stay tuned-)
Mar
03
Well I’m finally over the COLTS loss and it’s time to move on… I have several Corvette projects in the works and will soon be back blogging about the whole thing that got me started on this in the first place, my Vette!! I have projects ranging from a simple spark plug change to replacing my old starter with a new high tech mini starter, and a few things in between. I even have another idea for a short video, so stayed tuned and I’ll keep you posted on any new postings!!
Hard to believe that my wife and I are “suffering” from the Winter blues down here in Florida. What was all that “BS” from Al Gore about global warming?? Can’t wait to get out in the “man cave” in my cut offs and sleevless shirts and sweat my _ _ _ off playing with my Vette!!
Feb
14
Well the COLTS season is over!! It’s been a week since we lost the game and I wish I could say I’m over it, but a true fan doesn’t “get over it” that easily!! I still relive the memories of last Sunday and they are not pleasant. I guess if we “had to lose” to anyone the Saints wouldn’t be a bad team to lose to. Tough nonetheless!! After such a great year for the COLTS I can only hope that next year, some of the VERY key players are ready, willing, and very able to launch us to another Super Bowl birth!! If/when we get Gonzalez and Sanders back and they can both remain healthy throughout the season, look out NFL, because the COLTS will come with a fury and a vengance like we’ve never seen from such an even tempered team. Peyton is not a kid anymore and I can’t help but think he’ll be back to the big game a few more times before he hangs it up!! So at this time, I’d like to say thank you to the Indianapolis COLTS and congratulate them for another AFC championship, another playoff birth, another Super Bowl appearance and another GREAT football seaon!! I’d also like to thank all the friends for coming to my 4th annual Super Bowl bash and especially to those who brought “goodies” with you. I look forward to #5!! So as I close this out, please remember two words… GOOOOO COLTS!!!!
If you have anything you’d like to share as far as this season and/or next season, I invite you to do so y responding to my blog.
Look very soon for my next Vette project to begin…
Feb
03
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND THE CIVIL DEFENSE DEPARTMENT HAS PAIRED UP TO SEND THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT A HUGE STORM THAT’S HEADED TOWARDS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA AND IS PREDICTED TO HIT MIAMI THIS SUNDAY 2/7/10. THIS WILL ODDLY ENOUGH EFFECT THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AS WELL!! CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED!!
GOOOOOO COLST!!!!!
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