Saturday, July 1: Took a break from production work and had my 60th Birthday Bash! I didn't quite get the art car running in time, but during the event I got numerous bits of input from various friends, concerning ways to improve on what has gone before. When I mentioned that I was still dissatisfied with the paint job my pal Johann mentioned that there's a very beautiful restored two decker in Stockholm. He's got photos and I hope to look at them in a few days. Apparently this vessel is black with gold trim, which seems like it ought to look very snappy. With luck I can do something more impressive than my "generic brown", possibly using spray paint and a few masks that will allow me to make quick duplicates of filigree around stern windows, etc.
Sunday, July 2: Well, with the Birthday Bash finally in the past and with the throng of well wishers trimmed to the hard working few, Vern, Don and I got busy on the long-stagnant project once more. Fortunately I had a plan and we managed to stick to it pretty well. The addition of four arms and more brains than I have been able to muster for some considerable time made progress rapid and fun! Photos below.
Sunday, July 9: Days have been very hot, so I'm working the early morning and night shift. I haven't gotten a lot done, but it's great to know that I'm making progress every day. Life validation and all that, heh.
Tuesday, July 11: Starboard side taping sanded smooth; on to Port!
Wednesday, July 19: It took me a solid week to design and fab this one damned part, but it's finally done. Temperatures were in the high 90s most of the week, so I'm still working evenings. Lots of work with jigs, magnets, clamps, etc. I'll post some of this on my Jigs, Fixtures & Shop Hacks page when I get more time. The plasma torch and my little Econotig got a real workout too: ah, the joys of wearing long sleeves and a welding helmet in hot, muggy weather, eh? It was a royal PITA!
Monday, July 24: Absolutely punishing heatwave; over 100 for several days now. Have been working even later evenings and into the night. Have been spending hot afternoons in front of a fan with the doggies or heading out with SWMBO to air-conditioned matinees. Managed to see Pirates of the Caribbean and saw the exact embodiment of what I have had in mind for the tentacled monster enveloping the hull! Have also been thinking of reworking the monster so that trailing wagon is not enveloped by the critter, so that I can use it for other things that are becoming manifest, including generator, battery and supporting structure for aft end of sequenced waves. Have also been thinking of boarding ladder changes, as bow is now too tight. Stern entry seems to be best, so I'm working on this, which means sea monster body must be elsewhere. Called InflataBill and discussed it with him; turns out we're on the same tack, him and me, as he'd just seen the movie too! All is well; no time lost, much saved for both of us and much gained.
Spent last Saturday fiberglassing bow to reinforce plywood joints so the thing won't fly apart when being towed to/from the event. Finally got some graduated mixing cups and used the max catalyst, but the shit still too overnight to cure. Took time out after this was done to repair the orbital sander, which had blown chunks of rubber all over the driveway last week. Got last of fiberglas grinding done Sunday night once the temp dropped below 80.
Managed to find a useful site that describes hacking the engine with photos and links: GY-6 Engine Performance. Followed his advice and removed the silly overly-complex air filter and have replaced it with a standard Uni filter. Old installation included three metric bolts and a Philips head screw that could only be accessed manually. New version eliminates all but the Philips, which I've repositioned so that a power tool can get to it. To attach the Uni filter I machined an adapter before I read, on the very useful Buggy News Forum, of a simple drainpipe hack that makes machining unnecessary; oh, well. My version is more compact at least...
To do the air filter swap-out I had to remove the muffler and tailpipe assembly. I took the time to wire-brush the more visible rust away and painted it with high-heat BBQ paint. Got all reinstalled with Judy's assistance: it's a real 3-handed job.
Spending time at the aft end I've been looking at the unpainted and now-very-rusty vertical struts I made last yr to support the aft end of the upper deck. Now that bow ladder is gone I'm thinking it would be easiest to mount a new one on the stern. From the standpoint of stability this is also preferred over side boarding. All I've got to do to make it happen is to remake the supporting struts so that they angle upward as they ascend towards the deck, then cut away maybe 10" of deck. Next step will be to hinge the aft plywood piece of the captain's cabin so that it can be swung out of the way somehow. Then I can weld rungs and maybe railings and stiles to the sloping struts and I'll have something that's robust, out of the way and useful. Hope to get on the welding late this afternoon, weather permitting.
Sunday, July 30: Many tasks completed, large and small. Took 3 days (mostly learning curve) and fabbed a boarding ladder using 1" steel tubing. It's integrated into the aft deck support so all has become one unit. I've also done some measuring and I've determined that there's just barely room for both genny and battery on the aft cargo rack, so this makes the trailing wagon unnecessary. If there's time, when all is said and done, I'll decorate it and bring it along, but it'll only need to be used for hauling people. This should be within it's load capacity; I was a little worried about the skinny wagon wheels sinking into the playa with someone squatting atop the genny and battery.
Thursday, Aug 17: Second coat of paint complete, foam edging mostly glued on, finally getting around to adding the EL wire! I've devised a method of attaching the wire to the vehicle that's a bit tedious to do, but it produces really fine results. Using a #35 drill I can fish a small, yellow zip tie thru from the backside, loop the pointy part around the EL and then pass it back thru the hole. The cubical buckle is too big to pass thru the hole, so when the point is zipped thru it and snugged up the result is a tight connection to the hull, with little of the connection method evident. This coming Saturday the whole gang's going to come over, including InflataBill with the sea monster, woohoo!
Saturday, Aug 26: Getting down to the wire! Thanks to a 4-day visit from Vern all wood and metal cutting, forming and installation for mechanical aspects of the build are completed. It was great fun for me, as usually I hold the parts while Vern does the welding (he's a mil spec certified weldor), but this time he did the holding and I did the welding. And thanks to Eugene's timely swing by the electronics store in Berkeley on his way to Tahoe for the weekend I now have enough Y-connectors to finish the wiring. Still lots to do, mostly at the electronics workbench but so far so good.
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