Spare Tire

I've been going to cruise nights pretty regularly this summer.  It has been a real joy to share Nell with family, friends and strangers.  When my travel schedule allows, I try to drive her somewhere at least once a week.  This is necessary to keep the gas fresh, the seals wet, and the car fully functional.  Plus, I need a regular reminder of God's grace to me.

When I made my original decision about the wheels and tires on this car, I determined that I wanted a full size spare on a full size rim.  Having a spare tire in the trunk provides insurance against the possibility of a certain kind of road hazard.  Admittedly, the likelihood of this occurrence is pretty small, and the likelihood of it happening outside of cell phone and tow truck coverage is miniscule.  Still, for almost a year I stowed the full size spare in the trunk.  It wasn't a whitewall like the others, but it was exactly the same size... and it took up half the space in the trunk!  It was also awkward to remove, since it was bulky and must weigh about 50 pounds.

At one of the first cruise nights this summer, I met a guy with a '57 bird who had a compact spare in the trunk.  It was one of those collapsible jobs that they don't make any more... like the one that came in my '87 Firebird.  This kind of spare needs a CO2 cartridge and/or electric pump to inflate it before it can be used.  While it worked when I needed it on my Firebird, the cartridge/pump does take up more space and is one more thing that can go wrong.

When I started preparing for our trip up Highway 1, I kept thinking about all that room and weight in the trunk taken up by the spare.  I started looking for a compact spare that might serve, and eventually got a Ford-style 4 1/2 x 16 aluminum rim spare with T145/80D16 tire on eBay for $50.  This one was off a 98 or 99 Lincoln Town Car, but the same wheel/tire is used on Crown Vics and Mustangs.  I didn't know if it would fit, but I lucked out:

The Lincoln compact spare fits fine.  Nothing is close to rubbing in the front, and I don't intend to ever put this spare in the back because it is a different diameter than the other tires.  I'll have to rotate a front tire to the back if I get a flat back there.

Since the car has been lowered a little, I was concerned about ground clearance.  The spare is 1 1/2" smaller diameter than the stock tires, but this isn't really a problem.

And here's the reason I wanted the smaller, lighter spare!  Trunkspace!  Note the original spare tire rest on the floor above the fuel filler... the original size spare really does take up half the trunk!  I keep my tool bag & jumper cables  underneath the spare when I travel.

Having more trunk space was very handy on the convention road trip!  It only weighs 25 pounds, so it's very easy to take in and out.  I wouldn't want to drive very far on it, but I do like having the assurance that a piece of road debris isn't necessarily going to ruin my trip.  I still like having a full size tire &  powder coated  wheel in the garage if I need it, but I feel comfortable that my tire hazard "insurance" for long trips is adequately covered by the compact spare.

I took on another minor improvement after returning from the convention.  The driver side mirror had come loose in an awkward spot, and was rattling so badly that it was pretty much useless on the freeway.  The problem is in the way the stainless mirror shell is riveted  to the ball joint.  I couldn't get to the back of the rivet without popping the glass out of the shell, and I really didn't know how to do that without breaking the glass.  What to do?  JB Weld to the rescue!

JB Weld is basically 2-part epoxy fortified with fine iron filings, and it's pretty tough stuff.  Filling the gap between the stainless shell and the ball post with this stuff tightened up the joint and eliminated the rattle, for far less than the cost of a replacement mirror head.  Since the passenger's side was a little loose too, I went ahead and did the same treatment on that side.  This may be a temporary fix, but I'm happy with it for now.  When I reassembled the mirrors, I applied a very thin layer of white grease on the joints to make them easier to adjust.

I'm getting ready for another life milestone in November.   God continues to bless me.  I will have to elaborate on that in my next post.

CTCI Western Regionals

#1 Son and I had a great trip driving up Highway 1 from Dana Point to Santa Cruz, then across 17 to San Jose.   I posted a slide show of the trip on YouTube:

I still enjoy watching this!  The familiar sights, framed by the car windshield, give weight to the experience.  The fog on the mountains, the surf on the rocks, the trees and the bridges, and the memory of the engine purring like a large cat... enjoying the experience with my son.  This is the stuff of lifelong memory, the kind of thing I need to remember!

 The Classic Thunderbird Club International meet was outstanding, with over 100 brightly-colored 55-6-7 'birds there.  Over 40 were competing in touring class with "Nell", another 40 were display only, and over 25 were competing in the various Concours classes.   Touring cars compete against each other (1st, 2nd, etc. in their own subclasses), but Concours cars only compete against themselves for points and awards (Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc.). There were even a few 'birds in the "underbirds" class, for cars that still need restoration.

I brought a new very cool wide angle lens for the camera, but unfortunately I left it in the bag the entire trip!  Guess I had other things on my mind.  Still, I took a lot of pictures with my standard zoom lens.  Here are a few that start to capture some of the amazing colors at the show.

Nell shortly after arrival

What a colorful flock!

This car had the most amazing pearlescent paint.

This car had been to each state capital in the lower 48

Nell getting prepped for judging.

One of the rare supercharged "F-birds"

A very sweet '57 "E" model, with twin 4 barrel carbs

This is a stunning custom.  Can you tell what is missing?

The "underbird" class winner

One of the original "bird nest" rumble seats

Having fun with depth of field

I couldn't pass up a good window-reflection shot!

 My son took several panorama shots on the Saturday t-bird tour to the Santa Cruz wharf.  I've had fun stitching these together into some of the panoramas below.

 I was completely surprised at the awards banquet last Saturday night, when Nell was awarded 3rd place in Hoods Up Touring, Class B!  The other cars in Hoods Up Touring were absolutely stunning, and I didn't thing we would go home with anything but memories.

It was a fantastic trip, and I feel truly blessed.  I was able to make new friends, and still have time to connect with friends and family in the bay area.  My son and I really enjoyed the trip, and the time we spent together is priceless!

Fully Ready

For the last four months or so, I've been looking forward to driving "Nell" to the Classic Thunderbird Club International regional convention with my #1 son.  The convention is coming up this week, and my son and I are pretty pumped up about it!  We will be driving Nell over 500 miles up the coast highway to get there, so it's important that she be in tip-top condition.

This summer I have taken Nell to several cruise nights, and she has been a reliable ride.  I figured she was really ready for this long trip.  Last Sunday, after taking my sweetheart out for a cup of coffee, I got out of the car and noticed drops of water appearing on the ground in front of the bumper!  It looked like it was raining, but just in a very small patch immediately in front of the car, and the bumper was also wet.  Kneeling down for a closer look, it became clear that the radiator had sprung a pinhole leak!  Bummer!  I guess she isn't ready after all.  The radiator is pretty old, and probably should have been replaced a year ago... but I was too eager to get the car together.  I thought I could get by with the old radiator.

Monday I was on the phone with T-bird parts houses trying desperately to find a radiator that I could get in a few days.  On the third try, I found one in my state.  When I came home from work on Tuesday, the new radiator had arrived!  I got a heavy duty 4-row copper version, which should have a little extra cooling capacity.

I had Friday off, so bright and early I pulled the old radiator and started cleaning up the engine compartment.  This is much easier to do with the radiator and fan removed. 

The before picture, after I drained the radiator.

Taking the shrouds off is pretty easy.  The rust stains on the radiator came from an ill-fitting cap that I used when I first assembled the car last year.

The upper shroud showed some rust after I pulled off the old rubber strip.  I repainted the shroud, and installed new rubber.

The new radiator is just a little thicker, with an additional row of tubes.

I repainted the upper shroud gloss black.  While paint was in the gun, I painted the aftermarket 6-blade fan as well.  Then, on a lark, I decided to paint the tips of the fan yellow, like a WWII fighter plane!  I'd seen pictures of another t-bird that had this done, and I thought it looked cool.   The tips of warplane props were painted a bright color so that ground crews could see where the danger circle was when the engines were running.  This seems like a good idea for a car engine, too.  It also is my own way of paying homage to Uncle Toronado, the WWII P38 pilot that owned this car for 20 years.

The engine compartment. detailed and reassembled.

Here are a few victory shots.  Nell looks great, and is a genuine blast to drive.  I'm really looking forward to the trip with my Son this week, and being around other t-birders for a few days!

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At my recovery meeting last week, the lesson was on Step 6... "being fully ready for God to remove all our defects of character".  It's easy to think I am ready, and another thing to be fully ready.  God has a remarkable way of reminding me of my lack of readiness.  A lingering stare that could turn to lust, a lingering attitude or entitlement... these are like pinhole leaks in my radiator.  Am I fully ready to let God fix me, to replace a part of me.  Do I cringe at the cost of the repair, or do I move out in faith?

I had to let go of something this week that was holding me back from being fully ready.  It may not be the only thing, but I'm just a little closer to being the man I want to be.  The man I think God wants me to be.

Return to Skygazing?

My telescope under the milky way... very inviting!  The streak in the lower right is a meteor.
Note the small guide scope mounted above the main tube.

 OK, this isn't a post about a car.  It's about one of my other passions, and it reveals something else about me.  I hope that you, the reader, will find it engaging.

Dad didn't leave my siblings and me a large inheritance, but he did leave us something.  I was able to buy my dear wife a beautiful and comfortable new crossover SUV, and my sister was able to buy herself a premium used convertible hardtop.  Somehow buying cars with "Dad's money" seems appropriate, especially ones that we will enjoy.  He did like cars.

There was enough left over that I started thinking about getting myself something special from Dad.  I thought this seemed selfish at first, since Dad paid for the paint on the t-bird... but there are other things about Dad that I'd like to honor and remember.

I remember when Dad went "half-sies" with me to buy my first telescope in Jr. High.  I had to save my allowance for several months, then we went to Fedco and picked up a Tasco 4 1/2" reflector on an equatorial mount.  I thought it was glorious, and it opened up a whole new world for me.  Dad remembered some of his Boy Scout astronomy, which wasn't very helpful.  I pretty much figured out the telescope by myself.

We would haul the telescope up to the roof of the house and set it up to look at the moon and planets.  We took it to the mountains, and looked at the stars.  I didn't know the sky very well, and I didn't have good star charts, but I had fun.  I think Dad enjoyed it too, or at least he enjoyed my enthusiasm.

I've since moved on through a series of much better telescopes, and I know the sky reasonably well.  I have tried my hand at astrophotography, first with film and then with DSLRs.  Dad never "caught the bug" for astrophotography, but he seemed to enjoy my efforts.

M8 (Lagoon Nebula) on the left, M20 (Trifid Nebula) on the right.  This is a stack of 6 x 5 minute DSLR exposures, requiring me to keep a star centered in the eyepiece of a guide scope for a total of 30 minutes.  Painful.

I realized that I wasn't going to get better at astrophotography without some improvements in equipment.  My Astro-Physics Traveler telescope is very good, but my Vixen Super Polaris mount is very old-school.  It has a clock drive, but it still requires manual guiding using a small auxiliary telescope when taking astrophotos.  Keeping a dim star centered in the crosshairs of a guide scope for an extended period of time isn't really much fun.  Modern mounts have the ability to use an "autoguider", or camera and processor that send drive corrections directly to the mount without human intervention.  Oh, and they have computerized controls and GPS which makes them much easier to set up and align.  I've been thinking about getting a new mount and autoguider for years, but could never justify the cost.

In mid-July a local telescope store held an astronomy expo in their parking lot, and put most of their inventory on sale.  On a lark, I decided to "just see what they had", but deep down I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted.  I came home with a new mount, autoguider, and guidescope... and significantly less money in the inheritance fund!

Normally, I really dislike spending money.  Dad clearly didn't like spending it either.  Still, I feel good about this... I feel like the stars are calling me back.  I really did get a good deal on this equipment, and I expect it to serve me well for the rest of my life.

There is something about looking at the stars that calms my soul.  It gives me perspective.  It fills me with awe, and makes me feel closer to God.

Photography is about capturing images that touch our hearts.  It seems logical and right for me to extend that practice to the night sky, which has grown to mean so much to me over the years.  I think that's why I invest myself in this most exacting, most complex of photographic pursuits.  It lets me share something that has become quite dear to me.  I think Dad would approve.

Automotive Ambassador

The evening after my last post (8 July), my wife and I drove "Nell" to church.  There I gave a presentation about Christian Recovery to a group of Stephen Ministers.  My wife and I have been Stephen Ministers for over a decade.  It took 6 months of training before we were each commissioned, and we served actively as caregivers for 2 years.  We have each had a variety of care assignments, both formal and informal, and we have continued to be active in training new groups of Stephen Ministers.  Needless to say, we are both committed to active Christian one-on-one care giving.

It was a blessing to give my testimony and discuss the reality of addiction with a group of genuinely caring, supportive individuals.  After telling my story, much of which I have related in this blog, I was able to clearly describe the importance of walking alongside someone who is working through the first three steps of recovery.  I was able to talk about recovery in terms of faith: Redemption, Transformation, and Sanctification.  I was able to explain why, at least for me, recovery is a life-long process that requires a daily statement of intention.  I was able to explain why my relationship with God is a key part of being able to make this daily commitment.

I was also able to talk about car restoration as an analog to recovery, and to describe the particular importance I placed on the old hunk of blue painted metal and chrome that was sitting just outside the chapel where I was speaking.  In the midst of difficult decisions or disappointments, sometimes I just needed someone to calmly listen, to help me explore and understand my own thinking, and to facilitate my own action, change, or acceptance.

Don't get me wrong... there are times when addiction is brutal, and self-exploration isn't even possible.  That's when boundaries are important, and invasive treatment may be required.  But after sobriety comes the difficult decision... who do I want to be?  Who do I want to trust?  That's the pivotal point where a little encouragement by a non-anxious presence can do the most good.  That's when the real commitment to recovery begins.

Stephen Ministry is not a substitute for formal 12-step programs.  A Stephen Minister is not a "Sponsor", but just someone to come alongside to talk and pray.  I need my recovery meetings and my 12-step.  But I also need my broader community of faith, and the variety of one-on-one relationships God puts in my life.

My #1 Son and I are planning on driving Nell to a CTCI regional meet in a few weeks.  It will be a long trip, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I thought the car was ready, but this morning I noticed a pinhole leak in the radiator after I drove my wife to get coffee!  Bummer.  I'm hoping that I can get this repaired next weekend.

I also got a new camera, so I can resume documenting Nell's progress and experiences in this blog.  Hopefully next week I can post a story about installing the new radiator.

Recognizing the Miracle of Grace

I don't spend near enough effort thinking about the really cool things that happen to me.  I tend to take my situation for granted, either good or bad, and carry on in my own little world.  It occurs to me that in order to really live in the moment, however, I need to recognize the true weight or significance of what is happening.

Here's an example.  The t-bird was a non-functional, ugly, smelly mess when I moved it into my garage just over 2 years ago:

Here's what it looked like last Thursday:

It has been only 26 months.

There is no way I could have anticipated the speed and impact of this amazing journey of restoration! Yes, it took my own contribution of sweat and finances, but at each step of the process, I felt like God was opening doors for me and speeding the process.   Experts couldn't wait to help me.  Money just showed up when I needed it.  In retrospect, this really is miraculous!

I got to take Dad for a ride in the car while he was still on this planet. I got to take Uncle Toronado for a ride as well. That is truly remarkable, and I need to linger on its significance.

 Dad would have loved being in that parade, riding with the Grand Marshal!

Adjusting the bumper & Paying attention to details

I have been unhappy about the rear bumper on the t-bird. The driver's side was half an inch higher than the left. Actually, both sides were too high, and didn't align with the lip on the body. This created an additional problem with the exhaust pipes as they fed through the bumper guards... The bumper was so high that the bumper guards raised the tail pipes to the point that they touched the top of the holes in the rear body panel. Here's a pic with the bumper guard removed showing the tailpipe exiting the body.




The fact that I used oversized 2 inch tailpipes didn't help matters. The heavy clamps for my custom over size slip-on exhaust tips made the problem even worse, and I eventually realized that I would never get the exhaust tips to line up straight until I lowered and aligned the bumper. The bumper was nearly an inch above the body flange...




Note the gap between the body and the rear bumper. There should be about 1/4" clearance, but this is over an inch.




From a distance, this misalignment isn't immediately noticeable. A critical eye might notice that the rear bumper isn't perfectly straight. Looking from the side, one may notice that the exhaust tips don't point exactly the same direction. Admittedly minor points, but slightly annoying. The bumper should be straight, darn it!
The car didn't come from the factory this way. I suspect that the same rear repair that replaced the trunk lid and bondoed the rear fenders also repositioned the bumper and re-routed the exhaust. Since the exhaust was now below the bumper, alignment was far less critical, and the car stayed that way for nearly 50 years.
Over the last 9 months or so, I've been wondering how I could easily reposition the bumper into the correct spot. I didn't find much online that was helpful. Last month I got some professional help from a muffler shop to re-fab the exhaust hangers and fix a few sound shorts. This eliminated the exhaust rattles and improved the driving experience a great deal, but now I was thinking about the exhaust pipes hitting the body at the rear of the car. There had to be a simple way of aligning the bumper!
A week or so ago I took some measurements and pulled the rear bumper off. It is held on with four heavy steel brackets. Perhaps I can simply bend them a little to make the bumper fit better? About an hour with a heavy vise and a light sledge and I began to think this wasn't a good idea. The hammer bounced off the bracket like it was a spring or something! Ok, maybe I need to borrow a torch.
This weekend I had another idea. Perhaps I could simply re-drill the holes where the brackets bolt to the frame? That sounds easy. I started by removing the exhaust tips and bumper guards, then clamping the brackets to the frame and removing the bolts.




By carefully loosening the clamps, I could slide the bumper down and back one side at a time until I got a uniform 1/4" gap with the body flange. Great! Now, how do I know where to drill the new holes in the bumper brackets? I carefully scribed around the brackets on each side, leaving marks on the frame. I first tried using a sharpie, but it didn't leave a good enough mark. With the frame marked, I took off the bumper and the brackets. Note how much further forward the marks are from the original bracket location.




Next I need a way of transferring the new location of the holes to the bumper brackets. Starting on the left side, I marked out a paper template of the bracket.








Then taped the paper template to the frame, lining it up with the score marks.




I could then mark the positions of the holes on the paper, find the centers, and transfer them to the bracket with a center punch.




All that was left to do was to drill the new holes! Easy, right? Well, my first problem was that I didn't have a 1/2" drill. Off to the hardware store. My next problem was more sublime. It turns out that these brackets aren't made of mild steel like the frame... Remember the light sledge bouncing off them? They are made from a kind of spring steel, and are very tough! My drill bits are all simple high speed steel, not the good stuff like carbide. The smaller bits cut though the bracket OK, but as I went to progressively larger and larger bits, the drilling got harder and the bits dulled faster. I ended up drilling the final 1/2" hole alternating between drilling a little, then sharpening the bit on the bench grinder! I'm certainly grateful to my high school metal shop teacher for showing me how to sharpen a drill bit!
By the way, there are four brackets, with two holes each. Drilling and sharpening through those 8 holes took over an hour, but I got pretty good at it by the end! My arms are pretty sore today. Needless to say, the deed got done, and the bumper is now straight.








The tailpipes no longer touch the body, and the exhaust tips can be straightened out. They look cockeyed in this picture, but they really are straight. I blame my cheap pocket camera... I misplaced my good camera two weeks ago.








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Why did I spend so much effort on the bumper, when most people won't even notice? Is this laudable "attention to detail", or just self-serving obsession? The unexpected effort of drilling those 8 holes has left my arms hurting. Was it worth it?
There are times in life when I notice that things aren't quite right. Sometimes, the "not-rightness" is rather subtle, and something I could easily choose to ignore. By not ignoring it, I might be setting myself up for inconvenience or heartache. Sometimes there is nothing I can do to make it right.
I was on a plane on a business trip, having a discussion with the man sitting next to me when I noticed that something wasn't quite right. He let fall a concern with traveling, and hinted at some trouble at home. I opened up to him about my recovery from porn addiction. We were both going to be in the same city for a few days, and he was concerned about maintaining his sexual sobriety. Before we got off the plane, we agreed to meet for dinner the next evening, and go to a Celebrate Recovery meeting together. While this may not have made everything right, it encouraged us both!
A relative of mine is a widow struggling to regain custody of her young children. That is definitely "not quite right"! I've been casually reaching out to her for months, and last week she desperately reached back to me. Her problems are not a thing that I can fix. The more I learn about her situation, the more helpless I feel. Still, I feel compelled to notice, to engage, to console her as best I can.
Her bumpers may never line up. Even if I run out of ideas, however, I won't walk away. I won't ignore the problem or the pain. That's just not the man I want to be.
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