I'm almost back!

[ANNAMEL]

Glad you getting back on track with us. All i have heard is "where's Don?" Welcome home.

 

[donsrods]

Thanks guys, good to be back among friends. Not to belabor what all happened, but essentially my Son Dan lost his job one week and I lost mine the next. He is in property management, so he gets an apartment as part of his job, and when the job went, so did the apartment. We live together, so we both had 3 weeks to move.

We had a choice: We could go out and rent another place, but we knew he would get another job in the same industry with another apartment as part of the package, so it didn't make sense to sign a lease for a year when in all probability within a month or two he would have a new job and new apartment. So, Dan suggested a crazy idea.........move into the office of our shop!

At first I thought it was the nuttiest thing I had ever heard, but the office is large and we already pay rent on our shop each month, so it wouldn't cost us any more money. So, we dug in and painted and paneled the office, laid new carpeting, put in a new a/c unit, bought a new fridge, and bought two futons. The shop already had a bathroom with toilet and sink, so we painted it, added a shower stall, and replumbed everything so we could install our washer and dryer. After two weeks of work we had it done and Dan, me, and our two cats moved in, and have been living there for the past two months.

Here is the strange part...............tonight we were moving the last of our stuff out of the office to move into the new apartment, and we were both actually sad about it! It was a very cool experience, and the cats loved curling up with us every night........something they won't get to do in the new place. We had a DVD player and watched car videos for entertainment, and my Son Don bought us a propane grille to cook on. Every night we would wheel the grille out the garage door and cook up some steaks, chicken, brats, or whatever. Plus, when we wanted to work on our cars we only had to walk through a door and there they were.

Point of me mentioning all of this is that we took a bad situation and made it ok. Dan learned a lot about himself because he was devastated when he lost his job, but within a few weeks he had 3 offers. That boosted his confidence in himself a lot and taught him that sometimes things happen for a reason. If he had lost his job a little later the great one he found would have been filled already and he would have missed out. Someone was watching out for him. As for me, I'm going to be 65 in a few months, so I guess it's time to retire anyway.

So, tonight as I sit here in our new place it feels strange. We had some pretty good times the past couple of months living at the shop.....memories we will both have for some time to come. Sorry for the lengthy tale, but I thought you might find it interesting.

Don

 

[CR55]

Great story Don. I wasn't aware of the office move, but it sounds like it brought you and Dan closer and that's always a good thing... Things always happen for a reason and usually for something better. And I'm sure that's what is going on for both of you! I hope for continued success for you guys in the future!!!..CR

 

[donsrods]

Thanks CR. It felt good as a Dad to watch Dan overcome a bad situation and learn some things about himself along the way. I think the whole thing was meant to be and someone up there was looking out for both of us.

Ok, since it has been a while since I have been able to post some pictures, I have some to share. I'll have to do it in a couple of posts due to the count.

First of all, I got my body back from the fiberglass shop last Wednesday. He had it for about 2 months, but his work was so good I had to tip him at the end. He did a fantastic job, removed all the ****oos that the 20 odd years since I first built it put on it. He ended up shooting the whole body with 3 heavy coats of Evercoat Slick Sand, using a whole gallon on it. I've now got a great coating to block sand down to get it as straight as possible. Here are some pictures after I got it home.

He even sanded and coated the interior, even though I told him it would be upholstered and carpeted, but he is just that kind of guy.

Don

Those 3 holes in the back are for my roll bar and gas filler.

 

[donsrods]

The remainder of the work I got done during the past couple of months revolved around getting the engine running and all the little stuff like fuel tank, battery, etc that go with it. Here is the engine all put together and ready to run.

None of those hoses and wires are permanent. They are simply there to get it started. Dan loaned me his "engine starting panel" that he built to test run the Olds in his rod. I'm glad he did because it has an oil pressure gauge and without it I wouldn't have seen my pressure drop to zero.

I also had my exhaust system coated black and repolished the stainless mufflers I put on 20 years ago. They literally are like brand new, so I guess stainless IS forever.

Once the mufflers were installed the noise in the engine became apparent, so I tore off the valve covers to see if a roller rocker had come loose.....no such luck, this noise is deep in the engine so it will be coming apart and fixed.

That's pretty much where is sits now. After I take a little break from it I will pull the engine and see whats what. Thanks for riding along.

Don

 

[donsrods]

Oh, here is one last head on shot of the frame and running gear. I was so close to getting it drivable until this little setback.

Don

Another thing I just thought of, the Edelbrock valve covers I bought are really cool and are tall enough to clear my roller rockers, but have no way to vent them or add oil. So I put a Moon breather on each side and the lid is removable to add oil and I also got no blowby when I was running the engine. Just mentioning this in case someone else faces the same dilema.