It’s been a whole year

[Ulu]

In fact Ulu is probably busier now in retirement than he ever was at work! I intend to keep myself busy....but not that busy, lol.

it must be my prolific writing style that has deceived you. I describe my efforts in the most positive possible light in every circumstance.

During my last few years of engineering work I was also working a lot of hours on my hobbies at night and there is no way that I could say I am working half as hard as I used to.

I started delivering newspapers at 13 and fixing cars and by the age of 18 I was pretending to be much older and working in a professional garage.

A scroungy desperate garage to be sure, but that’s where I learned Volkswagens.

I was also going to college & I was too busy trying to keep my own car and motorcycle running. My family had six vehicles and I had to maintain all of them. Fortunately I had the facilities of an Air Force (hobby) garage most of the time.

But I am a pretty humble guy. I mean I’ve changed engines laying in the dirt before.

I have had lots of jobs, but I’ll skip to the end so I won’t be boring.

I retired at the age of 61 and I figure I have worked about 45 years. But have not always worked as hard as the average man. Much of my endeavors I pushed a few buttons and wrote down a few numbers and the computers did the mass of the work.

OK, to be fair, some of it was very difficult and it was every bit of what I could possibly manage at the time.

 

[jjohnwm]

I know for a fact that I am busier now than I was in the later years of my working life. I have had both types of jobs...the pencil-and-button-pushing type and the wrench-twisting type...and I much prefer the latter. But...when you are installing some piece of equipment for pay...you work at your pace, you take breaks, you stop for meals and to take a whiz...and at quitting time you put down the tools and go home. I never worked fast...I told my employers that "I have two speeds and you don't want to see the other one!"...but I came to work every day on time and when I finished a job the thing always functioned as intended. Those two simple criteria will put you ahead of 90% of your competition.

But when I am doing a job at home for myself, I am a machine. I don't take breaks, I rarely stop to eat, and the sky is almost always black-dark when I lay down the tools. Go figure.

Ulu , I know that list of Heinlein's to which you are referring; I always thought it a worthy goal to complete, but one of the items is "program a computer", so...I'm out!

I should probably explain that I consider hunting and fishing as jobs now...so when I do either I do it...meaning that I will sit inert and motionless for as many hours as are required, whether I'm in a boat or a tree, to ensure success.

 

[Ulu]

Well I assure you that I will never butcher a hog in my life, and nowadays nothing larger than a salmon.

 

[Ulu]

I couldn’t cut this weld loose with a long chisel. I removed these tubes by hammering a pipe over one, and wriggling until the weld popped loose.

There were still cable scraps inside.

I tossed the heaters, so no control cables are needed. This will make it much easier to clean & paint in the tunnel. Also to pull the shifter rod if ever necessary.

 

[jjohnwm]

3##3à

Well I assure you that I will never butcher a hog in my life, and nowadays nothing larger than a salmon.

Never say never...

I couldn’t cut this weld loose with a long chisel. I removed these tubes by hammering a pipe over one, and wriggling until the weld popped loose...There were still cable scraps inside...I tossed the heaters, so no control cables are needed.

Lol, that's my approach to many problems, i.e. a bigger (or at least a different...) hammer! Life becomes a bit more fun when you look at at least some projects the way Godzilla views Tokyo.

Clarification: heaters?

 

[Ulu]

…..Clarification: heaters?….

Air cooled VW’s have two extra “mufflers”, or big steel cans the size of a medium dashound. Fresh air is fed in one end by the engine cooling fan, and out the other to the cabin.

Inside they have heavy cast iron tubes (air-to-air heat exchangers) with fins, which actually contain the hot exhaust.

You shave over 30 lbs off the engine by removing the heaters. On a car which is traditionally tail heavy, removing heaters is a very cool mod.
You can buy these light weight heat exchangers that are only about 10 pounds each so that saves you about 10 pounds. But they cost over $600 a pair with tax and shipping. And I live in the desert. I can’t remember the last time I turned on the heater in my truck.

 

[jjohnwm]

Lol, it's June30...and today at dawn I had to run the truck heater for the first 30 minutes or so, just to take the chill off until the sun crept up a bit. Different strokes...

 

[Ulu]

No weather here needing more than a sweatshirt. Long pants. Real shoes.

By 9 am the sweatshirt is off. Last Sunday at 4pm:

Today it is mercifully much cooler.

I am sanding and grinding inside the tunnel, to prepare for welding. I bought a cheapo bit kit, with a sleeved aluminum extension. I cut off the end and split the rod half way, to accept folded sandpaper.

I cut the sleeve in half too, and put half on the long extension.



Sanding in the tunnel (one handed!)

Normally I would be holding the sleeve.

 

[Ulu]

After some chiseling, and some grinding, and much flap-sanding, this is already looking much cleaner inside.


Also, access is much better since I removed the three pieces of unnecessary tubing, from the old heater controls and “forward” clutch cable.

I thought I could live with this old tunnel repair, but then I brushed out all the dirt and scale inside and out to find Pinholes!



Inside, Blobby welding and stray mig wire on the backup nuts is ugly. It will clean up, but there isn’t enough metal left here on the floor of the tunnel. Look at the deep pits.


I was going to patch it with a piece of good metal left over from what I had previously cut out.

 

[Ulu]

Hottest day ever in Clovis.
At 4 PM


At midnight:


I’ve been blasting away with a grinder and pneumatic chisel, trying to remove the final traces of rust and sloppy repair work.





Lots of nasty rust was hidden in a sandwich of clean metal.






Grinding…

Slitting…

Shaping old welds.