I HATE winter, and it's here, HOWEVER.............

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67Dart273

67Dart273

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...........However, I'm declaring the "Mini White Whale" (99 Dakota 4x4 project) a ROARING success!!!


Friday afternoon was the first snow of any consequence, and really, the first really slick conditions. So driving home from work Friday WAS THE FIRST TIME I got to try out the 4x4 on the Dakota project/ "mini white whale" It's been a LONG road!!!

Started last year when I drove this rod knocking 5.2 Dakota home from up the street about 1/2 mile away

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Last winter was a killer. Lots of snow, not a record, and colder average than normal but no record lows. It all added up to a long, miserable winter, I got nothing done

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Later in the spring, I bought a Durango and junked it out. It provided very little, actually, except 3 brand new tires. It caused the ruin of a trailer tire so those were somewhat a "wash."

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This summer I bought a black rolled /wrecked Dakota which provided the engine/ trans/ transfer case for the project. Only salvagable body panel on the thing was the tail gate and front and rear bumpers. It also gave up a good battery and a few other parts

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Wasn't really until this fall that I finally got the drivetrain into the "mini whale" and finally got it running. "Things were complicated" by the fact that at 69, I went back to work about 32 hours a week

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So now this week/ today..............

Got the thing to "sorta fit" under the front carport

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Got the egag Chineseoationized carb on the blower with a successful result
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Got the last core engine stuck in a barrell. You have to pull the heads
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Did a small amount of plowing
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............and we have maybe 4"---going on 5. It's STILL SNOWING at 2:45PM

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Dang man send some down here. You said you put a core engine in a barrel. Do you put anything in the barrel? Light oil maybe? Just wonderin. Sounds like maybe a good idea. Glad the mini whale has turned out so well. After the wreck and everything else you've been through, you need some good stuff happenin!
 
Its been unusually mild here,cold but not as cold as usual.
Snow, but not enough for the snowmobile clubs to start the trail groomers.
Someone crossed the river a couple days ago, for the average person it would be bad judgement. Need a week of -30, that will make an inch of ice per day. As of nine years ago i no longer like winter. That was my first Caribbean cruise.

24 more days....

I like the older dakotas,buddy had a 97 with a 318 4wd. It was not very fuel efficient,but they both drive hard.
 
3rd picture of the sheds, snow, and pine trees is just beautiful!
Oh, glad the truck is up and going :)
 
So now you can start on the Dart seeing you have finished the mini whale ?:poke:
 
I'm not implying you are old Del, but you do however have a few on me. So with that said, I only hope I have your drive and determination later on. There sure isn't much that stops you and your intentions!
 
Well said and agree entirely!
gdrill said:
I'm not implying you are old Del, but you do however have a few on me. So with that said, I only hope I have your drive and determination later on. There sure isn't much that stops you and your intentions!
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RustyRatRod said:
Dang man send some down here. You said you put a core engine in a barrel. Do you put anything in the barrel? Light oil maybe? Just wonderin. Sounds like maybe a good idea. Glad the mini whale has turned out so well. After the wreck and everything else you've been through, you need some good stuff happenin!
Click to expand...

This is an experiment, I have "3 others" this summer. Someone on here suggested and I did this on the other 3, have yet to do so on this one........Take saran wrap, lay around the barrel rim, then apply a bead of caulk in the lid groove. This is intended to make a gasket that will release. "We'll see"
 
67 gt said:
So now you can start on the Dart seeing you have finished the mini whale ?:poke:
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I sure do HOPE SO!!! Although I don't have any illusions about getting a bunch done on it this winter, "with no shop."
 
gdrill said:
I'm not implying you are old Del, but you do however have a few on me. So with that said, I only hope I have your drive and determination later on. There sure isn't much that stops you and your intentions!
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I have considerable body/ joint pain, was re-diagnosed this last spring as "systemic" meaning something such as Lupus, or Lyme disease. I have neither and have been tested for "everything they can think of." So, sometimes it may not be drive so much as the idea that if I sit for long, that gets worse, as well.
 
67Dart273 said:
This is an experiment, I have "3 others" this summer. Someone on here suggested and I did this on the other 3, have yet to do so on this one........Take saran wrap, lay around the barrel rim, then apply a bead of caulk in the lid groove. This is intended to make a gasket that will release. "We'll see"
Click to expand...

Gotchya. So you're just storing it in the barrel so it won't rust "any more".
 
Well my friend, you are inspirational to many here. Be it drive or fear, you have something many of us respect. Especially while doing it all under the stress of continual pain.
 
If you hate winter why don't you just move?
Still in T-shirt and shorts here, 70 degrees today
 
Just finished clearing my snowy driveway! 67Dart273 Please check your inbox for a conversation.......
 
kiss said:
If you hate winter why don't you just move?
Still in T-shirt and shorts here, 70 degrees today
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Because I have no money, honey. And even though I spent 4 years at NAS Miramar (70-74) there is not enough money in that state that would get me to move there now. Fixed and maintained GCA RADAR and TACAN

Stole this from YouTube. Our two then QUAD FPN-36 RADAR

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Our then (RADAR) shop, now gone We had permission to work on our cars there. The black 64 with the trunk open, and the Limelight 70 RR (440-6) are both mine. This shop was way down about Queen 7 alongside the high speed taxiway, off the back end of the "bore sight range." It was just E. of the old TACAN building tower, which you can still see in place, does not seem to be used now. The FAA maps place TACAN up by the tower, which was also replaced/ severely rebuild. The jarheads have now poured concrete over what used to be our shop, I believe

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A young "me" pretending to adjust the RADAR

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67Dart273 said:
Because I have no money, honey. And even though I spent 4 years at NAS Miramar (70-74) there is not enough money in that state that would get me to move there now.
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Very cool post, but to this point, there's several states other than CA with far better winters than Idaho.
 
Love old car pictures like this.... some money sitt'n there :)
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kiss said:
Very cool post, but to this point, there's several states other than CA with far better winters than Idaho.
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That does not solve the money problems. You may have missed the recent rant about my "person formerly known as my sister" who is SUPPOSED to be settling the parent's estate. Instead, she is letting renters run it into the ground, along with a recent break in and arson. Part of why I'm now working again, is to pay down some nagging debt, and hire a lawyer, hopefully this spring / summer

I HAVE NO MONEY to engage in a long range move. I likely would move to a 'warmer area' of Idaho
 
318willrun said:
Love old car pictures like this.... some money sitt'n there :)
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The Cuda / shaker hood "guy" I did not know other than first name. He was a friend of a co-worker. The brown Poncho Ventura belonged to a co-worker, then my black 64 426, and then my then friend's 68 RR. The limelight 70 RR was my all time favorite car, if I could have a modern resto-mod of it I'd be in heaven. They are too expensive. A bodies are bad enough LOL This here would have been around 72--73

Below is a the present view of now MCAS Miramar from Google Maps. The left arrow is the old TACAN, the circle is about where our shop was "I think" and the long horizontal arrow was about where the old boresight range was. This is where they sighted and tested guns on (don't remember) F-8 and A7 aircraft. F4 Phantoms had no guns other than belly pods This is about 7000 feet W of touchdown or so you can see part of the high speed taxiway and runway 24L at the bottom

Most of the concrete aprons you see in the upper end are new since I left

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67Dart273 said:
That does not solve the money problems. You may have missed the recent rant about my "person formerly known as my sister" who is SUPPOSED to be settling the parent's estate. Instead, she is letting renters run it into the ground, along with a recent break in and arson. Part of why I'm now working again, is to pay down some nagging debt, and hire a lawyer, hopefully this spring / summer

I HAVE NO MONEY to engage in a long range move. I likely would move to a 'warmer area' of Idaho
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I did not see that post, sorry to hear that, family problems suck. I hope it works out for you.
 
We are both 69. Our problem is we just refuse to cry "uncle"!!!! But you are way tougher than me. This here is S.E. Tx.. 65 today BUT cloudy. I hate cloudy. You hate snow. We are even!!!!!!
 
Great pic of the old cars!!! So what was the shaker cuda? (engine/trans)
Looks like it was black or maybe purple(trunk lid)?

I have a place in snowmobile country, was up there over the weekend, we got about 2 feet of snow on Friday night!!
 
A warmer area of Idaho. lol I live in balmy Lewiston. We got snow this weekend, may be the last for the season. we don't get much.
 
67Dart273 said:
That does not solve the money problems. You may have missed the recent rant about my "person formerly known as my sister" who is SUPPOSED to be settling the parent's estate. Instead, she is letting renters run it into the ground, along with a recent break in and arson. Part of why I'm now working again, is to pay down some nagging debt, and hire a lawyer, hopefully this spring / summer

I HAVE NO MONEY to engage in a long range move. I likely would move to a 'warmer area' of Idaho
Click to expand...

If you could find a way, I would cut you out a piece of our property in a second.
 
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