LocomotiveBreath

Well, I never knew. You know me, always willing to help a guy out.

Enjoy.

Rob

I you told her to haul a-- , she would would have to make two trips.

I had a '61 bubble top Impala with a factory 348-4bbl when I was 18. It was white with the red trim and interior, sure wish I would have kept it.

You didn't say how you did with the quiz. I got 16 out of 17, some of that Iron would be hard to replace.

The same 16 of 17.

If you go to the top of the page and click on the games header there is another engine quiz. I got 18 of 19 on that one.

If I get bored later I'll do the muscle car quiz as well.

I could not get drunk enough to even consider.

Ran across this tonight.

http://www.americantorque.com/game/3/16/#cntnt

It was hilarious watching the Hannity / Blago interview tonight.

Can you imagine getting co-cocked with one of those gozonkas at 60mph on the open road? Could be life threatening!

Rob

I've been trying to imagine it for several days now.

here's a good example...

Money well spent.

I assume you are either a rail yard worker, or pipeliner? Some type of maintenance repair entity participant?

Not many folks I know actually use the higher currents spoken of without the need for X-Ray quality welds using the tig process as the deposition rate is very slow in comparison to either mig, or stick.

Rob

You are correct. I previously have always used a standard "collet holder" if you will. The gas lens style basically gives a bubble of shielding gas around the weld which helps to produce some really nice welds. I normally use straight Argon as well, but if I'm doing 1/4"+ thick aluminum I will switch over to 75% Argon / 25% Helium.

I am a locomotive fleet manager, and occasionally have to qualify welds. I also do some custom fabrication with aluminum and stainless while at work and at my personal shop which requires the tig to be brought out. I hold certifications for mig and stick in the 6G position, just in case I ever need to do a little pipeline welding to pay the bills.

Kevin

I agree with Rob on the silicone, it works well for things like that. I sometimes use it for adjustment screws and things that are subject to lots of vibration but you can't really tighten much.

Silicone is also better than Saline in certain other applications as well.

Here is what I'm talking about. Up until about a month ago I always used the standard collet body.

p.s. Do you go by LocomotiveBreath, or do you have a first name?

Kevin will be fine and is probably faster to type.

I have successfully made many cast iron repairs using the TIG and Nickle filler rod. I've never tried using a Nickle rod on pot metal though. I might just dig thru my junk, see if I can find an old emblem and give it a try.

Rob, I recently started using a gas lens on my TIG torch and have really been impressed with the results. Have you tried one yet? Sounds like the flu or maybe you inhaled too many unburned diesel fumes, either way hope you get to feeling better soon.

I went to the website. It looks a lot like the aluminum repair rod I tried. Are you going to give it a try?

I haven't seen that one, but I did try the aluminum repair rod that is done using a propane torch. I didn't have much luck with that one, the tig produces much better results.

I've used a pressure washer on the inside of more than one myself. Just got to dry em out good afterwards. You get some really strange looks at the car wash.

IdleUp your truck looks 100% better.

I voted for Springsteen but sure don't want to see his boob.

I did this amateur photoshop awhile back of how the bed will look when finished, except I plan to keep it Mack green. The fenders I have are like the ones pictured.

Looking good. The rear fenders finally came in last week for my truck so I'll be able to start fabbing up the bed soon myself.

I tell you one thing that I really have an issue with concerning having a CDL. If I get speeding ticket in my personal non-commercial vehicle I can't take defensive driving, get deferred adjudication, or other things that people with a regular class C license can do instead of just paying the ticket. I would understand if I were speeding in a commercial vehicle but in my personal pickup just doesn't seem right to me. The way I see it, my wife who has a standard class C license has more rights than I do with my A CDL.

Thanks for the link, there are some nice trucks there.

Bandag caps are just fine for the drives and trailers. I would never use them on the steering axle though. In fact I've always been told it is illegal to run a cap on the steering axle. Back when I used to work on trucks for a living, I remember our tire man was in the middle of airing up a fresh 11-22.5 trailer cap (not-Bandag) when the sidewall let go at about 90 psi.

Shook the whole shop, scared the hell out of everybody, but luckily no one got hurt. We went back to Bandag after that.

Great video

Thanks fellas. I'm going to clean, blast, and paint the front's to match this coming weekend.

The company that made the wheels is called Wheels Now, Inc. Waukesha, WI (1-800-782-5145) Ask for Mike.

The Wheels Now P/N is WN31659-MOD and are based on an Accuride 31659 but are narrower between the mounting wedges. My truck had 3 3/8" spacers between the duals and the Accuride's were made to replace duals with a 4" spacer. The flat portion of the spoke on my truck only measures 5 1/2" so I was concerned that I would not be able to get my wedges to fit. Wheels Now can make their version of the stock 31659 or modified for shorter spokes as needed. The Accuride technical rep. actually recommended Wheels Now to me when we were discussing my options, and Wheels Now uses Accuride components to build their wheels. I was also really surprised that buying the custom wheels was $150.00 per wheel cheaper than off the shelf Accuride's. Go figure.

The stock 31659's measure 22.5 x 13 with equal offset.

I really like those taillights too. That is a good idea to use the exhaust pipe as the light housing. I've been debating on what I wanted to do for taillights myself. Keep up the good work.

I quit almost 6 years ago. The way I did was to figure out what time of the day I really needed (wanted) a cigarette and limited myself to a max of 5 cigarettes per day. I started with one new pack on Monday morning and by the following Saturday morning I had one smoke left. I lit it about 10AM and it gave me one hell of a headache, didn't even finish it. That was the last cigarette I ever smoked. I bought a big bag of Peppermints and every time I really wanted a cigarette I would just eat a Peppermint. The toughest part is about 2 to 4 weeks in you'll tell yourself that if I only smoke one I'll be ok and still be able to quit. Forget it, you'll be right back smoking again. Even after 3 years they still smelled good to me when a buddy would lite one up, but you have to say no. Now days I think they stink and the smell gets in everything, but I don't condemn people for smoking because I've been there. With me being married, now I like to think of cigarettes like a beautiful mistress. They look good but aren't worth the headache.

BTW the nicotine gum, patches, etc. don't work long term because you are still getting the nicotine.