Technical Little tips and tricks for garage hobbyists.

Ha, yes, there are new springs actually on the car. Example only. Thanks!

 

I made this stool out of unused stuff laying around, works great to roll my 240 lb fat ass around, with back issues you just can't have enough places to sit and work.
I don't think I'd use it to stand on though, even with the locks on the wheels

 

^Wheel center cap on the snout^.

 

Imitation snout lol



Cut up a different version for my gas cap

 

Having a blower in your ass also helps the bathroom breaks go faster!

 

You ain't right

 

Here I sit taking a $hit thinking of an easy way to make things move
A huffer a puffer an iron lung, air in air out, a blower on my ass surely could get me in the groove
A log jam from a can of spam ....

 

Wouldn't a turbocharger be more appropriate?

 

Here's a little tidbit I came up with today. I needed to replace the battery. This happens to be a H-D Ultra Classic motorcycle, but the idea works for any vehicle, including hot rods and customs. If you look closely you'll see that the battery "compartment" is only marginally larger than the actual battery. I had a devil of a time getting that thing up an inch or so to remove the cables. I could only grasp it by my fingertips to lift. So when I put it back in I cut a portion of some strap (similar to ratchet strap but wider) as can be seen in the 1st photo. I then laid it down into the cavity as shown in the 2nd and 3rd photos and put the battery back in. I left enough extra to be able to get ahold of when I next need to remove the battery. The 3rd photo shows how I just laid the extra over the battery before reinstalling the seat. Next time won't be nearly so hard to remove the battery. So if you've got a custom or hot rod with a battery cavity just barely larger than the battery here's a way to make the next removal much easier. And the cost is free if you have an old ratchet strap laying around. Sorry about the blurry 2nd pic.

 

Planning ahead? Is that really fair? I don't think it is "traditional" or "period correct".

 

Hello,

Wow, what a nice build. My wife would probably like that sitting in the garage to be used for something. It looks like the right height for a circular roll around. It would add to our daily drivers to clean off the lower portions of the body and/or spiffy up the wheels/tires. No leaning and straining the lower back. It is a good thing the 671 build is on wheels. If the wheel locks work well, it might be a good short term stool for reaching high up in the taller cabinets. YRMV
similar photo
Our 671 supercharger for our 1940 Willys build was heavy when we bought it off of a diesel shop display. But, we were strong teenagers. I carried it out to our Impala and was able to put it in the lift over trunk area. We drove it to Reath Automotive and they did the tear down/repair/racing specs for our build. My brother carried it to the counter from the Impala.


Jnaki

Yours is such a nice build and a good, useful, sit down item for working out in the garage. If the rotors are out, it would be lighter, but still would have a good rigid seat area and strength... Great job.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...arage-hobbyists.1159355/page-57#post-14880317


The 47 years old step stool is sitting next to the next highest/oldest 50 year old simple wooden chair from our first kitchen. Now it is used as a top shelf level platform in the garage. It is also used outdoors in the garden, cutting trees, digging in new plants, offering support during painting/planting, all while sitting for a good grip and angle of work.

Just the last two days of cloudy weather, my wife and I use those two old guys to help us remove and replant several areas of our front yard. It is a never ending process and it gives us time to think as we work. Plus, our backs thank us after we are finished and resting with a cold water drink. The 2x4 step stool is rigid and does not move. it is the perfect height to do wheel cleaning and anything at that level. It also allows me to reach up into the taller portions of the new garage cabinets for height without worry of falling off if it moves, which it never does...

The two old guys sit quietly in the garage, until called upon to do some more work. They are and have been back savers and elevation increase support when we need it. When our granddaughter was staying with us during the toddler years, the wooden step helped her reach the sink for her daily necessities. It also provided a flat plateau area, covered with a towel, to act as a flat area for her little dolls to stand up to do their own thing on a normal bumpy tile/carpet floor surface…YRMV

 

Hey, I have a set just like that!

 

Yes totally gutted, someone was building a fake blower over a carburetor deal I think, the whole thing still has some heft to it but certainly not as much as the real thing.

 

Another low buck/no buck thing I do. Just about any small item you buy comes in a bubble style package. I save bubbles with a flat side for mixing small amounts of filler or epoxy. Disposable and easily replaced.

 

^^^^^^If you know of a car lot that has gone broke or changed hands, the plastic license plates with the dealer's name make excellent mixing boards, too.

Gary

 

And save used up gift cards/ expired credit cards to use as your mixer and spreader.

 

When assembling powder coated parts, and the bolt holes need more clearance, I cut some notches in the end of a bolt to serve as a reamer.

 

Wonder if that would work on chrome?

 

Don't know, can't afford it anyway !

 

You guys need to be careful. I saved so much cool & helpful stuff I have to work out in the dirt. But I do it with a lot of handy gadgets!

 

Hotel key cards work too!

 

If you don't have thread chasers, that'll work!

 

I built a recessed gauge panel for my 38' dash and once I got it done, bondo worked and primed I couldn't find a way to sand the inside corner due to its small size.

After racking my limited brain power for 2 days looking at it I figured out a really easy way to do it.

I went out to Walmart and bought one of those bigger rectangular sketching erasers. I took a piece of 220 grit sand paper and sanded/rolled one long corner of the eraser to match the inside corner of my panel, then I did the same on one of the small end corners.

It worked excellent and it's flexible. Made the perfect small sanding block, just wrapped the 400 grit sand paper around it. I used the long side for the long edges of the panel and the end corner of the eraser to sand the corners on the tight radius ends.

 

^^^^ I've been using erasers for mini-sanding blocks for several years. I use the pink ones with angled ends and shape them as needed. PSA sandpaper sticks to them well.

Gary

 

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I was reminded how it comes in handy at times:
Whenever I am adopting parts from another vehicle to one of mine, I take letter punches and punch in what the part came off of or its actual part number. That way if I forget or sell the car, the next guy will know what a replacement will be from. For example, I marked my brake rotors on the edge as Dodge and the year. This can save a lot of research later.

 

When we were building my son's '54 Studebaker and I knew it was going to be over 1,000 miles away while he was in college I made a folder listing parts & numbers. It included parts that came from other makes and cross reference numbers because in 2000 Studebakers were dropping out of the parts books even though a lot of parts were still on the shelf. I was a parts counterman at the time. The car is now in my yard and I have no idea where the folder is.

 

I keep a "little black book" with all the non OEM parts listed. It stays in the house, not the car, in a secure location, with armed guards, and barbed wire.. I'll still probably figure out how to lose it...