Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[Lyndon]

Lyndon?

Andy

Yep, I'm here, and I do have a scoreboard for how many times we've badgered Guster (it's in the garage, and I can't go in there ATM as it's about 150F in there. . . . . ). I think it's at 45 times, but I'm guessing.....

Guster?

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Andy, we should all be gentle with Lyndon right now. The pressure of finding a place Irene likes is tough but nothing compared to finding one that we all like.

Hahahaha. Now that's funny, because she thinks it's the other way round, and every time she finds some place or other she is getting sick of me saying "How big is the garage and shed?".

Lyndon
It's finally POETS Day!!!

 

[Vieux]

Great job!
I always say before you throw think about it, maybe it can be fixed. I'm glad my repair work inspired you

 

[Grizz1963]

You are a funny guy Bob.

Love dipping in here.

 

[BBChevro]

The GJ monster's eaten my post again.

Because I haven't posted for a while, I had a long meaningful post 90% written - then I hit the wrong button or something... .,..and .....and ....now it's gone.

I have been keeping up with your thread, I usually just don't have time to comment.

It's now about 15 minutes past midnight here, so I don't think I'll try to recreate my lost literary masterpiece just now.


Keep up the good work Bob.

 

[wasfast]

Perhaps type up your lengthy post offline in wordpad or similar then cut and paste. No tears that way.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Perhaps type up your lengthy post offline in wordpad or similar then cut and paste. No tears that way.

Good advice, been there done that..lesson learned.

 

[Bob Heine]

All, I have actually been doing a few things in and around the garage. I just haven't had time to post after I finish reading the updates on all my subscribed threads.

Andy

Yep, I'm here, and I do have a scoreboard for how many times we've badgered Guster (it's in the garage, and I can't go in there ATM as it's about 150F in there. . . . . ). I think it's at 45 times, but I'm guessing.....

Guster?



Hahahaha. Now that's funny, because she thinks it's the other way round, and every time she finds some place or other she is getting sick of me saying "How big is the garage and shed?".

Lyndon
It's finally POETS Day!!!

Lyndon, I was pretty adamant about the 3-car garage and told my wife I didn't want to even look at places without that. Luckily she ignored me and made me look at a spec-built home with a 2 car garage. Had I not wasted time looking at it, we wouldn't have been backing out of the driveway when we did. As we drove off my wife said "too bad the place next door isn't for sale (it had the magic 3-car garage). I turned to look just as the owner of the house put the for sale sign on the lawn. I was ready to buy but SWMBO had an impossible list of stuff the house had to have. It was a miracle that the place met all but one of her requirements (Jacuzzi in the Master Bath) so I installed a Jacuzzi on the patio next to the Master Bedroom. Have faith, I know your dream house is out there and you are going to find it.

Great job!
I always say before you throw think about it, maybe it can be fixed. I'm glad my repair work inspired you

Thank you Vieux, you inspire all of us.

You are a funny guy Bob.

Love dipping in here.

Rian, I'm going to take 'funny' to mean the non-medical sense. I do appreciate you stopping by and I hope you are feeling better.

The GJ monster's eaten my post again.

Because I haven't posted for a while, I had a long meaningful post 90% written - then I hit the wrong button or something... .,..and .....and ....now it's gone.

I have been keeping up with your thread, I usually just don't have time to comment.

It's now about 15 minutes past midnight here, so I don't think I'll try to recreate my lost literary masterpiece just now.


Keep up the good work Bob.

Mark, I completely understand the lost masterpiece. Several of mine are in the same cloud as yours. On the bright side, you did well to remember your anniversary.

Perhaps type up your lengthy post offline in wordpad or similar then cut and paste. No tears that way.

Wasfast, great advice! I have taken to doing that very thing. We had a power outage as I was writing this and I thought I might have lost everything but the UPS kept the computer alive for the half-hour power was off. I don't have the display connected to the UPS so it's hard to tell exactly what's going on.

Good advice, been there done that..lesson learned.

Hi Steve, if it hasn't happened already, all of us can expect to lose a post sooner or later.

 

[Bob Heine]

When I thought I was finished with the lighting in the front yard, I discovered a problem. The new MR16 LED bulbs were taller than the halogen bulbs they replaced. It was almost impossible to screw the glass cover back on the fixtures and a strong wind blew two covers off. In addition, while I was fiddling with one of the fixtures, it was difficult to push the bulb back in place. I thought I had it installed but the light wouldn't work. That's when I noticed the pins had come loose and pushed into the plastic socket on the bulb.

I went back and checked the dimensions on the bulb. I compared the LED bulb to the Halogen bulb and sure enough it was more than 1/4-inch (7 mm) taller, certainly too tall for the Malibu light fixtures I was using. Went back online and found some shorter bulbs. In addition to being shorter, they are glass rather than plastic, cheaper than the Halogen bulbs (or the too-tall LEDs) and are a warmer light. Here's the visual comparison: Halogen bulb on the left, glass LED in the middle and too-tall plastic LED on the right.

I assume no one is interested in the Halogen bulbs but you might want to avoid the plastic LED bulb unless you are installing it in an open fixture or you want to be able to dim the bulb. Prices quoted are through Amazon.

Too Tall Plastic LED Bulb:
Warmoon MR16 LED Bulbs, 4W Daylight White, 6500K, 520lm, AC/DC 12V, Dimmable Spotlight,35W Halogen Bulbs Equivalent, 30 Degree Beam Angle, Standard Size LED Light Bulbs(Pack of 8) $29.99

Right Size Glass LED Bulb:
Solray MR16 LED 5-Watt (35-Watt Halogen Replacement), 3000K (Soft White Glow), 40° Beam Angle, GU5.3 Base, 400 Lumens, 25,000 Hours AC/DC 12V (Pack of 10)$25.95

To light up the back yard, I had seven Malibu-style metal flood fixtures that needed MR16 LED bulbs. Two of the fixtures had 1/2" NPT thread mounts so I could put them on taller stalks (to keep the lights above the Asparagus Ferns). I couldn't find any more of the threaded mount fixtures so I bought two 1-watt fixtures that have the threaded mount. Soldered some extra wire on the fixtures and mounted them on threaded PVC conduit.

Moonrays 95557 1-Watt Low Voltage LED Outdoor Landscape Metal Spot Light Fixture, Black (Pack of 2) $20.99

Here's a comparison of the three style fixtures I used. in the foreground is the larger Malibu-style fixture that stakes in the ground. The Moonrays fixture next to it is mounted on a 18-inch piece of conduit and the Malibu-style fixture in the background, also mounted on another piece of conduit (that's Asparagus Fern growing around it). The other black thing is a Toro pop-up sprinkler head (also raised to clear the Ferns).

OK, to get it all installed, I fixed the broken wires and buried a wire in the lawn to connect three more fixtures in the center garden. Here's how it came out. In the first picture you can see the 5-watt floods on the left and right aimed into the palm trees behind the screened enclosures. The center palm trees are lit by the 1-watt floods and the trees beyond are lit by more 5-watt floods. I adjusted the picture a bit -- it isn't actually as bright as the picture leads you to believe. You can't easily read a newspaper under the lights.

The path to the workshop is nicely lit, as is that grotto under the tree next to the shop (that's the third 5-watt fixture). A 4-watt flood lights the palm tree (it's an oversize fixture so that too-tall LED works fine).

Here's a photo taken from the opposite side of the yard.

The last area that got some light was the dog yard. It has four of those fence-mount LEDs and on the opposite side of the fence I mounted two Malibu-style flood lights aimed at the big ficus tree. The Tabebuia tree next to the fence blocks the view of the ficus a bit.

I'm happy with the way it came out but more importantly, the wife is happy. We have just enough wildlife in our neighborhood that it's more secure when you let the dog out at night.

 

[ODIS]

The lighting looks really nice!

 

[Bob Heine]

While I was on a lighting binge, I decided to replace the headlight housings on the PT Cruiser. It's a modest-size project that most people should be able to accomplish in one day. I managed to drag it out to two days.

You can unbolt the housings from inside the fenderwells. Unfortunately you have to remove the fender liners, after you remove the wheel before you can get to the bolts. The unbolted headlight housing won't come out until you remove the front bumper cover and that can't be unbolted until you remove the grille. Other than that, it's a piece of cake!

I have polished, sanded and polished and even coated the original headlights quite a few times. Unfortunately the Florida sun fights back, clouding the clear cover over and over. I decided to replace the headlight housings. The one on the left is the original (12+ years old) and the one on the right is the new one.

I know one or both of the new headlights will be badly damaged the day after I throw the old housings away. Instead of throwing them away, I'm going to sand them with 800-grit paper and spray SPI clear on them the next time I have a batch of clear mixed up.

I won't bore you with the details but once the new lights were in, I decided to aim them. Up north in New York, the shops that did annual inspections of our cars always needed to re-align the headlights. I think it was just a way to get an additional $7. I followed the instructions in the Factory Service Manual for the PT Cruiser and used my garage door as the alignment target.

My super-practical wife reminded me that I don't drive at night anymore. I think she was being passive aggressive, questioning my priorities. I mean, what if she has to drive me to the hospital again? I get the feeling I won't make it to the hospital next time....

 

[Bob Heine]

The lighting looks really nice!

Thanks Ody. And thanks for stopping by. Are you waiting for the weather to warm up or have you started on the new (to you) 356? I try to keep up but sometimes the new posts go away when I spend too much time getting through the list.

 

[krcoomer]

Up north in New York, the shops that did annual inspections of our cars always needed to re-align the headlights. I think it was just a way to get an additional $7. I followed the instructions in the Factory Service Manual for the PT Cruiser and used my garage door as the alignment target.

I am sure it is the angle they are laying at, but the new light looks larger than the original in this photo.

The $7 racket was back when your car had a sealed beam headlight with actual adjustment screws and springs holding it in place. I hope your driveway is level to the apron your garage door rests on or you may have them aimed high. Yes, I remember aligning sealed beams and yes I have made that mistake.

 

[Bob Heine]

The most recent project was tiny. More precisely, a tiny effort.

I don't watch TV in my office every day but I do turn it on to follow a news story or a car race. It was a pretty small TV when I was working.

When that TV died, I upgraded to a 32-inch flat screen, the one in the photo of the finished ceiling fan...

I sat down to watch a show after I finished the fan and the sound came on but no picture. No picture on the cable connection or the Blue Ray connection and no menu. It may have been a surge from the line of storms that came through a week or two ago. I have had no luck fixing modern TVs. I used to take the tubes out of the TV, bring them to the drug store and test them on the tube tester. I recall every single drug store having a tube tester when I was growing up.

I started thinking about Vieux and then I remembered my last attempt to fix a modern TV: spent $100 on components and it died again six months later. I'm not going to spend $1,000 on a new TV but just for grins I Googled 40-inch TV (hey, if I'm dreaming, dream bigger). Walmart has a refurbished 40-inch Vizio TV for $199 and free shipping. I give up and after some grumbling about the sales tax increase (just went from 6% to 7%) the newish TV is on the way. It fits (kinda) and it's a smartish TV (doesn't require me to use my Smart Phone). It's also awfully light. Spec says it's 17 pounds and I'm pretty sure that's right. I took the old TV down, swapped the mount and hung the new one up by myself in about an hour. Another hour fiddling with wires and I was watching a 1080P TV. I also managed to get it hooked up to the Blue Ray player, cable box and WiFi for Amazon Prime and Netflix. Now I can watch Glitch in my office.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Bob, thank you for sharing what you have done with your Halogen lighting, yours have come up a treat.

That is one of my next projects, doing exactly that..

Regards

 

[ajohno]

Fantastic work Bob.

 

[Bob Heine]

I am sure it is the angle they are laying at, but the new light looks larger than the original in this photo.

The $7 racket was back when your car had a sealed beam headlight with actual adjustment screws and springs holding it in place. I hope your driveway is level to the apron your garage door rests on or you may have them aimed high. Yes, I remember aligning sealed beams and yes I have made that mistake.

Kenny, thanks for the comments and you're right about the angle. I'm a terrible photographer and even when I think it looks good, it's only good for cross-eyed people.

My real worry was that a headlight alignment is going to cost $70 or even more now. The PT Cruiser headlight housing has two adjustments for the low beam. The horizontal adjustment is easy because it's a T20 Torx screw on the front at the bottom of the notch below the turn signal.

The vertical adjustment is completely inaccessible. Some have drilled a hole in the sheet metal above the mount and if it had needed a vertical adjustment that's what I would have done. It's the slotted screw next to the stud in this photo.

I didn't check the level on my driveway until you mentioned it. My driveway isn't perfectly level but it is damn close. Our house is situated on a coral ridge well above the 500-year flood plain. The driveway slopes slightly from the street to the first joint then levels off with a very slight pitch away from the garage. We've never had water back up into the garage, even when we get 6-inches of rain in 5 hours, a day after we already received 6-inches. We also don't get standing water except at that first joint in from the street.

Here's the pitch at the 25-foot mark (from the garage door).

I was worried about my headlights being aimed too high. I put Eibach springs on the car more than a decade ago. The springs lower the car 1.3 inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear. When I checked, the pattern on the door shows it is aimed slightly lower than the spec. I did aim the light pattern slightly to the right

 

[HOTFR8]

Now I can watch Glitch in my office.

Is that the same one filmed here in Castlemaine ? If so the second series is being made here at present.

Glitch - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(TV_series)

 

[krcoomer]

Kenny, thanks for the comments and you're right about the angle. I'm a terrible photographer and even when I think it looks good, it's only good for cross-eyed people.

My real worry was that a headlight alignment is going to cost $70 or even more now. The PT Cruiser headlight housing has two adjustments for the low beam. The horizontal adjustment is easy because it's a T20 Torx screw on the front at the bottom of the notch below the turn signal.

The vertical adjustment is completely inaccessible. Some have drilled a hole in the sheet metal above the mount and if it had needed a vertical adjustment that's what I would have done. It's the slotted screw next to the stud in this photo.

I didn't check the level on my driveway until you mentioned it. My driveway isn't perfectly level but it is damn close. Our house is situated on a coral ridge well above the 500-year flood plain. The driveway slopes slightly from the street to the first joint then levels off with a very slight pitch away from the garage. We've never had water back up into the garage, even when we get 6-inches of rain in 5 hours, a day after we already received 6-inches. We also don't get standing water except at that first joint in from the street.

Here's the pitch at the 25-foot mark (from the garage door).

I was worried about my headlights being aimed too high. I put Eibach springs on the car more than a decade ago. The springs lower the car 1.3 inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear. When I checked, the pattern on the door shows it is aimed slightly lower than the spec. I did aim the light pattern slightly to the right

Sounds like you are in good shape Bob. I would hate to see what my garage would look like with that much rain....again. The sand soaks it up while clay holds it like a clay pot....only muddier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great job on the lights!

The PT, I don't think I would have tackled that. But understand with all your night driving it was critical to get it done.

Never the less, you got it done, congratulations!

 

[driftpin]

Bob, a great job on the landscape lighting. Does it allow you to see any prowling wildlife or does it keep them away? I'd expect you get opossums (if only Walt Kelly was alive to do POGO strips on the current political developments, POTUS would then be tweeting about a comic strip, probably) and rats/mice. We have a ratter dog, a fierce terrier who doesn't give vermin a chance.

We added some front lights to the house, actually the architect put them in the plans, and we ended getting some that are vertically-oriented. They have two bulbs, so they project upwards and downwards; we get positive comments from passers-by, and it's easy to see the house at night, arriving home. The shot is just after hanging the lights before the final inspection for the renovation.

Knowing you're from the Hudson River valley area, I have a story about vehicle lighting and NY roadways. I was on my way to Highland Falls to visit a friend who lived in a winery property, he was the engineer for the bottling production line, and pretty-much everything else there, he got a free late 1800's farmhouse rent-free as one of his perks, but being of balloon construction and poorly-insulated, it cost much-more than it should-have, to heat it during those long, cold NY winters. So, I was coming through NYC pulling a 16' open trailer loaded with vintage car body parts, on one of the tollroads coming north out of the city. I had a '76 Ford Windsor V-8 van, and when I came-to yet another toolbooth, I paid my $ to the operator, and waited for the gate to rise, to resume my journey. I waited some-more, and no ascent of the toll barrier. It was winter, early in the season, but just above freezing, and late afternoon, when you can feel the mercury drop with the passing of time, as the light fades. I had the window rolled back-up, and the heater was trying to make-up for my rolling down the window to pay the toll. Finally, I rolled down the window, and asked the toll troll, who by-now was glaring at me, "do I owe you more money?"

She pointed to the front of my truck, which of-course was past her view in the booth lane. She said something I couldn't quite make-out. I leaned out of the truck, to be closer to her, and asked her to repeat what she said, I thought I needed to pay more $, and was reaching for my wallet. She told me, "turn-off your lights!" very emphatically.

"What? Why do you want me to turn-off my lights? It's dusk, I'm pulling a trailer, I want to be seen!" I replied, wondering what in the world she meant.

"Turn-off your driving lights! You've got driving lights, they blind oncoming traffic!" The toll gate was not moving. Evidently she was going to refuse me passage out of the toll lane until I turned-off my rectangular driving lights, which were attached above the bumper.

I thought this was overreaching her toll-taking function, but she wasn't gonna let that arm ascend until I complied with her sense of vehicular lighting propriety. So, I flipped-off the rocker switch, and said, "now, do I get to go?" She glared at me again, and silently raised the toll gate arm.

I waited until the trailer end was clear of the tollbooth before I flipped-on my driving lamps.

 

[Guster]

Golly gosh… missed all this in the action of the last few days… I mean I try to keep up but last week was a blur of work, family and social commitments with my wife’s birthweek demanding most of the bandwidth.

Guster, I'm already having a hard time keeping up with all the great threads on here, yours would **** up the last little bit of free time I have left. If you think these "friends" of ours are cruel now, go ahead and start your own thread. Regret doesn't come close to describing the aftermath.

I somehow feel honoured, threatened, motivated and scared to start a thread all at the same time! What’s worst that can happen?

I think it's at 45 times, but I'm guessing.....

Guster?

Would it be wholly inappropriate to shoot for a high score of 100?

Now back to the current timeline:

Awesome lighting Bob. Looks like less of a yard and more like an estate… seriously feels like a scene from Magnum where Higgins is walking the Dobermans across the courtyard at dusk… except there’s this guy working on his PT Cruiser in the driveway instead. You are tempting me to replace the lights on the Pajero. I’m tired of polishing them and go foggy about a month later though I have a feeling they will be pretty expensive. Was also warned against any clearcoats as they wouldn’t last in our high UV environment either and would end up blemishing and peeling in patches – yikes. I should probably sort out the rusting bash plate and the floppy drivers side wing mirror first though.

 

[driftpin]

Bob, when I have a bit of time, I like to go-back into your thread and read posts I haven't read before.

I just have to say, this comment caught me totally by-surprise, and had me laughing to myself. It's from post # 1320 (the 'quarter-mile' post!) about your Corvette brakes & ABS debacle, and your snapped Craftsman flare-nut wrench. I did wonder why you didn't just 'snap-on' the broken piece?

Anway, here's your quote that had me laughing:
The Snap-On wrench isn't in the picture because I keep it locked up in our safe deposit box.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob, thank you for sharing what you have done with your Halogen lighting, yours have come up a treat.

That is one of my next projects, doing exactly that..

Regards

Steve, thanks for visiting. I don't know how you work a full-time job, get projects done at home, resurrect a rental unit and read/respond to all the threads on the GJ. How big is your staff? If you don't have full time helper 'staff,' are you using one to part the seas?

Fantastic work Bob.

Aaron, I thank you very much for the complement and the visit!

Is that the same one filmed here in Castlemaine ? If so the second series is being made here at present.

Glitch - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(TV_series)

Simon, that's the one. My wife is addicted to TV so we have all the TV, cable and Premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) as well as Amazon Prime and Netflix. When you mentioned the show, I did a quick search and found the first season on Netflix. When I Googled it, Wikipedia had this to say:

"The second season will be co-produced by Netflix, which will stream the season globally outside of Australia, New Zealand and Africa in 2017. In addition, on 15 October 2016, the first season was made available to stream on Netflix globally."

As a fan of Australian TV, I wanted to see what Glitch was all about. I was pleased to learn that the "dead people" in the story were not zombies. My wife and several of my grandchildren are big fans of "The Walking Dead" but I find it too much like "The Mummy" [original version with Boris Karloff]. I always felt victims deserved to die if a dead thing, which had to slowly drag itself down a street or through the woods, was able to catch them.

Sounds like you are in good shape Bob. I would hate to see what my garage would look like with that much rain....again. The sand soaks it up while clay holds it like a clay pot....only muddier.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Kenny, it takes a lot of rain to flood our sandy soil. That said, I've been through a couple of doozies. In 1977 my mother-in-law came down for a visit and it rained hard the night before her flight home. I couldn't get through my usual route because of cars stuck in puddles (lakes?). I finally made it through some back streets but had to guess where the street was. Luckily the neighborhood had street-side mailboxes so I tried to stay in the middle. Water was coming into the car through the door sills. I-95 had full canals on both sides all the way to the airport (dear MIL made her flight).

Great job on the lights!

The PT, I don't think I would have tackled that. But understand with all your night driving it was critical to get it done.

Never the less, you got it done, congratulations!

Thanks Andy. I'm happy with the lights. The PT, I don't think I should have tackled that but when my wife doesn't think it's a great idea, I somehow have to do it [no, I don't think I'm passive aggressive and I resent the implication].

Bob, a great job on the landscape lighting. Does it allow you to see any prowling wildlife or does it keep them away? I'd expect you get opossums (if only Walt Kelly was alive to do POGO strips on the current political developments, POTUS would then be tweeting about a comic strip, probably) and rats/mice. We have a ratter dog, a fierce terrier who doesn't give vermin a chance.
We have opossums, raccoons and even tree foxes.

The tree fox (gray fox) is a beautiful animal and we had one living in the ficus tree in our back yard years ago. Both times I saw it (not sure of its ***) was at night but it was in the light. It just looked at me and slowly walked away. Several opossums have fallen out of that tree. Found the first one from the decomp smell. Turkey vultures found the second one -- eight of those guys in the tree was quite a sight.

We have a Pug and she would love to terrorize the vermin. She has given up chasing the squirrels and lizards but I think she still remembers the two doves she captured. After they crashed into the screening and fell to the floor, she snatched them up. My wife gently removed the birds from Ellie's mouth and let them loose outside. Aside from a feather or two, they both flew off to feed another predator.
We added some front lights to the house, actually the architect put them in the plans, and we ended getting some that are vertically-oriented. They have two bulbs, so they project upwards and downwards; we get positive comments from passers-by, and it's easy to see the house at night, arriving home. The shot is just after hanging the lights before the final inspection for the renovation.

We have similar lights on the front of the garage but with a globe on the upper light. I had to replace the Bakelite sockets with porcelain ones because I like the lights but can't find new ones that don't require a payment plan.

Knowing you're from the Hudson River valley area, I have a story about vehicle lighting and NY roadways. I was on my way to Highland Falls to visit a friend who lived in a winery property, he was the engineer for the bottling production line, and pretty-much everything else there, he got a free late 1800's farmhouse rent-free as one of his perks, but being of balloon construction and poorly-insulated, it cost much-more than it should-have, to heat it during those long, cold NY winters. So, I was coming through NYC pulling a 16' open trailer loaded with vintage car body parts, on one of the tollroads coming north out of the city. I had a '76 Ford Windsor V-8 van, and when I came-to yet another toolbooth, I paid my $ to the operator, and waited for the gate to rise, to resume my journey. I waited some-more, and no ascent of the toll barrier. It was winter, early in the season, but just above freezing, and late afternoon, when you can feel the mercury drop with the passing of time, as the light fades. I had the window rolled back-up, and the heater was trying to make-up for my rolling down the window to pay the toll. Finally, I rolled down the window, and asked the toll troll, who by-now was glaring at me, "do I owe you more money?"

She pointed to the front of my truck, which of-course was past her view in the booth lane. She said something I couldn't quite make-out. I leaned out of the truck, to be closer to her, and asked her to repeat what she said, I thought I needed to pay more $, and was reaching for my wallet. She told me, "turn-off your lights!" very emphatically.

"What? Why do you want me to turn-off my lights? It's dusk, I'm pulling a trailer, I want to be seen!" I replied, wondering what in the world she meant.

"Turn-off your driving lights! You've got driving lights, they blind oncoming traffic!" The toll gate was not moving. Evidently she was going to refuse me passage out of the toll lane until I turned-off my rectangular driving lights, which were attached above the bumper.

I thought this was overreaching her toll-taking function, but she wasn't gonna let that arm ascend until I complied with her sense of vehicular lighting propriety. So, I flipped-off the rocker switch, and said, "now, do I get to go?" She glared at me again, and silently raised the toll gate arm.

I waited until the trailer end was clear of the tollbooth before I flipped-on my driving lamps.

Sometimes the uniform goes to the wearer's head. [Lower] upstate New York had more than its fair share of over-empowered government employees. It seemed like the folks north of Albany took fewer ****-pills than the ones to the south.

Golly gosh… missed all this in the action of the last few days… I mean I try to keep up but last week was a blur of work, family and social commitments with my wife’s birthweek demanding most of the bandwidth.

I feel overwhelmed and I have no work/family/social commitments.

I somehow feel honoured, threatened, motivated and scared to start a thread all at the same time! What’s worst that can happen?

I think it's best if we don't explore the bottom of the pit.

Would it be wholly inappropriate to shoot for a high score of 100?

I have chosen mediocrity as my target. If I completely miss that gigantic bulls-eye I'm hoping most won't notice.

Now back to the current timeline:

Awesome lighting Bob. Looks like less of a yard and more like an estate… seriously feels like a scene from Magnum where Higgins is walking the Dobermans across the courtyard at dusk… except there’s this guy working on his PT Cruiser in the driveway instead. You are tempting me to replace the lights on the Pajero. I’m tired of polishing them and go foggy about a month later though I have a feeling they will be pretty expensive. Was also warned against any clearcoats as they wouldn’t last in our high UV environment either and would end up blemishing and peeling in patches – yikes. I should probably sort out the rusting bash plate and the floppy drivers side wing mirror first though.

Guster, as fierce as our Florida sun is, I think the ozone hole over you guys wins the UV crown. I think New Zealand has overtaken Australia for the highest rate of skin cancer. I can still remember the pin-pricks from the sun while relaxing on Shelly Beach in Manly.

I found SPI, a company that makes a clear-coat with really good UV protection and super strong bonding. A half-gallon for $77 isn't cheap but compared to the big name stuff it's a bargain.

 

[Bob Heine]

I've done it again. I finished my brief response to you dear friends and tried to preview it. When the system responded that my reply had exceeded 11,074 characters I had to trim it back below 10,000. Cut some of my mental secretions out of the post and poured them into Microsoft Word. Now I can excrete that into this post.

...I'd expect you get opossums (if only Walt Kelly was alive to do POGO strips on the current political developments, POTUS would then be tweeting about a comic strip, probably) and rats/mice.

Driftpin, without getting political, I think Pogo nailed it:

Bob, when I have a bit of time, I like to go-back into your thread and read posts I haven't read before.

I just have to say, this comment caught me totally by-surprise, and had me laughing to myself. It's from post # 1320 (the 'quarter-mile' post!) about your Corvette brakes & ABS debacle, and your snapped Craftsman flare-nut wrench. I did wonder why you didn't just 'snap-on' the broken piece?

Anway, here's your quote that had me laughing:
The Snap-On wrench isn't in the picture because I keep it locked up in our safe deposit box.

Driftpin, thanks for that. But I don't want to disparage Craftsman flare-nut wrenches because the one that failed was a Harbor Freight. I have yet to break a Craftsman.

I went from middle-class childhood to impoverished family man in the 60s so I couldn't afford sets of wrenches. I bought one wrench (or socket) at a time, to fit the bolt I needed to loosen. I used a 1/2-inch breaker bar because a ratchet was so much more expensive. It's hard to get over the penny-wise mentality those times created. When a set of brand new Harbor Freight wrenches costs less than one used but perfect Snap-On wrench, my mind shuts down.

 

[HOTFR8]

Bob,
The film crew has been about Castlemaine over the last couple of weeks with Glitch for season two.

 

[Bighead38]

That Hudson valley story doesn't surprise me. People here **** compared to other areas.

 

[oldironfarmer]

And, if you've been there, there is no question where Rockland County got it's name.

 

[Guster]

Guster, as fierce as our Florida sun is, I think the ozone hole over you guys wins the UV crown. I think New Zealand has overtaken Australia for the highest rate of skin cancer. I can still remember the pin-pricks from the sun while relaxing on Shelly Beach in Manly.

I found SPI, a company that makes a clear-coat with really good UV protection and super strong bonding. A half-gallon for $77 isn't cheap but compared to the big name stuff it's a bargain.

The ozone hole is on the retreat I'm told but the sun here is still a bit like stepping into a microwave oven. More like radiation burn than sunburn so you have to limit your cooking time if you want to get through the day. If I am working outside I even check the SPF rating of my clothing so I don't get sunburnt through it either. Our kids are not allowed to play outside at lunchtime if they have lost or forgotten their hats which are standard part of the school uniform. My standard sunscreen is SPF50 and a wide brim hat.

I was actually thinking of trying a high UV resistant epoxy resin. I know I can get a good bond with the lens though applying it while maintaining a consistent thickness puzzles me as it doesn't spray well. Don't really feel like a week of coat+sand+coat+sand etc. until I get the finish I desire.

 

[drivesitfar]

BOB: i still haven't had time to read and catch up with all your adventures, but someday i will that is for certain.

so i had to stop in and let you know how much i smiled at your GRUMPY or PO'D picture of your current self over on ANDY'S thread. sir i might save that and keep it as a screen saver to use cause i'm still smiling thinking about it and it maybe has been 12 hours.

in case others might want to see it i'll let them search for it if you don't want to or have time to post it in the middle of your long (GREAT) stories.

cheers

 

[Bighead38]

And, if you've been there, there is no question where Rockland County got it's name.

Working construction my whole life I can definitely agree with that. It's funny talking to operators from other parts of the country. They can't comprehend how hard it is to dig here.

 

[jp828108]

Thanks for continuing to post. Your ingenuity mixed with your humor makes this an amazing thread. I can't believe the things you are able to accomplish or the ways you come up with ways to do things.

My grandpa lost his arm when I was in middle school. He lost it just below the elbow in an accident with a corn picker. It's amazing how much seeing all the things you do reminds me of him. He never let it stop him. He hunted, fished, rode the fourwheeler, drove the tractor. He just adapted and overcame.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob,
The film crew has been about Castlemaine over the last couple of weeks with Glitch for season two.

Simon, Netflix is going to bring the second season out late this year, probably after it airs in Australia on ABC.

That Hudson valley story doesn't surprise me. People here **** compared to other areas.

BH, there is no gravity, the earth *****. There are good and sucky people everywhere. I stay inside and avoid them all so I can spend time with you good folks here on the GJ.

And, if you've been there, there is no question where Rockland County got it's name.

Andy, digging in Florida is a day at the beach compared to other places I've visited and lived.

The ozone hole is on the retreat I'm told but the sun here is still a bit like stepping into a microwave oven. More like radiation burn than sunburn so you have to limit your cooking time if you want to get through the day. If I am working outside I even check the SPF rating of my clothing so I don't get sunburnt through it either. Our kids are not allowed to play outside at lunchtime if they have lost or forgotten their hats which are standard part of the school uniform. My standard sunscreen is SPF50 and a wide brim hat.

I was actually thinking of trying a high UV resistant epoxy resin. I know I can get a good bond with the lens though applying it while maintaining a consistent thickness puzzles me as it doesn't spray well. Don't really feel like a week of coat+sand+coat+sand etc. until I get the finish I desire.

Guster, I spent the $90 for two new housings (and bulbs) but I'm going to clear-coat the old ones. These originals lasted 12 years so if the new ones do half as well, I won't have to do this again until I'm 78. I think the epoxy coating is a lot of work and a fair bit of money with questionable results but I'm only basing that on my own experience. I did an epoxy coating on hatch covers for the '87 Corvette and I wouldn't call the results optical quality...

BOB: i still haven't had time to read and catch up with all your adventures, but someday i will that is for certain.

so i had to stop in and let you know how much i smiled at your GRUMPY or PO'D picture of your current self over on ANDY'S thread. sir i might save that and keep it as a screen saver to use cause i'm still smiling thinking about it and it maybe has been 12 hours.

in case others might want to see it i'll let them search for it if you don't want to or have time to post it in the middle of your long (GREAT) stories.

cheers

Drives, thanks for the kind words and for posting on the eve of your daughter's big day! To save the kind readers of this thread extra work, here's the picture you mention. Hard to remember if I was angry or constipated...

Working construction my whole life I can definitely agree with that. It's funny talking to operators from other parts of the country. They can't comprehend how hard it is to dig here.

BH, as easy as it is to dig in Florida, it's real hard to preserve the hole. As soon as the sand dries just a little, the walls of the hole collapse.

Thanks for continuing to post. Your ingenuity mixed with your humor makes this an amazing thread. I can't believe the things you are able to accomplish or the ways you come up with ways to do things.

My grandpa lost his arm when I was in middle school. He lost it just below the elbow in an accident with a corn picker. It's amazing how much seeing all the things you do reminds me of him. He never let it stop him. He hunted, fished, rode the fourwheeler, drove the tractor. He just adapted and overcame.

JP, above-elbow amputees are unusually jealous of below-elbow amputees but both cringe at the thought of shoulder amputees. I was fortunate to lose my elbow at 20 because a lot of older amputees just give up. I'm with your grandpa, never give up.

 

[krcoomer]

Guster, I spent the $90 for two new housings (and bulbs) but I'm going to clear-coat the old ones. These originals lasted 12 years so if the new ones do half as well, I won't have to do this again until I'm 78. I think the epoxy coating is a lot of work and a fair bit of money with questionable results but I'm only basing that on my own experience. I did an epoxy coating on hatch covers for the '87 Corvette and I wouldn't call the results optical quality...

JP, above-elbow amputees are unusually jealous of below-elbow amputees but both cringe at the thought of shoulder amputees. I was fortunate to lose my elbow at 20 because a lot of older amputees just give up. I'm with your grandpa, never give up.

Bob: I drove past a detailing business the other day and their sign had a "special price" on headlight restoration of $40 per light. It sounds like for an extra $10 plus your time you got new. I am sure they would not put a UV coating over their polish job. I don't recall if you bought aftermarket or OEM housings, but either way I don't think you got hurt. The kit at WalMart is about $25.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the "when" of losing your arm. My uncle is blind and started losing his sight in his 20's. He bolted compressors on window air conditioners for GE until they changed the design when he was about 50. His neighbor worked the same shift with him and they planned their vacations to coincide. One day I was telling him about having trouble sweating some replacement fittings and he said he loved plumbing work because he could still do it by feel but electrical was a little more difficult.

 

[bolensboneyard]

I've done it again. I finished my brief response to you dear friends and tried to preview it. When the system responded that my reply had exceeded 11,074 characters I had to trim it back below 10,000. Cut some of my mental secretions out of the post and poured them into Microsoft Word. Now I can excrete that into this post.

Driftpin, without getting political, I think Pogo nailed it:

Driftpin, thanks for that. But I don't want to disparage Craftsman flare-nut wrenches because the one that failed was a Harbor Freight. I have yet to break a Craftsman.

I went from middle-class childhood to impoverished family man in the 60s so I couldn't afford sets of wrenches. I bought one wrench (or socket) at a time, to fit the bolt I needed to loosen. I used a 1/2-inch breaker bar because a ratchet was so much more expensive. It's hard to get over the penny-wise mentality those times created. When a set of brand new Harbor Freight wrenches costs less than one used but perfect Snap-On wrench, my mind shuts down.

Bob this is my mentality exactly. I grew up with a father who liked to work wood but would not touch anything with grease or oil on it. The tools available to me on babysitting salary were slim. His tools were off limits but anything he had that would turn a nut came in sizes that worked on radios and TV's anyway. Not much can be done with 7/16th wrench being the largest one. When I started my aircraft mechanic apprenticeship the wrenches the Navy supplied were just a tad smaller than the ones Henry Ford supplied with the model T and real mechanics bought their own Craftsman tools. I now have two wrenches for working on Model A shocks that cost me $1100 for the pair. I still don't own a Snap On as I cannot afford the trauma that I would have to endure knowing I might scratch it.

 

[oldironfarmer]

I have a few Snap-On wrenches (a flare nut set, mostly) and some MAC wrenches I got from a medical forced retirement of a mechanic friend. I must say the Snap-On wrenches are very nice and good to use however having them and using them has not induced me to seek out any more, either used or new. Even the pawn shop prices just kill me. This gentleman offered me his tools sight unseen for $300 and I agreed, trying to help him out. When he delivered them I was embarrassed at all he had bu *** would have been insulting to offer him more so I was able to help in other ways. I'm a chump!

 

[shortykorte]

Bob, I glad you live on a hill. I went out with survey crew to set monuments along the turnpike. I wondered why they were smiling when I volunteered for post hole duty. I quickly learned about South Florida coral/lime rock.

 

[Grizz1963]

Bob, a great job on the landscape lighting. Does it allow you to see any prowling wildlife or does it keep them away? I'd expect you get opossums (if only Walt Kelly was alive to do POGO strips on the current political developments, POTUS would then be tweeting about a comic strip, probably) and rats/mice. We have a ratter dog, a fierce terrier who doesn't give vermin a chance.

We added some front lights to the house, actually the architect put them in the plans, and we ended getting some that are vertically-oriented. They have two bulbs, so they project upwards and downwards; we get positive comments from passers-by, and it's easy to see the house at night, arriving home. The shot is just after hanging the lights before the final inspection for the renovation.

Knowing you're from the Hudson River valley area, I have a story about vehicle lighting and NY roadways. I was on my way to Highland Falls to visit a friend who lived in a winery property, he was the engineer for the bottling production line, and pretty-much everything else there, he got a free late 1800's farmhouse rent-free as one of his perks, but being of balloon construction and poorly-insulated, it cost much-more than it should-have, to heat it during those long, cold NY winters. So, I was coming through NYC pulling a 16' open trailer loaded with vintage car body parts, on one of the tollroads coming north out of the city. I had a '76 Ford Windsor V-8 van, and when I came-to yet another toolbooth, I paid my $ to the operator, and waited for the gate to rise, to resume my journey. I waited some-more, and no ascent of the toll barrier. It was winter, early in the season, but just above freezing, and late afternoon, when you can feel the mercury drop with the passing of time, as the light fades. I had the window rolled back-up, and the heater was trying to make-up for my rolling down the window to pay the toll. Finally, I rolled down the window, and asked the toll troll, who by-now was glaring at me, "do I owe you more money?"

She pointed to the front of my truck, which of-course was past her view in the booth lane. She said something I couldn't quite make-out. I leaned out of the truck, to be closer to her, and asked her to repeat what she said, I thought I needed to pay more $, and was reaching for my wallet. She told me, "turn-off your lights!" very emphatically.

"What? Why do you want me to turn-off my lights? It's dusk, I'm pulling a trailer, I want to be seen!" I replied, wondering what in the world she meant.

"Turn-off your driving lights! You've got driving lights, they blind oncoming traffic!" The toll gate was not moving. Evidently she was going to refuse me passage out of the toll lane until I turned-off my rectangular driving lights, which were attached above the bumper.

I thought this was overreaching her toll-taking function, but she wasn't gonna let that arm ascend until I complied with her sense of vehicular lighting propriety. So, I flipped-off the rocker switch, and said, "now, do I get to go?" She glared at me again, and silently raised the toll gate arm.

I waited until the trailer end was clear of the tollbooth before I flipped-on my driving lamps.

An interesting dilemma you had.

People who drive with fog lights on, in normal clear weather, here in the U.K. Drive me nuts

And the worst ones...... people who drive with park/side lights after dusk.

I believe full lights or nothing, the side lights, which in my world are for parking up, or marking where a vehicle is, are not powerful enough to light your way or often warn pedestrians.

In your case, making yourself more visible certainly has its merits unless the weight on the rear lifted the front as to create a blinding effect for oncoming traffic. Which may have been what she was referring to.

 

[JCQuick]

I love this thread I always laugh and am amazed at what you accomplish .
The lighting is very nice. My wife wants us to work on the back yard this summer and lighting is on the list

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob: I drove past a detailing business the other day and their sign had a "special price" on headlight restoration of $40 per light. It sounds like for an extra $10 plus your time you got new. I am sure they would not put a UV coating over their polish job. I don't recall if you bought aftermarket or OEM housings, but either way I don't think you got hurt. The kit at WalMart is about $25.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the "when" of losing your arm. My uncle is blind and started losing his sight in his 20's. He bolted compressors on window air conditioners for GE until they changed the design when he was about 50. His neighbor worked the same shift with him and they planned their vacations to coincide. One day I was telling him about having trouble sweating some replacement fittings and he said he loved plumbing work because he could still do it by feel but electrical was a little more difficult.

Kenny, thanks for stopping by and posting though I have to apologize for slacking off lately. I was amazed by the price of polishing a pair of headlight. The thing is, the UV protection on these plastic housings is what turns yellow. Once it's sanded and buffed off, the plastic oxidizes and looks bad even quicker. The Mercedes I see driving around with completely useless headlights is the big shocker. Spend all that money on a car and let it rot.

I think I mentioned the blind (from birth) young man who lived next door in our first house. He thought nothing of jumping on his bicycle and riding around the neighborhood (it was a small development and we were on a cul-de-sac). He thought I was amazing and I thought he was. He asked me how I poured a drink with one hand -- he needed a finger in the glass to tell when it was full -- and I realized we're all handicapped in some way. How we deal with it is the important thing.

Bob this is my mentality exactly. I grew up with a father who liked to work wood but would not touch anything with grease or oil on it. The tools available to me on babysitting salary were slim. His tools were off limits but anything he had that would turn a nut came in sizes that worked on radios and TV's anyway. Not much can be done with 7/16th wrench being the largest one. When I started my aircraft mechanic apprenticeship the wrenches the Navy supplied were just a tad smaller than the ones Henry Ford supplied with the model T and real mechanics bought their own Craftsman tools. I now have two wrenches for working on Model A shocks that cost me $1100 for the pair. I still don't own a Snap On as I cannot afford the trauma that I would have to endure knowing I might scratch it.

Bobby, I know what you mean. My fear is losing a Snap-On tool. I mean, it's guaranteed for life but if I misplace it I would spend all my time looking for it and stressing out.

Our second boat was a V8-powered Century Raven with a Mercruiser 888 outdrive. I was too smart to follow directions and fill the outdrive with gear oil from the bottom, resulting in the upper gears destroying themselves. The local marina quoted six million dollars to fix it (OK, it was probably more like $500 plus parts) so I bought the parts and then ordered the setup tools. The setup tools totaled about $100 and were only for that particular outdrive. This was 1973 so it's like spending $550 for a one-time tool today. Did the same thing with the Fiat X1/9, buying the special tools so I could fix it myself.

I have a few Snap-On wrenches (a flare nut set, mostly) and some MAC wrenches I got from a medical forced retirement of a mechanic friend. I must say the Snap-On wrenches are very nice and good to use however having them and using them has not induced me to seek out any more, either used or new. Even the pawn shop prices just kill me. This gentleman offered me his tools sight unseen for $300 and I agreed, trying to help him out. When he delivered them I was embarrassed at all he had bu *** would have been insulting to offer him more so I was able to help in other ways. I'm a chump!

Andy, you're a nice chump.

Bob, I glad you live on a hill. I went out with survey crew to set monuments along the turnpike. I wondered why they were smiling when I volunteered for post hole duty. I quickly learned about South Florida coral/lime rock.

Stewart, I'm happy to report that I haven't had to dig down to the coral ridge. That just flat grinds you down.

An interesting dilemma you had.

People who drive with fog lights on, in normal clear weather, here in the U.K. Drive me nuts

And the worst ones...... people who drive with park/side lights after dusk.

I believe full lights or nothing, the side lights, which in my world are for parking up, or marking where a vehicle is, are not powerful enough to light your way or often warn pedestrians.

In your case, making yourself more visible certainly has its merits unless the weight on the rear lifted the front as to create a blinding effect for oncoming traffic. Which may have been what she was referring to.

Rian, I am guilty of using the fog lights in really heavy rains even though it's illegal (we're supposed to use low beams in the rain). They are mounted below the headlights and I have mine aimed to just skim the roadway. Not good enough to light up the road at night but I can see the reflectors in the roadway and on the back of cars that aren't running any lights.

To avoid having to administer a second test, I'm pretty sure a lot of the people driving in Florida got their license after frightening the test guy or gal to death on the first try.

I love this thread I always laugh and am amazed at what you accomplish .
The lighting is very nice. My wife wants us to work on the back yard this summer and lighting is on the list

JC, thanks for the kind words. I highly recommend the back yard lighting. My wife finds it very romantic and it's a lot cheaper than a fancy piece of jewelry.

 

[Terrick down Under]

Hey Bob, do you have a pic of your in tank fuel pump for the Vette?. I am at that stage on my mates car and am looking at a few variations.....thanks.