mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Obey the warden. Things tend to do better when you do. Plus they can't say, "I told you so!"
Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium
- Thread starter Bob Heine
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
bugnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Bob, just checking in and am glad to find that the surgery left intact your humor, wit and story telling. I hope you mend fast and that the "all clear and get busy" buzzers sound at about the same time.
I have a 90's Chrysler that belonged to a relative. Just recently gave it a good bath and realized that the years of baking in the seldom found Ohio sun had removed the clear coat. If the front sheet metal had not been replaced and resprayed ~ 10 years back all of the clear coat would be gone!
Get well, sir!
I have a 90's Chrysler that belonged to a relative. Just recently gave it a good bath and realized that the years of baking in the seldom found Ohio sun had removed the clear coat. If the front sheet metal had not been replaced and resprayed ~ 10 years back all of the clear coat would be gone!
Get well, sir!
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Glad to hear the surgery went well Bob. Mind your better half's instructions during recovery.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
They didn't operate on his funny bone!
Dan, As bad as your home hospice care may seem, I feel it is far better than putting her in a nursing home. My father-in-law spent his last four years in one and every time I visited (he was in NY and I was in FL) he cried like a baby when I left or begged me to kill him.
I cared for my mother for her last five years but kept her in her condo so she was surrounded with her lifetime of memories. When my daily visit wasn't enough I hired a full-time home care person but still did the daily visit. It is both a rewarding and heartbreaking time but I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't done it.
I don't do the waxing as often as I should but I do focus on the hood and roof. Most days (when I know we're not going out) I put a car cover on the PT Cruiser because it's the one car parked outside.
Uncle Willie, I see your warden went to the same academy.
Bugnut, thanks for checking in. I seem to be healing fast but have not mastered the kegel exercises yet. Liane accused me of dropping turds on the patio today. Sneaky *** dog!
I have had good luck with clear coats in the past but now that the PT Cruiser is 17 years old I see cracks in the roof clear coat. Time to get out the heavy duty coating stuff.
Thank you Mike, I do my best to listen to my better half. Sometimes she forgets and asks me to do stuff sooner than the doctors recommend. Then, when I do what she asks and she remembers, I get that reminder
.Uncle Willie, I did fracture it once a long time ago but not this time. Still don't know why they call it a funny bone. I wasn't laughing.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Mine is 5'2"and maybe 110 soaking wet. I am not scared...
owww
hey
Stop
dang it
Yes ma'am...
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Oh Gawd, I can’t imagine how horrible that was. Terribly sorry to hear it, Bob. So so sorry you had to hear that but more so that he had to those feelings. Lord save us all from that.
I’m having such emotional trouble because my mother died 5 years ago in hospice. She was in a private home, they took good care of their trustees and we were there daily but my mother HATED it. She was there 6 months + and when she passed away one morning none of us had gotten there yet. I got there less than an hour after she’d passed with her mouth wide open and now I see Estela, my mother-in-law in asleep with her mouth wide open just like my mother’s was. I nearly puts me in ears each time I see it. I help the siblings raise her higher in her bed and she grips my hand and doesn’t want to let go. It’s just very tough.
On to much happier subjects, ok? I suppose waxing cars for you is about twice as much work as for the rest of us. You can’t do Mr. Miagi’s “wax on - wax off” routine with one arm. But if factory paint is kept in good condition, waxing with today’s products is so much easier than I remember it being in my youth.
Thanks to all you other guys tolerating my whining. I’ll call a “waaambulance” on myself now!
Dan, until one has had to make these decisions and take these actions, it sounds like whining. It hits home when it happens to us. Mother's Day 2008 I brought a card, flowers and her favorite framed family photo to the hospice facility where she spent her final two weeks. Mom was sound asleep from all the morphine and I didn't try to wake her. After an hour by her bedside I kissed her and whispered in her ear. They called me at 3:00 that afternoon to tell me she passed.
I don't know which was worse but I remember graduating from DuPont No. 7 compound, polish and wax to the Blue Coral Treatment kit. If you let too much of either of those waxes sit too long on the paint before wiping it off, it was better to walk away than try to get it off with just elbow power (no one I knew in my youth had an electric buffer for anything but floors). For the young'uns who've never seen a Blue Coral kit, feast your eyes on this:
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I was with my mom, FIL, and MIL when they passed in Hospice Care. Thankfully, All three were relatively quick and didn’t linger for months. My mother died at home, my in-laws in a residential care facility. They did an amazing job managing pain and allowing them to pass peacefully.
Scott, most of us don't get a lot of practice handling the end-of-life process and that's probably a good thing. My mother-in-law moved to Florida to a condo near us after her husband passed away. Less than a year later I dragged my wife off to Australia and stayed there two years. She told my wife to go and then made the 36+ hour trip to visit us. She and Liane had a fantastic time and she passed quietly one morning four years after our return. She was getting ready to go bowling when my wife came to pick her up. Couldn't think of a better exit.
drivesitfar
Well-known member
I see you posting more and from your writings I can see your humor and old self shining thru do hope all is well or at least improving a bit daily.
All this end of life stuff is really hitting home cause both my parents my wife’s parents are still kicking but things are not quite the same now that mine are 88 and hers are 84.
Here’s to another great day above dirt.
All this end of life stuff is really hitting home cause both my parents my wife’s parents are still kicking but things are not quite the same now that mine are 88 and hers are 84.
Here’s to another great day above dirt.
y'sguy
Well-known member
Good to see you back with your writing skill and humor. You have quite a good following here because it makes US all feel better! But that is pretty crazy because it's you who needs to feel better! And the sooner the better, right? So we can then go outside and find something heavy to lift. haha. Don't even think about it.
floridafarmer
Well-known member
Bob - I used Blue Coral all the time on my old Datsun 208ZX - let it dry too much and you'd better have a bionic arm to get it off - and no fancy microfiber to help.... Here's another vintage product that is not in too high demand as the vinyl top option has lost it's lustre...Dan, until one has had to make these decisions and take these actions, it sounds like whining. It hits home when it happens to us. Mother's Day 2008 I brought a card, flowers and her favorite framed family photo to the hospice facility where she spent her final two weeks. Mom was sound asleep from all the morphine and I didn't try to wake her. After an hour by her bedside I kissed her and whispered in her ear. They called me at 3:00 that afternoon to tell me she passed.
I don't know which was worse but I remember graduating from DuPont No. 7 compound, polish and wax to the Blue Coral Treatment kit. If you let too much of either of those waxes sit too long on the paint before wiping it off, it was better to walk away than try to get it off with just elbow power (no one I knew in my youth had an electric buffer for anything but floors). For the young'uns who've never seen a Blue Coral kit, feast your eyes on this:
Attachments
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
Drives, I am posting more because it keeps me in the office and out of the garage or workshop. Very few things in the office weigh more than 8 pounds.
None of us get out of this life alive and the older we get the more health issues remind us of that fact.
Y'sguy, I'm glad to hear I make others feel better. I have had and continue to have a wonderful life and I choose to dwell on the best of it. My grandfather and father both died when I was a young man but I got to spend a lot of quality time with both of them. I missed out on a lot of summers spent with schoolmates but got to see all but four of our 50 states, all but one of the Canadian provinces and a huge swath of Mexico by the time I turned 15. Even my quiet summers were spent fishing with my grandfather, swimming in a pristine Vermont lake, helping foster kids with their farm chores and building stone forts in abandoned slate quarries.
Even when I'm 100% I avoid lifting heavy stuff myself. Everywhere I turn I have a hand truck or wagon to help with the lifting and moving.
FF, when I figured out how to use it (aka I read the directions) Blue Coral put an amazing shine on my '47 Ford. Before microfiber there were cloth diapers and we had a lot of them. Only time we used disposable diapers was on that one 3-day vacation with the babies.
[EDIT]: After we moved to Florida I found really good deals on low mileage Lincoln Town Tanks and they all had vinyl tops. I forget all the products I used trying to keep them looking nice. I see you have a few containers of nitromethane mix -- it smelled good coming out of my model airplane but really awesome belched out of a pair of AA/Fuel dragsters.
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kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Best product I've ever seen for a vinyl top, is a utility knife.
mybigwarwagon
Well-known member
I didn't take a lot of pain meds. I would rather hurt than be out of control. It was a very un-fun few weeks.
bcoke
Well-known member
YEAH THE GOOD OLD PRE CLEARCOAT DAYS ..........wash wax repeat every week .......we were poor not rich like you Blue Coral guys plan old turtle wax.........I learnt the hard way never wax in the hot sun then have lunch 1/2 hour wash and apply wax ............2-3 hour buff it out before dad gets home........lol that weekly turtle way had her shining so that a rag would slide off the hood or fenders.............glad you are on the mend it takes a while but you will progress fast...............Bobbycoke
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
I can't remember the name of it anymore but there was a paste cleaner/wax on the market I could get for 99 cents at K Mart when I was 17 - so about 1972. I washed my purchased-new 1974 Vega GT (Yeah, I know, I know) more often than weekly and waxed it each time too! Not much else to do than work part time job in Sears paint department @ $1.90/hr and attend school. Stayed til I graduated college and got ALL the way up to $2.65/hr. Sheesh. It seemed like a lot at the time. The paint on that car was immaculate. Supposedly the last year Chevrolet used acrylic lacquer. After this picture I put B60x13 raised white letter tires on it and thought I was hot sh!t.
jon72vega
Well-known member
Bob,I can't remember the name of it anymore but there was a paste cleaner/wax on the market I could get for 99 cents at K Mart when I was 17 - so about 1972. I washed my purchased-new 1974 Vega GT (Yeah, I know, I know) more often than weekly and waxed it each time too! Not much else to do than work part time job in Sears paint department @ $1.90/hr and attend school. Stayed til I graduated college and got ALL the way up to $2.65/hr. Sheesh. It seemed like a lot at the time. The paint on that car was immaculate. Supposedly the last year Chevrolet used acrylic lacquer. After this picture I put B60x13 raised white letter tires on it and thought I was hot sh!t.
Sorry for sidetracking your thread.
Couldn't help myself, Yey Chevy Vega!
Here's mine.
Vega out for a bath. by jon72vega, on FlickrBobby, I couldn't afford to use Blue Coral all the time. It was a once-a-year thing with me. Bought our GTO brand new in November 1967 and took delivery in January 1968. After the 1.000 mile break-in I took it to the dealer for service. Car came back missing the cigarette lighter with half the vacuum lines disconnected, undercoat overspray down the whole passenger side and topped off with a scratch running the entire length of the driver side. Because a friend dropped me off after work the only people there were salesmen. The shop section was dark so all I saw was the black overspray and all I heard was the coughing and sputtering from the engine. I had to take the car or take out a loan for a cab ride home. To calm my nerves on the way home I wanted to smoke a cigarette and that's when my finger found the hole where the lighter was supposed to be. Went back to the dealer (next to last time) to learn it was all my own doing. Although clear coat would have also allowed me to get rid of the scratch, good old DuPont #7 compound and polish did the job. It also removed the traces of undercoat after I gave that side a gasoline bath.
A few months after we bought the GTO new neighbors moved in across the street. He was a New York State Trooper and suggested I could avoid tickets by putting the bumper sticker on my car and mentioning his name when (not if) I got pulled over. It actually worked (not the name dropping, the bumper sticker) but that's another story. This was taken at Christmas 1968 when I had to figure out how to get four bicycles in the trunk for the drive home.
All the polishing on the GTO eventually made the paint so thin that pinhole rust showed up on the hood, roof and trunk after we moved to Florida in 1975
Dan, you're a man after my own heart. Whenever I found $0.99 car care products, I bought them. I also bought a new Vega GT but in 1971. The GTO was our family car but it guzzled gas. Besides the 40 miles a day back and forth to work, I drove another 35 miles to night school twice a week. Our second car from '68 to '71 was a Triumph Herald convertible, which could unsafely carry the four of us but not dog (black German Shepherd). Of course, with the top down you could fit a lot more. Here's my mother driving her mother, her sister and two friends quite safely and comfortably the day my father bought the car in 1963. When I inherited it in 1968 I realized it was possible for me to drive a 4-on-the-floor and did so for a decade (my '69 427 4-speed Corvette proved to be my undoing).I can't remember the name of it anymore but there was a paste cleaner/wax on the market I could get for 99 cents at K Mart when I was 17 - so about 1972. I washed my purchased-new 1974 Vega GT (Yeah, I know, I know) more often than weekly and waxed it each time too! Not much else to do than work part time job in Sears paint department @ $1.90/hr and attend school. Stayed til I graduated college and got ALL the way up to $2.65/hr. Sheesh. It seemed like a lot at the time. The paint on that car was immaculate. Supposedly the last year Chevrolet used acrylic lacquer. After this picture I put B60x13 raised white letter tires on it and thought I was hot sh!t.
We should have bought the Camback Vega GT but the dog seemed happy in the hatchback. We just cut back on our luggage a bit.
Jon, hijack away. My '71 didn't stay stock very long. I ordered it with positraction and the summer of 1972 I put a ****** header, Cherry Bomb header muffler and Koni shocks on it. Bought some new jets for the carburetor and had a friend enlarge them. All these changes were made following a Hot Rod magazine article that gave the car a bunch more horsepower. Like Dan, I upgraded tires but mine were not Firestone Wide Ovals -- they were Goodyear Polyglas A70/13 bias ply tires . It was quite an improvement to go to the B60/13R BFGoodrich Comp T/As.Bob,
Sorry for sidetracking your thread.
Couldn't help myself, Yey Chevy Vega!
Here's mine.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Summer of 1980. I was home from college, my brother was home on leave from the Navy, two younger siblings had just graduated from high school. Youngest brothers car died, he borrowed mine and promptly totaled it at a graduation party. My sister didn’t have a car. Mom assessed the 4 kids/no car situation and called in a pre-emptive strike. She bought 2 POS rust bucket 1972? Vega hatchbacks out of the KC Star classifieds at $250 each, threw the keys in a bowl on the kitchen table and said “ you four figure it out, my car is off limits for the summer!”
We made it work with the understanding that getting everyone to and from summer jobs had priority. My Navy brother did a lot of shuttling us around during his leave.
Good memories!
We made it work with the understanding that getting everyone to and from summer jobs had priority. My Navy brother did a lot of shuttling us around during his leave.
Good memories!
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Interesting that so many of us had Vega’s back in the day.
I’d had a ‘66 Chevy van because I was an IDIOT and didn’t really want the 1955 Chevy two door hardtop had bought new to bring home his newborn son (me!). He gave it to me in 1970. I fixed it up a lot in Auto Shop. But I was SO damn stupid. I kick myself every time I think of it.
Considered a Pinto (glad a Dodgers that bullet) a new Beetle but just couldn’t see paying $3,000 for one and an Opel Manta, which later I wished I had bought. Oh well the Vega only ever developed a bit of rust in the lower window corner of the hatch back. I absolutely DOTED on that car but even with that the rust developed.
I’d had a ‘66 Chevy van because I was an IDIOT and didn’t really want the 1955 Chevy two door hardtop had bought new to bring home his newborn son (me!). He gave it to me in 1970. I fixed it up a lot in Auto Shop. But I was SO damn stupid. I kick myself every time I think of it.
Considered a Pinto (glad a Dodgers that bullet) a new Beetle but just couldn’t see paying $3,000 for one and an Opel Manta, which later I wished I had bought. Oh well the Vega only ever developed a bit of rust in the lower window corner of the hatch back. I absolutely DOTED on that car but even with that the rust developed.
Scott, your mother was smart. Did she also make you and your siblings get their own insurance? So many of my friends put their kids on their policy and ended up paying through the nose for those graduation party oopsies.
My father never appreciated or approved of my love of cars. At 17 I was not allowed to get a license (only straight-A students like my brother could win that prize). I took driver ed and my instructor asked me to compete in a Driving Rodeo competition and called my father to let me get a learner's permit. Came in second (2-inches closer to the curb on parallel parking won first). Ended up getting married and only then got a drivers license. Bought my first car for $20 and replaced the two bent valves for $1, lapping them with Colgate toothpaste. Soaked the head gasket so it swelled up and could be re-used. Never put more than $1 worth of gas in it because that was when it needed a quart of oil.
Dan, the Vega was my second new car and like the first, the salesman saw I was hooked. Paid too much for the car but I really loved it. When silver-dollar size paint chips started popping off the car, my love turned to like. They had to re-paint two doors and both rear quarters under warranty (after I held the district rep at gunpoint). Like turned to dislike when the head gasket blew a month after the warranty ran out. Dislike turned to hate when what I thought was gas sloshing in the tank turned out to be water in the quarter panel (that back corner of the rear window leaked from day one). Both rear quarters disintegrated before the car was five years old.
It has been 50 years since I bought the Vega and it was the last new car I bought from a US dealer. I ended up having to buy a new Toyota from a dealer in Australia. It was stupid expensive but actually cheaper than a reliable used car with no warranty.
Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
I paid $3600 out the door for my '74 Vega GT. It was the first new car I ever bought. My 2008 Chevy 3500HD dually was the 2nd and only other new car I've ever bought. I had ALMOST none of the rust issues so many guys had. The odd thing in hindsight was why I bought it without AC? It never occurred to me even though I am a born & raised native Californian.
Gil, the fuse arrived yesterday and I thought I would try replacing it first. I have taken the control panel out before but wasn't sure where the fuse was located. Couple of screws I could see from the first step of the stool took the movable vent panel off and one screw allowed me to lift the control panel out. I looked for hot spots on the control panel and took this photo to be sure to get the wires plugged back in.
After I set the control panel aside, I looked around inside the case for a fuse. Found them under the slotted panel above the control panel. Once it was out of the way I could get to the TWO fuses.
Pulled the top fuse and it tested good. Put it back and pulled the lower fuse. It was open so I replaced it with my new fuse. Plugged the connectors back to the control panel as well as the slotted panel. Plugged the microwave back in, cleared the message and set the clock. It looks like it's fixed.
I put the top vent panel back in and started preparing dinner. Put something in the microwave and pushed a button. It made some new growling sounds for about five seconds and died. My son offered help with the replacement so I'm going to return the parts I ordered (none of them make any kind of noise) and order a new one.
I sat down to relax and our daughter-in-law called. She and all but one of her children have been vaccinated but she tested positive for COVID-19 anyway. In addition, our oldest grandson, his wife and both of their children have tested positive as well. None of them are sick enough to require hospitalization but they are still pretty damn sick. Gonna live with the garage microwave for another couple of weeks.
gilr
Well-known member
Sorry Bob, sounds like a really expensive part failed, at least it was worth the try. Hopefully the replacement holds up better.
Stay safe.
Stay safe.
Dan, I understand the base price of the first model year was $2090. The GT package came with a 20hp stronger engine and we got a radio, all synchro 4-speed and posi rear so the list price (what I had to pay) was $2,600+. Back then car prices increased astronomically every year so 39% more three years later sounds about right. The idea of adding weight and giving up horsepower was foreign to me so I never even considered air conditioning in a car until Florida became my teacher. My GTO didn't have front disk brakes because the conventional wisdom was the constant drag of the calipers robbed a couple of horses.
gilr
Well-known member
PS, I should have said I hope it holds up better than the Samsung refrigerator! My ice maker still freezes up solid, the next door neighbor finally got someone to repair hers, but it still isn't right, the gasket doesn't line up and frost still builds up on it. Oh well!
Chevy72pu
Well-known member
Bob I love the '68 GTO. I put many a mile on my '69 but never on a set of snow tires. 
Gil, had you not suggested the fuse I would have wasted time and money and still not have known what was wrong. It was definitely the sound of an expensive part going south. Funny thing was the online appliance parts place had the fuses on backorder but had all the more expensive thermostats in stock. I expect I'll be paying them something to take the parts back but I won't have wasted $150+.
Gil, because Liane prefers to get bigger cubes from the standalone garage ice maker, the Samsung has frozen up solid. I can't even pull the bin out. I turned it off on the door control panel a few weeks ago but it looks like I need to aim some hot air in there from my little heat gun.
Chevy72pu, I loved that car right up to the day it tried to run me over. If it had posi and A/C I would probably still have it. When I sold it there was a little rust in the bottom of the rear quarters but the serious rust was at the base of the backlite where water always collected (even in Florida). I always waited for the first snow to fall before I put the snow tires on. Looked silly having the car jacked up in the driveway with white stuff falling on me.Bob I love the '68 GTO. I put many a mile on my '69 but never on a set of snow tires.
gilr
Well-known member
For the ice maker, the repair guy used a portable steamer, said a heat gun will melt the plastic, for what it is worth. Good luck, as I recall you replaced the control board and parts of the ice maker all to no avail apparently. I've had two neighbors, one got a replacement refrigerator and the other, a full refund on the purchase price. May be my next course of pursuit....
shortykorte
Well-known member
Looks like you are staying busy. 
Gil, I have a small Wagner 350watt heat gun with a 3/4-inch nozzle. It's enough to trigger shrink tubing but doesn't put out scorching heat. I can hold my hand in the air stream four inches from the nozzle -- it's hot but I don't think it will melt the plastic. I noticed the exit chute on the ice maker is mostly metal so I'll give it a try after a few more weeks of having the ice maker off.
Stewart, my house, cars and hobbies are making sure I don't slack off too much. A few days ago a schedule 40 PVC union on the sprinkler system split open but luckily there's a gate valve to shut the sprinkler system off without affecting the water to the house. I'm really thankful I put a union in that spot because it's easy to service the solenoid valve when it's plumbed like this.Looks like you are staying busy.
A schedule 80 PVC union is waiting patiently for my attention. It's a bit (50%) more expensive but I believe it will be significantly stronger.
xtremek
Well-known member
I started my first foray into the Samsung world when I purchased my current phone. For all it's reputation, I'm totally disappointed. From the sound of things you guys are saying, their stuff is pretty much junk.
gilr
Well-known member
Phones and TVs seem fine, but appliances, not so much....
Kirk, I too have a Samsung phone, a Galaxy J3 Achieve. I use it about as often as I used to use a pay phone. OK, I do use it as a portable newspaper when I have to wait a half hour after I get my monthly Xolair shots. Ting is my service provider and this year their highest monthly charge was $31 and lowest was $20. That's for two phones (Liane's is an Alcatel Go Flip phone).
Gil, I find the refrigerator and freezer sections of the Samsung are OK but I am not sure any of the manufacturers showed forethought when they put the ice maker in the refrigerator door. I prefer the ice maker in the freezer door of side-by-side boxes but SWMBO insisted on a French Door model. I still cringe every time I open the top door. Liane has been known to pull on things that don't work that way and when they don't respond her way she pulls harder (try pulling on the left door's movable flap seal). Also not a fan of bottom freezers because I have to dig down to the bottom to know what's in there (when did we buy frozen okra???).