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Making do with what I have!

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jbmatth

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Jun 3, 2013
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5,681
Location
Northern Ok.
I've never been into trains, but you are making me want to with that awesome table you're putting together.
JB
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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3,221
Location
Edmonton Alberta
Nothing too exciting here except Shane is now 1, and 1 year anniversary at this job!





My co-worker decided to copy the look of my truck, I approve!







Cleaned up the drag tires and put them in the house for warm winter storage, this keeps them sticky and crack free:



The train set is coming along slowly, almost done the simulated river bed then to pour the fake water 1/4" deep that hardens up to look like water. Have the drag strip roughed out, and pouring the pavement right away. Thin foam is used as the form work for the pavement pour! Have guardrails, bleachers etc on the way!

The roads around the layout will be gravel.



Drag strip staging area crosses over the tracks but some filler smooths out the transition, some pavement over top and it it should be cool.

 
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taumac

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Aug 30, 2011
Messages
8,104
Location
Brooksville, Fl
I need your guys help! Shane needs some tools, to help get him learning about mechanics and motor skills....



13 months old now.







Anyone have any ideas for what to get for him?



Maybe something like this:





That's the cutest picture of him. We had a young couple with a young child just like that. My wifey couldn't stop drooling over him. Gotta love her. She's a VPK teacher and love kids.
 

rixtrix1

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Aug 25, 2013
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3,010
Location
Chandler, AZ (from west NE)
That Scout's tool set is pretty cool as it also includes a project that has a meaningful pattern of learning built right in. Leap Frog has some neat stuff and has been a round a long time. I'd go for it if you can find it.
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
Thanks for the warm thoughts guys! Cooling down here getting some snow soon I think. Had a HUGE deer jump out on the road the other day and damaged my truck again.... Yes last year another deer attacked my truck. Damage is serious, but not too too bad. Gave me an excuse to buy a parts truck to steel body panels from, ordered new fender flares, new bumper brackets, and will bend the bumper back to shape. The parts truck was $500 and has an engine with 50,000 kms but a blown transmission, the guy added the new engine and then gave up on the truck when the trans went out.










 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
My best friend who rents my little house will take off the body panels off the parts truck this weekend but it may be a few weeks till I can get it all fixed up. I have the engine out of my car as well, busy busy!
 

jbmatth

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Jun 3, 2013
Messages
5,681
Location
Northern Ok.
Darn if I were closer I'd be willing to buy the bed/tailgate off of that parts truck for my "new" truck, it is in better shape from what I can tell than mine is. Stinks about the deer, but just think about how bad it would have been without the big bumper.
JB
 

BBChevro

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Jan 24, 2014
Messages
2,235
Location
Brisbane, Qld., Australia
Hey Sean, I just caught up on the thread (I haven't had much on-line time lately)...

That parts truck looks pretty good, and to think it has a low mileage engine as well - I think you've earned a "you ****". :lol:

It is a shame that your truck got bent though. :sad:

Like 1/2cup said, our most common animal problem would probably be kangaroos - I even frequently encounter small ones on my daily commute (part of it is through semi-rural acreage blocks - that's where the 'roos are likely to jump out - I occasionally hit one. :sad:).


The train set/drag strip looks good. :thumbup:


...and last but not least, let me offer a (very) belated happy birthday to Shane. :)
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
Just wanted to say hello to you guys, I am working 7 days a week so no time for anything but do have lots of parts ordered in for my cars and truck... Will update with pics when I get time to get stuff done! :beer:
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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3,221
Location
Edmonton Alberta
Well, GREAT news!

Both my truck and Race car are running well and looking good!

I finally had a few days off so I hit it hard!

Watched the sun come up, very nice!













Got the fender off the parts truck:










Started the engine in the parts truck, it runs nice!





Last pics of the truck before I fixed it:








Note the whole bumper was WAY crooked at least a few inches.




We started with the tractor to help get the bumper straightened out so we could remove the damaged fender:























Just needs the new fender flare installed and then the mud flap and inner fender and its back to 99%.







Then back to working on my car... Put the newly re-surfaced cylinder head back on the car:








Some new street tires I got... Waiting for my new rims to mount them on...

And the black wheels are going to be for dyno only tires, so I do not damage expensive tires on the dyno machine.







Made a fire at the fire pit:












Happy Holidays!!!!

 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
I also had time to measure up a Buick 350 engine I am rebuilding! It only had 35,000 original miles on it but I had to take it apart to put it in Leanne's SUV for transportation across the country a few years back. She told me "no engines in the back of my SUV on this trip"... So I took the engine apart and loaded it up rubbermade bin each day till it was all in the back:

A few years back I yanked a great running Buick 350 out of a car I was parting out due to rust... Here is the engine running in these video, it is bone stock and has 35,000 miles on it. The car was owned by an old guy and it rusted out under the vinyl roof from too much rain in the area and not being garaged.




After I pulled the engine I sat it on the engine stand, removed the plugs, and squirted in a bunch of engine oil then rotated it over a few times and put the plugs back in. This engine was stored at my parents house which is 1200 KM or about 800 miles away from me over a snow covered mountain.

Leanne and I were going back home for X mass anyways so instead of flying like we normally would we decided to drive and take back this engine and some other stuff. My truck is in the shop getting a lift kit so I decided to stuff the Buick 350 in my wives SUV. The first trick to this is not telling her it was a complete engine.... They are just "Engine parts" that happen to be a complete engine together LOL... Bought some rubbermade containers, tore it down and loaded it up.

So if you need to move an engine and don't have a truck to use at the time, steal the wives baby mobile and make it a parts hauler:











I am going to have to make a run to my little house and drop off a few engines.... 5 Buick 350s here in the garage at the house we live in....



Then engine came apart SO easy! Not one bolt was tough to loosen, they all came right out! When I pulled the rocker arms off I was impressed with how tight they are! When I pulled the lifters out they were all looking brand new even after the abuse I put the engine through, same with the cam.

The only thing that needed to be replaced was the timing set, it was LOOSE! So anyone with a stock timing set should think about getting it off and a new one installed. Keep in mind this was with 35,000 miles and it was sloppy.....

The heads looked really nice, and the cylinder bores and pistons all looked like new.

My plan is to rebuild this engine with a custom cam built for turbocharging, re-ring kit from Northern, no machine work, TA intake to save weight, and use it in my 75 Regal when the original engine has an issue after adding the turbocharger.



































 

Vieux

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Jan 31, 2014
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2,519
Location
Russia
It's a good job! Looks like the deer bring you a lot of problems. No, we only have foxes and sometimes wild boars.
 

jbmatth

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Jun 3, 2013
Messages
5,681
Location
Northern Ok.
Man that Iron Cross bumper took a heafty blow, but I'm sure it saved you a lot more potential damage. I'm a huge believer in beefy aftermarket bumpers like that. The property where you plan to build your shop looks beautiful and would be a great place to go relax.
JB
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Edmonton Alberta
Thanks J B here is a video of the land:


And here it the road to the river from there:


And the river just 5 minutes ride/drive from the land.

 
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1969

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Jan 8, 2010
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1,412
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East Coast
Question ...... with the price of crude down a great deal, how has that had an impact on your job? I had friends in the oil-patch that came back east because of it. Also, do you still have the Mustang? Didn't read the whole thread...........
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
Hi there, Yes the Mustang is put away for winter...

Things are really really slow here right now, but things are not effecting me personally right now we are still working flat out 7 days a week 24 hours a day to build a new Oil Refinery and have another year or so left at least.

In the past 6 months I have completed $9000 in education and upgrading to keep my credentials in top order, I find that being competitive means staying ahead of the pack. Another strategy of mine to stay making money is to be diverse in my career options.

I have a 2 year Environmental Diploma and I can always move back into that field if things are slow in the oil/gas/refinery business... One thing that is not going away is the Environmental industry and regulation sector, they are growing fast.

The industry that got completely screwed up is the oil patch drilling operations, when oil prices are down they grind to a halt...

There is a ton of other work that is not related to the actual oil patch and more related to oil refineries and upgraders and it is just way less dependent on the oil prices... The demand for gas and diesel is not decreasing right now anyway.

For example the project we are building currently (quote from NWR):

North West Redwater Partnership is building a world first right here in Alberta. Our bitumen refinery is the only one designed from the ground up to incorporate gasification and a carbon capture and storage solution, setting an international precedent for responsible development.

This project’s integrated and cost effective CO2 management will provide a competitive advantage, proving that Alberta’s energy production, inclusive of oil sands bitumen, can be both globally competitive and environmentally responsible.

The Partnership has secured regulatory approvals (3 phases), completed designs, ordered and received major equipment, awarded contracts, and commenced construction of Phase 1 of a three phase, 150,000 barrels per day bitumen blend refinery that will produce diesel, diluent and other products for the Alberta and world markets.

The Partnership targets to build, manage and operate a 150,000 barrels per day bitumen refinery over three phases. The Phase 1 Construction Sanction announced November 8, 2012 led to construction starting in spring 2013. The Partnership will invest over $8 billion in Phase 1 to produce cleaner, high value end products needed by Albertans and global markets.

Bitumen feedstock for Phase 1 will be provided by Canadian Natural and by the Government of Alberta through its bitumen royalty-in-kind initiative.
 
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jbmatth

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Jun 3, 2013
Messages
5,681
Location
Northern Ok.
That is nice to hear there is at least one new refinery going up, in the US I don't believe there have been any new ones since the 70's. The one I work for and many others have expanded their throughput considerably and continue to evolve to be more competitive.
The environmental side within refineries is becoming huge for us and I'm sure if you wanted to move into that area it wouldn't be that hard of a switch with your background in both refineries and with the environmental degree.
Hopefully you stay busy and employed so you can get your new garage up and going sooner rather than later.
JB
 
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sean Buick 76

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May 7, 2013
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Location
Edmonton Alberta
Thanks for the support JB much appreciated! I saved up most of the $ to build the shop but then held off with things looking so un-stable right now... Better to be on the conservative side I think with a growing family.

Thanks for checking out my stuff guys!
 
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