Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

[xtremek]

................I think we are only going to have 10 or so years before they outlaw Diesel engines completely, probably similar timeframe before it becomes too expensive to get insurance on any vehicle that won’t drive itself...........

I don't think IC engines are going away that fast, rural folks need range that electric won't be able to provide, either because of infrastructure or battery technology. Heck, I still have problems getting cell reception and good internet, let alone charging stations.

Also, autonomous vehicles still need a ton development. Cities and suburbia where clearly defined roads are pretty easy, but going off-road to work on ag equipment in the field or radio towers, where the surface isn't clearly demarcated or consistent will limit their use. Shoot, traction control still needs human intervention now and then. Had my Sonic stall in the middle of a snow covered intersection because traction control throttled the engine too far back. My guess is about 30-40 years.

 

[Bighead38]

I have to agree. 30-40 years is a minimum imo. No way they make autonomous vehicles mandatory in 10 years. Reading auto websites even the experts and engineers agree we are no where close.


I have had multiple obs trucks and worked on a ton more. I don’t think the dash swap would make you that much. Personally I prefer the older dash. I think the best money would be rust free trucks built with an ls if you could figure out how to do it cheap. I know I want an obs with the ls. The past year or two I feel like all I have worked on is obs ford pickups so I have gotten to know those trucks pretty well. I wouldn’t mind a rust free one with a good motor in it.

 

[shortykorte]

From a global fuel availability perspective, diesels will be around awhile.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[xtremek]

We can't dictate the speed of science and technology, just how hard we work at moving it. Think of trying to drag a 5th wheel across N. Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, or Montana with a pickup.

 

[steaks&anvils]

Also, autonomous vehicles still need a ton development.

Yep 40yrs from now if ever.

How much of america can afford a NEW car? One that drives it's self?

The woman at the desk next to mine, she sends out the quarterly newest updated FEMA flood maps to all the town/counties/cities in a good chunk of AMERICA. She mails them on disc and hard copy. That's because many of the towns don't even have wired internet yet. Just dial up.

GPS does not work in places where the satellite orbits are too low on the horizon or that buildings and mountains interfere with or are in too remote an area to warrant coverage. I have worked projects where this was an issue. Both for communications and mapping.

The last building my company had, we had cell service problems for most of the carriers. No one had reception at this workstations. FYI this building was across the parking lot from the city police station.

I ask the people who want a self driving car: "do you still have your cell phone call get dropped sometimes?" I just get a blank look. I then ask: "what is so important that you do, that you cannot pay attention to driving?" again crickets.

I did overhear two people on the bus discussing ham radios. They were saying that the government was phasing out commercial AM radio so that they can use that band width for the self driving cars. Crazy bus riders.

I return you all to the previously scheduled programming.

 

[Strouty]

I think you guys are underestimating things. I don’t think all IC engines are going away just diesel, gasoline engines will still be used to charge the batteries in your hybrid. Electric trucks are going to be more powerful, the torque is instantly available, making hills feel like flat ground. Regular cars will be out there, but a normal person will not be able to afford the insurance, plus they will make highways specifically for the autonomous cars and trucks, then you will either need to buy one or use a ride share or public transit. Technology is advancing insanely, look at planes and auto pilot, Tesla can already park and retrieve your car with no driver. As for other places in the world, they aren’t as beholden to the People’s Republic of CA like we are and that makes the biggest difference.

 

[jakemac]

Autopilot -
One word - Boeing
They can’t even get their planes to stop killing their pilots.


Sent from my iPad using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[steaks&anvils]

All we need is for someone to pay for all the new infrastructure.

here in denver, they have been collecting tax for the lightrail since 1973. politics has made it go to parts of the town that no one wants to go to. A new stretch of line, zig-n-zags into and out of the city of aurora, that it takes forever to get anywhere. So no one rides it, they are thinking of shuttering that line (2 yrs old). The train to the airport stops functioning too often. The buses and trains are not in sync, so either way you ride to meet one, you have to wait. One is leaving as one is arriving. If they can't sync a bus and a train, how will a car drive by it's self? A third of my part of town has no buses to get to the light rail, yet we have to pay taxes for it. How long will people put up with that?

Also, because it is so hard to ride, people drive instead, so the entire public transportation system is going bankrupt.

politics.

FYI, I like riding the bus/train. It adds 1hr to my commute a day though. and the bus that stops at, literally, the end of my driveway, doesn't run after 7pm or on the week ends.

damn, I think i need a ladder to get off this soapbox.

 

[Strouty]

I still think it will happen faster than we want it to. The US has taken every opportunity to demonize and tear down diesel vehicles, the emissions system are making newer vehicles less reliable, my friend runs a bus company and he interacts with several local municipalities, the busses that are always having trouble are the new ones, the ten year old busses are used as “back up” more often than imagined.

I think that the electric vehicle is totally the way we should be going, but they need a charging system or generator, people worry about range and power, but a locomotive is essentially a big electric hybrid and those go long distances and haul a few pounds.

 

[Strouty]

Also, to move a bit back on target, I ordered some of the H2 hummer rims today and tomorrow I am going to pick up some rims and tires for one of the other burbs.

 

[Firebrand]

Thank God Strouty posted something about buying/selling and/or parts as this thread was about to become another sidetracked well of dispair like the 'Awesome' or 'WTF' picture threads that drift sideways with conversation instead of the meat and potatoes the titles promise.

 

[Strouty]

Posting this so I don’t disappoint everyone else. Bought some parts this morning from my friends uncle, paid too much, for the condition, but after some cleaning and weeding out there should be some salvageable parts. There are more doors, fenders, and a hood I still have to pick up, but there are a few parts that make it worth buying, I just wish I hadn’t paid so much.



I should clarify, that these parts are going to sit outside for a while, they came from a house that smelled like an ashtray. Thought I was going to die when I had them in the burb.

 

[steaks&anvils]

Is the house on the hill unoccupied?

Can you set up a room there that you can use to ozone those parts? or maybe get enough airflow to "air them out" while still allowing to have the parts be out of the weather? They would be out from underfoot and yet still safe.

I think that the used car parts industry is one of the largest industries in America? Obviously, you would specialize in 'Burb parts, but with the internet, you might have another revenue stream. Setup a simple website, list what you have "available" and take requests (you never know what people want). My ex-wife paid $40 a piece for plastic wheel hub covers for her yukon, after the brakes overheated and they melted.

I know there are people who are already doing this, but ****, if you already have the parts laying around, then WTF? Plus, you can show people what you are building, what is for sale, solicit people to sell you their 'burbs, all from a platform that they use to come to you for "parts". You know, let the "parts" drive your website traffic.

Of course, then you need a dedicated shipping/packaging room too. And a parts storeroom for parts you have pulled but do not want to store outside.

This is not a ploy to get you down another rabbit hole, but a suggestion to help you dispose of and make a little money from what you already have or will have. And to make contacts among the 'Burb crowd. You want them to buy a few parts, then when they are selling their truck, you want them to think to themselves: "Hey, I got this seat from the 'Burb Man (he gave me a good deal), maybe he will buy my truck?"

You never know, everyone or business has to start somewhere.

 

[Strouty]

I have been young with ideas like this for a long time. Problem that is recurring is that I have too many irons in the fire right now and you need to be pretty dedicated to start anything like that. I do think I will be going back to an all eBay type venture before too long, but right now I need to get myself situated a little better.

My GF and I have decided that in order to do the renovations on our house it would be much more effective if we just move into the house on the Hill like we originally planned. I have a lease good through June of 2022 and by then I feel I will either have a deal made to purchase the house or we will just move back into our current house. We had intended to do this, but rent the original house out for a while, then when we were ready to build a new house on the Hill, we could move to the rental property while we built the new house.

 

[thatphatphuck]

Read (most) of this thread. Some awesome stuff happening in here.

I just built my first gmt400 and am also looking forward to what prices do over the next few years while I drive and maintain it.



Can you tell me about this structure? Do you build these?

 

[86turbodsl]

As usual, i'm late to the party...

On IC engines - they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. This is my chosen industry and field of expertise. The electric / autonomous push that just got insane about a year ago, is pushed by the powers in charge, not by public demand or necessity. I have a feeling it was coming from the chinese, but some engineer must have finally gotten the numbers in front of the right people because the rhetoric has significantly moderated in the last few months.

The reality is, there is simply no replacement for liquid chemical energy storage, no matter how bad the green intelligentsia want it. At least currently. My estimate of how much batteries would need to improve to make serious inroads would be about 10X storage density. I hear about some companies working on over the road trucks with batteries only and i swear they must not have any engineers working on the project, either that or no accountants. The other thing is, where is all this energy going to come from? All the mobility we currently get was from thousands of years of stored sunlight in oil/coal form. We going to cover the earth with solar panels?
Better start praying for fusion generators.

Sorry, i digress. It's a hot button issue for me. Back to more 'burb retrievals and dad stories.

 

[Strouty]

No problem 86, always an interesting topic.

PhatPhuck (that was fun to type), that structure was a “silo”, when I went looking for it, I half expected it to be the type holding corn. This was about 45’ square and 120’ tall, it was all concrete, generator room at the bottom, metal staircase up to about 100’, that was the living quarters, then there was a radio room above that with a hatch to access the roof. They were used as point to point communications as a link from one area to another area, the signal would go 25 miles to another site, they used the concrete square silo because it doesn’t twist or flex as much as other construction types and that was really important to keep the path of the signal connected.

 

[Higgins]

As for autonomous vehicles still need a ton development.

Right now there are a few routes across the us that these trucks can drive. IF, and it's a BIG IF, autonomous vehicles are to go forward the US is going to have to make some major improvement to infrastructure! The 1st portion will require a total upgrade to the US cell services, to allow communications with the trucks. I've driven RT66 several time and there are a lot of long dead spots along RT 40 in all states from CA all the way to TN. In addition to that, in a lot of rural areas cell svc is only available within a couple of miles of the major highways.

Then moving on to the road info structure, once you get off the interstates, road surfaces are not wide enough to accommodate the Big Semis, or double or triple trailers. Again states and counties don't have the $$$ to maintain the roads they are responsible for now, let alone upgrade the roads for both width and weights.

Corvette Cove TN
Located on a mountain top somewhere in TN

 

[Strouty]

I am back at the SG, had to do some errands, then I need the bigger dump trailer so I can get the rest of the parts I bought this morning, plus I want to get everything ready so I can sell the trailer. I also am going to try and get the plants watered over at the tower, hope to get those planted next week, I used the round up to kill the weeds, but honestly it didn’t seem to have done much after three days, hopefully it will be better after a week.

I am looking over a few things that I need to get listed on eBay, stuff from the warehouse clean out, looks like there could be some decent profit, just need to get my act together.

Right now I am essentially killing time until traffic dies down, 4:15 - 5:30 ***** around here, especially on Fridays. At least it is cool in the shop, unlike everywhere else I have been today.

 

[Strouty]

I called a local company that sells lots of clothes, had to leave a message, but I wanted to see if they would be interested in buying the security tags from me as a bulk lot, would be nice to get them all gone at once. I still see them selling on eBay, but not really a hot item, especially right now. Looks like 1000 will get about $75 after fees, I am guessing that I have probably close to half a million of them. Seems crazy that there are that many, but they are pretty compact. I figure the loose ones will be estimated by weight, there seem to be lots of brand new bags of them and boxes of new pins. I don’t want to dig into things too much tonight, all I will do is make a mess.









The printers do seem to sell, but it looks to me like the parts are worth a lot more than the whole, they will be easier to store as well. Recent sales indicate the print heads (used) sell for $125 and then there are the main boards, screens, power supplies, and these have wireless cards too. I will test things out, then pull them apart, scrap the rest and it will take up a tenth of the space.

 

[Strouty]

I ran down a rabbit hole, now I will be lucky to be home before dark. Oh well, definitely seeing some high prices on some of the things that I need to sell, probably need to spend a couple days digging things out and getting good pictures. I may even haul the new blue trailer up to the Hill so I can start working on making it into my eBay hub (long term goal).

 

[Strouty]

Still need to get the hood and for the record, those doors are heavy and awkward when the windows are rolled up. I always roll them dow before removing them.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

If you really want to have fun, run around a store and drop those tags into women's purses!

 

[Strouty]

That actually would be fun.

Only problem is that they would set things off when I go in the store.

 

[casmurbax]

You just need to bring them into the store in something like this.




Faraday box

 

[mybigwarwagon]

That actually would be fun.

Only problem is that they would set things off when I go in the store.

Wrap them in aluminum foil.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I am back at the SG, had to do some errands, then I need the bigger dump trailer so I can get the rest of the parts I bought this morning, plus I want to get everything ready so I can sell the trailer. I also am going to try and get the plants watered over at the tower, hope to get those planted next week, I used the round up to kill the weeds, but honestly it didn’t seem to have done much after three days, hopefully it will be better after a week.
.

I use a mix of RM18 and RM48 from TSC on the mean weeds. I put the full amount per gallon of each in a gallon of water. In a few days they're turning dead and brown. And they stay that way. Use it very sparingly.

 

[Strouty]

I haven't been over to see what the plants look like yet, probably make it over there today. I need to water the new ones so they don't die on me before I get them planted.

It is once again, hot, go figure.

I am trying to make a bit of room at the Hill to get the other dump trailer inside so I can swap things around from the bigger one that I am selling to the smaller one. I would just leave it outside, but I have a lot going on with trailers and stuff, so it is kind of tight space wise. Just went and picked up some new mounts for the hood mirrors on Perk, supposed to be stainless steel, except they used regular bolts and washers. Even the smaller parts are magnetic stainless, so now I still have to get stainless steel hardware, another thing to do next week. I really wanted to mount these mirrors, but I don't want to do it twice, so I will wait for the stainless hardware. It is starting to seem like there is no way to finish anything these days. I accumulate parts and still need more, meanwhile I lose other parts, or can't find the new ones. Typical and I don't feel like I am being a perfectionist, I just feel that if you have stainless steel brackets, you should also have stainless steel hardware, kind of defeats the purpose, or am I crazy?

 

[casmurbax]

I get the hardware on the mirrors, that would drive me nuts as well.

Misplacing parts seems to be a thing. I too have to many places where I put "the parts box", garage, second garage, cellar or shed.

 

[Strouty]

Yesterday we had an appliance repairman come to the house for our freezer, apparently the freezer door may have been partially open, creating moisture on the condenser, so it froze into a block of ice, including the fan. So we had to defrost it, emptied the freezer, GF brought all the non meat stuff up to the house at the Hill, hopefully it will fix the issue and we don't end up needing a new fridge.

I have been up at the Hill for a couple hours now, decided I was going to hang the mirror at the sink, looked like ***, had to readjust it, then I decided to mount my new soap dispenser, after that I decided to try and fix the leg that fell off the sink, and then I decided to clean the sink. Now I can actually wash my hands and face before leaving without having more of a mess. I can say one thing for sure, I would prefer the sink to be up higher, I am hunched over just a bit and my back doesn't like it, especially while cleaning the tub out. I am almost ready to back the little dump trailer inside, then I am going to the tower to water the plants, then I have to pick up the hood and deliver it to the SG, the back to the Hill.

I want to measure my chains for the excavator and get some made up to fit perfectly, or close to it, the way it gets strapped down is the same on all trailers so the chains should work across the board (technically right now I only have one trailer to haul it with anyways). Then I can unload the Mitsu and maybe even do a couple things with it. I do need to grease the blade joints, so I might as well grease the whole machine.

Once it starts to cool off, I may start attacking the chimney removal on the house, that way next week we can fix the roof. That reminds me, I have one of those pop up shelter things, might be a nice tool for this job.

The sink area:

 

[Strouty]

Wait, Dad has decided to change my day for me, isn't that nice??

Now I need to reverse things and do a few more things that I hadn't been planning on, of course he isn't here yet and he is going to eat lunch before he leaves, I had planned on getting mine on the way to the tower, so now I have to wait a couple more hours for lunch, sounds good, right?

 

[Strouty]

Spent the last couple hours messing with these timbers for Dad’s dock project. Didn’t think I would make it up the hill from the Quonset but, so we tried to pull the trailer with the army dump truck, that didn’t work, don’t understand my trailer, no maxi brakes, but it doesn’t move without air? Anyways, Dad wanted to tie me up the hill, so we had to put tow hooks back on Perk, in the end, I made it up the hill with a bit of speed shifting and some tire spinning, but didn’t need to tow it. Just wish I had planned on it, no lunch really *****, now I am over at the tower ready to setup watering the plants.



The next argument Dad and I will have is going to be if he doesn’t get my trailer unloaded, I need it tomorrow to try and move Clark up to the Hill, assuming I can get the shed moved.

 

[Strouty]

Plants are watered, weeds are dying really well, I think a rake will take care of 75% of them. Also was able to move the shed, definitely would have been a PITA without Clark. Even cleared the telephone wires, had to scrape a bit, but the popped over the roof.

















Now I need to go and get the hood that I couldn’t fit last night, then bring it to the SG. Then I think it will be time for some food, lunch has evaded me completely at this point.

 

[Strouty]

I guess I haven’t been paying attention to the weather, I will not be removing the chimney until after the remnants of the hurricane passes us. That would just be asking for trouble, guess tomorrow will be a clean the shop day. Just so you guys know, there are a bunch of things that I want to buy on Facebook marketplace right now, so far I am doing well resisting, not sure how next week will go.

Just in case I fail, the things I am interested in are:

A Wain-Roy wrist with two buckets for the Mitsu

An old power hacksaw that works

Two “headache” crane balls

A trailer that has 16” tires with air brakes rated for 10 ton (rough, but very cheap)

A 5000 pound capacity hyster forklift

A 2002 rust free HD series 3500 diesel

A clear span shelter that is cheap, but I would have to take it down

A two tone blue with blue interior suburban

There are other things, but those are my top items and in no specific order either. My back is feeling yesterday’s door moving extravaganza, so I am probably going to call it a night, need to get food anyways.

 

[bimmer1980]

Interesting......

If anything on that list requires any work, pass on it!!! Especially the power hack saw.... If you need to cut, buy a nice band saw and be done with it.

If you have to take down the Quonset hut, it probably is not worth it... Double the work and you still need some type of foundation....

Remember, the total cost of something is far more than the initial cost.

The attachment for the excavator sounds interesting....if you have a use for it and it does not require any fixing or upgrades to attach to your excavator....

You are making progress! Even tho the gears aren't what you want in the current truck, it is great to see you actually using it!!!!!!!!

 

[Strouty]

The excavator wrist is what I am most interested in, it will need modifications to fit, but it is a one time deal, then you can switch between the cleanup bucket and the digging bucket quickly. Basically it gives me the ability to tilt the bucket to either side 45 degrees and still scoop or dump like it would normally. It is great for doing sides of hills and drainage ditches. I have been eyeballing this one for a while, it is in Rhode Island, but I think it is a really good deal and I will probably pay less than asking price due to how long it has been for sale.

The power hacksaw is fully functional, I have wanted one for years, I have a bandsaw so it is totally just a “want it” item.

Other stuff is good deals, like really good. The forklift is not running, but they want $500 OBO, I would need to pay to have it hauled though, so it would probably cost me a grand, it is a 2004 and looks great, could be something dumb.

 

[steaks&anvils]

You Dad's dock lumber looks good. Is that some of what you all "Saw milled" your selves? If it is yours, you guys did a great job on it.

I vote for the "old power hacksaw that works". Treat yourself. Are blades available for it? I ask because I have no clue how they work, short of the few I've seen on GJ.

IMHO, anything that makes ditch digging easier must be good.

 

[Strouty]

The lumber was all ours, it varies a bit and some has a slight taper, but it should be fine for the dock.

Power hacksaw has extra blades and they should be available to buy new. They actually work pretty well, plus they are cool, at least I think so.

 

[shortykorte]

You have to get the crane balls.

Person: man you must have balls of steel
Strouty: I sure do.

Those power hack saws are cool. This guy uses one to make this cart.

Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Strouty]

I changed directions, been looking for a walk behind bush hog, found one listed last night, going to get it today, will get paid to use it ASAP, then it will be free.