Above 1200 Sq/FT The Warthog Hidey Hole

[Mike.ASC]

Good news indeed on the lift. What brand will you be getting?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

any reasons you're shooting for a 2-post instead of a drive on 4-post with jack trolleys?

 

[Crzydmnd72]

It was great to meet you and the Cobra there. Glad it wasn't hurt by the short high fever. My sons Grand Prix that he was showing there beside yours decided to stop shifting or even going forward over this weekend, so its sitting without a drivetrain at the moment with everything in the garage. The trans was a ZZP built unit with less than 40k on it, but hasn't exactly seen a grandmas life LOL. We have a donor to go in for now, while the ZZP unit gets overhauled. At least we have some room to detail the engine bay a little further now

 

[jbmatth]

Good news indeed on the lift. What brand will you be getting?

Mike,
I'm not certain on the lift brand he sells but I believe it is Rotary, but it has been a few years since I've talked to him about them.

any reasons you're shooting for a 2-post instead of a drive on 4-post with jack trolleys?

Outlaw,
Mainly for less restrictive access, but never having used a lift before I'm going off what others have said. Recently it seems like if I had the drive on ramps I'd have a tough time getting around them to do all of the work I've needed to do. In the future I'd like to have a 4 post as well, but that will certainly be much further down the line.

It was great to meet you and the Cobra there. Glad it wasn't hurt by the short high fever. My sons Grand Prix that he was showing there beside yours decided to stop shifting or even going forward over this weekend, so its sitting without a drivetrain at the moment with everything in the garage. The trans was a ZZP built unit with less than 40k on it, but hasn't exactly seen a grandmas life LOL. We have a donor to go in for now, while the ZZP unit gets overhauled. At least we have some room to detail the engine bay a little further now

Crazy,
Hopefully the cars fever didn't hurt anything, time will tell I guess. I really need to check the oil and coolant to make sure they aren't mixing. Sorry to hear about the trans issues, but sounds like it'll be a good time for him to get rid of the supercharger and install that turbo he was talking about.
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

what kind of deal for 2 lifts? probably a 9K??

 

[jbmatth]

what kind of deal for 2 lifts? probably a 9K??

Herb,
He works for Rotary Lift which is part of the Dover Corporation. I don't know exactly how much of a discount I could get or even if I could get it on more than one lift. I've mentioned to a few people here at work and at least one other person is interested in getting one at the same time. It would be a lot easier to justify a long drive to pick up 3 lifts spliting the fuel bill. The two I'm considering are the Direct Lift Pro 9F and the Rotary Revolution RTP9. Both are 9,000 lb (~4,100 kg) lifts and every part number is identical except for the "power unit" which is the pump, fluid reservoir, and switch. I'm getting more details from him right now and will let you know what he says.

In other news as mentioned previously (I think) my wife now has a new job and is back managing a hotel. Well the deal was if I bought 1 more vehicle I would have to let her get a new one too. That was a year ago after I bought the yellow car. The next condition of the deal is her job would have to have a good outlook and this one does. Sooooo, on Monday she went to pick it out, her must have list included new, manual trans, AC, power windows, and power locks. Oh and it also had to be a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. We picked it up yesterday:

She looks happy with the purchase:

My favorite part is the hood:

I'd say it fits the bill, it was more expensive than what we wanted but it will stay in our family for many many many many years. Even if she gets tired of it I'll take it over. It is the Sahara package and also has the 75th anniversary package which includes the hood, heated leather/cloth seats, and some electronics stuff that doesn't really matter to me but she likes it. So as they say happy wife happy life, now where is that craigslist link again, I have some shopping to do.
JB

 

[MacTexas]

I just want to be sure I read it right, manual transmission????

 

[jbmatth]

Yes sir manual transmission, she is a rare breed indeed, she doesn't want an automatic of any kind and hates when she has to drive one. She has never owned anything but manuals in her 14 years of driving.
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

Did ya strike oil in your backyard? Nice Jeepy, the hood is similar to the Hummer. Probably a good choice because of where you live, and driving the kids around.
My wife likes the "stick" also. But her reason was it made the car cheaper by a few hundred dollars. Of course that was BBT. "Before Bugthug"
Where did you say the lifts were at?

 

[taumac]

Wow, go away for few days and trucks sells, lifts coming and new vehicle for the wife. Damn son.

 

[Bob Heine]

She looks happy with the purchase:

JB

JB, I suspect she's gonna have that grin on her face for quite a while. Nice Jeep!

 

[jbmatth]

Did ya strike oil in your backyard? Nice Jeepy, the hood is similar to the Hummer. Probably a good choice because of where you live, and driving the kids around.

My wife likes the "stick" also. But her reason was it made the car cheaper by a few hundred dollars. Of course that was BBT. "Before Bugthug"

Where did you say the lifts were at?

Well....there is a well and it has oil, but they haven't pumped it since we moved here. :-( I'm really not sure why she likes manuals more and hates auto. [emoji848])
I don't know where we/I would have to go to pick them up but the company headquarters are in Madison, Indiana.

 

[jbmatth]

Wow, go away for few days and trucks sells, lifts coming and new vehicle for the wife. Damn son.

Now that you say it that way it has been an exciting few days. And is about to get even more exciting.
JB

 

[jbmatth]

JB, I suspect she's gonna have that grin on her face for quite a while. Nice Jeep!

Bob,
I do believe she will, it is pretty slick, I think she will love the 4x4 the first time she uses it.

All, it is about 3:20 am here right now and I'm packing the last of my things before leaving on the HRPT, I'll try to post pictures but may not reply until I get to a computer. Crossing my fingers the cobra gets me there in one piece. (By one piece I mean the car not breaking.)
JB

 

[NedNorton]

JB,

Just checking in...

LIFT!!!!!! Congratulations! They make life easier, for sure. The wife's new toy looks great also. My wife is like yours and Bugthug's, manual transmission all the way. You have to love it! Our wives are in the minority.

Keep cranking along and I'm looking forward to seeing the lift install. Make sure to save room for the Lathe and the Mill. I've been keeping an eye on Craig's List for you (Just in case )!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[BUGTHUG]

Hope you have a safe trip, all sunshine! Is your brother going with you?
If you need any help ,let me know. Have fun,take pictures and find old license plates

 

[jabin]

Congrats on the new car and of course, on your next exciting trip. She is a rare breed, what a great couple you two make!! have a Great Weekend

 

[1/2 Cup]

JB, congratulations on the Jeep.

Mrs 1/2 Cup is a manual transmission type person as well

Regards

 

[Bob Heine]

Manual transmissions are much more common outside the US. I ordered a rental car on a trip to Germany and although I had specified an automatic, they failed to notice the request. When I arrived at the location, they noticed my missing arm and then gave me their only automatic car, a BMW 528i (same rate as the Ford Fiesta). The Autobahn is a wonderful thing and I missed my exit -- three times. I have to say looking down and seeing 200 (kph) on the speedometer is also more impressive than 124 (mph) -- and I wasn't in the passing (fast) lane.

 

[jbmatth]

All,
I am back, I have some fun stories to share but just don't have the time right now to load up all of the pictures from the trip. Quick summery, I visited Herb Spencer (HSpencer) in Arkansas on my way to Hot Springs on the first day of the trip, and what a treat that was. I then made it to New Orleans, Houston, missed Austin, Dallas, OKC, Wichita, and KC with a couple minor things and one major problem. (Which caused me to miss Austin while making the repair. I did hit rain a few times but the worst was in Houston where I had 2" of water standing in the floorboards. All in all ~3,150 miles (5,040 kms) in 9 days of driving, 202.449 gallons of fuel, and lots of memories with friends and family. As I said more to come later this week.

JB,

Just checking in...

LIFT!!!!!! Congratulations! They make life easier, for sure. The wife's new toy looks great also. My wife is like yours and Bugthug's, manual transmission all the way. You have to love it! Our wives are in the minority.

Keep cranking along and I'm looking forward to seeing the lift install. Make sure to save room for the Lathe and the Mill. I've been keeping an eye on Craig's List for you (Just in case )!

Cheers,
Chris

Chris,
If you find a mill that you think I can't live without I'd be interested, but that is a pretty good drive over a weekend, not to say I've never done it before though.

Hope you have a safe trip, all sunshine! Is your brother going with you?
If you need any help ,let me know. Have fun,take pictures and find old license plates

Herb,
Sadly no license plates, there really weren't many places to stop as I had to take mostly interstates because of the problems I was having and no real swap meets at any of the stops.

Congrats on the new car and of course, on your next exciting trip. She is a rare breed, what a great couple you two make!! have a Great Weekend

Jabin,
I am indeed lucky to have such a great and loving wife, it is just a bonus she loves using the stick.

JB, congratulations on the Jeep.

Mrs 1/2 Cup is a manual transmission type person as well

Regards

1/2,
So now we have Mrs. Norton, Mrs. Thug, and Mrs. 1/2 Cup as well as my wife that are into sticks, sounds like we can all pick'em!

Manual transmissions are much more common outside the US. I ordered a rental car on a trip to Germany and although I had specified an automatic, they failed to notice the request. When I arrived at the location, they noticed my missing arm and then gave me their only automatic car, a BMW 528i (same rate as the Ford Fiesta). The Autobahn is a wonderful thing and I missed my exit -- three times. I have to say looking down and seeing 200 (kph) on the speedometer is also more impressive than 124 (mph) -- and I wasn't in the passing (fast) lane.

Bob,
I have a feeling you secertly enjoyed missing those exits didn't you. I agree a manual is more fun unless you are stuck in stop and go traffic with no top, 100°F (~38°C), and a heavy clutch. I could have killed for A/C or at least a top on parts of my trip.

Back soon,
JB

 

[vonhef]

Congrats on the Jeep! Most fun vehicle I have ever owned.

 

[BUGTHUG]

can't wait to see some proof, and tall tells.

 

[Lyndon]

JB

You'd better add in Mrs Lyndon..... Irene has always had manuals, and her 2013 Jetta is so equipped. She prefers to select the gears herself....

Took it away over the weekend (500km or so) and it was a lot of fun.

Lyndon
Just looking in!

 

[jbmatth]

JB

You'd better add in Mrs Lyndon..... Irene has always had manuals, and her 2013 Jetta is so equipped. She prefers to select the gears herself....

Took it away over the weekend (500km or so) and it was a lot of fun.

Lyndon
Just looking in!

Lyndon,
You are indeed a lucky man as well! They are fun little cars to drive, I had to drive a friends wife's Jetta diesel (Manual) for a little while and it was a very nice ride.

Well my trip started off pretty good all in all, I stopped in town to have breakfast with a friend and he snapped this:
View media item 61531
I was off to the open road:
View media item 61530
My first stop was in NW Arkansas to visit Herb Spencer (HSpencer) and his Small 2 Car Garage. I was first greated by a wonderful smell wafting from his home. Only later did I find out that his wife made possibly the best tasting chocolate cake in the world. Only possibly because I haven't tasted everyone's cake, but not for a lack of trying, it certainly was the best I'd ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Later he gave me a tour of his garage even stopping to enjoy an empty cup of coffee.

I took a few pictures to give me some ideas for later:

One of the things that gave me an Ahh Haaaa moment was this:

When doing wood projects you will eventually break the lead on your pencil, that is what a pocket knife is for, or you can think ahead like my friend Herb did and installed a pencil sharpener on his saw where it will be most useful.

He then had some other visitors stop by, his daughter, and grandchildren which included is very talented (art) granddaughter and bright grandson. We visited a bit more and said our goodbyes as I had another 3 hours of driving ahead of me.

As a side note he mentioned no one from the G.J. had ever stopped by before to visit his slice of paradise. If you ever find yourself in the NW Arkansas, S.E. Oklahoma, or S.W. Missouri area you owe it to yourself to pay him a visit.

Thank you again Herb for the cake and true southern hospitality.

More to come,
JB

 

[vonhef]

Sweet ride! Thanks for sharing Herb's place also.

 

[jbmatth]

From there I proceeded to Hot Springs, Arkansas for a family reunion and free nights stay, (thanks Mom and Dad!). I went with my youngest brother outside of Hot Springs for a 2 mile race, my first race since being diagnosed with the buldging discs, where he was 13th overall and I was 17th I believe but was 3rd in my age group so I have another metal to put in a box. LOL

I then proceeded on the 430 mile treck to New Orleans area, I caught up to another brother's in-laws and assisted them do a roadside carb rebuild on their '65 Mustang Coupe. We made it to check-in just after the skies opened up and dumped about an inch of rain on us. Soaked to the bone we checked in and found some cover. I spent the night in NOLA with another friend before heading down the road.

That is when disaster struck! While getting onto I-10 from a pit stop I was on it a little too hard and third gear did this to me:

View media item 61533
View media item 61534
I didn't realize how bad it was until stopping in Lake Charles, La. for lunch and to visit another friend I used to work with. It was grinding, clanking, and rattling like there were rocks everywhere inside the case. I decided to push through and go on to Houston for the check-in but not before having some good Cajun food.

Just as we got parked in Houston the skies opened up again dumping a lot of water on us, everyone tried to leave at once causing a bad jam at the exit. I was stuck waiting in the grass for about an hour and a half. The rain stopped and I hit the road for my cousins house on the east side of Houston to spend the night. Sadly during this rain my phone got wet and wouldn't turn on so no pictures of Houston whatsoever.

Then next morning I did this:
View media item 61532
Out with the broken pieces and back in with the old trans. Because of some assembly issues (I'm ignorant/dumb) I had to do this procedure twice. By that time I didn't have time to make it to Austin for that days check-in so I went on to Dallas to another cousins house.

When morning came I sent an SOS out to the Oklahoma and DFW Mustang groups on Facebook. Within 2 hours I had 4 people with transmissions ready to lend a hand. I picked one up in Dallas, tossed it in the trunk after removing the bell housing and headed back to my cousins house after checking in with the HRPT group.

The next day I hightailed it out at about 5 am to get through Dallas before rush hour. After check-in in OKC I hit it hard again heading home to complete the swap. All went well and I was in great shape for the remainder of the trip to Wichita on Thursday followed by KC on Friday. In Wichita I decided to put my car on the dyno just to know what it made. I should have let it cool down more before running it, of course putting a timing light on it and tuning the carb would have been good ideas as well but oh well. I made 182 Hp. (at 4,500 rpm) and 240 lb-ft of torque (at 3,500 rpm). The power starts to decline above 4,500 and steadily drops to the point where it isn't worth testing any further up. There is definitely room for improvement.

Friday night I visited another friend in Pleasant Hill, Mo. (S.E. K.C.) to do a cruise night in downtown.

View media item 61535
His Fury is the orange car:

Can you tell I didn't wash my car for 2,650 miles?
View media item 61536
I then headed to my Grandparents 60th wedding anniversery on Saturday morning on the N.E. side of K.C. where my wife and daughters joined most of my brothers and their children, while taking a shower this happened:

Looks like they are having fun even if there is a creepy Dale Jr. in the picture.

Sunday morning saw a 4 hour trip home early in the morning while it was still cool out and I was able to manage some work on my truck before my wife and kids showed up to take me out for Father's Day. Truck is now licensed and "ready" to drive legally. I'm having it aligned on Friday and picking up a front bumper on Saturday for a great price. All I plan to do short term after that will be tires and driver door hinge pins with a fender replacement eventually.

Lastly I've made some progress on the lift and have decided on the Rotary Revolution RTP10 lift, it is ALI certified and will fit my all around needs.

That is all for this giant post for now,
JB

 

[jbmatth]

Sweet ride! Thanks for sharing Herb's place also.

Thank you Vonhef, if you have a few minutes you should check his thread out, it is worth the read.
JB

 

[HSpencer]

JB

Again, thanks so much for your visit to our little garage and home. We are pleased your trip was safe, and sorry for your mechanical problems along the way. We hope to visit your own shop and home later in the fall, and look forward to meeting your beautiful family.
The pleasure of having you visit will be long remembered. Mason, my grandson, is already hitting his dad up for a Blue racer without a top LOL, I hope it is awhile yet before I have to worry about that!! He already has a four wheeler and motorcycle so that is bad enough!!!

Thanks again and we hope to see you this fall in your neck of the woods!!

Best Regards
Herb and JoAnne Spencer

 

[WarrenJ]

JB
great post on the trip that special stop to meet Herb.

 

[1/2 Cup]

JB, as above, thank you for sharing it with us.

Regards

 

[jbmatth]

JB

Again, thanks so much for your visit to our little garage and home. We are pleased your trip was safe, and sorry for your mechanical problems along the way. We hope to visit your own shop and home later in the fall, and look forward to meeting your beautiful family.
The pleasure of having you visit will be long remembered. Mason, my grandson, is already hitting his dad up for a Blue racer without a top LOL, I hope it is awhile yet before I have to worry about that!! He already has a four wheeler and motorcycle so that is bad enough!!!

Thanks again and we hope to see you this fall in your neck of the woods!!

Best Regards
Herb and JoAnne Spencer

That would be great to have y'all stop by, I can't guarantee I'll have cake, but I'll do my best to be off of work and ready to show you around our place as well. It was a pleasure to visit you, your family, and see your place. Let Mason know the toys come much easier after college, or after developing a set of skills that are marketable then he can have his own Blue racer without a top. Four wheelers and dirt bikes scare me for a kid because I know what I did on them and shouldn't be here now to write about it, but it sure was fun.

JB
great post on the trip that special stop to meet Herb.

Thank you Warren, and welcome to the Warthog Hidey Hole saga, it will be one I'll be working on for many many many years to come.

JB, as above, thank you for sharing it with us.

Regards

Thanks for the visit 1/2 and the kind words, once you are all trained up on your UAV you can fly it over here and take some airial photos of my place, the batteries will last for that trip right?
JB

 

[HSpencer]

JB


You may want to hop back by here. This one is an Irish Sour Cream Vanilla with Buttercream and Walnut icing.

Not to worry, I will cover for you. Somebody's got to do it!

Best Regards
Herb

 

[taumac]

JB, I'm sorry but havnt had time to sit down to read about your trip. From the post it sounds like good times. Sorry to hear about your trans issues. Are you going rebuild it or get another? So do you ready just drive the rain or find a bridge to sit under? The picture of saying you havnt cleaned your car reminded me of the Cobra in Cannonball Run. LOL

I'm super jealous you got to see Herb and his shop. I owe a lot to Herb and few choice members on the GJ for keeping me here on the GJ when looks like I was giving up on it.

I'm really glad to read about your trip and wish it was something I could do especially in a cobra.

 

[jon72vega]

JB,
Looks like you had a great time on the Powertour in spite of the transmission issues.
Looks like the visit with Herb Spencer was fun as well.

I'm jealous!

 

[Grumblebum]

Lol I even know who Dale Jr. is.

He was on as a guest on treehouse masters one episode.

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat cake+coffee in Herbs shop. Good that you took some time out JB and didn't let mechanical issues beat you. ****** driving without a roof though in the rain - you can keep that.

Cheers GB.

 

[jbmatth]

JB


You may want to hop back by here. This one is an Irish Sour Cream Vanilla with Buttercream and Walnut icing.

Not to worry, I will cover for you. Somebody's got to do it!

Best Regards
Herb

Herb, Drop it in the mail and I'll let you know how well it held up.

JB, I'm sorry but havnt had time to sit down to read about your trip. From the post it sounds like good times. Sorry to hear about your trans issues. Are you going rebuild it or get another? So do you ready just drive the rain or find a bridge to sit under? The picture of saying you havnt cleaned your car reminded me of the Cobra in Cannonball Run. LOL

I'm super jealous you got to see Herb and his shop. I owe a lot to Herb and few choice members on the GJ for keeping me here on the GJ when looks like I was giving up on it.

I'm really glad to read about your trip and wish it was something I could do especially in a cobra.

Taumac,
I've already replaced the broken trans, I picked one up in Dallas as I was making a stop there, then headed through Oklahoma City for another stop and swapped it out at home before finishing the trip. I have the old one just taking up space for the time being, I probably won't rebuilt it as it just wouldn't be worth the time and money, perhaps making it into a sink:

In the future I plan to upgrade the engine in the car and the Borg Warner T-5 just won't be strong enough to handle that much power, even built 450-500 hp is the limit and with that much money in parts I could buy a TKO 600 that is good for around 600.

I just drove in the rain, I had rainx on the windshield and slowed way down which made it manageable. I really enjoy that scene in Cannonball Run with the Cobra and Ferrari racing in the aqua-duct in the water and mud.

You should take the trip up to this area, you could hit Herb's place, mine, and Herb's (Bugthug) in a day as well as others I'm sure.

I wouldn't reccomend doing this trip in a Cobra in the rain and heat, but if it were 10-20°F cooler perhaps.

JB,
Looks like you had a great time on the Powertour in spite of the transmission issues.
Looks like the visit with Herb Spencer was fun as well.

I'm jealous!

Jon04,
is what caused my issues.

Lol I even know who Dale Jr. is.

He was on as a guest on treehouse masters one episode.

I think you'd be hard pressed to beat cake+coffee in Herbs shop. Good that you took some time out JB and didn't let mechanical issues beat you. ****** driving without a roof though in the rain - you can keep that.

Cheers GB.

GB,
It was a great trip all in all and I surely enjoyed the visit and the cake.

All,
Little update on the truck B.P. 2.0, I have a few things coming up in the next few days on the truck, I'll take it in for an alignment on Friday (tomorrow) then Saturday I'm headed down to OKC to pick up a BIG bumper, then next week I'm getting tires and a tune with 5 position switch installed. It looks like I'll have to replace the power steering pump pretty soon as well as maybe the starter and flywheel as they grind a little too often. That will be about it but those aren't pressing issues for now and can wait a few weeks while I catch up on other stuff around the house and get some work done on Bugthug's hearse.

A little info on the tune I'm having installed on the truck. The LBZ Durmax engine makes 360 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque from the factory. With the 5 position switch called a DSP 5 I can select 5 different tunes that can be switched as I drive down the road. Most likely I'll pick a stock tune, optimized for fuel economy tune, heavy tow, light tow, and "just shy of breaking parts" tunes. The one thing I hate about diesel trucks and people who drive/tune them is the black smoke, all that is saying to me is they are injecting too much fuel for the air available and it isn't all burning, if you do that you are a jerk and not my friend. Therefore, I will not let the tuner install a tune that makes it smoke like a tire fire. The great part is once that is done I'll have the ability to select a new program as I drive up to around +140 hp and +230 lb-ft of torque so I'll have ~500 hp and ~880 lb-ft of torque which makes me smile really big.

Side note lb-ft and ft-lb are both measures of torque but aren't interchangeable. An engine (fuel powered) or motor (electric) are measured in lb-ft, when tightening bolts you are measuring in ft-lb. *End soapbox*
JB

 

[BUGTHUG]

JB, whats the story with the lifts? Could you e-m me on how much they cost? I would like to buy one, just not sure if I have the mad money to buy it
I still need to get a part list so I can get some new parts here, I'm sure you want to get that beast out of your hut? OK, whats the story on the brother, is he at your farm?

 

[don long]

Don't you just love a good old road trip and the broken ****** just adds to the experience. You will have this story to tell for years to come.
I know that every road trip I take something happens to make it memerable

Enjoyed the sharing of Herbs place too

Don

 

[jbmatth]

JB, whats the story with the lifts? Could you e-m me on how much they cost? I would like to buy one, just not sure if I have the mad money to buy it
I still need to get a part list so I can get some new parts here, I'm sure you want to get that beast out of your hut? OK, whats the story on the brother, is he at your farm?

Herb,
Thanks, for stopping by, as you can see it has been interesting around here. The lift is still in the works and I'm afraid I might not be able to swing it with some recent learnings on the issues my truck is having. I'll probably just go ahead and order it that way I'll have it but just may not be able to install it until some more time and money comes my way after our summer outage coming up in July through August which means lots of long days and short free time.

Don't you just love a good old road trip and the broken ****** just adds to the experience. You will have this story to tell for years to come.
I know that every road trip I take something happens to make it memerable

Enjoyed the sharing of Herbs place too

Don

Don,
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it was certainly a wonderful experience, but one I don't plan to repeat for a while as it was miserable at the same time. I didn't mind the ****** going out, it really wasn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, but sure could have been if it locked up on me.

JB

 

[sean Buick 76]

Good updates, nice work. I can see that huge grin on your wives face clearly! Good stuff keep us posted.