Above 1200 Sq/FT The Warthog Hidey Hole

[jbmatth]

As I have tried to do every year it is now time for my year in review for projects around the place loosely garage related. Early in the year I posted the winch I got mounted on the Pink Jeep:

Sadly, we then had a big fire at work that took me out of the garage for a couple months. I was able to get the winch back in working condition by installing a contactor in place of the old relay setup and also started the engine install into the go cart:

Start with that, add this:

Wham bam you get this:

I ended up doing a lot more wiring work and added headlights and blinkers and it runs now just fine, but as usual I haven't gotten any photos of it in the current state.

The next big project to enter the shop was the Chitbox Festiva, Rev.1 as purchased:

After lots of rework on the suspension, installing a cage, a bumper, and a few other odds and ends, oh yeah and putting them on a different car I had this:

That then allowed me to participate in 3 different Gambler 500 events and even finished the last one in Kansas late this year:

More to come...

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Next on the list was to install the engine in the cobra from when I pulled it in 2018:

Even though this was the second rebuild on the engine it would come back out one more time due to:

But like all things in life, persistence paid off and attempt 3 has been a success so far and sounds so much better:

It looks so good and is so much fun to drive:

It was in the middle of pretty much all of the above projects I helped a friend put an upgraded axle under his '68 Mustang. That wasn't the last thing we would do on his Mustang this year, but that part is still a secret so no photos just yet.

I did manage a few small projects I didn't take photos of or there are too many to mention, or maybe I just can't find them, don't judge. As an example, I replaced the engine in my Stihl MS170 after using it for many many more hours than it was designed for, I also bought a new bigger step brother for it:

In the early days of the 'rona I slipped away to Kansas City and bought a new truck that has been great and very comfortable:

Unlike most of my vehicles I didn't do much to this one, tinted the windows a hair, put in bed liner, and had all of the emblems removed.

I also got a kick to get some more car audio back in my life, rather than like in high school when I would have 2 12" (300mm) subwoofers I bought 1 good (not great) 12" sub and a good (not great) amp to go along with them. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of components you could get today for the cost compared to 15-20 years ago. Here is one of the subs I upgraded to after a cheap CL one failed:

More to come...
JB

 

[jbmatth]

This year I was slightly down on vehicles purchased compared to recent years, I only bought 5 vehicles this year, the aforementioned 2 Festivas, the '14 Silverado, and this '00 Silverado:

The coolest part was it was manual transmission, 4wd, and v8. Sadly the transfer case needed to be replaced, that is when I learned the output shaft for the manual was different than the auto transmissions:

I also found a friend selling a 9k winch and bumper for a Ford Ranger that I cut to bits and modified it to use on this truck:

Having two vehicles with a winch has been quite handy at times. The last vehicle purchase this year was the '79 CJ-7 with an AMC 360 v8 and manual trans:

It looks good hanging out with a few of the other vehicles hanging around the ranch as well:

I did a bunch of rewiring work with shrink wrap on all connections, and it even works great:

Many projects this year involved the use of the John Deere 4010 I was able to get running early in the year:

More to come...

JB

 

[jbmatth]

The tractor was instrumental in being able to accomplish stuff I could never do by hand, or not in the timeframe at least. One such example is a "small" pile of "small" concrete blocks:

I filled this trailer with 4 scoops of concrete debris:

There were 2 trailers total before I just started driving the tractor with full buckets back one at a time, I used along with an auger to put up the fence for the girls horse:

This also gave me an excuse to use the winch on both the Pink Jeep and Lever Action which is way easier than using a come-a-long.

I also used the tractor to put up the poles for the barn that is finely nearing completion:

Alex and I had our normal Power Tour trip canceled so we took a quick trip to Colorado to see some mountains, have some microbrew beer, and enjoy high altitude trail running:

I also decided to get the ol' Model B back in running condition:

Mostly it was fuel related, but a new battery and it was ready to get back to work:

More to come...

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Before the Oklahoma Gambler 500 I picked up a slightly used mini-bike:

Later on I took the 105cc engine out and installed a 212cc engine and a Stage 1 upgrade kit:

That took the top speed from 24 mph (38 kph) to 43 mph (69 kph).

The latest project I can share this year is the can crusher, fun project I'll get to use for years to come:

We also had our fair share of interesting weather this year including an ice storm:

And a snow storm:

We are expected to get some more snow/ice tonight to ring in the new year with some excitement!

More to come...

JB

 

[jbmatth]

I tried to save the best for last, and the reason I'm able to get as much accomplished every year, the girls. Cat seams to want to hang out with me doing shop stuff such as on the Festiva when I got it home:

Playing with the mini bike before I made it too fast:

And even riding on her great great grandfathers tractor:

Bear is all about being around and playing if we are playing with the Pink Jeep:

Or cruising in the Pink Jeep:

Or even riding with mama in the Pink Jeep:

They really do love living out here and playing in the wide open. This year was a lot of firsts for them such as the aforementioned ice storm, snow fall and of course getting their first horse...and second horse:

That is all for now, I skipped a lot of little things, ya'll have a great day, happy new year, and as always keep moving forward!

JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Have a safe and Happy New Year JB!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

There is no better life for kids than a country life.

 

[jbmatth]

Have a safe and Happy New Year JB!

Thank you Outlaw, so far so good.

There is no better life for kids than a country life.

I agree, and they learn to drive much sooner than living in town.

JB

 

[Sifan]

Not only do they learn to drive sooner, they learn how they learn how to service and repair.

Before my Daughter could get her drivers license she had to know how to check the fluids and when to change them, how to change a tire, what jumper cables were and how to use them.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I agree, and they learn to drive much sooner than living in town.

JB

Heath is 8, and has mastered the tractor, and even my weird Ransomes XT3100. I have started letting him move junkers a bit. HE is still to short to see out of them though.

 

[jbmatth]

Not only do they learn to drive sooner, they learn how they learn how to service and repair.

Before my Daughter could get her drivers license she had to know how to check the fluids and when to change them, how to change a tire, what jumper cables were and how to use them.

That is one of the prerequisites I have as well, at least do the basic stuff, we currently live about 30 miles from where they go to school so the odds of having something go wrong when we aren't close is pretty high. I sure hope they go along with it and start driving themselves, it'll make my life easier, but probably more stressful.

Heath is 8, and has mastered the tractor, and even my weird Ransomes XT3100. I have started letting him move junkers a bit. HE is still to short to see out of them though.

My girls can drive power wheels, but can't reach the pedals in anything we have yet. We've let them sit on our laps and steer while we work the pedals and keep them out of the ditches.

JB

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: Happy new year and hoping you and your family's 2021 is a great one.

I remember sitting on my gramps lap on his old D9 dozer cutting logging roads when I was 6 about 59 years ago and then it was sitting on parents and grandparents laps while I steered so by the time I was 12 I was driving my dad's 63 VW bug around the city blocks in my neighborhood anytime i could snag the keys. it's great to learn how to drive a manual/stick cause if they own one they won't get stolen cause those idiots can't drive one.

girls and you look very happy so keep up the good work!!

 

[loganb]

My girls can drive power wheels, but can't reach the pedals in anything we have yet. We've let them sit on our laps and steer while we work the pedals and keep them out of the ditches.

This resonates with me as my 2-ish year old was steering a 370HP tractor in my lap a couple weekends ago at the farm but doesn't even have a powerwheel yet....and she did a great job! Told her left and she went left, same with right and straight!

Really like the year in review and summary...and I laugh everytime Chitbox comes up!

 

[Grizz1963]

Massive grin here for all of your projects and updates,

The summary makes it so easy to forget the hours spent,

How many days I chat to you at 03.00 when you are already in the shop, working, building.


Last update with the girls has my fill up, and showing Sally she was gushing too.

Her kids are now 20 and 27 so she misses all the stuff that comes with kids growing up.

Thanks for the summaries.

 

[jbmatth]

JB: Happy new year and hoping you and your family's 2021 is a great one.

I remember sitting on my gramps lap on his old D9 dozer cutting logging roads when I was 6 about 59 years ago and then it was sitting on parents and grandparents laps while I steered so by the time I was 12 I was driving my dad's 63 VW bug around the city blocks in my neighborhood anytime i could snag the keys. it's great to learn how to drive a manual/stick cause if they own one they won't get stolen cause those idiots can't drive one.

girls and you look very happy so keep up the good work!!

That makes me jealous Drives, I've never even been able to drive a dozer but really want to eventually. We currently have 12 vehicles and 9 of them are manual transmissions, the other three are all trucks. The girls will learn a manual trans for certain and hopefully one will be their first vehicle. Welcome back by the way, it has been a while, great to see you around again.

This resonates with me as my 2-ish year old was steering a 370HP tractor in my lap a couple weekends ago at the farm but doesn't even have a powerwheel yet....and she did a great job! Told her left and she went left, same with right and straight!

Really like the year in review and summary...and I laugh everytime Chitbox comes up!

That is pretty darn cool, I'd enjoy driving a monster like that too. I enjoy the reviews, really reminds me how much I actually do accomplish in a year. If you like Chitbox you will get a kick out of the next plate set to arrive anytime now.

Massive grin here for all of your projects and updates,

The summary makes it so easy to forget the hours spent,

How many days I chat to you at 03.00 when you are already in the shop, working, building.


Last update with the girls has my fill up, and showing Sally she was gushing too.

Her kids are now 20 and 27 so she misses all the stuff that comes with kids growing up.

Thanks for the summaries.

Today was another early morning, but with cold temps and wet ground I must admit I caught up on a little Roadkill rather than worked much. I sure like these girls and enjoy the time I do get to spend with them.

JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

JB, both of my girls' first cars were 5 speeds. The oldest still drives a vehicle with a standard transmission. Most of their classmates, including the boys, couldn't drive a standard/manual transmission to save their lives! I even taught daughter #2's boyfriend how to drive one after he had graduated high school. It's a good life skill and insures they can leave wherever they are at no matter what vehicle is available.

 

[shopnut]

The Year-in-Review is a cool idea... enjoyed it!

 

[jbmatth]

JB, both of my girls' first cars were 5 speeds. The oldest still drives a vehicle with a standard transmission. Most of their classmates, including the boys, couldn't drive a standard/manual transmission to save their lives! I even taught daughter #2's boyfriend how to drive one after he had graduated high school. It's a good life skill and insures they can leave wherever they are at no matter what vehicle is available.

I learned on an automatic, but the first vehicle I drove without my parents (and without their knowledge) was a '91 Mazda RX-7 with a 5 speed. It was a fun car. My daughters will have that skill as well and although unlikely it is good to have it if needed.

The Year-in-Review is a cool idea... enjoyed it!

Thanks Shopnut, I've been doing that since starting this thread 6 years ago and it really seems to help with motivation going into our cold season.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Back to where I can update again, New Years Day came and went and I didn't notice much of a change. Well except the 4" of snow on the ground. That made it more difficult to work on the barn but luckily I pulled the tractor and Pink Jeep into the shop before it came down. I replace the plug wires on the tractor and it seems to be running much better now. Up next is the coil and plugs if I get the right plugs this time.

I was able to get the roof finished after a couple of short days sloshing around in the snow, mud, and cold. Well finished for now, I'll put up a few short walls in the section for the horse stall and eventually gates to keep the horses out and truck, tractor, and equipment in, but for now:

Now that all of the christmas presents have been exchanged I can reveal one of the presents I worked on:

This is the original 302 we pulled out of his '68 Mustang, sadly it turned out to be beyond its useful life. The block had 4 water jacket cracks into the cylinders, the pistons, rods, and crank were all wrong for the engine yielding a WAY LOW compression ration. The decision was made to build a 331 stroker engine out of another 302 block. It dyno'd 340 hp and 364 lb-ft of torque, he expects to be very happy when it is all back together. Old engine in place:

New engine ready to drop in:

We are waiting on parts now, there was a case of the "well while it is apart lets..." which I respect and encourage. New power steering parts, heater core, electric fans, etc. Should be a fun little car when this round of upgrades is done.

JB

P.S.
I don't know if I shared the saga of the black Jeep, but it has been a huge ordeal to get a title for it even with a signed title in hand. Turns out the previous owner a good friend of mine never put the title in his name. Also it turns out the last digit of the vin was off by 2 from Florida to Texas and now to Oklahoma where it needed to be fixed before he could "own" it and sell it to me. After many hours of phone calls and a touch of money sent to get records back to 1999 on both vins the state of Oklahoma has agreed to grant him a title and he can then "sell" it to me once that title comes in the mail. Does your head hurt too, because mine sure does. Off to the Tag Office (DMV to most) now to see things through, wish me luck.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I have though about building a table like that.

 

[racer-john]

But you don't know how to weld glass.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

But you don't know how to weld glass.

You have to buy pre fluxed glass then modulate it to 4600 waverons at 467 degrees for 3 hours. IT will stick to anything.

 

[oldironfarmer]

Great Year in Review!!

Good to see all your projects.

Better to see your family growing.

But when the Mustang was in your shop you really worked magic to make it look so clean!

 

[jbmatth]

I have though about building a table like that.

This is the second one I've built and it turned out better than the first. The glass wasn't cheap but it came from the first table so it was free here. Just lots of holes to drill and tap to bolt the rods on.

But you don't know how to weld glass.

Oxy weld, it welds like butter.

You have to buy pre fluxed glass then modulate it to 4600 waverons at 467 degrees for 3 hours. IT will stick to anything.

I tired those settings on my MIG welder but the glass wire on the spool kept breaking.

Great Year in Review!!

Good to see all your projects.

Better to see your family growing.

But when the Mustang was in your shop you really worked magic to make it look so clean!

Growing and enjoying life, always fun to go out and play and explore too. It was a ton of work to get the shop clean enough for the Mustang, but to be fair I cheated and used his shop because mine was too full. That and it had rained and our road was soup.

He didn't have enough tools though and it takes lots of trips back to my shop to get more and continue the next day. Slow and steady.

JB

 

[XJSuperman]

Jeeps man, they'll screw ya even when they're running right. Gotta love em, but always be ready for em to stab ya in the back.

That table is sweet!

 

[jbmatth]

Jeeps man, they'll screw ya even when they're running right. Gotta love em, but always be ready for em to stab ya in the back.

That table is sweet!

I know, it was a trip to get all of this paperwork sorted out to the point it is now, if it falls through we are going to burn it. If it works out I'll make a few doll hairs on the sale. In the mean time I might get to drive it around for fun and take it to some Jeep events.

JB

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I give you $200 for it for scrap, but you have to bring it to me.

 

[jbmatth]

I give you $200 for it for scrap, but you have to bring it to me.

I'll have to think on it for a bit, I'll get back to you by 2/1/2020.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Due to all of the covid stuff I'm having to fill in for anywhere from 1 to 3 people right now and try to get all of my projects for this year submitted along with...blah blah blah. Let's talk about garage related stuff.

I haven't done much in my shop lately, before work I'll piddle around a bit a few days a week but after work I'm working on the Mustang at his shop. Getting closer on it, every day I think it could be the day I try to fire it up and something else takes too long. Last night it was the starter, took nearly 1/2 an hour to put it in with bolts and not even the hot wire yet.

This weekend I went to look at a truck almost 2 hours away early one morning, I walked up to the truck and 30 seconds later I was on my way home. It was not how he described it and I didn't want to deal with the extra work so I walked away with my money.

Decided to do some tree trimming in the horse pasture, when that was all burned up I got everything loaded in the tractor to start working on the cow pasture. But the tractor was back to running like **** again and wouldn't even hold an idle, new coil is in today, crossing my fingers.

Next decided to take Lever Action and the trailer to the cow pasture to salvage some of the day, at the gate it was blowing coolant out of the water pump. I guess I need to get one on order and change it, but need to finish/fix the tractor, finish putting the carpet in the Pink Jeep, and pull either out along with the spare Festiva to get some working room back. I need to take Friday off to finish it all. Well hopefully finish it all.

JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Good luck with the projects JB...sounds like how stuff works around here! That's why its always good to have multiples of vehicles and equipment, haha.

 

[jbmatth]

Multiples is usually not a concern until all of the multiples need work at one time and the shop is already full of half completed projects. If it weren't so blasphemous I'd say I just need to sell some stuff to make room.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Still plugging away at stuff here and there without much progress being photo worthy. I've been stopping by after work to tinker on the '68 Mustang engine install and it is progressing quite well even if slowly. All power steering stuff is in now, all accessories are on and working, installed the heater core and box yesterday, fuel system is in, starter as well and the battery means it is ready to test fire for a few seconds:

Fired right up after fuel got to the carb and ran fine. I'll finish the hoses today and start working the coolant in and get it air free. He is stoked to get to drive it when he comes back from deployment.

Tractor is still being dumb and not cooperating at all, I'm about to pull all of my hair out trying to fix it.

JB

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: I owned a couple mustangs in my youth and even though they were not all that comfortable I do miss not owning one to drive.

nice work on the engine.

since you have Andy fairly close and i bet he's maybe fixed or had similar issues with a tractor you might give him a call and pick his very knowledgeable brain or just haul that tractor to his place with another load of scrap.

cheers and good luck

 

[jbmatth]

JB: I owned a couple mustangs in my youth and even though they were not all that comfortable I do miss not owning one to drive.

nice work on the engine.

since you have Andy fairly close and i bet he's maybe fixed or had similar issues with a tractor you might give him a call and pick his very knowledgeable brain or just haul that tractor to his place with another load of scrap.

cheers and good luck

I've been surprised at how smooth his Mustang rides and how soft the seats are, he's taken it on a few 1,000 plus mile drives with little complaint. It is coming out pretty nice, and having 150 more horsepower will be fun too I'm sure.

I have one last thing to try and if it still fails I'll pester Andy. It is so big that I can't use my trailer and a trailer big enough for it would mean it is too heavy for my truck to pull. Plus I can't get it to run to pull on a trailer. Plenty of excuses I know.

JB

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: I hear Andy likes pie and maybe he'd like to drive the go cart around for a spin so you don't have to haul your tractor?

when I had my 67 fastback and 70 Mach 1 (428 cobra jet) I was same height 6'3" but only 160 pounds. they might fit me better now cause I lost a half inch in height and gained 70 pounds so seats might just get softer.

I drove 7 hours yesterday in my old 2003 Honda Pilot with my bride and i'm not sore at all. with 225,000 I can't even think of a good reason to get rid of it, but I would like an old 50's truck on a newer frame with a good engine JUST BECAUSE if one ever shows up that I can afford (maybe i'll have to sell more than a few tools and vises though). check out my DIY thread and see what we ended up buying during our little road trip if you have time to.

cheers

 

[jbmatth]

JB: I hear Andy likes pie and maybe he'd like to drive the go cart around for a spin so you don't have to haul your tractor?

when I had my 67 fastback and 70 Mach 1 (428 cobra jet) I was same height 6'3" but only 160 pounds. they might fit me better now cause I lost a half inch in height and gained 70 pounds so seats might just get softer.

I drove 7 hours yesterday in my old 2003 Honda Pilot with my bride and i'm not sore at all. with 225,000 I can't even think of a good reason to get rid of it, but I would like an old 50's truck on a newer frame with a good engine JUST BECAUSE if one ever shows up that I can afford (maybe i'll have to sell more than a few tools and vises though). check out my DIY thread and see what we ended up buying during our little road trip if you have time to.

cheers

Drives,
I'm sure with enough bribery he could be enticed to come have a look at it, thanks for volunteering him.

The '66 my brothers in-laws have has some extremely hard seats that are not comfortable at all, but his '68 seats are great, maybe less miles on them or maybe the springs were all fixed when the seats were recovered a while back. Not sure but I can't complain about them especially coming from my cobra.

There are plenty of 50's trucks out in fields around here and many aren't in too bad of shape considering all things. Now finding one in good shape that has already been swapped on a newer chassis would be tough at a good price. That is a nice looking bench you have there, well done.

JB

 

[drivesitfar]

JB: OH NO YOU DON'T!! I didn't volunteer Andy I just mentioned that you might ask him and maybe a few treats in hand might work best.

yep the bench was a lucky find and happy my bride was with me to help make the call cause after almost 35 years I've learned not to bring my stuff inside the house unless I have permission or it's going in my gym.

I also recall I didn't have much head room in those mustangs, but maybe that isn't an issue for you.

how's the go cart or have the girls left it in pieces out in the field for you to fix?

 

[jbmatth]

JB: OH NO YOU DON'T!! I didn't volunteer Andy I just mentioned that you might ask him and maybe a few treats in hand might work best.

yep the bench was a lucky find and happy my bride was with me to help make the call cause after almost 35 years I've learned not to bring my stuff inside the house unless I have permission or it's going in my gym.

I also recall I didn't have much head room in those mustangs, but maybe that isn't an issue for you.

how's the go cart or have the girls left it in pieces out in the field for you to fix?

You caught that didn't you.

They are a little short, but as you said, I personally don't have much of an issue with headroom but can see where that could happen.

I actually took the go cart for a spin yesterday, it is still very fast, the chain tensioner needs some more work, I lost it after a few spirited turns.

JB

 

[racer-john]

Pictures or it didn't happen.