ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[Pressingonward]

Great pictures Mike!

I also appreciate the thoughtful discussion on work/life balance.

 

[zmotorsports]

I totally agree Mike! At my old job I had made it up to 4 weeks after 12 years of service. At my current job, after 18 years of service, I now get 3 weeks, and max out at 4 weeks after 20 years. I'd gladly take more vacation over a raise in pay.

It's funny how our priorities shift over time isn't it Vincent?

When I first entered the work force it was all about the money and how much overtime I could get and what I could do with that money. Now as we get more established and have our priorities in life addressed we shift towards wanting to slow down and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

I've been thinking about my father during this discussion and although I admired and respected his work ethic and the way he pushed himself I can't help but to think or wonder if he was still alive would he slow down and try and enjoy life a bit, maybe even spend more time with his grandchildren. I don't want to be that guy who worked so much he missed out on life, but work has to be done and dreams have to be paid for somehow so it is very much a balancing act.

I appreciate your thoughts and for following along.

 

[zmotorsports]

Great pictures Mike!

I also appreciate the thoughtful discussion on work/life balance.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

Thanks for stopping by and joining in.

 

[aka Larry]

I'm afraid our cool down is coming to an end here in the next day or two Marc. We're supposed to be back up into the 90's by the end of the week, but at least our humidity is low. I think it was around 20-23% last week. That high humidity is what does me in, I don't know how you do it.

Our *low* humidity here is still like 50%...LOL.

We deal with the humidity, you deal with the white stuff. While I sit in the A/C to deal with our humidity, you have to sweat to deal with your white stuff. Kind of ironic huh?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Our *low* humidity here is still like 50%...LOL.

We deal with the humidity, you deal with the white stuff. While I sit in the A/C to deal with our humidity, you have to sweat to deal with your white stuff. Kind of ironic huh?

I'll raise you one...we get the 50%+ humidity in the hot months and the white stuff in the cold months

 

[zmotorsports]

Our *low* humidity here is still like 50%...LOL.

We deal with the humidity, you deal with the white stuff. While I sit in the A/C to deal with our humidity, you have to sweat to deal with your white stuff. Kind of ironic huh?

Well since you put it that way it doesn't sound as appealing.....

 

[Bob Heine]

I currently get 6 weeks a year and I'm finding many companies top out around 3 weeks. That would be hard for me to give up even for more money.

Mike, you work for an unusually generous company. The United States has no laws about paid time off and the average US company has a pretty stingy time-off from work model. Most US companies give workers 10 days paid vacation and 8 paid holidays off to start. Most other countries have time-off laws requiring companies to give their workers four weeks (or more) vacation and 12 holidays (or more) per year to start. You have to look hard to find less generous time-off policies than the US (a lot of our companies don't offer paid time off). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country

Most companies in the US also have a 'use it or lose it' time-off model that prevents you from saving vacation for a big event. When I worked for IBM my job prevented me from taking all my vacation for a number of years so my boss had to send a special exemption notice to Corporate HR every year. When the company offered a 'too good to pass up' get out of Dodge plan, I took it and they paid me for the 75 days accrued vacation as part of my departure package. I had planned to be able to retire at 50 but didn't expect it would happen. When it did, I was real happy I was in a financial position to do it. We managed to avoid living the American Dream [Nightmare???]:

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” -Will Rogers, 1879.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, you work for an unusually generous company. The United States has no laws about paid time off and the average US company has a pretty stingy time-off from work model. Most US companies give workers 10 days paid vacation and 8 paid holidays off to start. Most other countries have time-off laws requiring companies to give their workers four weeks (or more) vacation and 12 holidays (or more) per year to start. You have to look hard to find less generous time-off policies than the US (a lot of our companies don't offer paid time off). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country

Most companies in the US also have a 'use it or lose it' time-off model that prevents you from saving vacation for a big event. When I worked for IBM my job prevented me from taking all my vacation for a number of years so my boss had to send a special exemption notice to Corporate HR every year. When the company offered a 'too good to pass up' get out of Dodge plan, I took it and they paid me for the 75 days accrued vacation as part of my departure package. I had planned to be able to retire at 50 but didn't expect it would happen. When it did, I was real happy I was in a financial position to do it. We managed to avoid living the American Dream [Nightmare???]:

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” -Will Rogers, 1879.

I completely agree Bob. PTO is probably the biggest reason I'm still here. The pay is decent but I could make more elsewhere.

It took me quite a few years to acquire this amount of vacation which is why I've stuck it out here. One thing that bothers me is the company are talking about lowering the time frame to acquire PTO in order to attract and obtain general laborers. I get why they are thinking about it because the workforce is entitled nowadays but in the same token it also negates the efforts of those who put in their time in service to get where we're at, leave wise.

Bottom line is that it isn't my decision as my name isn't on the bottom of the paycheck.

We pretty much have a use it or lose it policy as well but are allowed to carry over 10-days into the new year. They give us six months to use it (June) or we lose it completely. This year they did extend that however because they revoked our vacation for a couple of months during the onset of the pandemic, so that was down right decent of them.

 

[GRN96WS6]

I've been successful for negotiating more time off in lieu of increased salary twice, it's just not common or well known.

It's still more money just in a different way and less out of pocket for the company, of course this only works if you want to stay on with the company and are happy with your pay.

 

[shortykorte]

Start your own business and take off whenever you want. Does seem like other countries have liberal time off.
I read somewhere that since the industrial revolution, American culture has been work, work work to get ahead and get the bigger everything, sometimes at the expense of family and health.



Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[JCQuick]

Oh my if only I could venture this wonderful country we live in those "day trip" pics are just amazing. thank you for sharing

 

[zmotorsports]

Oh my if only I could venture this wonderful country we live in those "day trip" pics are just amazing. thank you for sharing

Thanks JC.

I love using the coach as base camp and taking off on day excursions then coming back to a comfortable place to relax, eat and sleep. Then do it all over again.

I love the rallies and gatherings we go to which are generally six days straight of Jeeping and then back to camp for happy hour and relaxing with friends.

Can’t wait until retirement to be able to hit more rallies.

 

[zmotorsports]

Tonight after arriving home I trimmed, edged and mowed the lawns and then went on a short weed patrol.

Afterwards I decided to take a few minutes to repair the air nozzle on my vertical bandsaw. The other night I lowered the blade guide and bumped it to the table which broke the small spot weld loose.


I cleaned with a wire wheel, wiped with acetone and soldered the pieces back together.


I then reinstalled, adjusted and tested it out.




I also decided to sand down the bandsaw table to remove the blue paint that has been wearing off over the past five years of ownership.


While I was at it I sanded the tables on my disc/belt sander as well.


Thanks for looking.

 

[LXCam]

Ya know we've talked about this at length before in either this thread or the shop build. My ole man did the same thing, worked his entire life away. I can count the number of times just he and I went and did something together (not work related) and still have fingers left over. His deal was once he retired he'd be doing all the things he dreamed about. Sadly, it didn't exactly work out that way.

I'm with you Mike, finding a balance is a healthy thing even if it is difficult to do at times.

 

[shortykorte]

On the bandsaw, where is the air coming from? On board air compressor?
For the disc/belt sander, is it 110 or 220v


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[zmotorsports]

Ya know we've talked about this at length before in either this thread or the shop build. My ole man did the same thing, worked his entire life away. I can count the number of times just he and I went and did something together (not work related) and still have fingers left over. His deal was once he retired he'd be doing all the things he dreamed about. Sadly, it didn't exactly work out that way.

I'm with you Mike, finding a balance is a healthy thing even if it is difficult to do at times.

Thanks Cam and I've appreciated our conversations.

I'm not saying my dad wasn't there for me because he was but when I needed help with something I figured out a way to do it and ONLY asked for his help as a last resort because I knew he was busy working and had other things to do. Sometimes I think maybe that was a good thing because I learned to figure things out for myself but other times I feel sad because my dad and I never really got to enjoy each other one on one and doing something other than working the farm.

I cherish those shop days I have with my son more now than I ever had, maybe I took them for granted but when he comes over to the shop to service a vehicle or needs help with something I try to help as much as I can just to be able to have that one on one time with him.

He and my DIL keep talking about building a street/strip car and I think it would be a fun project to work on with them but in the same token they are early in their marriage and I would like them to get other things out of the way before dumping funds into another toy.

 

[zmotorsports]

On the bandsaw, where is the air coming from? On board air compressor?
For the disc/belt sander, is it 110 or 220v


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

Shorty, the small air line on the vertical bandsaw is routed from the fan side of the motor. It is directed at the blade to cool as well as clear debris and works amazingly well. Actually it's kind of ingenious as the airflow potential is already there so may as well utilize it.

The disc/belt combination sander is 110VAC. I've had that one for many years now and it's probably one of the most used tools in the shop.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[bradpac]

Shorty, the small air line on the vertical bandsaw is routed from the fan side of the motor. It is directed at the blade to cool as well as clear debris and works amazingly well. Actually it's kind of ingenious as the airflow potential is already there so may as well utilize it.

Can you show us a picture of the ducting? That would make a nice addition to the bandsaw here at the shop.

 

[zmotorsports]

Can you show us a picture of the ducting? That would make a nice addition to the bandsaw here at the shop.

Next time I have the motor exposed to clean I will snap a picture. It is pretty primitive but effective. A small adapter is drilled/mounted in the fan head of the motor with a 1/4" clear line coming off of it, through the upper section of the saw behind the upper wheel and then down the exterior of the height adjusting arm to the fitting that I had to repair.

Again, it's pretty primitive and just catches the air coming off of the motor fan and directs it to the blade at the guide block adjustment.

 

[zmotorsports]

Tonight I knocked another item off the white board.

I serviced the Quincy air compressor.


While I was servicing the compressor I allowed the next job to cool.

A friend from work brought his newly acquired 2nd Gen Camaro over to have some work done on it. It’s a pretty clean unrestored/original 1981 Camaro that has about 51k miles on it. It’s all original with the exception of headers and dual exhaust.






The guy he bought the car from informed him that it had a leaking rear main so he asked if I could replace it. I don’t like to just replace parts without verifying for myself so upon inspecting I noted a couple of other possible issues.

One was this pinched wire under the rocker cover. If you look just under the lip of the rocker cover it is evident. This could be a potential leak point as well.


I loosened the rocker cover and was able to slip the wire out without pulling the gasket with it so we'll give it a go and hope it didn’t permanently deform the gasket.

You can see how flat the section of wire is.


Another potential leak point on these small blocks is the oil pressure sending unit. This one seems to be wet around the base.




While the oil was draining I removed the lower inspection cover from the bell housing to verify the rear main is in fact leaking.




I think that’s about it for tonight.


Thanks for looking.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Mike, I did my compressor a few weeks ago. Oil was still in decent shape out of the compressor. How often do you service yours?

Looks like a 2nd gen (70-81). My '91 is the 3rd gen style (82-92).

Good catch on the valve cover and oil sender. Seems like us honest mechanics are getting fewer and further between!

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, I did my compressor a few weeks ago. Oil was still in decent shape out of the compressor. How often do you service yours?

Looks like a 2nd gen (70-81). My '91 is the 3rd gen style (82-92).

Good catch on the valve cover and oil sender. Seems like us honest mechanics are getting fewer and further between!

Thanks for the catch Marc. I thought 1981 was the first year of 3rd Gen but it’s actually the last year of 2nd Gen.

As for servicing the compressor I try to service it every 3-4 years. The last time I serviced it was when I moved it into the new shop in July 2017 because it had sat in the non-temperature controlled garage for nearly 10 months. I probably could have gone longer because the oil looked like new.

 

[Pressingonward]

Saw a 15 HP horizontal Quincy at an online auction that looked very similar to yours - purple paint and the same Air Master sticker. Probably would have bid on it if I had the money, it sold for $280 or something like that. Of course I don't think my shop has enough juice to run an RPC to drive the 15 HP motor - I'd be much better off with a 7.5 HP compressor.

When I was thinking of getting it I had thoughts about slapping a gas engine on it for the rare times I would need to use it (sandblasting).

Anyways, not sure what my point is - how do you like your Quincy?

 

[zmotorsports]

Saw a 15 HP horizontal Quincy at an online auction that looked very similar to yours - purple paint and the same Air Master sticker. Probably would have bid on it if I had the money, it sold for $280 or something like that. Of course I don't think my shop has enough juice to run an RPC to drive the 15 HP motor - I'd be much better off with a 7.5 HP compressor.

When I was thinking of getting it I had thoughts about slapping a gas engine on it for the rare times I would need to use it (sandblasting).

Anyways, not sure what my point is - how do you like your Quincy?

I have had no issues and have been very pleased with my Quincy.

It was quite a stretch on the ole' budget when I bought it because I had just finished building my last shop and was trying to get it set up. At my parent's farm we had an old 80-gallon Kellog American that my dad bought with a bad pump and we rebuilt it but it was staying at the farm.

By the time I was nearly done with the shop I needed paint, lighting and compressor but was flat out of money. I don't like borrowing money but my wife convinced me that maybe I should take out a small signature loan to complete the shop otherwise I'll never get around to completing it. I remember I borrowed $5k from the bank to complete it and paid about $1200 for the compressor alone. I waffled on buying something lesser but again, the wife told me not to skimp and buy the quality one that I wanted. I went to my local compressor shop and negotiated on this Quincy 5hp/60-gallon and it was one of the best purchases I made. That was back in 1992 I think and then right after that for some reason they changed the color on the Quincy compressors to the blue they are painted now. Once I had everything moved into the shop I remember working my *** off getting paying jobs into the shop and paid the note off in less than 3 months.

Every night when I walk into the storage bay to close off the ball valve on the compressor I kind of swell up with pride knowing that even when things were tight on funds I stood my ground and bought quality.

Thanks for stopping by and checking on my projects. I appreciate you following alone.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Every night when I walk into the storage bay to close off the ball valve on the compressor...

Glad I'm not the only one who does this ....mines a touch easier though, the compressor is near the man door, so I catch it on the way out.

 

[zmotorsports]

Glad I'm not the only one who does this ....mines a touch easier though, the compressor is near the man door, so I catch it on the way out.

I've waffled on the idea of putting an electric valve on it that I can turn off when I flip the lights off. I think Paco (fnieto) installed something like this in his Arizona shop but I could be wrong. My only hesitation with doing that is that I don't want to design in another failure point or another possible issue, especially when walking into the next bay and manually closing the ball valve is so simple and becomes habit very easily. Walking into the RV/storage bay also gives me one last chance to look at my bike and coach before going in the house.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Walking into the RV/storage bay also gives me one last chance to look at my bike and coach before going in the house.

Well played

 

[zmotorsports]

I got the small block’s pan dropped and parts cleaned tonight in preparation to reassemble over the weekend.















Thanks for looking.

 

[slodat]

I've waffled on the idea of putting an electric valve on it that I can turn off when I flip the lights off. I think Paco (fnieto) installed something like this in his Arizona shop but I could be wrong. My only hesitation with doing that is that I don't want to design in another failure point or another possible issue, especially when walking into the next bay and manually closing the ball valve is so simple and becomes habit very easily. Walking into the RV/storage bay also gives me one last chance to look at my bike and coach before going in the house.

I use a soft start valve. The switch is by the door. Works great and slowly pressurized the header.

 

[casmurbax]

I still miss my 79 z28. It was my first car, my parents bought for me in 1983 from our next door neighbor. it was loaded, T-tops, power everything, all original. I loved that car. Seeing that on your lift brings back great memories, I shared with my dad and that car.

 

[zmotorsports]

I use a soft start valve. The switch is by the door. Works great and slowly pressurized the header.

Thanks Steven. I knew there were more than just the one I remembered on here who have done something similar.

 

[zmotorsports]

I still miss my 79 z28. It was my first car, my parents bought for me in 1983 from our next door neighbor. it was loaded, T-tops, power everything, all original. I loved that car. Seeing that on your lift brings back great memories, I shared with my dad and that car.

Thanks for the comments and for sharing. This car really is quite clean for being nearly 40 years old and unrestored, although pretty basic model with no power nor A/C. I can't remember where he said he bought it exactly but Florida sticks in my head for some reason.

I spent some time wiping all of the oil off of the transmission, crossmember and linkages last night after cleaning the pan in preparation for reassembly. That alone made a huge difference in the undercarriage as it was pretty coated with oil.

 

[rattle_snake]

Nice clean Camero. I suggest the following period correct upgrades while you have it in your shop.
-dual quads on a tunnel ram poking through the hood
-Jacked up rear suspension with ******* traction bars
-Steamroller rubber out back
-Loud audio system with 15" subs or more

 

[bradpac]

Nice clean Camero

You can always tell the Ford guys.

 

[ijuslikefords]

You can always tell the Ford guys.

Bull ****, I've seen more adds for camero for sale than the ones that get it right, from the people that own the car...

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I've got the greatest Camaro meme ever, but I'm pretty sure it would get me banned in today's world.......Lord knows it went to all my GM buddies.

 

[zmotorsports]

Finished up the Camaro today for my friend from work.

Rear main cap cleaned and lower half of the seal installed.


It’s a good idea to replace the nylon sleeve between the oil pump and distributor intermediate shaft as they get brittle over time.


Also a good idea to make sure the pan rails are flat and true. This one has had the bolts overtightened as the bolt holes were deformed requiring straightening.


I’m using the Fel-Pro molded one-piece pan gasket as I’ve had good results with them. A little trick is to use either fishing line or dental floss to secure the gasket to the pan then once in place merely cut the floss and remove. Used that little trick many times over the past 30+ years.


The pan gasket comes with longer pan bolts.


I TIG welded the broken inspection cover and blended before installing.


Reinstalled the positive battery cable back into the OEM clip.


Inspection cover and starter motor installed.




After lowering the engine back in to place and completing everything underneath I lowered the car back down, added oil, started and double checked for leaks.

Next up was to remove the driver’s seat and see about modifying the track to move the seat back a little. The owner is over 6’5” and had asked if I could move it back a couple of inches but all I was able to get is 1.25”.

I removed the seat and modified the mounting and drilled a couple holes 1.25” further forward on the seat moving it rearward in the car. I really didn’t want to modify the holes in the floor pan.








Completed and ready to be picked up.


While I was waiting for the car to be picked up I thought I’d knock out a quick little project.

I noticed last week on vacation that my FIL’s balance was a bit worse than usual. He had actually fallen going into his trailer one afternoon and scraped his elbow up pretty good. He was given his FIL’s cane about a year ago by my wife’s grandmother but he refuses to use it.

We went for a drive one day and my wife and he were talking about his balance. My wife was just mentioning she was concerned and that’s when I blurted out that if I were to custom build him a cane would he use it? He eagerly said “sure “. Now let me preface by saying I have never built a cane nor do I have any idea how, but I figured it’s metal so I’ll figure it out. I knew I had a Hurst shifter handle and so that had to be used.

Upon some quick Google searches I got a couple of pretty good ideas. This is what I started with, handle and piece of 3/4” x .065” 6061 tubing.


A small drop of 1” 6061 that will be turned down, threaded and pressed into the tubing.




I wasn’t sure how well the aluminum would thread and hold up so I found a piece of brass that was already threaded to the 5/8”-18 so I just needed to cut it off and chamfer.


Facing the end of the tubing and prepping to accept the threaded slug.


I really need to get serious and machine an outboard spider for my lathe. Oh well, nothing a rag shoved in the spindle around the OD to hold it from flopping around.


Polishing the tubing with emery, then Scotchbtite followed by aluminum polish.




After pressing the threaded slug in I decided to polish it before cutting to length.








I was trying to figure out how I could securely hold the shaft while I tightened the handle into place, then I realized I had a collet system that wouldn’t mar the finish.


A little Loctite and the handle is secured.


Final polish by hand.




Lastly a rubber chair protector from local hardware store and some 3M Weatherstrip adhesive to hold it in place.


Completed.


Thanks for looking.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Love the cane Mike, I'm sure the FIL will as well!

 

[LXCam]

That cane rocks Mike!.

 

[zmotorsports]

Love the cane Mike, I'm sure the FIL will as well!

Thanks Marc. I’ll find out tomorrow.