NYC Journal

Phil,

They were very light in weight, and on the quarter mile they could be dialed in to hook really well.

No bloat.

Cooling on a car is very important. Been looking into an aluminum radiator to save weight and for improved cooling.

A trick I learned is to use this radiator additive called “Water Wetter” that effectively was a soap to relieve surface tension so that steam pockets don’t form in the head.

Detonation is really bad in engines and can break/destroy things. I favor aluminum heads because they radiate heat better than iron heads. Also they are lighter.

On my ZZ3 because I ran the same gas all the time I certainly had the timing advance as far as it will go without detonation.

The Chevy 12 bolt rear has axels that are held in by clips in the differential. I had that bad 3 wheeling experience with my Jeep, and that was with the stock 258 cubic inche engine (I-6).

Thanks for the history. I’ll do a search on a Chevy II to see how crazy those prices are.

Cal
 
An early Chevy II weighed only 2500 pounds.

How crazy is that for building a high HP to weight ration?

Boxy and “Tubbed” is a serious look.

My friend’s older brother had one. Interesting to note that Tom was a huge guy.

A story that happened in the early 70’s is Tom somehow at a bachelor party that ended up going to 42d Street and got involved/invited to participate in a live sex act on stage, the old in and out.

His friends chanted, “Go-Tommy-Go,” but NYPD Vice was in the audience.

From jail he called home in the early morning hours, and his mom answered the phone.

”Tell me what’s wrong,” she demanded. LOL.

BTW Tom’s dad was also mighty big.

Cal
 
Cal, also look into getting an oil cooler. It’ll add a quart to your capacity, and really help to cool the engine. My old Jeep Cherokee overheated before I bought it. The wife of the owner was in traffic, blasting the AC on a hot dry SoCal day. The engine was replaced and after I bought it, I turned the AC compressor into an on board air compressor to a small alternate tank. I also added an oil cooler and cut a hole in the hood to vent out hot air. The Cherokees are notorious for running hot because the engine compartment is so crammed with stuff, there is no place for air to move.
EDIT: One other thing about the Chevy II is that the back seat weighs a lot. Hint, hint. I seem to recall that it weighed about 60lbs. I have a feeling that GM added the weight to the seat as ballast to help keep the rear end on the ground. That car could burn out just driving casually and blipping the throttle when a signal turned green. I took the back seat out to help me increase room to carry stuff, this back in the day when I could carry everything I owned in a car; the life of a sailor.
Phil
 
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Phil,

An oil cooler is a great idea.

Thanks.

BTW to make my dream come true will take time and money, two precious resources. The daydreaming and coast analysis is smart planning. I need to learn about technology and how things have evolved from the late eighties till present day.

Cal
 
Today’s Bar-B-Q at my next door neighbor’s house was fun.

One of the guests drove a red 2023 Corvette. Got a chance to look at the engine layout and sit in the driver’s seat. What a car.

Another guest drove a 1966 Stingray convertible with a 427. This is a owner of a auto body shop. I will find out if he powder coats frames.

Which one would you choose?

I think I would be happy with either one or both, but if I had to choose the 1966 Convertible Stingray with the big block would be the one. Light blue with a white top.

BTW no doubt the 2023 is a “Supercar.” Owner had to wait 18 months for one to be available. Pretty much I got the vibe of a space ship. The steering wheel was kinda squared.

There is talk of doing a combined dead end block party in my dead end for our local neighbors.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
There is talk of doing a combined dead end block party in my dead end for our local neighbors.
Click to expand...
Cal, this is a great way to get to know your neighbors. Where I live the "hood" is just three streets, each one block long. Every summer we have a neighborhood night out. There is a big pot luck dinner and the kids run around and be kids. We all get to know one another. In six years I have had no issues with porch pirates stealing deliveries from my front door. Folks here look out for each other.
We also have an open house gathering and pot luck in December around the holidays.
 
Austin,

This Thanksgiving will be three years of home ownership, and I really only know my next door neighbors well.

One of my across the street neighbors I showed the extent of our property. In Peekskill most homes are on small 40x100 building lots and having a big backyard is a huge deal. Know that Peekskill is a city of about 25K population. We have a good deal on privacy being a corner lot and being on a dead end and having public land on our border.

The city has advantages of better services and lower taxes than the surrounding burbs of Peekskill. My city does a superb job of plowing when it snows, even my secluded dead end.

Renold’s Hills not far away is a commune of summer homes that is a gated community, but owners only own the buildings and not the land. Only three homes there are year round, no sewers like I have, and any heat is either propane or oil. Although gated not so private.

The Town of Cortlandt does not really plow the road to Renold’s Hills, and I have helped a driver who attempted to navigate the unplowed road and was stuck in a front wheel drive Honda.

The surrounding suburbs around Peekskill are a sprawl of homes with more land, but the seclusion there has no vibe of neighborhood and is unlike the urban vibe in Peekskill.

Like NYC there are a lot of young people to give energy to the city. The vibe is a bit like Brooklyn.

There is a serious car culture up here. I am told that at Bear Mountain the car Meet-Ups get so big that the grass field gets filled. Of course I already have been caught up in the congestion where Routes 6 and 9 converge on the northern end of Peekskill.

These car Meet-Ups begin after Memorial Day.

Cal
 
I did a 1 1/2 hour ride in the woods exploring less technical trails. Somehow I ended up in Depew Park which is on the northern border of Blue Mountain Reservation. It is wonderful that near and so close to my Baby-Victorian is a massive green space where I can loose myself.

I pushed easy gears and did not hammer. I just wanted to get my blood pumping.

The abandoned house has a sign on the now overgrown front lawn that it will be coming available. Meanwhile the third monster dumpster remains in the driveway about 2/3rds full.

Had to order a gig bag and replace a 30 year old electronic tuner that experienced sudden death for no reason. Pretty much electronics can wear out too. I need an electronic tuner to set up the new dual pickup Cabronita. Also have to order some parts to build out the guitar from Callahan.

I am very pleased with the retro National amp I bought. Works well for my plug and play style and makes great tone at low volumes. 6 watts and only a volume control and no tone control.

Cal
 
I took care of ordering guitar parts to build out my double pickup Cabronita.

I decided to try these Gotoh vintage style tuners that are 6 in a line, but with tapered posts so I can do away with having a string tree. Should be easier to restring and offer better tuning.

From Sweetwater I ordered a Fender gig bag and a clip on headstock tuner. My 30 or 35 year old tuner suddenly went south for no reason. With electronics sometimes its a surprise sudden death for no reason. Oh-well.

Then I ordered some tubes from Jensen USA and a CO2 inflator and some spare 16 gram cartridges. Tried to order some 24 inch tubes from Schwable USA direct, but had difficulties. Then on the Internet I found my Schwable tubes from a supplier at half the price. I ordered 6 instead of the 3 I wanted. Know that Schwable had a $15.00 shipping charge. Ouch.

This stuff should get me through at least the summer and fall; and perhaps even till next year. I still have to buy a lot of materials to put a new roof on the garage and build new carriage house style garage doors. Got to order 4-5 yards of gravel. Ends up the gravel pad I’m building between the garden shed and Maggie’s she-shed is a great barrier for ticks. This will lay between the slope/table and my two rear lawns.

I feel the burn and endorphins from my morning ride. Adjusted the angle of my seat with a rearward drop to keep my position and weight further back over the rear wheel. On some of the climbs the steering got too light and twitchy because I was too far forward, and then I would spin the rear wheel. Proper position on a mutton chop 24 inch rear wheeled bike is always with most of your weight right over the rear wheel.

Likely Maggie will use the stroller again and walk to downtown Peekskill for her exercise, so I should be able to get another ride in. Might take out the Newsboy tomorrow for a hammer the hills ride for strength training.

Cal
 
Today worked on my cedar fence with Art Deco topper.

Cut some cedar reinforcement to secure the topper to the 5 foot tongue and groove fence. These pieces were primed separately and still need painting. I need this fence to last.

Then I made a doorframe for the gate as if it was a door. Two pieces of scrape 2x4 aligned my 4x4 posts parallel and with space for the gate to swing.

Pretty much this fencing was never intended to be made into a gate. Cutting down an 8 foot section involved some engineering.

I have this nice heavy wrought iron hinges and a catch.

The gate is propped up in location and sits level. Need to get some concrete mix from Home Cheapo.

I can see how the carriage doors on the garage will get accentuated by the fence and gate. Also along the fence will be a flower bed for Hostas and Tiger Lillies that will run the length of a short driveway. A ravel base will frame the floor of the gate.

This was an expensive fence made of cedar and the 12 feet I needed ended up costing me about $100.00 a foot. Looks really pretty though, and I have some leftover fence and topper to recycle that’s enough to do a side gate which is like alleyway.

No plastic fence for me. Happy with how this project is coming out. Dresses up the house a lot. The main purpose of this fence is for privacy. I removed a brick wall that was crumbling. It became clean fill on my slope. I had borrowed my neighbor’s jack hammer to break up some concrete to make my pole holes.

*****************

”Maggie” got her way with the rescheduled release of her book. Instead of April it will be March, which is Woman’s Month. She figures her book is about impowerment, but from Calvin’s POV it is more like exploiting or maybe taking advantage of Calvin who kinda cleans up the messes she makes. I take up a lot of slack so she could concentrate on being an artist.

Now she has to get through all the line edits before the end of the month. Work under a deadline is always stressful. In art I learned to take my time to not only do my best, but to fully experience the experience. Now that I’m retired there is no reason to rush. What’s the hurry?

Anyways I hate the frenzied life that Maggie creates. I would not call it quality of life. Kinda funny how she lacks patience.

Also I did mucho photography for her and I didn’t get paid. I’m kinda glad that the days of creating content for Instagram and the Internet are over. What an endless treadmill… No reward for me…

Anyways, the things I do for love or out of love. After this book I’m going to have to get selfish and finish what needs to get done on the house.

I also have to stand up and build me my truck. She may not like it, but car culture is part of my identity.

Yesterday my blood pressure was 110/60 (lowest reading) after a gentile bike ride. After daycare duty, which ends in June, I’ll be riding every day.

Cal
 
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The stuck seatpost of the Raleigh Mountain Trials is almost out (fingers crossed.) It's been soaking in Kroil for a few weeks with a 5K weight tugging at it; I've burned the paint with a heat gun; I've slide-hammered it; I've tried to twist it out; all methods have seen no joy.
Monday I called out of work because I thought my clot in my left leg had returned, so I went to the ER at the VA hospital to get checked out. No thrombosis, but I do have a sprained ankle and some muscle strain. Anyway...
The rest of the day I used a few hacksaw blades supported by a dowel rod with a thin channel cut in it, to cut the post. I made one cut and thought that was enough; nope. I did a cut 180 degreed from the first cut and the post is STILL stuck in there. At one point, I returned to the first cut for a few licks and POP! the post finally gave way on one side and bound up the blade. Got the blade out with some coaxing and verbal abuse then returned to the other side which still hasn't given way. I don't want to cut into the seat tube, so each pull of the hacksaw blade is really intentional, almost meditative in that I pay a lot of attention to it. The bike is Reynolds tubing, with the main triangle triple butted. I have a feeling that the nearly-unreachable bottom of the seatpost was jammed into the butt by a previous owner 30 years ago. What I do know is that the post was bent at some point then pushed down, never to return up. Anyway, I have a few more gentle cuts and the seatpost should give way, if not then I'm dealing with friction, galvanic corrosion, and who knows what.
All my wheel building supplies arrived and I can't wait to get to it. I'm holding off on the build though in the rare case that the frame is trash. I'm sure it's fine, I just don't want to build a 24" rear wheel with a White Eno Eccentric hub and not have a bike to put it into. I'm reasonably sure that the frame will be fine, I just need to take my time getting these post fragments out.
I'm itching to get out on the trails on this thing.
Phil Forrest
 
Phil,

It surely takes time to do things right. Good thing you are stubborn.

Certainly a mutton chop bike is a new dimension in mountain biking. Very fast radical handling. I always loved my IBIS.

At Grumman or at my hospital I’d use liquid nitrogen. Even the gas will freeze things. A different kind of thermal shock.

Makes sense to make sure you have secured the frame before wheel building.

Cal
 
A gig bag showed up at my door along with a new tuner.

The tuner is the size of my thumb and it clips onto the headstock.

The next few days things will be trickle in.

Been thinking of how to approach insulating my attic. I have a crazy roofline with 4 different roofs above the second floor. Really only a 16 foot wide section that is 15 feet long would be a usable space, and that has gabled sides that is like an a-frame. All the other spaces have a low roof and is kinda dead space.

Six inch joists will get filled with R-23 rock wool, and in the spaces that are just dead space I’ll just run another layer of R-30 rock wool running perpendicular to the insulation in the joists. I figure about 55% of the attic with have R53.

The A-frame will just have R-23 in the joists, but I have these rigid foam panels that have a radiant barrier on both sides. I have two thicknesses: 1 inch; and 2 inch (R-6 and R13 respectively). I need to have about a 1 inch gap between the roof sheathing and the radiant barrier for air circulation according to the Department of Energy. Then rock wool, and then a continuous envelope of my rigid panel sealed with tape to avoid thermal bridging.

Did you know that about 20% of heat is conducted through studs and rafters? Also radiant heating is the most efficient way to heat something. The radiant barrier will help prevent the “oven” effect of heat buildup by reflecting heat gain from the sun.

BTW my attic is not vented and Devil Christian suggests that I can just avoid condensation I could just tighten up the house. I could always use a dehumidifier or even use a mini-split to heat and cool the space.

This small 16x15 space with basically no knee walls shaped like an A-frame will be my work space possibly. The garage will serve the Audi and Chevy C-10.

Cal Future Gas Guzzler
 
I actually froze the seatpost using CO2 prior to heating the steel frame, but no joy there. Only brute force and destruction of the post will remove it. Too bad because the Raleigh was spec’d with a Strong brand seatpost which had nice clamps. It’s always disappointing to have to destroy an original part in order to save the whole.
I actually am still considering using a lye bath if the post is that stuck; I think I’ll hit the inside of the seat tube with a few shots of oven cleaner to fully remove any stubborn aluminum and aluminum oxide grains then give it a few spins of a bronze brush.
I tell you, this is one UGLY frame now. I’m probably going to do a little prep of bare metal spots, then hit it with some close-but-no-cigar enamel and put it together. I really want to preserve John Olsen’s signature, otherwise I’d be getting it powder coated, or at least nicely rattle-canned. The decals are unobtainable though. They simply don’t exist and I’d have to have them completely remade based upon my bad sample of the bike. It’s a beater frame, so it should be ridden.
I got a 16/20 tooth Suntour 3/32” freewheel and I’m trying to figure out the best gearing in order to run a “double-double”. Basically, two singlespeed gears available. Trials low with the 20 tooth cog engaging a chainring, probably 26 tooth; then the 16 tooth engaging a 30 tooth “middle ring” which will give me decent gearing to ride a couple miles to and from the trails in Fairmpunt park. No derailleurs front or rear, the gear changes by unbolting the wheel, slacking the chain and moving it by hand then tightening up the wheel again. I’m really dead set against using a chain tensioner. If I want to ride a bike with stuff hanging off the dropout and taking up chain slack, I’ll ride my Breezer. Heck, I still have all the kit from the original spec Raleigh, so I could make it a 3x7 if I really wanted, again thats what the Breezer is for. Maybe I’ll get another “technical mountain bike” for “observed trials” like an Ibis or maybe Cannondade SM700 26/24 mullet. For now I have enough bikes. I just learned this morning that another bike is coming to the stable.
Oh yeah, if anyone wants a 1972 Mercedes Benz 220D for free, bring a flatbed and come take it away. It’s not running and needs new floor pans, but is a great car when working. I’m reasonably sure I’d get better fuel economy out of the 220 than my 2016 Fiesta, if it were running. I need my garage space back though.
Phil
 
The seatpost is out! I think a previous owner had put epoxy or some type of hard glue to keep the post in because even though the two halves were free, they needed to be pried away from the wall of the seat tube, making cracking and pinging noises all the way. What a pain in the butt.
Now on to actually building it and riding!
 
Old bmx thing...use your grandma's 98 cent hairspray to put your handlebar grips on with...they slide on easy and when they dry...hell to get off! I could see someone doing something like that to a seat post too.
 
Phil_F_NM said:
The seatpost is out! I think a previous owner had put epoxy or some type of hard glue to keep the post in because even though the two halves were free, they needed to be pried away from the wall of the seat tube, making cracking and pinging noises all the way. What a pain in the butt.
Now on to actually building it and riding!
Click to expand...
Phil,

Congrates.

BTW you might honor rescuing the frame by making it a Rat-Bike. The ugly part of the frame now has a story of love and determination: man and bike. The missing paint is part of that story, and I think it is cool.

Ugly is cool.

Cal
 
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