NYC Journal

Dropped long beds are more compelling imo. Cal your in the burbs now and all that hard work improving the house and land has also impressed your neighbors, but that will all be destroyed the first time you ride down the street on a unicycle without a shirt....although I'd like to see a cat riding one...so best you let someone else destroy their reputation riding one of those things around.. :>)
 
A unicycle is a very good way to get an ab workout while also perfecting balance skills. I’ve thought about getting one for years for those reasons which will make me a better technical rider.
 
John,

That’s funny because it’s honest. LOL.

Now that I’m retired I am more patient than ever. Problem is “Maggie” is so use to having stress and a frenzied life that she can’t take advantage of retirement.

Also part of being an artist is wasting time daydreaming and imagining nonsense because it’s fun. When you are in a rush you can’t do that.

Pretty much my behavior is more childlike than ever.

I masked off the door and the side lights to have a hard edge to my painting. No one else I know would do that.

My photography professor back in art school made it a point to set me straight. “You have talent, but you waste it by rushing and doing things at the last minute,” Marc said.

His point was that you don’t do your best work when you don’t take your time, and I got called out for it because how I worked like a madman the day of and the day before an art tutorial deadline.

It is really great to have time and not be in a rush.

Cal
 
There are a number of 'hardcore' unicycle commuters in the City. I stopped to chat with one once, and he said his unicycle had a Schlumpf gear which gives a 2x accelleration. I looked it up on their website, and it seems that unicycle hubs are a big chunk of their business.
So it turns out that unicycles are just another rabbit hole like all others that you can pour time and money into!
 
Chris,

I already have a reputation. LOL. Can’t help but be a little crazy. Perhaps some people might be scared of me. LOL.

My neighbors see me walking around my hood carrying a chainsaw. I know its only a 7 inch Milwaukee “Hatchet” but I kinda look like a terrorist with a chainsaw and a cart like I just dumped a body.

I often go topless because I sweat easily and a lot. That’s how I got a stalker, but she moved away.

Mike, my UPS driver says he sees me either, running, walking, or biking all over Peekskill.

One thing I will have to do when I build a new motor is break in the cam, which requires running the engine for 20 minutes at 2,000 RPM to break-in the cam. Perhaps I should have an exhaust system and a muffler when I do that. With the Jeep initially I ran open headers to get an exhaust system made.

Pretty much when I gassed the throttle under load it sounded like the end of the world, but crushing a long pulling a strong vacuum you would never know I had open headers. The day I went to get my exhaust system designed and built, I got up early to avoid traffic and the police.

I was so illegal.

So now that the entrance is finally painted the Baby-Victorian looks like a mini-mansion.

I’m pretty sure my 66 C-10 will make me widely known. The truck is a lot cooler than a unicycle.

So most everyone goes into a new-tech V-8 to do a resto-mod on a vintage truck, but I figure it would be mucho cool to stick with the original engine and add a turbo.

With a three-on-a-tree three speed on the column the truck would be a cruiser rather than a drag racer. I want a bit of a lumpy idle though so it kinda sounds like a race boat. I miss that sound of my old Jeep.

Cal
 
Christian,

By Adorama I met up with one of those NYC crazies I am known to draw in. Did you know that there is a Unicycle Meet-Up held in the cloisters once a month?

Anyways I got the invite.

This unicyclist had one that had perhaps a 40 inch wheel so had a high gear that likely could time the lights and keep up with cars.

So you know what they say: “It takes one to know one.” LOL.

Cal
 
I just try to mind my own business I say, but somehow I have all this crazy stuff happening to me.

I guess I miss my old Jeep. “Maggie” hated it because it was well kinda scary to be a passenger in, especially with me driving.

No matter what I did I got 15 miles a gallon on high test. One reason was all the rotating mass of about 400 pounds of wheel and tires. Know that the Jeep only weighed 3,000 pounds on a truck scale with a full tank of gas, no doors, and the half-cab top removed, but it had 350 horsepower and 400 foot pounds of torque.

So if I used gentle acceleration I got 15 MPG; and if I stomped on the gas at every opportunity to maximize acceleration I still only got 15 MPG. Know that under full throttle you could not stand on the pedal too long.

Than there was the sound of long tube headers into dual 2 1/2 inch exhaust with low restriction “Flowmaster” mufflers that made this sound of a NASCAR on a strait away zoom sound. Even at idle the Jeep sounded nasty with the lumpy uneven idle of a cigarette boat warming up after startup.

At www.12Bolt.com Tom builds 320 horsepower 250 cubic inch inline sixes. There is a video of one getting dyno’ed on his site, but know that I would have to upgrade the tranny. Hmmm…

”Don’t tell Maggie.”

BTW been seeing lots of cars coming and going to the Hot Rod Hotel where all these exotic, performance, and muscle cars are stored. I speculate if its a hideout for cars so that wives might not now about.

Cal
 
David,

Bone density should be considered as you age, even in men.

Vitamin D is a good idea.

Also strength training helps maintain bones.

I have a female primary care physician who does these blood tests that monitor vitamin levels in my blood. With a 1000 IU of vitamin D daily I was still in the low range of normal, and know that I eat a lot of dairy products also.

Now I take a multivitamin on top of the Vitamin D that effectively doubles the dose.

I was surprised that I measured low-normal when not only I added a supplement but also with all the dairy I eat.

At my 40th year reunion I saw all these guys that were once much taller than me, are now kinda my height or shorter. These were rather big Irish and Italian friends, but they all shrank in stature. I wondered why and did some research, and it seems alcohol and binge drinking inhibits intake of vitamin D.

Pretty much the alcohol abuse I saw that my friends never grew out of speed up the aging process.

Know that I am one of those Asians who can’t break down alcohol because of lack of an M-zine, so I don’t drink. A girl asked me if I was in the right reunion because I looked much younger than all my peers.

I did not shrink, but my friends sped up the aging process.

My gal “Maggie” has the same PCP (Primary Care Physician) and she was told to take vitamin D every day because as we age we do not metabolize it as efficiently as we age.

Cal
 
The Baby-Victorian dramatically changed today with the painted front entrance. Somehow it looks more transformed because the look is kinda stunning.

The push mower, and the added height of the grass has made for a healthier lawn, even though I don’t seed or fertilize. It seems the lawn clippings have mulched the lawn and raised nutrients from the ground to the surface.

Then “Maggie” and I talked about all the work that has been accomplished.

They say El Niño will make for hotter summers. We are ready with the mini-splits on the first floor, and we are thinking of getting another for the master bedroom upstairs. Don’t know if we will have problems with shortages again.

Next project s to put up that cedar fence with a gate along the driveway for privacy and security. Also have to finish stripping the upstair’s bathroom door.

The house from 2020 has come a long way. I think Devil Christian will be surprised when he sees it again. Kinda like one of thos HGTV shows except not gut renovated, or opened up, but restored.

Cal
 
A new idea is to upgrade the 250 cubic inch engine to a 292. 15 extra horsepower and 40 more foot pounds of torque. Both engines are inline sixes, and in fact the head of a 250 will fit a 292, but the block is taller.

With a worked head with bigger valves and a roller cam along with a new intake manifold and headers I could go from a stock 170 HP to about 225-230 I figure, but the torque increase and power band would both be huge.

My research says my Saginaw 3-on-a-tree tranny is good fort 300 HP and up to 350 foot pounds of torque. This tranny has a syncro’ed first gear. Yay…

The engine would not be so crazy, but it would be durable and strong.

Not a drag racer, but a cruiser… Getting a rebuilt short block is very cost feasible.

I have a set of new spare springs that came with the truck, as well as a set of gas shock absorbers, but I do not know their application, so I’ll have to figure it out.

Also the 215/75/15 tires should be on the front, and the 255/60/15 tires on the rear. For some reason they are reversed. Know and understand that the 215’s are taller by 3/4’ers of an inch, and I wonder if I reverse the tires where the wider tire is on the rear that there would be less rake and even the truck might lay close to level.

Know that this C-10 was purchased as a “Camper” and it was loaded down with a lot of weight for many a time, years, or decades even. All I’m suggesting is that maybe/likely the rear springs have sagged. That would explain a lot: why only one set of springs; and why the tires were reversed front to back.

The manual steering with the footprint of a 255 makes for tough steering when not moving. Factory (OEM) tires were 205 in width for easy steering, so even 215 makes for harder steering unless moving.

The front and rear suspensions are all new, as well as the steering. The next step is lowered spindles and springs. If the springs are for the rear and are for a 3-4 inch drop that would be ideal. Then I would just buy drop spindles for a 2 1/2 or 3 inch drop on the front. New spindles are also required to convert drum to disc brakes, so two upgrades would happen with new spindles.

I cleared more Knotweed from the marsh grass and then pulled up a bunch from the hillside of the abandoned house. Also weeded out some errant new growth on my property. This war I am winning.

Got a lot of complements on the new door/entrance from my neighbors now that it is painted.

One of my neighbors gave a cash offer for the abandoned house that I thought was generous, but the owners and the real estate agent are greedy, and they are asking crazy money for the run down house that is clearly neglected, run down, and is a mess.

Another neighbor thinks a contractor will buy the house as a flip. The house is like mine in that it is on a double lot, and this house being the last house in Peekskill kinda stands by itself with no next door neighbor. It also borders on state land that includes the marsh, the brook, and the frog pond.

The house though is really just a cottage that might be only 1000 square feet.

Also I learned that prices in my hood are very high and higher than I thought. One property is asking $700K which I think is insane. One reason why our property is valued so high is that we are not in the Peekskill school district, and the school district we belong to is one of the top 100 school districts in New York State. The reason being Indian Point the nuclear power supply.

Peekskill meanwhile is an immigrant community and mostly Latino. Of course the test scores are lower on average in immigrant communities, English is a second language for many.

Cal
 
C,

Living the dream.

OEM green paint has a deep rich aged patina that is wonderful.

Small non panoramic rear window is small and retro. The look is of the 1950’s.

The mirrors are “California” mirrors for a “Camper” OEM factory ordered.

Step rear bumper, also factory ordered.

I want to keep the factory white 6-lug steel rims, and the “Dog Dish” hub caps.

I figure a very torque-E 292 with intake, head, and headers with a nice roller cam could get me 225-250 HP, nothing crazy, but fun to drive. A real cruiser. The idle would not be loopy, but strong and deep. Likely would pick a cam for either strong midrange or high torque.

The key really would be the head. New large 1.94 inch intake valves, and “lump-ports” for a straighter path.

The truck is a looker already because it has the patina to die for and is so OEM. Nothing to do cosmetically except replace the wooden bed that is rotted out. About $1.5K for a trick oak replacement with stainless steel hidden bolt strips.

Front disc brake upgrade with new drop spindles, perhaps 2 1/2 inch drop on the front, and a 3 or 4 inch drop on the rear to approach a near level stance with tall tires. Lowered yes, but not slammed like a short bed.

I should still be able to haul stuff and tow.

I would keep the old 250 inline 6 on a stand. Worth keeping because all the mods can be undone and go back to OEM. There is a lot of value there because for someone who wants to do a full restoration to OEM this would be a good truck for that. No Bondo, no new paint, and already OEM. Matching numbers…

I would expect with a lower center of gravity that handling would get more car like.

Cal
 
Last edited:
I forgot to mention that I owned a 1980 Checker Limo that featured a black vinyl top and opera widows. My checker was stretched a foot longer that a Checker cab and had bench jump seats for 9 passenger capabilities.

The chassis was a GM X-frame from a long bed pickup. Did you know that Checker Limo’s were kinda rare, only about 200 were ever made. Mine was a dark Navy Blue.

Mine had a 267 V-8, a posi rear and a Turbo 400 tranny.

When I owned my Limo the CEO of Grumman also drove a grey Checker non-limo.

This is a car I still wish I owned.

My C-10 is more like a replacement for the Checker Limo rather than my Jeep Scambler with half cab and Corvette engine.

Cal
 
If you had the tuning dialed in...breathing and running at optimum efficiency...using good gas and you drove it like a grandpa...I bet it would get good mpg. 🙂

Do they make computer controlled FI systems for such an engine? That would make it even more efficient and durable.
 
C,

I have jetted and dialed in a Holley 4-barrel double pumper on my Jeep.

I intend on setting up a vacuum gauge with a tachometer as part of my instrumentation around the steering column. Pretty much that is all you need to dial in a carb. I forgot also a timing light. The distributor though will be an electronic ignition for stability, reliability, and durability.

Part of the dialing in is advancing the timing, and all the adjustments are highly interactive. Advancing the timing changes idle and vacuum, and basically the sweet spot is going lean without detonation.

Of course there is further interaction between the primaries and the secondaries, and there you want smoothness to avoid wheel hop to avoid loss of control. These adjustments tested under full acceleration.

Of course gas matters so pretty much no off brands, use high test, and stick with a quality brand.

It takes a bit of experimenting, it is fun, but dialing in a tune is really not that hard with a carb.

I think I want to go all retro. There is a manifold that uses three one barrel carbs for racers, but I think a mechanical 4- barrel is enough. A mistake is to over carb. Pretty much the engine would run on just two barrels, and 4 barrels would be used for full acceleration.

Once you get use to driving a manual with a tach and vacuum gauge pretty much you get a feel for running things efficiently. The vacuum gauge does not lie.

Also know I want to keep things simple and easy to fix. The factory tire size was 205/75/15 and my 215/70R15 and 255/60R15 are almost the same size. All these tires are about the same diameter so speedometer error is not an issue. With my Jeep Scrambler I had a 20% speedometer error. 55 MPH was actually 66 MPH. 85 MPH, pegging the needle, was actually 102 MPH.

BTW 102 MPH in a Jeep is mighty fast. The truck really is barely on the ground and catching air is really easy.

The tires would be BF Goodrich T/A radials. Wow did tires get costly: inflation. The days of $110.00 truck tires is way gone. Understand that decades have passed without having to buy tires so the shock is sudden.

On my Jeep I used All-Terrains after having used Mud Terrains when I lived in New Mexico. Those Mud Terrains were great but they were loud and had a lot of road noise. The All-Terrains were not so loud, but I would not call them quiet either.

Fuel injection would be nice, but the expense is not needed.

Cal
 
Last edited:
My neighbor’s wife hit a deer on Route 9 in Montrose one exit away just south of our exit. The deer jumped a divider and T-boned the car.

This happen around 10:00 AM in the morning.

I not too long ago had a close encounter with several deer on Route 9A. I was in the right lane, and three deer were in the left lane. Know that 9A has no lighting and it was at night. Pretty much I only saw the deer when my headlights hit them.

Anyways deer are a problem…

Digging in I kinda have to make decisions that involve changing from 6-lug to 5-lug on the wheels that involves the disc brake upgrade. 5 lug allows for more wheel options and possibilities. Also I likely won’t be able to use my OEM 15x5.5 rims due to interference with the calipers.

So now things open up a bit with larger diameter rims and possibly other size tires. Wheels are not inexpensive, even used ones can be costly. Still would like to stick with a 27 inch diameter tire, but tire size also effects greatly the height and stance.

Have to rethink everything because the game has changed.

I could cheap-out and keep drum brakes on the rear, but that is not my style.

Anyways a 4 wheel disc upgrade is being researched…

A 2 1/2 inch drop on the front provided by drop spindles would also be added to any sag from 57 year old springs. Don’t forget that this truck was weighted down with a camper for a good part of its life.

A 4 inch drop on the rear would still maintain a rake I figure. Then I have a set of OEM/factory overload springs, and I don’t know how that will play out. Could be great: or could be bad.

My Checker Limo had Michelin 235/75/15’s on all four wheels. A checker is built on a GM x-frame truck chassis so pretty much that kinda level stance is what I’m after of a car without any rake. I could buy new springs for the front to dial things in if I have to raise or lower the front to make thins level.

Also would add a sway bar, the Checker had one. Could use a half ton, or a 3/4 ton.

Because the Limo had a long wheelbase the ride was smooth BTW. Now that I think of it the Jeep Scrambler was like a stretched Jeep CJ7, and my Checker was a Limo and had an extended wheelbase, so the C-10 being a long bed fits right in.

Pretty much I want the C-10 Fleetside long bed to be like my Checker Limo. How ghetto is that?

Cal
 
Mornin' Cal,

Just printed -this- this morning. Twas fun

Adox Ortho PL25 5x7 Norma MicX 360 Apo Ronar by Nokton48, on Flickr

5x7 Sinar Norma #2 360mm F9 Rodenstock Apo Ronar barrel at F11 Adox 5x7 Ortho PL25 Yellow filter Broncolor C200 1500WS Monolight popped eight times into Broncolor Octobox 150 with supplemental diffusion. 4x6 foot foamcore fill right just out of the frame. Legacy Mic-X straight replenished mixed in 2019. 5x7 Contact Print on Arista RC #2 Dektol 1:2 . I shot one frame at four pops, and one at eight pops. The denser neg looks better to me.
Canvas background is "Tim Kelly Gold Plaster" painted for me by Artist David Maheu.
 
Worked on sanding, then gel staining the upstairs bathroom door. Five raised panels made the job tedious.

Tomorrow will be near 90, summer approaches.

I dug into the C-10 a bit. Took a level and compared the garage floor and the truck’s rake, and pretty much it sits level with the larger tires on the rear (215/70/15 are 3/4” taller than 255/60/15). Pretty much this explains why the tires are reversed, evidently the springs have sagged a lot over 57 years.

From the factory the rear stood 2 inches taller for an aggressive rake, but loaded down with a camper tired out the rear springs and 2 3/4 inches is the difference from the front axel. I suppose the front springs sagged say an inch, so I kinda already have a lowered truck. Almost 3 inch rear: and perhaps an inch in the front.

In a post within a thread on first Generation C-10’s one guy mentioned that he dropped the front end with 2 1/2 inch drop spindles along with a 1 inch drop with a lower spring, but in fact the truck only got lowered 2 1/2 inches. Evidently the old spring developed an inch of sag.

At this point the overload auxiliary springs are now in play and are touching the axel. I could always add a shim to deactivate the helper spring. I figure the overload spring would kinda work like a rear sway bar to help prevent body roll.

Then I looked at the new spare set of springs that came with and determined they are front springs, likely to lower the front to recover the rake by lowering the front. Hmmmm…

My research revealed that for 2-3 inches of drop shock absorbers are kinda universal, so the new set of gas shocks are good for me. My guess is that the extra set of springs are likely for a front 2 inch drop, but because I intend to use a drop spindle they will go unused.

When I change over to disc brakes on the front I can use a drop spindle for a 2 inch or 2 1/2 inch drop. Let’s say the rear sagged almost 3 inches from being weighted down for a good part of it’s life. The overload spring activation might not be a bad thing. Beyond 4 inches of drop the frame needs to be notched and reinforced, so 3 inches is on the safe side and allows for still using the truck as a truck.

So all I would have to do is use a drop spindle to lower the front end for a near 3 inch rear drop on the rear that is kinda built in already. I would have to change the spindle anyway for the disc brake conversion.

Rear disc brakes could be added at anytime, but they would be overkill. Adding disc brakes though adds about 3/4’ers of an inch to each side of the axel. That’s alright with me because I’ll likely go with 225 wide tires on all 4 wheels. Not much wider than OEM and retro looking.

Even though I don’t have the money, or the time, the truck build is moving forward. Kinda interesting how the rear drop I got for free. Originally I was thinking a 4 inch drop on the rear, and a 3 inch drop on the front end, so this compromise of an almost 3 on the rear ( for free) and a 2 or 2 1/2 on the front is close enough.

Who knows if the front sagged more than an inch, so I favor the 2 1/2 inch drop spindles.

BTW my old Checker I could crawl under without jack stands and that meant about 9-10 inches at the rocker panel for my chest to get underneath. The C-10 is at 13-14 inches, so with a 2 1/2 inch drop on the front I get kinda close to the Checker height.

Cal
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom