North Carolina, 2013

[LJ-TJ]

  Noooo pictures 

[M & J]

I think its time for an intervention TJ.

[LJ-TJ]

 :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LMAO!!!

I got everything I needed today for the projects, although I had to drive all over the place to get everything.  O'Reilly's ordered me the mounting flanges, which will be here tomorrow, but they said the intake hose would take up to 2 weeks to get here!  So I bought the filter there, then went to Advanced Auto, which will have it for me tomorrow, although I had to pay extra for expedited shipping.

I went to Lowes and got a small canvas drop cloth to use as the backing for the rolly doors, but the more I thought about the nature of wood, especially thin wood, I decided to go with plywood instead, which is less suseptible to warping.  But the thin oak plywood they had at Lowes was deplorable, so it was off to Home Depot.

I bought more mousetraps at Home Depot, and a new kitchen faucet with a sprayer hose, some polyethelyene tubing, and found the perfect thin oak faced plywood to use...in the cabinet section! 

Since it was near Harbor Freight, I stopped there too and looked at their plastic welding kit, and looks like they improved it.  80 watts, and the iron end looks pretty heavy duty...so the supplies for the freshwater tank repair are gotten.

Then a trip to Napa for oil and oil filter and an oil drain pan, and 2 fuel filters.

By the time I got home it was already past 2pm...geesh!

Okay...so I decided to tackle at least one simple project before dark...the kitchen sink.

Not so simple!

The strange Moen faucet that was on there was only set up with 2 holes, very wide spread!

The faucet spout itself had one hole, although it looked like a 3 hole model.  Off to the side, where you'd normally have a 4th hole, was the second hole, and that is where the handle to control the faucet was.  The nuts were brass, and an odd size, and you just can't get a pipe wrench in there, or even a channel lock!

What to do?  Make a tool!  I had an old table saw arbor wrench from a long dead table saw laying around, that was almost big enough...and about a half an hour with a vise and a mill file make it the perfect size.

So I got the nuts off, and removed the faucet.  Thankfully I had the right size forstner bit to drill 2 more holes, and after cleaning up the sawdust, tried to install the new faucet.

Now I know why I was always chasing mystery leaks under the sink!  The pipes going to the faucet are that grey tubing stuff, and the ends are the grey kind too.  But the inside cone washers were missing!  Some previous owner filled the gap with plumbers putty...ye gads man!!!  I wasn't about to do it the same wrong way!

A search on the internet showed that no one in the area carries Flair-It fittings, so off to True Value hardware to see what they had.

They had some rubber cone washers that were about the right size, but they also had some of the grey fittings with the right size built in cone washers that looked to be removable.

I bought both, and headed home.

Cleaning out the old plumbers putty took the longest, so first I tried fitting in the rubber cone washers.  I got one in, but it was so tight I couldn't turn the nut!  I popped out the washers from the new gray fitting, and tried those...ALMOST perfect, but the ID hole was a tad too small.  Good thing I have a drill press!  I drilled them slightly bigger on the ID, cut a piece of 5/8 poplar dowel to use to drive them in place...yep, had to make another tool...and voila!  They looked factory!

I got everything in, snugged down the water lines (which thankfully were JUST long enough), and turned on the water.

No leaks!

I checked the water flow, and its over 1 gpm, so its good to go, and works WAY better with the on demand hot water than the old faucet!

Success!  And its was almost dark to boot!  Geesh!

Just about the same time I finished cleaning up after the project we got the call from the dash guy that he had arrived.

OMG did he do a nice job!!!

I paid the nice man, then put the dash assembly in a safe place from the elements and the puppies, and called it a night!

Tomorrow?  Dash and carpet time!  I've got to finish it tomorrow so we have time to build all the catapults, install the intake system, change the oil and filters, and start on the rolly doors before the weekend.  That will give us time to finish everything else next week!

Book time!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

It took all day, but the dash is IN!!!

And did somebody say pictures?

It looked so good I had to take the time to add pictures to Photobucket!

These aren't all the pictures of the whole project, but its a barrage, and some of you deserve a barrage! 

I also got all the last bits of carpet in place!

Hold on to your hats!

First a few before pictures:







And here is the dash all removed...scary, isn't it?



All that got cleaned up, and then I finished the carpet kick panels and around the pedals:





Here is the refinished doghouse.  I challenge you to find a seam!



And now, the finished dash, all installed!













Don't mind the yellow marks...its just chalk from the upholsterer's templates!

And too keep the dash from ever getting torn up again, he made us a custom cover!







The cover is quilted with a moving blanket type filler, with the red backside being impervious to puppy claws!



And speaking of puppies!  Here is a very recent picture of Karli and Paladin...they are getting so big!!!



I didn't have time to reinstall the chairs and the desk yet, but that is tomorrow's project in addition to catapults.

Enough pics for now...my internet connection sucks!

Kev

[LJ-TJ]

WOW! and you paid HOW MUCH. Man did he ever do a sweet job on the dash. :)rotflmao

[M & J]

Beautiful Kevin. Congratulations sir.

[HandyDan]

I can see why you couldn't apply the vinyl yourself.  Your dash is WAY more curvatious than mine!

[Elandan2]

Excellent job!!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Since we already had the vinyl and did the install/reninstall ourselves, it was only 150.00 for him to reupholster the dash, and an extra 100.00 for the cover, for a grand total of 250.00.  SWEET deal!

I'm about to run down to Concord, NC in a few to pick up the Spectre intake hose from Advanced Auto, and the 2 mounting flanges for that project from O'Reilly's...both special ordered...then hit the hardware store for new nuts and bolts and washers to reinstall the Captain's chairs, and some spray spar varnish while I'm at it for the rolly doors, which I'm going to get a start on today. 

I decided to use new bolts and nuts since 4 out of the 8 have their threads messed up and it will be a lot easier to reinstall the seats if I don't have to fight old crossthreaded bolts!

Once back home, I'll be taking the rolly doors down and cutting out my wood strips on the table saw, then sanding them, then I'll be stretching the canvas over plywood, spraying it with 3M high strength glue, then laying out the strips in the glue and clamping down everything with boards over the top.  Once the glue is set I'll stain the new doors golden oak, then spray them with the spar varnish.

Since there is a lot of dry time on that project, I'll be installing the chairs at the same time, and drilling the necessary holes for the Bandit and Twister catapults, and getting them sanded, and cutting out more dowels for them.

The goal today is to get the chairs in, the rolly doors made, and the small catapult parts ready to assemble tomorrow.  If I have time I'll go ahead and install the air intake and filter, and if the doors aren't completely dry they will get reinstalled tomorrow.

Tomorrow its assemble the Bandits and Twisters and get all the parts cut out for Mangonels and Trebuchets while Patti works on the mousetrap catapults, then if I have time grease all the fittings on the rig, check the rear diff fluid, and change the oil and filter and fuel filters.

If I get all that done, then Friday will be a walk in the park getting the trebs and mangonels built, with more time left over for projects as well.

If I stay on this schedule, next week will be a final run of small catapults, parts prep for the student days in Arizona, and plenty of time to finish the rest of the project list before we leave on vacation!

Lots of work, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer!

Kev

[M & J]

If we didnt say thank you for the pictures -Thank you Kevin.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

And a whole lot more got done today!!!

First I had to go down to the hardware store for new bolts and nuts and washer for the seats, and to return the oak faced panels to Home Depot and get longer ones...they were an inch too short!  I also picked up the cold air intake hose and the 2 flanges, then back home I came.

Once home, I removed the rolly doors, then disassembled the falling apart pieces from the main oak pieces that have the brass handles on them.  Once done, I used the original width of the strips as a template, then cut them out on the table saw.  Since I do fine small work in my woodshop, the blade made perfect cuts without chewing up the panel...damn I love my little Craftsman table saw with its 7 1/4 blade!

Then I sanded the pieces, and stretched the canvas over a piece of plywood, then marked square lines on the canvas, and sprayed the whole thing with a thick coat of 3M high strength glue.  Working quickly, I laid the strips in the glue butted tightly together, and then put 2 foot boards over the whole assembly, and clamped them tight.  I made both together as one long rolly door, which I can separate into 2 once the varnish sets.  I had to let the glue dry, so...

On to the next project!

Last time I was working on my headlights and troubleshooting wiring, I removed the steering wheel, and when I reinstalled it I installed it slightly off to the left.  Annoying as heck, and messes with the automatic shutoff for the blinkers.  So, since the seats were still out and I know my front wheels are perfectly straight this time, I pulled it again, realigned it, then tightened it all back down.

Glue was set, so outside I went, unclamped the new rolly doors, and using a rag coated them with Minwax Golden Oak Stain.  That had to dry, so...

On to the next project!

The cold air intake was next, since the seats were still out and it would make it easier to route the intake hose without them in the way.

And pictures, did somebody say?

The heart of the cold air intake is the Spectre Performance cast aluminum plenum, 99.00 from Summit Racing, which included the shipping:





As you can see in the next picture, the plenum was at just the right height and angle so that the new intake hose was routed in the same place as the old snorkel hose, with nothing in the way:



The next picture is of the hose routing, and how it goes up along the side of the doghouse where the original hose went to a plastic intake assembly that mounted in a metal bracket:



I had to remove the whole metal bracket assembly in order to get a tight seal to the new air cleaner.  I used 2 flanges, also by Spectre, and using blue RTV gasket cement, bolted them to each other on either side of the metal bracket assembly so a flange would stick out on both sides...once for the intake hose, and one for the air cleaner.  I attached the hose...also by Spectre and they come with these neat rubber boots on both ends that make a tight seal...to the inside flange of the metal bracket first, tightened it down with a hose clamp, then reinstalled the bracket assembly in its original location...which wasn't easy, and some wiring harnesses and an AC line had to be moved for clearance.  Once that was done, I attached the hose to the plenum, and called that part of the operation done.  Now it was time for the air cleaner.  In the next 2 pictures, you can see the air cleaner mounted, and if you look close, you can see the metal bracket I was talking about with the new flanges added and blue RTV sealing it:





A peak through the grill shows that the air cleaner will stay out of the rain for the most part, and it will certainly be a true cold air intake:



The whole intake system is theoretically rated at 900 CFM, so there shouldn't be any airflow issues.

Another neat thing about the system is that I can access the mixture screws, choke, and idle screw on the fly without removing anything now!  Since I plan on advancing the timing in slow increments on the way out west to get more power without pings and knocks, lowering the idle accordingly, this will certainly come in handy!





So that project was done, and it was time to varnish the new rolly doors.  I used Minwax semigloss spray spar varnish...one even coat.  That had to dry, so...

On to the next project!!!

The seats!

With Patti's help, that went pretty quickly...poking an ice pick up through the new carpet from under the rig, which she marked the location with a Sharpee, then cutting an X cut in the the carpet above each bolt hole...then aligning the seat, sinking in the new bolts, then getting under the rig and tightening them down with new nuts and flat washers and lock washers while Patti kept the upper bolt heads from turning with a wrench.

The seats were installed, then it was cleanup time.

Once everything was tidied up and put away, it was almost 5pm.

The varnish was still a little bit tacky, so I move the whole piece of plywood to my stain rack to keep it out of the weather, and called it a night.

And that was it for today!

Tomorrow its a marathon catapult building day...with maybe some time thrown in to work on the rolly doors some more. 

We'll see how the catapult production goes the next couple of days to determine if any other projects can get done this week!

Now to read for a bit!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You are quite welcome for the pictures!  I love posting them, but when my internet connection is slow its a bummer and cuts into my small amount of free time for reading...lol!

Kev

[pvoth1111]

Hot water heater pics?? W%

[pvoth1111]

Oh and looking at the pics...are you still running smog pumps?

[M & J]

Again, nice work and especially the pictures.
One note though, if the filter is right behind the grill, I would suggest a rain or splash guard. Even though you are parked most of the time, one downpour while driving may ruin the filter or worse. I couldnt tell if the filter is paper or cotton, but either wont take direct water without failing.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

The filter is cotton...but its up above the grill.  I took the through the grill picture from a low angle, but even the worst downpour MIGHT get the very bottom of the filter wet...but if its raining that hard we pull off the nearest exit or rest area and wait it out.

I'm still running the smog pumps, but the are now only blowing air directly into the air boxes that lead to the exhaust manifold.  I'll remove them completely when I have headers put on in Arizona this year.

After the AZ Renfaire, since we have a month until our next show, my plan is to bring the rig to a shop and have them install the headers for me, and possibly even fix the dash AC...if it can be converted at least.

Today I decided to prep out the mousetrap catapult parts Patti needs, cut out the dowels for the Bandits and Twisters and get them into the dehydrator, then drill and router the sides and get them sanded, same with the armatures, then cut out all my trebuchet and mangonel parts and prep them out for assembly tomorrow.  It only takes me about an hour to assemble 50 and 50 of the Bandits and Twisters, and if the parts are prepped out the others go fast as well, since I'm building 3 each.

If I can get that done pretty early...should only take until around 1pm...then I'll finish up the rolly door project and maybe get a start on the mechanical side of things, like the oil change and whatnot.  The more we get done this week, the less stressful next week will be!

Now for some coffee!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

All the catapult parts are done and sanded and ready to assemble, Patti finished all the mousetrap catapults, and in between all that I finished the rolly doors!  I'll install them tomorrow since I decided to let the glue set over night in the house where its warm.

I made a mistake making the doors, but it all worked out in the end!  I guess I should have read the directions!  Apparently the 3M high strength glue is contact cement in a can and you are supposed to spray both sides and let it get tacky.  It worked out for the best though, and if I were to do it again, I'd do it the exact same way!

Pictures?  Yep!!!

In the 2 pictures below you can see the deplorable condition of the original rolly door panels.  They are made of cardboard!  I kept them together for a year with Gorilla Tape, but they finally gave up the ghost:





The next picture shows the strips, already stained and varnished, still glued down to the canvas:



Once I cut the canvas and turned it over as a unit, I noticed the glue wasn't sticking very well.  So I read the can and realized it worked like contact cement.  In retrospect, I'm glad I did it this way first to get the strips lined up perfectly and square...the glue grips like crazy when you follow the directions!  One mistake laying it out would have been disastrous since the grip of the glue is immediate once you let it get to just barely tacky.  So I peeled back one half and sprayed both the canvas and the wood strips, let it get tacky, then laid the canvas back down and spread it smooth and tight...then did the other side, spreading it smooth and tight...the grip was immediate and strong!



The next three pictures show the new rolly door panels rolled up!  They work, and the glue is strong as heck!  I tried to separate the leftover 3 strips once I cut these to the right height, and the canvas was so well bonded to the wood it started to tear away wood fibers:







Next I put woodglue in the oak channels on the lower part of the doors, slid in the now separated panels, and used short 1/2 staples from my air staple gun to secure them from the back side:



The last 2 pictures show the now completed doors, brass handles and all, in the house on the cedar chest bench I made, letting the glue dry.  I got the handles in a lot on eBay a while back...solid brass instead of the ugly brass plated crap that came in the rig...43 handles for around 40 bucks if I remember right.  It was enough to replace every handle in the RV with about 7 left over for future projects:





I'd say they came out better than new!  I'll be doing the install on them tomorrow while building the catapults, and if I have time left over I'll start some of the mechanical things that need doing.

When I have more time, I'll post a more thorough procedure of this project in the project section, since this would really come in handy for a lot of vintage RVs that used the roll top type cabinet doors!

So now its book time after I ask a question in the chassis board about which way to turn my distributor to advance the timing...lol!

Kev

[HandyDan]

Nice job you've done.  I guess Holiday Rambler must have gone like many other manufacturers and found cheaper ways to build things.  My "rolly doors" (tambor doors) are actually wood strips, not cardboard.  But the tracks are plastic and with age are becoming brittle and crack.  I have found some new ones, but they are expensive and difficult to install.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

On ours, the tracks are aluminum and don't spiral like your plastic tracks...they bend back, following the inside contour of the compartment, which is very similar to yours.  Which also makes them easier to install or remove.  I take a pic of the tracks and installed doors later today and post them tonight.

Now I've got to get out to the workshop to assemble the small catapults, then get to work on the trebuchets and mangonels!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Got an early start and assembled all the Bandit and Twister catapults, then decided to forgo the building of the mangonels, which are tedious to build and don't sell very quickly.  Instead I designed on the spot a larger version of the Twister...yet to be named...assembled the same simple way.  So its a machine I can build quickly enough to sell for 40.00, but its the same size as my 60.00 catapults.  I actually need to raise the price of those to 75.00 since they take so long and my materials cost keeps going up, but if I can come up with no frills versions I'll be ahead in the long run.  Already working on a simplified version of the trebuchet for 40.00, but no time to put the images in my head to the saws and sanders at this time...

Anyhow, after I built 5 of those, I cut out and prepped all my parts for 3 trebuchets, got them assembled and woodputtied, and around that time the generator guy showed up!  It was around 3pm at this point.

He fired up the genny and it ran great for a while...then put put puttered out like it was out of gas.

He got it running again long enough to realize one cylinder wasn't firing.  He pulled the plugs and the non firing cylinder had a big chunk of carbon across the gap.  He changed the plugs and started it again, and it ran better than I've ever heard it.  So he changed the oil and filter, and started it again, and it ran long enough for him to set everything to spec...and then it did the same thing, like it was out of gas.

He cleaned the brushes, then tried to troubleshoot the fuel delivery problem, and came to the same conclusion I did:  More than likely bad fuel lines going to the tank.  It could be the fuel pump, but he didn't have a gas can and fuel line to check it that way.  However, he did give me the NAPA parts number for a replacement pump that works great with my genny that is WAY cheaper than Onan if the need arises.

So I can add that to my list next week!  Change out the fuel line, add a fuel filter because it doesn't have one, and see if she stays running!  If not, go to NAPA and get the pump and install it.

I think from now on though I'll add the genny maintenance to my list of things I need to do myself.  He charged my 241+ dollars to change the oil and filter and spark plugs, and dither around with the settings...only to tell me I had to replace the fuel lines myself and possibly the fuel pump.  Had he fixed it for 241 I wouldn't complain, but that's a lot of money to do what I could have done myself!

While he was working on the genny and I was waiting for my woodputty to dry, I spent an hour trying to install the rolly doors, but just wasn't able to solve the blacksmith puzzle in the one hour window I had.  I know it can be done...I did it last year when I gorilla taped the doors...I just couldn't get it this time.  It will happen after the weekend!

So all the catapults were done and stained by 5:45, then it was off to the market for marshmallows and whatnot.

Now its time to relax with a book...DANG its been a long week!

Kev

[circleD]

Im new to this site and have been trying to find others that have an 84ish HR Imperial to get help from. I have been handed down the camper from my uncle to carry on the tradition and it still looks newish but has been sitting for 1-2 years. I live in Salisbury and work in Kannapolis. If there's anything I can help you with let me know. As they say, I know a guy.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks!  Maybe we'll touch base next year, since our time here this year is rapidly coming to a close and we have a LOT to do in the next week to get out of here on time!

About to go set up the booth!  Should be a crazy busy day since the rain threat seems to be minimal and the weather is very warm!  Tomorrow its supposed to be COLD!  Highs around 40...brrrrrrr!

Should also be an interesting day at faire today, with a lot of folks dressed up like Dr. Who...50th anniversary today, and they'll be some interesting characters out there today!

Gotta get going!  Lots of setup to do, and still have to get all showered up and prettified!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

A great sales day at faire today, even though the crowd was relatively light.  The forecasted rain never came, and it was a nice 65 degree day!  But the folks that did come out came out to buy Christmas presents!

Not a lot of Dr. Who fans about, which was surprising!

Supposed to be wicked cold tomorrow though...39 for a high with 15 mph winds...brrrrrrr!!!

I bought 4 cans of propane for our Buddy Heater, which will be stashed under the counter!  Gonna have to dress warm!

One more day of faire, so I hope folks come out despite the cold!

Lots to do next week, but we've cut it down to a manageable chunk...although its going to be cold most of the week, so I'll be freezing my butt off running the new genny fuel lines, greasing the fittings, checking the diff fluid, changing the oil and filter and fuel filters, and all that.

Its REALLY gonna be cold cleaning the roof and solar panels, and cleaning off the mildew from the fiberglass!  Gotta be done though.  Almost makes me regret getting rid of my West Marine foul weather gear!  Also gotta clean off the brown drip stains running down the RV from the leaves on the roof...just haven't had time to keep the roof clear this year!

Looks like I'll only have one days worth of catapult work next week to get ready for Arizona, which will also take some of the stress off in getting ready to leave.

But for now?  A wee bit of Bourbon and a good book!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr its cold outside!  Not much of a breeze though...hope it stays that way!

Nice and sunny, so hopefully folks will come out on the last day and do some Christmas shopping!

Kev