I have to be real careful lifting things or I whack my back and I'm whining for a week. I've figured out how to get 125's in/out of the truck without using my back at all: I get positioned alongside the tank about 2' behind the tailgate. Bend the leg nearest the tank, keeping back vertical, and grabbing the cap of the tank with one hand, pull the tank over on my knee - I put the knee about 1/2way up the tank, and roll the tank about 120degrees, putting the bottom of the tank pointing up at the tailgate. I grab the bottom of the tank with the other hand as it rolls upward. A little heave towards the truck, catch the tank on the tailgate and slide it in. Out is the reverse. My typical gas run is 4 tanks, in and out of the truck twice, this works well for me.

Tie the tanks down well in the truck - a couple of spare tires back there help, and a pair of car tiedowns looped around the cap, one from each side. I once had a tank come loose on Hwy 17 - the thing bashed in both fender wells pretty bad before I made it to a turnout.

I strapped mine down to the back corner of the bed and then added a loop around the cap to keep it from flipping over the side of the bed (that could be really bad). Luckily I only have to transport it a mile or less.

When I was using the little Mig with the AR/CO2 mix, I had an 80 and would go through them pretty quickly (The mig has been on loan to a buddy for about 5 years now!). It sucked to be 90% done, and run out (sure - I've got just enough to finish the job! Right...) I now use a T size (300 cu ft, I believe) Argon rental bottle for the TIG. My skinny butt can "shrug" it up off the ground, lean against the back bumper of the durango, pivot it horizontal, and slide it in. Reverse to take it out, and then roll it on the bottom to the metal fab table/cart. Then it's the bitch lifting it 6" onto the mounting pad. Tank rental is about $60/yr from Abco, and about the same for a full bottle exchange, and lasts me about one year. I'd love to buy one outright, as I'd make back the rental fee, but no idea on how long a cert lasts, and what it costs to get it re-done.

I've purchased all 7 of my tanks over the last 12yrs or so, and have never had to pay a cert fee. My LWS exchanges the cylinders rather than refilling. They must roll the cert fees into the gas cost.

They will exchange mine for $39.99 (125 cu ft) and I'm guessing it's the same thing.

It appears that this thread is going to wander on and off topic (which is fine) and eventually (hopefully) end up with a completed car...and maybe a clean garage.

Progress (I think). (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

AFCO radiator is out so I can have it cleaned. Yea, I know, use distilled water. I didn't, now I get to have a radiator shop clean it out. I know better, but I was in a hurry for the nashville thrash last year.

Harmonic balancer has been removed. I believe it is going to be headed off to one of our members soon.

While it's all out, I think I'm going to relocate the power steering cooler. I just have to find out what I'm going to do for the new mounting.



First pic is before:

Second pic is a sure sign that I'm working on something in the area. The only things missing would be a hammer and

Third pic is the new toy.

Fourth pic is after (lather, rinse and repeat):

Fifth pic is how I change power window motors from now on. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

In the sixth pic, I invented the right angle saber saw blade.

Not to be out done, I then invented the offset sawzall blade. Seems that I'm hard on tools sometimes.

Anyone need some 3rd gen door glass or power window parts?

Well, a couple weeks ago, I pulled the radiator to have it cleaned at a shop. It had developed calcium deposits from the water I was using (I was in a rush and didn't use distilled water). While it was out, I pulled the harmonic balancer and shipped it to its new home with ReEntryRacer (here on frrax). I made some calls to ATI and wound up purchasing an aluminum "3 ring" 7" balancer. It was a special order and took a week or so to arrive. It's a bit lighter than most similar balancers. And, since 2-3 lbs is 2-3 lbs. I'll take weight savings where and when I can get it.

Upon reading the instructions, I was reminded that ATI balancers come "tight" and must be honed to fit. I checked the measurements on the crank and the balancer and decided I was only .0003" tighter than specified. So, I heated the hub in the oven and installed it...mostly. When it got almost seated, I stopped (thinking it was on) and it cooled. When I tried to move it the last 1/4", I broke my Blue Point balancer installation tool. Oops... Checking my measurements shows that I managed to make a "slight" mistake and it was a far tighter fit than I thought. Hence the broken tool.

Anyway, long story short. This morning I had Mike at Fast Racing hone out the balancer hub. While I was out, I renewed the tags on the car (because I really SHOULD drive this thing on the street). Then I installed the balancer and radiator as well as all kinds of other stuff. Put the car back together and backed it off the ramps, and out of the garage. This is where I learned how handy it is to remove the very large drain pan from under the car before backing down the ramps. I managed to drag it out into the driveway, crush it and leak coolant "everywhere". I had to jack up the car to pull the pan and then put the fluid in a container that would keep it from getting spilled even more.

On the other hand, taking it for a drive was worth all the headaches. This is the first time I've had this car legal to drive since last October. So, I went out to burn some fuel out of it and enjoy the nice weather. It's not the track, but it's a good start.

Been there done that brother.

Glad you're making progress even if it seems like small steps.

Hood is mounted. It lines up "mostly well". I may have to move one of the dzus plates a bit, but it should work well enough for now.

Wipers, linkage and wiper motor are gone. The wiper arms didn't clear this hood. So, I'll consider the HRP race wiper setup if I need one. In the meantime, I'll just refresh the rain-x on the windshield.

Ok, I've learned something else interesting this week.

I was grinding some of the brackets out of the car and making a very impressive shower of sparks. Tonight I went to drive the car and when I sat down and noticed that there was "dirt" on the windshield. Turns out, that's not dirt, it's metal and it's embedded into the inside of the window. Oops.

Guess it's lexan time after all.

it won't buff out with the grinder ?

You're not the first one to learn this lesson. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

I didn't figure I was, but I really never thought much of it...until now. Oh well, just means the window is coming out so I can weld the bars that run through the firewall. 3/16ths lexan is $255 from Harwood, through Jegs. Now we know. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Ya, grind slag embeds itself into glass. That price on 3/16" is really low - are you sure it is mar resistant coated? GE's trademark is MR-10, there are others. If it is uncoated you won't like it, polycarbonate is very soft and scratches extremely easy. Also, most (NASA and SCCA, at least) sanctions require coated windshield.

This post has been edited by Blainefab: Sep 19 2008, 08:32 AM

yup, does the same thing to mirror glass too (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Start on that cage yet? I want to see how it fits...

It's somewhere between California and Ohio as I type this. Once it arrives, it's probably going to be too cold in my uninsulated garage to work on it, so it's likely to be stuffed in the corner until spring. Or that's my guess right now.

Cage kit is in. I have the tracking number and I just have to go to the hub and pick it up. I hope to get it tonight or one day this week.

4 pieces - looked like this before I strapped it to the pallet:
There's a bag of tabs and spoiler hardware wrapped up in the bundle with the main hoop.

(IMG:http://www.skyhighway.com/~bfpix3/IMG_2364.JPG)

This post has been edited by Blainefab: Dec 2 2008, 07:42 AM

I should be picking the cage up after work tonight.