| Tuesday, July 31, 2007 |
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(not) For the Shorties
by brian @ 18:30:42 - [perma-link]A few days ago Lesley came up with the idea to build a mobile bar to tow behind our bikes at Burningman. After some brainstorming, I started scrounging craigslist for Powerwheels. Tonight I walked th bar around the block, under its own power. The front end is the rear half of a Powerwheels Quad. I have it hooked to the front of the cart and it steers like a wagon. At the stock 6V, its a comfortable, but not leisurely, walk to keep up with it. Boosting it to 12V brings it to a brisk jog, once it regains traction (it totally burns plastic when I shift it to 2nd;). I'm hoping to get a variable speed motor controller on it before Burningman, but I'll mostly be towing it with my bike, so the quick pace won't be a problem, and the power assist (to my electric stingray) will be fun. I have a regular car battery on the hitch. That should last all day and night on a full charge.
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Flor
by ccons @ 21:30:23 - [perma-link]Is here!
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| Sunday, July 29, 2007 |
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Burning Man
by ccons @ 00:06:48 - [perma-link]At the Cinch
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| Saturday, July 28, 2007 |
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Alcatraz
by ccons @ 13:16:36 - [perma-link]On the ferry with Johnny's family.
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| Friday, July 27, 2007 |
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Daft Punk
by ccons @ 20:43:18 - [perma-link]At the Greek, baby!
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| Saturday, July 14, 2007 |
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Now we're going fast!
by brian @ 18:36:51 - [perma-link]Lesley, Josh and I took the boat out for the Portland Poker Run.
Lesley took this picture shortly after the pace boat set our heat
loose. We did pretty well considering we were the smallest boat in
the pack. More later. We're off to the dinner/party/awards banquet.
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| Wednesday, July 11, 2007 |
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La at Cha
by ccons @ 20:37:15 - [perma-link]Weather in SF is awesome. La is pretty.
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| Thursday, July 5, 2007 |
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Portland for the Fourth
by ccons @ 20:23:44 - [perma-link]Damn, I don't remember the weather ever being this nice when I was a kid. |
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| Tuesday, July 3, 2007 |
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Not this year, Osama!
by brian @ 21:17:00 - [perma-link]On Sunday afternoon Lesley, Josh and I went to summerize the boat.
We replaced the drain plugs and hoses, changed the oil and filter,
and fired it up. And it overheated. And something sounded ugly when
we shut it off. So we pulled spark plugs and found water in the
cylinders, then started pulling the motor apart. It turns out we
"forgot" to replace the water pump impeller, which apparently is
another part that wears out every couple of years. Now that I know,
I'll be replacing it annually just to be sure.
Yesterday we got the gaskets and ordered some new exhaust manifolds
(the most likely piece that would have failed from the heat) from
Pacific Powerboats. The cheaper replacements weren't available on
such short notice, so I had to get the stock replacement. When the
woman at the counter asked me if I still wanted them I said, "Yeah.
What choice do I have?. If we're not on the water on the 4th, the
terrorists win." She gave me a half-hearted laugh, and a funny look.
Josh and I spent most of yesterday and today putting the motor back
together (now I can add "supercharged chevy 350" to my list of
rebuilds). We fired it up, and it purrs like a pissed kitten.
Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun. |
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| Tuesday, May 29, 2007 |
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Big Score at the U-Pull-It
by brian @ 17:14:36 - [perma-link]I called the U-Pull-It this morning to see if they had any '88
Corolla FX-16s on the lot. They said they had a hatchback, but
didn't know which specific model. Turns out it was the right one.
Mostly. It was just an FX, not an FX-16 (nor GTS), but it had most
of the right suspension parts. It just doesn't have all the extra
support bits that the FX-16 GTS has. But I already have those, so no
big deal. I snagged every bit of suspension I could off of this car. I have 2
rear strut members, and 3 fronts. I couldn't get the right-front off
the FX, so I took both off the Corolla next to it, since they matched
what I need. I have the all of the control bars, so I can box one
set then swap them with what's on the car and box those for spares. I also grabbed a set of the rear side package trays. I think they'll
be useful for holding frequently used tools in the rear. That should
make repairs pretty simple. I think the whole suspension can be
pulled with a pair of 17mms (one wrench, one socket), a 14 mm socket,
and a 12mm socket on the impact. Keeping those handy, instead of
buried in a tool box, will make servicing things much more timely. 3 hours of fighting stuck bolts out in the sun is all I have for
today. Tomorrow I'll bolt in some rear struts so I can drive the car
to get the exhaust repaired. The exhaust pipe is in the picture of
the three struts. It should be much more tubular and attached to the
car.
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