Fried Coleslaw?

Years ago, Lori and I wandered into a little cafe in the deep south.  We thoroughly examined the menu and finally the waitress came.  She was mauling the bubble gum she had in her mouth, she said, " Can I help you, honey?"  Lori asked, "Do you have anything that's not fried?"  The waitress didn't even slow her cadence with the gum and said, "Oh baby, we fry everything here but the coleslaw."  Now, I only tell that story because I thought about it as I was working on the engine today.  You see, I had to install a gear onto the end of the crankshaft.  The gear has to be heated all the way through and then tapped into place once it is heated and expanded enough.  I am told that heating with a torch will not evenly heat the part and may not allow for even expansion.  The answer?  Fry it!  What?  That's right, take some plain engine oil, heat it to boiling and fry the gear in it.  That way the part heats evenly all the way through.  So, I broke out the Coleman stove and fried up some engine parts.

How do you like your gears fried?

Here's the finished product once the gear was tapped into place on the crankshaft.  Tip, boiling engine oil will burn you if it makes contact with the skin.  Just saying.

Did you see the Dexter table in the background?  You can see the engine is dismembered and positioned for reassembly.  If you've never seen Showtime's hit series Dexter, then the reference was lost on you, sorry.

Ain't it pretty though?  Who knew old truck parts could be such a work of art...

Here the crankshaft is back in.

See the two dots that line up?  This ensures the timing of the pistons and valves.  If they don't line up, you'll bend a valve when the piston and valve collide.

Remember the picture of the valve that was all jacked up in an earlier post?

Here's the same valve now.

Ahhh, that's much better, huh?  Well, the engine is coming along nicely.  Hopefully, we will be hanging this thing on the frame soon.  Stay tuned.

Plane Bored in Retirement

The following article was written and submitted to the EAA Chapter 1423 newsletter. I thought you might enjoy it here, too.

I've been building airplanes for the last sixteen years.  In that time, I've built and flown an RV-6A, an RV-10, and more recently an RV-12.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love building and I certainly love flying.  However, don't you sometimes get bored doing the same things over and over?  Me too.  So, recently I've sidestepped a little and taken on some non-aviation projects.  First, there was the motorcycle that was going to be my 2013-2014 winter project.  The guy I bought it from had already thrown up his hands in defeat.  "We've tried everything,"he said.  "It doesn't have enough compression so it will have to be rebuilt."  Cool!  I get to rebuild another motorcycle.  I did one last winter and it was fun.  So, I got it home and prepared to pull the engine.  But first, I thought, "Well, they have checked everything, but I'll just confirm their findings."  So, if the compression is low, let's check the valve clearance.  They were WAY off.  Come on, that can't be it?  I checked the compression, perfect...  So I buttoned everything up and hit the starter, vvvrrooomm.  Started right up.  My winter project lasted almost two hours.  Oh well.

Then, I started thinking that I'm about to turn 50.  So, I want a theme project.  You know, one that's 50.  I found a 1964 Chevy C-10 Pick-up.  Rusted, broken down and on its last leg.  Like me!  So, my son-in-law, Matt, and I took on the project and we have been having a blast!  We've stripped it to the frame, ripped the engine and transmission into a million pieces and have already started to put things back together.  We decided to blog about the process.  I know, old dogs and new tricks, etc. but, you can check it out at upsugarcreek.blogspot.com .

Meanwhile, on the airplane front, I had another project fall into my lap.  A Glastar GS-1 that has languished for years as a project found its way to us.  It is partially completed and the work that has been done is largely un-airworthy.  So, we will need to rework a lot of parts but there's nothing that can't be fixed.  So, the GS-1 is next in the queue behind the old truck.  And, next will be the RV-8 that is still in the box, but that's a story for another time.  So, we have the next several year's worth of work already laid out for us.  Meanwhile, Lori and I are enjoying a globetrotting lifestyle of doing aircraft builder's assistance.  We are headed to New Orleans to help an RV-14 builder who is stuck building his fuel tanks.  Then, up to Wisconsin to help an RV-8 builder finish that last 90% before first flight. Then, it's off to Sun-N-Fun.  Finally, back home and back to work.  And, people ask me every day, "What do you do now that you're retired?"  I look them right in the eye and say, " Oh, nothin'!"

Give Me A Brake!

Sorry for all of the puns, but I just can't stop.  Get it?  Brakes, can't stop...  It's a sickness really.  Anyway, I started on the brakes tonight since it's easier to do when we're down to the bare frame.  

The spindle looked fine (shiny thing in the middle), but everything else needed help.  Step one, pull the brakes shoes and springs out of the way.

Then, we end up with this.  

Then, some quality time in the blast cabinet and some paint and BAM, good as new.  I had to stop for the night, but tomorrow we will get it squared away.  More to come.  

One piece at a time

Well, like I said earlier this is the slow part of the build.  Here's an engine mount wearing the grime of fifty years.  

Then, we put it in the blasting cabinet and 45 minutes later, it looks like this.

Then, we paint it and it looks like this.

You're thinking, "What's the problem, it looks OK?"  And, you're right, but it took an hour and there are a billion little parts like this.  OK, maybe not a billion, but a whole bunch.  So, it's gonna take a while.  However, all of the engine mounts are ready when the engine gets back from the machine shop we will be ready to go.  More to come.

It's a Frame Job!

Actually it's a frame paint job.  After lots of work with a wire brush and scraper, several tanks of gas through the pressure washer, and two coats of Ospho, it's time to paint the frame.  I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "Hey Dennis, what do you paint a frame with anyway."  Well, I'm glad you asked.  You paint a frame with...  Frame paint of course!  Now you're thinking, " Huh, who knew?" 

Yeah, it looks great.  At this point, it is time to turn the project from disassembly and reassembly.  This is where the project slows WAAAYYY down.  But, we will take our time and do it correctly.

So, next we install new slave cyclinders, brake shoes, springs and drums to complete all new brake assemblies.  Then when the cab goes back on we will install a new master cylinder, so brakes will be new from end to end.  Stay tuned.