VRJoe

Yep, I followed Terry's advice when I went to shave my drip rails. I left a bit larger lip then he did (about 1/8 inch) to make sure the seam held together and as a way of making sure the edge was straight (slide a 1/8 piece of bar stock against the roof and grind until you touch it). I also figured it would give a slight amount of rain protection, but after years of testing on multiple vehicles I have found that no matter how big the drip rail, is the interior always gets wet when I leave the windows down in the rain . - Joe

What I did when it shaved the drip rails was to cut a 2-3 inch section out with a cut-off wheel leaving about 1/8 inch lip. I then put a few notches in the lip with the cut-off tool. I tack welded in the notches to make sure the seam held. I cut out sections in a random pattern so that the seam would not get warped. In other words I took the first section out of the middle, the next from the front then the back ......... Once the complete rail was shaved I put a bead the full length of the seam. I then ground it smooth leaving the 1/8 inch lip. At least i thought it was smooth. Amazing what a shot of primer shows. After a quick trip to Harbor Freight I bought the longest file I could find and set to work smoothing the edge with that. A long process, much longer then I expected, but well worth it. I blended the lip into the roof with Bondo, but since then I've found out the Marglass might have been better. I love the way it came out, well worth the effort. - Joe

Gee Mike, I thought it was your fault Mr. T stopped wearing his gold chains, he couldn't compete with you. It takes a tough guy to wear 47 pounds of gold and still work on their C5, take a bow. Think how chewed up your hands would be if all those rings hadn't provided protection. - Joe

Pete, you're right on the money with what you said. Once you build a custom car you have to assume some moron is going to open a door into it. You laid out the best plan, get good insurance coverage and good estimates. You can then find a good shop and get it put back in shape. My biggest concern when my VR project gets finished is that if something happens to it I'll end up with the "Well, what the heck, since I have to fix that I might as well modify this and change that ...........". - Joe

Glad everbody is OK, sorry about the car. - Joe

PB-Blaster and a propane torch. Spray the PB-Blaster on and let it soak for a day (spray around the hub). Spray again and heat the area with the torch. Heat the drum around the hub, moving the torch in circles. The aluminum will expand faster than the hub and start to break free. It worked for me, I heated it up for a little while and heard it pop, used the BMFH and off it came. - Joe

I battled poor delivery for a few years. I was getting mis-delivered mail almost every day. My mail would arrive with markings indicating it had been mis-delivered before it got to me. I started making copies of all the mistakes. I went to the Postmaster showed him the copies, but no change. I went a second time to the Postmaster and again no change (claimed he'd never heard about it before, almost wet himself when I handed him the stack of paper I given him the last time). I then contacted the Post Office Regional Office and told them what was going on. It took two followup calls, but it sure solved the problem, I rarely get wrong mail now. The key to success is to have evidence. Keep the pink cards and and a log showing you were home. It's one thing to claim it happened, it's another to show it happened. Go to the Postmaster, be calm but firm, and request an investigation as to why this keeps occurring. If nothing happens follow up with the Postmaster on more time. If still nothing happens go to the Regional Supervisor. That's what worked for me. It turned out they were short staffed (Postmaster trying to make points) and the carriers didn't have the proper amount of time to sort the mail. The carrier actually thanked me for making the complaint to the regional Supervisor. It made his life better. - Joe

Score one for the good guys. Nice work Tim. - Joe

Great picture, thanks for posting it. - Joe

Sweet - Joe

A 12ga pump shotgun is the best home protection. The sound of a 12ga pump chambering a shell is the most recognized sound in the world. Anyone who hears it knows what it is and that it means business. If you are forced to fire it won't go through the wall and hurt somebody unintended. It's also a lot harder to miss someone with a shotgun. - Joe

Check ebay, it tells the true worth of items. If you check the 'completed' auctions you'll see that something can go for $50 one day and $10 the next. Value is only what someone is willing to pay. A guy in the Rust belt might pay $150, while a guy in Phoenix would only pay $75 because they're more common around him. - Joe

My personal feeling is that since the building will have to be torn down, why not raise the city. Heck they could build a canal system at the same time that would make it a bigger tourist attraction. I know it will get rebuilt, I just hope they make changes to make it safer form another Cat-5. My heart goes out to everyone out there, it's going to create a building boom once it gets cleaned up. - Joe

Hey Tim, looks great. Sooner or later I've got to fix mine up too. - Joe

It sounds like you need to shroud the front of the radiator. If opening the vents pulls too much air from the radiator, then you need to see why it's not flowing enough through the radiator. - Joe

Great going Mike, I'll look for the post on Friday about the test drive. - Joe

Congrats, :2thumbs: - Joe

SKS is a good rifle, lots of items available for it. You can get stocks, scope mounts ........ and best of all cheap ammo. Another great rifle if you can find them are the Swedish Mausers in 6.5X55. - Joe

Or check the local Post Office. - Joe

There are two angles to be aware of: 1) the VERTICLE angle - the angle the drive shaft slopes between the trans and the diff. 2) the HORIZONTAL angle - the amount of difference LEFT - RIGHT between the trans and the diff. The two angles work together and must be added using good old trig (and you thought you'd never use it after the last test in high school). Here's one link that may help The Driveshaft shop And Another Street Rodder Also note that 1 degree is the MINIMUM, I forget how high you can go. I had a good conversation with the guys at Denny's Driveshaft about this. I did all my calculations quite a while ago and they were in tolerance. You must make the measurement from the flange, not the bottom of the diff or the bottom of the trans. I thought I sent you a description of the way I calculated mine a while back, I should be able to find it again if you need it. - Joe

Does the storage yard have video security ??? - Joe

Looking good. - Joe

Check your ground wires. It sounds like harmonic vibrations. Check tire balance and alignment. See if you can pin down where the buzz comes from and add some padding there. Check your wiring diagram and see where the common ground is for the lights and signals, that would be the place to start checking the ground wires. - Joe

I had a GT6 and it was a great car. Lucas electrical system left a bit to be desired. They are smaller than a Z, and are a lot of fun. The full tilt front clip was great, similar to the Jag XKE of the time. Open the hood, sit on the tire and go to work tracking down the electrical problem. Hmmmmm maybe that's why I'm building a Velo Rossa instead of a GTO, full tilt front clip. - Joe

Check out Car Chemistry and look at the CC Inserts. Check the Tech info for a little more info about them. These are what I'm planning on using. Even better, check out the new CC Universal Tip Muffler. - Joe