Projects from THE COMPOUND!

[DRIVEN]

Cabinet? You mean the hutch on top of the black box?

[izzo]

yup

[DRIVEN]

Made it. It's just white melamine and certainly nothing fancy. I chose white to reflect the light (my work space is pretty dark) and I painted the outside with the closest thing I could match to my box. It came out okay considering all I had was a circular saw and a drill to work with. I've done quite a bit of woodworking in the past and I'd like to start getting back in to it but GOOD equipment is not cheap. Focusing my dollars on the '35 first.

[DRIVEN]

So, a couple months ago I referenced a bus that my dad bought. Anyway, he found another '68 camper on ebay just after Christmas. Looked pretty good in the pics and he talked to the seller (a dealer) before bidding. It was in NH and took over 2 months to get shipped to him in Idaho. When it arrived, no big surprise, it was not nearly as nice as represented. The original plan was to just clean it up and flip it. Before he was done it had to have the ball joints and shock replaced, brakes, new tires, a steering box, and alignment. He also had to drop the engine and repair/replace the fucked up head studs. He gutted the interior and refinished all the wood along with having the cushions reupholstered. There was some rust repair done in the windshield area and a couple spots in the floor. Then he had it repainted back to the original color. After that it got a new windshield and all new weatherstripping. Originally, this was probably a turret top Riviera that someone replaced with a later '70s top. While not "correct", there's much more headroom, an upper bed, plus some added storage. As you can see, it snowballed well beyond the original plan but it came out really nice. He just posted ads for it so hopefully it'll have a new home soon. I have no before pics. These were swiped from his ad...

[izzo]

That's pretty slick man.

I like it! I'd totally go camping in one. Just wouldn't want to pay for one

[DRIVEN]

No doubt about the prices being crazy. He's got it at $14,900 and that's actually a pretty good deal when compared to similar vehicles. Did Leno buy one of these too?

[slodat]

Just caught up on your thread. AWESOME!! Shop threads are my favorite. I'm GJ as well, but I prefer this forum to GJ in general!

[DRIVEN]

Thanks for checking in. Glad you liked it. Not much to update lately. Day job has been super busy. Guys have been on vacation for the last month leaving us a bit understaffed. As of quitting time today (Wed), I already have 54 hours of work sold but only about 32 completed. There are another 7 cars scheduled for me tomorrow and then another 5 for Friday. It's nuts! I go in early, take 15 minute lunch breaks, then work late. Needless to say, I don't have a ton of motivation for anything once I get home. Probably another 2 months of this then it'll slow back down once school starts.

[DRIVEN]

A lame no-pic update...
The kid who bought the little blue S10 showed up for an alignment on Monday. He's detailed the frame, gave it a 5/6 drop, changed the steering wheel and added a tach. I talked to him for a minute and he said he's got new wheels and tires picked out for after the alignment done. Seems to be having a ball with it.

[izzo]

Haha sweet man!

It's always cool seeing stuff like that come back around. I love seeing the Orange wagon I sold to dude in Hawaii. He has taken it so much further than I ever would have.

Said wagon.
http://community.ratsun.net/topic/27901 ... 10-wagoon/

[DRIVEN]

Bus is sold!

[izzo]

Nice! Those bus are quick turn arounds eh?


VW community going strong!

[DRIVEN]

Seem to be easy flips. He didn't say what he got for it but said he made a profit (think "Datsun profit" where your labor is worth nothing) but I know he had a pretty skinny margin between what he was in it and the asking price. Like anything, you really make your money by buying them right not by selling high. He came pretty close to getting burned on this one. It needed waaay more work than he was led to believe. One of the pitfalls of buying sight unseen. He won't be car shopping on ebay anytime soon.

[DRIVEN]

We had my wife's annual white trash birthday gathering last Saturday. Some attendees were in costume, some weren't --- I always am. Sorry guys, that hot piece in the moomoo with the curlers and black eye is all mine. The dude in the cut-off sleeveless coveralls and gold chain is the ever elusive Jerod. The El Camino got put on cinder blocks and served bar duty.




But, before we could play we had to get some work done. When the shop was built 15 years ago we wired it for two 8' lights above the hoist. I've actually had them leaning in a corner all this time and just never got around to installing them. Since Jerod (6'4") would be in town and has probably an extra 10" of reach over me (5'10"), I got him to help hang them. I'm posting some pics with the implied understanding that you guys won't tell OSHA or his wife how we did it.
Here's the basic formula; 18' ceiling, lights hanging from 6' chains, (1) 24' extension ladder, (1) 6' step ladder, (1) El Camino. We were sober.
The front one wasn't too bad. We put the El Camino up on the hoist to act as a net in case shit went sideways and he had to bail. Then he would at least only fall 8' to the hood instead of all the way to the concrete floor. An extension ladder was put between the catwalk and the top of the hoist to walk out and screw the chains to the ceiling.

The light between the roll-up door and the hoist was a bit more complicated. On one side we used a 6' step ladder in the bed and Jerod stood on the 2nd to the top rung to screw it in. On the other side it was just too far out of reach. We ended up building a brace from two 2x4s with V-notches cut in the end to lean a rung of the extension ladder. I would have taken action pics but I was busy holding the ladders.

It was seriously janky but got the job done. Much better lighting for chassis building now. Notice the chimney STILL isn't installed? Maybe next weekend.

[izzo]

Hahahah. That white trash party looks fun man!

[DRIVEN]

Had 2 dump truck loads of gravel delivered yesterday. The driver laid it out pretty well and my dad was on hand (I had to be at work) to do some tractor work. I spent a few hours this morning with a rake and on the tractor until I was satisfied. Good enough for who it's for.

While I had it here I gave the tractor an oil change. No clue how long it's been since the last one. Safe guess that it's been at least 10 years. Normally it lives at my brother's house about a mile away. Outta sight outta mind, I suppose. Not sure if I've ever posted it before but my great grandfather used to own it in the '50s and '60s. It was sold to a family friend who later gave it a cosmetic restoration then my dad eventually bought it back probably 20 years ago. My nephew is the 5th generation to use it. Kinda cool I guess.

Random pic of an old 327 block that serves as a planter in front of the shop.

And since I was already on the roof I snapped a shot of a construction project across the street from me. Tore down 1 house and took out a bunch of trees. IIRC either 60 or 80 houses will be popping up soon. Largish lots like mine just keep getting more scarce. Fine by me.

[izzo]

yeah you don't see large lots anymore. they fetch a premium. they are sardines anymore.

[DRIVEN]

There's still some around but fewer every year. I'm just a couple miles from Intel so there's no shortage of condos and townhouses stacked on top of each other. There's probably a 50/50 chance my house will be bulldozed and the lot refitted with high density housing when I sell in a couple years. No biggie to me as long as the check clears.
In the first pic you can see that I'm at the end of a dead-end street lined with townhouses. When the developer planned the neighborhood he included my lot but my parents didn't want to sell.

[Laecaon]

In a few years, I want to buy your lot. Maybe Ill actually have money then... I still think its in a great location, and a decent size lot, I mean having been there a few times, its kinda nice.

[510freak]

Looks like a nice little oasis in the city Jess