Projects from THE COMPOUND!

[DRIVEN]

The deal on the rear ends is this; The '96-'98 Explorer had an 8.8" rear diff that featured disc brakes and most were 3.73 ratios. Many, but not all, were equipped with limited slip. It's just a lot of axle for the money and damn near indestructible. They are very popular with the early Mustang crowd and also Jeep guys. Over the last few years they have gained an even stronger following. I remember during Cash 4 Clunkers there were dozens at each yard and they are getting a little more scarce all the time. They are by no means rare yet but the prices seem to be going up as the supply dwindles. One of the five will go under my brother's '36 and the rest will be sold. At some point I'll probably pick up one or two for future projects.

[DRIVEN]

Pops gave me a couple quality pre-owned grinders for my birthday. Now I can set them all up with different wheels/discs and not have to keep changing them around all the time. Very cool.

[Laecaon]

I was just grinding today and thought to myself, I wish I had a second grinder so I didnt have to change out the disc so many times.

[DRIVEN]

Keep an eye on CL. If I was being choosy and patient, I'd look for the 4" Makitas. The one I have is at least 20 years old and still sounds and feels better than the other that are all newer. Another plus to them all being the same is not dealing with a bunch of those spanner wrench tools that for some reason cannot be standardized from brand to brand.

[Laecaon]

So far my HF 4" has never let me down from day one. And I use channel locks or vice grips for removing the nut... Although no doubt the actual brands are way better, but its hard to justify when my $15 angle grinder just hasnt died, and I know it has seen some things.

Also I only use Dewalt discs. Every other brand I have tried either wears out way to fast, or in the case of the HF cutoffs the disc can just explode, I have had it happen to me, swore them off since. I once accidentally nudged the grinder once while buried in steel, and it took a chunk of disc out straight to the center ring of the Dewalt disc, I slapped the guard back on the grinder and kept using that disc til it was too small to use.

[DRIVEN]

The HFs seem to really vary. They're either shit right out of the box, or they work fine (at least that's what all the reviews would indicate). My HF 7"/9" is at least 10 years old and keeps on ticking. There have been a couple times when it ran at a slower RPM and smelled pretty hot. I thought the brushes were finally done. Then it would snap out of it and run fine for a couple more years. Also, I don't use the trigger lock anymore since it sticks more often than not now.
As I get older I tend to gravitate toward the better quality over the better priced stuff. I still spend money a HF but obviously prefer the more legit brands. I've inherited the cheap bastard gene from my dad so it's a daily struggle to resist taking the cheapest way out every time. A good day is finding quality tools at a good price. If I find a sweet deal on CL it still let's me be a cheap bastard and get decent tools. I don't mind used -- if it ain't used up.

[510freak]

Thats nice to have 2 grinders!

Now that I say that,I have 2 forgot I bought one last year at a garage sale

[DRIVEN]

Compound East edition; My dad picked this up last week. He and a buddy ran down to Reno and brought it back in the same day.

He's been looking for one for a while and this popped up. Bought it sight unseen based on a few pics and the description from the son of the (deceased) builder. Apparently it was built about 20 years ago by a retired diesel mechanic. 327, TH350, PS, PB, disc conversion up front, 10 bolt out back. There's a few questionable fashion choices but it's really solid. He plans to get it reliable again and then drive it to see what he wants to change. It's been stored for the last 15 years so he has some work to do before it's a driver. I'll keep posting updates as I get them.

[yello620]

Thats looks like a nice ride.

Congrats.

[DRIVEN]

I haven't seen it in person yet but I think the pic I posted makes it look a little nicer than it really is. When I talked to him Friday afternoon he had just about gotten the brakes up to snuff with a new master cylinder and flushing the fluid. He said it runs pretty good but the transmission leaks some. I don't think he's actually driven it more than from the trailer to his shop yet. Of all the projects he's had in recent years, I'm most excited about this one.

[K_trip]

I haven't seen it in person yet but I think the pic I posted makes it look a little nicer than it really is.

Still ... it looks like a nice truck to start with!

[510freak]

Sure does!

[DRIVEN]

My dad's '36 is a runner. He's taken a couple short trips to town. Said the first run was to the coin-op car wash about 2 miles away. Already getting the "Is it for sale" action . He's loving the project though. Since it's basically "done" and just needs to be brought back up to snuff along with some tweaking to suit his personal tastes there's no major fab work to be done. All the work is being done with jackstands and a creeper so he's trying to keep it simple. I'm stoked that he's stoked.

My brother's '36 is waiting for the driveline shop to finish up. The new 8.8" rearend is cleaned up, welded up and set in place. We'll probably be doing some plumbing and finish installing the speedo drive today. Noticed that the water pump is starting to leak and there's some oil drips at the front of the engine. They're never done.

My '35 is on hold for awhile.

I spent the day doing yard work yesterday. Mowed the lawn (in February?!?) and started trimming trees. I have a ton of yard related stuff I want to get done this year. In the 4 short years that it was a rental the property really fell in to disrepair. Even now, 15 years later, I'm still fixing things up and reclaiming parts of the yard. The house needs to be painted this year too. Urg.
Anyway, the whole place needs a good spring cleaning. I'm thinking of making a video tour to document things both for historical and possibly insurance purposes. Any of you guys interested in seeing it?

[izzo]

I am.

[Taterhead]

Yep. Post it up.

[DRIVEN]

I plan to. Need to clean the place up first. Gimme a couple months.

[draker]

I spent the day doing yard work yesterday. Mowed the lawn (in February?!?) and started trimming trees. I have a ton of yard related stuff I want to get done this year. In the 4 short years that it was a rental the property really fell in to disrepair. Even now, 15 years later, I'm still fixing things up and reclaiming parts of the yard. The house needs to be painted this year too. Urg.
Anyway, the whole place needs a good spring cleaning. I'm thinking of making a video tour to document things both for historical and possibly insurance purposes. Any of you guys interested in seeing it?

Man do I hear you there! My house was forclosed for like 2 years before I bought it. The yard had like 5 different kinds of vines that were planed by the previous owner.. after two years of no maintenance it looked like the rain forest. And still to this day, I end up taking about two truckloads of yard debris out there every spring.. and I live in a city lot.

I had to mow the front and back lawn last weekend.. I was like wtf is happening here. erready?

[draker]

[510freak]

I wanna see too!

And cant complain when the grass grows in Feb,it is here to,some plants are showing signs of coming to life too!

[izzo]

It took me half an hour to clean out the dirt between the bed and cab