Soooooooooo close...

When Randy comes out to work on Fillmore he drives from quite a distance to come and be frustrated by this old school challenge. So I'm a little careful about ribbing him too hard in case he gets pissed off and I loose my side kick! Sometimes Randy shows up on his motor cycle, sometimes his convertible, and sometimes he brings his big wheels.
On Friday I was moving my quad out of the garage to get at the welder, I really didn't park right beside him on purpose...it just kinda happened this way.

 I wonder which one is bigger ?

It's here! It's here! My new Hydraulic pump finally arrived. The bad news was is was supposed to come 2 days earlier but Fed Ex screwed up and it wasn't shipped overnight like we had ordered. The good news is that because of that I didn't get dinged for expedited shipping....or shipping at all!!

Jeff was eager to help out, so he threw on some coveralls and we pulled the side panel to the chute.

We were moving along, and then...stumped. One of my fittings is the wrong size. Being that we had missed the open hours I had to wait....stumped by a $3.50 part.....ARRRRRRRG, so close to an extended test run!

Nothing a little Pinot Noir won't fix.

Cleared for take off

Last Wednesday I saw my specialist again for a progress report. Good news is that the eye looks good and we expect to have a very close to full recovery after some surgery. The other good news is that he cleared me for regular activity. I can run and jump, although he did caution against contact sports and tennis....why tennis I'm not sure but I didn't play before, so I guess I won't pick it up right now. It also means I am cleared for our volunteer trip to Guatemala!!
Not wanting to waste any time, Friday saw some activity around the bus, still waiting for the new Hydraulic pump to show up. Supposed to be here on Thursday, so all day we were eagerly awaiting the call from Norcan Fluid Power.

 

In the mean time I did receive the conversion module which is supposed to be a simple plug and play converting the transmission sensor signal from a diesel engine into an alternator signal for a V8 so we can simply use the same tach in the dash.

Randy had a little chuckle at my soft decorating touch as I prepared the bus for work on Friday. Truth be known it was simply a piece of old carpet runner that Michelle and I have had for as long as we have been married. I needed something to be a little softer on my knees....and no there were no doilies on the dash....

Randy picked up where he left off last time on the bumper...it was a bumper stumper for a little while there...

But in the end we found a solution that we liked and is functional.

Being that it was 2009 when Randy last sat behind the wheel of Fillmore, we decided it was time to take 'em out for a rip.

Looking for work

 Being on 'light' duties means no increased heart rate or blood pressure, no lifting, no hanging upside down...you know all the usual fun stuff you do when working on a bus.

 So, after a few weeks of laying low, I started doing jobs that I could do that were low impact. Today was a trial attempt at custom glass work.

 So with scotch in hand,I transferred the Flxible logo onto a sheet of acrylic.At this point things look promising. I wanted the rear surface of the Plexiglas to have the etching on it, AND I wanted the decal to be the negative. So I had to lay down duct tape first then spray adhesive the back of the tape and transfer the decal so when I cut it out it had the correct orientation from the front.

At this point I  realized a major mistake when I was cutting out the decal. I neglected to remove the clear plastic film from the surface to be etched prior to the decal transfer. Not a big problem for the surfaces to be etched because the film was removed with the removal of the rest of the discarded transfer. The issue was that the negative, the decal that remained to prevent etching, still had the plastic film under the tape. As such the adhesion of the decal to the acrylic was minimal. I knew there would be issues as soon as the blast media was shot at the piece.

I tried to keep an adequate distance from the acrylic with the blast gun, but sure enough it blew away some of the decal. Some of it worked, so I know I can get it done, but it's back to the drawing board for a second attempt!!

Heat me up!!

 STIR CRAZY!!
Yes, yes this "light duties" thing is driving me nuts. So this weekend I stuck to some light duty fabrication. It was time to wire up the front heater cores and create a front plate.

So I take some satin coat 20 gauge sheet metal, and tack weld in a louvered face plate.

 In my little shelter I am all warm and happy, sheltered from the...

 SNOW!!!....CRAP!

With a little sandblasting and then a fresh coat of paint, it'll be stunning!

Not just a pretty face...

 OK I'm going bonkers, stir crazy, I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin. I have thought over the years that I was a laid back easy goin' guy who can just chill with a cool/hot drink and read a book. Or have a nap, or simply just sit and listen to the wind in the trees...

 But who am I kidding. I can't sit still much longer than looking at the pictures in the latest issue of hot rodder magazine before I feel like I am wasting time. So for me to sit around and do nothing for 2 weeks is driving me UP THE WALL!!
My vision is improving, and my risk of a secondary bleed becomes less and less with each passing day. Today I decided that I could do something. I would not be lifting anything heavier than a set of tin snips. I would wear eye protection like you have never seen before. And the job is low impact and requires little physical effort and time.

 Pretty sexy full coverage eye wear huh?....check out that devil eye!

 I decided after much deliberation that I would place some LED side markers. Very simple job, just measure trace and cut

The install was a piece of cake, the wiring is pre-done by Chris and Bryce last time. So it's a quick and easy plug and play....no blood-no foul!

Touch wood!

touch wood, refers to the apotropaic tradition (from Greek apotrepein, to ward off : apo-, away + trepein, to turn) in western folklore of literally touching/knocking on wood, or merely stating that you are doing or intend same, in order to avoid "tempting fate" after making a favourable observation, a boast!
It was an unusual week with Fillmore. Usually there are bumps in the road, some bigger than others. Usually I know that you never make assumptions, never make predictions and simply go with the flow.
This week the flow was as smooth and quick as the Bow river.
Monday and Tuesday were effecient and productive. Wednesday and Thursday were mapping and re configuring circuits for Chris while I went to doctors appointments and aimlessly wondered between my chair in the living room and looking over Chris's shoulder in the back of the bus.
5 pm Thursday Chris, sitting at the kitchen table surrounded in papers, folded everything up, looked up and said in a puzzled and questioning voice...." I think I'm done!"

We decided over a few libations that night that Friday would be a day to pack up, go over a few things and then have a quiet afternoon. Which we did...but not before I talked Chris into topping up the fluids and having a road test. I was worried, in the last few short runs, Fillmore was sluggish and shifting was far from smooth. I really would feel better if Chris was in the bus during a road test. Earlier in the week we had talked about this and Chris had a solution. I am ashamed to say the solution was simple. Although I had filled the tranny fluid to the level, it was after the first run that I noticed the shifting issues. Yes, yes, I had forgotten to recheck the levels after the tranny had gone through all the gears...it would be a simple fix, top it up and he should run like the wind.

We started Fillmore up, watched the pressure build, everything looked great. I grabbed my camera and we backed it out the driveway. Then the moment of truth. Was the hesitation and sluggish performance simply the fluids or was there more? I switched from reverse to drive, let my foot off the brake and gave it some throttle. I'll be damned if it didn't almost send Chris tumbling down the isle the pick up was so strong. Seriously this ol' boy really scoots! I got so taken aback that when I gave Chris a turn at the wheel I almost forgot to get any footage until the last few hundred meters...lots of fun!

Michelle could sense the significance of the ride and came running out to the driveway to capture the moment. Here is Chris and I with shit eating grins after we realized that this old boy is purring like a kitten with power to spare. Smooth as silk, no vibrations, no hiccups....

As we sat in the kitchen sipping some smooth single malt at sunset we relived the thrills of the week, all the unimpeded progress,forward momentum, and thrill of the ride. All is good...touch wood!

The Day has come....

A little of this a little of that...

 After a really productive day on Monday, Chris needed some parts. So I accompanied him on the way as a half blind navigator ! Made perfect sense....yes I'm going to say it..."The blind leading the blind"
 Having said that, Ol' eagle eyes (Chris) saw our reflection in a car in front of us and he said, "Hey you have a burnt out headlight!" So aside from Flxible's he does a bit of roadside assistance for Volkswagens too!

 As we (the royal we: Chris working, me watching) were listening to the engine bearings last time it became obvious that the belt tensioner bearing was making 'funny' noises. So we changed that out and got a new belt.

Three years ago on Fillmore's arrival, I took him to get the once over. The saftey inspection found a few faults, most of which were fixed. One of the last items on the list was the slack adjuster on the passenger side front. Simple enough, but we figured we didn't want the tall arm hanging out there so we decided to give it a trim.

 Chris asked me if I would do it, to which of course I said yes. But he saw the hesitation in my good eye, and thought better of it.





 I remained official photographer.

Another thing we had discovered was the airline, after 4 feet of braided cable and after it went through a bulkhead was still too hot and melted the airline going to the dryer! We ended up pulling that and running braided cable all the way from the compressor to the AD9 (air dryer)

On our parts run I got new shoes for the kids quad. So with me looking on and giving encouragement(nagging at him what to do) he put the brakes back together!! It was a proud Dad moment for me to see him do it!!

Here's mud in yer eye kid!

 

There's a tear in your eye, 
And I'm wondering why, 
For it never should be there at all. 
With such pow'r in your smile, 
Sure a stone you'd beguile, 
So there's never a teardrop should fall. 

 "When Irish eyes are smilin'" song lyrics

 Sorry, but I figure you have to have a sense of humour to survive this mishap.

The first few days, laying low was a piece of cake. When your eye hurts so much that you are afraid that it will explode if you sneeze it's pretty easy to say....."ehhh, I think I'll just listen to my podcast and have a little nap." Now that the pressure is down and I can think straight, I am itching to do something...anything....within my restrictions of course. But dishes, making breakfast, anything to keep my hands from being idle.

 So I am relegated to being the observer, opinion giver, random question generator, electrical connection kit organiser.

 In my observation of Chris, I'm watching a young guy with old school knowledge as well as the latest in virus protection for the new cars of today.....yes mechanics these days have to have a certain amount of IT training to work on the electronic cars of today. Anyway here is Chris diagnosing a bad bearing in our belt tensioner. He uses the crowbar up against the piece that we wants to listen to the bearings in, it's an old school stethoscope....works like a damn too!

Here, if you listen closely you can hear the chirping of the belt b/c of the bearings...and the age of the belt but...it's there.

 I graduated to the most physical work on my list, bending a metal flange for a cover on the heater cores!

Eys are the window to the soul

but tragedy struck?....what the ????

OK stupidity struck really. I don't know how many times I've said to my kids while we are skiing " OK it's the last run of the day....this is where accidents happen... be EXTRA careful!!"
Well it was the last run of the day last Thursday night. Jeff and I had spent a little time in the garage. We took apart his rear wheel brake assembly on the kids quad because they were sticking (turns out a brake pad separated from one of the shoes and would periodically get jammed in the second pad)
The next project was to put a removable handle on the large dolly that we have been using. Things turned out great. We were finished and packing up when I realized that one of the swivel castor wheels was impeded bu the handle. It just needed to have a small "nub" ground off to allow the proper movement of the wheel. I grabbed the angle grinder and started it up. Next thing I knew I was flat on my ass, feeling like I just got sucked punched.......in the eye.

And I did. Although I had glasses on, because I was upside down, they had shifted off the bridge of my nose leaving an opening. This was taken at 24 hours

Hyphema is the official diagnosis. Bleeding in the anterior chamber of the eye, usually due to blunt force trauma. The space between the lens and the iris fills with blood. At this point I am still panicking. I cannot see out of my left eye and the thought of loosing sight leaves me chilled to the bone.....my career will be over.

This is at about 36 hours, I still can't see much more than a bright light if shone directly into the eye. I am a little more relaxed in that the doctors say that in most cases people heal fine from this type of injury. The caveat is that they still cannot tell if there is any damage to the retina, I can't see out and thus they can't see in yet. The real immediate concern is a secondary bleed. If blood pressure gets too high or there is some sort of secondary trauma the initial trauma site can bleed and this can cause severe and permanent damage. So after spending Thursday night, Friday and Saturday at different hospitals and clinics, I am home for a week to ten days on light duties and bed rest. Hoping for the best

Here is the culprit, a small loonie sized chunk (Canadian reference) broke off the wheel. Looking at the cart, the metal wasn't even scored which meant there was a crack in the wheel from a prior use. This thing was going to fly as soon as it got up to speed.

For the first 5-6 hours sitting in the hospital with my friend Troy, all I could think of was "what am I going to do?" Not in  'pity me I lost my vision' sense but a simple and practical re-evaluation of the skill sets I have and what job can I perform to provide for my family.
Now I don't know if it was the percocet talking or what, but a stanza from a Robert Frost poem kept going through my head, over and over....

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep. 

I know the interpretation is much more sinister, but the message was simple. I have responsibilities and promises to my family and so many more. I cannot, and will not, give up and lay down. I have a long way to go before I give up.

I will see again

Bump and Grind

Last post, which was last week, Randy was working on the bumper. I worked on the shifter. As the week went on I had the opportunity to play a little more with the bumper.

As I was circling the rig I noticed something looked a miss on the passenger side rear bumper. You can see that the bumper didn't follow the contour of the skirt.

 Looking at the drivers side you can see how nicely it follows the lines. It meant I had to remove the bumper (7 times) and try a new set of spacers and positions. 







 

Eventually, I got it.









I had planned on a big day this past Friday, Randy was coming over, I had a list of things I wanted to get done. Chris, the mechanic from Montana is coming on Monday so I wanted to get things ready......but tragedy struck....