Reinventing the wheel

I sometimes wonder about people, and by people I often mean me....but it's less self deprecating to talk in the third person....but alas I digress. I wonder because often we see people who engineer their own demise. The scenario can range from someone using negative self talk and imagery before a competitive situation (usually sport) right up to the more serious poor life choices which set someone on the road to ruin. Now my following post definitely doesn't get into the same category of ruin but sometimes I wonder if I am making choice that purposefully slow down the rate of progress or if I am just taking my time and doing things the way my heart wants them.











Take for example the furnace.....
Last year Randy and I mounted the furnace in it's little cubby hole. I then removed it when Fillmore went to paint. That then gave me time to think.....(never a good thing)... and I decided that our mounting system could be improved upon for ease of access.
So, it was time to start fabricating new brackets and supports.

A coat or two of my favourite rust inhibiting paint (POR-15)

This is just the test fit, the system allows me to shift the furnace forward or back a few inches in each direction to idealize the final position. It also allows easy access from the bottom for servicing. Once the floors in place, access from the top is not easily obtained.Thus you can appreciate my question to myself, am I just reinventing the wheel here?

All the while life goes on.

The weekend also included some automotive classes.

Some on the road...                                                                         And some in the garage...
(yes in Alberta you can get your learners licence at 14)

And while my genetic pit crew swapped out the winter tires for the summer slicks, I stayed close to all the action while doing some storage bay prep work.

Hip, Slick and Cool

I think it's payback. What I mean is, in my earlier life I was a procrastinator. If there was something that intimidated me, or a job I felt was easy and would only take a short stint of my time I would often be guilty of putting it off until later.What I didn't realize was that it wasn't just hurting myself by limiting my future options with my time, but it would affect others time as well.

And no I feel it's karma payback. Now I am the one waiting. The good news is that I am not waiting because someone is putting things off work has been done. It's just that when you are on the "no control over time" end of the stick it feels like forever, and when you are waiting forever you have lots of time to think about your past transgressions on other peoples time.

Last time you could see where everything(evaporator) was going to go in the dash now we have a housing in place. There was lots of discussion about bringing the whole lower face of the front dash out to be flush. But after consideration, I decided that I wanted just the area where the evaporator was to get the bump out. Partly because space is at a premium. Every possible inch of room can make or break the feeling of comfort vs constriction.

The second reason is, if you look back at original photos the front heater core was already a bump out. So doing the bump out that we did was a little nod to the original flavour!

The front panel will be redone, it was the original mock up panel I made a while back and my intent was always to make it better, thus the random holes will go.





















I was happy to see the guys at Polar gave the same attention to detail that I did when it came to neat and tidy hoses and wiring. Everything is loomed!

Also duly impressed with the schematic!












Relays, fuses,loom,zip ties....

All shoe horned into a wee little space

4 Vents: 2 dash, 1 passenger, 1 for drivers feet

And finally, the compressor....I wish everything on the engine looked as bright and shiny!

Gepetto here I come

The biggest mistake you could ever make 

is being to scared to make one.

-Author Unknown-

It was a great day yesterday. After a lovely Mothers Day supper in Banff with Michelle and the kids, we watched Anna dance and then Jeff and I returned home. Jeff hit the sheets while I played in the workshop listening to the hockey game. Unfortunately my Flames lost and have been pushed out of the playoffs for Lord Stanley's Cup, but I did have some fun getting back in touch with my inner Gepetto.

I knew for years now that I will have to construct arms for the couch in Fillmore. I made a play on the old Bridal Rhyme "Something old, something new, something borrowed and use some glue." Some of the wood I was using for the box body was recycled, some was new, the wood trim for on top actually comes from a couch my parents bought back in the 80's and was gifted to us many many years ago. The couch is long since gone but I had a premonition that I might be able to use the uniquely shaped wood one day!

The arm frame is quite simple in design, I will take it to an upholstery shop with the extra material I have and have it padded and covered.

I decided to add a little future flare, the wood trim on top is hinged. The plan is to have an airplane style table tray that will emerge from the arm.

Some day.....some day!

Canadiana

In 1995 Michelle and I decided that we needed to see a little of the world. The possible destinations were endless but we decided to trek in Africa. It made sense as Michelle was born there when her parents were teaching with CIDA back in the 60's. We spent some time on our own in Kenya and then hooked up with an overland trip from Zimbabwe back to Kenya for the remainder of the time in Africa. The rest of the group was all from Australia and New Zealand, and were all affiliated with each other from University. They quickly accepted us into their ranks as their Canadian counterparts, and affectionately gave me the nickname "Moose"

Last weekend Michelle and I went for dinner at a co-worker of Michelle's. After dinner we had a visitor who wanted to partake in the dinner party. When it was suggested the guy move along and not eat all the new tree shoots, he showed no fear of these strange two legged people. Rather than being frightened away, he was curious enough to cause our host to back away himself.

 As we watched the scene unfold, I could hear the voices from my past yelling "Moooooooose" and wonder if they knew how  friendly an awkward and gangly moose can be.

As I patiently await Fillmore to be finished at Polar mobility, I am "tinkering" in the garage. My latest quest is to get the furnace up and running, ready to have a simple plug and play when we are ready.

Now I love the precision of German engineering, I deal with it every day with dental implants. The issue that you often have is specificity. In particular, you have to have the right tool for the right job, and no other tool will fit let alone work. Webasto is no different from Nobel Biocare, you need a special screw driver to torque down a screw.

After numerous tries(first two fails were because I actually forgot to plug the fuel pump in) the unit fired up and beautiful heat come flowing out. I was really surprised at how little of a  diesel smell the exhaust produced!

Hot -n- Cold

There is one thing for sure, there will be no under the radar trips in Fillmore. Whether it is a little trip to test out something or a bigger journey to take him into the city for some work...he tends to turn heads. Generally it is a honk, a wave, a "thumbs up!" nod of approval. But every now and again it causes someone to follow me, or leave notes on the wind shield. The picture below is from when I brought Fillmore to work so that I could transit him down to Polar mobility for A/C work. This was a pic someone from another office took, and then proceeded to canvas the building looking for the owner.

Kind of neat to see it from a different view!

The guys down at Polar have been having a great time figuring things out. I had said I wanted nothing on the roof so they went through a variety of different options for locating the condenser for the A/C system. In the end they located it right where I suggested (and had hoped it would go) in the first place. At kneeling level this is all you can see.

When you crouch down on hands and knees and look under you get a bit better look.















As for the evaporators, the front dash unit kind of changed things up front....all of Randy and Trevor's hard work of measuring and mounting the heater cores in the front.....has been reconfigured. Sorry boys.....all in the name of progress.

Mid ship we'll use the heater core for supplemental running heat.

In the back you can see the second evaporator that will give the rear and mid ship heat and cool capabilities. All the while the compressor gets a new mounting bracket, and what you can't see is two new 14" fans above the engine in the chute. Progress!!

Playoffs!

It's that time of year....you know the time where you seem to get swept up in all the hoo-ha of NHL playoffs. I enjoy watching hockey, but I'm not a die hard or stats fanatic. But I enjoy a good ride on the band wagon as much as the next guy. Maybe Fillmore is a tail gate party just waiting to come of age!

Maybe you could consider me an opportunistic hockey fan. Cheer for the flames, but only really watch games in the playoffs.
Thankfully I have been doing more than just watching hockey, the other night Jeff and I had the opportunity to help finalize some supplies for the spring trip of Dentistry for All to El Ramate, Guatemala. It is the trip that I was supposed to go on, but last fall when I needed to make the call, I decided to error on the side of safety and bow out for another trip.

In the meantime I continue my hydraulic struggle....

As I mentioned in the last post I had an unsuccessful attempt at taking Fillmore into the city to Polar mobility for A/C installation. Once again while en route, I blew out the hydraulic filter. Along with Dave from Springbank Truck repair we pieced Fillmore back together and started doing some pressure testing. Unfortunately we did not come to any definitive conclusions. Everything seems to be correct, set up in a proper way. To the point that during function there is very little pressure build up at all. Our running theory is that when the fan is engaged right from engine start, pressures remain low and flow easily. If however the fan remains off until temps rise, then there is a spike in pressure and the filter blows.

So I put Fillmore back together, and kept the hydraulic system running from start and brought Fillmore to the city to continue on the A/C quest. So once again I left Fillmore in the hands of someone else.

Driving a '49 Flxible is a fun thing to do at the best of times, but I'm always a little surprised at the reactions I get when other people see the rig. Most of the time its a smile, a wave, a "thumbs up" with a honk. But every now and again something surprises me....like the note asking if I want to sell put under the windshield wiper!

Bowie said it all

 How many times have we struggled with time? Jim Croce said it the best:

"But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them"

 The issue is what I sheepishly call a first world problem. Having done a bit of traveling, and working in  Central America some times I feel guilty lamenting to myself about my greed for, when it really is, the luxury of time.
 Often I get frustrated because progress is slow on Fillmore either by my hand or someone elses'. In reality though I make choices each and every day. Do I work on Fillmore for a few hours or do I go for a run with my wife or help the kids with their homework?
 When you put it down on paper it is blatantly obvious, and thankfully-most of the time- I do the right things and spend my time where I should. As David Bowie said:

 Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, life's begun
Nights are warm and the days are young

 ...because these are the golden years.

 Progress does continue, a little here a little there. I was able to have the fittings moved on the grey water tank.

Anna came out one afternoon and helped with the Lounge seat diss-assembly.





I always encourage the kids to participate in activities outside, firewood, general maintenance, clearing the driveway. But I do keep a close eye on them because as much as they (and I) think that they are extremely capable for their age.....sometimes they mean well but don't make the best choices.
Yes I was happy that Jeff was able to diagnose a problem with the plow attachment for the quad.....

 On the positive side...we had a teachable moment on safety!

The last installment in the on going Fillmore saga, is I have a design problem with my Hydraulic system. I was driving into the city to get the A/C system installed, when....I started to climb in temp. I pulled over and sure enough I had blown the Hydraulic filter again. There seems to be a design flaw or a bottle neck. The system can't handle it. Thankfully I was close to STR (Mechanic) and they graciously allowed me to pull in unannounced. As a matter of fact David, the owner, gave me a ride to work. I might have to rethink the whole fan issue and move to electric fans. I have a couple of 16" fans which may allow me to put something to gather until I can limp home and revamp....stay tuned!