So final-ish part of Astro radio replacement.
Speakers will be done as well when I get to it.
Amazing how a little job 50 meters from the garage can take a bit longer than anticipated. This includes fetching tools, changing screws and various other things that kept reminding me that I should have reversed the van down to the garage.
I didn’t do that of course.
Another one of the jobs, after another good wash with some ammonia based cleaner (Jif, Cif, Handy Andy) to remove grime and get into grooves, was to treat the plastic plastic polish gel and wipe it down.
You can see the difference between before and after. Bringing it closer to the van’s original tone.
Keeping in mind my van is a 90 model and the donor was a 95.
GM quality control clearly could not manage their suppliers to even keep colours matched.
Next up was a repaint of the plate that @Westbay had objected to. Mainly because painting at 6’C is not advisable as the paint reacts differently to a warmer day.
Which had left the satin finish a distinct variation of matte black.
I wanted satin to blend in more.
The leather texture of the Mazda Bongo plastics came through better as well.
making the dash fit back over the radio and bracket necessitates a lot of grinding back and modifying.
Thank goodness for cheap, super handy tools.
In order to get the macking plate in and also to have the radio face where it needs to be I made some high density foam packing strips and used longer screws.
This worked really well.
Finally dash returned one more time to ensure factory fit established and screws added to keep it all together.
Last job, replace all the blanking plates to the dash and try out the radio
Success!! !!
I will be putting all the four mirror, aircon etc switches up for sake on the local UK Astro group as someone is bound to need something to replace a failed unit.
Today it is back to clearing out and sorting more of the shelves in the unseen part of the garage.
If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem mate.
Now some of you, who, like me, love words, will know that the word has multiple meanings.
Including in no specific order: erection, place with trees, a fragrance note, a taste in many things, wine, Whiskey, mushrooms, musical tone, an automotive style enhancement, a cartoon character.
The list goes on and on.
I went out to look at a car yesterday.
Well, it was not the first or second time, I really went out to see if it had been sold yet as it was introduced to me at around midday on 10th February.
But being in the unenviable position of owning not one, two or three, but FOUR PERFECTLY CAPABLE CARS it really had to blow my mind if it were to come home with me. Rules are after all rules. And the rule is normally two cars, a shitter/project and a Sunday toy, with a company car out front. Unexpected Redundancy saw the company car being replaced by the VW Caddy as daily, The Astro bought in August before redundancy and the Rezin Rockit being an amazing build in 2022/23 equated the project. Then came the completely unexpected arrival of the 206CC and my current in process, unearthing of my 1966 Chevy C10 stalked restoration project which now will have to go ahead, once I have cleared the rest of the garage space and done an inventory of the 100’s of new parts and to be cleaned up parts. Then the build will recommence and maybe my YouTube channel will start having a more focused if predictable content stream.
Over time this changed somewhat.
I had already introduced it to you all before when I went to look and asked 101 questions.
The last 4-5 weeks I have been driving by where the Camaro was parked a few times like a masochist. Even Sally has reported a couple of times that she had seen it was still there.
But I have not been able to get rid of any of the existing fleet.
Admittedly I have not been trying very hard.
Yesterday I posted off a parcel and went home via a 5 mile detour to see if the car in question, the Camaro, was still there.
It was.
As was the son of the owner, and his sister in a big Range Rover Overfinch V8 Twin Turbo diesel.
So I reversed onto the drive.
Spent some time with them indoors being offered furniture and crockery etc.
We ended up speaking about the blue elephant in the room.
A Woody that the sisters kids used to ride in, her son is 21 years old now.
I showed interest and asked if the woody would be available for rehoming.
They agreed that if I was that interested it could go with me.
So I then got the owner to start up and show me the Camaro.
Took some videos and photos and found out one injector on the motorway is dead. It is accessible. And that the waterpump is leaking. Add to that, the four cracked up dead tyres that need replacing and I was feeling more and more that I needed an unloved model Camaro in my life.
Once done, the owner drove off to the council tip with his Overfinch loaded with the result of breaking up his parents’ furniture and throwing it away. Sad really.
And I got going with unearthing my yard find Woody.
As found.
Took a few minutes to unearth and remove the garden bed in the trunk. also many many snails.
At this point I did wonder if this pic was indicative of what the Camaro represents.
But of course being the man I am, I don’t shy away from a fight…..
Managed to load it into the Caddy and headed West.
Once back home it was unload and get it into the back yard.
Hosepipe in the rain and give it a quick wash and hose down
I was really happy.
These are rare AFAIK.
Love it.
I took it down to the carport and parked it next to the Rezin Rockit.
As for the CAMARO……
I did make a quick short video of it starting and running.
The exhaust note is really subtle and pleasant.
My Astro van is a bit more of a thug.
It also sports a 4.3 V6 compared to the Camaro’s 3.4 V6.
Getting into and sitting in the Camaro is akin to sitting down on a skateboard.
And I possibly felt like a tank commander when he directs his machine down the road.
I had no clue where to front and rear of the car started or ended.
Like sitting in a blacked out fishbowl.
VIDEO:
And I still don’t know.
If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem mate.
So another day of being kept busy by loads of things.
Post office runs, hour long phone calls with friends about how quiet the job market is in our industry. Listing more stuff on Marketplace and responding to dumbass questions.
So I really only got going after lunch sometime.
First job was clearing and cleaning the floor in the other part of the garage. That part nobody sees. The 5’ Drill press table and surrounding floor took quite some time as the garage vacuum hose (retired 20 years ago from household tasks) kept getting blocked at various junctions by the challenge of swarf and junk going up it.
Next job was to start cleaning shelves on more of my storage.
I have brand new truck parts, bought and collected from LMC in Kansas City, Oklahoma City and other places across the USA that are still as I had unpacked them from my baggage in 2015
Some of the biodegradable plastic bags had completely decomposed leaving piles of parts that needed vacuum cleaning. Sorting them at the same time.
This all takes time.
But I have found a lot of treasures.
I never completed the unpacking and mental inventory but it feels good, seeing stuff that will be drawn into service as the C10 restoration starts to take off again.
I am not sure which set of badges I will be using in this build.
Being a 1966 C10, Custom Cab V8 there are obviously the original versions but this is no true 100 point restoration, rather an aesthetically pleasing (TO ME, FOR MY PLEASURE ) rebuild with custom touches that appeal to me.
As always, all input, comments, advice, donations, parts, cash, drugs, help, visits to Grizz’s Garage where Grizz’s Sh17s happens are welcome and encouraged. It gets lonely down there.
Speaking of lonely……
Sally had eventually capitulated and bought herself the largest twin port Air Frier ( I still have no clue how they actually work) So she offered to do marinated chicken skewers/kebabs for us and brought them over with Pita Pockets. A bit like Meals on Wheels. Food was good and she left by 18.45 which saw me headed down to the garage again.
Having been indoors for a bit, I didn’t enjoy the cold of the garage and decided not to carry on with cleaning up.
Rather to reward myself with some “Hobby Time”
So I went to the wood store and found a 800mm length of oak.
Brought it back in and got going making another name plate or board for my shop. I had collected the parts a few years ago. Lack of mojo precluded completion. Now it felt good.
Small rewards.
Just to clarify for all the wordsmiths, linguists and spelling police out there……
The name encompasses the good, bad and ugly that happens or is part of my shop.
So Dennis always brings and collects for me, license plates at his bodyshop.
Once I got to a critical mass of Missouri State plates I could go at them with tin snips and cut out letters and numbers that gave me what I needed.
I had also rediscovered some the aluminium castings from Andy near Terlton in Oklahoma, one of my favourite places to visit on road trips. They have been mounted on the archway down the drive, outside the shop.
While doing the layout I really wanted to incorporate one of my favourite brands. And a small road trip memento.
Assembly was pretty quick with one screw up ( in my mind at least, can you see it in the final product?) and I still need to decide where and how to mount it.
Hanging from a chain, rope, propped up or screwed down.
Not yet sure.
By 19.45 it was completed and I looked around, satisfied that there was actually progress again.
TOUCH SOMETHING. MOVE SOMETHING. DO SOMETHING. ITS ALL PROGRESS.
RESULT
In the end I decided not to use this piece, from Andy’s foundry yet.
Today I will look for an appropriate place for it.
Possibly on the Chevy Tailgate bench up at the house, on the deck, where friends often congregate for a BBQ in summer.
Or possibly on the wooden arch to the shop area.
This is starting to feel like progress and success to me.
Like the MoJo is coming back bit by bit.
Long may it continue.
Life is good.
If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem mate.
I trust you guys are keeping up and not falling asleep.
Told you it was kinda random here.
And yesterday was a great day.
I mounted my new shop sign above the small door, and mounted the Bullshit Corner sign on the tailgate bench I made.
Met a great guy who is a builder, runs a wedding car hire business on the side. Bought some traffic lights off me that I have owned 10 years. Sold the other one years ago for what both cost me. Never mounted them as they turned out to too large. He had just bought a white black cab to add to his fleet. @£350 for a days hire, it seems like good business.
Later I kept unpacking one of my tool sheds, engine stands, cherry picker, can and body mounts live in there. Discovered some road signs that I used to have up before COVID came and the carport got built.
Thought I would list them as a joblot on marketplace and see if anyone grabbed them. They were all found in ditches, roadsides and some straightened out, cleaned etc.
Now if you look closely at what they sell for (well, are advertised for) I was very low. I contacted a guy who bought a load of toolboxes and other stuff recently and said that I was listing for £25.00 I also sent a pic. He came back and took them and a load of other stuff I knew he liked, before listing them. £95.00 squeezed out of his cold dead hands.
Random ad on FB.
Check the individual prices.
Matt got these and about 10 more large safety, warning and speed restriction signs as part of the same deal.
Helps me make space and him happy.
While I was unpacking I found a load of my favourites in a cabinet. They have gone back up in various places.
I felt it was perfect as part of this purging and Mojo returning.
By 10.00pm last night another set of new, unused vintage Halogen spotlights sold, I agreed to post them to possibly the most challenging postal address I have sent anything to. But it’s another £20.00 in the kitty which has grown to beyond £1300.00
This is crazy, and a real businessman would have had £5k from the same stuff, but overall my investment was still less than the return, and most importantly, the pleasure I have had from them….. kinda priceless.
That postal address.
Jackie Chan*
Unit Rear of aspect ducting 24
Right Side Of driveway
Co154lu
Funny how weird it feels though……
Originally I thought that if my selling off stuff I had no use for brought in £500.00 toward another vehicle purchase, to reduce the self induced guilt… I would be doing well.
Last night….
So in the mean time, I do hope that the universe will come into play and stop me, but if it doesn’t, hey…..
Happy Skinned Knuckles.
I feel the guilt.
Amazingly it is 11.30 already.
Friday.
Coffee and custard creams, then garage.
I did start on the shelves of Chevy truck parts yesterday. But it is a slow, deliberate process. Sorting out so much irrelevant items into different storage spaces and trying to keep a mental track of what I see.
Mostly, I have no clue what I have in my hands.
This will be fun.
Later.
If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem mate.
I scored very low on the autie test. I’m cheerful, happy, confident, like meeting new people, chatty and largely sociable. What the fuck am I doing on this forum?
brandersnatch wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:56 pm
I can’t be arsed to scroll back to the top of your post to give you a like so take this as that.
Comments are much more appreciated.
Even if its a little or whatever.
The amount of time it takes me to sit and write up all this bollox on a mobile phone using just my thumb…….. Trust me, it gets tedious, but I have no friends……
If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you have an electrical problem mate.
Very entertaining, I am now reminded that I have some old licence plates etc that need to be put up in my garage before my Impala comes home, not that I know when that will be. I shall have to summon my odd job man forthwith. Actually just remembered he's coming here on Monday to put up two LED lights in my model room, will have to give him a reminder. That said I'll have forgotten by then.
or whatever. 
