P59 Update #2

April 19^th. After the snow had melted and the ground had firmed, it was no trick to get the car out to the Lodge, however getting it off the trailer was another matter. On the plus side, bruises eventually heal.

While rusty, the car showed a lot of potential. The dash was mint, the seats were soft and in good shape, the carpet wasn’t torn away. Yet it was obvious the mice had had their way with the headliner and the ashtrays full of firewall insulation told a similar tale. We won’t discuss the smell. One taillight worked, the radio was clear as a bell(!), dash lights were inop but the wiring was in good shape. Those things could wait. The first order of business was seeing if we could get the engine to start. So began the first of many expenditures. New plugs and wires were ordered and a new point set as well. While we knew the engine would turn freely via the battery (!) getting it to start would be another matter.

April 25^th: An oil pressure gauge was setup under hood and new oil and fuel filters were bought and installed for the test. A 5 gallon can of non-ethanol was plumbed up and the work began. We had some initial trouble getting the 389 to roar to life. We knew we had fuel, but no spark. It appeared someone else may have had similar trouble as the coil resistor had been bypassed, but there was no reason it shouldn’t at least sputter with new points. After some head-scratching and electrical continuity testing, we determined the new points were inop! We tried a second set and still had an intermittent closed-circuit when the points were together. Now, these weren’t the cheapest of points, but they weren’t the gilded 30 dollar sets, either. Finally, I grabbed a set I had on the shelf (GP brand) for the ’59 Cad and the motor came to life with ease. So, word to the wise, just because they’re new, don’t assume they’ll work. Will I eventually go breakerless? Maybe. But first we need to prove out the transmission.

 

And so the engine ran great. Good oil pressure, a sticky lifter that cleared itself, quick revving and smooth sounding. All was well except a weeping water pump. Hey, you can’t expect everything to go perfectly. With that green light, we proceeded to pull the brake drums. The fronts looked decent but the rears were heavily gouged. No problem! How tough could it be to find some drums?

April 26th: Big Money #2. The waterpump was ordered. Herein lies a tale. This car uses, what is referred to as, a Counter Clockwise pump. Here’s a good primer on the subject: http://www.pontiacsafari.com/EngineCooling/ Don’t trust any websites or parts stores until you’ve confirmed the pump you have because most sources are incorrect. You can’t go off casting numbers, either, because it’s the impeller shape that’s different, not the body. Physical rotation is unchanged, too. Luckily, I did this before ordering. The CCW pump is around 2-3x the price of the CCW pump but if you watch ebay, you might catch a deal.

 

CCW Pump Fin Direction

Meanwhile…. I had been on the hunt for an air cleaner housing. For whatever reason, this was the one part the car was missing. I could either buy a cheapo Chinese chrome job that may or may not fit and rust out in short order, or I could hold out for a GM unit that would fit the 2GC. Nice ones were going for good money on that popular auction site, but I managed to snag one on the cheap, intended for a mid-60s Buick after confirming the bore size with the seller. While that was in transit, I found a guy that would sandblast the rims for 10 bucks a piece. If you’ve ever spent time leaning over a bead blast cabinet, you know you can’t beat that deal. However before blasting, I needed to confirm the wheel paint color and get an aerosol can mixed up. That would prove to be a challenge.

April 28: For only a few dollars, the local ag supply box store (with full tire department) would strip the cracked bias plies off the 14” rims. Stopped by after work and dropped them off. 24 hours later they were ready.

April 30: Dropped off the rims for blasting. I also attempted to match the color locally and determined the car’s paint code was Gulfstream Blue. Neither Dulux, Lucite or PPG reference numbers would work in the paint supplier’s system. Though in retrospect, fresh paint wouldn’t have matched the faded body anyhow.

May 1: Hey, check out these rims! And look at that, the air cleaner fits. With rain imminent, I pressed forward after work and got them primed, sealed and stored indoors to avoid flash rust. 

May 2: More parts ordered from Rockauto. This time shocks all around, a timing set (might as well while the waterpump is being changed), new fuel pump (more preventative maintenance) and misc cooling system parts.

Weekend of May 3-4: Time to get a few things straightened out with the interior. One, got the dash pulled and the radio removed for a recap. Two, figured out how to remove the headlight switch to fix the rheostat issue affecting no dash lights at night (with switch plunger pulled all the way out, reach up behind the dash and depress the small release button built into the switch housing. The entire shaft will come out from the front and the retaining nut can be unthreaded). These rheostats are connected via pressure to two electrical tabs in the switch body. Corrosion overtakes the entire rheostat coil and in the end it’s a lost cause. Since these oldies aren’t the brightest anyhow, I like to bypass the rheostat and eliminate the source of the problem. Few people have ever complained about a 55 year old dash being too bright.

 

#57 bulbs are used everywhere in cars of this era. You can either pay $4.99 for a pack of two at your FLAPS, or buy them online, four for a buck.

That's more like it!

Radio Recap: The Catalina is equipped with a Super Delux radio with front and rear speaker and an external combination fader/tone control. The fact that the radio is working and the speakers are completely intact might be the biggest surprise of all. To keep the radio going for years to come I decided a recap was in order. I had replacements on hand for the paper caps on the main board, but the oddball electrolytics would have to be ordered. Mouser to the rescue!

Drum City: In parallel with the rim blasting efforts, I took the drums to a local shop that has the capability to turn them on a lathe and true them up. While the clerk put in a good effort measuring them on my tailgate, I was lucky that he misread the dimensions of the front pair. To drive home the point of how big a chore this was going to be, he checked his books for new replacements and not a single number was listed.

Now, the Catalina uses 2”x11” drums in the rear while the wagons and HD cars get 2-1/2” x 11”.  The latter appear to be available quite a few places. The former, not so much. After more fruitless searching, I took the old drums to a FLAPS that could turn them. This time I took the measurements and found the fronts had never been turned, but the rears were at their limits. But again a problem- the machine had recently been repaired and the staff didn’t trust it to turn a set of unobtainium drums. I was advised to take a trip across town to their other franchise where the machine was in good working order. This time I got a lecture that they shouldn’t even turn the drums because, despite my providing the max dimensions, they couldn’t find a reference in their computer. The silver lining was that they wouldn’t touch them until I pulled the bearings, and a check on bearing prices was enough to convince me to run the front drums as-is.

Questionable Materials.

 I drove across town, bought shoes in stock at Autozone, and went home.

Project: P-59

Since not a lot of blogging has been taking place lately, and since I have no dedicated internet connection at home to support creating and modifying html pages, I thought, what better place than here to chronicle the resurrection of a 1959 Pontiac. So, here we go.

It was a cold and snowy January day when my buddy Ben sent me a craigslist link to an interesting car with a very decent price and located within an afternoon’s drive of CF. I shot the seller a message and heard back that same day (Jan 10, 2014) that the car was still available, so now the only question remained, when could we go see it? Menomonie, WI is about a 4 hour drive, and in my mind it wouldn’t make sense to pull a trailer for 8 hours if the car was junk.

With some pretty decent weather, we took the Sonic up to inspect the car. I think we were both a little shocked, Ben more so, when I pulled out cash and made the deal while he was snapping pics. The interior was in surprisingly good condition, the tires were holding air, the paint combo was terrific, and the engine spun freely. Even the radio fired up. Yes, the body had its share of pinhole rust, but I could live with that. It wouldn’t make sense to take a 4-door Catalina and pour thousands into bodywork and paint given the other examples out there. But in its current state, it’d make a great driver. All it needed was brakes…fuel line…a running engine…suspension parts….tires….

With the deal made, the next step was getting the car home. This was easier said, than done. After finally landing a date that worked, and after getting Ben’s dad’s trailer free (long story), we attempted to make our way (Jan 25, 2014). This didn’t go so hot. The 1993 Chevy pickup performed admirably for its first time out, but the weather slayed us. The roads had glazed with ice from the high crosswinds and it would only get worse the further north we drove. After an hour or so north, with cars getting fewer and fewer, and with the ice so bad we couldn’t break 35MPH without fishtailing, we decided to call it off and reschedule.

Feb 1^st, and we were finally successful. Other than some very rough road that just about threw us out of the truck, some very tight loading work to clear the trailer fenders, and the disappointment of finding Skoogs closed, the trip was otherwise uneventful.

However, I was now presented with a new problem. As our lane was impassable, the car would have to sit at the parents place in town until spring. Fine.


 

Thanks for the Memory

After puttering off and on with my relay computer design over the last several years, and scrapping two major revisions, I’m finally at the point where the design is 98% frozen. Controls have been identified, dimensions documented, instruction set semi-frozen and internal timing coded. The challenge is that you have no idea how the machine will eventually be used. Unlike a toaster oven where your bases are covered with a thermostat and a power switch, this computer must be flexible enough to handle a variety of different tasks, yet have the necessary controls and features to allow simple, straightforward use. About all that can be done is to simulate such varied use as though the computer did exist, writing programs and working through different interaction scenarios to make sure my bases are covered.

Interestingly, the machine will have two different memory systems. A high-speed solid state memory of 4096 words (4k) and an electromechanical relay-based system originally targeted to be 128 words. And herein lies the rub.

A ‘word’ (or byte in today’s parlance) is 8-bits. The ‘straightforward’ method of design requires 8 relays to store the 8 bits, plus 8 relays (or two, 4-pole relays) to act as switches to gate the word onto/off of the data bus. Additionally, you need a relay to ‘reset’ the word when it’s loading data from the bus. Total: 11 relays x 128 words = 1408 relays.

Due to size limitations of where the memory will be placed in the machine, I only have enough room for 96 words. Still a lot of relays, but I actually have them all on hand. Recently I developed a new method of storage and addressing using bi-stable latching relays and some clever diode logic. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages- consider this:

Pros:

Only 8 relays required per word vs 11, and no 4-pole relays required. That’s a 30% reduction.

Power consumption is ZERO vs 30 Amps with full memory!

Retains its data even when power is off.

Can be read and written to simultaneously with separate busses should the computer support it.

Reduced footprint means 128 words in square area of 96.

Cons:

Approx $1 a piece in quantity; I have none.

I already have the necessary parts for the std mem design.

So yeah, the latter is a more elegant design, but because I’m sick and tired of spending money, I suppose the original shall have to do.

Buffer Overflow

I've been meaning to post more, no, really, I have entries written that ended up getting discarded due to the complexity of the posting process without a fixed internet connection. The best I can muster is the remote BT keyboard to iPad arrangement, which works well enough for the most part.

So here we are at the end of 2013, and what a year it's been. While I would chalk this one up to "improvements", there have been a number of notable accomplishments for the year.

One cannot over-emphasis enough the prospect of finishing a major project. My life is a major project. But what I'm talking about is the living room. Walls painted, carpet installed, furniture in, yes, that was done before. But we still were living with record albums stacked on the floor, an old glass and chrome shelving unit from my parents that barely held the Sansui, and a makeshift coffee table under the north windows as a catch-all. Nothing integrated the way the architecture did. Now the black and glass cabinets are in- dust-free display space for my computer rarities, shelving for DVD's, tapes, records and LaserDiscs. Plus a credenza-type unit for the stereo, turntable, reel to reel and other media devices that otherwise stick out like sore thumbs. The trick to this project was using inexpensive Ikea cabinets with more upscale trim pieces, and then ditching their cardboard backs for 1/4 plywood I bought and sized to the units. I picked up some special stain at a woodworker's supply shop in Chicago that matches better than factory. That said, the total bill was tough to swallow. Now, I just need to finish my display cards.

2013 also saw the completion of the insulation and wall boards under the Lodge stairs, the completion of the kitchen trimout- both stain and trim for the wall cabinet, but also trim beyond the drywall where insulation was previously the finished surface. Let's be honest, it really did look like the set from a TV show!

While on that subject, the room divider/display cabinet in the dining room reached completion- banded, stained, and glass shelves cut and installed along with lighting. As if that weren't battle enough, I managed to go through all the glasses in the collection and pare them down to the essentials, then washed every frickin' one.

Big deal you might think. Well, consider that each one of these things is a knot untied. Like driving a car with a steering wheel but no speedometer, it's the completion of the whole that makes the home.

And speaking of tying knots, I proposed to Cara this year with a wedding planned for 2014. Details to come!

In the pocketbook-pinch department, out came the 18' bi-fold garage doors and in went the pricey, but all-so-needed glass and aluminum doors. With the increasing prospect that we'd live in the Lodge longer than initially anticipated, it made more and more sense that we wouldn't be driving cars in and out of the Lodge daily and hence moving forward with the pulley and cable system I wanted to implement for the bi-fold doors didn't make much sense. As it stood, I couldn't trim the doors out because of the way they folded, and the smooth exterior wasn't a good match for the textured siding. The new doors, while pricey, look nice and bring in lots of natural light that really changes the interior feel of the place during the winter months. Even when below freezing, if the sun is out, the interior warms up more than the old insulated, but solid, doors.

And with the doors open, the cars and other miscellany moved out. The ETC needed a home and found one in the form of The Annex. The '59 needed a home and it was clear I wasn't going to get around to the '60 for a few years, so the '60 moved on down the line to my friend Ben where it will stay in the area and the '59 moved into CS3. In a few years time, we'll be cruising the two cars down University. Pretty cool. And with the southwest area opened up downstairs, we were able to finally epoxy coat the floor and clear out all the construction tools and materials stashed down there, effectively turning the downstairs into the area that I had always envisioned.

A 2009 Sky joined the fleet this summer which is very atypical of my automotive purchases, but it meets my criteria- Last year of production, turbo, 5-speed, convertible, metallic green. Plus I can cruise anywhere without those "old car" worries.

With the '59 out of the Lodge, Ben and I put the finishing touches on the engine, and after several bone-head moves, actually got the car running under its own power. This brings the total for running cars in CS3 up to 4 for 4. 2014 will see a gas tank recoat and the necessary work required to get her fully roadworthy.

Parallel to this little trial and error, my friend Geoff from Australia visited the states for 2013 and we had a blast showing him around Iowa and enjoying his Cadillac ATS rental. The only regret is that we were not able to host him in CS3 this time around, but it all worked out.

Early in 2013 Cara and I took an amazing trip to Disney World which took years off our lives (in a good way). Even the Sebring convertible rental was palatable after purchasing a pair of Walgreens aviators and a fedora! We can't wait to return.

As summer hit full stride I refocused on the siding of CS3. Not an easy task considering the reveal of each course is dependent upon lots of little factors, such as the beltline height, the lower course reveals, the top and bottom planes of windows both front and west, and so forth. When you go with horizontal siding and mitered corners, you basically work as though you're drawing continuous belts around the building, and all lines must match up. But it all worked out, including the cedar trim-out of the front 40' window section. When the thought crosses my mind that I should hire the siding out, it occurs to me that none of this will be considered and the job will look like shit. What remains is siding on the east side, and upper rear. I'll be glad to put that to bed this spring.

We also saw the opening of a Cedar Falls Menards which has saved an uncountable number of hours and dollars in travel. I haven't been to the Waterloo Menards in a long, long time. Helps with those pricey deliveries, too!

On the work front, this fall saw a promotion which has added to the gray temples, but not to the extremes I've seen of others. Let's just hope the ride doesn't get too crazy. How long am I going to go on with this? Well, we'll see. Too many unknowns at this juncture. 

And then there are the 2013 hobbies. Oye.

2014. Welcome.

Strange Doings

It’s been an interesting year. A late spring, what appears to be an early fall, and a truncated summer that came and went in a flash. I haven’t updated much…either too busy or frankly, too uninspired to write. Creative flashes are few and far between. The days tick past. Work moves along. Obligations are scheduled and then executed. Frankly, I have nothing to really complain about. I’m employed. Have a roof over my head. Food on the table. But sadly, am lacking passion.

Anyway. It’s mid-October so time for an update. Approximately 4 weeks ago the foundation was poured for The Annex. The concrete has now cured, the sill plates cut and installed, and the big materials order scheduled for delivery in two days. Last night we hand selected the 77 2x6x12’s, along with 24-foot long 2x10’s and other lumber. Also picked up the two windows that will be installed over the garage door; the glass prevents them from delivering them on a semi-trailer. I am now finalizing the construction drawings so that Saturday afternoon, I can start cutting studs and hopefully by Sunday, have a few walls framed up.

This past week news arrived that I would be losing the picker again. Time to get the west-side siding project in high gear. Despite the cloudy, rainy, and generally crappy days we’ve had recently, I managed to prime, cut, drill, paint and install all the upper west siding boards and build and install the cedar framing that goes around the window on that side. The final piece of siding actually required drying inside by fan due to the weather we’re having. But it’s done now. That leaves the east side, and the upper rear. The rear is protected by the overhang, and the east doesn’t take as near a beating as the north and west during the winter. Trenching for water and power will have to wait for next year, and that’s just fine. The cars are stored (mostly), the LP tank is full, and the building is near 95% complete.

On the corporate side, the man that was my first full-time boss, and now my most recent boss, has elected to retire. Today was his last day. Due to departmental restructuring that’s been going on in parallel, it’s likely his position will not be backfilled. In fact, one member of the team is being moved to a different department, and another will be splitting his work amongst hardware and software. To add to the confusion, the paperwork has yet to go through, but I have been named the hardware group’s Technical Team Lead, which as far as I can tell, means I’ll be doing the same thing as I am now, but with the hardware people “reporting” to me. Except I’ll have no administrative power whatsoever. And I have a suspicion that with the current workload, the group may disband within a year. Good times.

I think I’ll go home, repair a broken pocket door, and relax this evening.