Something for my dad

[crash]

I just wanted to share this one picture I was able to take while me and the wife was at the One Republic concert at the fair--my dad doing what he loves.

[crash]

Thanks for all of the support to this point and onward as me and my family do appreciate it.

First an update on my dad. He came down with phenomia and they caught it soon enough and able to treat it. But the down side is he has just had little to no energy.

He missed the last 2 car shows of the year due to being rained out but he was ok with it. Him and my mom fly back to kentucky on sunday for a couple weeks and he is getting a tour of the corvett assembly plant--he is super excited for that.

As for the car he had ordered some odds/ends for it and drove the car to my shop on monday to give it a little love.

[crash]

So the first couple items were easy. A new starter to fix the bendix from not fully engaging at times(tore the starter apart and tried to fix it). The second was a new boot from the filler neck to the tank. After filling up my dad said he could smell fuel and the boot was in bad shape. Plus it let me replace the screws holding the neck to the body with nice stainless ones. But those were the easy ones,lol..

[crash]

So the third one was a little harder. The pedal assembly(brake/clutch) were badly worn out with tons of slop side to side. I assume its a common problem as drake sells a nice kit to fix it.

So the hard part was getting the pedals out due to the ebrake and driver fresh air vent. I had never removed the E-brake assembly so I was a little nervous about that but with a little work/effort I was able to remove it. My dad sat back in his chair and just kinda chuckled as I worked it out.

But damn was it all worn out.



The inserts that ride in the bracket and the pivat pin rides in were just trashed. I can see why they were made from aluminum so they would wear out instead on the main bracket.



I was kinda scratching my head since the replacement pin was by itself and the pin on the pedal was attached. It wasn't till I got the pedal out and noticed its just staked into place. So a little grinding/ pounding I got it removed. Compared to the new one its totaly shot.



So I cleaned the pedal, lined the pin and welded it to the pedal and turned out perfect.



Up to this point it was easy,lol. The Drake kit was designed to weld big washers to the pedal mount but that was not going to happen or at least right now. But with some patience and carefull work I got it all put in and damn its nice and tight now. I talked to my dad after he drove it home and his words were "perfect"....

[redbaron]

The corvette plant tour is a pretty cool one. I've been to it a few times myself. Where all is he going to be in KY? Is it just a get away trip or is he doing some treatments there?

[crash]

Originally Posted by redbaron

The corvette plant tour is a pretty cool one. I've been to it a few times myself. Where all is he going to be in KY? Is it just a get away trip or is he doing some treatments there?

He also said something about a corvett museum also?

Just a get a way. We have family out there that he has not seen in a very long time. So just some well deserved R&R

[Stormin2u]

Incredible story once I got started I had to finish it, nicely written. My best wishes and hopes go out to your dad and your extraordinary family keep on loving each other, it's the best medicine.

[crash]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

Incredible story once I got started I had to finish it, nicely written. My best wishes and hopes go out to your dad and your extraordinary family keep on loving each other, it's the best medicine.

THank you and glad you have enjoyed it to this point.

[crash]

I figured I would update folks.

On the car. Its just sitting in its nice and comphy cave since the weather has gone downhill. My dad found a factory carb and I still gotta rebuild it and once I do and get other rigs out of my shop it is going to come back for a short spell to get a few things done.

My mom/dad had a BLAST in Tennessee. I did not realize but my parents flew back there because my dad had a brother there that he had never met before. Once they got back my mom could not talk fast enough about how much fun they had and how much my dad/his brother were alike. But they are are talking about a European trip this spring on a cruise liner with him and his wife..

My dad went in for another CT scan and they found 2 more spots on his liver and one pin sized spot on one of his lungs. He started chemo again last friday and I am not sure of how strong it is but he's still staying as active as he can.

He is still staying positive and I am trying too..

Thanks everybody...

[crash]

Thought I would give an update since I have had many folks who are wishing him well.

He is doing good and the Chemo still drags him down (seems its doing it more now) but he bounces right back up. He has also started what he is calling the "purple wrist band team" against cancer for anybody who is interested.
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So onto the pony. A few months back he had located a used stock carb for the car since it had what my dad referred to as a "non pony carb"--lol. He also hated the fact it did not have the right air cleaner on it.

So we talked and he wanted to know if I could get that carb on his car plus he was having trouble with how it was running. So he dropped the car off at my shop.

Here was the new pony carb.

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So I gutted it like a pig....



A couple hours of work and its as good as new. The carb was actually in very good shape but a couple screw holes were damaged so I had to fix that. But overall the carb was easy (easier than a electric quadrajet).



Here you can see the difference between the 2 carbs with the new one on the right.

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So I was going to slap it on but I found the spread on the carb holes different on the adapter/base that was on the car. Luckily I still had that box of goodies left in the shop and dug out the other base/adapter I had and yup it was the right one. I did have to modify it slightly to work.



The install went pretty smooth and I only had to modify a couple things. Luckily I made an adapter on the other carb for the accel linkage so all I had to do with the linkage was shorten the connector rod via the internal thread. It started right up once the float bowl filled and I adjusted it and runs perfect.



Painted the stock air cleaner and slapped it on---now that looks good. Took it for a spin and its ready...

[hende]

Looking good as always.. Shocked theres not a V-8 In there yet

[crash]

I thought I would update folks on my dad.

He went in for a CT scan again on wedsnesday and was supposed to start another round of chemo on friday but I had not heard any updates on the results of the scan (couple times that was not abnormal). So we had a gathering to wish my brother in law Don good luck at boot camp. Unfortunately we were late and my parents were leaving as we were getting there. My dad asked if we could go off and talk--I feared the worse..

He had gotten the results form the scan and the cancer is increasing in size (did not go into specifics) and he did not start chemo on friday.

He had said the numbness he was starting to get to his hands/feet was getting really bad and he was fearing he was going to end up in a wheelchair. His only words to this was "its about quality of life". He has an appointment this week with his doctor but I am sure if the damage to his nerves system can't be stopped he was going to stop it all together.

This hit me--but it did not sink in till he had one last thing to say before they had to leave "Son I want you to do a video for my services". All I could do was cry, hugged him and they left...---thanks for letting me share to this point.

I haven't given up and my dad hasn't either and If one person reads this and does something cool with/for your dad then I have achieved my reason for this....


I hope you all have a great new year..

[JeremyH]

Damn Crash, that is sad news. Spend as much time with him as you can.

[hende]

Man sorry to hear that but I still hope the best for you and your dad.

[crash]

Thanks Jeremy and Hende..

He has an appointment this week so hopefully I will hear some good news.

[crash]

Today we celebrated our Christmas since my dad was not feeling well around the holidays. It was a great day and the whole family was there.

After the festivities we all sat around and my dad had some words to say--some I knew about some I didn't. As I had stated before he had stopped chemo. He has no desire to continue as the aftereffects were getting too hard to bear and he was facing ending up in a wheelchair if they were continue. He wants to spend what time he has left as best as he can.

He has a TON of sports stuff (Seahawks/Mariners) and he wanted to make sure if there was anything that any of us wanted to make sure to tell him. My olderst/younger sister started crying and asked if she could have his camera strap (one he has been using for years). I broke down and had to walk out and sat balling on the porch while my dad came out and we talked. At the end of our conversation I looked up and said "it really is a beautiful day", looking at the blue sky and my dad simply said "yes son, it really is". Before we went in he said "son, make sure to take good care of my pony". I smiled "I will dad".

We went back in and continued to talk.

He doesn't want to go into any hospice home so tomorrow some folks are coming over for my parents to discuss in home hospice care so my mom doesn't run herself into the ground trying to care for my dad.

He also wants to do 2 things. The first he is going back to Tennessee to see his brother one last time and he is hoping to feel good enough to do his annual trip to go see the Mariners spring training in Arizona and visit his sister in California.

So I am going to try and spend some good quality time with him. Since I rebuilt the carb he has not drivin his pony as he has not been able to which really broke my heart, He wants to go do some cruising so as soon as the weather gets decent I am heading out and taking him cruising.

I know this book/journey I have been on isn't over yet and I thank all of you for following along and the support I have gotten along the way.

[j-bird]

Well dude God bless ur pops and ur family... It's real shitty weather here in tn right now lol... I hope and pray that ur pops gets to do all in his bucket list ... God bless


J-bird

[AX10wannabe]

its been quite a while since i've checked on the progress of this car and your dad.. hope your dad sticks around for a while, its definitely not easy when a very close family member isnt feeling well..

i was also wondering what color that is.. i got my racing mower stripped down naked and its getting painted this color..