Otay, so far this month I've played with (as in fabricated from scratch) a third brake light made out of a chrome skull hitch reciever, built a set of relays to drive the headlights on an 86 Toyota truck, planted an OOGAH horn from god knows what from way back when into a 1990 Ranger II, and rewired my neighbors lawn tractor so that the blade cutoff switch is from any auto parts store instead of a proprietary Craftsman part.

But the fun never stops around here...

My buddy across the road told me his tail lights on the street rod truck had him stumped. No wonder - nothing about his brakes are normal. It's a '51 Chevy stepside ratrod with a backwards mounted power brake system under the floor of the cab. The offending unit had no brake light switch whatsoever...

I spent the day re-inventing the brake light switch, and imagining/fabricating a brake light switch and bracket for it, tracing and verifying wires, and planning revenge against the guy Don got it from.

Everything is built now, and ready to put in tomorrow...

Believe it or not we used a dome light/door open switch for a 41 - 48 Desoto that we found at a carquest store!

The day before yesterday I hand fabricated a set of dropped tail light brackets for this same truck to mount a pair of iron cross tail lights on it. Thank "Our Lady of Burning Rubber" for mild aluminum plate and tooling equipment! I can see this crate and the 50 Ford turning into a diary of old time hotrodding...

 

sounds like fun. too bad i dont have time for stuff like that

 

Do you mean too bad you don't have time for it?

 

fixed it. yeah, thats what i meant.

 

Thot so.

For me a problem like that is a brain teaser - I can't let it go. No taillights, eh? Hmm....

I've made a life out of fixing oddball problems, and making things better than new. I guess I think differently than most people because of it - sort of like an "Automotive Sherlock Holmes".

"When everything else works, and the problem still exists, the answer (no matter how unlikely) must be whatever is left..."

Elementary, my dear WATKINS!

PS: We don't have any "Watsons" around Memphis town. We sho nuff got a Watkins Street tho....

No offence intended at all

 

i am the same way. my problems eat me up at work. but im at work and i cant fix it then. so it stays on my mind all day and then i get off work and i forget the solution that i figured out when i was work.

 

Do what I do, fold a couple of file cards in half and stick them in your wallet...

One is for phone numbers, another is for ideas, the third is the shopping list.

On the 29th I sometimes write up a checklist for bills...

We got the brake pedal arm bracket and switch installed today, the wiring carnival is going to be another day. IT'S GOING TO WORK! I can taste it...

I also got in touch with a chevster guy today. Anyone out there working on a Trans Am, I know exactly where you can git your hands on a 403 OLDS BANDIT motor.

There's also a 455 up for grabs, if he don't put it in his wrecker....

The guy has been doing just what a good race and hot-rod man should - BAGGING all the good old hi-po engines that were still around.

FOUR BOLT MAINS! But you do need to be able to speak country and redneck when you talk to the man.

 

I know this is a Ford site, but you mentioned the Trans Am and it brought back memories...

I had a 74 Trans Am with a 455 SD when I was a kid. I can honestly say that I have never driven a faster car than that one. I had it above 135 once and it started to lift off the street. I backed off a little bit, but obviously the car had more guts than I did... ha

 

It's the one all right. Straight up 400 engine. I dunno what he wants for it, but I can find out. He said he ran it in a race car, but the track closed and the bracket he was running in kindee dried up and went away.

Something about the driver steered and all, but a co-driver had the gas pedal. Anybody heard of this? Sounded mighty odd-ball to me...