Blurry Vision, Floats That Don't and an Other Stuff ...

It's been a long time since I updated this blog. My detached retina is healing nicely. I still have some of the gas bubble in my eye, which is frustrating. It was supposed to take around four weeks to disappear. Yesterday was eight weeks and it's still not gone. I did get to come home after four weeks, though. I'm still on medication to keep the pressure down at this elevation. Most of my vision appears to be returning ok, but I'll have to have a new prescription to adjust to the change made by the detached retina. That can't happen until the bubble is all gone. Meanwhile, the vision in my right eye is pretty blurry.

Ronney and Karen were kind enough to go to Aztec to pick up the trailer for the Model T. I haven't loaded it in the trailer yet, but it should work fine.

The day after I came home from Albuquerque I took the Model T out for a short drive, then parked it in the garage. The next morning all the fuel had run out on the floor. Luckily, it only had a gallon or so in it. I fiddled with the carburetor, but to no avail. Fuel kept running out. I removed the carburetor and cleaned the float valve, thinking that there had to be some foreign material in it that was not letting it close. When I put it back on, still the same problem. After a lot of head scratching, I finally figured out that the float was full of fuel. This was on a newly rebuilt carburetor! I called the supplier and they sent me a new float. It seems that their rebuilder uses the old floats when rebuilding them. After receiving and installing the new float everything's fine again. Now I'm working on the headlights. I have them all rewired, but am going to have to order new bulbs from one of the parts suppliers.

Ronney, Karen and kids stopped by this afternoon on their way home from camping this weekend. I gave them all a ride in the Model T, so have some pictures of that.

Here're Rylee and Chase ...

And Karen ....

And Ronney.


I tried to get Ronney to drive it, but he said he isn't ready just yet.

Galena and I went over to Jemez Springs, then on up to Bandelier National Park yesterday. On the way, we stopped at the Valles Caldera and I took this picture of her by one of the signs. That's really some beautiful country.

A Major Setback ....

Well, things took a turn for the worse about a week ago. Last Sunday I woke up with about a third of the vision area in my right eye black. After some calls to doctors, etc., we met the on call doctor at Eye Associates of New Mexico at their facility. Following examination of my eye he determined that I had a detached and torn retina. He called the retina specialist. She confirmed his diagnosis and scheduled me for retina surgery that evening. She repaired my retina with a laser and put a gas bubble in my eye. Everything's going well, but I'm not allowed to go above 7,500 feet, so we're stuck in Albuquerque for a few weeks.

Also, the trailer I ordered for hauling the Model T has been delayed, so it's uncertain whether or not it will arrive in time for the Wichita County Fair. Ronney has offered to pick up the trailer and the Model T and tow them to Leoti, but it depends on how things go time-wise. We'll have to wait and see.

The Model T is all complete and ready for the fair, but I had dismantled the coil box on Saturday to put new wood and insulators in to see if I could prevent it from arcing. I didn't get it all back together, so the coil box is in pieces. If everything else works out, it shouldn't take very long to put it back together.

So, that's the current status. We'll have to wait and see how things work out.

More to follow .....

(Mostly) Done !!!

Today I finished the last of the major jobs -- the bed. The endgate and front board are all finished and assembled, and the metal trim on top of the sideboards and the front board is installed. There may have been metal trim on the endgate, too, but I don't have that, so it will go without for now. Here's a picture of the whole truck as it looks now.

And here's a front view.

This is a closeup of the bed.


And the end of one of the cross rods, which also shows the trim on the top edge of the sideboard. I still have to trim the ends off of some of the bolts that are too long and then touch up with black paint. Most of the touch up is to the bolt ends and screws that didn't get painted. There are a few chipped area on the body to touch up, too, but they're pretty much areas that will just get worn off again.

It's really rewarding to see it this complete. It has been a long, long project, but seeing the end result makes it definitely worth it.

The next hurdle is to see if the trailer to haul it in gets here in time. As it stands now, it's scheduled to be complete July 17th, and will hopefully be in Aztec for me to pick up the 20th or 21st.

Front Board and Tailgate Built

Today I finished building the front board and the tailgate. Everything appears to fit fine and work as it should. Here's a picture of the tailgate in place in the closed position.

And here's one with the tailgate partially open.

The tailgate is built as dad described it to me, and the latch is my design. I doubt that the latch would hold up for long under harvest use, but for the light duty it will encounter in retirement, it should do fine.

I've dismantled them now and am in the process of applying the finish. Meantime, there are still a few small things to do. Additionally, Galena has a list of honey do's as long as my arm, so maybe I can work a few of them in, too. We're going to Inlow to see the rest of the family for a few days sometime Saturday. Mike, Dana and boys are coming in from Alabama, so everyone is getting together to visit and see them.

Sideboards

Today I got the sideboards installed. Now that they're in place and aligned, I can get the measurements for the front and the tailgate. Here's a picture taken down by the windmill.

And here's one from a little closer showing the sideboards.

I miscounted the number of bolts required, so will need to pick up some more the next time we're in town. I'm hoping to get the front piece and the tailgate built this week so I can start putting the finish on them. It takes six or more days to complete the finish, as I put three coats on each side and each coat requires 24 hours drying time. Once that's done and they're installed, all the major work will be complete. As you can see, the hood is off, as I'm working on one of the panels where the paint got cracked. I'm trying to fix it myself, but my paint and body talents are pretty limited. Also, I need to do some touchup in several places, then give it a good cleaning before we'll be ready to hit the road.

Battery Box Built, Bed Floor in Place ....

This has been a pretty productive week. I built and installed the battery box early in the week. Here's a picture of it on the truck.


Yesterday I spent the day screwing the floorboards to the bed frame. Everything went smoothly. The tongue and groove boards Charlie and I made last week worked great. Here's a picture of the bed before finishing. The screw holes are plugged and all the holes are drilled to fasten the sideboards to.


This picture is of the bed after sanding the floor and the first coat of finish. I also glued up the pieces that will be the front and the tailgate.


Galena and I took it out this afternoon for its first drive on the highway. We went up to the top of Senorita Divide and a little way down the other side. The total distance was maybe three miles. It ran well. I think I may need to adjust the coils, as it runs better on the battery than on the mag.

Saw dust and more sawdust .....

The last few days have been spent making sawdust. I've taken three large bags to the dump, and have one more to get rid of after today's work. Today Charlie came over and helped me work the oak lumber into tongue an groove boards for the floor of the bed and the sideboards. That took all day, but now the boards are ready to go.

Here's a picture of the setup we used. The poor little Makita table saw was overworked pretty badly, but made it through. Charlie's help was critical, as I couldn't have worked the eight foot boards by myself. This pile of sawdust is in addition to three bags that came from the thickness planer. I'll also have a sizable pile of oak scraps for kindling next winter, as well as several larger pieces for future projects. I also have a lifetime supply of beautiful sticks for making kites if anyone's interested.

Here're the boards we produced. The narrower ones on the far left and the narrow stack further right are for the sideboards. The three short boards are for the end gate, and the glued up short wide board is for the front of the bed. The double stack of wider boards on the right are the floor boards. The old bed makes a great work surface.

The next step will be to lay out the floor boards, bottom side up, and apply three coats of finish to them. After that I can start screwing them to the frame of the bed. Of course, the side boards and end gate have to be glued up, the cut to their final size before finishing. I'm also continuing to work on sandblasting and painting the metal parts, and still have to build the battery box.