Bricked

We finally got some cool weather this summer, which was quite convenient as I spent most of the weekend laying brick. This is what my brother and I managed to complete in a day and a half:
UPDATE - Click on the picture for the full width, the blog formatting is cropping the majority of the photo

We put down probably around 500+ bricks plus the retaining wall. We will have to continue it on the left side a bit until it hits the deck on that side, which will require a bit more work to level the ground. This also is a interesting panoramic of 3 pictures stitched together by my brother's camera. I wish I had a before photo, but failed to plan that far ahead.

I also got out Friday evening and added some more curves on the motorcycle. It was bittersweet however as a fork seal failed on me and is added to the list of things to fix. Hopefully I'll get some pics up soon. Amid all of this there is good news, I finally got the piston back out of the engine and replaced the rings. The oil pan is even back on and I just need to bolt the head back on (well, not exactly the easiest task) and get everything hooked back up properly. I Plan on having it on the road by the end of the month!

Lost my head again.

The head is finally off once again. Progress was halted once again, this time by a broken finger(Don't run next to a pool kids!). As you can see things are looking empty in the engine bay again:


The head sitting on a table.


Here's a shot straight down on the pistons. You can see something's different about #2. This is with only about 250 miles on the engine:


One of these things is not like the other:


A good set of valves:


Something's wrong here:


Hopefully it's just the rings on that piston and a simple replace (I've got spares) will do the trick.

The landscaping finally started to bloom. Here are a few macros:

Slick Move

Looks like more issues with the car. Burning oil in one cylinder, so it's back into the garage for it. Engine is dropped, and now I'm just working on getting the timing back off. It would appear that the rings didn't seat properly for some reason. All three others seem to be functioning well currently.

Here's why it's coming apart. Notice the difference from the one behind it:


And I'm getting used to this now. I'm also getting pretty good at this now.:

Free-falling firsts

The holiday weekend has come to an end and more adventures are chronicled at this very spot (if a stream of packets of bits being delivered to your house via the most complex network on earth can be considered "a spot"). I'll also catch up on some photos that have been brewing on my laptop for a while.

I'll start out with the most recent. My sis came down for the elongated weekend and we headed out for a lengthy motorcycle ride on Hwy 66 and 62 (two of my favorite roads in this area). I don't have any action shots but I do have a couple of us geared up next to the two-wheeler. As you can see proper gear is a small requirement of mine. I also believe this is the first picture of my new red Joe Rocket jacket.





Next up is the canoe trip at my home town with a bunch of the locals (a great group of people) last month.







And one of the most beautiful boats I've seen:


And a riverside flower sitting there ripe for capturing it's reflected photons:


Here's a few more flora photos, however I'll have to give credit to my sister for them as I grabbed them from her camera before she left!







And last, but certainly far from the least was another first I conquered this year. Just a little bit of jumping from a plane at 10,000 feet. Here's the crew who didn't chicken out:


Same crew (sans one)suited up:


I feel fashion was not the main concern when my jumpsuit was constructed. This is the moment when it really starts to set in that it's really going to happen.


Here's the other cool looking jumpsuit:


After free-fall and floating saftely back to earth:


The sis landing:


Post flight walks:


Check out the smile on that face:


I'm hoping to get some videos online but it will be a few weeks before they are delivered. Also video on linux is still giving me hell so I'm still trying a few things. It's certainly possible but apparently I haven't found the right combination just quite yet.

Mantii Mania

Well, It's been a while since I've had the chance to provide any updates. I finally spent one weekend home and not out and about which enabled me to grab some quick photos around the house. Here are a few friends I found in some of my landscaping (which I've put a lot more work into this spring).






They are just wee-lads right now, and I hope some will stick around once they mature. Much easier to photograph as well as keeping some of the bad bugs dead.

Here is a macro shot of my pre-bloom Spirea bush after some light misting rain (and a dash of Gimping):


And a bit more experimentation with refraction:


The car is coming along, but with more snags of course. Got it back down to my house, and did some body work, however it looks like one piston will have to come back out. It's drivable yet burning oil in one piston for some reason. I would be further along however due to other outdoor activities progress has slowed dramatically. I hope to get some pics up of some of the boating and triathlon(the aforementioned activites) I've done in the past month or so. Also (weather permitting) this weekend something very big might just happen! Stay Tuned!

New - ed

Well, no video as of yet. Open Movie Editor on Ubuntu is still giving me problems. I've even tried compiling from source from Medibuntu repositories with no change. I have the video complete, however it still will not render to a real format that anything else can read.

Anyways, now onto stuff I did manage to complete. I finally got some pictures (although very poor lighting quality as they were lit with my car headlights) of my new Bicycle:




Even had a chance to setup the tripod and get a few shots of the new state of the master bath which has a bit more color than before:




Not too much new has happened in the past few weeks really. Still training for the Triathlon whenever I get an opportunity, including a 27 mile bike ride last weekend. I also went out and purchased triathlon shorts, and all I think I need from here is a helmet for the biking segment. Running has been put on hold for a while to prevent further injury to my shin, and I'll start swimming this week. I'm hoping to be able to get the motorcycle down here this weekend and be able to take advantage of this warm weather!

In closing, here is a photo I snapped of a jeep put to good use:

Everything in it's original place.

Well, I finally am getting settled back into the house, which is great. Commute is down to less than 30 minutes a day which is great seeing as I no longer have to fill a 20 gallon tank every other day! I'm hoping to get some pictures as well as some video, however video production on Linux is giving me a bit of grief at the moment. I've been keeping myself busy most of the time with training for the triathlon, averaging 10-15 miles/week on foot and 30+ on bike/week. We'll see how long I can keep this pace, as I'm starting to have some issues with lower legs. I'm going to be giving it a couple days rest and see how it fares.

I still need to get some photos of the new bicycle, a new laptop has been procured, and lots of projects with the house. I might even get the motorcycle down here this weekend! :-)

Blue Hot

After a bit of frustration I was finally able to make a good deal of forward progress. The Crankshaft gear proved to be a real pain until I found the right tool (pictured below :-Þ).


Without it I struggled and felt like I almost broke several different things. With it I was able to place the crankshaft gear on by hand (well, a large oven mit).

All timing components have been installed and the engine is once again mounted in the car! I do not have any photos yet, but will provide some soon, hopefully with a video of a running engine.

Over the Rainbow

Well, here are some photos of the progress made. My only trouble halting me right now seems to be the Crankshaft gear and it has been a bear to deal with. I worked for 2 hours trying a variety of methods to get it on to no avail. After I dropped a 14" breaker bar straight on my little toe I decided to call it a night. Last time I worked on it I left the shop bleeding. I have spoken to some people at work and have a couple of other things to try. We'll see how it goes or if I end up with more injuries tonight.

Exhaust side with headers installed.


Intake Side


Here is the crankshaft gear. I put so much force into it I was in fear of breaking the head off of the crankshaft bolt. You can actually see how far it went on from the change in the finish on the ID of it in this photo.



And during a recent VERY windy storm here I had the chance to catch this gem. It only lasted about 2-3 minutes, and the picture still does not do it justice. It was a incredibly bright rainbow that you could see both sides of, and had a double rainbow on this side you can almost make out in the photo. I wish I has a fisheye lense to capture it all as it was incredible.


I'll be headed back to the 'Ville this weekend and will not be working on it, however I do plan to get lots of miles in on the new bike. I'll see if I can get a good photo of it then.

Two-Wheeled Training

I finally broke down and bought myself a little treat. I'll be doing a triathlon this spring and needed something a little faster than my old Raleigh Mojave


I now have a Trek FX 7.3 to go along with it.

















Which is quite nice and really fast. I just finished up a 20 mile trek(haha) on Saturday.

As for the engine, things are coming along nicely. Most of the accessories are now attached. I'm still working on the timing components however. I hope to get those finished up this week, and I'll get some more photos uploaded as well.

Where's Your Head At?

Finally received my ring set and quickly set to work. As you can see below items are being attached to the block, and the cams are out again and the head has been bolted down with a new head gasket (which is a much more involved process than I expected). Water pump and intake pipe has been mounted as well as some sensors. I need to search for the special deepwell socket I bought to tighten down the oil filter thread as I seemed to of lost it, so the oil pan is waiting on that. Timing components will be next in line.





I've also provided a quick video tour of the engine as well as the cams and engine bay. And yes the shop is a huge mess. I need to start getting items bolted back on to make room for organizing tools and such. Also I'm reluctant to start throwing out trash, lest I throw away some important component by accident. I'll probably be organizing things tonight.


Engine Rebuild - Head On from Thomas Anderson on Vimeo.

Two Steps Back, and One Step Forward.

Unfortunately my inexperience has reared it's ugly head again, this time in the form of a recently purchased part being broken. As you can see below, when attempting to install the rings, I made a mistake. It does not appear that I can buy rings for just one piston, so I'll have to cough up the dough for an entire new set :(


On the other hand, some forward progress has been made. The three other pistons have been installed with rings properly gapped. The Crank has been installed as well as the lower block and oil pump.




It will take a while to get the new rings in, so that will hold things up even more than they already have been. However, hopefully things will move at a steady pace after that.