JDMopar
Well-Known Member
If Mr. Squirrel painter doesn't get to work on your Demon soon.......walk in one day on your way home from the range job, with an open carry piece strapped on your side. That might get his attention!
Well... let’s see this 45 you speak of!Well it is now August, painter has assured me of yet another completion date. I am totally holding my breath! Not! I have been wandering aimlessly thru my shop looking at the MT rack longing for something to do. Hemi thinks the extra space is for us to play chase in. I have cleaned, swept and organized every drawer at least once. I have found all kind of cool stuff I had forgotten I had! High
Light reel was a small 45 colt wrapped in a rag shoved to the back of a drawer! Woo Hoo! Anyway here are some progress pics from paint shop.
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Can do easy, tonight is my night to shut down the range so that lets me get in some quality shooting practice with no interruptions or coaching. I was figuring on taking it and clearing its throat! No telling when I shot it last. At very least not since I have been in ND. I will see if she runs tonight.Well... let’s see this 45 you speak of!
So here is pix of aforementioned baby Colt! I remember now why it was stuffed in toolbox. I have gorilla mitts for hands and I simply run out of real estate for my hands while trying to shoot it. Just not a fun one to shoot. Shot it tonight, yep headed back to toolbox! A good shop piece. Busy night at the range! I even got to admister first aid to a shooter. Funny thing about semi autos and crossing fingers in back of slide! You can warn them and warn them but in the end they all have to learn the hard way because they are Wyatt Earp. And I quote" I have been shooting like this for years" end quote. My reply as always both professional and polite. Yes Sir I am sure you have but you might want to adjust your grip a bit as you are very close to getting bit by the slide. Then I go fetch bandaids and wait for the inevitable.Well... let’s see this 45 you speak of!
That’s a good looking piece! But I know what you mean about being too small. I bought a Ruger .380 from my grandpa when he liquidated his collection (sons, son-in-laws and grandsons bought them all). I need to see if my wife can shoot it good so she can carry it, it’s just too dang small for me! I shattered my right wrist back in 2012 and my wrist starts binding up/hurting before I can get the trigger all the way back. That’s no good in a time when it’s needed! I honestly wouldn’t even have considered the gun if it wasn’t grandpas and it was the last gun available (we took turns by age, starting with the oldest son, then son-in-laws, then grandsons).View attachment 1715378147
So here is pix of aforementioned baby Colt! I remember now why it was stuffed in toolbox. I have gorilla mitts for hands and I simply run out of real estate for my hands while trying to shoot it. Just not a fun one to shoot. Shot it tonight, yep headed back to toolbox! A good shop piece. Busy night at the range! I even got to admister first aid to a shooter. Funny thing about semi autos and crossing fingers in back of slide! You can warn them and warn them but in the end they all have to learn the hard way because they are Wyatt Earp. And I quote" I have been shooting like this for years" end quote. My reply as always both professional and polite. Yes Sir I am sure you have but you might want to adjust your grip a bit as you are very close to getting bit by the slide. Then I go fetch bandaids and wait for the inevitable.
I feel your pain. It took more than a year to metal work and paint my duster but it was done on the side with some bartering. I would work on his used cars and he would put the same hours into my car. He did an excellent job it still holding up some 20 years later. So when we wanted to repaint my wife's 73 firebird he had moved away. So I took it to a shop near us that does quality work but I made it clear that they would not take the car until they were ready for it and would only have 30 days to get it done. I would stop by to check progress at least twice a week and to make sure it did not get pushed off to side to make room for more lucrative collision work. So they got done on time and did a great jobDemon is still in paint purgatory. As of tomorrow we have missed another completion date. So today I cranked up some tunes made a toddy and started assembling the pedal braketery etc etc. most of it came from Wilwood and actually went together pretty well. My only suggestion is to actually read the instructions (ask me how I know)They include them for a reason, use them. Of course I chose the caveman approach and just started putting it together how I thought it should go. Their way is much better. I made myself a little red neck jig fixture to get them stabilized and at a comfortable elevation. Smoked some salmon on grill during assembly of pedals.
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Thanks for the words of encouragement. It has been a bit frustrating for sure. I did kind of same thing, told him I could have it there the next day when he was ready to call me. And I paid a hefty sum in cash for down payment explaining I did not need anything back but the car. He assured me how could comply. Winters are looooooong up here so I figure as long as I get it back here in a month or so it is all good. Just zero sense in getting amped up over it. I figure there is more than enough stuff in this world to stress out over and a spare hot rod is just not one of them for me. It is not like it is my daily driver or even a shop queen for shows, I am building it to be reliable and fun to drive. Something I can jump in and drive 4-8 hours and be comfortable. Try that in my Cuda and see how you are at end of loop. She is wicked fast and a hoot to drive, but she is stripped of anything that resembles weight. Insulation etc. throw in a 7mpg motor if I keep my foot out of it. And you got the making for a very loud very stiff, very hot rig.I feel your pain. It took more than a year to metal work and paint my duster but it was done on the side with some bartering. I would work on his used cars and he would put the same hours into my car. He did an excellent job it still holding up some 20 years later. So when we wanted to repaint my wife's 73 firebird he had moved away. So I took it to a shop near us that does quality work but I made it clear that they would not take the car until they were ready for it and would only have 30 days to get it done. I would stop by to check progress at least twice a week and to make sure it did not get pushed off to side to make room for more lucrative collision work. So they got done on time and did a great job
Totally understand the mileage thing, paint shop prison is in Minnesota, I am in Fargo! So I typically try and stop by on way home from Minneapolis. It has been explained to me a hundred times the business model body shops use. I just don’t get it, you look a man in the eye and say this or that, well in my opinion that is what you then do. How it has become acceptable as an industry wide standard to blow off completion dates and promises is beyond my comprehension. This aggravation is exactly what led me to painting my last two cars myself. I just really wanted a better job this time. I am reasonably determined not to become frustrated with the process and quite frankly venting on this forum is an excellent way to manage my head. You guys/ girls are all great listeners! But rest assured I will never use a paint shop again I am going back to painting them myself!
@Sublime, thank you for the kind words good sir. You helped me out for sure! You went WAY ABOVE what you had to, and filling that box up with extras was far more than I asked for. You sir are a credit to what we all should stand for when we profess to live for the pleasures of building these old Mopars, and helping all who share the same passion. Enjoy that gift for sure, but a beer and a hot dog are still in order when I get that way!So update from the frozen tundra. Demon is still in paint shop prison, I made a surprise visit the other day and they were actually sanding on it again. In theory they are spraying sealant on it this weekend, of course that is very similar to last three weekends. No end in sight at this point. But on positive note a FABO good guy alert goes out for RonaldC. He is also doing a Hemi swap, he expressed some interest in an ECU and wiring harness and some misc parts I had left over so I boxed it all up and sent it to him. With understanding if it worked for him great if not we could sort it out. I just got a super cool thank you gift card from him this week! WooHoo! Like so many on this forum I have sent all kind of parts to this guy or that guy for a promise of a beer or a hot dog someday. I have yet to be burned, just a whole bunch of good folks on here and RonaldC is one of them! Going to a Robert Plant concert tonight so I am super jacked up! Paint shop pix attached. On plus side I won a Sig P320 with Romeo 1 at our annual NRA banquet this week so all good in Fargo!
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Well it is now mid October and I got some pix taken of Demon in paint shop prison. I feel as tho I have abandoned this thread but simply not much to talk about. I have filled my idle time by teaching more firearms related classes at our range. For the what it’s worth portion I hold a multitude of NRA Certified Instructors tabs. Call it my other passion. This next month I am teaching a handgun course for adults and several rifle courses for youth as well as a hunters safety course. You want a serious background check work for the State teaching youth. The vetting is very very thorough. I am glad tho. The Demon now has sealant on it and a new promise date of 10/31. Not going to hold my breath. Had to include a pix of new hoodie wife got me, all good in Fargo!
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What I am hearing is they play the entire Hotel California album plus extras at each and every venue. Looks like He’ll has frozen over yet again! I am going to try and go to one. We have got o see Bob Seeger and Robert Plant so far this year already.I like it!
BTW, I hear their tour date(s) have been released....
Heard tickets in Bog D are running $600-ish for the ish seats..... but, budget permitting, yeah, I’m in....What I am hearing is they play the entire Hotel California album plus extras at each and every venue. Looks like He’ll has frozen over yet again! I am going to try and go to one. We have got o see Bob Seeger and Robert Plant so far this year already.