Unexpected stoppage.

So I had pushed the bus out of the garage about a week ago to do some pressure washing and painting.  At some point the brakes decided to stick, causing it to get stuck in the driveway.  Motor is still out obviously, and my garage has a step up into it, instead of a nice little ramp.  So yesterday I took the wheels off, sprayed some PB blaster in the rear drums, and beat the crap out of it with a small sledge hammer.  I get them off.  I then jammed a screwdriver between the front disc and the brake pad on the inside of the rotor.  I pried on it a little to loosen the front brakes.  Now my wheels spin FREEEEEEEEE!  So I made two ramps out of wood and pushed the bus up them attempting to put it in the garage.  I broke the ramps of course.  So I pushed the bus back about 20 feet, and waited for Lynn to get home.  When she got home we rebuilt the ramps, and reinforced them with other pieces of wood.  She steered and I pushed.  It took 2 tries.  The first time I almost made it.  So back I pushed the bus another 20 feet.  I put Luna inside because she was so interested in the moving wheels.  So the second attempt I pushed hard as I could and ran.  The bus rolled right up the ramps, and into the garage.  We then put it back on the jack stands.  I got a set of vice grips so I could take the broken screws out of the cabin floor sil plate.  I broke them off.  So I went and got the drill bits.  I broke 4 drill bits, and only got 1 screw drilled out.  So I have to purchase some new ones, Nice sharp ones and drill these screws out.  I cleaned the garage out very nicely today, and organized it.  This weekend we are driving to NJ to celebrate Easter with the family.  I will not be getting anything done on the bus.  I have to work all next week, So I am hopeful that I can pick up my engine parts and get the motor back in next week.  Very hopeful.  When I buy new drill bits they will not be RYOBI.

SNOW AGAIN

So this weekend I did not get anything done.  We had such a crazy weekend here at the house.  At 1 point 3 dogs, 10 people and a jam session.  Lynn was doing dreadlocks for her friend, and our nephews Dylan and Logan were playing video games.  Crazy crazy town.  So I had big plans for Monday morning.  Get outside, get the broken screws out of the floor so I could replace them and put the floor back in.  Thus being the beginning of getting Ruby back together.  I have to put the floor in before the closet and the seats, but I can not put the tack strip in with the screws being broken off in the floor.  So I walk out with my coffee and Luna.  This is what I saw.

Its Tuesday March 26th, and it is still snowing.  It started Sunday night.  I am going for vise grips to get these darn screws out, and interior back in.  I should have some updates later this evening.  

Wood Refinishing.

 So while I was Spring Cleaning, I thought I would refinish the wood panels that are walls of the living quarters.  They were that ugly whiteish paint.  Also they have years of water damage, and wear marks.  So I thought I would clean them up.  I was worried about sanding because the wood is so soft to begin with.  So I started by wet sanding.  It is cold.  So that lasted a short amount of time.  Instead I got some 180 and 220 grit sandpaper for my orbital sander.  That served the purpose just fine.  I just had to make sure to not press too hard.  That would take the wood down below the top layer.  Then it is just crappy filler stuff.  Cheap particle wood.  Here are some pictures of the whole process. I actually installed the wood this afternoon.

Wet sanding, Action shot.  Trying to find the perfect wet to not gum up the sand paper, but not to soak the wood causing more harm than help.

This picture below is the two trim pieces for the cargo area, and the panel to the right side of the rear seat. 

The two cargo area trim pieces are all sanded and waiting for polyurethane.  The wall piece is not.  

I did sand everything with my palm sander after I quit the wet sanding.  And I wanted everything to have matching sanding marks if there were any to see at at all.   So I sanded everything down to the wood, and used a spray polyurethane I purchased from Ollie's.  It was like 1.99 a can, and it performed exactly the way I wanted.  We plan to completely restore Ruby, but if we start now there is no way we will see Phish, or any music with her this summer.  So we are just doing a little bit, kind of enough to be happy with it for the summer. And mainly just a good cleaning.  I could not deal with the ugly worn white paint, so it is gone.   I wanted the finished product to look clean, but used.  I did not want it to look like all the wood was replaced with amazing care and everything else was just thrown in.  So I hung the parts in the garage, and sprayed them with the polyurethane I purchased.  To be honest it came out exactly the way I wanted. 

This picture below is a small piece that is already sprayed.  The large panel behind is still attached to the door.  This should give you an idea of why I wanted to refinish it.  

I hung the panels with some hemp rope from the rafters so I could get the spray can to perform properly, and get accurate coverage and drying.  So I sprayed the panels, and every single one looks different.  On ones with a lot of wear the wear marks are still there.  Just not as dark. And I kept the factory safety and locking function stickers.  I wouldn't be happy without them, and there is a square of discolored wood behind them.  

 

The larger panel I leaned against the wall and painted.  I did not want to chance the string failing and it falling.  I am on a budget and new wood panels are not in it.  While I had everything out, I thought I would do a temporary fix on the rusty holes in the floor.  A poor mans fix, Solely to hinder the water getting up under the plywood floor and causing a musky smell and molding.  I plan to restore fully next winter so this is just a summer fix.  Here is a picture of the floor during the time of wire brush world.

So all these discolored spots are the rust, and most of them are holes.  Good size holes.  The size hole that you could drop you're cell phone through.  So what I did was some really gheetto crap, I wire brushed the area, and spray primed them.  I did this to hopefully slow down the rust a little bit.  And I was planning to tape plastic down over the holes.  Planning.  I bought some "Commercial Grade Duct Tape" at Ollie's.  I know bargain tape, BUT it was made in USA so I had no worries it would be good tape, and do what I needed it to do.  Wrong.  It did not stick at ALL!  so No tape 

Now remember, this is all temporary.  Just to get me through the summer, I know this is not fixing my issue, but it may slow it a little.  So since my tape was not working out I sprayed black paint around the holes, and pushed the plastic down into the wet paint in the immediate area surrounding the holes.  I know super ghetto.  Temporary mold hindrance is all I am going for.  SO here is this ugly bit of work, I don't even want to post it here, but I am going to.  

I took a razor knife after all the black paint had dried and cut the excess off around the holes.  I was not really thinking about it when I did this.  I had not planned to go any farther with this temporary fix, but Luna jumped up in and stepped through one.  So I ran out and got a can or spray undercoating.  The rubber stuff. I sprayed the edges of the patches and sealed them a bit better.  Then just did a quick coat over the patch.  I should have made them better out of screen as if I was doing fiberglass.  But to be perfectly honest I was not thinking when I did it.  Lynn's sister Laura recommended it via cell phone from Buffalo.  I will remember for next time.  So yeah I sprayed the rubber undercoating. I also covered the holes where the rear seat belts mount in both fenders.  They were completely gone.  So I taped over the holes and then sprayed them with the undercoating. I waited for it to dry, and then went ahead and put the wood panels back in.  

You can not really tell here in this picture.  I will get some better ones tomorrow when I get out to the bus.  I did not check the pics out after I took them.  So needless to say you can not really see any of the ugly patch work.  Maybe better. haha.  I made the mistake of putting the wood panel back on before putting the ashtray back in.  That was dumb.  I had to pull it back out put the ashtray housing in and bend the prongs so it would stay in place.  Then put it back in.  So twice the work.  But hey most everything I am doing will be done more than once again while I have get Ruby back to happy life.

 So this was most of what I did today, I also painted the engine bay white, the gas tank panel is still gray.  I re-installed the wood panels and scrubbed the floor.  I was going to put the floor back in, but I forgot that the screws in the metal doorway plate broke, and are still stuck in the body. Here is a shot of the engine bay all taped off.  And Luna helped me out with the taping.  

 

I washed it all out, and put the wood back in.  Here are the trim pieces. All refinished and replaced.

 So we spent the day putting the wood back in patching the floor and cleaning up things.  Luna helped me tape off the engine bay, and paint.  It was actually tough to keep her away from me while painting.  Something about the sound I guess.  But she was certainly helping.  Jumped in while I was painting the floor and tracked her little puppy prints painted black all over. It was quite cute.  Then She played queen of the stump.

We had a long day and got a lot done.  I am happy with where we left off for the day, and I am happy to finally have the blog caught up to where I am in real time.  We put time in, and it shows in the look on Luna's face.  

Spring Cleaning

So with waiting on funds to get my motor back together, I had a little free time.  I decided to paint the engine bay nice new white, and all the sheet metal that goes on the motor nice new black.  As to match the new cylinders I am getting.  So I started cleaning the grease and gunk off the sheet metal.  I used the bath tub while Lynn was at work... I felt that was probably the best time to cover the bathroom in greasy oily parts.  See. This is after I was done, all evidence erased already.  So this started spring cleaning then I thought why not gut the entire bus and clean everything up. After gutting I pressure washed the interior and engine bay.

So I did this.  Pulled the wheels, Oh and I checked my jack stands.  The silver are 6ton, the red at 3ton. So yeah pulled the wheels and checked the brakes.  Both rear wheels need wheel cylinders.  The passenger wheel hardware fell out due to corrosion, and the drum will not come off.  The front wheels need pads on both sides.  Good thing I checked.  I would not want to go for my first drive and not stop.  So I have to fix the brakes.  Anyway wheels off, I started to take the interior components out to get a good deep cleaning.

Here is a shot from outside most of my interior is removed, and in the pile to the right of the bus.  I was goofing around here and set a Super Beetle bumper I found in the woods behind my bus.  Hey it might look good who knows. 

This is the Sink, Rear Folding Seat bed, Closet, Shelf over cargo area, and Fold out table. Also the Seat Cushions are up there against the wall.   

This is a look at the empty bus, Compare that to the picture of motor removal, there is so much stuff in there. 

More things removed.  The hose pipe for the sink, and some wood paneling. 

Jump seat, and Wood paneling Also see motor on wagon. 

All my interior parts after I shop vacd the inside of the bus 

Missing everything but that 1 wood panel on the right, and the one on the sliding door.  

 Empty, so sad looking honestly.

 Notice all the rust spots

I Found some very interesting things in the bus. Things that had fallen down the seat side.  For example Chewels Gum known to cause cancer in some lab animals.  This is on the package.  And a lot of rust.  Take note of the ugly wood panels.  I removed those also.  Refinished those, That will be in an upcoming post.  So  now I have a gutted vw bus with a ton of rust.  I am thinking maybe its time for restoration.  Except it is March.  I want to drive it in \June.  Ugh.  

Timing attempt.

So Lynn and I go out to Ruby and I start to hook up the timing light and tachometer.  I ask her to turn over the motor just so I can check to make sure the connections I have made are correct.  When she did so, I thought I saw a mist coming from the base of my spark plug number 1.  So I ask Lynn to turn the engine over again, hoping so much that I am wrong.  She cranks it, and there it is again.  Mist from the base of my number 1 spark plug.  So I hope that it is just not tight.  I ask Lynn to come back and I show her what the problem is.  We check to see if the plug is tight and OF COURSE it is.  I tried to remove and replace the plug hoping it would set itself right in the threads.  NO WAY!  So the motor has to come back out.  UGH.

Lynn goes inside, I pull the motor out in about 25 minutes.  I put it up on the wagon on a piece of plywood, and stated to disassemble it yet again.  I didn't get far before I noticed this.  If you look close you can see that the carbon build up is cooked and caked around the base of the the spark plug hole.  This was my bad plug.  The one that I saw the spray of gas coming from.   So I stated searching for a local shop to do work for me.  I assumed I needed a Heli Coil.  This is where the spark plug threads are drilled out, and a new piece of metal welded in with new threads.  I was put in touch with a guy recommended on the Vw forum.

So I got in touch with Brotherhoodvw and I drove to Youngstown in the morning to drop them off.  I had incredibly high hopes for the heads.  Mainly that the only problem was the broken threads.  So I had arranged to have the heads cleaned, the valves checked and anything that was wrong fixed.  Withing a few days I received an email with some terrible news.  And pictures to show what was wrong.  Here is a picture of the heads after they were pressure washed with hot water.  GROSS.  I mean really this is after pressure wash, and they are gross.

So after cleaning up, they were taken apart, and this is what was found.  Probably worst case scenario. 3 out of 4 of my spark plug holes had cracks going almost all the way to the valves.  This is bad.  The engine will never properly fire due to the extra amount of air being brought into these cracks.  Have a look.

This one is pretty terrible.  You can see the in the threads and to the valve.  It is destroyed. Next one.

There are 2 cracks in this one.  One goes to the Left and other to the Right.  

Then there is this one.  So I have a pretty well destroyed set of heads.  3 of 4 cylinders are not working properly due to cracks.  I do not know what caused these cracks, but I do know that they are bad.

So I had a few options. I spoke on the phone with Rich from BrotherhoodVw, and he told me that my choices were 1 buy a new set of heads, probably costing over 500 dollars if not more.  Or I could have these ones fixed.  All the cracks welded and everything fixed properly.  That would put me at probably 700 dollars in labor cost alone.  And there was a catch.  These heads were an 040 core, which I am told were not the best quality casting.  Meaning the metal was not as strong or good as it should be.  So I got lucky here, Rich had a set of 113 head cores that would fit my engine and only needed a little bit of work to have in running condition.  So we chose to build the 113 cores with the parts from my heads.  I got some pictures of these too.  Man are they gorgeous.  I am very excited to pick them up.  Check out the pictures

Boy those are pretty!  When I got these pictures I realized something.  I can not put a beautiful motor together and have a dirty engine bay and block.  So I made the decision to do some spring cleaning... 

I will start that post very soon.  We are almost up to date with real time.  I am actually waiting to pick up the heads.  Should have them in a week.  Very Very Excited.

ROOF ON!

So today the roofers arrived at about 7:30 am, totally unexpected.  However graciously welcomed!  This means Garage time for me in the near future.  So I went about my day, grocery shopping, and pet food store.  We got home and the roof was mostly finished.  It was around 4 on a Thursday I think.  I was so excited.  I grabbed the keys to Ruby, and the new jack.  I still had not opened the box the jack had come in, so I had to do that.  I pulled Ruby into my garage with a partial roof.  It was absolutely freezing outside, and snowing.  I think we actually got about 4 inches that night.  So bus is in garage.  I jacked it up, put it on jacks stands for safety.  You don't want a car to fall off a jack while you are working.  I have personally had it done while changing a tire.  I was not under the car, but the rim was.  The damage to the rim was fatal, and it had to be replaced.  So Ruby on stands so I can safely get underneath and move around.  Now the garage is not finished.  I do not have heat, I do not have electricity.  Extension cords run my lights at that moment, and there is snow coming down.  Work day over.  No sooner I picked up the extension cord the snow had completely covered the yard.  Lucky Ducky I was I stopped when I did.
So Friday I had to work, which is alright because it was bitterly cold outside.  And I had to clean up that giant pile of trash on the left of the table.  If you notice on the table is a small propane camping stove.  I desperately tried to warm up enough room to do some work.  I even took a baking sheet and put it on top of the stove to make more surface area.  Then I poured water on the tray to steam hoping that might help.  I could have gone through 100 dollars in propane NO WAY would it get warm in this place.  So Saturday Lynn and I head out to the garage in the morning and we remove all the wires and hoses going to the motor.  Then following the directions in the Bentley manual we removed the bolts holding the motor in place.  It took a little fighting.  Actually that is a lie it took a lot of fighting.  The Bentley says that in 1971 there are only 3 bolts going through the transmission bell to the engine.  This motor must have been removed at some point.  It has 4 and one of them is totally different than the other 3.  And not the one that goes through the starter.  That one is different due to the fact that it sits in the starter housing a certain way.
Anyway after much fighting and freezing and pulling my hair out I got it to come out.  Also we pulled the bolts completely out of the mounts to the frame in the rear of the motor causing ourselves a headache.  Good idea to read all the directions before tackling something you have no clue about.  But we got it.  Look!

If you look to the back right side of this photo you will see a work bench.  We built that yesterday in the cold, that took a better part of our day due to the fact that we are wimps and went back inside every 4.3 minutes to warm up our fingers...  But Lynn and I took that motor on the jack all the way to the bench, jacked it up as high as it would go and we lifted it to the bench.  It was a bit heavier than I was expecting.  However not as bad as other engines I have worked with so all in all not that bad of a deal.  So now with the motor on the bench..

I spun the motor by hand and looked for an oil leak.  Where the spray I had mentioned earlier in the blog comes from.  That butter spray type oil leaked.  It was hissing and spraying on both sides of the motor.  Just at the base of the heads it seamed.  I stated to disassemble the engine removing all the exterior parts so I could get to the problem.  I removed the valve covers and found that the head bolts were very loose.  These bolts have a factory specified torque.  They certainly were not at it, so I hoped that this was my issue.  To be safe I remove the heads and inspected them by eye for cracks or breakage.  I did not see anything.  So I removed the cylinder number 2 and I found a broken piston ring.  My heart fell.  There is no way I will find a set of rings in the Cleveland area on a Saturday afternoon.  WRONG HAHA I did find a set.  There was a number on the refrigerator given to us by the previous owner of Ruby.  I drove like the wind and got a set of stock 85.5 mm piston rings.  I checked the Advanced Auto to see if they had a clutch alignment tool and a piston ring compressor tool.  Neither so I quickly before leaving for the parts made a post on a Vw forum asking if anyone in the Cleveland area had the tools I could borrow for an evening.  I offered a case of beer, or a few dollars.  While driving to the parts store I got a phone call and a guy that would be on my way home offered me the tools.  I went there and drooled over his buses plural! Gorgeous both of them.  Such a cool guy.  He told me about the huge Vw crowd in the area of Ohio, and the group dedicated to Vw owners and enthusiasts in the area.  This was such a help.  We talked about a few different things, all Vw related.  Tips on getting my motor in, and getting it tuned properly.  Really an awesome guy, I am super glad to have met him.  Thanks Dan for helping me out.  I am sure at some point he will see this blog.  So on to home with my rings and the tools I need to finish the motor.  I had stopped by Advanced Auto and rented a Torque Wrench so I could tighten everything to the proper specifications earlier that morning.  So hope to put the rings on, and they do not fit.  My pistons are not 85.5, they are 85.96.  STRESS. I closed the garage and left Luna standing guard.

 So I go inside and search and search and search and search.  NOTHING I can not find these anywhere at all.   Back to the garage in the cold.  I built a set of rings out of the ring set that I purchased for the one broken cylinder.  It worked for now.  I just wanted to see if loose heads was our problem after all.  We have been working on this thing a while now and it is making my head hurt.  So we finish the motor up, tighten the bolts.  Lynn had to go babysit Dylan, I stayed home to finish putting everything on the motor.  I wanted to put in back in Sunday before work.  So I worked and finished up just about 7:30.  Lynn was set to be home around 9:30.  I waited for her to get home, and we bundled up set up the lights and got to work.  We put the engine in the wagon and brought it over to the bus. Set it on jack from there, and rolled it into the bay.  We jacked the engine up, and slid it back into position.  I bolted everything up, and we removed the jack.  In about 5 minutes I reconnected all the wires and hoses, and we cranked it up.  Fired right up. I had Lynn shut it down immediately because it was now 11:30pm.  So quitting time for the day.  We will check on it in the morning.  So bright and early coffee, cigarette, pajamas, slippers, BUS KEYS.  And Luna she sometime got over her fear of the bus, I don't know when really bus she just jumps right in.  I cross my fingers, Turn the key VROOOM yeah its idling really really high tho, choke must be set wrong.  I tap the throttle and its stutters and stalls.  ??  Start again, or try to.  I turn the key nothing it just cranks and cranks does not even sputter.  WHAT THE BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP.  It is too early.  Back inside to relax on Sunday before work..  I can not relax, what did I do wrong.  Something is not right, but I did not change anything.  Bus will not run. So I do research and read up on tuning and timing and I try everything.  I spent about 2 weeks trying to get this thing tuned.  I went out and bought a timing gun.  I had the Bentley manual at home so I could go through and time it properly to specifications.  Except Luna got out while I was at the store.  She did some damage.  I was OUTRAGED.  She ate the Box from the Grateful Dead Box set on vinyl I bought Lynn for her birthday, and Europe 72 the other GD record I bought.  On top of that she had her way with Bentley.  I am missing about 25 pages. UGH!  Lucky I love that dog.  

Move to Ohio

So a few weeks passed of packing and packing and working and waiting.  Waiting to be in Ohio with my girlfriend in Our home.  Waiting to be driving in our beautiful Bay Window Bus, and Waiting to be working on the bus.  So I get all my things packed up, finish my last day of work in Philadelphia, say my goodbyes, pack up my cat and on the road to Ohio.  We drove through the night, so the first day way a lot of nothing really.  We pulled literally by hand the bus out of the garage, and sat in it to eat lunch.  We have a luxurious dining room in here so why not use it! Plus the sun was shining and it was Friday. haha  So lunch in the bus then unpacking blah.  Then came Saturday, we had a big bonfire at the farm planned and hopes of camping out in the bus, but it didn't run.  Lynn really wanted to tow it out, and have a camp out.  I just don't feel right towing my vehicle so we did not camp.  Sunday came and what else do you do when you just moved to Ohio, and Just got a Vw Bus and Do Not Yet have a job.  You get a puppy!!!  You can not have a Bus without a dog!  that is Luna(dog) and Peku( Lynn's cat)

So Monday brought Luna training and Intake Manifold changing.  Took me the better part of 3 hours with the engine installed to change out the Intake Manifold.  I also cleaned the Carburetor so well you would have sworn it was brand new.  So I got everything back together, and I told Luna to go up on the porch, so she was not scared of the bus.  Guess what she was terrified! No sooner the bus fired up she jumped off the porch and over a 4 foot tall fence, then ran down the street.  Luckily she was so happy to see me when I called her she ran straight back to me.  So I took her back to the bus and set her down on the ground.  She immediately ran for the porch and over the fence again.  And the bus was not even running! So one more attempt, I got into the bus with her, and we started it together.  Luna tweaked and peed all over the bus.  We have a problem.  You can not have a bus without a dog, and you can not have a dog who is scared of the bus!  Blast.  So I put Luna in the house, she is only 8 weeks old.  Back to the bus, I tuned the carburetor to specs in the Bentley Vw manual.  I start the bus, Rpm goes to roof, and it stalls out.  Same exact thing it was doing prior to carburetor cleaning and new intake manifold.  Not a good sign.  And when it starts I am noticing a spray of oil on the cardboard and wood I placed under the engine.  It is a spray similar to that of cooking spray.  Fine mist if you will.  So it is quitting time for bus work at this point, I head in the house to cook dinner before Lynn gets home from work.  After dinner I get a phone call from a job I applied for about a month before moving.  I have an interview at noon the following day.  So early to bed with the new puppy, early to wake up.  Back outside working on the bus, Checking vacuum and gaskets, and spark plugs and wires, and going to get a gallon of gas at a time.  This being the largest gas can I have on hand at the moment.  I checked quite literally everything I could at that time.  No change in running.  Quick change and head to job interview.  Wait no I did not change, I went to a job interview for a chef position in a fine dining restaurant with greasy fingernails, and ripped jeans.  Clearly dirty! I explained that I just moved, and am working on Ruby.  The chef was excited about the work I was doing on my bus, and my attitude in general. He hired me on the spot, and even let me start a week later so I could get some initial puppy training time in, and some bus work.  So that is exactly what I did.  Researched blogs about Vw motor work, and running problems and this and that and every other possible thing I could think of.  Still same results.  So I was stuck.  I leaked so much oil that I really just wanted to pull the engine out and rebuild it, and I could not find out why it was running so crappy.  I was beginning to think I had to pull the engine.  So we started our search for a new jack and jack stands.  More importantly a house with a bigger garage.  As this one was way too small.  Between unpacking and settling in, and the new puppy I really did not get anything done by ways of finding a new jack.  Then I started work.  My first day was 14hrs, and my second 15hrs and another 14hr day.  This went on for 14 days straight. During which we found a house with a big garage! WOOOOHOOO.  1 problem...The day we looked at the house was the day of the huge storm that took out power for about a week if you were a customer of The Illuminating Company here in Ohio.  And it did this.........................

 Then I had a day off, I played with the puppy and did not even open the garage door.  Back to work for 8 more 13hr days. This put us into the middle of  November.  I was excited for Thanksgiving, not for the normal reasons, but for the fact that I would have all day at home with Lynn, Luna, Peku, Niko( my cat) and Ruby.  So I worked all morning trying to get her tuned properly hoping that the motor could stay in. I still had not been paid from the new job yet.  Some kind of typographical error in payroll personel or something.  Im not sure.  Frustrating tho.  NO DICE!  So now we are GARAGE LESS! haha, no really the garage at the new house was demolished and we had to wait for insurance and all that paperwork for a brand spanking new one.  So on December first we moved to Berea.  I got paid finally from this typographical error... It was a HUGE check which was cool.  Only because it was for about 300 hours.  HOWEVER it was not the right hourly rate.  It was about 3 dollars and hour short. So we  parked Ruby in the yard on the pad of the old garage, and waited.

  No working on her in the cold for me.  I am a bit of a sissy when it comes to laying on the ground in the cold outside.  So December passed. I finally got paid the right rate for the wrong amount of hours this time.  UGH.   We had to move Ruby, so the new garage could come.  She sat here for January, and about a week out of February.  Then into the garage.  The structure is there in the this picture, just no roof.  About this time I decided to quit my job, the commute and the typographical errors.  So now I have no job, and no garage to do work in.  Still haven't bought a jack.  One day passed and I secured another job.  I had hopes of a roof coming soon on the garage.  Lynn and I went to Harbor Freight and found an awesome jack! On the way home we stopped at a flea market in Oberlin.  I got 2 sets of jack stands for 20 bucks.  I forget the ton size at the moment, I will check on that and post later.  But total score.  They are sufficient for my bus.  Fingers crossed for a new roof!