J. Tyson 2004-2007. Last updated 02-05-07.
| dear diary |
Find something and burn it
| Mein kampf |
April 9, 2007.
Just spent the long weekend welding
together even more frontal armour for
the bat truck, breaking occasionally to
stuff my face alternately with copious
amounts of dead animals and
fermented hops. Although I have to get
up again in only a few hours time I
thought I'd begin a "diary" page in the
hope that simply being here regularly
might spur further development on
other more relevant pages.
On the bat truck front, I've finalized a
design for covering the front glass that
meets all of the criteria for protecting
the windshields against damage and
post apocalyptic zombie attacks, looks
scary as hell evil, and yet should be
legal looking enough so that Johnny
Law doesn't ask too many hard to
answer questions. Most of the materials
have been acquired, some cuts have
been made and construction is
tentatively scheduled to take place in
the next few weeks.
Just spent the long weekend welding
together even more frontal armour for
the bat truck, breaking occasionally to
stuff my face alternately with copious
amounts of dead animals and
fermented hops. Although I have to get
up again in only a few hours time I
thought I'd begin a "diary" page in the
hope that simply being here regularly
might spur further development on
other more relevant pages.
On the bat truck front, I've finalized a
design for covering the front glass that
meets all of the criteria for protecting
the windshields against damage and
post apocalyptic zombie attacks, looks
scary as hell evil, and yet should be
legal looking enough so that Johnny
Law doesn't ask too many hard to
answer questions. Most of the materials
have been acquired, some cuts have
been made and construction is
tentatively scheduled to take place in
the next few weeks.
| April 9th. Hard at work in the kitchen. My dear ex wife would be so proud of me for finally getting the whole "safety goggle" concept. |
April 22, 2007.
I just simply cannot understand how I
have once again so thoroughly fucked
everything up!
By five O'clock this afternoon the lower
front armour - incidentally the third
attempt - was ready to accept the ten
stainless steel bolts that would
permanently fasten it to the front of the
truck.
The paint had cured, the mounting
holes had all been drilled in the tabs,
and several test fits during construction
had convinced me that I was finally
getting it right this time.
The previous structure had been
designed to interference fit around the
front of the truck's body similar to the
brush guard on the old truck.
Unfortunately, the amount of body to
frame flex wasn't clearly taken into
account causing the rigid steel armour
and the soft aluminum body to attempt
to occupy the same space under
certain conditions. The body lost.
After spending the weekend repairing
the body damage and completing the
new semi-floating armour which was
exactly one inch wider, I was finally
ready to put this dark chapter behind
and move on to the windshield frame.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
At seven O'clock I found my 1/2"
stepped bit and drilled the two
previously marked holes to mount the
auxiliary headlamps.
With a job well done and a pretty good
tan from the weekend spent outside, I
thought I'd sit back and have a ciggy
and beer as soon as I tucked the
dangling wires from the headlamps out
of sight under the hood so I could fully
relax and admire my work.
...The cocksucking hood doesn't open!
The auxiliary lights are a good two
inches too far back for the hood to be
able to clear them. Absolutely
unbelievable!
I just simply cannot understand how I
have once again so thoroughly fucked
everything up!
By five O'clock this afternoon the lower
front armour - incidentally the third
attempt - was ready to accept the ten
stainless steel bolts that would
permanently fasten it to the front of the
truck.
The paint had cured, the mounting
holes had all been drilled in the tabs,
and several test fits during construction
had convinced me that I was finally
getting it right this time.
The previous structure had been
designed to interference fit around the
front of the truck's body similar to the
brush guard on the old truck.
Unfortunately, the amount of body to
frame flex wasn't clearly taken into
account causing the rigid steel armour
and the soft aluminum body to attempt
to occupy the same space under
certain conditions. The body lost.
After spending the weekend repairing
the body damage and completing the
new semi-floating armour which was
exactly one inch wider, I was finally
ready to put this dark chapter behind
and move on to the windshield frame.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
At seven O'clock I found my 1/2"
stepped bit and drilled the two
previously marked holes to mount the
auxiliary headlamps.
With a job well done and a pretty good
tan from the weekend spent outside, I
thought I'd sit back and have a ciggy
and beer as soon as I tucked the
dangling wires from the headlamps out
of sight under the hood so I could fully
relax and admire my work.
...The cocksucking hood doesn't open!
The auxiliary lights are a good two
inches too far back for the hood to be
able to clear them. Absolutely
unbelievable!
| However, my personal concept of "heating things up in the kitchen" just might explain (at least in part) why I'm now an EX husband. |
| The third - and hopefully last - version of the bat armour primed |
| Ghetto powder coating? 2 rattle cans of Duplicolour truck bed liner over enamel and ready to install. |
On a marginally brighter note, the eight aluminum mounting ears (4
each above and below windshields) that will accept the windshield
armour have been installed using 1/4-20 stainless hex capscrews.
The windshield armour will consist of a 2 inch angle steel welded
frame holding a 1/4 inch thick lexan sheet. The outer surface of the
lexan will be covered by a sheet of standard 4mm household glass.
Although at first glance this seems, well... insane, the idea is that
standard glass is extremely cheap and is intended in this case to be
expendable in order to protect the soft acrylic lexan from being
damaged by the wipers.
Construction of the frame will begin tomorrow night after work. In the
mean time I'll try to figure out how to fix that minor little headlight
clearance issue over a bottle of beer.
each above and below windshields) that will accept the windshield
armour have been installed using 1/4-20 stainless hex capscrews.
The windshield armour will consist of a 2 inch angle steel welded
frame holding a 1/4 inch thick lexan sheet. The outer surface of the
lexan will be covered by a sheet of standard 4mm household glass.
Although at first glance this seems, well... insane, the idea is that
standard glass is extremely cheap and is intended in this case to be
expendable in order to protect the soft acrylic lexan from being
damaged by the wipers.
Construction of the frame will begin tomorrow night after work. In the
mean time I'll try to figure out how to fix that minor little headlight
clearance issue over a bottle of beer.
| Whoops. The body damage that necessitated a redesign |
| One of the brackets for mounting the windshield armour. |
April 29, 2007.
The windshield armour frame has been
assembled and temporarily installed to
check fitment, and well - to make sure
that in fact it doesn't look totally
ridiculous. That being of course
entirely a matter of personal taste. The
actual lexan has yet to be obtained.
Tomorrow, hopefully, my machinist will
have finished the piece required to
solve last weeks little nightmare, but I
highly doubt that I'll be able to actually
work on the installation until next
weekend.
The middle set of 3 clearance lamps
were too badly damaged to reinstall
and are no longer available so I made
a new set out of a strip of 2-1/2" x
3/16" aluminum stock and 3 side
marker lamps. It went together quite
well but the mounting holes being
different from the factory positions will
require re drilling 5 holes. I have no
clue as to what kind of aluminum the
long extrusion over the windshield is,
but HSS drill bits won't go into it! For
now I've used silicone RTV sealant to
position the assembly and will attempt
to drill tomorrow using pilot holes
already drilled into the strip using my
neighbour's bucket truck so I can get
some weight behind the drill.
The windshield armour frame has been
assembled and temporarily installed to
check fitment, and well - to make sure
that in fact it doesn't look totally
ridiculous. That being of course
entirely a matter of personal taste. The
actual lexan has yet to be obtained.
Tomorrow, hopefully, my machinist will
have finished the piece required to
solve last weeks little nightmare, but I
highly doubt that I'll be able to actually
work on the installation until next
weekend.
The middle set of 3 clearance lamps
were too badly damaged to reinstall
and are no longer available so I made
a new set out of a strip of 2-1/2" x
3/16" aluminum stock and 3 side
marker lamps. It went together quite
well but the mounting holes being
different from the factory positions will
require re drilling 5 holes. I have no
clue as to what kind of aluminum the
long extrusion over the windshield is,
but HSS drill bits won't go into it! For
now I've used silicone RTV sealant to
position the assembly and will attempt
to drill tomorrow using pilot holes
already drilled into the strip using my
neighbour's bucket truck so I can get
some weight behind the drill.
| Mockup of the armour frame that will protect the glass from future munchkin attacks. |
| Whats cooler than your neighbour's bucket truck? Nothing! |
May 15, 2007.
There are those days when you just
should have stayed in bed. By the
days end I had managed to break both
pieces of glass from the old truck's
windshield trying to install them in the
war pig. If I had done absolutely
nothing today I would have been
ahead. If I had simply thrown a hammer
through the grey truck's windshield at
7AM this morning, I'd be in exactly the
same place as I am currently but I
would have saved 7 hours getting
there. Yeah, that hurts.
There are those days when you just
should have stayed in bed. By the
days end I had managed to break both
pieces of glass from the old truck's
windshield trying to install them in the
war pig. If I had done absolutely
nothing today I would have been
ahead. If I had simply thrown a hammer
through the grey truck's windshield at
7AM this morning, I'd be in exactly the
same place as I am currently but I
would have saved 7 hours getting
there. Yeah, that hurts.
| I've just gotta get me one of these! Drilling the upper extrusion for the new clearance marker lamps. |
May 25, 2007.
I found a local glass guy to make new windshield pieces for an
extremely reasonable price. However having had less than zero
percent success last weekend I was more than nervous about
attempting the install.
In contrast to last weeks glazing fiasco the glass virtually flew into the
frame and installed itself. Some of the ease of installation was due to
coating the edges with Irish Spring to make them slippery and carefully
deburring the installation tool, but mostly I truly believe credit belongs
to my very dear (and gorgeous) friend Sonja who kissed both pieces
for luck before installation. After 2 years the truck has a real windshield
again.
I found a local glass guy to make new windshield pieces for an
extremely reasonable price. However having had less than zero
percent success last weekend I was more than nervous about
attempting the install.
In contrast to last weeks glazing fiasco the glass virtually flew into the
frame and installed itself. Some of the ease of installation was due to
coating the edges with Irish Spring to make them slippery and carefully
deburring the installation tool, but mostly I truly believe credit belongs
to my very dear (and gorgeous) friend Sonja who kissed both pieces
for luck before installation. After 2 years the truck has a real windshield
again.
| Sonja: She who brightens my mornings like no other could. |
June 2, 2007.
This weekend saw a return to
construction in the cockpit. An entirely
new seat frame has been fabricated
from 1.75" x 0.100" thick square tube
so that an air ride seat can be installed
and a small control panel can be
placed beside the seat to the driver's
right. Yup, I'm installing a Captain Kirk
chair.
This weekend saw a return to
construction in the cockpit. An entirely
new seat frame has been fabricated
from 1.75" x 0.100" thick square tube
so that an air ride seat can be installed
and a small control panel can be
placed beside the seat to the driver's
right. Yup, I'm installing a Captain Kirk
chair.
June 9, 2007.
The captain's chair mount has been
slightly reworked with the addition of a
pair of 3/16" thick triangular gussets to
distribute the load more evenly along
the main horizontal strut. Tomorrow
should see the mount completed, the
seat mounted, and the control panel
cut and installed.
Today was also spent dealing with the
small (and thankfully inexpensive)
details like preparing and painting the
extrusion over the rear doors and
rebuilding the clearance light bar on
the rear. As was the case on the front
of the truck, the original clearance light
bar was damaged beyond repair. Exact
replacements are now unavailable,
and the cheapest set that would have
come close was $65. The light bar
(below) was fabricated from a spare
length of aluminum angle stock
polished with a wire wheel and three
individual used marker lamps. The
halogen flood light to the right will
serve as a backup lamp.
June 10, 2007.
The Captain Kirk chair and it's control
panel have been installed although the
panel is only sporting a tach which
hasn't even been wired at the moment.
The panel will eventually house the
ignition switch, 6 idiot lights, the
headlamp switch, and yup. A coffee
cup holder.
The extreme seat nastiness is courtesy
of the neighbourhood strays that have
been using the truck as a squat. I
didn't have the heart to evict the little
boogers but an upholstery job is going
to be in the works as soon as the
remaining entry points are closed up.
The captain's chair mount has been
slightly reworked with the addition of a
pair of 3/16" thick triangular gussets to
distribute the load more evenly along
the main horizontal strut. Tomorrow
should see the mount completed, the
seat mounted, and the control panel
cut and installed.
Today was also spent dealing with the
small (and thankfully inexpensive)
details like preparing and painting the
extrusion over the rear doors and
rebuilding the clearance light bar on
the rear. As was the case on the front
of the truck, the original clearance light
bar was damaged beyond repair. Exact
replacements are now unavailable,
and the cheapest set that would have
come close was $65. The light bar
(below) was fabricated from a spare
length of aluminum angle stock
polished with a wire wheel and three
individual used marker lamps. The
halogen flood light to the right will
serve as a backup lamp.
June 10, 2007.
The Captain Kirk chair and it's control
panel have been installed although the
panel is only sporting a tach which
hasn't even been wired at the moment.
The panel will eventually house the
ignition switch, 6 idiot lights, the
headlamp switch, and yup. A coffee
cup holder.
The extreme seat nastiness is courtesy
of the neighbourhood strays that have
been using the truck as a squat. I
didn't have the heart to evict the little
boogers but an upholstery job is going
to be in the works as soon as the
remaining entry points are closed up.
| June 2, 2007. Getting there. |
| Plywood bulkheads and roof panels installed . The aluminum panel will hold a flip down view through "heads up" display fashioned from an overhead projector LCD panel. |
June 24, 2007.
Last weekend was spent catching up
on some grunt work. Mostly stripping
and sanding the other side of the
body. Didn't cost me a penny. This
weekend saw the analog gauges
installed and some of the finishing
touches to Captain Kirk's control panel.
It may be of some notable interest that
with the exception of the new seat
cover ($13) and six pop rivets, the
entire panel has been fashioned using
recycled components. The tach is from
a boat, the keyswitch from a farm
tractor, and the lamps from the old
truck. In fact the entire piece of
aluminum was cut from the inner tail
light cover of the old truck, and even
the switch guard itself came from
something else. Originally it was a
piece of packing material from a
photocopier. Not surprisingly, a lot of
photocopier parts have found their way
into this project.
A small detour on my way home
Thursday night was required to pick up
a pair of forty cent bolts to mount the
new personalized "The geek" licence
tags that I had ordered in May. The
plate holder itself - demonstrating once
again the number of reclaimed
components put to use - was from the
front of my ex-wife's long scrapped
Pontiac Firefly, although I can't quite
recall how I came into it's possession.
Last weekend was spent catching up
on some grunt work. Mostly stripping
and sanding the other side of the
body. Didn't cost me a penny. This
weekend saw the analog gauges
installed and some of the finishing
touches to Captain Kirk's control panel.
It may be of some notable interest that
with the exception of the new seat
cover ($13) and six pop rivets, the
entire panel has been fashioned using
recycled components. The tach is from
a boat, the keyswitch from a farm
tractor, and the lamps from the old
truck. In fact the entire piece of
aluminum was cut from the inner tail
light cover of the old truck, and even
the switch guard itself came from
something else. Originally it was a
piece of packing material from a
photocopier. Not surprisingly, a lot of
photocopier parts have found their way
into this project.
A small detour on my way home
Thursday night was required to pick up
a pair of forty cent bolts to mount the
new personalized "The geek" licence
tags that I had ordered in May. The
plate holder itself - demonstrating once
again the number of reclaimed
components put to use - was from the
front of my ex-wife's long scrapped
Pontiac Firefly, although I can't quite
recall how I came into it's possession.
Mein Kampf