MrBadExxample

Yes, Let's call her Windy.

I wish. I'm iterating through the mudding/sanding/mudding/sanding/mudding/sanding phase. 15+ gallons of mud so far. Maybe the walls will be ready for primer this weekend. BTW, I'll have the right arm of Hercules before this project is over. I'd post some more photos, but despite all my mudding and sanding, there isn't much visible progress. Next week I'll prime/paint the walls and lay some tile (hopefully). That should be enough visible progress to justify more photos.

Corrected, I meant to say one of the pistons has a hole in it. Thank You

I have the opportunity to buy a 1997 Ford F150 with 99K miles real cheap. $400 to be exact. The truck looks great. The interior and exterior are in really great shape and the tires are brand new. It's real a basic truck - XL trim level, 2WD, regular cab, manual transmission. The truck will only be used on road for carrying a motorcycle or trips to the hardware store. So the basic configuration is fine with me. But there's a catch (of course). As you may already know, the 97-99 4.2L V6 had some faulty gaskets, mostly the timing cover gasket and head gaskets. When they failed, coolant would leak into the cylinders or crankcase. Well the engine in this truck had this problem. Apparently coolant leaked into one of the cylinders and another cylinder overheated. One of the pistons has a hole in it. Basically it needs an engine swap. A remanufactured long block 4.2L is $1700-$3200. Or I could have the current engine rebuilt. A machine shop I trust quoted me ~ $3000 to do this, which frankly seemed a little high. Anyone know a machine shop that could rebuild a 4.2L for a more reasonable price? Maybe I should rebuild it myself, which I've done before, like 20 years ago. Is a 4.2L worth rebuilding? Anyone have experience with a rebuilt one? Lots of people are critical of this motor, for the gasket problem and because it lacks power in a full size truck. The lack of power is not a problem for me. With new (non faulty) gaskets, is this a reliable engine? Thank You

Thank You, In retrospect I should have created a mud bed. The drain in the foundation did not line up with the shower pan (of course), so I had the extra joy of chipping away part of the foundation and moving the drain. With a mud bed I could have made my shower drain over the existing drain in the foundation. Funny how I think of this stuff after the fact.

Thank You. I thought about an overhead projector. Believe me, I was tempted. In the end I decided to use the space for an entertainment center rather than a movie screen. In addition to the TV, the entertainment center will create space for audio components, CDs, DVDs, books and some miscellaneous trinket stuff.

There's two in TX on salvage direct. http://www.salvagedirect.com/asp/viewitem.asp?itemid=710134 http://www.salvagedirect.com/asp/viewitem.asp?itemid=711231 To bid at that site you'll need certain licenses (salvage, dealer, repair facility, etc.) If you decide to bid and can't find someone to do it for you or can't join yourself, let me know.

Even if the shop is correct, you can replace those items yourself. It's an easy job and no special tools are required. It can be done in an afternoon for ~$300 in parts.

Thank You. The brass rail is a good idea. My friends insist I put in a stripper pole, so maybe I'll do that and convert it to a foot rail once the wife complains, or the novelty wears off. Thank You, In typical fashion, I put the cart before the horse. See, last year I bought a large rear projection TV. It was a fabulous deal as rear projection TVs are out of fashion, great picture though. Anyhow I didn't have a good place to put the TV, which is what got me thinking about redoing the basement. Thank You. Partly we got this house so we could exile the kids (and their stuff) to the basement. Otherwise the whole house looks like kiddy land. It's the first place I've had with a basement. I'll love it even more once it's a proper man-cave.

For years we sequestered the kiddos in the basement. Which meant it looked like an explosion in a toy factory. But the little bastards are growing up, so I decided to reclaim the basement for adult space. I've been working on it for about a month now. Here's the progress so far: 1. I'm converting a 16' wall in this bump-out area into a built in entertainment center. A piece of furniture this big would cost thousands. Much more than I'd spend, so there's that. Plus I like the integrated look, well when it's finished. The top part will be ambient lite with LED rope lighting. All the wiring for the home theater is internal. Framed Sheetrocked, partially mudded, corner beads set. You might be able to notice the 3/4" rounded corners. 2. Facing the entertainment center is a bar. Not much to look at now. But eventually the floor around the bar will be tiled. The countertop might be solid hardwood flooring or tile, or something else. Suggestions? Inside the bar there will be two outlets, a two bowl sink and cabinets. I'm refurbishing some solid oak wall cabinets that will be used as shallow base cabinets inside the bar. 3. I also walled off part of the basement which will be used for something. Dunno yet. Eventually the whole basement might be an in-law suite, maybe 5-10 years from now. Not anything photogenic, just a wall 4. Finally I'm finishing a full bathroom that's attached to the new walled-off room. The nice thing about doing this stuff is that building materials are the cheapest they've been in years. Plus lots of cheap, small lots of nice tile on craigslist.

Yours, Thank You. PM sent

FS: 97/98 Front Brake assembly - lines, calipers, horn, secondary master cylinder. Might be handy if you want to try a spare set of delinked brakes. I think this assembly is compatible with all years of the XX, no? $30.00

97/98 Front Fender for sale, not cracked or chipped, but does have a small patch of road rash on the leading edge (see last photo). $25.00

If I could remember exactly how the linkage / dogbone is configured, I'd try. Trouble is, there's no longer an XX in the garage for reference.

Yours, I'll PM you with the total.

Really? You used a framing nailer to install trim (molding)?

Anything attached to the swingarm moves in arc. Getting back to trigonometry, the formula for arc length is s = rθ. Where s is arc length, r is the radius and θ is the angle of movement in radians. In our case, the angle the swingarm moves. So for the rear axle: 2" = xθ. where x is distance from center of swingarm pivot bolt to center of rear axle (radius r). Let's rewrite this formula as θ = 2" / x And for the rear linkage attachment point: s = yθ, where y is distance from center of swingarm pivot bolt to center of linkage attachment point (LAP). We'll rewrite this formula as θ = s /y. And since the rear axle and the LAP are both attached the swingarm, they both move through an arc of angle θ. So we can set our two formulas equal to each other, hence s /y = 2 " / x. So solving for s (arc length the LAP moves) is s = 2" * y / x. Go measure y and x, divided x into y and multiple by 2". But that's just how much the LAP on the swingarm moves, next you'll have to use trigonometry to find the ratio of LAP movement to shock compression which is determined by the size of the linkage plates and the length of the shock, from the center of it's upper pivot point to the center of it's lower pivot point. I think that's correct.

Yes, rear brake pedal. Thanks for clarifying. Send me a PM if interested. Yours. I'll let you know the total after I ship them. Can I assume slow/cheap shipping is ok?

EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SOLD. THANK YOU Well I sold my XX a couple months ago, so I guess it's time to part with the extra parts. Photos of all these parts are here: Picasa Web Album. Use the magnifying glass icon to zoom in. 1. 97/98 LH Lower Cowl. $25 Definitely usable, definitely used, definitely a "painter" has road rash at top, rear mounting point. 2. 97/98 RH Lower Cowl $15 Usable, but in pretty rough shape, cracked and rashed. Could be repaired and used as a spare? Or fuck it and get instant "Road Warrior" cred. 3. 97/98 Stator Cover $12 Usable, not cracked, rashed. Would be a handy spare on long trips, you know, in case you crack yours a long way from home. Combine with the cowls list above for a complete battle-hardened motif. 4. 97/98 Rear Grab Bar $10 There's nothing wrong with this part. Well except, it has dried adhesive on it, cuz the previous owner glued faux leopard fur to it. Yo. 5. Clutch Slave Cylinder $10 Surprisingly there's nothing wrong with this part. It looks and functions just fine. Your family will cherish this precious heirloom. 6. Rear Brake Pedal $15 Excellent condition, straight, sexy, full of energy, never bent 7. LH Passenger Peg / Muffler Bracket $15 Excellent condition. WWJD? Jesus would buy it, that's what he'd do. Includes footpeg. 8. RH Passenger Peg / Muffler Bracket $15 Excellent condition. Just think of the vaginal access you'll get with this part. 9. Steering Stem Cap $7 It's the decorative "six-dot" one in the middle of the top triple clamp. New, never used. 10. RH Clip On $15 Straight, works and looks just fine. Will provide new owner with years of enjoyment. 11. RH Footpeg bracket (driver's) $12 Straight, works and looks just fine. People constantly ask, "Wow is that an OEM XX rearset!?!" 12. Swingarm / Shock linkage (triangular plates) Free If you need these, your bike must be seriously fucked up, so you can have 'em for free. 13. Shift Lever $10 Straight, never bent. My first wife left me for a man with a shift lever just like this one. Oh Well... 14. Kick Stand $20 New, never used. Seriously, sometimes the kickstand gets bent or worn, causing the bike to lean over kinda far. 15. Another Kick Stand $8 Used, but still in great condition. 16. Two OEM 45T Rear Sprockets $5 each or both for $7 I'm not sure why you'd need a used rear sprocket, but I got 'em. Actually both have low miles on them. Plenty of life left. I guess the best part is the price. 17. 2002 Front Wiring Sub-Harness $5 I'm not sure why I have this, but I do. Again, check here for photos --> Picasa Web Album. Use the magnifying glass icon to zoom in.

The paint is different. The 97/98 is a universal black, while the '03 black has some gold fleck.

If you still need a frame, check this link. 929 at Salvage Direct If you're interested, send me a PM. I'll give you more info.

I'm getting rid of some extra gear. It's definitely well used, but still useful. The top is size 46 US. Waist is 36 - 38", inseam is 30". I'm 5'10" 190lbs and it fits me snug, but still room to wear a back protector underneath. Padding in the elbows, knees, shoulders, elbows and thighs. There's hard shell plastic over the knees as well and Velcro patches for knee pucks. In case you're into that whole knee draggin' thing. The hip on the right side has road rash and the seams have been professionally (not by me) repaired. The right arm & shoulder also has some light rash. Also in a couple of places the black finish has flaked off. However the suit is still perfectly useful. Hopefully I've priced it fairly for its condition. If I didn't have another suit, I would have no problems using this one. I use my one piece suit more than this one. For me it's more convenient to step in/out of a one piece suit. $125 In a couple of days, I'll put it on eBay, so let me know soon if you're interested.

Agreed, FWIW, Nice carbed SV's can be found for approximately $2500, FI ones for $3200 +/-. Check the usual places - ebay, forums, craigslist, etc. I love mine, but they certainly don't hold their value. Better one for same price, same place (sorta) http://albany.craigslist.org/mcy/877615845.html

How much do you weigh? If you weigh more than say 190 lbs, increasing preload on the rear shock will help - less rear end squat hence less running wide when turning. If preload is maxed, then a stiffer rear spring could be in order. Increasing the rear preload is free. Increasing the rear ride height with the 6mm shim is almost free.

XXSTAR, is that you?