Build thread for the 72 GMC, finally. Thanks John!

Quick and messy night:

The starter was touched up and reassembled (apologies for the wet paint)

And then I slopped Chassis Saver everywhere:

I was messy, and I am sure that I missed some spots with the Chassis Saver, but I am OK with a redo of some tougher spots to finish it up soon.

I have taken on a bit of extra work, here. I do spelling with Tunakids #1, #2 & #3 during some evenings. I also am putting them through a basics robotics course so I can supplement their math and science skills. Combine that with Wednesday and Sunday nights at church, and Tunawife creating a honey do list, and it's getting slow and I apologize.

TW: I want to make a list of our upcoming projects so we know better where we have to focus

T: So, you mean, you want to make of list of things that you are going to tell me to do.

TW: My sister said that's how you would take it, but I said that you would understand it was really the best way to prioritize things and make sure we are doing things in order.

T: Can you do any of these things?

TW: Well, I can help... do some... of them.

T: OK, so let's make a list of things you're telling me to do then.

It ended up being somewhere around 15, and included a bathroom remodel, tile redo, painting, and many many other difficult and time consuming things.

Anyway, um... Where was I? Kinda lost my train of thought.

Uh, well, uh, OK, anyway, I-I know it's kind of a roundabout way of saying it, but, I guess the whole point I'm tryin' to make here is

I HATE SAUERKRAUT!

OK, just kidding.

So can anyone help me figure out the best way to pipe in the compressor? I have been all over every tutorial in the entire internet (which may be an exaggeration). It sounds like I need a good filter at the very end of the pipe length, though I have not figured out which one nor how large. I have also learned that if you suggest what pipe type is best, at least fifteen people arrive to tell you that you're wrong, stupid, and they have painted 3,200 cars using their method and it's clearly the only way and that anyone else is just a hack.

I am thinking black pipe, something near 1/2", with a few U loops and drains built in, running along the wall from the compressor to the end of the garage, with a flexible line between the compressor and the hard pipe.

Where is the best place to get that stuff, local big box hardware stuff? Amazon seems to have the best prices on filters, no matter if you think a $15 disposable at-the-gun filter is fine, or if you think you need $2,500 worth of various cleaning, de-oiling, filtering and drying equipment crafted by the finest of the south Uzbekistan monks out of minerals mined from the far north Mt. Expensiva.

It's berkeleying primer. Rubber air hose and disposable filter.

Hell, there was no filter in any of the bodywork on the elky.

Primer, no problems, you can practically spray mud in the mix.

When it comes to paint, you want clean and dry air. I suspect that part of the problems I experienced the first time were due to the nature of the actual air in my garage and oil contamination in the air from the compressor being old. I paint with a filter at the gun itself

"Black iron" steel or type L copper pipe, PVC is not for compressed gases (gets brittle in cold and can produce lethal shrapnel). Big box should have everything cheap. Tie the compressor to the plumbing with a length of hose.

NOHOME wrote: Primer, no problems, you can practically spray mud in the mix. When it comes to paint, you want clean and dry air. I suspect that part of the problems I experienced the first time were due to the nature of the actual air in my garage and oil contamination in the air from the compressor being old. I paint with a filter at the gun itself

You don't use any filter like this?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PR8ZXK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_14&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I feel your pain about the "Honey-Do" lists. I have had that exact conversation, nearly verbatim, about "the things I am going to do". Mrs VCH has, to her credit, been trying. It's hard with little ones. But we'll do things like, I'll watch mini-VCH for 3 hours while she stains the floor in the bedroom we're redoing.

I dunno. Marriage is tough. Kids are tough. And time is the one thing you can't get any more of. Sleep less, I guess.

One other thing: never, ever, ever watch, or let your wife watch, HGTV. I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I feel your pain about the "Honey-Do" lists. I have had that exact conversation, nearly verbatim, about "the things _I_ am going to do". Mrs VCH has, to her credit, been trying. It's hard with little ones. But we'll do things like, I'll watch mini-VCH for 3 hours while she stains the floor in the bedroom we're redoing. I dunno. Marriage is tough. Kids are tough. And time is the one thing you can't get any more of. Sleep less, I guess. One other thing: never, ever, ever watch, or let your wife watch, HGTV. I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

But with a little sweat and hard work, and $30K, and a trained team of professionals available at a moment's notice, we turned this old wreck into this great kitchen in three weeks!

It's the same problem that Overhaulin' has.

When you're a kid all you have is time. When you're an old man all you have is time. Right in the middle, when time is an impossibility, is when we feel like we need to get everything done.

mazdeuce wrote: When you're a kid all you have is time. When you're an old man all you have is time. Right in the middle, when time is an impossibility, is when we feel like we need to get everything done.

QFT. That right there needs to be in the "Say What?" next month.

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

You have no idea how true and sad this is. A huge number of people outside of NA have no idea that "Reality" shows have nothing to do with our reality. Does not help that we now have a reality show to cover just about every facet of life.

What we don't realize living inside the fishbowl is that reality shows are a huge part of our ambassadorship to the rest of the world. The effect is funny. Really Really sad, but funny.

NOHOME wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

You have no idea how true and sad this is. A huge number of people outside of NA have no idea that "Reality" shows have nothing to do with our reality. Does not help that we now have a reality show to cover just about every facet of life. What we don't realize living inside the fishbowl is that reality shows are a huge part of our ambassadorship to the rest of the world. The effect is funny. Really Really sad, but funny.

Wasn't there a movie once where aliens came and were evidently expecting earth to be exactly like all of the "documentaries" that we were producing? And that those "documentaries" were every single TV transmission ever?

tuna55 wrote:

NOHOME wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

You have no idea how true and sad this is. A huge number of people outside of NA have no idea that "Reality" shows have nothing to do with our reality. Does not help that we now have a reality show to cover just about every facet of life. What we don't realize living inside the fishbowl is that reality shows are a huge part of our ambassadorship to the rest of the world. The effect is funny. Really Really sad, but funny.

Wasn't there a movie once where aliens came and were evidently expecting earth to be exactly like all of the "documentaries" that we were producing? And that those "documentaries" were every single TV transmission ever?

tuna55 wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I feel your pain about the "Honey-Do" lists. I have had that exact conversation, nearly verbatim, about "the things _I_ am going to do". Mrs VCH has, to her credit, been trying. It's hard with little ones. But we'll do things like, I'll watch mini-VCH for 3 hours while she stains the floor in the bedroom we're redoing. I dunno. Marriage is tough. Kids are tough. And time is the one thing you can't get any more of. Sleep less, I guess. One other thing: never, ever, ever watch, or let your wife watch, HGTV. I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

But with a little sweat and hard work, and $30K, and a trained team of professionals available at a moment's notice, we turned this old wreck into this great kitchen in three weeks! It's the same problem that Overhaulin' has.

THANK YOU. People to share my pain, and I ain't even married yet. We had a similar experience while house shopping:

"Our target price is $160k. But if we buy this $130k house, then we'll have $30k leftover for renovations!!!"

No, that's not how it works... I don't magically have 30k in cash "leftover" after buying a house like they do on the TV.

maschinenbau wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I feel your pain about the "Honey-Do" lists. I have had that exact conversation, nearly verbatim, about "the things _I_ am going to do". Mrs VCH has, to her credit, been trying. It's hard with little ones. But we'll do things like, I'll watch mini-VCH for 3 hours while she stains the floor in the bedroom we're redoing. I dunno. Marriage is tough. Kids are tough. And time is the one thing you can't get any more of. Sleep less, I guess. One other thing: never, ever, ever watch, or let your wife watch, HGTV. I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

But with a little sweat and hard work, and $30K, and a trained team of professionals available at a moment's notice, we turned this old wreck into this great kitchen in three weeks! It's the same problem that Overhaulin' has.

THANK YOU. People to share my pain, and I ain't even married yet. We had a similar experience while house shopping: "Our target price is $160k. But if we buy this $130k house, then we'll have $30k leftover for renovations!!!" No, that's not how it works... I don't magically have 30k in cash "leftover" after buying a house like they do on the TV.

Add to that the FACT that renovations, by and large, DO NOT add to the value of the house.

Let that sink in for a second. All those ads you hear for refi loans, home equity loans, etc to "increase the value of your home" are lying.

According to Zillow estimates, the very best bang for your renovation buck is with bathroom remodels, followed closely by kitchen remodels. Those two give you a something like 90% return on investment. For every dollar you "invest" in a remodel, it increases the value of your home approximately 90 cents on the free market.

There is a VERY good return, however, on REPAIRS. For example, a home without a functioning water heater would sell for a significantly lower price, and also take longer to sell. Spend $800 on a water heater, and you'll easily gain over $1000 in final sales price. Same for if the house has a leaking roof, or a falling-down porch, or whatever. REPAIRS are good investments. RENOVATIONS are not.

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

maschinenbau wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: I feel your pain about the "Honey-Do" lists. I have had that exact conversation, nearly verbatim, about "the things _I_ am going to do". Mrs VCH has, to her credit, been trying. It's hard with little ones. But we'll do things like, I'll watch mini-VCH for 3 hours while she stains the floor in the bedroom we're redoing. I dunno. Marriage is tough. Kids are tough. And time is the one thing you can't get any more of. Sleep less, I guess. One other thing: never, ever, ever watch, or let your wife watch, HGTV. I swear, other cultures must get their conceptions of the United States as a bunch of self-absorbed, shallow, consumeristic jerks from HGTV. Most of the "BEFORE" houses on those shows look better than my house ever will. A $150,000 house does not need a $30,000 kitchen.

But with a little sweat and hard work, and $30K, and a trained team of professionals available at a moment's notice, we turned this old wreck into this great kitchen in three weeks! It's the same problem that Overhaulin' has.

THANK YOU. People to share my pain, and I ain't even married yet. We had a similar experience while house shopping: "Our target price is $160k. But if we buy this $130k house, then we'll have $30k leftover for renovations!!!" No, that's not how it works... I don't magically have 30k in cash "leftover" after buying a house like they do on the TV.

Add to that the FACT that renovations, by and large, DO NOT add to the value of the house. Let that sink in for a second. All those ads you hear for refi loans, home equity loans, etc to "increase the value of your home" are lying. According to Zillow estimates, the very best bang for your renovation buck is with bathroom remodels, followed closely by kitchen remodels. Those two give you a something like 90% return on investment. For every dollar you "invest" in a remodel, it increases the value of your home approximately 90 cents on the free market. There is a VERY good return, however, on REPAIRS. For example, a home without a functioning water heater would sell for a significantly lower price, and also take longer to sell. Spend $800 on a water heater, and you'll easily gain over $1000 in final sales price. Same for if the house has a leaking roof, or a falling-down porch, or whatever. REPAIRS are good investments. RENOVATIONS are not.

Actually, the thing about the Kitchen and the bath being a "Good Investment" is a bit of a joke.

It is a great investment for the real estate person who needs to sell your house because new kitchens and bathrooms show well, but the sad truth is that even if you did a new kitchen a week before moving, most new female occupants will want a different one. My Aunt is an interior decorator in Rochester and she laughs because the Kitchen is a strong selling point but invariably she is called upon to rip it out and put in a new one.

Edit: wait...didn't there used to be a "Truck" somewhere in this thread? Can we get back to renovating that thing?

tuna55 wrote: Wasn't there a movie once where aliens came and were evidently expecting earth to be exactly like all of the "documentaries" that we were producing? And that those "documentaries" were every single TV transmission ever?

Galaxy Quest

NOHOME wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

maschinenbau wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

Actually, the thing about the Kitchen and the bath being a "Good Investment" is a bit of a joke. It is a great investment for the real estate person who needs to sell your house because new kitchens and bathrooms show well, but the sad truth is that even if you did a new kitchen a week before moving, most new female occupants will want a different one. My Aunt is an interior decorator in Rochester and she laughs because the Kitchen is a strong selling point but invariably she is called upon to rip it out and put in a new one. Edit: wait...didn't there used to be a "Truck" somewhere in this thread? Can we get back to renovating that thing?

This turned into one heckuva threadjack.

One more quick anecdote, since we're rolling: a buddy of mine used to buy dilapidated townhomes on the west side of Baltimore, fix them up, and make a decent side income. He recently got out of it, and noted that in the past few years, pretty much coinciding with the increase in popularity of the HGTV shows, there was a marked increase in people's expectations. He'd be showing a 120k townhome, and these couples would show up (usually barely able to make the payment on even that modest a home) and act surprised that the kitchen didn't have granite countertops.

Rochester, eh? New York? That's my old stomping grounds.

Anyone local and willing to tow Tunatruck to a new home on a flatbed or open trailer?

whats up man? email me.

Uh... I don't like the sound of that.

JohnInKansas wrote: Uh... I don't like the sound of that.

oh no, no worries. Its new home is also my new home. We're moving together, just a few miles down the road. I just need an easy way to bring it to the new garage.

So, pics of the new garage?

Or build thread?

Yeaaaaaa, we're going to need some sort of substantial update here. You can't just casually drop that sort of statement without some further info.