I went up to Chicago this week to audition for Stupid Human Tricks from The Late Show with David Letterman. It was surprisingly low-key. I figured that there would be at least 100 people in line, and possibly 1000, but as it turned out, there were 18 registrants. I did my marshmallow tricks with the traps, and it went as well as I could’ve hoped, short of leaving there with a signed contract to be on the show. Of course I still have no idea if I’ll get on the show, but I’m hopeful. We’ll see. Some of the other auditioners had lame tricks, and a few had really great tricks. The final choice will all depend on what strikes the fancy of the producers back in NYC.
Mon 18 Jun 2007
Letterman’s Stupid Human Tricks Audition
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Wed 13 Jun 2007
One Step Forward and Two Steps Back
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Today Vader and I decided to go for a real drive in the Model A. The initial plan was that I was going to go pick up our friends Steve and Penny, we would all go for a drive together, and that way if the car died, they could help me push it back. It turned out that Steve and Penny double booked, so Vader and I were going to go by ourselves.
For the second time today the Model A started easily, so I thought my troubles were behind me. I backed the car out of the garage, and was trying unsuccessfully to get Vader in the car (he currently hates the Model A) when there was a sudden pang pang pang Pang Pang PANG PANG from the engine compartment. I opened the hood to find the fan turning at a jaunty angle and cutting a huge gash into the radiator, which was now shooting a nice little stream of water all over the engine. For those of you following the story, that’s the same radiator that I just got fixed. Arg. So tonight I took the radiator off the car again. It went a whole lot faster this time since I have experience. Also, I got to meet a very nice lady who helped me push the car back into the garage as I was blocking her way in the alley.
New plan for tomorrow: Wake up early. Feed self. Feed dog. Walk dog. Load up car for gig. Put radiator in car and take it to Mike the radiator guy. Put generator in car to take to Devin’s generator guy down in Bedford. Drive to gig in Columbus IN. After gig drive to Devin’s house, talk cars, go see his generator guy, talk cars, maybe even go for a drive in Devin’s car, talk cars some more, go home. Drop dog off at home. Hang out with East coast yo-yo guys in town for one night. Go to bed very late.
If all goes well, the radiator and the generator will be finished by the time I am able to work on them again next week. Aside from the fact that I need to get good at driving the Model A before we move to Pittsburgh, there is also a rockabilly car show next Saturday (the 23rd) and Devin and I really want to drive both our cars there. Plus, if I’m ever going to find super-cool lookin’ workin’-on-the-car clothes, the rockabilly guys will know where to find them.
Sun 10 Jun 2007
People Are Odd
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On my way home just now there was a guy by the side of the road with a big trash bag picking up trash. I saw him stop, take a final drag on his cigarette, throw it down on the ground, and then resume picking up trash. You would think that if you were the guy picking up all the trash, YOU WOULDN’T LITTER WHILE YOU WERE DOING IT! He’s just going to have to pick up his own cigarette butt in a minute anyway. Very strange.
Thu 7 Jun 2007
First Successful Drive in the Model A Ford
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Yesterday my pal Devin came over and we spent almost the whole day working on my family’s Model A. The basic plan was that he was going to come up from Bedford to show me how to work on the brakes, and help me check them out to see if they were in good shape. As it turned out, we didn’t even get to the brakes until something like 9 pm.
The first thing we did was to try to get the engine started. I had had it running, but I was having trouble with the battery. I’m fairly sure that the generator (the thing that charges the battery while you drive) is bad and needs a complete overhaul, AND it seems as though the battery charger I bought has died. So Devin brought his Dad’s charger up and we got my battery charging right away. Devin double-checked how I had the timing set and made a little adjustment, and we got the engine running. A lot of time was spent fiddling, making small adjustments, and trying to see where to set all the knobs and levers in the passenger compartment, and on the carburetor. We stopped the engine every so often to do this or that, and it wouldn’t always start back up again. Twice the car wouldn’t start because it had run out of gas, but sometimes we just couldn’t figure it out.
Fortunately Devin has more experience than I do with cars in general, but especially with Model A’s. He showed me a wiring diagram in the The Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook Volume 1, by Les Andrews, got out his test light and we followed it until we found a bad connection on the ammeter inside the dash. It was a quick fix.
Then we noticed that the coil (essentially a big capacitor that ramps up the 6V from the battery into 20,000V for the sparkplugs) was getting really hot. It normally gets warm, but this was hot enough that it was hard to touch.
Devin said, “You know, we can just go down to AutoZone and get a new one. They’re only like fifteen bucks. We just have to convince them that they actually have it so they will sell it to us.â€
Devin, Vader, and I piled in the Prius (the pinnacle of modern automotive technology) to go off to buy a part for the second model car that Ford ever made (the pinnacle of automotive technology in 1930). It was a nice contrast.
We walked into AutoZone, and there was an older guy and a young guy working. I always go to the older guy if I have the choice, but he was busy.
“Hi. We’re looking for a 6V coil.†I said.
“What the hell are you talking about?†The young guy said.
I started laughing. This was typical AutoZone, and exactly what we both expected. “It’s for a 1930 Model A Ford.â€
“Oh. You need to talk to that guy,†he said pointing to the older guy, “he knows about old cars and stuff.â€
We went over to chat with the older guy, and he helped us work it out.
“A coil? Could it be called an ignition coil?†he asked.
“Sure. That would make sense.†Devin and I said together.
He punched in “6V ignition coil†under the category for 1930 Model A Ford (which I was surprised was even in their computer), and out popped the shelf number. He went to get it, and when he came back he made a funny production out of blowing the dust off the box. $14 later we were back in the car on the way home.
Wed 6 Jun 2007
How to Start a Model A Ford
Posted by mark under Model A Ford, Model A Ford Maintenance
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I have the pleasure of getting my family’s 1930 Model A Ford Sport Coupe back in working order after it has been in storage for about 15 years. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the instruction on how to start the car that I got from my Grandpa 20 years ago, before he died, and no one else in my family knows how to do it. If it weren’t for my friend Devin I don’t know how long it would have taken me to find someone who could help me since there is no Model A Ford Club in Indianapolis. I wrote these directions figuring that there are other people like me out there who are handy, but lack some basic information. My The Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook Volume 1, by Les Andrews doesn’t tell you how to start the car after you have spent all this time fixing it.
Here’s how I start my car:
- Make sure that everything is in running order. Easier said than done I know. Be sure the timing is properly set, or even if you get the car started, it won’t run well, if at all.
- Turn on the gas valve that is under the dash on the passenger side. In my car the valve is open when the handle is 90 degrees from the gas line.
- Push the timing lever on the steering column (the one on the left) up all the way (fully retarded).
- Pull the throttle lever on the steering column (the one on the right) down most of the way. How far down will probably vary from car to car. My friend Devin likes to have it all the way down on his car.
- On the right side of the car, in front of where the passenger would sit is a silver knob. This is both the choke and the fuel mixture. Turn the knob clockwise until it stops, and then open it back up about 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn. Pull it almost all the way out and hold it there. The turning is the mixture, and the pulling is the choke, or air supply. (You only have to pull out on the choke when starting the car cold, after it is warm you can just hit the starter button.)
- Push the clutch pedal in all the way, or take the car out of gear.
- Push the starter button on the floor with your right foot. It’s the little one that is closest to the engine.
- As the starter is turning you may have to slide the choke in or out a bit to find the sweet spot. Once the engine fires, let go of the choke almost immediately. You may have to adjust the mixture knob, but I usually have mine 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn open. Also, you will want to ease up on the throttle lever (push it up a bit). You do not need to hit the gas pedal with your foot in the starting process. In fact, that is why you have the throttle lever in the first place, it takes the place of the pedal since your foot is busy on the starter button.
- You will have to fiddle around with all the settings a bit to get them just where you need them for your car.
- Once the engine is running, pull the timing lever all the way down (and leave it there) for driving.
- Have fun!
Sat 2 Jun 2007
Setting the Timing on the Model A Ford
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I spent some time in the garage today trying to set the timing on my family’s 1930 Model A Ford. I think it can be done with just one person, but I’m going to have to get some help. As a part of the process you have to put the crank into the front (it’s a very old car) and crank the engine over while pushing on a pin to find a specific point in the engine cycle. Once you find that spot you can adjust the timing accordingly. The problem that I ran into tonight is that I think the pegs on my crank are worn so that I really needed two hands to keep the crank in place, but I still needed a hand to push on the timing pin. I’m going to see if I can get a friend to come over tomorrow to help me out.
Here are some tips on setting the timing on a Model A Ford for any other novices like me. These are all tips based on the instructions for setting the Ignition Timing (pg 2-18) in Les Andrews’ book The Model A Ford Mechanics Handbook Volume 1, by Les Andrews:
- In Step #1, the breaker point gap is the space between the end of the little silver arm (the breaker point arm), and the tiny adjustable screw, under the black plastic disk (the rotor). It was a bad moment for me when I didn’t even know what the book was talking about in the first step.
- In Step #2, a really good tool for bending the rotor tab up or down without marring it is a big crescent wrench.
- In Step #5, when it says to “fully retard the spark lever on the steering column” that means push it all the way up.
- In Step #7, when you have reversed the timing pin and are feeling for the small recess in the cam gear, keep in mind that it is very small, it takes two full rotations with the crank to get back to the same point on the cam gear, and the small recess will be there when the rotor is pointing roughly toward the front of the car. For me this operation took a good deal of time and a LOT of patience. I hope it is easier for you. While you can only turn the crank in one direction, if you go past the notch just a little bit you can grab hold of a fan blade to go back a bit.
- In Step #14, when I tightened the cam locking screw, I had to turn the cam a little farther counter-clockwise than I wanted it to end up in order to account for the movement of the tightening screw.
- Don’t forget to screw the timing pin back in, and remove the crank before you try to start the car.
In the end I ended up being able to set the timing by myself, it just took longer than it would’ve if I had had someone helping me, or if I had known what I was doing.
Thu 31 May 2007
WeeWar.com is SO Awesome!
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Tue 29 May 2007
ChocolateFest Day 4
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Today went well, but I’m glad it’s over. I’m TIRED.
Everyone should spend an afternoon swapping stories with a couple of cowboys in a barn. I can’t recommend it highly enough. I had a long break in between sets today, and I had already planned on spending it sitting on my butt backstage. It turned out that Bob Hamm: 7 time World and National Champion had some time to kill too, and he is a great story teller. I heard about shooting marbles, sticking up kids for their candy at Boy Scout Camp, shootin’ BB guns, and all kinds of other awesome childhood things today. This guy is a real character, and man can he spin a gun. Yesterday I spent some time hanging out with the lumberjacks, and I REALLY want to throw an axe now. I didn’t think they would want me throwing their axes, and besides, the target was right next to the petting zoo, and that would only lead to disaster.
I did finally manage to get my hands on an reasonably massive amount of chocolate today, so I felt good about that.
After the fair was finished I even got to hang out with some top and yo-yo pals. It was a good ending to the event.
Sun 27 May 2007
ChocolateFest Day 3
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Today I had four shows, and they were only 30 minutes apart. It was exhausting. At least it was a nice sunny day though, so there were lots of people around to watch.
Today’s high points:
– On the way in I saw a car with the liscense plate “BON JOV1” Awesome.
– Buying my SECOND 36 bar case of Limited Edition 100 Grand candy bars. Today I got the peanut case since I already had the one with the coconut bars in it.
– Eating two ears of delicious sweet corn while watching cowboys do rope and gun tricks.
Today’s low points:
– Having to talk over the sound of the speed boat races on the nearby lake.
– After all the work to correct it, the sound quality on the “Diamonds” stage was STILL terrible
If all goes well, tomorrow after the fair I will get to hang out with a couple of top-spinner/yo-yo friends. Then on Tuesday Vader and I will go off to Madison for a day to try to get some stuff ready for the move to Pittsburgh.
Sun 27 May 2007
ChocolateFest Day 2
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Today at ChocolateFest it rained. That was really the major aspect of my day. One of my shows got cancelled as a result, but mostly it just meant there were fewer people around. People were literally running from the park when the rain started. Not a good sign when you are trying to gather a crowd for a show.
In other news, I ate a whole bunch more chocolate today, so that was good.