HG's thread of miscelaneous stuff

[hgs_notes]

Some odds and ends in the old pic folder. First up was from a local dirt track race I went to right after the death of that racer by Tony Stewart. They did a special 4 wide rolling tribute thing that I thought was pretty cool.


One beautiful morning I was having a bowl of cereal out on the patio. Not something I do normally but it just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. I ended up sharing my breakfast. He must have liked it too cuz he hung out there for a while.


I'm not very religious, but I've probably been in more churches than 99% of the population. Probably 100s of them, all denominations, to get the boiler inspected. This one in Minneapolis has some of the best stained glass I've seen.




Speaking of boiler inspections, thats the entry way into the firebox of a watertube boiler. I'm about 5' 11" and 233 lbs. Big shoulders, not long and lean. They can be a tight fit.


But I DO fit.
My air monitor by the hole.


The burner viewed from the hot end...


Back wall with tubes running up from the mud drum which is behind that refractory wall...


Anybody else bothered when they see this? You spent a bunch of money on wheels dude, get the right damn backspacing!




Mid August I was called to a location to inspect a rental boiler. Even though it was only going to be on site for a week, they need to be checked out to make sure its safe. What was supposed to be a fairly quick in and out turned into a full day thing. They had the boiler all connected and wired up. The condensate pump which gets water to the feed tank for the rental boiler was new and recently installed.

Improperly it turns out. It was wired wrong, ran in reverse, lost the impeller which wrecked the pump shaft. No spare. The new pump needed a quick rebuild. 3 hour drive and they forgot to call me to let me know the next day would be better. So I made them fix while I waited rather than turn around and come back the next day.

While they worked on that I roamed around town to see what I could find. Not a lot, but I'll post some of that in a bit. Anywho, in 21 years as a boiler inspector I never had a reason to have a lawn chair but that day I was glad to have one. Just hanging out trying to stay out of the way (and out of the car)...


Rental boiler mounted on a trailer...


This trike was built by one of the guys at the plant. Apparently he has built a few, including one based on the batmobile. That one was destroyed by fire but I was told it was impressive.








While cruising around town I passed by this food truck. Looked like it needed a closer inspection. They were selling cupcakes. I never heard of a traveling cupcake cooker, but business was good and yes, I bought a few.


http://www.scratchcupcakery.com/home

Pics from around Eagle Grove, IA...

This place looked like a closed up body shop that had a few beaters left around.








Party bus...


Laying in the shade...


Getting some sun...


Ready for work...


Thats it for tonight fellas.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for another ride.

[flashed]

Im liking that 76 Trans Am ,thanks for the pics .

[hgs_notes]

A few more. First is a place that mines sand. LOTS of sand. They are a major supplier for sandblasting media from this location. Its along the Minnesota river.


Great big cat box...


Some of the equipment used there...


This is just a shot of another mine pit in the area I drove past. Not the greatest image, but impressive hole first hand.


I drove past this in Inver Grove Heights a couple weeks ago...


A friend of mine is really into collecting old gas pumps and signs and stuff. He likes any old stuff car related. He lives on an old farmstead (doesn't farm, just has the residence part) which has a small barn and a few other out buildings. His barn is basically a garage now, and has become his man cave the past few years. One of the farmers he knows had this old T in the grove and gave it to him. It's in the barn now.


I went to the MN state fair with my daughter and in the 4H building were the winning projects done by kids around the state. A lot of nice work. This boat really caught my eye though.


Beautiful wood in there.

[flashed]

You know you should do a book with all your photo's and call it Traveling Times With HG .

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by flashed

You know you should do a book with all your photo's and call it Traveling Times With HG .

Ha, this is free.

I have thought about something like that though. Was gonna call it "A Million Miles"

Which, btw, I should hit in the next few years for work miles alone. I don't have an actual log of my miles but typically its 40-45000/yr and I've been doing this 21 years. It can be a lonely job. You rarely see your co-workers. You go into businesses maybe once in 2 years and rarely more than 6 times a year. It's hard to develop relationships or friends like that. I've always lived in places away from where I grew up, so no matter what, you're always the outsider.

This forum has been great. And I've met some great people through this site. And more people have probably viewed what I post here than would ever buy a book of mine.

[hgs_notes]

Main hub for WRG Farms crop dusting...


This is a place...


This shop had a few old relics in the weeds...








Friend of mine in high school had Scorpions...


Boiler inspection time. Still gotta work and pay the bills. First shot is from the top of one boiler on the 4th level looking across to the other boiler that is 3 levels high.


These were once a small cities local utility plant. They sold it to their largest customer who now operates it. They are high pressure (about 700 psi) and feed a steam turbine/generator set. The exhaust from the turbine is about 150 psi and is used to supply steam to the processing plant about 1/4 mile away. The electricity from the turbine feeds the plant and excess is sold to the grid.

A few more pics, some of them have my clipboard in view to give you some perspective on size. A pair of the biggest boilers I currently inspect and one of them I couldn't squeeze into the firebox. Have to go in over the grates and under a refractory shelf and I couldn't get my chest through. Even bruised my sternum trying to push through while exhaling.














This is the one I could get inside. I'm standing on the grates (stoker bed) where the coal bed would be smoldering away. Looking towards the openings I crawled through. This one had about 1/2" more clearance the squeeze through.


Couple things from a garage down the alley from me. A local antique shop owner bought this and stores some of his stuff in it. He has a hot rod I didn't know about...




And a life size R2D2...


Last ones for now, but I saw this vehicle along the road in Lafayette and had to stop for a look. Its a Pinzgauer and I didn't know anything about them til now. I thought it was a unimog at first.








Has portal axles like the unimog too...




A little more info here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinzgau...errain_Vehicle

Later fellas

[hgs_notes]

Short story on the Pinzgauer, it was at a repair shop. The owner said it doesn't run right but the shop has no info on it or experience with them and said he wasn't gonna tear into it. A few days later I showed these pics to a friend of mine and he said that it was in the paper cuz someone stole it and took it for a joy ride to New Ulm. So I guess it runs good enough to get around.

[tommys72]

Is that old wagon in MN?

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by tommys72

Is that old wagon in MN?

Algona, IA

[hgs_notes]

Labor day weekend my sister and BIL hosted a mud run at their place. They do it a couple times a summer. I will probably post some pics of that event later on but for now I wanted to share this firebird that is sitting on a trailer out in their woods. It belongs to the BIL's brother I think. Used to be a drag racer and was in storage for many years.




How awesome is that metal flake?


The following week I took a little time off for a special moment. I needed to use my truck for this particular chore, so I went for a ride...


Had to stop at sears...


And make a special delivery at the local college.


The boy is going to auto body school. Hopefully I wont have to do anymore sanding!


We got a sweet deal. That set was on sale for $700, which is less than half price and at least $100 less than any other comparably sized tool box I could find. Should last him quite a while. He can upgrade later if he wants to.

[Low Elco]

Great stuff, thanks!!!

[rambler]

love the pictures.. I would love to see these boilers in real life, but no way would I crawl into a hole with only 1/2 in clearance.. I would be afraid of being stuck and someone forgetting and turning it on..

[72shorbox]

I had an oppurtunity to go 4 wheeling in one of those Pinzgauer a few years back. Very impressive. THe approach and departure angles combine with the gearing and lockers make it possible to go anywhere. I remember pulling up to a 4' step up and climbing right up it without rubbing the body or slipping a tire.
Great pictures keep posting!

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Great stuff, thanks!!!

Welcome

Originally Posted by rambler

love the pictures.. I would love to see these boilers in real life, but no way would I crawl into a hole with only 1/2 in clearance.. I would be afraid of being stuck and someone forgetting and turning it on..

I go thru ones with basically 0 clearance. Gotta squeeze my body through, but I figure if I got in I can get back out. There was 1 time I had to sit for a while to let my body relax. I had a hard time getting in, then was in the steam drum crawling over and around everything. You get kinda pumped up like a work out. So I sat by the manway and just chilled for a while. Then slipped out, no sweat. The boilers are all locked out and isolated and it takes hours to get them closed up again and ready to run. Not much danger of being left behind.

Originally Posted by 72shorbox

I had an oppurtunity to go 4 wheeling in one of those Pinzgauer a few years back. Very impressive. THe approach and departure angles combine with the gearing and lockers make it possible to go anywhere. I remember pulling up to a 4' step up and climbing right up it without rubbing the body or slipping a tire.
Great pictures keep posting!

I'd love the chance to play with one for a day.

I really wish GM had built some extended cabs and crews in the 67-72 body style. The conversion ones that were built by butting a pair of cabs together just dont look good in my opinion. And the ones guys are building now are great, but holy crap thats a lot of work or money if you buy one completed.


Couple cool old pit bikes...




This one he was asking $750 for. I thought it was kinda steep, but maybe they are worth that and more. Nice shape.




Scout 80 for sale in Dawson. Was asking about $2k. It seemed solid, but has obviously been sitting in the grove for many years. I saw another scout 80 a few days later at a swap meet that was a runner for $1600, so I think this guy is smoking weed and watching too much American Pickers.












Is it the new blues mobile or what? Need something to replace the Mount Prospect retired POS Dodge. I think its cool that they used to make these big old land yachts as 2 doors. Its for sale.












Last one here is a decent car but the guy is using it for parts. Swapping the engine into another old Mercury he has I think.

[TennesseeZ]

That Marauder or whatever it is , is cool, cool, cool! Had a friend in teen years who's dad had one. The rear window opens, I'm sure everyone knows, they had a magazine ad showind a bird using the overhang as shelter from the rain. One of my favorite cars from that inovative period. You sure don't see many these days, that's for sure! Thanks for the pics. And I know all about crawling up in a boiler, can be a real experience, especially when you have to go in and out the same hole repeatedly. But usually the ones I see have fairly large manways, or holes cut in the wall. But still alot of climbing, bending, and physical exertion involved. Thankfully I don't do them much anymore, but I sure enjoy the pics. Everywhere I work pics are frowned upon, can be a ticket right out the gate. (Not to say that some haven't wound up on my camera somehow )

[jasons]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Last one here is a decent car but the guy is using it for parts. Swapping the engine into another old Mercury he has I think.

It's a 66 Park Lane. I friend had one of those. About a dozen years ago my wife and I drove it from Nebraska to Virginia Beach when he moved out there. We took two days to drive out spent about a week in Virginia and DC, then flew home. That car got a lot of attention going down the interstate.

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for another pleasurable ride. I'm glad it's you squeezing into those boilers. I would die from sheer panic..

[Mr Chevorlet]

Love the pictures, thanks for sharing, keep it going.

[hgs_notes]

So, back to our journey. On the day I got the kids toolbox I stopped at my friend Bob's place. I'm pretty sure I've posted pics before of his hot rod shop. This was the first time I was in my truck when I visited him though. He immediately offered to trade me this truck for mine...


I believe its a 37 Chevy. I declined. Mine isn't for sale or trade. Unless its just stupid money, then maybe. Beautiful truck and probably worth at least a few grand more than mine, but no thanks. Its in the background of this pic also...


The rest of his stuff...








He picked up these 3 gas pumps at the Little Falls swap meet, which is where my pics are leading to next.


Little Falls. My hometown. There are some posts earlier in the thread from here. This pic though was a long time coming and a very significant milestone for me. I left for the navy in November of 1985. I left my truck at home. I didn't get it back on the road again until I was done with Nuclear power school and was heading to Idaho for nuclear prototype training. I had a couple weeks and some saved up money so I spent a pile on a dual exhaust system, new wheels and tires and probably some other odds and ends. This was April 1987. I also bought an aluminum topper from my uncle to cover all my stuff for the move. I was going to be living on my own for the first time. No barracks or navy housing in Idaho for us sand squids. So my mom did what most moms do and gave me a bunch of crap to get me started. I hit the road for my longest road trip ever in my old rusted out beater pickup. I slept in the back of the truck on my trip. I drove through the mountains for the first time and had to go from Bozeman, MT to West Yellowstone at night in the snow. It was april but the road was completely covered and if it wasn't for the markers along the road that I think are guides for the snow plows I had no idea where the road really was. There was no traffic so I stayed to the middle most of the time. I remember that trip like it was last year. Which means I can remember a lot, but not like it was yesterday, when I barely remember what I ate for lunch.

Anyway, sorry I slipped to the side a bit there. I may have told this story before in the thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating myself (Yep I did, post 248). Where was I? So I was in Idaho. Living on my own, working for the navy, blowing all my money on beer and truck parts and I met a pretty gal the night before my birthday. We were together for the next 25+ years. I finished my tour there and drove it home at Christmas time in 1987. Through the mountain passes again. I went off the road once miles from any civilization. I slid left, towards the mountainside (thankfully, cuz the other way was a sheer drop with nothing to break the fall but trees and rocks for several hundred feet. My load was spread across the hillside, presents for my family, my luggage, etc. The road was an ice sheet. I almost fell under the truck as soon as I got out of the cab.

I remained stuck for a couple hours until the snow plow rolled through dumping sand along his way. Would've been nice if he was a little earlier, but he agreed to help me out of the ditch, so great! I could get back on my way. A few hours later the hose on my remote oil filter (an attempt to ease oil changed which the headers made almost impossible) blew out. It was too close to the header and I think the heat softened it up.

Again I was stranded in the boonies. A telephone company repairman stopped to help. We clamped a rubber glove finger over the leaky hose. We both got rolling. The glove finger didn't work for long and I was now out of oil, having used up what I had with me on the first repair attempt. I was on a hill and the winter wind was blowing hard. I was in the open country of central Wyoming. I was trying to shorten the hose and reclamp it, but my fingers were freezing and I couldn't manipulate my fingers much anymore. I spotted a house at the bottom of the hill and headed that way. I intended to ask if I could warm up and buy some oil. A kid answers the door and I gave him my story of woe and he says "My dads a mechanic and he's down in his shop over there".

Can you believe the luck? Probably the only mechanic in 50 miles and that's where I break down. I tell him the story and he sees that I'm in the military (short hair back then made it pretty obvious) and he's a vet. We take a ride up the hill and I coast it down to his shop and he puts it on the lift for the repair. While he's working, we chat and I'm looking around. There is a 428 cobra jet engine with dual 4 barrels on a shelf wrapped in plastic. He said it's for a 69 Mach 1 and he would sell me the whole works, plus a parts car for $2500.

I have a truck that is kinda breaking down, is not set up for towing anything heavy, I have no trailer and even uhaul isn't really an option under the circumstances. I have the cash in my pocket, but I'm between duty stations. On my way home for Christmas, then back to Idaho to spend New Years with my girlfriend, then have to be in San Diego for welding school for a few months, then report to my submarine for sea duty. Other than having money and really REALLY wanting that deal, it's just not a possibility in my mind.

Thinking back later I probably could have worked something out. I was young and dumb and just didn't know any better. It will forever be the biggest fish story I ever had.

So mechanic guy fixes my truck, gives me a break on the price and I'm back on the road. A couple days later I'm home and looking for a more dependable ride. Loved my truck but it needed more work than I had time to put into it for the thousands of miles to come over the next few months. I bought a 1983 Toyota celica GT-S. Nice little car. I really liked it. My truck got parked behind my parents house. Christmas of 87.

A couple years later I couldn't stand it anymore and had it shipped to Washington so I could do more damage to it. I was always learning on it, usually from my mistakes.

That was the last time my truck was in Little Falls. Until a couple weeks ago.

[Palf70Step]

Kewl Story. I would prefer to keep your truck over his also. His is beautiful, yours is just better!

[flashed]

Great story ,glad you made it across that mountain.

[hgs_notes]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Kewl Story. I would prefer to keep your truck over his also. His is beautiful, yours is just better!

Mine is more practical and usable. Better for me. I just don't have a use for show cars. Whatever I have now or in the future will be used. Probably not gently.

Originally Posted by flashed

Great story ,glad you made it across that mountain.

Thanks. Since then I've crossed those mountains dozens of times. There have been other mechanical issues on different cars, but my truck hasn't been back through there under its own power since then. Maybe I need to do something about that. I smell another road trip.

[hgs_notes]

Gonna post a few more tonight before I hit the sheets. Some things I saw at the swap meet and show in Little Falls a couple weeks ago.

This go cart was something I would have bought if I wasn't in the middle of a divorce. Just cuz I thought it was cool and it was cheap.






This sign could be taken in different ways depending on your mood and hormones.


I'm not a huge fan of the rat rods. I think many of them are tacky and predictable in their "decorations". I don't mind the patina look, but sometimes an idea is taken too far and the vehicle is basically useless. Sometimes the idea is a good old badass one and a little too far is "just right". This is one I really could see myself in. This thing was a beast.




I met up with a friend of mine for the show. He's a member here too and that's how we met, but he doesn't get much time on the board. Goes by tkeduk8r but his name is Mike, like myself. This is his first time entering his truck in a show. It's a damn nice C-20 Cheyenne with a big block and lots of options. Pretty much all original. He's open to offers.


The show is put on by the local car club. Lone Eagle I think. The guy running the show side is a huge ford nut. He was also one of my dads best friends when they were kids. I've basically known him and his wife as long as I can remember. I didn't see him there, but his wife was doing the registrations. I haven't seen them in many years.

One of the club members may be on the board here, maybe not. Wouldn't surprise me though considering the fleet he brought to the show...




All four were very nice blue 4x4's and had the same owner. Not someone I knew, but the last name sounded familiar. I might have to look him up when I'm back home again.

This bus was pretty cool. I also saw it this last weekend in St Peter. I think its from Algona, IA.








Lastly, there were a couple big rigs in the show.




This one was MASSIVE!

[Ol Blue K20]

Thanks for taking me..I wish I could afford to have 4 K 20's..