Last week the wife asks what I want for Christmas. I tell her I'll have to think about it, as this will be one of those Christmas's that I need nothing for the car. (And I always get car parts as gifts.......she knows better.)
So bottom line, I need nothing really.
After thinking about it, I tell her that I could use some HF wheel dollies, and just to be safe, my angle grinders are probably about to go. She asks how much that stuff is and I tell her, The wheel dolly set is about 120.00, and the 4-1/2 angle grinder(s) are a little over 20.00 each. I tell her I'll need two, one for cutting, and one for grinding. That way I can leave the respective wheel attached w/o having to change blades/wheels all the time.
That's all?
Yep.
However, no sooner did I tell her that, and grinder #1 takes a dump. Typical HF failure,...the brushes wear out. Although they include another set most of the time, the stupid plastic caps that hold the brushes in are fractured, so when I go to replace them, the cap comes out in pieces.
I hail mary the thing into the trash can.
Now I'm down to 1.
Fast forward to today, and grinder #2 slows down in my hand. I smack it, and it speeds back up. The rest of the day, It struggles to do what I needed to do, eventually giving up the ghost as well. I throw it down to the ground, as hard as I please.
They lived a decent life. They managed to get through more than 3/4 of the way through what will amount to be a 3 year build.
This however creates a dilemma. I now need two new grinders, and there is still 3 weeks till Christmas. I simply can't wait that long, especially considering that I have a fair amount of cutting, and grinding in front of me.
Guess I'm getting socks for Christmas.
What I managed to get done before Thing #2 took a crap was get the other bumper extension pretty much complete. As with everything I do where there are two, the second piece is always easier, or better, of took less time, or required less work. This was the case w/ this side as well.
The driver side extension is made up of 6 separate pieces of steel, the passenger side was half that. The driver side took 8 hours, this side took 4.
I still have to cut the piece of steel where the overlap is, and butt weld the extension in place, but it's getting there.
Also, since the fenders are on, I took the opportunity to check for interference when turning.
The tire hits the fender at full lock. The clearance that is there is laughable because any dip in the road w/ the tires turned will result in a hard scrub. The front end has gotta come up an inch.
Had I not bitten off so much other custom fab crap with this car, I'd consider going back to the drawing board, and bulge the fenders, and quarters Ala Capri, Then throw on some big assed 295's up front, and maybe a 335 or bigger rear.
But,.....ain't gonna happen. I have more than enough on my plate if I ever hope to get done in time for spring '16.
