BUILD THREAD JRP's '87 Regal Thread

[joesregalproject]

Hey guys, I know I've been AWOL so I'm just checking in. Unfortunately no progress to report on the Regal. I seem to have hit a bit of a rough patch lately. One thing after the next just keeps breaking. First it was the final nail in the coffin for the Camry, next one of the furnaces at the rental property croaked, followed by another plumbing pinhole mess, this time in the upstairs bathroom which leaked down into the kitchen and ruined the ceiling. I finally got that ceiling put back together and ready for painting. Over the weekend our own hot water heater died. Not a hard job, but it's $600 out the window. Last week the transmission in my Cub Cadet finally croaked. Now I'm going to be shoveling any snow this winter because I can't afford to replace it right now.

And things at work are really getting lousy. Sales usually slump this time of year, but service is really down too. The service garage is probably the cleanest it's ever been. Not that we were always the closest group of guys, but morale is low and everyone is jumping down each others' throats. Honestly I'd have probably already quit but job cuts are almost a certainty at this point and I have the least seniority and wouldn't mind severance pay.

And now we've got Christmas which is always such a calm and relaxing time of year and never stressful at all 🙄 So I have to go put on a smile and see a bunch of family that I really don't like.

On a positive note the chickens seem to be doing well and aren't having any problems tolerating the winter cold. My rooster has started to c*ck-a-doodle-doo and I'm fairly certain my neighbors are pretty irritated by it, so at least that's going as planned!

Anyways just wanted to check in and inform you that I am in fact still alive. Hope everyone is doing well and has a Merry Christmas. And hopefully you aren't forced to sit at a table with a bunch of family members that you can barely stand the sight of.

 

[Wraith]

All anyone can do is keep a good attitude and soldier forward, here's to the new year turning it around for you! 👊

 

[Texas82GP]

It's good to hear from you Joe. I was wondering if you might be sick. Glad to hear that isn't the case. I've had a head cold and the flu over the last month so I haven't been real productive either.

 

[joesregalproject]

It's good to hear from you Joe. I was wondering if you might be sick. Glad to hear that isn't the case. I've had a head cold and the flu over the last month so I haven't been real productive either.

Thanks Jared, fortunately that hasn't been the case. I did catch a cold virus and was sick with that for a couple weeks but luckily no flu. I got my flu shot early this year. Sorry to hear you've been sick, I know the flu is really bad this year. I've missed the forum and working on the car but I just haven't had the energy, time or motivation to do much of anything hobby related. I think I may be getting some seasonal depression kicking in. I've had it before and it can be really awful.

 

[Supercharged111]

When it rains it pours. But, then again. . .

 

[Turbo Zach]

That is how my luck always goes it seems. Don't sweat it man! You did inspire me to paint my old Rock Island vise. I fixed the welding table up and was going to just put the vise back on, but I thought about you. So I cleaned and painted it.

 

[joesregalproject]

That is how my luck always goes it seems. Don't sweat it man! You did inspire me to paint my old Rock Island vise. I fixed the welding table up and was going to just put the vise back on, but I thought about you. So I cleaned and painted it.View attachment 131571

Thanks Zach, vise looks good! These old vises are worthy of a little spit and polish. Mine is already wearing some pretty good battle scars, I wasn't joking when I said I was putting it right back to work. But a damn good vise it is.

 

[DRIVEN]

Those jackstands getting tired yet?

 

[joesregalproject]

Those jackstands getting tired yet?

Probably not as tired as I am tired of looking at them. I "want" to work on it but my interest and energy just isn't there. It's weird, having whittled the fleet down to just what I consider the bare essentials, I thought I'd have more time, interest, energy to work on the cars I kept, but just the opposite seems to be true.

I have been working on some other stuff and I'm excited about that Cub Cadet I just picked up, but I haven't felt like working on any cars. But you guys know me, I'll get back to it.

 

[joesregalproject]

Not an update on the car itself but I've got an update for the garage. I picked up a compressor today. I've been working without one at home since the middle of summer or so. It's been an inconvenience to say the least. I finally had enough last week and started looking for one. I browsed craigslist and Facebook marketplace and didn't see anything I liked, then went over to Harbor Freight and just got pissed off. So I looked at Lowe's and Home Depot next and bought the biggest one I could pay for right now.

Wound up with this-

It's a 30 gallon, 175 PSI, 1.7 HP unit from Home Depot. Its oilless, so it'll be noisy but my old one was oilless too. 5.1 cfm at 90 and 6.8 cfm at 40 psi should be enough for most tasks around the garage.

Here is the tag on it-

It says it can do intermittent HVLP spraying but I'm skeptical. It should be able to handle a schutz gun with ease though. Duty cycle is 50% which is pretty typical without going to a commercial unit. It's not my dream compressor but it's still a huge upgrade from my old compressor and obviously a hell of a lot better than no compressor at all. I'm really just glad I won't have to go to the gas station to put air in tires anymore.