Recent content by ancientmariner52

To whom it may concern: If you've never seen the Rainier Beer ads from the 80s, look them up on YouTube. You won't regret it.

I always shower and put on freshly laundered clothes before brewing. I can't prove that that is why I've never had an infected batch, but I'm gonna keep doing it. I'll skip the coat and tie, though.

Nice work! I like the cog belt idea. It should greatly reduce the side loading on the bushings / bearings.

Never read the books, but I surely enjoy the BBC productions. I'll have to check those out.

"Ghosts of Gold Mountain" by Gordon H Chang. As a lifelong rail fan, I am well aware of the work Chinese immigrants performed in building the western portion of the transcontinental railroad. It probably wouldn't have been completed without them. But who were they, where were they from, what...

Good grief! I understood that the British dearly love their animals. What idiot thought this would sell cars? I'm a 3-generation Ford guy, but this puts me right off.

Never had any trouble with hubs, they used several different versions, evidently I always got the good ones. But, oh, those miserable vacuum wipers!

So, we lost a truckload of Grolsch. However, we gained the absence of a truckload of Bud Light. So everything is even. Such is the balance of nature.

A few years ago I sold off all 21 of my Internationals. Just couldn't handle the physical effort restoring and maintaining them took. It's like working on locomotives. I still miss them. I'll stop talking about Internationals now.

I'd forgotten about the ... imprecise ... steering. The Scout used a worm screw steering box that wore really quickly. You could tighten it up, but it just wore some more. The Scout II used a GM Saginaw box, usually power. Much better.

Mine was like the blue one.

Did you ever take the top off and fold down the windshield? My friends dubbed it the 'Flying Blue Bathtub'. Dad was, uh, not pleased.

I learned to drive in my dad's 64 IHC Scout. I loved it, but, looking back, it was a deathtrap on wheels. Tiny drum brakes with a single master cylinder, ridgid steering column aimed right at your heart. All steel interior, no padding except the bench seat. No seat belts of course...

My father and grandfather had both driven wreckers in the past. You bet your a$$ we used our seat belts! Grandparent's '67 Fairlane wagon was the first one I recall so equipped. Nice car.

My procedure for warming/thinning honey or syrup in a microwave: loosen cap. Heat for 5-10 seconds. Tighten cap and shake. Repeat until satisfactory. If the plastic container melts, it's too hot. I figured this out after a similar disaster, minus the wife and cat. Bonus tip: to get a...