Motivational

Seems like a good time for an Update. Christmas was good to me, and to most everyone I know. I got the 24” 1920x1200 monitor I had been wanting, and a whole mess of other goodies as well. New years gave me a good opportunity to try out the new machine in its fullest completion under a LAN party situation, and I was VERY well pleased in how it went. Now, the new semester has started and things are rolling right along. Classes seem pretty good so far and I think it’ll pan out to be a very enjoyable schedule. I have been unusually motivated to DO stuff lately, and have a number of projects I am working on to keep me as busy as possible. I will detail; a few of them here because I plan to document them well and post a complete report here on the ole blog in the future.
First, I have wanted to work on my truck lately. I have a short list of mechanical issues I’d like to clear up to start with, but I am more excited about starting on the interior restoration. I say restoration, but it’s more of modification and modernization. I have plans to rework my dash board entirely, filling in and smoothing all the cracks in it for starters, then modifying and improving the dash vents to include defrosting fore the side windows and a better spread on the windshield. I’d like to change the heater ducting to more adequately fill the footwells, and clear up some space under the dash for other components. I’d like to move the stereo into the dash, so it’s more accessible to the passengers and more visible (instead of pointing at your lap). I intend to move into the dash from there and clear up some of the wiring, as well as completely customize the gauge panel. I have my eye on a complete universal Digital Gauge panel from Nordskog. It runs about $400, but contains everything I will need for standard systems monitoring. I will replace the original gauge panel with one that I will most likely design and build myself. They have aftermarket ones to fit my truck, but I don’t really like the looks of any of them. From there, I’d like to insulate the roof, doors, vents and particularly the floorboard from noise and for thermal isolation. I will be resurfacing the door panels with a vinyl fabric for a leathery look. Eventually I’d like to replace the seat, though I haven’t come across a solution I like yet, so that’ll have to wait.
The second project is an in depth, statistical study of the thermal benefits associated with building a submersed computer. I have already build a tank to hold the components, and I will show some pictures of that when I have completed the project, but I will essentially be building a computer inside of a small “fish tank” filled with mineral oil as a cooling medium (as opposed to air or water). There are a number of benefits to this setup and a few substantial drawbacks, all of which I plan to cover fully. I am primarily concerned with a scientific and thorough analysis of the thermal advantages of such an undertaking, including the straight across differences in cooling performances, advantages of aerating the oil (for “convectional” heat removal) various types and patterns of oil circulation, feasibility of “easy” super cooling with Dry Ice or Nitrogen, etc. I plan to document things fairly thoroughly, and if anyone is interested in helping I am interested in having some assistance.
Third, I am looking to finish my 220 Swift and post an article on load workup and precision results (with all kinds of shiny pictures). All I need for this is the headspace gauges and I’m in business. An addition to this project is also the switch barrel for the 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser (we have just been calling it the Sweed). More to come on this later.
Lastly, as soon as I can get to my Rock Crawler (currently under/behind about 2.5 feet of snow) I would like to finish some of the minor engine wiring tasks in preparation for starting the engine this spring. I’ll need to acquire some headers relatively soon, and complete some minor cooling system gaps, but once these are done I’ll be ready to fire the engine up. It is my goal to have this done BEFORE school is out so that I can spend a significant amount of free time this summer taking care of the steering system, braking system, and finalize the front suspension. If I can get those done by the end of summer, All I’ll need is drivelines and to install the Hydraulic clutch and this thing will be able to drive under its own power. That’s when the fun starts (as that’s when I can start testing and tuning the suspension, tweaking the designs, and generally enjoying the work I’ve done over the last few years).
So that’s what I’ve been up to, and what I hope to be doing for the next while. Any questions?