"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for." - Will Rogers

GM pays $35 million, or $13 per Cobalt. Or one day's revenue for the company.
The cost of doing business.

We hit 107 today. The heat will last through the weekend before dropping back into the mid-90's where we should be the middle of May.

And because I worked either in the driveway or the garage for most of the afternoon I'm whooped. But....

The chassis is DONE.

sort of.

I haven't installed the brake system or the shocks but that will come later. And I think I may have a problem. After getting all four leaf springs de-arced by 2" the front of the frame sits 8" below the back. It was pretty much level when I started, and I still have to add the weight of the engine and cab to the front while the back only gets the bed. I'm afraid I'll have to take the front springs off and back to the spring shop for work. I'll go see him Monday to get his assessment. He's the professional and does this for a living.

I did a better job of getting all the details right, vis a' vis the VW. I replaced all the grease fittings (about 16 of them!), paid close attention to torque specs, and cleaned & painted even the nooks and crannies that nobody else will ever see, and the like.
The front axle has all new bearings, wheel cylinders, brake shoes and springs.

The differential and rear axle are out of an early 70's Chevy truck. That gives me better gearing (3.42 if you're interested) and brake parts are readily available. Drums for the old axle aren't made anymore.

Tomorrow Pam will help me push it over to Gerry's. He lives around the corner and I take care of his house during the summer when he's in Minnesota. He told me before leaving that I could keep the VW in his garage so I'm going to put the chassis there, which will give me more room in my garage for working on the truck's body. I'm going to push hard to get the entire thing sprayed with the epoxy sealer that will prevent rust from forming on the bare metal. I've got the bed ready to spray and the cab about half ready. But I still have to sand the fenders, doors, and some misc. parts. I'm hoping to spray by the end of next week. Then I can do body work as time and weather allow. Even the garage is too hot when overnight lows dip into the 90's and daytime highs get into the teens.

Talked on the phone this afternoon for an hour with my nephew who now pastors a church in Spokane, WA. Because he grew up in Spokane I didn't know him well at all; saw him every year or so for a couple of days when we lived in CA and would stop in Spokane on vacation. But once we moved to Grand Rapids in 1989 our paths rarely crossed. Then, through a set of Circumstances I asked Paul & Debra to leave their jobs in retail and move to Michigan so he could serve as my assistant at Celebration Bible Church. We worked together with ease and efficiency for about six years before we moved to Phoenix and he became the Sr. Pastor there. Now he's the Sr. in Spokane, serving the church in which he was raised. All of that to say our catching-up conversation this afternoon was a treat. I don't think of him as my nephew, but as a good friend and colleague. I wish we lived closer and could have coffee regularly.