The Wood Heater Has Been Installed

I admit it. I’m a procrastinator. Over the years I’ve tried and tried to kick the habit but I just can’t.

So, I FINALLY installed the wood heater … just in time for spring. Go figure, I guess I’ll warm the garage next year.

Check out the pics below to see the installation. It went well. I had to call in Tony to help out with the roof top stuff because I just can’t handle heights. We did have one cold day post install and I was able to raise the temp in the garage about 20 degrees so I guess it’s a success. I’ll report back next year when the ambient temp is around 35ish and we’ll see if it does the trick.

About the project: I got the wood heater from Bruce of Asheville (see previous post). I installed it on some brick adjacent to the auto lift. I figured that I would be working over there most of the time so that location made the mot sense. Plus, the distance to the ceiling was shorter there so I didn’t have to invest in as much stainless steel pipe. I ordered a industrial ceiling fan from Grainger to help keep the air in the garage moving – heat rises so the fan keeps it flowing. Stan, my father in law, did the wiring and installed the fan.

This fire is super hot. The stove has a really good draft and the blower works well.

This fan moves lots of air!

Justin is testing out new equipment.

New Wood Stove

Obviously, it gets pretty cold out in the garage during these winter months. To help take the chill off, I just bought a used wood stove from a really cool guy that lives out near Asheville. He was kind enough to deliver it to me during one of his trips to the area. Thanks Bruce!

I ordered all the pipe for the chimney and that should hopefully arrive this week. I also ordered an industrial ceiling fan from Grainger that will be used to circulate the warm air. Here are a couple pics of the stove.

PS, I wanted to take the time to plug a cool craigslist application called “Ad Notifier”. I used it to find the wood stove by entering key words into the software. After that it would pole craigslist every 5 minutes for new ads that matched the search criteria. Highly recommended!!

Ad Notifier Website

Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Launches

I know this isn’t really a garage oriented update but I’m pretty excited about our latest video game offering and wanted to talk about it here.  Our latest game, Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond, launched yesterday on Xbox Live Arcade and today on PlayStation Network for the PS3.  It’s an old school, Contra style arcade shooter and it is HARD! If you’re up for a challenge then check it out!!

Our first review came through yesterday on IGN.  If any of you are unfamiliar with the games industry, IGN is basically one of the top two review publications on the internet.  They gave us a 7.9 out of a possible 10.  Even though I think it is much better than a 7.9, I am extremely happy about this.  Our games tend to not get the hype and attention that other blockbuster games get which often translates into poor reviews.  Also, I believe this game ended up being nicely scoped for the time we had to build it.  I am hopeful that we get similar or better treatment in the GameSpot review. 

Anyway, check out the media below for an idea of what BBB is all about.  Warning: the game is rated M so there is some blood in the footage.

Latest and Greatest, Sunday Dec 27th.

A couple of new things to report;

After fussing at the kids over and over and over about closing the doors to the garage, I finally gave up and bought some automatic garage door closers. Try to leave the doors open now kids!

At $60 a piece they were very pricey, and the instructions took a long time to study and analyze before actually installing them, but once I figured out the configuration I was able to install all 3 closers very quickly with only minor injuries.

I got the the Mustang donor engine on the stand finally. I just drained the oil and plan to delete the AC compressor and remove the power steering pump from the belt loop for the eventual first start.

Justin and Garrett were kind enough to model.

And finally, Les hooked me up this Christmas with lots of new sockets.

I almost have a complete set now but will have to do some searching for the stragglers.

Running gear has been obtained!

Last weekend I brought home the drive train of a salvaged 2000 Mustang, the first step in a long list of tasks needed to build a Factory Five Roadster. Everything looks to be in pretty good condition, with only dust and typical aluminum tarnish on it; the car had been sitting unused in a garage for more than 7 years. The car was a stolen recovery and most of the interior was gutted, so unfortunately I haven’t seen it run yet. All records point to it only having 15,000 miles on it. All in all, I got the 4.6L SOHC engine, T5 transmission, exhaust components, fuel tank, rear end and some of the harness. Unfortunately I was unable to get the entire harness so will have to buy one.

The engine is in pretty good shape overall. First steps include cleaning it up, removing the AC compressor, disabling PATS on the ECU and getting it started!

The transmission and rear end above. The axle is destined for a cleaning and new paint job.

Getting Excited

Next Weekend I head off to buy the drive train of a 2000 Mustang GT.  Just the beginning of a long road of building a 65 Shelby Roadster Replica!  After so many oil changes, it’s time I amped it up a little!  Factory Five's Website

Black Friday Goodies!

I went shopping with the family today and stopped by Northern Tool for their Black Friday specials.  Below you can see what we picked up.

 

This engine stand was 10% off.  They had a 750-lb model for under $40 but it looked a little flimsy.  This one supports up to 1500lb and we paid right at $100 for it.  Hopefully I’ll have a 4.6L up there on it soon.

 

I’ve never seen these kinds of socket organizers before.  They were a little pricey at around $10 each but I love them so far.  It’s quite clear how many sockets I need to buy.  I have a bunch of old crusty sockets that I could put onto the racks but naah.

 

NT had this cart on sale for $50.  These things have so many uses.  This is my third for the shop.

 

Great deal here for $35.  These things are useful for keeping batteries in good working order if they are sitting for a long period of time.  We use it for our camper and tractor.  My truck gets some time with them as well.