Not Just "Parts"

I decided I'd better get this list written down before I lose the data.

There is only one critical assumption that should be understood for tool purchase and this conversion: The tool is not expected to survive past the conversion process.

In other words, if you already own a needed tool, hooray! You don't have to buy it. If you need to buy this tool, these recommendations are to get you into the least expensive product to do the job ahead of you. If your newly bought tools are still running when we're done, hooray! Just consider the cost of the one time purchase of the tools as part of the cost of conversion.

When I say that I need 'parts,' I find that the vagueness can get me into all kinds of trouble. Why do I keep needing more parts? Or, what's the difference between a part and a tool? What do you call the things that you use up? Parts? Consumables? Tools?

So in the act of recording my purchases for this project, I thought that it was wise to apply categories that I defined several years ago to keep the understanding clear of what is which. (Believe it or not, this was principally for my Mum-in-law, to help her help me sort when she offered to help clean out my garage. I don't think she's forgiven me yet. The categories below just scratch the surface of how deep this can run.)

Tools for Conversion 

(A tool is something you buy and don't expect to use it up just by using it)

• 4-1/2" Angle Grinder - Harbor Freight #60625 $15
• Threaded Insert Riveter Kit containing: ten each of 6-32, 8-32, 10-24, and 1/4-20 inserts plus setting tool - Harbor Freight #1210 $17
• 1/4" - 3/4" High Speed Steel Step Drill Bit - Harbor Freight #44460 $6
• Bosch T118A 5-Pack 3-5/8-in T-Shank High-Speed Steel Jigsaw Blade - Lowes #122643 $9
• 3/8" Chuck Variable Speed reversing electric drill - Harbor Freight # 60016 - $19
• Variable Speed Jigsaw - Harbor Freight #69436 $20

Products for Conversion

(Unlike a tool, a product is expected to be used up.)

• 3M/Dynatron 550 12 oz. white auto seam sealer caulk - Autozone/Advance Autoparts - $15
• Rustoleum 249322 12oz spray Self Etching Primer - Home Depot, Lowes, Autozone $5
• Rustoleum 248645 12oz spray White Semi-Gloss Acrylic Enamel - Home Depot, Lowes, Autozone $5
• Grinding disc assortment for metal containing: (3) 36 grit, 60 grit, 120 grit 4-1/2" flap discs, (2) 24 grit 4-1/2" grinding wheels for metal, (5) 40 grit 4-1/2" cut-off wheels for metal - Harbor Freight #47572 $10

Components for Conversion

(A Component is a sub-assembly provided whole by a manufacturer. It is not intended to wear out. You use tools ON it for fitment, rarely for modification.)

• (2) The Hillman Group 3-Count #14 1/4-in- 20 x 3/4-in Truss-Head Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Machine Screws - Lowes - $1.50
• (4) The Hillman Group 3-Count #14 1/4-in- 20 x 1-1/2-in Truss-Head Stainless Steel Standard (SAE) Machine Screws - Lowes - $1.50
• (2) HELLA (Behr) 376713301 Radiator (525x322x34mm) VW OEM PN 321-121-253AL. By Application: 1992 VW Golf 1.8L 8v w/o AC. - Amazon.com - $68
• Subaru-T2B (Bay Window) Bus Engine Carrier Product Code: RMW-EC02 rockymountainwesty.com - $400
• Subaru-091 Transmission Adapter Kit (228mm flywheel) - Product Code: F-001 rockymountainwesty.com - $520

Materials for Conversion:

(Materials are what you hack, machine, cut, fasten, etc. on with your tools.)

• (3) 3/4" x 3/4" x 3ft Steel Square Tube - Lowes - $8
• (3) 2' x 2' Ungalvanized (Zinc Passivated OK) Sheet Steel, 14 gauge. (Bought bulk.)

How many light bulbs?

Popular mythology has it that Thomas Edison tested over 6,000 potential materials to find a suitable filament for his electric light-bulb. He was a man of extraordinary grit and determination and his stubbornness pushed science forward.

Thomas Edison was also a cast-iron Son-of-a-Bitch. His two chief qualities were his stubbornness, and his selfishness. If it couldn't be done by him, he would rather it not be done. If an idea similar to his could be managed less expensively, he would publicly defame and then sue his competitors. He believed that ideas were for making money and that cooperation was for the patsy. For an inventor, he had trouble with his imagination: He could only see toward selling the object for which he held the rights; He couldn't imagine the new, subsequent changes in culture that would allow him to invent new products to meet new needs that his first invention would seed.

Why the missive on Thomas Edison? Partly because it has NOT been a productive week, being too stinking cold to do much in the garage with a heater that only fires 1 time out of 3. The times that I have been out there have had to be short because, even when there is heat I'm on the FLOOR where it is coldest, fitting parts in the engine compartment. I've concluded that no one is going to cut a straight line (not for 24 linear inches) with a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder. In short, I'm thinking of Thomas Edison to remind myself that a few failed designs aren't going to stop me, they're just going to slow me down.

The other reason I'm thinking of Edison is because I know a skunk like him who thinks that his products are the soul of perfection, and that anyone who questions his perfect work shall be publicly disemboweled. His work is not available for inspection without placing cash on the barrel head, and you only get to see what you've bought when he's done. The perfect execution of the confidence trick, Buy a Pig in a Poke.

I've just run headlong into his cross-hairs with The VolksarU Project. So I have that weighing on my mind a little.

It was warmer outside in the snow than inside
the garage. So I worked outside.

The test fit-up yesterday went pretty badly. I cut up the 14ga steel outside according to our basic plan and when I finally got it fitted, I discovered several things:

There is no such thing as an angle grinder that can cut a straight line for 24 linear inches.

An angle-grinder is a blunt instrument of cutting. I'm going to need a lot more finesse that is an inexpensive option for the poor starvlings who don't have plasma cutters at the ready. Like a metal cutting jigsaw blade is the next to test.

Performing bends to long runs of steel is not going to happen. This is why we got away from the brake in the first place. The L shaped bends that will stiffen the unit are probably going to have to be 'bolt thru.' More complexity, more parts. When faced with expensive fabrication from a single piece, we may be breaking into pieces sooner than I thought.

Lastly, I spent 90 minutes on the phone with my 3D draftsman arguing about nomenclature. He would like a 3D model of the compartment. I told him that this wasn't bloody well going to happen unless he wanted to crawl under and scan it himself. (He's in a wheelchair, so this is a false offer.) Short of that, he wants measurements of....everything. Right. When balmy in that garage is 30°F. I need to be HOME during daylight hours and the weather to let up for an afternoon to improve the weather proofing, such that I might actually retain some of the heat generated.

So like Edison, I'm going to keep plugging along, even when progress is woefully slow. I'm just going to remember the other half of the Edison equation: Don't let it turn you into a prick.