JR's Korner of BillyBob's Garage

WHAT'S NEW is a chronological listing of updates to the BillyBob site.

TRUCK LINKS including vendor sites for old parts, custom parts, and tools as well as sites for classic car and truck organizations

STORE Operating in association with Amazon.com, books, recordings and tools can be purchased.

PLANNING for the restoration including project schedule and cost estimates.

TRAVELS WITH BILLYBOB With apologies to Steinbeck, this area of BillyBob's Garage will be used to log the trips BillyBob and I make together.

WORK-IN-PROGRESS was the restoration of parts of BillyBob that I could accomplish without a garage up until the summer of 2010 when I finally got enough warehouse space to work in. Now, it also includes the continuing work on BillyBob in the shop.

PRE-RESTORATION includes log entries of minor repairs and adventures between time of purchase and the time when I started restoration, a piece at a time.

JR'S KORNER JR's Korner is the history of BillyBob before I got him authored by my brother, Wm. C. Kephart.

BILLYBOB MAINTENANCE Ever changing detailing, oil change, lube, etc. maintenance routines specifically developed for BillyBob, including required tools, materials and procedures.

PARTS SHOP The Parts Shop is a repository of How-To articles. Things that I have done over and over enough times to have developed a procedure. This gives me a checklist and saves brain cells.

STEALTH SHOP Urban residence design with large integrated shop and separate living quarters for a relative or renter.

11. Reaming aftermath

Slowly I became aware of someone telling me to repent so that I would be saved. I opened my eyes. It was Sunday morning and a TV evangelist was trying to save me from damnation in the form of a ridge reamer, I am sure. I reached down with my tired, stiff, aching arm to retrieve the Iron City. It was warm, flat and wonderful.

After twenty minutes or so I gained enough strength to hobble down to the truck. I opened the hood; the dreaded ridge reamer was still there! I was hoping, in fact dreaming that I had finished the job but I hadn't. I climbed back in and sat on the engine block as before. I completed the job in about one half hour. No more work would be done on the truck this day. I would return the reamer on Monday now that the job was done. At that moment I resolved to never, never again use a ridge reamer. In the future I would simply remove the entire, intact engine and take it to an automotive machine shop for rebuilding. After all, one seldom gets a cramp from writing a check.

As I entered the store, the numb-nuts had already resumed his laughter. "Tougher job than you thought." laughed the miserable bastard. I tossed the thing on the counter. "Just give me what's left of my deposit." I said ignoring his barb. "Well . . . I'll have to inspect it for damage." It was obvious that he needed to make me bleed some more. "It looks OK. Let's see you had it for an additional two days so you get thirty back." Now that I had what was left of my deposit, I was about to tell him how he lost the opportunity to sell me the much needed engine parts because of his shitty attitude when it dawned on me that he may have the power to black ball me with all the parts jobbers in the area. I simply left.

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Issued Wednesday February 18, 1998

Updated Friday April 20, 2018

copyright © 1998-2018 William Craig Kephart all rights reserved