What day is it?!

Day of the week? That I rarely know off the top of my head lately! It's Day 17 of the engine swap and I feel a bit spun, but it's a milestone day! We finished fabrication of all the driveline mounts today and the engine and transmission are bolted into the frame solid as a rock. I've been living and working in Paul's shop for over two weeks now and the progress we have made is phenomenal. Taking on this project was another big leap. I knew I had the mechanical skills to do this, but having never done it, I was nervous. But, it had to be faced and with each new day the solutions are found as we simply dig in. We still have many challenges ahead of us as we fabricate custom linkage. But, we'll figure it out as we go.

Just like life, if you wait until you think you are completely prepared to do something, you may never do it. Don't be afraid to fail. Failure is part of life and will happen whether you are doing what you want to or not. Problems are always opportunities to grow and learn, so don't let their potential keep you from following your instincts.

Once you know what you want, go for it with all you've got.

Engine swap day 9...

Damn. I meant to be doing all sorts of social media updating as I worked through this process. But, it's just been too much work and focus to stop what I'm doing at each step to post to the web. It's a major project with so many more details than I expected. One thing leads to another and you decide to upgrade this and that since you have everything torn out anyway! All the work of engine removal and chassis prep for the new V8 is done. The new engine and all it's parts arrived today which means phase two begins tomorrow! Cleaning all the threads in the new engine and then bolting up all the external parts. Should be fun! Cold, but fun! I will definitely post up pics of the assembled engine before she goes in.

For now, I'm going to make a nice hot dinner and then spend my evening reading up and watching videos regarding the different parts I'll be assembling tomorrow. I hope you are all well and happy. I am anxious to get this job done and be back to work gifting portraits!

Greasy and cold, inspired and happy.

It's Day 4 of Hella's heart transplant and all is going fabulously! As you can see in the pic, her original flathead six and transmission are out and I've been busy cleaning and rewiring the engine bay for the incoming V8. Pulling the engine was the easy part. Mounting the new V8 engine and transmission plus fabricating all their linkage, will be the real challenge. But, thanks to my awesome mentor Paul, I have every confidence we'll get it done, and done well. He's the person truly making this possible for me. Without his experience, shop, and tools, I'd still be sparingly limping Hella around Seattle with no solution in sight. So, while I am literally working in a refrigerator, (a freezer today actually!), I could not be more grateful and excited! The new engine, transmission and all the parts needed to finish up should be here this week.

Taking on this conversion has been a major exercise in faith. There isn't a kit out there for adapting a V8 to a Canadian 1954 Dodge M152. We are diving in with our combined skills to make it happen. I would be considerably more anxious about the scale of this project had it happened a year ago. But, after all I have experienced in leap taking since quitting my state job to go full time with Jackdaw, I know all is happening as it should. I am way more excited and intrigued with all I'm doing and learning than I am concerned with how it will all work out. I simply know it will. From large to small, problems always present opportunities to grow and this time is no exception. I encourage you to take a few leaps this year. Do something you know you want to do, but don't feel you're ready yet. In my experience, you're never more ready than you are right now. Take the leap with an open heart and willingness to grow and the results will amaze you.