Many years ago I learned to accurately estimate the duration of a project in
the real world: you simply come up with a measure of how long it should
reasonably take, double that and go to the next unit of time.
Example: Replacing a hose should take three minutes. 3 x 2 = 6 hours.

Rebuilding an engine should take two days. Therefore, it will take four
weeks.

It's unbelievably accurate.

Jim

On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 6:49 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> almost without exception I find all projects have a way of expanding - just
> how it goes on these 20ish year old wonderuful vanagons.
>
> Of course you could always grind down a normal small pair of vice gribs to
> make a very narrow nose one.
> I don't think I could function fixing cars without a basic bench grinder.
>  I must use it 5 times a day at least.
> one really handy tool I don't see for sale too often - a really small vice
> grips, like a 3 inch one, or maybe 4 inch ..........but smaller than the
> usual small ones - fantastic little tool.
>  And while Americans only excell in some areas - like truck building (
> certainly not their cars ! ) and Boeing's aircraft say...........
> one great device, and likely an american invention is the good ole vice
> grips !
>  Worked on Citroen cars with a Swiss guy in the 70's - he said he had never
> seen a pair of vice grips until he came to the US.
> And rust - oh yes.........just got to treat and permanently stop any tiny
> spot of it ..........left alone it can only get worse.
> Treated, which doesn't have to take long even- rust can be stopped totally.
> And easily.
>
> scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
>
>
> J Stewart wrote:
>
>> You could just back up a couple of hours and not have started a "project".
>> That was me yesterday. At 2:00 pm I had just a floppy vent wing window. At
>> 3:30 the whole drivers side door is torn apart. I thought this would be an
>> "easy fix", not so. I now have the vent window completely removed, the
>> rubber gasket off, and it's been sanded and repainted. But, as for
>> tightening the tension itself, what a needless PITA! The head on the tension
>> screw faces outward, and there is absolutely no way to get any type of
>> screwdriver in there to tighten it. IIRC correctly, on my old Bays this WAS
>> a simple job. I did check the archives AFTER I was in way too deep, and did
>> see a good suggestion about using a pair of vice grips (would have to be
>> needle nose) to get it there and tighten the screw. I couldn't get enough
>> grip with just a regular pair of needle nose, and I don't have any needle
>> nose vice grips-yet, I will soon. I just love it when what you think is
>> going to be 15-20 minute jobs turns into
>>  hours. Oh well, the frame was starting to rust slightly, so at least
>> thats some consolation that that is taken care of!        Jeff
>>
>>
>>
>>
>