Fortunately for me, my Dad is a pipefitter, so if I run into major problems, he should be able to help me solve them. I know 1 challenge is converting that one section of iron sewer line to PVC. This will allow me to add the shower drain as I think the old (before my time on this earth) defunct shower lines are no longer present.

As for the lead paint; there may be some left on the walls. The one wall cabinet that I took down had the green paint that my Grandpa painted in the mid-60s. Then in the late 80s, the kitchen was painted a pale yellow, which remains to this day. As far as insulation; I'm pretty sure all of that is gone. When I tiled the upstairs bathroom, there was nothing left in those walls (assuming they were insulated at some point). When my Dad and I replaced the back roof; I don't remember running into any insulation. I figured (and still think) that whatever insulation that was originally put in, is long gone.

 

If they are outside walls, you must have a murderous heating bill in the winter ?

Edit
Plaster n lathe
How quickly we forget

 

Cabinets are stuck on an interior wall. Their house is 118 years old; no building codes existed when it was built. A lot of windows were installed to air-out the coal burning furnace it originally had. So yes, winter heating and summer electric bills are on the high side. I might attack the issue from the inside out. When I tiled the exterior wall of the upstairs bathroom, I put fluffy insulation (don't know the actual name) under the hard insulation in between the studs. Then I laid the Dura-Rock on top of that and went on tiling. That wall is noticeably warmer in the winter now. I might do every interior wall in that manner as I renovate the various rooms.

But my focus is the aforementioned projects in the colder months. Now since it's warmer out; I have to focus on the back porch steps, building new railing, and lattice work for the front porch.

 

I put up the back porch steps on Saturday. Started taking measurements for the railing yesterday. There was a brief intermission of grocery shopping; and when I got back, my Mom had taken down the barrier and was using the steps at mine and my Dad's objection. We kinda conceded and sternly told her to favor the left side of the steps that lay up against the house. Since I could no longer take measurements, I decided to change the oil in my car as it was a tad over 5k miles on the old oil. Since I was in the back yard, I decided to pull the tarp off of the Crown Vic and take a look at her. I reconnected the MAP sensor and hung the bracket back up in its place. I checked to see if all of the wires and hoses at the back of the engine were connected and in good condition. Everything looked okay, so next chance I get, I will pull the hood out of the basement and install it. This will free up a little space in the basement. All in all, a fairly productive weekend :-)

 

Good good good in the area.

 

Spent the day getting the hood on the Crown Vic. I ran into a problem with the hinges as they were seized. I sprayed them with WD-40 and let it sit in the sun for a few hours. About 20 minutes ago, I went out and worked the hinges loose. I resoaked them and will come back at it in a couple hours. This is a win-win for me as the hood was taking up valuable space in the basement; which I am trying to clear out. Also, with the hood installed, I no longer will need plywood to hold the tarp up. I will just need to see if I need something to cover the hole I cut in the hood. Speaking of which, that hood is so much easier to handle with a hole in it. Now I will work on getting the car prepped for another 1st start attempt. I will get some pics after I get the hood set in place.

 

 

Got the hood 12 years ago from my favorite junkyard in Jamesburg. Came off of a 1986 Country Squire (station wagon version) that somebody had already picked apart. Pulled the front bumper off of it as the one on the Crown Vic is rusting up. Turns out the station wagons had aluminum bumpers to lighten them up. The hood was supposed to be aluminum too; but this one was steel; or at least it felt like it when I carried it out of the yard (younger and not caring about my 48 year old self). When it came time to pull the engine, I discovered that the Crown Vic hood was aluminum. Ironic indeed because I put the aluminum hood aside and cut the steel hood up for the hood scoop. I will save the original hood for somebody who wants to lighten their Crown Vic up.

As you can see, the intake sticks up a bit from the hood line. I kinda knew that would happen; and that was the reason hotrodders on grandmarq.net and crownvic.net would convert to carbs instead of retaining EFI. I wanted a simple square bubble hood scoop, but nobody makes one. So I settled on a Mopar 6-pack hood scoop. I don't think it looks too tacky, do you?

 

Is that a truck intake?

 

Being an old Mopar guy, I can say it's not tacky, it's blasphemy! LOL