my tribute to Lil John Buttera

Lil John.
 I Know there has been a lot of  negativity from hot rodders
over billet parts.  But you cant deny that the late Lil john was an innovator, a craftsmen,
and built some awesome street and race cars. If you don't agree just read the article attached.

Started with 3 pieces of 6061.

Turned the I/D and O/D, then cut threads in booth ends.
The top and bottom are going to thread on with o rings to seal.

Threaded the bottom cap on and shaped it etch and sketch style
on the lathe.
Then used a hand grinder with a flap wheel to clean up.
No CNC here all done on manual machines

Put the inlet hole in on my dads mill, and then proceeded to
cut the cooling fins. 

Guess this is why people get so down on Billet parts. There is a lot of
material  left on the floor. My man Charles the scraper will be pleased.

This is were it was at when I ran out of film.

built a set of handrails.

Like them better without paint.

Installed

front rail

Weld on fender flares hand made from .035 Aluminum

Still pickin at the Model A

Rear window wood in place.

bracket template.

Some Photos of my students work.

All the projects were made in a metal fabrication class I teach at 

Washtenaw Community College.

These are just some of the projects they made this semester, sorry

for not having photos of the rest.

Alex's snow shovel.

Snow Machine.

Brad's Welding rig.

Cole's disk golf basket.

Joe's Table

Matt's bumper.

Matt B's RC semi.

My girlfriends letter press went to new home.
Such a cool machine, and super heavy.
 

Had to disassemble it to get it out of her house
and then reassemble at the new home.

Here are a couple of photos from Detroit.
Spent the Evening in the city with my girlfriend and a couple of friends.
You hear a lot of bad stuff about Detroit but there is a lot of good going on if you
know were to look. 

My little sister helps organise the Red Bull House of Art project in Eastern Market.
She invited us to a party for the bid to get the X-Games in Detroit. Had a good time and it's good to see people working hard to make Detroit a positive place again. 

Just finished some parts.

Almost done. Foot rest for a Fiat 8V.

 Been working on the wood for the model A a lot and still have a long way to go, but It is getting there and I am happy with the way it is going. Figured you all might be getting a bit bored with photos of the wood work so I am reaching into my stash of old photos. They were all shot with my 35mm Minolta. And put on this here interweb with the help of my technologically savvy girlfriend. With out her I would not be able to create these posts.

 Jean-Claude and his 1926 Rudge.
Met Jean-Claude his wife Sylvie, and son Alan at Bonneville a few years back   They were all class and made the trip all that much better. Thanks to Homer or driving me around and giving me a room to stay in.

The intensity of the light made for some cool photos.

One Of my favorite hot rods I saw on that trip. Great metal work.
Model A with what I think is a 32 roof sitting on a 32 frame.

Same car out on the salt.

Saw this old streamliner and just had to take a photo of the engine.
Injected straight 8 with a ton of home made parts 

I loved this midget setup for the salt. It was running an Offenhauser
engine. super neat!

This thing is awesome and it ran really good.
Proble had one of the coolest engines in it. Here Is a link to the Builders site
http://www.scandinavianstreetrod.com/Droptank/Droptank.htm
Erik was super friendly and didn't mind me asking him all kinds of questions. 

One of the Rollin bones cars. 

Plunge router.

After sanding, did a fit up.

b-post in place.

Got 99 problems but a chopper ain't one

Helping my friend Chucky build his bike has been a great experience that I wouldn't
trade for anything. I also want to thank Jack for sharing his wealth of knowledge, helping rebuild the engine,
assembling and making this bike a reliable well running machine. Leo for the encouragement, inspiration, and rides to the swap meets, Diane for the righteous photos, and Seth for the help painting the tank.  Thanks ya'll this bike wouldnt be what is with out you.

Frame welded and fresh out the fixture. This picture is from the first build.
The swing arm mounts were removed and the frame was turned into a rigid, using stock style axle plates from
hardtailchoppers.com they have a lot of original style Harley frame parts, they're made in the US and the quality was impressive.

Jack donated a nice Wassell tank. The tunnel was a bit rough,
so Chucky and I re fabricated the bottom of the tank so he could get the maximum amount of fuel.

     

Frame the second time around.
A lot happened in the time between when these photos were shot. We Finished
the bike, and one cold November morning on his way to work Chucky got hit by a guy and broke his back. We tore the bike down checked it in the fixture for straightness and cracks.
The frame checked out, so with the insurance money we rebuilt with some changes that had been swirling around that head of Chucky's.

Mocked up with new pipes, oil bag, real foot pegs, reversed master cylinder, fender, stainless sissy bar, seat, and all kinds of other fancy du-dads. 

Not going to call it finished, because it probably never will be, but this is it back on the road.
Photos Courtesy of the always lovely Diana. Chucky is in the process of changing it all up, when it's done I will do my
best to post some photos.