UlrichWolf

There's enough room there for me to cut donuts in the Grand Marquis. Tim

I personally knew the guy that built the engine, and he was not inexperienced. This is the first I knew of this, and I'd ask him what the deal is, however, I cannot. He has since passed on from congestive heart failure. Tim

You know, if you are interested, there is a place for very good online training. https://www.meted.ucar.edu/ Very good place, all the material is from some VERY bright folks. I do modules all the time, and am continually racking up certificates, and it is all free. Two tips: 1. Take a lot of notes. It may be free, but it sure as hell isn't easy. 2. Start with Mesoscale Meteorology. I didn't. I started out to get my Skywarn Certification, which I did in one night, then moved onto Summer Severe Weather, and in retrospect, that was a mistake. They don't exactly say "Start Here", so I arbitrarily picked a starting point, and was a little overwhelmed at first. If you don't mind driving to Norman, OK, I can recommend a place where I went for actual classroom time, and achieved a technical certification in Basic Severe Weather Forecasting. Between my classroom classes, and online courses, here's everything I have completed so far: Basic Severe Weather Forecasting Mesoanalysis and Satellite Workshop Radar Workshop Role of the SkyWarn Spotter SkyWarn Spotter Convective Basics Principles of Convection I - Buoyancy and CAPE Principles of Convection II - Using Hodographs Principles of Convection III - Shear and Convective Storms Shear and Convection II - Mesoscale Convective Systems It's a nice start, I'm hoping to have a lot more under the belt by the time next chase season rolls around. Tim

I can't hold out on you guys......here's a vid of me punching a hail core on 04.14.2012, near Sawyer, KS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E-5JTGm3kY&feature=player_embedded Tim

We just stopped to snap the pic. Truth be told, I have found in my first season, even though Storm Chasers is no longer filming, ALL of them are still out there doing their thing. That day in LaCrosse, we ran across the DOW trucks three different times. The third time, we were in a parking lot for a business with a funnel forming right over our heads, and they drove by and honked and waved. Reed Timmer's pretty down to earth too...that day in Nebraska, he took time out to share strategies with us. Most folks in the storm chasing game are pretty cool, down to earth people. The "fellow chaser" in my truck forecasting with me has run across the TIV guys a couple of times this season. None of them are stuck up, or hard to talk to. Tim

I thought I would share some of the better things we saw over the course of the season. My first funnel cloud, 04.09.2012, Rhea, OK My first radar setup in the truck V-notch cloud formation, Clearwater, KS 04.13.2012 RFD notch, and funnel, Sawyer, KS, 04.14.2012 Running across Reed Timmer and the Dominator, Crieghton, NE, 05.05.2012 Forecasting with a fellow chaser, Hebron, NE, 05.23.2012 Getting ready to be go time, LaCrosse, KS, 05.28.2012 Mean gust front near Viola, KS, 05.30.2012 There's a whole lot more, and some good stories too, but those are the visual highlights! Tim

Hot and dry. Boring for storm chasing, LOL. I hope you guys like that car....while it does have some issues, it's a pretty honest car through and through. Tim

Iiiiiiinteresting. I sell my car, and become a storm chaser, and what shows up here? My Grand Cherokee! LOL Tim

Nothing but bait. LOL Tim

Nope, no cows, no combines, or flying Jeeps. However, the season is just about to get going good once we get the polar jet to dip back down south. Give us a little upper support, and a nice dryline, and some good instability, and we'll be back in business. It's also been floated that I need a replica Dorothy for the back of my Dodge Ram. Tim

Got a little lull in the storm chasing with a calm weather pattern, just wanted to let you guys know that I am still around.... And...if you would like to scope out what all I have been up to, feel free to peruse my storm chasing blog: http://midamericastormchasing.wordpress.com/ Tim

The speed sensor is all you really need. The fuel pump sender is different, but if you are good with electronics, you can use a resistor, and reverse the original to make it work. As for the wiring, get a '86 manual, and compare to your '88. That's how Max and I did it, and made an adaptor harness that plugs right into the car's wiring, no hacking necessary. Tim

Guys, I need a few things! 1. Oil pickup tube attaching nuts. These seems to have been misplaced, however, it has been two years now! 2. '87 Ignitor box. I know Cliff's is shot. Let me know! Thanks, Tim

I'm a little late in doing this, but I just wanted to report that Josh is a very good guy to deal with, and what he says, he will make happen. Excellent buyer. Tim

No, that's Cliff's place. I'll be calling you tomorrow, BTW. Seems I forgot a couple of things, LOL Tim

All in good time, old son. The season is JUST kicking off. Tim

For starters..... You guys remember Cliff Russell? The kindly old gentleman who's car I promised to put back on the road, and all that? Well, after setback, after setback, after setback....... That's right....I built the short-block yesterday, and finished up some other goodies today! Cliff's car will run again soon! In other news, I am loving my storm chasing thing. Last weekend, I went to Norman OK, and partook in a Severe Weather Forecasting class. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I managed to get this bad boy....it's a little tough to make out the fine print, but that's not a certificate of completion. I achieved a technical certification. This place is pretty exacting about the training, so if you get one of these, it means you did doggone well. If you show up, and make an effort to learn, you get a certificate of completion. And, I went on my first chase Thursday night. Wasn't TOO exciting, but spotted some rotation, and managed to get a few extra hail dents in my truck. My first little merit badges! Tim

Sounds like air. Keep easing it through the gear ranges, and checking it. Tim

Oh, I still have one tucked away, a black '88, should I get the urge to have another. Interesting tidbit: My black '88 was built three days after the Palermo. Tim

It should be a 45RFE trans in that, just like my Ram. It has two transmission filters, on in the pan like normal, and a spin-on, like an engine oil filter. Slow engagement is typically caused by a spin-on that needs replacing. Change your fluid and filter, see how that does. The 45RFE is a pretty good transmission, so I wouldn't worry about it being burned up....they don't pop like the 44 and 46RE's did. Tim

Josh, she's all yours now. Lots of great memories with that car, and lots of history. That car was actually Intercooled Flatty's first Starion, so treat her good. It was tough watching it drive away after all these years. That black MPI car? Jolyrgr bought that one...I drove it a couple of times, but it wasn't me who bought it, LOL Tim

For those of you interested in Friday's severe weather, feel free to peruse the Storm Prediction Center's storm reports. Here's Friday's report: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/120302_rpts.html Quite a lot of action there! Tim

I'll send you a PM about the car. Thanks, I will keep safe....you should see some of the items I am outfitting my truck with. Tim

Have you ever reached a point in your life, and taken a look around, and noticed not what you don't have, but rather what has changed, and what you could now do that you couldn't before? It could be something as simple, as say a new truck. In my case, it is exactly that. Allow me to elaborate. For years, I have been fascinated by various weather phenomena, and living in south Texas, I saw no real shortage of good, powerful stuff, commonly referred to as tropical cyclones, LOL. When I moved to Kansas, one of the larger draws for me was that I was moving into Tornado Alley. But I couldn't DO anything with it, because all the vehicles I owned were too nice to go storm-chasing in. This year, as I am growing tiresome of constantly playing with cars, along comes a dirt-cheap, and street-beat Dodge Ram. As spring approached, it occurred to me, that things are changing in my life, and I have now, a vehicle I could pursue storm chasing with. So, a couple of weeks ago, I made the choice to go for it this season. I have figured out everything the truck should be equipped with to safely do this, and already passed my Skywarn spotter certification, which I will receive on the 13th. In addition, I have found an incredible online learning center that caters to the geosciences community that is completely free of charge. That is why, if you have been on my Facebook, you have seen all the Convective Weather stuff going on. I figured if I am going to do it, I already have some layman's knowledge, I might as well take as many of these courses as I can, and get honestly good at this. There's no real good reason to half-tail a hobby, if you ask me. If you want to see what I am taking, or perhaps take some yourself, the site is: http://www.meted.ucar.edu It's a very informative place to learn all of this stuff, but I will warn you...it's not very easy to do. So, with the Starion up for sale, and technically no longer a hobby, this is where it's going next! Tim

Wow! Glad to hear everyone's doing OK! I was watching the convective outlooks and models and so forth, and it looked like it would be a mess out that way. Just the day before, we had some heavies roll through Hutchinson and Harveyville got one too. Tornados in late Feb and early March? I'm thinking this may be a bumpy season. Tim