Oil Field, Work, Ford F150 Pickup, Hydraulic Fracturing, Flow Back

This is my second home, my mobile office.  It is a 2011 Ford F150 that Power Fuels bought for me.

This is Haliburton rigged up for a frac.  This was a Whiting well location.  You really need to see it in person to appreciate the magnitude of this operation.

This is a flowback temporary flare set up by Colter Energy.  Flowback is when they get the water, sand and oil that is in the hole back up to the surface after the Hydraulic Fracturing procedure is finished.

This is the same flare as in the above photo. 

This is a permanent flare pit at a Whiting well north of Belfield, ND.  It was the record holder for oil production in the state for awhile.

It was about 20 below zero this day, the sun made this "halo" in the air.  It's not just a camera effect.

Being on the road you see some crazy natural things.

Here is a competitors fresh water truck hauling "dirty" flowback fluid.  We have standards, a lot of other companies don't.

Coming home one night recently.

Sandblasting, Frame Preparation, Shortening the Frame

Here is the 27' Chevy frame back from the sandblaster.  I think it cost me about $200 to get it blasted.

Here I have the sections of the frame marked out to remove.  I later found that I should have taken about 7 more inches out so that the proportions of the car would look correct.  You live and learn.



I used a reciprocating saw and a grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut the sections out of the frame.  I step cut it so that I would have more surface to weld and the lower cut will support the upper cut.

I made sure to weld cross braces from side to side to make sure the width of the frame stayed the same.

Here the frame is welded back together.  What I learned later on is I should have welded gusset plates on the inside of the frame rails over the cut sections.  My thinking at the time was that when I boxed the frame that would give it enough support.  It ended up being fine but now I always gusset stress areas. 



1927-1931 Chevrolet 5 Window Coupe Build Project

So what seems like a decade ago while we were living in Oregon, I bought a 1931 Chevy 5 window coupe on ebay from a guy in Minot, ND and while we were there my in-laws and I scrounged up this 1927 Chevy Truck, I mainly wanted the frame which I found later to be more work than it was worth but I parted it out and made all my investment back.

Total basket case

Here are both of the cars loaded up and parked at the border of Montana and Idaho

Prior to starting the build on this car I read books and educated myself on how to approach it for years.  No matter how much you prepare, it never goes as planned.

So I started stripping the 27' truck on the trailer and selling off the parts to guys that restore.

I came to find out from some guys I met in a car club the the truck was a 27' but at some point someone had replaced the engine with a 28' because they were a sealed oil system and more power.

I drug it into the back yard and that is where I pulled the engine out.  I sold the engine to the guys in the car club the "Westside Cruisers".  I ground and pounded rivets out of the frame for a couple days.

Here the frame is stripped down and ready to get sandblasted.  With the exception of the steering column still installed.

Introduction

So for my first post I will give you the low down on why I started this blog and plans for it.  Here it goes:

Tara told me to... and it seemed like a good idea.  For those of you that don't know me, my name is Val, I live in a small town in North Dakota.  I am married to a wonderful woman, Tara.  We have a 1 year old boy Vaughn.  I refer to my two dogs as "the girls" but they do have names as well, Lola and Kyra.

"Hola"

\

Kyra "The Schweeze"

Lola "Earl or Burp-a-Durp"

I plan to use this blog to record my all consuming infatuation of all things old, fast and loud, hot rods.  I will also mix in my life in the booming oil industry in western North Dakota.  I am new to the patch and I find it very interesting and exciting.  Working for Power Fuels is a great fit for me as I don't have to risk my life everyday to make a buck and I am higher on the food chain so I finally get the respect I feel I deserve.

The first car I built, a 1931 Chevrolet

 I am very visual so I will probably post a lot of pictures and plus it keeps people interested.

The future family car, 1957 Ford Custom

I am going to go back in time a bit to start with so I can post past projects.  I will try to update every couple of days to keep the blog current.  If a post looks like its not finished, it's because it probably isn't, so check back to see the outcome if it is something you are interested in.