Pop Quiz

 

Okay, class: Who knows what this is?

Could I Get a Milk Crate?

Spent the day cleaning up: moving the bicycles out of the garage, the canning jars to the basement, and all of the random clutter got new homes. Swept up all the dead bugs and vacuumed up the spider webs and even wiped some of the mildew off the paint.

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When it was all spiffy, squared away, and ship-shape, we got some real work done. The fuel sender, pickup filter, and gasket/lock rings arrived in the mail today, so they were installed into the tank. Awaiting the filler hoses and hanger strap, and then the fuel system starts to get plumbed in.

 

The passenger door has been hanging out of whack and grinding on the door frame for a long time - today, we realized that the top hinge was missing two mounting bolts. As Levi asked, "Who in the world takes the doors off and doesn't put the bolts back in there?!" Well, Levi, I could tell you, but it might lower your opinion of Uncle J.....    There are now two shiny new bolts holding the door level.

 

The seat has been annoying me since I first sat on it. It's a little flat. Unsupportive. Sunken.

It's not too cool to have a big ol' pickup truck and try to drive it with a seat that makes you look like a little old grandma trying to see over the dashboard.... took the seat out to get a better look at what I need to order from the upholstery place - and to make it easier to lay up under the dash and remove "extra" wiring. So far, I've removed about thirty feet of wires that don't need to be there (it's slow work because you have to trace each wire to make sure that it really isn't needed).

 

Levi loves having the seat out!

 

 

 

 

Parking Lot Find

Went to the Champlain Valley Fair, played some games, rode some rides, ate junky food, saw tons of strange people. Yada, yada, yada....

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Forget all that fair stuff - lookit what was in the parking lot!

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A brand-new Mercedes-Benz Unimog!

 

There are very few vehicles that can stop me in my tracks like a Unimog. They are legendary off-road vehicles. Right after early 80s Jeep CJ-7s, I list Unimogs as my dream vehicles.

 

Cool sighting!

 

 



Back on Track

There's been little progress on getting the truck back out of the garage. Mostly, it's been a hesitation to spend money on it. Somehow, it doesn't seem right to spend money on "non-essential" things like a 41-year-old truck. The turning point(s) have been the realization that that old truck is almost in better condition than the Prizm, there's a lot of stuff that needs hauling (that won't fit in the Prizm), and I really want to start parking in the garage again.

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Last winter, I came up with a rough estimate of what it would cost to get the truck to pass inspection (and brake upgrades to make it safer). Four hundred for the fuel system, eight hundred for the brake conversion, and one seventy for the exhaust. Add ten percent for cost over-runs and bits and pieces, and the bill would be $1500.

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$1500 - that is far less than it would cost to buy another vehicle or repair the Prizm to a newer state. Even doubling that figure, it's less than buying another car.

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After letting that sink in for a few weeks, I started ordering parts. Fuel tank is here, filler hoses are backordered (but on the way soon), straps are being ordered tomorrow, and the hard lines and fittings are available locally. There should be a new fuel system installed in a month or two.(It's cross-country season, so everything depends on Levi cooperating while I watch him after school...)

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Here's hoping that it won't be another ten months before the next update....

 



Let There Be Light!

Back 'round May or so, the lights went out on the Prizm. No low beams, no high beams. Parking lights, tail lights, and brake lights all worked fine. Checked a few things, couldn't find the problem, kept driving. It's spring and summer - who needs lights? (Okay, I need lights sometimes - got caught by darkness after a baseball game and chose to drive twelve miles in a pitch-black thunderstorm by tailgating the wife's vehicle. Rolling down the interstate and back roads with no ability to see is quite the adventure...) (never again)

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Prizm's inspection was up at the end of the month, and the truck is not on the road yet, so it was deadline time: fix the car or buy another one. Too cheap to start shopping for a different car; fix the Prizm it is...

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With the five-year-old's help, it took five days to check all the fuses, replace the relays, and finally break down and buy the replacement Daytime Running Light module (known to have burned out three or more years ago) (it's $160 - ouch!). Everything in the headlight circuits is new or tests good. Flip the switch - no headlights.

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It took several intense hours of studying the wiring diagram and sussing out the workings of that expensive computer module to finally wire in a new ground in the proper location. That got all done late Thursday night (along with safety-wiring the lens back onto that bashed parking lamp), and by 8am Friday, we squeaked past inspection. Squeaked by - the front tire was something like 1/64" from failing, the check engine light was nice enough to stay off for ten minutes, and the driver's rear brake light required a nice hefty smack by the inspector to light up. I don't care if it passed by a mile or by a hair - the car is legal for another year!

 

 

 

 

Ice Jam

 

The picture isn't great (had to take it while moving along a busy road), but this is a river near the house - slightly blocked by an ice jam. Big blocks of ice - some refrigerator and car-sized.

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Summer's coming soon, right?

Abusing the Prizm

That poor old car will haul just about anything. You've seen the picture of the extension ladder tied on top. There've been feed bags stacked inside, and once, I carried home an old metal gaylord that was so heavy it required the help of one of the forklifts at work to put the box up on the roof. There was the pair of 4' x 4' steel plates that I snaked behind the front seats to carry home (3/16" thick and very heavy!) Today it was the plywood strips to make the sideboards for our hockey rink. The back seat and trunk are stuffed full of plywood pieces, too.

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Almost hate to see the truck get on the road, because then I won't have to challenge the car to haul anymore. Almost......

New Year

Finally, the holiday season is over. While enjoyable, what with family and food and lights and stuff, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's is so busy that there ended up being no time for the truck.

 

There was a little bit of free time today: I got the bills paid, the chores mostly done, and spent my time constructing LEGO trucks, building pirate ships, and playing board games. Little Man jetted off to hot tub with some friends (nice little playboy life he lives, huh?), and I had time to work in the garage....

 

It still looks like this outside:

It's 17 degrees with a slight breeze blowing - not warm enough to be working on the axles or anything big and metal and cold. I did manage to complete and cross off two of the items on the checklist. They were minor things, but still: it's progress.

 

The propane heater helps a little - mainly in thawing my hands after working with ice-cold tools.



Hurry up, Spring time!