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!