it has been a while since I stopped and recorded at this place....
I feel as if I should apologize to someone for my deliquency....most likely myself....
since my last visit here I have had the oppportunity to stick one and break another.....
(see the oleragtop's blog for pix and video).....
take a walk with a friend through our country's automotive past....
visit with brothers......both healthy and sick....
spend time with the the longroof fixing the broke one.....
spend more time with the kid re-fixing the broke one.....
what was that you ask??...
well it all started with an innocent trek to the woods just west of us.....
the Ocala National Forest and it's open trails..as reported by the longroof, we had an adventurous day......
which became two weeks....see stuck one and broke another.....
after securing the parts needed to repair the kid's jeep, the longrooffan and I spent an afternoon installing the NOS parts.....
only to find out that I incorrectly installed a MAJOR component.....yep that's right, I made a mistake......not the first by my count and not the first by my bride's either.....
but this is what lead to the kid and I re-fixing the kid's jeep.......
it amazing how little time it takes to fix one's error.......
they should stamp those clutch disc in bigger letters.....'flywheel side' is in awfully small letters....
but it is fixed now and the kid is looking for places to go.......
got some tips on why the 46 Willies doesn't run when desending sharply .....
gotta check the float level to see if it shuts off the fuel supply.......
but that will have to wait for warmer weather....
put smaller tires on the kid's jeep this week.....
looks a lot better as we get closer to the original size tire.....
and it is amazing how much tighter and easier it turns now......
tomorrow brings another adventure and the kid is ready to trek back into the forest.....
I would say it is about time for us to again.....
CELEBRATE LIFE...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
John's test results
guess i might start looking for a life...
thankfully there were no questions about Jeeps..
remember to..........
CELEBRATE LIFE....
thankfully there were no questions about Jeeps..
remember to..........
CELEBRATE LIFE....
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Why We Walk with Friends When We Walk
Had another fantastic walk this Saturday.....great time had with a good friend.....pleasant drive through the country side...a slight diversion to reach our destination, but well worth the extra time spent....after finishing a couple of honey-do's this am, I sent a phone call to the ole longrooffan to see if he remembered me telling him to get up early this am to go junkyarding..... seems he remembered and even gave me some grief for not contacting him before my 10:00 am call.....he had been up since 7:00 waiting on me to call.....he finally showed up and we headed west in the old station bus to adventures unknown......let me tell you that there are all kinds of things to be seen when traveling the American highway system at 50 mph.....it is amazing how much better the countryside looks at 50 vs 80 mph....about 40 minutes after leaving we headed north on a side road in search of an old cj I had heard of......."about 4 miles north off 92 sitting in the woods"......turns out to be a 3B that was of no use to me or those I know so we resumed our trip to the auto treasure chest I visited last weekend........couple of stops on the way to secure saw blades for the sawsall and liquid refresments and we arrived 10 minutes later......paid our entry fee....well JD did, I just bumrushed the gate....and we were off....
the first thing I did was look for the yardmonkey that was so helpful last trip, this guy works for a small wage and tips and last weekend he moved two cars with his big frontend loader and carried the old Willys wagon up to his shop and turned on his compressor so I could use his air tools to get the wheels, etc....but this man got a tip today before he did anything....remember to tip the help.....amazing how they respond.....anyway, after tipping this guy he disappeared....just what I was hoping he would do as I was on a mission to scrap a couple of vehicles....didn't want him around to stop me.....so then I beelined it to that old flat fender with the palm tree growing under it.....broke out the sawsall and proceeded to cut the steering wheel right off.....sharp blades and strong batteries are a wonderful thing when you are out in the field....starting looking for other things to cut up.....after securing the steering wheel I look around for the longrooffan.......
can't find him anywhere...where in the hell did he go..??....thought about it for a second and then just looked in the oldoldold car section....sure enough, there I could see his head bobbing around the hood lines of those old Buicks, Fords, Chevrolets, and Oldsmobiles....seems he was busy getting a blog and a couple of new wall arts......so I headed south to cut him off at the pass so to say and along the way I snatched an old Mercedes Benz hub cap......it seemed to fit him...
I met him at the old Willys wagon where he had established his base camp....by looking at his cache he had started collecting items from his list before his trip down memory lane.....as he is working away at his list I ask how I can help and he tells me to grab the speedometer out of the old Willys......I should have known better and told him to get it himself.....but no, I spend a good 20 minutes attempting to remove all the animal nests and small nuts holding the dash in before he looks over my shoulder and says..."dude, all I want is the speedo head, not the whole freakin dash"......at this I just reached up and pulled it right away from the dash......20 minutes, a bloody forearm and all he wanted was the speedo head......three seconds to remove it.....but I then spent the time to reinstall all the nuts I removed.....gotta leave it clean for the next guy.....a coke and a smoke and we were off again.....this time in search of an early 60's era F-1.....walked a good mile around the yard before realizing that it was no longer available....missed an old memory there for sure.....got a new one to replace it......headed back to base and got the spare wheel from the Willys and headed up to the shop... got the counterman's permission to use his machine and removed the old tire from the rim.....found Jon-Jon again and proceeded to check out.....now check out is on the honor system where you tell them what you got and they figure you took about twice as much and so they charge you according to what they figure you stole.....glad I forgot about the speedo head and the dash lights otherwise I would have needed a loan to get away.....stopped on the way back to the house for a Diet Coke and a powerball ticket, so JD, if you win I'm in for half....use Lee logic to understand why......had a wonderful slow relaxing ride home until we hit the shortcut cutoff.....as we passed it by I asked why we didn't take it and the oleragtop answers, "dude, that's the way we came.".....took a deep breath and understood his logic......different conversation material the rest of the way home......got to spend a couple of hours today with a good friend doing something that we enjoy......took another walk through automobile memory lane.... and enjoyed the drive there and back.....thanks longrooffan......
and this is why we......
CELEBRATE LIFE................
the first thing I did was look for the yardmonkey that was so helpful last trip, this guy works for a small wage and tips and last weekend he moved two cars with his big frontend loader and carried the old Willys wagon up to his shop and turned on his compressor so I could use his air tools to get the wheels, etc....but this man got a tip today before he did anything....remember to tip the help.....amazing how they respond.....anyway, after tipping this guy he disappeared....just what I was hoping he would do as I was on a mission to scrap a couple of vehicles....didn't want him around to stop me.....so then I beelined it to that old flat fender with the palm tree growing under it.....broke out the sawsall and proceeded to cut the steering wheel right off.....sharp blades and strong batteries are a wonderful thing when you are out in the field....starting looking for other things to cut up.....after securing the steering wheel I look around for the longrooffan.......
can't find him anywhere...where in the hell did he go..??....thought about it for a second and then just looked in the oldoldold car section....sure enough, there I could see his head bobbing around the hood lines of those old Buicks, Fords, Chevrolets, and Oldsmobiles....seems he was busy getting a blog and a couple of new wall arts......so I headed south to cut him off at the pass so to say and along the way I snatched an old Mercedes Benz hub cap......it seemed to fit him...
I met him at the old Willys wagon where he had established his base camp....by looking at his cache he had started collecting items from his list before his trip down memory lane.....as he is working away at his list I ask how I can help and he tells me to grab the speedometer out of the old Willys......I should have known better and told him to get it himself.....but no, I spend a good 20 minutes attempting to remove all the animal nests and small nuts holding the dash in before he looks over my shoulder and says..."dude, all I want is the speedo head, not the whole freakin dash"......at this I just reached up and pulled it right away from the dash......20 minutes, a bloody forearm and all he wanted was the speedo head......three seconds to remove it.....but I then spent the time to reinstall all the nuts I removed.....gotta leave it clean for the next guy.....a coke and a smoke and we were off again.....this time in search of an early 60's era F-1.....walked a good mile around the yard before realizing that it was no longer available....missed an old memory there for sure.....got a new one to replace it......headed back to base and got the spare wheel from the Willys and headed up to the shop... got the counterman's permission to use his machine and removed the old tire from the rim.....found Jon-Jon again and proceeded to check out.....now check out is on the honor system where you tell them what you got and they figure you took about twice as much and so they charge you according to what they figure you stole.....glad I forgot about the speedo head and the dash lights otherwise I would have needed a loan to get away.....stopped on the way back to the house for a Diet Coke and a powerball ticket, so JD, if you win I'm in for half....use Lee logic to understand why......had a wonderful slow relaxing ride home until we hit the shortcut cutoff.....as we passed it by I asked why we didn't take it and the oleragtop answers, "dude, that's the way we came.".....took a deep breath and understood his logic......different conversation material the rest of the way home......got to spend a couple of hours today with a good friend doing something that we enjoy......took another walk through automobile memory lane.... and enjoyed the drive there and back.....thanks longrooffan......
and this is why we......
CELEBRATE LIFE................
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Why we love Saturay afternoon walks...
spent this past saturday afternoon on a very pleasant walk....as reported by the oleragtop....this afternoon walk was very pleasing in so much as I took a walk thru a salvage yard located about 20 miles west of here....saw a lot of cool stuff...stuff that made me think about what and where these old cars had been......what adventures had the 48 buick been on when it was new.....the mid-sixties oldsmobiles that were lined up side by side in a photo finish....where had the miles taken these bastions of American Automotive might.....the old pickups, Ford by manufacture from the 50's and 60's.....what loads had these carried.....how many times were these beds left unmade......the late 50's T-Bird ragtop...how many kisses had been stolen in it's rotted interior....the old flat fender that drew me on this afternoon walk....the trails that GPW Ford had covered...wonderment at why someone would weld flairs onto the windshield frame...was this to help keep cold air out..????...it's in a Florida salvage yard... why the top..???...what could be done to improve the original design....the cool old boat that was so out of place that a detour to view it's remains were necessary... the 50's Willys Wagon seen on the walk out....wait...a 50 Willy's wagon...???... unmolested till my visit....why do we always look in the trunk..??..what are we looking for...why are these automotive grave yards so appealling...??...are we looking for something from our past..???...a prelude to our future perhaps....why did I look in every open truck I passed...this one keeps coming back to me....did I expect to see something that was missed during it's reception....well, I attacked that Willys like a kid attacks an ice cream cone on a mid-summer's day...
.....came home from that walk with more that I went for and less than I wanted....
but that's how most afternoon walks end.....
CELEBRATE LIFE......
it's the only one we get....
.....came home from that walk with more that I went for and less than I wanted....
but that's how most afternoon walks end.....
CELEBRATE LIFE......
it's the only one we get....
Friday, January 2, 2009
Redneck games
well if you are a visiter of bythenumbers then you know how the kid and I spent New Year's Day......called Jon-Jon and woke him up...told him to meet us at Scott's house as we had planned a day spent jeeping with a couple of other 4-wheelers.....as seen on the bythenumbers blog, a great time was had by all participants....even the longrooffan got into the trail riding, or making in his case, spirit.......even got him into Scouting around for a longroof trade.....not so much in my opinion.....spent about three hours driving down trails and thru a couple of mud holes....even climbed a creek side in a the 2A and had a blast......the little girl out performed the big dog high stepping 4x4s of the boys......impressed them all without a doubt....the creek climb would have impressed the bus as he could have followed along......the beauty of the old jeep is that totally stock she lead the way for the boys with the 44 lockers and flex suspensions......you know those vehicles that the axles flex 44 inches up and down.....the old 2A solid as a rock just took a tire off the ground and used the other wheels for traction......sure was fun and future plans are in place for other dates with the boys fourwheeling......the kid was impressive as he didn't get stuck once....now granted he refrained from entering some of the really bad spots....but he drove right through the deepest holes following the trail.....check the photo of the passenger side mud line on his cj.....the one off side to all the fun we had is the maintanence that now has to be done.....pull apart and repack the wheel bearings is of the highest priority......looks like my Sunday is booked.
Saturday the longrooffan and the kid are heading out to the racetrack to take in the Rolex practice session.....guess it is that time of year again.....I got word of an old jeep sitting in a field out west of town about 20 miles or so, so hopefully I will get a chance to check it out.......let you know later......
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
CELEBRATE LIFE...........
Saturday the longrooffan and the kid are heading out to the racetrack to take in the Rolex practice session.....guess it is that time of year again.....I got word of an old jeep sitting in a field out west of town about 20 miles or so, so hopefully I will get a chance to check it out.......let you know later......
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
CELEBRATE LIFE...........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
