Weekend report Dec. 5-6

[gmbarker78]

I guess I'll start this thing off this time.

I spent all day yesterday with my lovelly SO, and get this, we worked on the Terra. Lizzy POR-15'd the inside of the tub. I watched


I did manage to swap out the front shackles for the original size ones. I also got all the small bugs (seatbelts, horn, etc..) worked out and am ready for inspection. Should be DD ready by Tues. I put about 15 back road miles on it today.

What's up SEBA?

[mormetl]

I had an exciting weekend working on my Ford. Got home late Friday evening from Darlington. I had ordered a set of Poly bushings for the front springs and shackles last weekend, and Ginger picked them up the middle of the week for me (she's great!). Woke up Saturday morning to rain - oh joy - and pulled the truck just enough under my cover and got to work. I will say this, anybody who wants to biatch about changing their bushings in their Scout, you've got it made, believe me. And Gary, if you ever decide or have to do Da Hulk, let me know and I'll say a little prayer for you. The shackles were not so bad, however the springs were . The factory rubber bushings were toast and causing a lot of front end play and popping in my steering. Just a quick shot of some mangled sleeves and rubber:

My trusty Harbor Freight ball joint press came through again. That's about the only good thing from this, oh, and now my truck rides a lot smoother with no clunking. I used Energy Suspension bushings and will hopefully never have to do this again:

And my ball joint press at work - each bushing was a 3 step process for removal - 1.press out inner sleeve 2. sawzall rubber bushing (love the smell of burnt rubber) 3. sawzall outer sleeve

I am happy to have that chore out of the way and will hopefully get to my sagging driver's side door my next go round - hopefully won't be too involved.

Saturday night was a little break for me - we had our Christmas party for work at a local smokehouse restaurant - very good food and nice to relax. I did get a little IH cleaning done this afternoon after I wrapped up the Ford bushings. I started to transfer all the parts from Luke's future tub to another (that's right Jamie, your SSII) in preparation for transport to Luke's. Got some more to move in the next couple weeks. Well that was my weekend, in a nutshell (a big one). I'm off to Darlington again tomorrow - fun, fun.

[SSIIbuild]

Well I'm on the road as usual.
Friday
South Bend, IN
Atlanta, GA
Orlando, FL

Saturday
Orlando, FL
Key West, FL
Ft. Myers, FL
Stuart, FL
St. Louis, MO

Sunday
St. Louis, MO
Olathe, KS
Phoenix, AZ

Yeah.

So what's up with that? You trying to cave in my floor with all my CRAP at your house.

[jhnyct]

What the heck Jamie? You roll through our hood unannounced?

Steph and I busted our tails to get ready for Samantha's 1st birthday party on Saturday. We had a blast and Sam made a mess. She liked the icing, but not the cake.



Sunday, my brother and I went down to my parent's old house to do some much needed clean up. We finished up in time to head over to the local gun show. I didn't see anything that I just couldn't leave without.

[gmbarker78]

No Jamie, Nate mean't the other heap you have at his place. The one you can see in the background.

[SSIIbuild]

Ya I know, I even thought about it, but when I'm only in town for an hour or two and then gone again. Doesn't make much BS time.
That's why I prefer to drive down there to spend a day with you guys.

[SSIIbuild]

Originally Posted by gmbarker78

No Jamie, Nate mean't the other heap you have at his place. The one you can see in the background.

Nice. Next time you need a ride for the day, you best ask someone else
I lose count of how many I have at his place from time to time.

[mormetl]

Ginger and I love the pic, Jason. Looks like Sam had a great 1st.

There's gonna be less heaps in the next couple weeks - woohoo!! Jamie, you've actually got less here than Gary, no wait, it's just changed hands.

Had to get that ribbin' in, dog!!

[gmbarker78]

It is hard to keep up with, I was actually thinking that today as I needed a rear view mirror. I knew I had one stashed somewhere.....but where?

I'll be the first to admit, the addiction has taken over, I need an intervention!

Just kidding about the heap comment Jamie, I'm really jealous, that's a sweet rig you got there. Too bad you can't take it home.

[Red_SC]

I got the new water pump put on last week, hopefully this one will last 11 years like the last one. I noticed two things while I was burping the system: the Scout is smoking a lot worse than I thought from running rich, and my passenger side valve cover is leaking really badly.

So, that got me thinking about my options again- I'd really like to buy a truck for a daily driver, and relegate the Scout to trail status so I can work on some of this stuff without having to worry about getting to work the next day. Some local guys are doing a group buy on tube at the beginning of the year, too. I ran across a '99 Chevy 2500 for $2700, but ended up walking away. They'd replaced the motor with a junkyard motor 6 months ago, and it had a scrape down one side. Then, I found this truck, which is perfect, except it has 285K miles. So now, I'm halfway on the prowl for a truck that is 3/4 ton, extended cab, short bed, 4x4, diesel, and cheap. Not hard to please, am I? Also, I really like Chevy trucks and interiors, but would prefer a Cummins motor, so I may end up going Dodge. Or, I just might call the guy back above and go get that one, you just never know.