Praise Jesus!
We've been without a pickup for a year now, my old 1984 Nissan having been practically given to a young, Hispanic dude who was doing some roofing work for us. Furthermore, ever since I got rid of the FredMobile, I have vowed to never buy another car made after 1970. I like to work on cars and I want one that's easy to maintain. My BMW-loving wife gets a say in this as well, but as all three of our running cars right now are BMWs bought for her, she's more than happy to sell one and let me pick out an old brute to haul things.
Awesome Day
On a related note, I had one of my best days in a long time yesterday. My MGB electrical restoration project has gotten to the point where the ignition system is completely wired and the right voltages are getting to the right places when you turn the key, except ... nothing happens. There are three problems to diagnose.
- There's a ground in the distributor.
- The starter is just sitting there, doing nothing.
- The fuel pump isn't pumping anything,
Other than that, everything's fine.
I was unhappy with this at first when I realized I needed to start pulling things apart, but I realized that was just an emotional reaction due to thinking I was so close to finishing this. Once I started yanking stuff off the car, I remembered how much I love mechanical work. I cranked up the TobyMac on the garage Sonos and in no time at all, I had the radiator and distributor off. There's a single bolt on the starter that's a real swine, hidden away like a pirate's buried treasure, so I'll need to put the MG up on jacks to get at it. In any case, yesterday was fun.
Returning to the topic of the post, I'm looking forward to getting another car with which it's so easy to play. Maybe something like this.
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| I have to admit, I'm not completely sold on an El Camino. While stylish, the bed isn't all that big and hauling 8' or 10' pieces of lumber will still be problematic. |
Can I borrow the El Camino? I need to make a Menards run. I'll get you some Wiley Walaby Liquorish!
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't be good for 4x8, but most anything else. Personally, I'm more drawn to a Falcon based ranchero with a 289 and a 4 speed. A little work on the suspension and you are close to a first gen Mustang.
Do you have the inverted or hanging oil filter on the MG? I never had any issue getting at the starter. But my car being a 77, has much more ground clearance.
Sometimes I wish I lived where it would be easy to live with an old car 12 months.
It turns out that both the El Camino and the Ranchero are legit pickups. I checked out their specs and they can carry more than my old Nissan. If I put a roof rack on it, I could carry 8' and 10' lumber with some bungees or rope. A 4x8 sheet of plywood would require some effort, but even a full-sized pickup would struggle with that.
ReplyDeleteI'm leaning towards the El Camino. I like the styling better, particularly '66-'70.
My version of know you married well: when looking to replace a worn out couch in the living room (after adding a separate Family room with couch), she says "I haven't seen anything I like. How about getting a pool table for that room instead?" Ok, it ended up with a pink felt surface (they called it "Coral", but I know pink when I see it), but so what...
ReplyDeleteI finally got a truck a couple of years ago -- man! I wish I'd got one decades ago.
ReplyDelete"If I put a roof rack on it, I could carry 8' and 10' lumber with some bungees or rope."
ReplyDeleteThe Voice of Experience says: get some web ratchet straps
A pool table? Sounds like fun! A dart board to go with it, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteWeb ratchet straps ... got it! Thanks!
"While stylish, the bed isn't all that big and hauling 8' or 10' pieces of lumber will still be problematic."
ReplyDeleteMy truck has the extended cab, so the bed is only 6.5' long. 8' ann 10' lumber isn't a problem at all, either with the gate up or down; though, with it down, I make sure to use the straps (*) on the 10'.
I've hauled lumber as long as 14' (maybe even a few 16') without a real problem. The way you move 14' lumber is to have some 10' or 12' on the bed first (to give support to the 14' overhang) and strap the whole load down tight. If possible, time your purchases so that you can also load some weight toward the cab on top of the 14'; plywood or OSB is excellent for this porpose.
(*) after having the bungied contents once empty itself as I was leaving the Lowe's lot.
A little late https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/58171817-770-0@2X-e1486955252797.jpg
ReplyDelete