Alive!

My 1986 Mitsubishi Mighty Max is back on the road. I’m $800 poorer.

Years of ethanol contaminated gasoline degraded the carburetor innards to the point the truck wouldn’t pass the Colorado mandated emissions test.

As removed.

As received from Guaranteed Carburetor.

My fingers don’t work well anymore so had to hire the work done. Once reinstalled, a few minutes with the key on to activate the fuel pump, a few turns of the starter motor, and she fired up. Two or three coughs then bliss! Didn’t even need to adjust the idle speed.

Took it for a drive – no problems. In the next day or two will run it past emissions testing then off to spend $71 for the tabs.

So what kind of fool spends $800 on a 34 year old rust bucket import truck with 171,000 on the odometer? Why, a well seasoned one.

No Sale

Yesterday at a local Grease Monkey was asked several times, "Are you willing to sell it now?"
Several of the young men who work there like my 1986 Mitsubishi Mighty Max and would like to buy it. Doubt any of them have enough money. No, I'm not interested in selling.

I no longer do my own oil changes. The $20-25 I could save against the discomfort of contorting this senior citizen body isn't worth it. Shocking, I know, to those who know my cheapskate ways.

Kind of nice to have the whole staff at Grease Monkey giving the old truck the royal treatment. They seem to enjoy themselves while doing it.

Of the import trucks of that era, I think the Toyota and the Mazda/Ford Courier are slightly better trucks. What puts a smile on my face is the Mighty Max/Dodge D-50 can be had for half the money while being 90% of the value of the more popular trucks. I've owned three that I kept for my own use.

1984 4x4 2.3 Turbo Diesel.

Lots of miles and lots of adventures. That truck would go anywhere. One time pulled a one ton loaded van a half a block in a snow choked alley. The engine finally started blowing oil and I sold it to a diesel mechanic. He is still driving it.

1986 4x2 2.6 Automatic.

Bought this to be used by a driver who is an idiot with a clutch, my ex-wife. Long story but she was living with my youngest son providing child care. Later, my sister used it for a long period. She needed to haul stuff for her job. The truck was severely damaged by a tornado. 

A bit of trivia. Often you will see these 80's era trucks with rusted beds while the cab is still intact. The reason was the trucks came into the USA as cab/chassis to avoid import taxes. The beds were made in Korea and were installed at the port of entry. The quality of the Korean steel and paint jobs was inferior.

Would I sell it. Sure, if offered an obscene amount of money. I may be a retired car salesman, but am still one at heart.

Addendum. One I wish I hadn't sold. 199? E-350 with a non turbo 7.3 diesel. The buyer still uses it for his business.

Maxine Gets Violated

My sister likes to give names to vehicles. I've owned three old Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickups in recent years. The first, a 1984 4x4 Turbo Diesel she named Maximilus. The second, a 1986 4x2 automatic with a 2.6 4cyl gasoline engine was named Mad Max. My current truck, a 1986 4x2 2.0 5 speed she named Maxine.

Maxine needed a U joint and center carrier bearing replaced. The mechanic I use was once the service manager at a dealership we both worked at for years. Semi retired, he has two bay shop in back of his house that is better equipped than most car dealerships.

Yesterday Doug called me, said get your truck in right now or wait a week. While not feeling well, I drove down to his shop. Two of his mechanic friends were there visiting and drinking beer. 

Maxine didn't give up her 29 year old parts easily but the job got done. All the mechanics got involved.  I've never argued with Doug about what he charges, and it has always been far less than regular shops. What comes with his work is a ration of shit and listening to bad jokes. We have a long history of breaking each others balls. He also has a disgusting habit of restoring Chevy muscle cars but I have learned to tolerate that.

Talking with my sister, I told her Maxine had her drive line pulled, center bearing replaced, u joint replaced and drive line put back.

"Oh", she replied. "Maxine had sex; did she like it"?

Mighty Max's are far cheaper to fix than Toyota, Nissan, and Mazdas. Anyone of the four is noisy and rough riding. My needs in vehicles is something reliable that will haul my fat ass around cheaply. After all those years in the car business, the only thing that makes me tingle is a large gross profit.