Damn, and Double Damn

The wiper/turn signal/high and low beam switch out of my 1995 Ford Taurus. Found and pulled one from another 1995 at the salvage yard. Mine is a sedan, the donor a station wagon. Doesn't work. Fuck!

Now I'm shopping online. More delays and frustrations.

Bitch, piss and moan.

My body keeps telling me I'm too damn old to be twisting and contorting working on vehicles. My bank account tells me my hourly rate can't be beat.

Oh well, keeps me out of bars.

Wall Job

Greybeard has a post up about shade-tree mechanics that brings to mind several stories. This is one.

https://pitchpull.blogspot.com/2018/12/shade-tree-mechanics-rip.html

In the dark ages car repair emporiums would perform “wall jobs”. You left your car. The ‘mechanic’ would add some high octane gasoline, take the vehicle for a hard, high revving drive, blow the carbon out of the engine, and park it next to a wall. Two days later the customer could pick the vehicle up (after paying an inflated bill).

The wife and I traded in her Volvo P1800 she had before we married for a Renault 16. Car seats and new babies don’t work with a sports coupe. The R 16 worked well for us until we moved to Ogden, UT. The dealer there was a thief. 

After the 2^nd large bill, before the car went in again, I spent thirty minutes or so making small marks on bolt heads and block. Sure enough when I picked up the car, all the marks were in place indicating they hadn’t moved anything. A classic “wall job”.  Then my wife informed me she had received two calls from the owner that she felt were unrelated to the work on the car. She found the calls to be “flirtatious”. 

Caution: Don’t fuck with a Norwegian woman’s money. We had a conversation with the owner ending with him bouncing off the wall of his showroom. Someone called  the police.

Being a prominent member of the LDS Church, the owner decided he wanted the whole episode to just go away. All moneys spent at his business were refunded then and there.

Our son by that time was walking and the Renault was traded in on a Dodge Charger (at a different dealer). I thought a 2 door wasn’t the best choice but the ‘yes dear’ factor was a large influence on that decision. 

She didn’t like our International Travelall 4x4 with a 4 speed. I didn’t understand that. I mean, she was 5’4” and the seat went far enough forward for her to reach the pedals. Plus, it had power steering. What’s not to like?

Thinking back, that Renault was a bitch to work on. The metal was soft and you needed to careful not to over torque bolts. The ride was wonderful, great fuel economy, and it went well in snow. We purchased it at a huge discount given the trade allowance they gave us on the Volvo. The Volvo was a huge money pit – I was glad to see it go away. I worked on the Renault two times a year. The Volvo, once a month.

 

If you appreciate reliable vehicles avoid European cars. Leading the list are Italian, British, French, Swede, and German. YMMV. I believe I have some creditability because at some point I’ve owned all.

Getting back to the shade-tree part, maybe it was the mechanic and not the car.

Shade Tree

One nice thing about driving an old beater is being able to do my own repairs. While a piss poor mechanic, my hourly rate is unbeatable.

Today’s job was a minor oil leak from the valve cover gasket. Took me about an hour. The gasket looked to be in good shape so just spread some sealant and put it back together.

Now it is off to the pawn shop to buy a couple of 10 mm sockets to replace the one that rolled somewhere and I can’t find it. Man can’t have too many 10 mm and 12 mm sockets.

Bronco II Update

Working on cars isn’t my favorite activity. At age 72 it is also painful. This is balanced by my notorious cheapness. That said, the Bronco II needed a master cylinder replaced. Local shop wanted $100+. Simple repair and the auto parts store had one for $32.

First, we have to poor boy/lazy boy bench bleed.

Installed! This is no place for a good tight cross thread. Takes a little fiddling to get the threads lined up.

This always happens when I work on something. Your skin gets thinner with age I’ve been told.

Field expediency bandage.

Bleeder helper.

 The brakes work but the rig will go to a shop next week to have all the old fluid removed. I have a vacuum bleeder but hate crawling around on the pavement. It is worth it to me to take it to someone with a lift. Will probably cost me $50.

The next step is new shocks all around. About $130 for the parts. Know a guy who will do the labor for $20-30.

The old beast runs well, everything works, and the title is in my filing cabinet. Best part is the limited slip rear axle. 4x4 without a limited slip or lock up rear axle will get you well and truly stuck.