What Did You Do In The Garage Today?

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Put a gooseneck hitch on the truck. Not real fun, it may weigh less now, for all the scale that fell off.
1/3 of its life in salt, calcium chloride, and gravel have taken their toll.
Combined with all kinds of heavy loads the bed floor was smashed just about even with the frame, there was a lot beating and prying.
 
New serpentine drivebelt & idler pulley on the Ram, finished the wiring and plumbing for the under hood guages on the Studebaker, and tidied up the spare parts shelves...
 
Finally got the high mount brake light to work 100% on my 2009 Malibu my younger daughter drives,
I had it out three times, found a cold solder joint on the circuit board, would fail after the trunk was shut.

Ready to do other car stuff when my oldest daughter calls, 2003 Ion will not start at Target during her lunch break.
Battery issue, my jump box got it started and I swapped the old tired battery for a fresh one at Advance.
 
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Changed an alternator on a 2008 Tacoma. Aside from the small working area, was a piece of cake.
 
Changed the oil in my ranger and the wife's 200.

Then changed out a rear hub assembly on a friends Sorento. Must be getting rusty. Took almost an hour:confused: still saved him a hundred or more bucks from the price he was quoted:eek:

I get the overhead costs at dealers and even independent shops. But dang. Folks who can't diag and repair their own stuff get screwed:oops:
 
picked up a storage rack at an estate sale last week - has some surface rust so I started repainting it today.
Mowed and started painting before I realized I didnt feel like being outside any more ha
 
Just assembled these to go under my truck. I drive it so infrequently that the tires get flat spotted.
Now all I have to do is hit a button to raise it high enough to get the tires off the floor and when I want to drive it,
hit the down button to lower it and drive out of the garage.
iu
 
Just assembled these to go under my truck. I drive it so infrequently that the tires get flat spotted.
Now all I have to do is hit a button to raise it high enough to get the tires off the floor and when I want to drive it,
hit the down button to lower it and drive out of the garage.
iu

A set of those are definitely on my wish list.
 
Just assembled these to go under my truck. I drive it so infrequently that the tires get flat spotted.
Now all I have to do is hit a button to raise it high enough to get the tires off the floor and when I want to drive it,
hit the down button to lower it and drive out of the garage.
iu
At what point do we start a list of forum members willing to drive that SRT10 for you ???

Weekends and such

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
At what point do we start a list of forum members willing to drive that SRT10 for you ???

Weekends and such

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
That's part of my dilemma. One side of me wants to take it out and drive the snot out of it but the other part says there were only 200 made (year, color, regular cab) and to try and preserve it. The "preserve it" part of me is winning at the moment.
 
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Last year my 77 GMC Jimmy stopped running. I did not have time to fully troubleshoot it so it ended up getting parked by one of the barns for 7 months. Last week I towed it down to the shop and started troubleshooting.

Turns out that I had gotten a very bad batch of water contaminated ethanol fuel, which sucks because of the extent of the damage.

After pumping out the tank (36 gallons of water/gas mix), the tank sending unit was replaced, new fuel line was run from the tank to the front auxiliary fuel filter, replaces the primary and auxiliary fuel filters, replaces the mechanical fuel pump, and I had to pull the carb bowls off of the Holley and clean out a bunch of gunk from the accelerator pump (and replace the pump). The water / ethanol mix had eroded the accelerator pump boss pretty badly in the carb bowl, but I was able to salvage it.

Got it running again last night and took it for a test drive - seems to run well. Today I'll replace the main battery (it has three batteries - two for running the winch and one for starting the truck).

I've owned this Texas truck since 1985. It has a (now very tired) balanced and blueprinted 355 in it with an unusual factory cast iron version of the "Winters Foundry" Z28 302 intake manifold. Back when I lived in Texas the former parts manager for Jim Hall's Chaparral Racing team sourced the intake for me.

Here is what it looked like before I moved to Chicago in 1995.

Jimmy pre Chicago.jpg

Unfortunately 4 years of winter salt in Chicago totally destroyed the body.

Recently Chdamn kindly loaned me his late model military trailer (and special thanks to Richard "thecarman" for providing round trip transport) so that I could try the wheels and tires out on the truck. I have 1 ton axles with 4.11's and a non-overdrive transmission, so a taller tire will be very helpful in reducing the engine RPM's, not to mention the increased off-road clearance. Chad's wheels were a bolt on and appears to clear the frame, so I foresee some of these in my future. I may have to do a little bit of clearancing on the front brake calipers, but no big deal. One day I would like to rebody the truck and have a clean looking vehicle.

Here's what old rusty looks like with Chad's wheels/tires. That's his trailer on the right side of the photo.

Jimmy with HMMVW tires and wheels.jpg

It will be nice to have this back in service here on the farm. It's pretty useful for pulling some of the work trailers around, and occupies a special memory in my heart. Over the years this truck has been through almost 40 states with me behind the wheel.
 
Just assembled these to go under my truck. I drive it so infrequently that the tires get flat spotted.
Now all I have to do is hit a button to raise it high enough to get the tires off the floor and when I want to drive it,
hit the down button to lower it and drive out of the garage.
iu


how much was that set up?
Turner makes some awesome BMW race cars
 
how much was that set up?
Turner makes some awesome BMW race cars
If you go to the Quickjack website and, click on Shop Now/Garage Sale, they have the 5000# unit for $990 with free shipping.
I had originally ordered the 7K unit but when they went to ship it found they were out of it (refurbished unit). So they made me a deal on the 5K. It handles the truck just fine. It's will do a lot more than it's rated for.
 
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That's part of my dilemma. One side of me wants to take it out and drive the snot out of it but the other part says there were only 200 made (year, color, regular cab) and to try and preserve it. The "preserve it" part of me is winning at the moment.

Automobiles... Trucks, cars, suv's, whatever are super fickle as an investment.

My "to broke to invest in a vehicle" mind set says.....

No matter what you buy or spend for what was bought. It's a tool. It is bought for the owners enjoyment and/or use...

As investments go. Vehicles are such a fickle market.... to the point of if one buys a vehicle, it better be useful for the cost because it "Will" depreciate.

Yeah, blah ,blah only so many made. Only so many pampered....

So,MAYBE it will accrue value, because of what it is....

But to me, if I'm gonna spend the money on a fun rig. Imma goin to have fun with it lol.

Sure the potential is there for an investment scenario. But vehicles in general are all heavily depreciating assets....

So if I had one of those rare, amazing rigs like an srt10.

I would enjoy the hell out of it. Not abuse it, clearly. But it's nowhere near the kind of surefire money making investment, that would make me lock it away in a climate controlled storage unit... to be ogled occasionally, because it is an "investment".....

It's the rig to be bought for what it is. Enjoy the reasons it is owned. Use it!

Then if someday, they truly are collectable pieces, th one that was purchased, used, yet fully maintained, cared for, loved, but enjoyed. Is still readily in the make some money, market:)
 
It's got 32K miles on it so I've had some fun with it and continue to do so on a limited basis. I've heard the analogy that: "Not driving your car to keep the miles down is like not doing your girlfriend to save her for the next guy." Blah, blah, blah. It's mine, I do enjoy it wether I'm driving it or it's sitting in the garage. And I have no idea if it will be an investment or not and it doesn't matter. I'm enjoying the truck my way.

Drove it to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls one time. Stayed at a hotel with valet parking. You should have seen the valets tripping over one another trying to be the one to drive it. Finally the guy in charge walked up and said he'd be taking care of it for me. Made sure he was taken care of too.
 
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Last year my 77 GMC Jimmy stopped running. I did not have time to fully troubleshoot it so it ended up getting parked by one of the barns for 7 months. Last week I towed it down to the shop and started troubleshooting.

Turns out that I had gotten a very bad batch of water contaminated ethanol fuel, which sucks because of the extent of the damage.

After pumping out the tank (36 gallons of water/gas mix), the tank sending unit was replaced, new fuel line was run from the tank to the front auxiliary fuel filter, replaces the primary and auxiliary fuel filters, replaces the mechanical fuel pump, and I had to pull the carb bowls off of the Holley and clean out a bunch of gunk from the accelerator pump (and replace the pump). The water / ethanol mix had eroded the accelerator pump boss pretty badly in the carb bowl, but I was able to salvage it.

Got it running again last night and took it for a test drive - seems to run well. Today I'll replace the main battery (it has three batteries - two for running the winch and one for starting the truck).

I've owned this Texas truck since 1985. It has a (now very tired) balanced and blueprinted 355 in it with an unusual factory cast iron version of the "Winters Foundry" Z28 302 intake manifold. Back when I lived in Texas the former parts manager for Jim Hall's Chaparral Racing team sourced the intake for me.

Here is what it looked like before I moved to Chicago in 1995.

View attachment 150411

Unfortunately 4 years of winter salt in Chicago totally destroyed the body.

Recently Chdamn kindly loaned me his late model military trailer (and special thanks to Richard "thecarman" for providing round trip transport) so that I could try the wheels and tires out on the truck. I have 1 ton axles with 4.11's and a non-overdrive transmission, so a taller tire will be very helpful in reducing the engine RPM's, not to mention the increased off-road clearance. Chad's wheels were a bolt on and appears to clear the frame, so I foresee some of these in my future. I may have to do a little bit of clearancing on the front brake calipers, but no big deal. One day I would like to rebody the truck and have a clean looking vehicle.

Here's what old rusty looks like with Chad's wheels/tires. That's his trailer on the right side of the photo.

View attachment 150413

It will be nice to have this back in service here on the farm. It's pretty useful for pulling some of the work trailers around, and occupies a special memory in my heart. Over the years this truck has been through almost 40 states with me behind the wheel.
My 82 yo father in law still drives his ‘77 Jimmy at least once a week....with a big smile on his face.
 
Just assembled these to go under my truck. I drive it so infrequently that the tires get flat spotted.
Now all I have to do is hit a button to raise it high enough to get the tires off the floor and when I want to drive it,
hit the down button to lower it and drive out of the garage.
iu
Where did you get this? What’s the lift height
 
Where did you get this? What’s the lift height
It's a Bendpak Quickjack. You can find them through Home Depot and Amazon but I got mine directly from them at their garage sale.
They are suppose to be used/returned/refurbished units at a reduced price but mine looked brand new.
C - Raised (Frame Only) 17.6" / 447 mm
D - Raised (Small Block) 18.4" / 467 mm
E - Raised (Large Block) 19.2" / 487 mm
F - Raised (Stacked Blocks) 21.3" / 542 mm
G - SUV Adapters 20.3" / 516 mm
H - SUV Adapters (w/ Pin) 23.3" / 592 mm
 
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Why did you have to have it redone

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Made it 12 years being able to get it inspected. Waited until the last minute this time because I also needed tires (so instead of a $30 inspection, a $830 inspection).

Got the tires on Tuesday and inspection was required by the end of the week. When I got their for my tires, I was told the inspection guy retired and their new “fresh out of training” guy was failing everybody.

Spent two days trying to find a new place. Then said screw it and ripped it all off. After 12 years it had several cuts/scratches, and the windshield strip started to peel last month.

And of course I supposedly found a place the next day, but won’t know if it actually works out until next year.
 
Made it 12 years being able to get it inspected. Waited until the last minute this time because I also needed tires (so instead of a $30 inspection, a $830 inspection).

Got the tires on Tuesday and inspection was required by the end of the week. When I got their for my tires, I was told the inspection guy retired and their new “fresh out of training” guy was failing everybody.

Spent two days trying to find a new place. Then said screw it and ripped it all off. After 12 years it had several cuts/scratches, and the windshield strip started to peel last month.

And of course I supposedly found a place the next day, but won’t know if it actually works out until next year.
Pass on the info. I need one done this month and I know mine is dark
 
Also learned that the factory privacy glass basically blocks no heat. Hadn’t thought about that before. So in addition to putting it on the front two and the windshield stripe, they added some to the side rear windows. The actual rear window is blocked by the camper shell. It’ll be interesting to see if I notice the heat difference.

I didn’t fully commit like the guy that runs the place. He has his entire windshield done in 45%.

E2CDAD26-80BB-4CF3-8682-7FA328A074DE.jpeg
 
2003 Ram 1500. Rear brakes and rotors. A couple hundred miles shy of 160K, and I’ve had it since ~45K. I know I’ve changed the pads before. I’m going to guess it’s the original rotors due to the amount of loctite on the bolts holding the caliber bracket in place and the fact the little brass pieces were on two pugs on each side to hold the rotor in place as the wheel gets installed.

24BC4408-043B-4783-A443-D07377C7D42B.jpeg843D7C49-4177-4634-8168-973D57DBAF33.jpeg

I wonder what tune those rotors would play on a turntable. :D

Oh yeah, just a reminder for those of us that do this ever couple years instead of for a living...if you do as you always do when you park, and set the parking brake, those rear rotors are not coming off until you release said parking brake, no matter how frustrated you get trying to remove them. :oops:

Bonus activity: probably for the first time in 2019, the truck also got a wash today.
 
Also learned that the factory privacy glass basically blocks no heat. Hadn’t thought about that before. So in addition to putting it on the front two and the windshield stripe, they added some to the side rear windows. The actual rear window is blocked by the camper shell. It’ll be interesting to see if I notice the heat difference.

I didn’t fully commit like the guy that runs the place. He has his entire windshield done in 45%.

View attachment 151163
How do you pass inspection ?
 
How do you pass inspection ?
Ask around. Youll find someone who will know a place to pass it. Stay away from chain shops and little fast inspection places. More of a mom and pop type place. I have had darker than legal tint on everything own for years

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Ask around. Youll find someone who will know a place to pass it. Stay away from chain shops and little fast inspection places. More of a mom and pop type place. I have had darker than legal tint on everything own for years

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I used to have a place, friends with a friends grandfather before he passed away. Every since then, I’ve been tintless and I hate it.

I miss 20%
 
If only you lived closer. Just ask. Someone still will

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I used to have a place, friends with a friends grandfather before he passed away. Every since then, I’ve been tintless and I hate it.

I miss 20%
The legal 35% still makes a world of difference. Don’t be tintless.
 
Ask around. Youll find someone who will know a place to pass it. Stay away from chain shops and little fast inspection places. More of a mom and pop type place. I have had darker than legal tint on everything own for years
I made it 12 years with mine. First 8-9 years were at one of the small shops. The last 3-4 were actually at a Goodyear, which surprised me when I asked the first time.
 
Put new ford gold plated weather stripping on the truck. Better not be any wind blown snow in the cab this winter for their rumplestiltskin price!
 
Put a rear main seal in my old CJ, hopefuly she will stop bleeding on the garage floor now!!!
 
@BigWaylon
So Ive never had any windows tinted before, but thought about it for the new toy car I got
What's a normal price for a tint job?
 
Spliced in a power steering line from LKQ for my '99 Taurus, it had a leak at the swivel fitting at the pump.
 
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@BigWaylon
So Ive never had any windows tinted before, but thought about it for the new toy car I got
What's a normal price for a tint job?
Groupon puts deals out all the time around here. But, most of the time they’re not really a deal...so be careful.

I called a place near me and got a quote. They said $80 for the front two . And then $45 for the windshield strip. Once I was there and they were working on it, he mentioned the lack of heat control with the factory privacy glass on the rear two windows. I asked how much more and he said $60 for those two.

They charged me $180 instead of $185. Could’ve been whatever darkness I wanted, same price. Didn’t have to worry about the back window because I have a camper shell. Those windows are tinted as well from the factory, and I did a DIY job on the side ones over the top of factory tint.

Even 35% makes a world of difference. If you’ve never had tinted windows before, you won’t ever go back to plain glass.

Make sure you have a windshield sunshade (I like the thicker ones that fold up accordion style). Put it up 24/7 when parked, no matter about the sun, and it’s makes it harder to see inside. Crack the windows just a hair (I have the visors around all four windows, whatever they’re called) so rain isn’t an issue, and it makes a world of difference with heat inside...not to mention UV damage.
 
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