Dick Trauma posted:

ExplodingSims posted:

[timg]http://i.imgur.com/XZndncu.jpg[/img][/timg]

rndmnmbr posted:

We're not sure exactly what broke casuality - what event shattered time itself like a sparkplug through safety glass.

Leperflesh posted:

On the other hand he has nothing but the finest of flashlights and snap-on hand tools, so that's really not an excuse, right?

'The Night We Buried Road Dog' by Jack Cady posted:

I hear them claw the darkness, stretching lonesome at the sky, scatting across the eternal land; younger guys running as young guys must; chasing each other, or chasing the land of dreams, or chasing into ghost land while hoping it ain't true—guys running into darkness chasing each other, or chasing something—chasing road.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

I've found myself again out here on the Fury Road. I feel human again.

djdanno13 posted:

MAKING TRUKKS ORKY AGAIN!

rndmnmbr posted:

If there was one thing you could absolutely trust 14" to do, it was walk into the mouth of madness and bring something hosed up but functional back out.

The replacement engine, a Chevy 292, was waiting on them when they arrived. 14" just shrugged, downed another foil package of Chinese off-brand herbal ADHD medications, and said "It's a start."

Where he acquired a Wärtsilä RTA96C in the middle of Nebraska - let alone the eight Lycoming radials powering the massive roots blower feeding air into the monstrosity - we will never know. The 292 did get used, powering the fuel pump delivering 637.3 gallons of nitromethane per minute the hulk required. We did discover where the twin Pratt & Whitney F119 turbojet engines powering the turbos came from - the Army still tells tales of the madman with an impact driver they couldn't stop with a tank that exciting July night. And surprisingly, it all fit in the truck, although lesser men would be driven mad with just a glimpse of the non-Euclidean geometry under the hood.

The steering wheel in the cab was the tiniest wheel they could order out of China, in order to fit the bewildering array of shifters surrounding the driver's seat. He started with the gearbox from the ship, tied to a vast array of 15-speed truck transmissions, hydrostatic drives stolen in broad daylight from three different tractor shops, and Lenco planetary gearsets swiped from research labs in Japan.

No one else had the balls to crawl into the driver's seat. But 14", when he goosed that big ship engine and eased out on all three clutches, the steel Abrahms tank treads that replaced the rear wheels would leave burnout marks six inches deep on reinforced concrete.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

ExplodingSims posted:

So, I've posted about this in the chat thread, but I guess the project's officially rolling, so it deserves its own thread.

In short, I bought a truck.

A dump truck.

A dump truck with no engine.

A dump truck with no engine in Montana


Pictured : Scenic Miles City, Montana.

Yes, it's a 1951 Chevy 6400 Dump truck. 15' Wheelbase, 20' total lengh, and weighing in a 3 tons.


It's actually, from what I can tell picturewise, not in bad shape.



Interior might need some dusting though:


Anyways, it's not in any worse shape than Moocow's truck was.
Now, you may be wondering why I said there's bad decisions, well, the truck is in Montana, and I am in Florida.
But true love knows no boundaries, and quite frankly, for a truck of this type, in this shape, for $700~, it was almost impossible to say no. I've turned down several trucks over the years for being in worse shape, too expensive, too far away, etc. But this one, this one is different, and I couldn't resist pulling the trigger on it. Funnily enough, I didn't think I would win it. I bought it off of ebay, and kinda just through some money at it, went to work, and then found out I own a truck 2500 miles away.

That being said, the first challenge is getting it to Florida. I've spoken with the owner, and he has a buddy of his with a farm outside of Minneapolis, and said farm owner has agreed to tow it there, and hold it there, while I work out the other 1500 miles. And that's the fun part.

So figure my options are:
1. Pay someone on Uship or whatever to haul it. Boring, but safe. Also, $$$$$$
2. Drive up there an haul it myself. I have an Explorer and an XJ. Neither one of those is up to the task.
3. Find a buddy, or goon, with a big truck or trailer to drive up there and tow it back down. Goon road trip?
4. Find several goons with trailers willing to relay race it down to Florida.
5. Fly up there, slam a new engine/tranny in, get it roadworthy, and drive it back down.
5a. Find a local goon/goon willing to travel, and do a repair blitz on the existing engine and drive it back.

#5 is possible, as it sounds like the engine still turns over, but the head has been removed. If I did that however, it would be a loooooong loving drive. It's a straight six that produces somewhere south of 120HP. No highways, no high speed roads, no going over 50mph. I'm looking at least 3 solid days of driving on surface street. In a truck that's been sitting in field for a while. With no power steering, or power brakes.

What could go wrong?

ExplodingSims posted:

So doing some cursory research it looks like a 350 should more or less drop in. The only issue seems to be fiddling with the steering box, but it appears that's easily rectified by drilling out the rivets and shimming it over a bit.

So, I'm starting to put together a list of what would need to be done to get it road trip road worthy:
1. Replace the engine. A 350 is looking like the best candidate right now, as it seems to involve the least amount of work, and there seems to be plenty of aftermarket parts for things like engine mount swaps.
Also, based on what I've read, it does seem to mount to the stock transmission, so that will mean no having to fiddle around with a new tranny, crossmember, or having to redo the whole driveshaft as well.

2. Switch over to a 12V power system.

3. Replace the rear wheels. The old one are split rims, and yeah, good luck finding a tire shop for that.

4. Possibly may need to add an electric fan for the radiator, will most certainly need to make some sort of shroud though, as it seems like the V8 block is shorter than the I6

5. Inspect the brakes, replace as necessary. I'm thinking, assuming that the brakes aren't totally locked up, I'll be replacing everything on the fronts (springs, pistons, and new drums) and at least the springs on the back.

In short:


Someone please talk me down from the edge.

Garbage Dick posted:

Serious offer pay my way start to finish and i'll ride shotgun with tools. I need no compensaton otherwise.

ExplodingSims posted:

I'm listening.

Garbage Dick posted:

My only hang up is May 12th I have a critical absolutely can not miss appointment for DSHS, so I'm literally wide open up to and after that day. Basically I'm saying get me there and guarantee me getting home, and work rations of Camels and literally any cheap food you'd feel like kicking my way, and in return you buy literally anything all the way up to spitting raw nitro into superchargers and entry into Valhalla itself.

ExplodingSims posted:

...

And Dick, I will totally take you up on that offer. Consider that plane ticket bought. Feel free to email me for details.
Keep in mind the actual fixing won't be happening for at least another month or so, as I have
A. Get this thing shipped
B. Find a motor
C. Buy all the other parts
D. Still got bills to pay

Garbage Dick posted:

hail satan

djdanno13 posted:

Just throwing this out there in case poo poo, but if Ohio doesn't work out you can have your truck shipped to my place out in northern Nebraska. I have a few tools but word of warning, it's all dirt, no crete.

Larrymer posted:

But buying everything this truck needs to be road worthy up front may be a little more hard to swallow vs. a one time shipping cost. Multiple plane tickets, getting parts that you don't even know you need yet in a town you're not from? Too many unknowns for me.

Garbage Dick posted:

You're right, I'll drive the Civic out there instead

14" DICK posted:

I sold a perfect, amazingly fun to drive, fully functional 2002 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor to fund this financial trainwreck. It's a 1975 Honda Civic with the 1.2L non-CVCC inline 4.



I made the rookie mistake of literally throwing a pile of money at them before even so much as test driving it because I for one enjoy the sublime feeling of carefully placing one's scrotum in a door jam and then flinging it shut as hard as I can manage. I repeat this process over and over until finally the sweet darkness takes me and I can no longer feel anything at all. My terrible mutilated genitalia stand testament to this process, repeated over and over again through the years and yet somehow, I still find my way home.



She's a little rough around the edges, but that's okay because I'm in familiar territory now. I know what to expect. The Crown Vic was plain, reliable, a work horse. It was the Frau Bleucher in my stable, the one you know you can count on. But it's not what I need. Deep down inside, I know that I need someone to spit on me, make me bleed and cry, and to treat me like the emotional tampon I know I truly am.









Mechanically, it's terrifying. The engine purred when I fired it up so I just bought it and off I went. To find out that there's something seriously wrong with the brakes, it's only braking with one wheel right now, and only all the way down at the very bottom. I'm pretty sure that it's the right front that brakes, because if you push down hard and bottom the pedal out the right front locks, it veers, and I crap my pants. It also misfires under load, it feels like spark or fuel related. Oh, also when I let off the gas and coast there is a horrific metallic growling from the rear end. It smells of mildew and rat piss, there's moss growing in the carpet, and the odometer doesnt work.

14" DICK posted:

14" DICK posted:

My psych evaluation assessment to find a doctor just took 2 and a half hours and described me as having "a constellation of issues. "

14" DICK posted:

I wonder if the Civic will make the trip once the wiring is finished

14" DICK posted:

Well the whole existential cock scream thing doesn't necessarily imply any specific fear of the future or being a wounded, beautiful butterfly too afraid to find the healing power of drillbitslove. I saw it more as the spontaneous generation to fully comprehend the repercussions for everything it has ever done. Like if instead of only flapping it's wings and killing thousands via a typhoon a month later, that poor wounded little butterfly had to explain to St. Peter Himself that deep down inside maybe it wasn't love that kept hurting him, but the thigh high leather boots and the riding crop or that thing you discovered with the 9 volt batteries and your prostate, and you just keep reeling off this entirely litany of escalating and horrifying perversions and panicking because St. Peter just keeps tapping that line on the page up there and frowning being all silent 'nope try again' because he sure as Hell ain't gonna say it out loud because gross, dude.

14" DICK posted:

Real talk I write to escape and I'm so sick and loving tired of watching people get burned out of my life by the anger of a birthing star while I have my melt downs because every single one of them try to apply logical and rational solutions to a disease which is known categorically as one that not only can, but will find new and interesting ways to self sabotage and even if the rare loving chance I actually manage to use a support net the loudest voice is screaming to just let it all burn down. I've wasted an entire week on trying to function well enough to manage to not even put half my dash back together, burned two entire full days of work simply trying to glue two pieces of sticky paper down pre cut on it, and having realised what level of the ride I've been on have spent that week explaining to those in the impact crater zone what WILL happen, and how to triage it. So when the full reality of where I have fallen back to hits around midnight in the rain and the full lights and siren diesel run away begin and hysteria and panic manage to over power over a decade of personal work and effort to never allow it to happen again, please remember this.

Don't loving get angry and start spouting poo poo like you need to calm down because if I've lost it to the point where the record needle keeps skipping over I'm loving trying to calm down and it's everything I have left to just not start screaming in the street and giving in and let it finish burning me out. Don't get angry when I say contradicting back to back sentences because I told you faulty inputs provide faulty outputs.

Don't loving try to apply reason to a mind that lies to its self in a way so serious that no, no I really honestly don't know what I just said and no I really don't have any idea how I could obviously not want to be trapped in hell and watching my friends and family suffer the wrath of my failings.

Don't say how it could have gone differently or I could have stopped this if I had done whatever it is normal people do to stop the bleeding.

I literally loving can not stop it once it finally cascades into life and I will never be able to move to a point where it does not always have the very serious risk of happening even if I do everything right.

14" DICK posted:

Gremin bought a Jeep. $1000 running driving and tabbed.

14" DICK posted:

The truck thing is honestly my carrot on a stick keeping me going right now. I've been unable to walk for a couple days due to hand and foot pain, something aint right. Im done with my theories, my obsessions. Dont know, dont care. Fix me. I'm not healing any more. I still have that foot scab from when I dropped the pen knife blade. I still have that hand scrape from the radiator. I exist in constant physical agony, and I dont care what drugs you do or dont do, they all have their price to pay but they dont drag you from the bumper three miles down a gravel road behind their Powerstroke while hurling empty beer cans and pissing on your human being rear end from the bed.

I dont even want to be normal Dave. I just want to be functional.

You want the guy who shows up in about 2/3 of an old Econoline, because the missing roof and rear side areas look like somebody aimed the business end of an F-104 at it from the inside. He'll only ever reply "flashlights stayed on" when questioned, and doesnt unpack his tools so much as become the eye of a very localised cyclone of chaos and activity. Against all reason, you will see three seperate instances of near mortal wounding avoided by pure chance alone, and although there's not a single cloud in the sky, you'll see him unload the last box and light a cigarette before pointing both middle fingers at the sky and shouting "I'M HERE, COME loving GET SOME." Off in the distance, the faint cawing of crows and from miles away the soft rumble of thunder. It'd be insane to believe that the very elements themselves answered his threats, though. Careful not to catch the crazy.

Because Judgement Dave is a survivor. You want the guy who spent the last ten years of his life preparing for this moment. Someone who wears pain like a burlap G-string. Because out on the road, that truck will be anything but normal. Out there, everything hurts. And that means I just do whatever it takes to become functional enough to do whatever it takes to reach the end of the road.

I find myself at a crossroads during the lowest point in my life. The Truck of Destiny is honestly the chance of a lifetime, that if I waste this unique opportinity to follow where the story takes me I will forever wonder what could have been. I'm haunted by enough ghosts. Maybe I could even write a book once its all done.

Find Long Donger. Only he can lead the resistance once the War with the machines begins.

Judgment Dave is coming.

ExplodingSims posted:

WHEN WE LAST LEFT OUR HERO:

It was rusting away in a field in the middle of nowhere!


But as of today, this is no more! PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE


Yes, now it's rusting away in a slightly different field in the middle of nowhere!
Big thanks to Djdanno for hosting the truck. It was shipped out to his place today, and this will be the site of the repairening
Still waiting on some new pics of it, but we get some updates:


Free bottle of oil! Score!
Old engine is there, but according to danno, is pretty trashed, much to no one's surprise.
No brakes on this thing either, again, no shocker there.

Tire are there, and appear to be ok, but I wouldn't trust them on the road.



And a first ever look into the bed!

Free plywood? Today is a loving haul!

Upskirt shot:


Again, there will be more later, but for the most part, the body looks pretty solid. Some rust in the usual places, floorboards, around the edges, but for the most part it looks like it's mostly just surface rust.
A few dents and dings as well, but overall in pretty great shape for a farm truck of it's age.


Cheby

Rhyno posted:

We need a third goon to follow them as support and to document this entire thing.

McTinkerson posted:

Seat Safety Switch has found the perfect outlet for his unique set of skills.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

I asked for a roadtrip, and for my sins they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice roadtrip, and when it was over, I never wanted another.

I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet. Weeks away and hundreds of miles up an interstate highway that snaked through America like an IV line full of fentanyl and cable news plugged straight into Trump. It was no accident that I got to be the caretaker of the last moments of 14 Inch any more than being back in the Nebraska poo poo was an accident. There is no way to tell his story without telling my own. And if his story really is a confession, then so is mine.

Garbage Dick posted:

"Sally."

A mutter.

"Wake up now, Sally."

A louder mutter: leeme lone.

He shook her harder.

"Wake up. You got to wake up!"

Seat.

Seat's voice. Calling her. For how long?

Sally swam up out of sleep.

First she glanced at the clock on the night table and saw it was quarter past two in the morning. Seat shouldn't even be here; he should be on shift. Then she got her first good look at him and something leaped up inside her, some deadly intuition.

Her husband was deathly pale. His eyes started and bulged from their sockets. The car keys were in one hand. He was still using the other to shake her, although her eyes were open. It was as if he hadn't been able to register the fact that she was awake.

"Seat, what is it? What's wrong?"

He didn't seem to know what to say. His Adam's apple bobbed futilely but there was no sound in the small service bungalow but the ticking of the clock.

"Is it a fire?" she asked stupidly. It was the only thing she could think of which might have put him in such a state. She knew his parents had perished in a housefire.

"In a way," he said. "In a way it's worse. You got to get dressed, honey. Get IoC. We got to get out of here."

"Why?" she asked, getting out of bed. Dark fear had seized her. Nothing seemed right. This was like a dream. "Where? You mean the back yard?" But she knew it wasn't the back yard. She had never seen Seat look afraid like this. She drew a deep breath and could smell no smoke or burning.

"Sally, honey, don't ask questions. We have to get away. Far away. You just go get Baby IoC and get him dressed."

"But should I . . . is there time to pack?"

This seemed to stop him. To derail him somehow. She thought she was as afraid as she could be, but apparently she wasn't. She recognized that what she had taken for fright on his part was closer to raw panic. He ran a distracted hand through his hair and replied, "I don't know. I'll have to test the wind."

And he left her with this bizarre statement which meant nothing to her, left her standing cold and afraid and disoriented in her bare feet and babydoll nightie. It was as if he had gone mad. What did testing the wind have to do with whether or not she had time to pack? And where was far away? Reno? Vegas? Salt Lake City? And . . .

She put her hand against her throat as a new idea struck her.

AWOL.

Leaving in the middle of the night meant Seat was planning to go AWOL.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

They couldn't tell me the American Dream was dead. For starters, nobody could agree what it looked like when it was alive. Maybe at most there were some furtive allusions to material possessions. A big, powerful car. That's one of the only things people could agree on. Everyone wanted more horsepower than the next guy, even if it would destroy them.

Thing is, the more I thought about what we were doing, the more I realized we were mainlining pure strain America.

This morning, a no-poo poo bald eagle flew over the camp, crying tears of joy. Or maybe it was semen. Either way, 14 only told me it was salty.

Jeherrin posted:

SSS squinted into the sun, a hand up, trying futilely to mask the diffracted splinters of sun thrown by the dust on the windshield. In front of him, throwing up that very dust, was The Truck. Big; massive, even. Rusty. Or just rust; it was hard to tell. The Truck had a presence about it, a solidity. A density of coalescence, as if rust wasn’t a thing that had happened to it, but a thing that it was. That it embodied and became.

The Truck. He capitalised it in his internal monologue, now. He didn’t know why. It did that to you. It did things to your brain and your subconscious and somewhere, deep down in the cortex, in the part of the hindbrain that whimpers in the night at the shadows on the cave wall and that shivers at the scream of feral dogs—somewhere deep down, something was screaming. SSS thought it might be him. He didn’t know. He didn’t think about it. He drove, following.

The ‘tropes kept him awake. 36 hours and counting. Neon strips lit up gas stations like prison bars. Lot lizards looked up and then looked away, seeing something in the way he dropped the hood after checking the oil. Something… other. Something feral. Something missing.

Up ahead, the man he knew only as 14 Inch was curled up in the bed of the truck, jolting on the metal floor as the truck rode the potholes and the bumps and the rhythmic thrmthrmthrm of the asphalt strips where the road had been repaired. He was sleeping, or at least he looked like it. A cigarette dangled between his lips; the vortexes shed from the cab stripped the smoke into the slipstream like blood and water in a blender. He might almost have been smiling.

SSS didn’t know what 14” was. He exuded hurt; barely-concealed fragility poured off him like waves. He was an open wound; raw, weeping, one that wouldn’t close. And yet… there was a pride. He revelled in it. Challenged you, threw his agony in your face and dared you to reach into your core and find the sympathy dial and ramp that up to eleven, and every time you got close he’d laugh and laugh and laugh, wreathed in cigarette smoke and tattoos that bore witness to his time in a cell. Whose cell, SSS didn’t know. Didn’t want to know.

All he knew was that The Truck and 14” had an understanding. He’d seen 14” speaking to it, a hand on its offside front wheel. It was a kind of communion, and something between SSS’s shoulderblades would itch every time. And then 14” would be deep into the engine bay, almost inside it, and SSS swore he heard crooning. He didn’t know which of them it was.

He didn’t know much, now. 48 hours. ‘tropes and synthetic amphets made by child labour in China. He’d started smoking. He didn’t know when. 56 hours. The gauge said empty, but the car kept going, chained to The Truck by something he couldn’t name, falling down and down and down into its gravity well.

SS saw. He Saw. And he remembered. Nothing made sense. Probably never would, not now. But he Saw. And he Remembered.

Liquid Communism posted:

14" was not into serious street-modding, but he was hell on wheels in a shop bay. Any combination of a scrawny white kid and WD-40 is a potentially terminal menace for anything it can reach – but when the alleged kid is in fact a profoundly disturbed flat rate mechanic with no fear at all of anything that rolls on less than six wheels and a de facto suicidal conviction that he will die at the age of 33 – just like Jesus Christ – you have a serious piece of work on your hands. Especially if the bastard is already 33½ years old with a head full of asbestos dust, a loaded air gun in his belt, a sledge-wielding black thumb on his elbow at all times, and a disconcerting habit of projectile vomiting geysers of pure blood off the front porch every 30 or 40 minutes, or whenever his malignant ulcer can't handle any more raw tequila.

Apologies to HST, but it fit the mood.

Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:

What the gently caress is going on in here

freelop posted:

The events of the future surrounding that truck are so powerful it's echoing back through to the present and erupting through the posts of those most effected.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Initiate War Protocol.

I'm trying to pick this up. For the trip.

ExplodingSims posted:

A POTENTIAL ENGINE HAS BEEN FOUND

According to Djdanno, he has someone who's selling a cheap 1967 292 I6. Not as exciting as a V8, but doing some cursory research it looks like it drops in without too much hassle.
If the stovebolt forums were less terrible I'd have an answer by now!

rndmnmbr posted:

If there was one thing you could absolutely trust 14" to do, it was walk into the mouth of madness and bring something hosed up but functional back out.

The replacement engine, a Chevy 292, was waiting on them when they arrived. 14" just shrugged, downed another foil package of Chinese off-brand herbal ADHD medications, and said "It's a start."

Where he acquired a Wärtsilä RTA96C in the middle of Nebraska - let alone the eight Lycoming radials powering the massive roots blower feeding air into the monstrosity - we will never know. The 292 did get used, powering the fuel pump delivering 637.3 gallons of nitromethane per minute the hulk required. We did discover where the twin Pratt & Whitney F119 turbojet engines powering the turbos came from - the Army still tells tales of the madman with an impact driver they couldn't stop with a tank that exciting July night. And surprisingly, it all fit in the truck, although lesser men would be driven mad with just a glimpse of the non-Euclidean geometry under the hood.

The steering wheel in the cab was the tiniest wheel they could order out of China, in order to fit the bewildering array of shifters surrounding the driver's seat. He started with the gearbox from the ship, tied to a vast array of 15-speed truck transmissions, hydrostatic drives stolen in broad daylight from three different tractor shops, and Lenco planetary gearsets swiped from research labs in Japan.

No one else had the balls to crawl into the driver's seat. But 14", when he goosed that big ship engine and eased out on all three clutches, the steel Abrahms tank treads that replaced the rear wheels would leave burnout marks six inches deep on reinforced concrete.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

So since I don't have to worry about rent, a couple hundred bucks in side jobs will handle the rest of my storage and bills.

How does AI feel about throwing in on a guzzoline fund for the last of the V6 Interceptors loaded with every last tool I can fit.

Book time says 20 hours to Nebraska.

Bet I can beat it.

ExplodingSims posted:

Alright, so I guess the 292 is out of the running for replacement motor.
It has staggered motor mounts, and requires fabbing up some angled brackets and OTHER STUFF THAT'S TOO HARD TO DO IN A FIELD.

And it also requires swapping over to a V8 Bellhousing anyways. And the make a weld in mount kit for 350 engines as it is.
Also, V8 Bellhousings are surprisingly common and cheap on eBay. Aside from some clearance issues with the radiator and steering column, it looks like an easy enough job.

So I guess we're back to shopping for a 350.
Any suggestions on the best vehicle to pull one from?

ChickenOfTomorrow posted:

this is the summer of bad decision road trips on AI and I am 5,000% behind it

ExplodingSims posted:

The search continues, as somebody apparently does not want to make any money this weekend.
And my search has taken me down a strange road, one filled....with vans.

Anybody in the central Florida area looking for a van body to drop a new engine into?
I mean, they come with a 350, and provide working and sleeping quarters...

ExplodingSims posted:

Sir, we have a large, unknown object appearing on the radar!


Object appears to be boxy, heavy, and slow. Oh dear...

WE ARE CONFIRMED FOR VAN. I REPEAT, WE ARE CONFIRMED FOR VAN!


THIS IS NOT A DRILL!




So yeah, I found an engine. Meet my latest acquisition, a 1992 Chevy G20 Van. Comes with a 350 engine, a new battery, and is basically going to be our rolling parts car for the swap.
Drives pretty good, but I think stale gas is giving it some issues. I drove it around for about 10 mins or so then it started cutting out. It actually has working A/C, which is fantastic, and only only one of the windows works. I had to tape the other up to keep it closed. Body is pretty much done, but I'm not buying it for that. Interior is pretty sweet though, it's been gutted and has Wood floors!

Tomorrow I'll be bringing it home, to do a full diagnosis, so expect more pictures then.

ExplodingSims posted:

So, operation Abuse_AAA_Towing_Service to recover RustVan was a critical success!


(If AAA asks, this is a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer )

Van was loaded up, shipped back to Orlando, and I got some halfway decent pics of the interior.
Side note, this thing was so low on gas, the two truck driver couldn't get it started when he had the bed sloped down. Oops.
I put some fresh gas in it when I got it home, and that seemed to stop it's random dying issue. Took out for a quick spin, to drive it to a storage yard it'll be living at for now.Got it up to 55mph. Seems to drive ok. Acceleration is a joke though. I'm sure it needs a full fluid change, new spark plugs, and probably a new belt. But that's for future me to deal with, right now me deals with PICTURES:

Tell me, what separates the good vans from the great vans?
WOOD loving FLOORING!


What pushes it over the top?
SWEET INTERIOR LIGHTING!


Not to mention a FREE Broken CRT tv and a WORKING VCR. HO poo poo SON!

AND A FREE VACUUM!? loving. SCORE.


Little bit high on the mileage side.


And a sweet wood center console WITH a cassette deck.


And when I bought this thing, I thought the radio was broken.
So today, while I was waiting for the tow with my girlfriend, I tested it out. Not only did work, but this song:

This loving song.

Of all songs starts blasting out during the chorus.

It's a loving sign man!
NOTHINGS GONNA STOP US NOW

ExplodingSims posted:

So, after driving the van around a bit, t seems like this engine might be a bit...underpowered for our applications. However, while I was out driving for work today, I stumbled upon a garage offering a much more suitable option for this truck. Bit of an older motor, and it probably has a few more miles on it than the van does, but looks like it puts out a lot more power.

Trying to work out the mounting situation for this one might be a bit more complicated though, as some cursory Googling doesn't seem offer much info, but I'm sure between 4 minds we can work something out. And of course it looks like the fuel system will need some extra parts. Cooling might be a bit of an issue as well, so I guess it's a good thing it'll be cold out!

Price is a bit higher than I'd like to go, but hey, at this point I doubt I'm gonna find much better.

[timg]http://i.imgur.com/XZndncu.jpg[/img][/timg]

14" Dick posted:

For gooD or for bad, every choice that led me here today was born Purely out of the sole criteria to maintain any kind of functionality to keep a roof over my head. But as it turns out, the deeper you fall from society, the longer it takes that reference signal to reach you in that midnight sea.

I know I'll forever be altered by this experience. Not necessarily incapacitated, but there's no real way to guess.

What's becoming of me.


Gotta get away.

14" Dick posted:

14" Dick posted:

Charge indicator came on solid and re checking and replacing connections as needed didnt correct it. But drat these crimps.

14" Dick posted:

14" Dick posted:

Lol

14" Dick posted:

My struggles with sobriety are absolutely not a question, but it is something I am actively in touch with my social workers over. As far as the body health side of things, I can promise you the never healing nails, among other quantifiable real physical issues, have persisted sober or not since December, become intensly painful, and I have followed doctors care to the letter and it's not unreasonable to only want the pain to stop. Whether or not anything is crawling is incidental, and i can deal with that. The pain, it gets old as gently caress honestly.

14" Dick posted:

I managed to turn a group meeting with the topic of faith and forgiveness into discussions of nihilism and Kurt cobain

14" Dick posted:

For anyone who ever thinks I either embellish my life or make things up for the internet, here's another entry in my crimeslife.txt.

Woke up at 6:30am with my boots, jacket, and lights on in my bed not remembering actually falling asleep, to a cat alerting me to the fact that she is actually starving to death because the full dry food clearly won't work because not even Hitler made cats only eat dry food, discovered I was out of cigarettes and wet cat food entirely, so i went to check the car.

The coffee shop out front were explicity discussing me yesterday, because I sat on the porch reassembling a carb and dialling in the loving piece of poo poo Carter float abomination fo the AMX, I probably would have gone in after a few smokes but starting about 20 minutes in to the work I ovErhard "no he's the one with the Honda" from the window facing into the yard, and then decided to sit and listen as about every 20 minutes or so there was another comment about my continued presence, talking about how i was clearly just on one and going at it, and discussions over whether there was anyone they could start calling about me all for the simple crimes of sitting on my porch dressed normap not listebing to music or even making a lot of noise on my own porch in the middle of the day working on a a carburetor for an absolutely astonishing 2 hours.

Now this coffee shop, I want you to consider that other neighborhood local owned coffee shops in Seattle, the loving hole in the wet earth that spawned Starbucks, have actually told me how pretentious Slate Coffee is when I mention how much more I like their place over the cockbags I live attached to. Let that sink in. So their claims of "nuh huh we didn't call about your Honda parked out front for a day" already seemed suspect now really seem like they're trying to assert their loving head up rear end "premium coffee served in wine glasses with a side of farts aimed directly into sir's mouth" image of ultra ttend and modern into perceived eye sores. They already come into the yard and take over our table and chairs, and then act all shocked and offended that the guy who just came out from that house sat down and now their conversation is ruined or awkward because why isn't he going away oh my god he's still just sitting there smoking and staring at us what is this creeps loving deal?

I've had people I've watched drink coffee in my yard visibly act out the sheer rude inconvenience that my silent observation puts them through as they gather all their stuff and go over to the benches out front of the fence, so that's why it amuses me so thoroughly that the person opening at 6:45am today, who discussed how much of a tweaker I am at length yesterday, arrived in time to see me exit the house, root through the butt can for snipes I rolled up to smoke , go walk out to my car to root around to look for a can of cat good I forgot to bring in, and bring back a junky rear end toaster I found outside.

And then about two hours later fling it back outside while screaming about it being full of black widows and obviously still spinning his loving balls off because Seatthe pretty clearly doesnt have Black Widows.

14" Dick posted:

If there's one I know for sure, it's that I couldn't give gently caress all if I were ever considered or even called Normal. I know my story doesnt end here or even in this way. Not to be so bold as to compare myself to the late Hunter S., I take inspiration from him. Getting all twisted sideways and puking onto a keyboard doesn't make you tell the next Dear and Loathing. I meant in the sense that there's always an incredible story out there, it just matters how much you're willing and prepared to pay in order to take the ride.

gently caress normal. I just want to go back to being functional. Like this guy. This guy here knows what the gently caress is up with that.

14" Dick posted:

14" Dick posted:

Getting both axles, oil pan gasket, inner and outer tie rods, an alignment after, right front caliper replacement, new gearbox and engine oil, new coolant, and some carb tuning.

14" Dick posted:

Nearly there.



Wait.



It's Fel-Pro too, and definitely from the 1200 kit

14" Dick posted:

Dear lord, I know we don't always see eye to eye. We don't talk much at all except when I need something. I am not a good friend, and I want to do better. All I ask is that this steering rack bolt inside the subframe channel is merely gunked in with age and not because it was torqued to yield. There are children present, and I really do not want to go to jail for the things I would then be forced to do. Hail Satan, amen.

14" Dick posted:

I don't know whether or not I should go back to the instructors who guided and taught me my trace and punch them in the loving mouth for knowing the lies they told and the path they set forth for me, or run sobbing into arms I know will be waiting outstretched and just cry, cry into that comforting embrace because somebody finally understood what I needed most.

14" Dick posted:

They told me with a straight face that I'd make good money with a well respected trade in high demand and even spoke praisingly of the opportunities that book time granted to those who were fast and good. They either did so with malice and bitterness in their hearts, or because they knew a cubicle job for me would somehow, somewhere involve the term 'active shooter.'

14" Dick posted:

I am done loving around.

14" Dick posted:

D14 bomber, call sign Enola Dave, reports fuel supply issues. Top secret mission to bring Trash Man to Truckasaki currently delayed pending repair.

14" Dick posted:

Also stone loving sober for anyone keeping track of the loving time I'm that loving mad at this fuckin piece of loving poo poo rat gently caress bitch loving car

14" Dick posted:

Now the honda is just not starting despite firing up yesterday to confirm it would, and having fuel and spark

14" Dick posted:

New plugs no change cranked with spark until the battery went dead. Cordless impact aldo let the smoke out.

14" Dick posted:

Suspected cause of death, leaking crank seal and oil contamination causing stretch. Tensioner appears intact and in place.



Only got about 30k on it, belt and seals all coming out of Puyallup. Calling bullshit on this engine being non interference BECAUSE I HAD loving PLANS FOR THIS WEEKEND THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE THIS.

Can't tell if I'm loving pissed at the Honda for deciding to do this right now for no loving reason or spare it's life it decided Wyoming didn't really work for it.

14" Dick posted:

I mean there's one or two minor things to finish up before I start wondering how to renew my registration, get i5 aligned, sort and pack my tools, wash my laundry, reconnect the heater defroster and cigarette lighter, reinstall my fan after finishing the rewirng, clean my room, get cat supplies, feed the snake, and maybe if theres time clock myself in the dick with a splitting maul a couple times before i hope to leave Tuesday morning

14" Dick posted:

No change. Civic still refuses to even stumble.

14" Dick posted:

Tomorrow is stop loss day so if I can't get it running tonight tomorrow is vacation homing everybody and preparing to greyhound to Nebraska.

14" Dick posted:

Man I love knowing the right people. Granted, he wasn't pleased I interrupted his daughter's wedding for this, but luckily he understood the urgency. Nice guy too, just says I owe him one.

14" Dick posted:

REPENT, ALL YE SINNERS. REPENT, AL YE WICKED. REPENT, FOR THE HORN OF THE ARCHANGEL HAS SOUNDED AND THE 4.0 HORSEMEN PREPARE TO DRIVE. REPENT, FOR JUDGMENT DAVE COMES FOR US ALL.

ExplodingSims posted:

IT BEGINS

14 BAR RIFF posted:

I'll be running at least 2 days behind you.

ExplodingSims posted:

IT BEGINS PARTII: THE BEGINNING

ExplodingSims posted:

Truck status: rekt


And yeah, engine is coming out of the van, gonna be dropped onto the truck. Also, if you had to drive this van, you would use the word ruin.

Transmission is on its last legs, the body is FUBAR, and b to cap things off the passenger side door latch broke as soon as we pulled into Daniels place.

The van will either be sold to scrappers or join the rest of Dan's unfinished projects

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Awful nice weather you got there.


Quite a shame that storm's a comin', though. Looks t' be a drat right wicked Norwesterner bein pushed forward by a howling gale from the screams of the lost and the damned themselves. Truly, something awful this way comes.

ExplodingSims posted:

Day one complete:
Truck status:

Front clip entirely removed
Engine and bellhousing are free from transmission, but we can't get the engine out. Either it's really stuck on the shaft there, or we missed a bolt somewhere.

And I've officially driven the van. Ground wasn't quite as level as we needed it to be at the top of the hill, so we took the easy way to the bottom.

https://youtu.be/jKxENw_eTgg
Potato quality video because my friend sucks, but hey.

Van status:
Begging for a merciful death.

Oh well, we've been at this for over 12 hours, it's time for a break.

ExplodingSims posted:

Now that the engine is out test fitment can commence!

Bellhousing fits pefectly, and the new crossmember looks like it'll work.

We have however run into our first issue. The bell housing has a much larger threaded hole for the pivot ball for the clutch fork.




I never read about anyone having issues with this, so I'm not quite sure what the solution is. I'm not sure if I can find one online with that small of a ball and that big threading.

It's like a 3/4" hole

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Yo assholes is there gonna be anything let for me Jesus

ExplodingSims posted:

RIP Van.

Perhaps in another life the PO will take better care of you and not let you get so rusted out. You served admirably, and now you can rest.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

This thing cost me a friendship even if by proxy so I don't care if I have to window the block a few times on the way as long as it can legally move forward under its own power I proceed with the ride my ticket was able to purchase

14 BAR RIFF posted:

We're in the pipe, 5 by 5

14 BAR RIFF posted:

If anyone between south Washington and Salt Lake City has a burner smart phone they can donate please try texting 4084991357 as someone stole mine from the jeep borrowing a phone to post this.

OxMan posted:

So hey update

"tell thread serious fire risk and repairs needed to get anywhere tell thread my number i posted now working and i need gas money or im stuck here averaging 7 to 9 mpg and blow by puking 1.5qt oil per 100 miles"

Welpppp

Panaflex posted:

I know most are freaking out that 14 is missing the bulk of this but I sincerely believe putting it in the big truck and getting all the fiddly bits to play nice for a long haul to Florida is going to require as many creative minds as possible. We're trying to get 14 on a bus or some other form of transport in the other thread since savior Jeep is causing problems. Is there any clear way already established to get funds to 14?

ExplodingSims posted:

So update time!

So Saturday was a total waste of time. We tried to get the brakes done, but it turns out I got the wrong cylinders for the front brakes. Rears take 1 1/2", fronts take a smaller size.

No huge deal, go to the local Napa here, and they're closed early. And its the only parts store in town. gently caress.

Go back to try the rears out. Well, the rear drums are held on by rusted out, PO hosed slotted screws. We were able to get 2 out, but the third was trashed beyond repair, and then a extractor snapped off inside it, so now it'll have to be ground down.

The real kicker was that the other side? All three came off with no effort. Opened it up and everything looked good. Wheel cylinders don't even feel bad.

But that's boring. So today we test fit the new engine. Ended up have to put the headers on to clear it, but once we unbolt the steering column it should be a perfect fit.







Progress!

I also picked up new lights for the rear, and new turn signals, and ran some new wires. To say the old wiring was in rough shape is an understatement.

Liquid Communism posted:

Seriously, you guys are rocking through this a lot faster than I thought you would, hell of a thing to watch!

ExplodingSims posted:

Hopefully we can keep up.the pace.

I'm remaining cautiously optimistic, but basically if things aren't within reach by Wednesday I'm gonna be taking a bus home.

But it seems like there's only a few things left to do.

Brakes
ECU wiring
Lights
Refill transmission + rear end.
Lights
Tires

That's like 3 days of work tight?

everdave posted:

We need to convince him to hitch or beg a ride to the nearest greyhound stop. Can we buy GH tickets and have them waiting somewhere? I haven't been on one in 15 years

Rhyno posted:

Tell him to turn around and go home. He's never going to make it at this rate.

Rhyno posted:

Look I love this dude, he's hilarious and entertaining but he's also very headstrong and will probably think to himself that he can make it there by shear force of will. If we don't gang up on him he's going to push on. Somebody calculate the distance he has to travel back, look up current gas prices along the way, factor in 10mpg and we send him that amount and stop there.

He needs to go home or he's going to end up broken down in the middle of nowhere and he'll freeze to death.

angryrobots posted:

So I informed him of the logistics and the concern of you all, and it went about like you should expect.

14 INCH JEEP posted:

tell thread i proceed to target. payload is hot and armed

14 INCH JEEP posted:

i have literally all i need but funds for gas and oil and sealants\adhesives. jeep finally drives well

ExplodingSims posted:

Yeah, I think we're in a bit of a failure state with the truck, because of the clutch ball. (Why does a bellhousing from the 60s have a 13/16-14 threading?)

But yeah:
Fuel system has been ripped out of the van, so than can be reused for our purposes.

ECU: I'm not sure what my plan is now. I could still rip it out of the van, but if I'm going to be returning later, I found out that Summit sells one already made up, with all the emissions stuff removed, so I may just go with that.

Radiator, I can actually reuse the OG one from the truck. It's still in good shape, and can handle the load from what I understand. (With a fan shroud)

Started: I bought a new one that fits the bellhousing. It for a 70 something GMC, but it fits ok. Hopefully it plays nice with the ECU

But yeah, I don't think this is going to get finished in this run. Theres a ton still left to do, and then the trip itself, which is going to take at least 3 days. It's disappointing, but I think we did pretty good all things considered, in the time we worked.

Seminal Flu posted:

Is there a possibility of a plot twist, where 14 shows up after you've left to finish up and drive it home?

You've got the van there, so it qualifies as shelter. He can get that thing running, I have faith in that.

angryrobots posted:

I don't think you guys understand just how emotionally committed to this trip 14 is. He's been looking forward to it for months.

I don't want him to break down somewhere cold and die of exposure either, of course. But if he gets there just in time to go home, well: the journey was the destination all along.

Leperflesh posted:

I'm struggling to understand how anyone in this thread thought that was a less likely scenario a week or a month ago, when the two car options were the (not running) ancient tiny Honda or the (not running) ancient lovely Causemero?

This was always going to be a mad drive to Nebraska across the northern US in late October in a piece of garbage car driven by a maniac. Were you guys confused about this?

Quadrapellegiance posted:

14" was really looking forward to it. Madness incarnate. You don't tell that man no, you stoke that fire.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

He says wipers fixed, mileage/fuel consumption, oil consumption potentially fixed.

On his way to pick up the money I think and then leaving Spokane towards Butte.

I've let him know there's a contingent that wants him to turn back.

Rhyno posted:

Explain to him that ES is leaving and he'll be gone before 14" arrives.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

His care level remains minimal.

14 INCH JEEP posted:

i have no maps no cash no internet

but i am on a mission from god, i have 3\4 a tank of gas, its dark and im wearing glasses. hit it.


i have failed at literally everything else in my life till now. i am getting that truck to florida for sims

Edminster posted:

like, as much as there's the blatant warning signs that he should turn back immediately...



14 looks like he's actually living in this pic, and not like the barely-animate husk being controlled by despair and multiple dead cars we've been seeing in his selfies of late. He looks like he has a purpose.

ExplodingSims posted:

Just got an update.

He's in Montana.

angryrobots posted:

At the moment I clicked post, this came through.

14 INCH JEEP posted:

you will die when i give you permission to die . and it will not be a peaceful death

Panaflex posted:

I've been pulling the weather forecasts for the rest of his trip to Valentine and to be honest it doesn't look that bad. If he's beyond Missoula as was posted a number of hours ago pulling the long haul should put him there in the morning (hopefully). Ride shiny and chrome, Dave!

PopeCrunch posted:

I've known several people in the headspace I think our favorite madman is in, and hell I've been there a few times myself.

This trip has precisely dick to do with the truck.

It has everything to do with the pathological urge to persist when every force, known and unknown, that man beast or god can bring to bear against you is telling you to stop. Whether it's correct or not, whether it makes sense or not, Dave has his identity tied up in the idea of Making This Voyage. It's not about stubbornness, it's not about running away from his problems, it's about deciding that this time, the bastards aren't going to stop him. If the vehicle breaks down, he'll walk. If his feet fall off, he'll crawl. If he turns back, then even though you, me, and everyone he knows will tell him it was the right decision, and he will probably agree with us, he will see himself as a failure and it'll be a long time before he puts much effort into bettering his life.

This has never been a trip about fixing a truck. It's always been a trip about fixing his life, and if he's got the will to do it. The fact that that will is enabled by outside sources really isn't relevant, since ultimately it's not us staring at a thousand miles of bad road and strapping in.

Cop Porn Popper posted:

God speed 14". May the road ahead be smooth and littered with lucas oil stabilizer bottles.

14 INCH posted:

15mpg butte achieved gas expected to last until mid wyoming pressing on



also let thread know mileage back down blowby increasing have oil on hand but previous estimate of mid wyoming may be closer to wyoming border if decrease continues and would like to pre plan before stranding. no other drivability issues at this time just a thirsty, thirsty whore

stevobob posted:

roll on, roll on you wonderful bastard

14 INCH posted:

made 230 miles from full to start of red on fuel gauge

jeep things i do not understand: dude excitedly askingif this was an 89 pioneer. yes. specifically that, loving freak

had 3 people whistle and cheer seeing me re aiming my headlamps

also yesterday in spokane took a poo poo so hard solid shrapnel hit me on both cheeks due to sheer force of impact with the back of the bowl. day before that i made truckers at a truck stop screech to a halt and prop the door open with a trash canand wait in a line outside for a full cigarette before resuming its service

please inform thread i legit think my rear end is broken

just not as broken as this loving jeep lol. heading to exit before billings in columbus now

14 INCH posted:

montana state patrol moved over to let me pass without lighting me up

Fermented Tinal posted:

Hell was but a distant memory for the old Jeep. It'd been there. It'd done that. It bore the scars of long-forgotten battles fought on freeways across the country and hodge-podge repairs that barely kept it functioning. For a time it had been allowed to rust, perhaps for most suvs this would be the end, but fate had other plans.The cracked windshield rattled as the worn suspension bounced over a minor bump in the road. The driver responded by goosing the throttle, as if to punish the vehicle for daring to speak.

The current maniac behind its wheel was cruel, having filled the crankcase with lucas oil stabilizer. The result was truly a miracle only known to AMX vehicles, for a time, worn bearings, stuck lifters, and old seals were given new life by the higher viscosity and frothier oil. Any other motor likely would've failed long before now, but the old XJ pioneered on, now somewhere between Montana and Wyoming.

This was the Jeep's final ride, or so it hoped. It had no need for bubblegum or hope, just more oil stabilizer; having been forced into a vicious cycle of additive addiction that would ultimately end in one of two ways, engine failure, or 2qt of gear oil, followed by engine failure. At every stop it washed down more oil stabilizer with gallons upon gallons of gasoline. It gluttonously gulped down fluids as its only outlet against its owner, having broken its own gauges to force the issue.

14 INCH posted:

exactly 10mpg and 1/2 qt oil loss after 125 mile straight pedal to the firewall WOT

everdave posted:

Latest from 14. He sounds in good spirits. I asked him about plans for the truck with everyone leaving:

"I am cleanup crew. I stay till it lives"

"If Sims decrees it i get it to florida for him"

Seminal Flu posted:

This has taken a turn for the :metal101:

Pham Nuwen posted:

There was a dark hilarity in his face, and perhaps in his jeep, too, you would think—and you would be right. It was the jeep of a happy man, a jeep that radiated a horrible handsome warmth, a jeep to make water glasses shatter in the hands of tired truck-stop waitresses, to make small children crash their trikes into board fences and then run wailing to their mommies with stake-shaped splinters sticking out of their knees.

ExplodingSims posted:

14" update: Should be entering SD soon, about 4 hours away from Valentine now.

14 INCH JOE posted:

note do not apply jb weld to the face no matter whats been stolen from Inchmortan Joe, it is not make up and while carb cleaner does take it off but burns like real bad

Rhyno posted:

Oh man, he shaved his head again. poo poo's serious.

everdave posted:

He is back on the road but reporting Jeep down one cylinder. He is going to try to make it to truck site tonight.

1500quidporsche posted:

I've got to admit. I really didn't expect this to happen after the endless buildup of trying and failing to get various vehicles running and then getting stranded in Spokane with a vehicle he had ownership of for less than a week but God loving drat well done 14".

Seat Safety Switch posted:

How dare you not believe in 14.

ExplodingSims posted:

It has been told, the legends, that the one who would see this complete would arrive, against all odds.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

The Eagle has loving landed.

Rhyno posted:

We need a third goon to follow them as support and to document this entire thing.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

The Jeep has found a new purpose in life and will begin the self healing process within minutes of arrival.

Either that or it'll fall apart like the Bluesmobile, leaving 14 in the middle of a field clutching a loose steering wheel.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Truck will be delivered to florida. I can deliver the package intact and running.

West SAAB Story posted:

About drat time! Where's our story/monologue?

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Working on piecing it together in my mind. Sims said I left Spokane day before yesterday but I literally have no concept of time right now. Im aware of the dawn of a fresh day and a clear mind, but ever since the jet I was actively hallucinating from sleep dep and isolation. I pulled over there and found it because it came to me that for the past half hour, Id been mentally on CA 101S to Monterey to visit my grandmother. She died 6 years ago. The only reason I even realised it was because the tone break in the black sky to night cloud line slowly resolved itself into a massive 3 stack foundry similar to the one at Moss Landing, but on a scale far beyond anything that we would be physically capable of building on Earth let alone with our current technology. Terror filled me that the Mountains of Madness had actually opened, and the Old Ones returned. Then it clicked I needed to pull over and get some coffee. Between the 2 days leading up to my departure from Seattle to arrival last night, across 4 days there was probably no more than 10 hours of sleep total simply trying to get a vehicle alive enough to make it. The Jeep has a swank rear end new radio in it, aux in, usb, all the colors, etc. It also had all the speakers taken out, presumably scavenged for the Gremlin/ So since the moment I left Seattle, all i had to keep me company was the sound of my own inner voice and things got a bit recursive there for a while. poo poo was terrifying. But the Jeep has earned its place in my stable, having had me actively trying to grenade the motor since the moment I hit Montana and the rage took over. Ive ordered the front and rear Dorman vacuum assemblies from the Napa in town, and now need to figure out how to get the cash my parents sent me because there isnt a single bank of america in state and the closest Walmart is a 2 hour drive. Jeep reeks strongly of gas and now appears 2qt overfull despite it being low last night so Im sure there cant possibly be any injectors leaking.

Seafoam yesterday was for a rapid spark plug de oiling, poo poo was way too hot to touch and I was crunched for time mentally and literally so when it began misfiring too bad to keep moving id pull over, suck down a seafoam shot and stall it out, blow the oil out, and take off at 85mph again. It worked drat well for what I needed.

VW is actually a fuel injected IRS '69. It's not Lowered Expectations, nothing else could ever be. But preemptive or not, the Jeep has a tow hitch and it has already been named.

It's name is Darkness.

Hello, Darkness.

My old friend.

everdave posted:

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Id also like to point out that while Im sure it was posted here and I missed it, i thought the dump truck was a "dump" truck stake bed. For anyone else who missed it, it's a hydraulic actuated actual loving dump bed with intact components and is the current side quest to restore functionality because MOTHER loving DUMP TRUCK YO

Secondary side quest is seeeing if van cluster wiring can be adapted onto combination gauge from truck to give actual engine readouts of current operating conditions via OEM gauges.

ExplodingSims posted:

A connection has been made.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

We are in so much trouble

ExplodingSims posted:

Well. I'm on a bus headed to Denver.

14" has total control of the project now.

Leperflesh posted:

So is the end-game here a drive of the truck to FLA? If so, then what - fly back to NE, to drive either the jeep or the veedub back to Seattle?

I imagine moving away from Seattle is a no-go at least in the short term, since that's where 14 keeps his stuff, his cat, his doctor(s), and his unemployment income. Not to mention his other cars.

Is 14 literally camping in a field in Nebraska in November? Because if so, a kerosene stove is just the start of it; he needs a below-zero grade sleeping bag and a waterproof enclosure to camp in, because a pile of socks in the back of the jeep might not cut it.

angryrobots posted:

djdanno13 posted:

Short update, I took op and his very very good friend to the sketchiest bus depo I could find which was 120 miles away. The joys of living out in the middle of nowhere. 14 was eyeing that fastback really hard yesterday morning. Maybe, air-cooled dump truck in the future? I'm joking. Came back to the house, 14 refuses to sleep indoors electing to use his jeep for shelter. Went to bed last night hoping I don't find the body of 14 stiff from rigor mortis due to exposure or crushed under an engine block or worse, trapped by an engine block and then finished off by roving coyotes. Wake up to go to work and see new graffiti is on the side of the van. He's probably okay.

Tomarse posted:

I picture 14" at the moment kind of like the little stray cat that keeps coming round my house. Sometimes it smells a bit funny and has got oil on its face from being under cars and it has a slightly weird miaow. But I always give it some food and a drink and we talk and chill for a bit and then both go our own ways for a while because we both like our own space. I let it stay in longer when its cold or wet and sometimes it sleeps on the sofa.

Seminal Flu posted:

djdanno is going to have a tame Firestone mechanic chained up in the back yard. Some say he almost killed a 4.0 Jeep. Others have mentioned his proclivity to summon dark powers. All we know is that he's called 14.

djdanno13 posted:

Lol I have offered him the house. He chooses to stay outside of his own will. Thankfully he's agreed to come in when it gets really chilly and I have a mattress waiting for him.

14 INCH posted:

14 INCH posted:

i ewas also offered a couch inside but until it gets too lovely or too cold i like my little camping hole so thats why i asked for the insulation to line the roof and inside rears

ive got permission to use what i need at the house too its just the irl autonomy of the trip so far im digging

decent enough 5/8 spark socket preferred w integrated low profile universal at the end my snap on was with gremlin and the roadside replacement was loving shorter than a plug so itd go on either plug or extension not both

specifically the probe tip only for a powerprobe III (3) itll help with trouble shooting once juice is live

i may have identified their firewall clearance issues it involves trans and drive shaft angles will look further in amtoday was recoup day

dude seems incredibly open to parting w fastback will research it further as truck work continues and progresses but it is a side goal to bring it home pls check if type 3 tow bars exist or can be made as jeep has a solidly mounted hitch port

also forgot to mentioned it irl laughed at i think rhynos right at home comment. i have a thick skin and very very few off limits areas only a total sociopath would even consider to use so nobody feel afraid to fire off poo poo like that

ExplodingSims posted:

I'm sitting in a bus terminal in Atlanta, should be back in Orlando by 3 or so.

So far I've gotten separated from my box of tools, back in Denver, which I am REALLY not happy about to say the least. Supposedly it'll make its way to Orlando without me, but I'm still not thrilled.

Watched a big fat overall wearing redneck try to start a fight with a black woman in the Denver terminal because he said cockroach were coming out of her luggage.

Got held up in Kanas City because a lady missed the bus, got in a fight with driver, and then stood in front of the bus until the cops showed up.

And I also me a very strange man. Claimed to be a former ranger, Master aircraft mechanic, and a holder of three degrees. Told me stories about how he had broken a bus window by getting in a fight with two people trying to rob him. Also kept saying how he worked for some PMC and couldn't talk about his job.

Also met a very jolly looking grandpa guy who talked about how he couldn't wait to get back to his mushroom and LSD collection back home.

And I also haven't really slept more than about 5 or 6 hours in the last 36 hours.

djdanno13 posted:

Just been catching up on the thread. Meeting 14 in person is probably everything you would imagine it is. I'm planning on throwing crackers and beer across the field at him to keep him sum what lucid but I'm hesitant about traveling nearer I'm..... I'm scared.

Seat Safety Switch posted:

You own a Volkswagen fastback in a field. I do not believe you are any different from him, deep down.

Perhaps this is what truly scares you.

Look in the mirror now and see the beast that laid within this whole time.

You can let go.

14 INCH posted:

people in town beginniing to ask how truck is going

MrYenko posted:

"People in town beginning to wonder what the chanting and green fire they've been seeing at night mean."

14 INCH posted:

there im fixing it

14 INCH posted:

Potentially solved oil blow out issues with new Dorman parts from Napa. Identified major fuel leak at FPR, could be fully operational soon. If I drive the trukk to florida, I'll need something here to drag the Fasty home because I dont care how much knee time I need to put in it will be mine

But thats just because I doubt theres anything I can do to obtain that olds because holy poo poo pimp as mother loving hell.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

I have proven my skills. Package will be delivered intact to Florida. First few days have been slow going as my body recuperated from what I demanded of it to get here. But the terrible power of this fully operational battle station is being brought online. Valentine is just far too remote of a location for an adequate demonstration.

14 INCH posted:

working on getting trans totally free to mount directly to engine once thats out then focussing on butt stuff

ah i saaw full floating axles i can remove and install no prob but have zero clue if input sshaft pinion area unbolts w out issue or if axles need to come out first and also whether or not wheels come off for axles iirc drums are bolted to axle somehow

so all i need is order of operations

it feels like a massive ungodly overhaul but theres really not that much needed job wise

let thread know despite chaotic start and slow going im feeling alive again for the first time in a long time

14 BAR RIFF posted:

SIR A MESSAGE FROM BATMAN

https://youtu.be/jJEmuqDWfgY

14 BAR RIFF posted:

I've found myself again out here on the Fury Road. I feel human again.

rndmnmbr posted:

Realtalk: you've been lost for a while now, but goddamn man, it's good to have you back.

everdave posted:

From 14:

"What bodily fluid shall I fill this with?"

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Current roadblock is this threaded ball thing once that arrives engine and trans appear ready to mate.



Danno and I got the cherry picker back on plywood.



Yeah I'm pretty sure this can handle a 350



Its like the sky is burning

Applebees Appetizer posted:

Can't wait until you drain the diff, now THAT is going to smell like victory.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

It can't possibly smell worse than what the implement shop called panther piss because jfc this poo poo reeks. Bought it on my principle of the less they spend on packaging and more they spend telling you how dangerous it is and I've never smelled anything like it. Literally like a cat box. Also it seems to go on sticky and doesn't just run off. Curious as to tomorrow's results.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Panther piss seems concerning to say the least, sprayed onto otherwise unprepped build up last night of the same grade that broke the wood handle brush.





I may want to pay attention to the warning labels

14 BAR RIFF posted:

My face is tingling where the spatter hit me

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Gear oils still good

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Only panther piss, a 2 hour soak, and brake kleen with no other scrubbing or work

Cocoa Crispies posted:

14 BAR RIFF posted:

https://youtu.be/EVArUViYbD4

rndmnmbr posted:

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Actual IRL quote from Dan you go lube up and I will bring the guns and the camera

djdanno13 posted:

MAKING TRUCKS GREAT AGAIN!

djdanno13 posted:

Dave had to go take a shower later because he felt "dirty" after I lubed him up and gave him my "gun".

14 INCH posted:

14 BAR RIFF posted:

yoober posted:

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Right stuff showed up for the diff, beginning to button up the rear end in preparation of a drive shaft.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Hard fakk rujing for extinguisher no breaks but wrist knee and impact hurtg bad

14 BAR RIFF posted:

[quote="djdanno13"]
Um apparently there is a fire at my house with the fire department on the way and I'm still 20 minutes away.

OxMan posted:

The jeep burnt down hahaha goddamn.

Everything (except the jeep) and everyone is fine from the brief phone call I just had with Dave for a completely unrelated reason.

ExplodingSims posted:

Jesus Christ.

I'm so sorry dave.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Your truck is in expert hands don't worry

Rhyno posted:

djdanno must really be wondering what the hell he's gotten himseflf into.

djdanno13 posted:

Nah, everything is going pretty much how I figured it would. I'm a goddamn sa and ai veteran. I was fully aware of what I was committing to and goddammit this is one goon project that's going to loving make it.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

BROTHERS, IT IS THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY. WE HAVE THE ENEMY ON THE RUN. THERE SHALL BE NO SURRENDER. NO QUARTER DRIVE GIVEN.

WE MARCH TO THE SEA.

angryrobots posted:

As the world fell, each of us in our own way was broken. It was hard to know who was more crazy: me or everyone else.

14 BAR RIFF posted:

djdanno13 posted:

What caused the fire? Well the fuel rail had massive leaks, especially at the regulator. Like you could see it dripping out as the car was running. Honestly it was almost a miracle it didn't burst into flames somewhere over the Rockies. Anyways Dave was rightfully skeezed out by this and that was the main reason he was driving the Jimmy so he could get parts for the jeep. One regulator later and the problem was fixed.... at the regulator. This caused more pressure further down the rail where there was another leak, but one not as apparent as the first one. Eventually gas and hot engine does what it always does and poof!

It honestly is a freaking miracle that it didn't burn down somewhere along the way or burn down the house/hillside/half the town of valentine.

The Royal Nonesuch posted:

it's me, i'm the adult making fanart for the internet


fullsize

14 BAR RIFF posted:

OK so what if I encountered an oh poo poo we are totally hosed problem ive burned 20,bucks of gas and all day on that sidelines this wholes thing another week best case scenario but I may have discovered fire is our actual solution for

14 BAR RIFF posted:

Roomie just sent me these pics of Rosie





I miss my kitty

Old Binsby posted:

I'm from Euroland where everything is different, but don't US vehicles need a periodical inspection to determine whether they're still somewhat roadworthy? Aside from the usual emissions standards and seatbelt/safety requirements that usually get waived for older vehicles, you can't take a car on the road here unless it's had a check for general integrity of brakes, drivetrain, suspension, etc etc etc.

djdanno13 posted:

Lol, me and 14 have gave each other some meat a couple times already. I would take his meat this time but I've got a date with my wife tonight.

Fermented Tinal posted:

I have a very confusing hardon right now.

19 o'clock posted:

WITNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

User Error posted:

HAIL SATAN

As Nero Danced posted:

Try morse code.

Shrugs Not Drugs posted:

The tool I used 98% of the time though was this:
http://www.kentool.com/index.php/products/bead-breakers/t11d-35327-t11e-35329-wood-handled-duck-billed-bead-breaking-wedge-detail
and it's a fuckton more versatile and user friendly.

Shrugs Not Drugs posted:

it's called a bead ax and if you don't love it you're swinging it wrong.

rndmnmbr posted:

(required addendum: I'm poo poo at changing my own tires doing anything automotive related ever.)

14 BAR RIFF posted:

What im saying here is I just ripped a fart that sounded like strangling a goose with my bare hands and that I will die alone surrounded by cats

14 BAR RIFF posted:

I tried that once because she challenged me to a fart off and I swear to god this is true we never had sex again

Backno posted:

That said there is part of my morbid curiosity that wonders what the hell hapened during "The Incident".

ExplodingSims posted:

a reasonable person

angryrobots posted:

Manifold hammer time?