I feel that ice is slowly melting
I feel that ice is slowly melting
an update from gnob
What is up kids? Today’s episode will be brought to you by me, gnob. Where to begin. Quite the road trip. I can’t believe this old ass truck made it all the way to the dirty souff and back. Any of you that know me, know I’m a bit of a homebody. I have never been away from the west coast, aside from an overnighter to Steamboat Springs during my Atom era. Pretty sure Colorado is still west coast…. It smells the same anyway.
We covered a lot of country. Made a point to stay away from the interstates and travelled primarily by backroads. Gave an opportunity to see many different towns, cities and remnants thereof. I learned that it’s uphill both ways across the country. Not sure how that’s a thing, but it makes the “uphill both ways in the snow” way more believable.
I learned about crawfish underground. I learned a roundabout in Louisiana is probably not the best idea. I learned Texas is seriously yuge. Pretty sure over half of our travel days were crossing that state one way or the other. We had some good times in Texas with old and new friends. Very thankful for those who opened their houses, and hearts to us during the trip.
Overall, the trip was an adventure. One thing I’ve learned in this life is it’s good to have a plan. Its better to realize shyt rarely goes to plan. It is necessary at times to just change the channel. Large portions of our trip were strictly seat of the pants. Which way we were going was mostly decided in the mornings. Dictated significantly by the weather. In the end we were able to cover roughly 6000 miles.
I don’t think we backtracked any roads on the way home, so completely different view, well mostly completely. It was fun getting to ride route 66 in a few different places. The sidewinder section in Arizona was my favorite section, but old steel graveyards always bring the close second.
As far as the scenery goes, I still think Oregon wins. The rock formations in Utah are incredible. The high desert of Arizona and new Mexico are amazing. Texas is, well, Texas after all. Louisiana is always a good time. The best weather we got was there. Two weeks of shorts and sandals in February and March were pretty terrible.
The 4runner performed flawlessly during the trip. For those that are unfamiliar, the truck is powered by a 3.4L mated to a 5 speed, pushing 37s with 4.30 gears. We aren’t super quick, but the truck can run highway speeds all day (proven by a 72/55 traffic stop, doh). Occasionally we see 3rd on steeper hills. We averaged between 11-15 mpg.
Since we have been home, I’ve just been keeping busy in the garage. Getting lots done on Danny. Look for axle and transmission video updates soon. Danny is rolling on his own wheels.
The Fairlady finally made the DMV journey. The process was relatively painless, other than having to make a second trip. It was nice to finally take her for a non-eventful drive in the sunshine. I need to finish up the hardtop resto, then some paint and metal polish and she’ll be ready for a new home.
I had an opportunity to work on an fj40 this week. Which brings me to this point. Just because you have tools doesn’t mean you’re qualified to use them. My client bought a “restored” cluster. Had it installed and the truck started blowing fuses. Long story short, the “builder” left out some very important electrical insulators and two of the three gauges were broken.
Point being, be careful out there. Buying products in these markets that are flooded by frauds and scammers can be painful. Don’t f*ck around with people who aren’t savvy when it comes to electrical anything. This was a small issue but could have potentially led to a fire and a lost 40, or life. On this note, here is some food for thought, are you really a car guy if you don’t turn your own wrenches?
peace
Video of the Week
This is the vid that has the sidewinder section in Arizona.
Quote of the Week
That wraps up another week with Snale Racing! We’ll leave you with the quote that was most powerful for us this week. Peace!✌
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