Theres not much else like it. It does not matter if we are on the move heading to the farmers market or sitting in the front of the house tinkering – people love to say hi. If you are here, you might have been one of them (leave a comment why don’t ya!).
The last two weeks have seen some action. Cosmetically, the rover has new shoes – 235x85xr16 BF Goodrich All Terrains. I ran BFG A/Ts on my 1997 Discovery and have always found them to be capable tires. I’m now more anxious than ever to see how well a 1973 truck can handle off road – my expectations are high due to the pedigree, but even a casual day on the trail will be fun.
Of course, that is all a bit of a dream at this point. Its not hard to notice the missing bonnet in the picture above. We’ve been diagnosing some idle issues and think they are close to sorted out. I say we because I’ve enlisted the help of a neighbor and friend as well as a new friend – both considerably more knowledgeable than I. Together we partially rebuilt the carburetor, taking out each tiny jet and carefully cleaning the orifices. The fuel filters were inspected, cleaned and re-primed. After a few nights of tinkering, it seems to be running pretty well. There’s still some puttering and fine tuning that is a bit beyond my expertise at the moment. But each day I discover something new.
The rover is a head turner and it doesn’t really matter if its running or not. Its a joy and indeed motivating when I am turning a wrench and someone stops. Young and old alike, its the same. First there is the creeping Cheshire grin which is always followed by “that is sooo cool!” and then usually “how old is it?” Parents then start apologizing profusely as they attempt to pry young fingers off of some part or panel. Insisting that its pretty well unbreakable does not deter them – maybe its because modern cars are not built the same. But nothing tops that look of amazement, however brief.
Thats the update for this week. If you are one of the wavers – drop me a line.