Truck?,

What truck? I haven't had time to look at any trucks? And I sure haven't had time to disassemble any trucks.

Maybe if I quit my job.

Oh yeah, never mind.

Truck Update

I have not made any real progress on the truck, since getting most of the fuel system removed. I still have one rusty steel line to remove from the frame, but it parallels the brake line that I need to replace, so I'll remove them at the same time.

Since getting the tank removed, I have run the engine once. I hooked up a fuel line and filter to the pump and ran it straight into a can of clean gas. I can't drive it this way, but at least I can keep the truck running and starting.

I also made a few calls about getting the tank cleaned and sealed. There are a couple of radiator shops here in town that can do it. $75 to get it cleaned and another $75 to seal it seems to be the going rate. Unfortunately, all of these shops are on the far side of town, 20 miles or so from here. Eventually I'll have to make a special trip down there to drop off the tank.

Gasoline Dump

This afternoon I planned to get the old gas out of the truck tank and into gas cans, so that I could haul it to the city hazardous waste collection site. The main problem I had involved getting the gas from the tank into the cans for hauling.

So ignoring most common sense and safety, I dumped the gas into a 10 gallon bucket that we used to wash cloth diapers in. Then, I was going to pour the gas into the cans a little at a time with a funnel. The gas was really cruddy looking and I did not want 8 gallons sitting in a bucket for too long. But while I was getting ready to transfer the gas, I noticed that the rust and junk was settling quickly.

After a few minutes, I siphoned off the top 5 gallons and I poured it into a can and then into the minivan. Hey, we won't be driving this thing for more than a couple of years, so what can it hurt, right? Most of the rest of the gas went into a 2 gallon can for use in the lawn mower. But the last gallon, and all of the crud at the bottom of the bucket, went into a smaller gas can. That one will get dropped off at the city chemical waste site along with my 10 gallon diaper bucket.

Introducing the gunky gas into the minivan was not a perfect solution, but no one spontaneously combusted, so I consider it a successful afternoon.

Tired of the crud

I decided to pull the gas tank out of the truck this afternoon. The removal went pretty easily, except that I ended up destroying the filler grommet and I cut the rubber grommet where the gas line passes through the floor of the cab. Both of those pieces are cheap and easy to find, so I was not too upset.

I thought I was low on gas and that it would be a good time to get the gas tank cleaned and sealed. Turns out, I have a lot more gas than I thought. But it is really gunked up with rust.

Racecar Man and I tried to filter the gas out of the tank and into gas cans, but we gave up, after straining a few gallons through several layers of cloth diapers. There was so much rust that our diaper-filter would clog after just a few seconds.

I am going to price having the tank cleaned and sealed at a radiator shop. The DIY supplies seem to cost anywhere from $20 to $60. A new tank costs $200 plus shipping with a new fuel sender and float for the fuel gauge. Before I do anything with this tank or order a new one, I am going to look around a little, to see if anyone around here has a used tank in good shape.

Boat Update

I don't wanna nother blog and you can't make me start one, so the boat stuff is going right here, for now. But I grabbed BoatinDaddy on blogspot, just in case.

I have been looking online for info about the bigger boat. It is a mid to late 60's Texas Maid, Fleet Model. It is a 14 ft fiberglass V Hull with a 1965 Mercury 20hp outboard hanging on the transom.

There you have it. All I know about boats in one short post.

Running on empty

I am trying to run the truck out of gas this week. I put a fuel filter on a week and a half ago. It is getting clogged already, with rust and crap out of the fuel tank. I am going to put another fuel filter on and hopefully I'll get a lot of the gas out before I remove the tank.

I want to read up on cleaning the tank and sealing the insides before I reinstall it. But when I do that, I have been warned that it will need a new fuel sender set-up, too.

I am also debating whether or not to remove the heater from the truck. As far as I know, it is functional. I know it needs all new duct work and the slides don't seem to move through a full range of motion. Plus, I don't plan on going too far north in this truck, so I'll doubt I'll ever use the heater. If it is too cold to ride in, then it is also too cold for yardwork or fishing.

Even if I do remove most of the system, I'll likely leave the controls in the dash, though. Otherwise everyone would ask me why is there a big hole in the dash. And I'll have to think up some witty answer. I already have to say "You put your weeeeeed in it..." every time someone asks about the hole where the cigar lighter should be.

By the way, magnets stick to the gas tank.

Bigger Boat, Better Price

I went out Monday to look over another boat. I guess this one will be making it's way home eventually. Just have a few thing to do before I bring it home.

The perfect accessory for a fishing truck

Back in this post, I told about getting the truck one step closer to being my fishing truck. Today, we took a huge step in that direction...



A neighbor was selling this beautiful aluminum boat in a garage sale.



Like everything around here, it needs a little TLC before The Talker and I can hit the water, but it looks like it was made to ride around in the back of my fishing truck!

TruckinDaddy

My older brother and most of his family stopped by today. They were in the middle of 10 hour drive and needed a place to let my Nephew run for a while.

Bro also got the run down on the truck. After I took him for a ride, he climbed behind the wheel and got to experience the lack of power steering and power brakes for himself.

By the time we got home, we both had big grins and had shared a few laughs. He last drove the truck when he was about 15 or sixteen, more than 20 years ago. Just for the record, Bro is only the third person to drive the truck since I got it home.

Blame the wife

She has worked at least 75 hours already this week. So no time for the truck, except for a quick drive down the street last night. The wife and kids were out walking, so I picked up The Talker and we rode home, after doing a couple of donuts in the cul-du-sac.