A year? Really?

Getting a game plan together and waiting to make sure that my new job doesn't end in a layoff this Spring like it did last Spring.

After getting all of those ducks in a row, I hope to see Marge out of the garage again by late Spring.

That's it. Stopping time for real

Marge hasn't seen much action this year. Or last. Or any of the last 20 years.

But after she served admirably as the mobile bar for my birthday in July and again as the bar for our annual Halloween festivities, I realized that this pony needs to be put out of her misery.

Coming up (hopefully soon), an over haul of brakes all around and front suspension. Then we will have to deal with the myriad transmission and engine issues.

When I went to drive Marge back into the garage after Halloween, at least one of the brake drums is seized up. A neighbor and his buddy helped get Marge back in her garage stall and until parts are replaced, she will be staying there.

13 months? Really?

Just so you know, I AM still alive and Marge is still in the garage. In fact, I needed to hide from the heat today, so Marge loaned me her tailgate for a nice shady seat. Still, I can't believe it has been more than a year since I updated this blog.

Not much has changed with the old girl. This year we have been a little tight on $, so Marge was the first project to get sent to the back burner. Hopefully, with a new job on the horizon, that will be changing in the fall. Of course, once I am working I won't have any time to hang out with Marge, but at least I hope to stockpile some parts.

I have always kept a mental punch list of small projects to get done, but Marge now has a dedicated marker board out in the garage where I can keep track of all the things I need to get done to get her back on the road.

The major items currently include:
BRAKES and a new front suspension.
Engine tear down/rebuild

No need to get too specific for now. The most important stuff that Marge needs is all big $, so until I can afford to get these things done first, there isn't much sense in spending the cash to get the little stuff done.

Clean sparkers

Marge has been limping along this spring. She has been running rough, but I have not taken the time to figure out why. This afternoon I needed to use the truck for a while, and once I got home, I decided to tackle the problem.

First, I let the engine cool down for a few hours. Yes, in a 68 Chevy C-10 there is plenty of room to work under the hood, but I have learned, the hard way, that if I am not stuck on the side of the road, then it is best to work on this old engine after it cools down.

After I checked the timing and dwell (yep, Marge still has a points based ignition), then I pulled the spark plugs and gave them a good cleaning. I checked the gap before reinstalling and after I lowered the idle (that I had raised to try to smooth out the engine) to a decent level, we hit the road for a while.

First time in a while I have had a big grin on my face, just cruising the 68 through the neighborhood. Yes, the brakes still suck, so I stayed close to home. Otherwise, it was a great cruise in a smoooooooooth running ride.

Been a long time since I stopped here

Marge is still alive and kicking. She just does not make many trips out of the garage over the winter.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a short cruise and to haul some yard work tools across the neighborhood. The brakes were crapped out.

I should have checked the obvious before that drive. Brake fluid was way low. As loon as I topped it off, the brakes are ok. Not great, but not death-trap scary, either. Of course, that means I have a leak in the system. And I have to get the fixed ASAP. But it is nice to know that the problem was not a lot larger for now.

Same old truck

Nothing exciting to report. The truck only gets a workout now when I am driving it across the neighborhood to mow a few yards for customers. I mow 3 yards on the same block and I cut them all at the same time, about once a month at this time of year.

So Marge works out great for this gig. She gets run every few weeks but the mileage stays low.

I am in desperate need of a brake job/system rebuild. Until the time comes when I can plunk down $500 on Marge, she and I will only cruise to the mowing jobs and back home.

Hot truckin'

The truck is running along just fine. So I have been using it to cruise across the neighborhood when I mow a friends yard.

Other than that, Marge sleeps in the nice dark (but not cool) garage.