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Monday, May 21, 2012

The 2012 Club Photo

It's sad how the thoughtless comments of two people can (almost) ruin an otherwise lovely day.

Some people think they are smart-ass-funny, witty, snide or even snarky in a "hip" way.

I may laugh it off when you make fun of my being fat - but that does not condone it, nor mean that I accept it when you say, "Oh, don't worry about it buddy, we're in the same boat". We're not. I'm not as unhappily negative as you - nor do I want to stoop to your level.

 

Yelling "Slow down, Tubby" from your dirty minivan (which was going 5mph under the speed limit) was really only pointing out how unhappy you are with your own life. Maybe that kid who wasn't seatbelted in was distracting you, maybe you're sad you're bald (please, tell us again how shaving your head is a 'statement'), or maybe you're just a playground bully who never quite grew up.

Either way, you should pay attention. That license plate frame says "MARINES" for a reason. That title wasn't given - it was earned. I may be older, fatter, and a little slower, but I'll bet you wouldn't say what you did if we were both stopped at a red light. Go on your way, Dude.

You might sting my feelings for a short time, but you'll always be a squidgy little man.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Return To Duty

The Great White Wagon returned to daily commuter service today.
I still need to button-up all the column & trim panels, and it needs other various odds & ends sorted...but it's back in the game!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Successful Saturday Test Drive

100 miles on the odometer, and nothing more serious than a flickering 'Brake' light. After 9 months of inactivity, adding a touch of brake fluid seemed like a small price to pay...

How to get rid of that gasoline stench

Wipe up as much of the gas as possible. Scrub area with citrus based cleanser. Pat dry. Soak area with white vinegar. Scrub it around. Let it soak in. Once dry to the touch, sprinkle baking powder. Air out.

Ironically, one Fiat helped fix another

The last time I had a few minutes to work on the wagon, I had figured out how to get the starter to kick over, but I had a fuel delivery issue that popped up out of nowhere.   Last Thursday, for whatever reason, the fuel lines seemed clear, and the car started just fine! I checked the trans fluid, (overfilled it), and it was idling so well, Idecided to go for a test drive!  It was GREAT to have her under her own power for the first time since the return trip from FFO in July of '11.  The test drive was going so darn well, I decided to chance it, and drive the car on back roads the 4 miles home.

 

When I got home, I paused in the driveway to get out & punch in the code for the garage door. When I got back to the car, I saw a puddle. I pulled into the garage & shut 'er down. I quickly had another puddle, and I didn't have to get too close to smell GASOLINE!

 

After everything I did (brown wire fix, replacing the starter relay, replacing the ignition relay, re-adjusting the 'seat' of the wiring loom on the top of the fuse box, replacing the overheated fuse for the ignition circuit, and replacing a perfectly good fuel pump), the last darn problem was rotted fuel lines. This explained my fuel delivery issues.  The steel fuel lines run inside the passenger compartment, right along the driver's side door sill. At the forward edge of the driver's door, the fuel lines turn upwards to go into the engine bay through the firewall. At that upward bend on the floor, all three lines were severely rusted - but only right there. I decided to cut out the bad sections and 'patch' with regular fuel line.  Not a permanent fix, but it’d get me past this leaky issue.

 

I remembered a gassy smell in the inside of the car last summer, so the lines have been on the verge of collapse for a long time. I'm sure that when I applied an electric fuel pump to help prime the system, it caused the return line to 'give', which caused this 'interesting situation' on the wagon's 4 mile ride home. The floor of my garage caught whatever was in the return line, and while not much real volume - the inside of my house was poisonous in short order!

 

Clyde was NOT pleased. Nor were the neighbors.

 

I pulled out the under-carpet insulation, which was SOAKED, and patched the lines. At that point I wiped out under the carpet with simple green (trying to fight the stench!), and I sopped up what was under the car, and then cleaned that with simple green also. The gasoline soaked insulation & rags are double-bagged in some old plastic Target bags, temporarily stashed in my grill on the patio.

 

What DOES one do with gasoline soaked rags?

 

You know, other than creating a big char mark in the yard?

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Blast from the Past

While poking around on the Supercar Saturday site, I ran across a neat old Fiat Spider.
It took me a moment to realize...it was my old car...

Good for the soul

Black Butte Porter from the Deschutes brewery in Oregon, it's not. BBP is half the reason I want to drive The Wagon to the Oregon Fiat Event, so I can bring several cases back! (Maybe next year)
With all that being said - Oscar's oatmeal chocolate was absolutely outstanding. Paired with marinated pork chops cooked on the grill - a wonderful evening that was good for the soul.

Tuesday, May 01, 2012

I need to go to Stanford

The Revs Program at Stanford and Department of Art & Art History

Presents

s

Used Cars (Robert Zemeckis, 1980)

Driven: A Car Culture Film Series

May 3, 2012  |  7:30 p.m. | Cubberley Auditorium

 

About Used Cars

Kurt Russell stars as Rudy Russo, used car salesman and aspiring politician in Robert Zemeckis’ satire of the American Dream, “Used Cars.” All the familiar clichés of Rudy’s profession – including false advertising, vehicular tampering, and high pressure sales – are featured in a film that deconstructs the profit motive, shining a cutting comedic light on the automobile as pure commodity.

 

Free and open to the public  |  http://art.stanford.edu

 

Sponsored by

The Revs Program at Stanford was founded to inspire a new trans-disciplinary field connecting the past, present, and future of the automobile, and fosters an intellectual community bridging the humanities and fine arts, social sciences, design, science and engineering, and professions. For more information, visit http://revs.stanford.edu