→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
I’ve been eyeballing a new set of bed rail tops for Peer Pressure for months now, ever since I put the soft top on. The ones that it came with have been chewed up and bent since I got it, and it would be nice to have flat, straight metal on the top of the quarters–plus, the screw holes have been getting wider and looser every year. I have a gift certificate from Super Scout since last year’s Carlisle meet and glanced at it this morning, only to realize it expires today! So I called up and ordered a pair. While I had them on the phone I asked about my odd glove box latch, which didn’t come on any Scout they remember, but possibly came from a pickup. So I’ll have to see if I can make a spare latch work with the catch I’ve got, or just keep rolling with no glove box door.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
I forgot to post about this a few weeks ago–I sold my droopy secondhand Harbor Freight engine stand on Craigslist for $40, after it proved it couldn’t stand up to the weight of an International 345 (advertised weight: 700 lbs.) I got it for free about five years ago after helping a friend load a storage container for shipping out west, so it never owed me anything, and it’s good to have space back in the garage. That money goes into the project fund.
Another friend posted a pile of parts for free on Facebook, so I’m going to head down to Annapolis on the weekend to pick up the only sheetmetal I don’t have a spare for: a hood. He’s got two in good shape, so I’ll add it to the collection:
| Driver door | Tahitian Red, great shape |
| Passenger door | Tahitian Red, great shape |
| Driver fender | Winter White |
| Shitty blue repaint | |
| Passenger fender | Tahitian Red |
| Tailgate | Tahitian Red, in great shape |
| Windshield | Light Buckskin. Minor pitting |
| Tahitian Red. Minor pitting, still has glass | |
| Front grille and valance | ’72 model year, Frost Green; in great shape |
| Cowl cover | Winter White, in great shape |
| Inner fenders | decent shape, need some rustproofing and patching |
I’m really, really tempted to replace some of my sheetmetal with spare parts so that I can go for the full harlequin effect. I wish I had a good door in a different color.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
So Brian and I finally got our schedules organized to move the spare engine out of his backyard. First we had to borrow Bennett’s engine hoist, which meant disassembling it and fitting it into Peer Pressure, then driving that over to Brian’s. Then we had to build a ramp to coast the engine and cart down off his patio, onto grass, and then onto the driveway. Then we rebuilt the hoist and raised the engine.
Then we scooted the Scout under it and ratcheted it down with four straps.
The engine hoist got broken down and shoved into the back of Brian’s Prius. I drove gingerly up 95 to the house, backed in, and we reassembled the hoist.
Then we muscled the engine and cart up into the garage, got the hoist inside, and attempted to mate it to the Harbor Freight engine stand I’ve had for 8 years. We got three of four bolts to mount but when we let the hoist drop the whole stand leaned frighteningly forward. So we put it back on the cart and called it a day.
So, I’ve got some reading to do. I think I’m going to start with some basic engine rebuilding books and go from there. But for now, I’m resting my back.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
Bennett and Brian were headed up to pick over a Traveler in a junkyard in Mt. Airy today, so I tagged along. It was already gone through pretty well, but after a few hours of effort, we got the right inner fender, driver’s door, power steering pump, and some other goodies off it. I grabbed the starter, a hub assembly, the oil pump, both valve covers, some decent door rubber, and a very clean headlight switch, among other things. Now we need to figure out how we’re getting the engine from Brian’s house to my garage.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
I picked up a pair of Grade 5 bolts for my steering wheel puller yesterday, along with 3′ of 3/8 fuel line and a rattlecan of International Red farm implement paint while I was there. Hopefully I can get some time this weekend to replace the wheel. The fuel line is for my Hydroboost setup and the paint is for the new engine, if and when I can get it here.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
At Carlisle this weekend, I picked up my new Rallye steering wheel from Mike Moore. We fooled around with it a little bit at the show, going so far as to buy a $6 wheel puller at a tool tent and pull the cover off my current wheel. Where I stopped was when we compared the guts of the full-size wheel to the Rallye wheel; there are two wire leads entering my current wheel, one for a ground and one for power to the horn.
The Rallye wheel has one obvious connection point for what I’d assume is power at the 12 o’clock position; there is no other lead on the plastic at all.
I started looking through the Binder Planet to see if anyone else has blazed a trail for me to follow, and found this Steering Wheel Replacement thread with a link to some more pictures which illustrate how to use the wheel puller. It also reveals that I’ll need to get two 1/4″ x 28 thread bolts to fit the pull holes; most likely the ones I have are metric. This thread is even more helpful, as it’s got commentary with excellent pictures.
What I’m gonna have to do is pull my current wheel apart and dick around with it for a little bit to see if what I have will work with what I bought. If not, it’s a call to Super Scout Specialists for the stuff I’ll need.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
Mike at Scoutco posted on Facebook that he’s parting out a 1980 Scout, and he has a Rallye steering wheel for sale. I’m going to need a smaller diameter wheel for when I put new seats in Peer Pressure, so I asked him for a picture.
As it turns out, I’m selling my old rear bumper for the exact same price. Score!
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
I bought a bottle of 303 Aerospace Protectant last week from Amazon for our vehicles, because all I’ve read says it’s supposed to be better for plastic and vinyl than Armor All. I also broke down and bought a bottle of Meguiar’s #17 Clear Plastic Cleaner to refinish the panels on my soft top, which are hazy and scratched. I tried out both products last night, and the Meguiar’s seemed to do a great job of cleaning the small patch I tried. Hopefully I can get a little time this weekend to pull it out, wash the top, and clean the windows properly.
From what I hear, I can use the Mequiar’s on headlight covers too– which is great, because the covers on the CR-V are getting hazy.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
Dash cams are huge in Russia, where insurance fraud is rampant and terrible drivers are common. I’m driving through the west side of Baltimore every day, which resembles Russia in many respects. This gets filed under “Nice to have when we have some more money: dashcamtalk.com reviews and compares most of the major models out there right now.