This is a message to the little oriental dude in the Acura TL who so kindly got in front of me on the highway this morning: I’m coming for you. When I’m coming up in the fast lane doing about 75mph, and you decide that the police speedtrap access lane is your personal U-turn area, and pull out 500 feet in front of me with your hazards on, you’re gonna piss me off. When you put your hazards on and then take 2 minutes to get up to 55mph and then finally pull over into the middle lane while I lean my hand onto the horn button 5 feet off your bumper, you’re gonna make me mad. When I lay about 20 feet of rubber and narrowly avoid having the lady behind me open my trunk with the hood of her Cherokee, I’m going to yell at you. And when I pull alongside you, slow to your speed, and commence to tell you how stupid you are at the top of my voice, look at me, little man. Next time you do that, I hope I’m behind you in the Scout, dumbass. I’m going to leave my foot off the brake and jam an LT235/75R15 Dunlop Radial Rover right up your skinny little butt.
Normally, I keep my road rage to a dull roar in the back of my head. But I’ve seen two accidents (seen one firsthand yesterday evening and saw the aftermath of one this morning) in the last 24 hours, and I think some stars or planets are aligning and pointing at my bumper.
I found this site today and read through it; Then I laughed my butt off. Right on, man.
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Well, yesterday I went in for the MRI at Mercy. What an interesting experience. I like that hospital a lot- all the people I’ve dealt with there are really very nice. At about 12 noon yesterday, I was laying on a sled being inserted into a long plastic tube, and then being bombarded with magnetic waves, all to the sounds of “If You Leave Me Now” by Chicago. Most of the time I was OK; I wasn’t claustrophobic, but found I had to regulate my breathing. After awhile, I was actually drowsy, and when I got used to the sound of the machine it was easy to deal with. I got to see the readouts, though, when it was done, and that was very wild- seeing a crossection of my own torso was fascinating.
Played a bit of Half-Life last night (Steve gave me the game) and found it wildly addictive. Must……resist….
Basement is coming along as well; I got a lot more of the trim installed/stained; I drilled pilot holes for the electronics board but wasn’t able to mount it last night. I fixed a lot of the little nagging sections of trim that didn’t piece together well, which made me happy. I just want to get paid so I can finish buying the supplies I need (front window, shelf, trim molding) to get the rest of the cosmetic stuff done.
Scout report: I went over to take a look at it. It does have a lot of real nice parts, and a good running 304 with a new master cylinder and radiator; it has two Dana 44’s on stock wheels and a T-19 close 4-speed. It’s red and was repainted at some point in the past 10 years or so. The interior is clean. The body however is the problem. It’s been hit once in the right front, so the whole right side of the clip is toast. Shame too, because the fenders were new aftermarkets and are clean. The pillars are clean; the rockers were replaced at some point, but both front body mounts are hosed and the right rear is going. The left rear mount is spotless- puzzling. Theres rot through the floor where it meets the middle channel, but the rear lip is clean. The top is pretty bad, and the rear quarters are original, and not so good.
For $750, about a year ago I would have jumped on it and worried about where to put it later. He has a fiberglas fender and a new grille for it, so it would be mobile (needs front brake work- I could get him to do it for an extra $100 I’m sure) but the problem of storage still remains.
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Found this online today:
It is a 1976 with a clear title. 304 V8. Dana 44 front and rear. 4 spd…T19. 98000 original miles. Motor runs very strong. Doesn’t leak oil or burn any oil at all. Starts right up. Scout is very mechanically sound.
Interior is in very good shape.
I’d like to make a quick sell. Want $750. I’d keep it myself but I have a project CJ5 which I’m more involved in. Something must go.
It has right front fender damage. Needs a new front brake line, too. Very simple fix for the brakes. I have the replacement fender and 80 SS front grill available, too. Just haven’t gotten around to replacing the parts.I’m located in Cockeysville, MD. If you are serious about buying and would like to come up and see it call me.
I’ve attached some pics. They don’t show the fender damage. Sorry. I’m hoping to take more pics this weekend.
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Getting ready for the camping trip this weekend; I have four blankets lined up and both sleeping bags packed; I was up making burritos (8 beautiful round specimens) and getting a tub of Guacamole together. The camping tub is packed; my bag is packed, and there are three gallons of clean water in the Scout good to go. Today at lunch I’m getting the Scout Jiffy-Lubed in prep for her adventure; other than that I think I’m ready. I have the unmistakeable feeling that I’m forgetting something-I figure that’s because usually I pack four billion pounds of food, but this time I only have the burritos and some snack foods. Hopefully the food other folks bring will be enough.
Jen is battling a cold and trying to recover for the trip; I hope she can come along but I’m terrified she will be miserable and sick if she does come. I’m crossing my fingers and praying to the great Sinus God of the sky to provide divine intervention on her behalf.
I found this interesting page on Google(the bestest search engine out there) about search trends for past weeks. Fascinating information, some of it. Wish I could remember what the command is to find what strings people enter to find this site. As of April (Dan still hasn’t fixed our webtracker to update my logs) it was scratchboard, ih scout II, scratchboard art and bill dugan.
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I was able to get a bunch of stuff done in the basement last night; looking at it this morning didn’t reveal any major changes, but a lot of my time was taken up by cutting and fitting the finish trim to fit as best I could. Both side shelves are cut, fit, and tacked in. The closet interior is framed out save the mullions for the doors. The kickplate all the way around the room is tacked in with the exception of the one piece on the northeast wall. I installed the other access panel for the water shutoff, and the second stairway light, as well as swapping out the bad wallplate switch. Mostly what remains is buying or milling a bit more wood, sanding, and some massive staining and polyurethaning. There’s some finish painting that needs to be taken care of, another round or two with the caulk gun, and a bunch of touch-up in the stairway, but we’re drawing closer.
I also had the pleasure last night of hearing five short blasts from a ship’s horn, clearly audible from the front basement window. That was great. I love living near the water.
This is some sad news… I suppose I’m going to have to upgrade sometime to Win 2000- probably my next machine. I love my NT though. I guess I should really worry about getting myself a new Mac before that happens, though…
Update on the Scout: I called the owner, and told him I need some time to get the cash together; He’s completely cool with it, and told me to give him a call when I can move on it. He was ready to bring the title home to me in a few weeks. So I just have to bust ass to get the cash together. The Tortoise had another (this will be #3) bad tire; Mike switched it and swapped rims (apparently the right front was not the only rim to be bent- the right rear was too) and cleaned the throttle body out, which should take care of the bad idle.
I found some pictures of some clean Rallye Scouts from the 2001 IH nationals; at some point I’ll post them up here, just to keep myself motivated. The one to the right there is the first, and the spitting image of the one I’m looking at, save the running boards and white spoke wheels.
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Hmm. What’s happening today? it’s a beautiful morning this morning. I woke up (that was hard to do today) and made some coffee, played with the cats, and straightened up the house. After a hot shower, I went downstairs to inventory what I need for the basement this week (which, given the camping trip, will be a short one) and just took stock. Hopefully the rest of the stuff I need will be inexpensive- the last big outlays I see will be the carpeting and the stairs. (maybe I can rip the stairs partially out tonight- hee hee!)
I have to call the guy about the Scout today and Mikey about the Tortoise as well; he hopefully has fixed both the idle and the pull to the right, which will be wonderful.
I have also noticed, that despite what could possibly be the best commercial for a convertible ever concieved, filmed, and presented, that nobody who owns a Volkswagen Cabrio ever puts the top down. What’s up with that?
I also found out last week that Cidera laid off another 40 or so people a few weeks ago. At this rate, they have five Senior Exalted Vice Presidents and a janitor left in their employment. What a mess.
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Finally got a haircut yesterday. About damn time. I was beginning to look like 59th Street Bridge-era Art Garfunkel. Not where I wanted to be. I also got SLANN running at home again, and he likes his new RAM. I am but a humble servant to the Mage Priest.
When I was buttoning up the Scout on Wednesday, after looking at the blue Scout, I was thinking about how relieved I was that it wasn’t the truck I was looking for. I shouldn’t be spending money on a truck right now, but I’m committed to buying the right truck if it comes along. Just as I was coming to this realization, a longhaired dude in an old-style Grand Cherokee drove down Lakewood Avenue and gave me and Chewbacca the thumbs-up. That made my day. Thanks, longhaired dude.
I’m posting a few pictures of the basement in progress today: these are all older shots from when I was just getting the framing underway. As I get the film developed I’m going to post more in progress shots.
Here also is a picture of the the Scout at Assateague with Jen in June.
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Looked at the Scout last night; not what I was hoping for. The guy was real nice. His truck was not so nice. I pulled up behind it and recognized it from sitting in Erick’s shop for a while. It’s dark blue, was painted about 6-7 years ago, and now the rust is beginning to show through. Over the rear wheel wells, there was about 2″ of rust through to the other side. The front fenders both showed rust at the same place mine does, and additionally there’s a big ol’ dent in the drivers’ fender right before the door from an accident. The engine is a 304 with a manual choke (eccch) and runs choppy. The transmission was rough, shifting with an audible clunk through each gear, although that could probably be fixed with a vacuum line overhaul. I got in it and drove around the parking lot- it tracked smoothly and drove fine; when I got out and shut the door, the whole b pillar up behind the door shook- which means it’s all rotten under there. No thanks.
I found the above picture of Farrah on the web this morning on somebody else’s site, and remembered that we had this very poster up in the basement of our house in Hackettstown. It was up in the old coal room under the front stairs, but you could see it from our playroom in the basement from just about anywhere. I remember looking at it and wondering what was going on (mind you, this was when I was about 7) and liking it, even though I really didn’t know what that was all about yet.
Loaded the RAM up into SLANN last night, and he puked all over it. Today I’m going to try a few different variations at work and try to get him running. 12:31 – Update: After trying the new ram, which works on its own, and the 64MB original chip together, I have a usable and functioning 192 MB of RAM- plenty. SLANN is pleased. No virgins will need to be sacrificed.
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Let us all pray today goes better than yesterday. I reread the log below from yesterday, and whew! What a venting session that was.
Today I’m looking at the Scout mentioned previously- the guy has it in Baltimore this afternoon, right on the way to the house, so I’m going to cruise down there and take a peek. He says he wants $1900 for it. My finances are about a 2-year low, which means I could buy this truck if I wanted to but be dangerously low in the cash reserve department-not where I want to be in this recession/downturn/correction/assfuck we are all trudging through. It sounds great, although he says it has some rust; I wonder how bad it’ll be when I see it. I was able to walk away comfortably from the ’80 a few weeks ago when me and the guy pulled the tailgate out from the passenger side floor and looked through the hole to the weeds below. I hope his one is either a basket case or a (relatively) cherry truck so that the decision is an easy one.
Just received my RAM – 10:33AM. Kingston value RAM- very nice. Can’t wait to put it in SLANN.
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Here at work with no Greycube server- Dan is out of touch and I can’t reach him. His cellphone is not picking up.
1:35PM. Server is back up and running. I got 10 IHC-Digest notes but nothing else from anybody this weekend. Feeling sad about that. Let’s see here- Jen and I went thrift-store shopping again this weekend, and bought some plants as well; I got a set of Martha Stewart sheets fo’ the bed at K-Mart as well- they are nice. I like my clean white sheets. Sunday Jen helped me in he basement and we got the rest of the window wall framed out; I’m going to have to get creative above the window with where it meets the ceiling- that whole section is a bit messed up right now. I’m also gonna need to add a bit of insulation up there before I close it up so that the ductwork stays dry and cool/hot. We put up more drywall, and I’m going to have to go out and buy at least another two sheets or so to finish, but I’m going to make a major push this week to get it done.
11:30PM. Just came upstairs from the basement; I got half the wall in the closet done, and the bottom sheetrock around the bottom front of the room. I’m down to a 4’x4′ sheet of drywall, so I need at least 2 more to finish, probably three. I was able to tape and mud the joints in the front corners, the area where the closet meets the wall, and the inside front edge of the closet. There’s a LOT more taping and sanding to be done, but it should go quick once the final drywall is up. Now the only big obstacles are figuring out how to finish off the ceiling above the front window, and installing a junction box by the computer circuit to run upstairs.
Got an email from a guy tonight who says he has a Scout:
I just came across your Scout website. I have a 1978 Scout II with 90K Original miles on it, that I am trying to sell. I was wondering if you knew anyone that might be interested, since you look like quite an enthusiast. I live in Bowie, MD (Annapolis, DC area), and Eric Foor has done work to my Scout as well. He replaced the floor boards and some other rusted areas when I first got the truck. I’m asking for $1900/ OBO. Basically, I’m just looking for someone to make me a decent offer. The truck runs fine but minor tune-ups could be done to make it run better. Also, there is rust damage. If you know anyone who is interested in buying a Scout, please pass along my personal email and phone number to them.
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