Time is catching up with her.
God bless my Toronado. It has been by and far the best car I’ve ever owned. Reliable, comfortable, unique… I have a lot more emotionally invested in it than I do monetarily. And over the years since I’ve painted it (almost 4 years ago!) time has kept marching on to prove that it’s still a 25 year old car that’s seen the rigors of use every single day.
The plastic fillers on the front bumper have been cracking for a long time. The left front has finally let go. My power door lock switch on the drivers side busted. I think I’m just going to swap it with the passenger side for now. You can get a new switch for $25, but I’m not sure it’s worth it. And worst of all, with being forced into 25 winters worth of Kansas salty roads, the rust is just starting to take its toll. There’s a small spot on the front fender. Little bubbles behind the rear wheels, and I just noticed yesterday that it’s just barely starting to bubble through on the rear bumper. And of course the hail damage from the “Carpet Bombing of ’08”.
Mechanically, it’s still solid as a rock! I honestly still wouldn’t hesitate to change the oil and drive to California! It still gets decent gas milage. I recently made a trip to Wichita, back to Great Bend, to Hays and back to Great Bend on one tank of gas! Not bad for an old barge!
So I’m wrestling with the thought of spending any more money on cosmetics for the car. My thoughts are I need to be saving for the successor. Which if I spend what I did on this one, won’t take long! For now I’ll keep driving it. It still gets some compliments. And from about 20ft, it’s still a pretty sharp ride. But it’s like when you know the time is getting near, and you’re going to have to think about the day when you just have to let it go.
The last Blazer post
Well we sold the Blazer. Took about 24 hours after Andrea advertised it at CPI. Asked for $900, got $900. Guess I should have asked for more!
We got it running and took it for a spin. And when we got back in the driveway, I looked at Andrea and said. “I think we should sell it.” She thought about it for a second, and agreed. It was simply a trust issue. We wanted to be able to head to the lake, or hit the road in it to go somewhere, and there was always going to be that nagging feeling in the back of my mind that it could leave me stranded at any time. In reality, we could say that about anybody’s car, but I just didn’t trust the Blazer.
We were honest when we sold it. Said that it had a host of electrical issues when we got it, but we fixed what we think is all of it. A ton of new parts. I really hope it treats the guy well. Said he’s going to use it for a huntin’ wagon. Should be perfect!
It did feel a little weird for a while after it was gone. I get too attached to vehicles. But now that it’s been a day or so, I’m just thinking about the next big thing! Haha. El Camino again?
08.8.10The Blazer has a name!
“Lazarus.” It’s almost even spelled like Blazer. So after a hot day under the car port and with Andrea’s help, we got the Blazer going again. The fuel pump we sent back as bad, probably wasn’t bad after all. I ordered a new sending unit that comes with new wiring for the pump inside the tank. So after dropping the gas tank for the 4th time, and swapping out the units… vroom! Fired right up! Runs just like it did for the two weeks before it died last time. It’s a relieving feeling.
Andrea doing some of the grunt work.
So after all this… I think we’re selling it. No way will we ever get for it what we have put into it financially, I’m prepared for that. But after fighting us every step of the way, I’ll be honest, I really don’t even like it any more. It’s like somebody who you just get off on the wrong foot with, and after that first impression, it’s just too hard to give them a second chance. I mean, heck. The ENTIRE fuel system is brand new now on this thing, but I just don’t trust it. For somebody else, it could go another 100,000 miles, I dunno. And we originally settled on Lazarus because it was cheap and available. We really wanted a pickup truck in the first place anyway.
So I think I’m going to ask $900 and see what we get. We’ll lose some money on the deal, but we learned a lot. I’d never dropped a gas tank before. Fairly good at it now. Never tore this deep into an engine before, and will be a little less timid to do it in the future. So it’s not a total loss. Or maybe that’s just what I’m telling myself. Haha!
06.23.100 MPG
Draining the gas tank to drop it for the THIRD time.
#*&@! @&$* BLAZER !@*$&
Okay, screw everything I said in that last post. The Blazer is dead again and I think I’m done.
06.17.10Finally think we’re there.
Well I know this has been the Blazer blog as of late, and updates have been sparse at that. But I think we’ve finally got the Blazer pretty much where we want it.
Just this morning I got the dash all put back together. I think I’ve got all the electrical stuff (I can) fixed under the dash. Still no reverse lights, but that’s because the previous owner removed the reverse light switch. This switch also tells the computer which gear you’ve selected, so since the computer know what gear you’re in… but doesn’t know what gear you’ve selected… it kicks on the check engine light. To be honest, I can live with it. I could get a new switch, it’s not expensive, but I have no idea where the wires went that used to hook up to said switch.
Other than that it runs pretty darn good. Defiantly has more power than either of our other cars. Gas mileage so far seems comparable to the Toronado. I think we’re finally to the stage where we can just drive it.
No project is ever finished by any means, there’s always little toys we’d like to add to it, but that can be down the road… whenever. For now, it’s a good old truck that I won’t mind if it takes some abuse.
Things I’ve Learned:
These newer computer controlled things are definitely more complicated than what I’m used to working with. When all the sensors and switches are intact, that’s actually a good thing because it will really point you towards the problem a lot quicker. BUT when the computer system is as hacked up as this thing is, it makes it an absolute nightmare trying to figure out what is actually wrong.
IF I buy another 1990+ automobile, it will have to be in real nice shape so that I’ll be confident that all the sensors and switches are likely still intact. If I ever decide to take on another basket-case, it will be something older. With a setup that’s a little more rudimentary.
So all in all, the $400 Blazer turned out to be about a $1,000 Blazer if you figure in all the parts. It runs strong and the 4×4 works, so the real value probably falls somewhere in between those numbers. Not the best investment I’ve ever made, but if we drive it for a few years and sell it while it’s still got some life left in it, I think it could still be worth it. Andrea is taking it on it’s first out of town trip this evening to Hutch. Assuming all goes well (which by all indications it should) we’ll be taking it to Kanopolis this weekend for some camping, it’s true purpose all along! That is if our tent shows up in time…
06.10.10Teaser
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re48REw5Rr4]
No, I didn’t crash at the end. I think the camera hit the window or something. REALLY!
06.8.10Victory over redneck!
You may have heard, but the Blazer is fully operational! Got the new fuel pump installed on Saturday and lo and behold she fired right up and didn’t miss a beat!
Dropping the fuel tank was not a fun job. Not hard, but awkward angles and tight spaces when it comes to disconnecting all the lines and hoses off the fuel tank. But with a good bit of patience it is all pretty easy. With the tank out everything looked good, but apparently the old fuel pump just couldn’t put out the pressure needed to fire off the fuel injector. Swapping out the old fuel pump for the new one was pretty straight forward too.
I admit I was nervous to fire it up. I really didn’t know what to expect, after all the work we’d been doing and nothing really got better, I was almost convinced that it was just never going to run right. So it’s a huge relief to be able to just hop in and drive it whenever.
The next hurdle will take some time. I still don’t trust it. I still sit at a stoplight and hope it doesn’t die when I hit the gas, or cringe just a little bit when I turn the wipers hoping I don’t blow a fuse. But should time prove it to be a somewhat dependable old truck, I think it will be a worth while investment even though we probably ended up paying quite a bit more than it’s worth considering all the parts we bought.
Go, Blazer Go!
05.26.10Blazer Update
Well, I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t progress any further on the Blazer without spending some money. Now that the weather is nice and Andrea and I have been talking about camping a lot this summer, we decided that we need to get it running ASAP. Especially since we’re already paying for insurance on it (which isn’t much, but still).
So I finally think I’ve got the fuel pump wiring straightened out and working like it’s supposed to. I decided to tear into the engine and inspect the fuel injector and fuel lines for any leaks and see if anything under the intake could be causing problems.
Upper intake manifold removed. You can see the injector in the middle and the fuel lines on the right. Do you notice anything odd? Look closely...
WTF!? A HOSE CLAMP to stop a leak? Just when I thought it couldn't get more rednecked!
I was amazed. To think that someone would go through all the trouble to remove the upper intake manifold and put it all back together and not spend the $50 on the new lines to just fix it. You can see the bright silver finish from leaking gas washing the wall clean and a puddle of gas and gunk down by the bolt at the bottom. “Well there’s your problem!”
So with new parts in hand we set out the replace the leaky fuel lines and the injector.
Old injector vs. New one. Pricey little bastard ($270). The old one's lines were so brittle they stayed in the position they were installed.
Yup... it's old.
Yup... it's new.
These are the nozzles that spray the fuel. Not the best technology today, but it works.
Old fuel line from inside the intake. This is the one that had small cracks leaking fuel inside the engine.
Those fuel lines were the hardest part of the job. They were obviously installed in the truck before the engine was put in at the factory. There wasn’t a whole lot of room and ended up having to get some smaller tools to get the job done. But after a bit of swearing, we got ’em out.
Ready to install!
With all the stuff out of there, cleaned all the gunk out of the intake. Didn't worry about making it spotless... not like anyone is going to see it.
My favorite part. Looking at all the new stuff perfectly in place.
Andrea got her hands (and face apparently) dirty with this job too! I love having a wife that's interested in this stuff!
As we were putting everything back together it started getting dark.
Before I tried to start it up, I told Andrea that I was nervous. That either it was going to do the same thing it was doing before, or it wasn’t going to start at all. Turn the key…. and it cranks over but wouldn’t start. I could get it running with some starting fluid, but it dies once all the fluid is burned up. It’s just not getting any fuel.
So I’m thinking we’re gonna need a fuel pump too. I don’t regret spending the money on these parts as the both were shot, but it sure would have been nice if that were it. Future updates to come. I’m definitely in too deep now to turn away.
05.4.10Whew, busy!
Man alive!
Ever since our radio auction at work I feel like I’ve been playing constant catch-up. That was several weeks ago yet, and still I find myself scrambling to fit everything done I need to do into a short day. Now with a short week I’m trying to squeeze as much stuff in as I can. I need to be able to let a few things slide and deal with the recovery when I get back… but for some reason I keep thinking I can do enough not to be behind when I return. Yeah right!
So I’ve been sacrificing some time on the net to get some other things accomplished around the house. Got the valve cover gasket changed out on Andrea’s car this past weekend which seems to be holding well. Got my old cracked tail light lens swapped out on the Toro. Did a bunch of dishes and laundry the past few days. So I’ve been productive, which when you’re busy I guess that’s all you can ask for!