Spring Is Here?
This is crazy. It’s the middle of March and we’re sitting around with all the windows open in the house. Heck at work we’ve even fired up the AC already. We always try to hold out as long as we can at home before breaking down and turning ours on. If this early spring is any indication though, we might not be able to hold out as long as we usually do. I can’t remember a March day in the past that’s ever had a forecast high of 85.
Lately I’ve been talking about how I need a project to do, and something that doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. Well I think I found something. I decided this year I’m going to plant a garden. I’ve already started tearing up some ground in the back yard, which is some hard work, but very therapeutic I’ve found so far. I guess it’s kinda my way of communing with past generations. There’s so much technology everywhere I go, that it’s nice to put some effort into something so primal. I find it interesting to think about that something I’m now doing for fun in my spare time, was a basic necessity for life 100 years ago. Pretty sure that my ancestors knew how to cut sod a lot better than I do!
The garden will have quite a bit of diversity. I picked up corn, onions, potatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, carrots, and even some watermelon and pumpkins! I’m going to pick up some tomatoes later in the season too. If you don’t count the tools I bought, all the seeds cost me a total of $15. And that should make a LOT of produce. I dunno what we’ll ever do with 80 onions….
Andrea is not a big vegetable fan. I was trying to think of something I could plant that she would enjoy, and thought maybe strawberries, but she wasn’t too crazy about that. I even saw some blueberry and raspberry bushes for sale, thought for a couple moments… then decides I wasn’t ready for something like that!
So I’ll look forward to getting at least the potatoes and onions in the ground this weekend. I beat Super Mario 3D Land the other night, so I’m officially not working on any games right now, and might take a weekend off of gaming and focus on the rudimentary art of agriculture. I’ll probably still sit down and write up my final thoughts on 3D Land this weekend though. One of the best Mario Games I’ve played… since the last one, they’re all just awesome!
Restless
I’m really itching for a project of some sort. I have some ideas, but they all would cost a fair amount of money that we don’t really have to spend. So I’m trying to think of what I can create using pretty much stuff I already have.
One medium that comes to mind is video. I’ve got a cheap HD camera I borrowed from work and I’ve got all the video/audio editing software already. But I’m completely coming up empty when it comes to content. I really enjoy watching Classic Game Room and would love to do something like that, but I don’t really want to just emulate something someone else has done already. Though heavens knows I have enough old games to get started.
Another topic I thought of was using video to document a project build, though that puts me back into the lack of funds category.
A long term goal of mine is to get all of my vintage systems off the HDTV in the den to a more period correct setup. Kinda like a dream setup from 1995. Haha! I want to make them all easy to pick up and play without having unplug wires and power adapters to get the system you want working. Just select the system on a switcher, turn on and play. I think I can knock that out fairly cheap, but I’m going to have to take advantage of Garage Sale season which I plan on hitting the circuit hard this year!
For now I’ll just keep the gears turning. When I break through, hopefully it’s something I can go full blast into. Or maybe I’ll discover something completely new and fall in love. Who knows.
11.25.10You can’t have mine… So here’s yours!
Well, a while back Dad, Carrie and Jake came up to visit and I was showing off my little speakeasy down in the basement and they were admiring my old GE Console radio. While probably joking, they offered to buy it. First of all I really didn’t want to sell it… and second of all they offered WAY more than it’s worth and I just can’t go about ripping off family like that. Co-workers? Sure! But you gotta draw the line at being a shuckster somewhere, right?
So I had it in my mind that I’d keep my eyes peeled for something for them. Good ol’ Trading post came through for me eventually (same place I got the Blazer… watch out)! A guy north of town was selling this old radio. He was asking $75, I got it for $60 and felt like I paid too much…
Here it is:
$60.00? WTF was I thinking?
It's old. And unearthed from a tomb apparently.
What a gift. Who's gonna want this crusty old junk? Even for free? The wood might make good kindling for a fire I guess.
Speaking of starting a fire!
So I’m committed at this point. I figure worst case scenario, the radio sounded decent and if I couldn’t get it halfway respectable I’d just toss it in a corner and use it as a work bench or something. If the record player isn’t too far gone and it cleans up okay it might turn out halfway decent. The knobs are looking pretty ratty, and Brasso has always done me right in the past. You have to start somewhere, right?
They won't be original with the silver trimmed knobs and all. But they look a heck of a lot nicer! At least it'll have nice knobs!
Then I start hitting the cabinet with a rag to see what’s just dirt and grime, and what is really damaged. Then some Old English. I’m no woodsmith so I’m not coming within 10 feet of this thing with sand paper. I’d destroy the damn thing, so whatever is broken is going to have to stay broken. Turns out once all the crud is scraped away, and the Old English brings some of the shine back, it’s not in too bad of shape!
Thar be shine! Haven't cleaned the speaker grills yet.
I'm starting to feel better about this project!
The most frustrating part has been the record changer. I got a new needle no problem. But the mechanism itself just didn’t have the gusto to run through a whole change cycle. The old springs were weak. And once I got it taken out to grease it, I found that one of the mounts that holds the motor on was busted, so I had to fab up some new ones out of hardware store parts. It seems to be working now, but there were some hairy moments getting from there to here.
So without further adieu. Here it is in action: The 1964 RCA Victor Console Radio!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVwO30oHgL0]
06.23.100 MPG
Draining the gas tank to drop it for the THIRD time.
#*&@! @&$* 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…
06.8.10Victory 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!
04.27.10A little Toro Touch-up
I’ve been working on a new tail light lens for my car, and finally found a silver pen for some of the accents. The lens isn’t quite ready yet, but I took the pen to my interior and brightened up a few things.
Before
After
Before
After
Slow progress.
Hasn't moved much this winter. But Spring breaths life back into many things.
Normal people wouldn’t have bought this truck. Normal people would have had to been duped into taking this thing home. Having discovered being duped, normal people would have dumped this thing as quickly as possible (I guess I tried that for a short while). (Un)Fortunately, normal I am not.
With the return of tolerable weather I’ve taken a bit of time to dive back into the Blazer. For now, I’m convinced that the issues with this thing lie in the redneck wiring. I think I’ve finally “undone” all the crazy cooky wiring (that I’ve found). Now I have to get it back the way it was originally. This will be the interesting part as there’s wires under the dashboard that have been cut and then disappear into the darkness beyond. The good news is that I have factory wiring diagrams. So worst case scenario, I’ll just COMPLETELY re-wire the offending circuits.
Simple, right?
I have been able to fix the battery drain by undoing the jacked up wires. No more having to unhook the battery cable every night! And after all the hacked up connections were undone, I noticed a few things. ONE, the fuel pump runs when you apply battery power to the fuel pump test terminal. TWO, the fuel pump is supposed to run for a few seconds when the key is ON, but engine not running. It does not. and THREE, I am no longer able to read Check Engine codes without redneck wiring.
My initial deduction is that now the computer isn’t getting any power. Even if this thing were brand new from day one, I should be getting the NO RPM code when I try to read the codes. But to be sure I have to make sure that it’s the computer that’s disconnected, and not just the diagnostic port I’m trying to read codes from.
It’s just one little problem at a time, one little circuit at a time. Eventually it will all be back to normal and I will discover what $40 part was broken in the first place that started this whole mess.
07.23.09…Like a hole in the head.
Well after two months of assisting with the Trading Post on a daily basis. I brought home a stray. A guy had advertised this for a couple of days, and I decided to give him a call because it sounded like a good deal. So for $400 we’re the new owners of a 1994 Chevy Blazer 4×4.
It’s certainly not without its flaws. The reason we got it so cheap was because there’s an issue with the fuel mixture causing it to run super rich. So if you try to give it too much gas it dies. You have to feather the gas pedal to get it going. When it is running though, it runs pretty smooth and the transmission shifts firm. It’s rusty in some spots, like I think every one of these old Blazers are. But there’s only one spot where it’s rusted all the way though. So the body is in better shape than I expected for $400. It needs a whole host of things replaced, too numerous to mention. But like everything we seem to have, it’s a work in progress.
It’s not going to be daily transportation by any stretch of the imagination. It’ll be for hauling stuff around, and fishing and camping. That sort of thing. But first I need to get it to the point where I know I won’t get stranded at the lake! Ha ha. I have a few ideas so far, but I need to do some more research on these V6 motors.
I called Andrea this morning and asked what she thought about it. To be honest I was hoping she’d talk me out of it. But she was all gung-ho on the idea. So over lunch we both went and looked at it, and the old fella had a tough time getting it started. I was actually thinking, “Ahh good, a reason NOT to buy it!” Ha ha. But it started, died a couple times, and I’m looking at Andrea to give me the thumbs down. But nope, she just says, “It needs a little work, we can handle it.” Welp that was about it. We went for a short test drive and I was confident it could make the trip home. So the deal was done.
Almost home anyway. After taking the side streets all the way across town (Ya know, no tags or insurance *wink* ) it finally died two blocks from home. We waited to see if it would settle down, but we had to get back to work, and it wasn’t starting. So we pushed it the final two blocks home. Ha ha! After work today though it fired right up. So wish us luck. Hopefully in a couple weeks we’re cruising around in this dirty old thing.