I still feel a little queasy from the exhaust fumes, but it sure was nice to warm Peer Pressure up and drive her into work. I wonder if a hardtop would cut down on the smell.
I did represent the Scout on my Christmas list; at the top was a new gas tank sender and J-hooks, as well as some inexpensive speakers and a Service manual. Come on Santa!
I chose an absolutely glorious day to drive up into Monkton/White Hall to meet with a nice fellow and buy a spare Thermoquad for Peer Pressure today. Apart from one minor hiccup with lousy battery cabling, the old girl ran like a top, and we ventured out into farm country, blowing up clouds of leaves and passing by cows, horses, and IH farm equipment of all vintages. Erik is a real nice guy with a stable of drool-worthy trucks, and he gave me my pick of two Thermoquads. The one I chose looks like it was recently rebuilt itself, and comes with all the associated hardware I’ll need in case of replacement.
Later in the afternoon, I got a call from Mr. Scout, who was in town and behind the wheel of Chewbacca on her maiden voyage across the Bay Bridge. He stopped in to say hi and we looked her over; the work he did is spotless and the truck is beautiful. We took a short spin up the block and he made me get behind the wheel for the return trip. She feels great; the engine is strong, the brakes are sharp, the wheel is straight, and the truck feels tight, like it just came off the showroom floor. Well done, sir. You’ve made me proud.
Always on the lookout for adventure, I packed Finn in the CR-V on saturday morning and followed Bennett up to a farm in White Marsh for a parts expedition. His friend has a collection of desirable old vehicles stashed in a back field as well as piles of parts tucked under tarps and outbuildings. The object of our visit was a 345 pulled from a junker, stored under a collapsed shed and sheltered by the branches of a huge, rambling tree, and he was hoping to get it loaded into his pickup to take home. Given the fact that he’s stopped by to help me about fifty times, I felt it was time I started returning the favor.
Getting quickly to work, we wrapped a chain around the dolly under the engine and pulled it out into the sunlight using sheets of plywood and a board to turn the casters. Then we wrestled a hoist off the truck to a position behind the engine, got it lifted, and tucked the tailgate of Bennett’s pickup underneath. Right about the time we were about to drop it into the dolly, the hoist bit into the soft dirt, listed to port, and 750 lbs. of pig iron came to rest against the tailcap of the truck and a branch of the tree.
With some backwoods engineering, two ratchet straps, a couple of 2x4s and some luck, we coaxed it over to the center of the bed between two 4x4s, got it tied down, stood back and breathed a sigh of relief. (I can now say I’ve climbed a tree in order to lift an engine).
Finn, the picture of patience, chose to supervise from the tailgate of the truck, and later from the cab, where she happily snacked on raisins and stayed clear of dangling engine blocks.
After we’d finished packing up, Bennett took Finn and I on a tour of the back field, where his friend is storing several 50’s Travelalls, a gorgeous porthole Buick, several Nashes, several more 50’s pickups, and other assorted vehicles. I could have spent all day with my good camera snapping photos, but I had to settle for the point-and-shoot while carrying Finn on my shoulders. My heart wept at the sight of the Buick slowly oxidizing in the sun, but that’s someone else’s issue to deal with.
Nearing lunchtime, I packed Finn back up in the Honda and we followed Bennett back to the 695 split, listening to the sound of his exhaust echo through the tunnel. He’s got plans to get it cleaned up and dropped into Mr. Hanky, and hopefully it will run better than the motor he just pulled.
This is a link to a build thread documenting an absolutely beautiful diesel swap into a Traveler. I’d have to say, if I had the money, I’d do this in a heartbeat (well, I’d have these guys do it for me).