I'm glad I found it when I did. I have no idea how long it's been like this - I'm sure I have put a few miles on it driving it this way. Last trip was to a car show down near my kids - 60 mile round trip on the freeway!!Same thing happened to me Gary. I found a broken upper control arm bushing housing a couple of years ago on the Jeep. Killed a trip.
At least you found it in the shop and not out on the road, or worst, off-road like I did.
Mark, thanks for taking the time to read through! Now that the setup is pretty well dialed in, it's time to start ticking off the projects that have accumulated for all the "toys"! I'll try to document here, but I find myself not very disciplined in the picture taking department while working on stuff!
Bob, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for me to get underneath everything every few months to check for untoward items. This is the second time in the last year pulling wheels has yielded an "oops!" (the tire surprise on the ZR1)!
I cut my teeth in a truck fleet doing PMs. Preventative maintenance. The whole idea was that while doing the proper level of service, intentionally look at everything. Amazing how much we found. Besides, the "over haul" bay did the really cool work. We wanted as much of those smaller jobs as we could find. You know the "kissed a lot of frogs"? Yeah, changed a lot of oil for a water pump, brake reline and the likes.Today I pulled the rear wheels off the Cameo for polishing. As I was walking by, something didn’t seem quite right -
Yes, the end link for the upper four bar disintegrated! Don’t know that I would have seen this had I not taken the wheels off! I found replacements on eBay and they should be here late next week.
Just another day in the old car hobby!!
HogDude, thanks. Your comment, along with Bob's above, has spurred me to think about adding something else to my routine. I have a whiteboard which details the last time driven for each of the "toys" so I have a reminder of which I need to get out and exercise. I think I'll add a date for last inspection just to incent me to put everything on the service lift at least once a year and have a good look see. Most of them I don't drive far enough in a year to justify annual oil change, so this will be a good reminder.
Can you not use your lift to pull the bed?
My lift isn't a 2 post, and there's limited clearance with the 4-post. I also have a mobile gantry crane - something to think about. I'd be a little worried about the fiberglass quarter panels on the bed. Again, something to think about.
Swanny, man do I like the way you roll. I had an idea 10+ years ago for an Electronic Whiteboard. Basically a spreadsheet for just such instances. Columns, Tabs, Notes, Dates, Mileage etc. Maybe an old computer hooked up to a tv or monitor in the garage. One thing that came to mind from this situation of yours is tires. Maybe add a cell for the date stamped on the tires. Last time inspected etc. They can get dry rotted but usually shows signs.
HogDude - I have a spreadsheet with all the specs for each vehicle, including the DOT code for all the tires. While a lot of the sets are over 10 years old, they all get regular exercise to prevent flat spotting and I try to pay attention to them regularly.
Cam - certainly something to investigate as it would probably be easier lifting from 4 points on the bedsides with the 4-post rather than fighting the inevitable balance concerns that would come with using a single lift point with the gantry crane. Thanks for the suggestions.
steckmfg.com
Gary, be very careful. Just removing the scratch might lead to replacing the six universal joints in the drivetrain. Wiping off the grime can turn into a lot of time and Mothers polish. The unnamed idiot who was just going to wipe the shafts and brace clean may have gotten carried away. It's a disease that I suspect has no cure. A lot of places provide treatment, including Griot's, Mothers, Jay Leno and Chemical Guys but none of them offer a cure.
Bob - I'm not quite that AR!!! I have a Corvette buddy who is, though - he polished the after axle part of his C5 SS exhaust system!Gary, be very careful. Just removing the scratch might lead to replacing the six universal joints in the drivetrain. Wiping off the grime can turn into a lot of time and Mothers polish. The unnamed idiot who was just going to wipe the shafts and brace clean may have gotten carried away. It's a disease that I suspect has no cure. A lot of places provide treatment, including Griot's, Mothers, Jay Leno and Chemical Guys but none of them offer a cure.
Thanks. SEMA is also on my list. I have a car builder buddy working on a Camaro for SEMA and says he has a ticket for me this year. We’ll see.
Thanks. Looks like you have something to look forward to!!
Congrats on the new additions. Looks great A/C and Bluetooth are great touches for Texas. I can on today just to see if anything was going to be following you home
Thanks, guys. Our PHX trip is getting cut short as Lori picked up something at BJ and we're headed back to DFW this evening. Can't wait for Reliable to get the car to DFW!
By "picked up" I meant some sickness. Woke up Sunday with a hack and runny nose. We were supposed to stay with her cousins through Thursday, but he has some pretty significant pulmonary/respiratory issues and was "scared shitless" having her in the house. Rather than move into a hotel for 3 days, we changed our reservations and flew home last night. It *****, because we were really looking forward to our time with them.
Bob - I think there were some decent deals to be had earlier in the week. I'm kinda upset with myself for not going at least one more bid on the Willys, as I think that was a pretty good deal at the hammer price. By later Friday and all day Saturday, the things I was interested in sped right past my comfort zone!!Gary, I went to the Florida Barrett Jackson in April a decade or two ago. Really glad I didn't have a bidder's number because there were some stupid good deals I would have happily gone into debt for. Also went to a Kissimmee, FL Mecum to see one of Mark's (@IGO2XS) masterpieces.
