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JB Weld prevents the fuel line from dripping gasoline onto the exhaust manifold, which has a metal bandaid attached with pipe tape that seals a crack. The carburator has been leaking gas through the throttle shaft seal for years. Number eight cylinder is passing oil; the valves are clacking on number seven. The brake booster is covered with rust and the master cyclinder leaks brake fluid. The heater fan runs ever so slowly, but not as slowly as the windshield wipers which can barely complete a stroke. Belts, hoses, and plug wires are cracked and rotting. Insulation from the main wiring harness turns to dust if I grab it. The brake lights no longer work and can't be repaired without replacing the wiring harness.
The doors are sticky and difficult to open at times [have to watch for the wasp nests in the door jams, in the warm weather]. The windows can barely be opened without stripping the gears in the door. A small tornado put a tree branch through the top of the canopy which now sports a rather large hole. The wood slats comprising the floor of the bed look like driftwood found at the beach. The mufflers have had holes in them for years. She has three fuel tanks that can hold a total of 50 gallons, but the three-way selector valve is plugged. The engine thermostat went bad about ten years ago so it was removed...never did replace it. Walmart value seat covers are the only thing hiding the discolored foam that pushes up through the tears in the vinyl seats. Surpringly little rust is found on the body... except for the spot that hit the tree when I slid down the hill sideways. And of course, as happens every spring, grass is sprouting on the rear bumper.
My Harvest Gold, 3/4 ton Chevy truck with a 396 cu. inch engine, is 41 years old, and I think it is time to let her go.
We bought it twenty years ago for $2500 and used it to move to Oregon. Since then it has been used to do everything from pulling tree stumps and grading the driveway, to making our biannual runs to the dump, to offering a last-ditch mode of transport to town when the snow runs deep. I bought it instead of renting a one-way U-Haul, which was going to cost about $2500 dollars. I'd say I got my money's worth!
She was sweet in her day. It came with a heavy-duty tow package - an oversized radiator, aux oil cooler, RV cams, air suspension - and that roaring monster of an engine that as far as I could tell got ten miles to the gallon whether going downhill empty, or up the gravevine out of Los Angeles while stacked 14 feet high and towing a fully loaded trailer. The heavy-duty air suspension has never needed air to be added.
Almost died in that truck three times.
The pulley on the power-steering pump has been wobbling since the day I bought it. Always meant to do something about that..
The doors are sticky and difficult to open at times [have to watch for the wasp nests in the door jams, in the warm weather]. The windows can barely be opened without stripping the gears in the door. A small tornado put a tree branch through the top of the canopy which now sports a rather large hole. The wood slats comprising the floor of the bed look like driftwood found at the beach. The mufflers have had holes in them for years. She has three fuel tanks that can hold a total of 50 gallons, but the three-way selector valve is plugged. The engine thermostat went bad about ten years ago so it was removed...never did replace it. Walmart value seat covers are the only thing hiding the discolored foam that pushes up through the tears in the vinyl seats. Surpringly little rust is found on the body... except for the spot that hit the tree when I slid down the hill sideways. And of course, as happens every spring, grass is sprouting on the rear bumper.
My Harvest Gold, 3/4 ton Chevy truck with a 396 cu. inch engine, is 41 years old, and I think it is time to let her go.
We bought it twenty years ago for $2500 and used it to move to Oregon. Since then it has been used to do everything from pulling tree stumps and grading the driveway, to making our biannual runs to the dump, to offering a last-ditch mode of transport to town when the snow runs deep. I bought it instead of renting a one-way U-Haul, which was going to cost about $2500 dollars. I'd say I got my money's worth! She was sweet in her day. It came with a heavy-duty tow package - an oversized radiator, aux oil cooler, RV cams, air suspension - and that roaring monster of an engine that as far as I could tell got ten miles to the gallon whether going downhill empty, or up the gravevine out of Los Angeles while stacked 14 feet high and towing a fully loaded trailer. The heavy-duty air suspension has never needed air to be added.
Almost died in that truck three times.
The pulley on the power-steering pump has been wobbling since the day I bought it. Always meant to do something about that..
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