New Tires

As indicated in the last post, the front tires were way too thin on the insides. I knew it was only a matter of time before they needed to be replaced, but since I didn't depend on the truck as a primary vehicle, I decided I might as well drive it until one actually went flat. It happened overnight, of course during the winter, and since I didn't have a spare I had to throw both front tires in the trunk of the Camry to get it to WalMart to get replacements.

That, by the way, was the last time I went to WalMart for auto work. Customer service couldn't be worse and the quality is like most things WalMart-- cheap and good for a few days if you're lucky.

Charlie and I hate WalMart.

Alignment and Brakes

I didn't realize it at the time, but the front tires were brand new on the outside. And paper thin on the inside. I took it in to get aligned and a couple hundred dollars later they called to tell me Charlie needed brakes immediately or the alignment would be worthless. Oh, and they'd install them for a mere $250. I declined, went to Autozone and got brakes for $25, and took Charlie home to replace the brakes.

After lifting the front end and putting it on jack stands, I got to work. I heard this kinda alarming creaking sound only to see that the truck was so heavy it had sunk the jack stands into the asphalt an inch or so. Owen and Jack were so helpful on this project, as you may remember from pictures 18 months ago. New brakes in the front and a good alignment!

Bonding time for the boys with Dad and bonding time for Dad with Charlie.

Clutch

So for a few months I used my truck to commute up to Idaho Falls. Not the most economic method, but it allowed Kara to keep the Camry at home while I was off at work. I burned a CD designed especially for my truck (with the obligatory "Pickup Man" song on there) and... actually that CD is still in there. I had clients who fell into two different classes: those that loved the truck completely, and those that asked me to park down the block so their friends wouldn't see them getting in it.

Anyway one day we went for a cookout in the sand dunes north of Rexburg, which, if you've been in Rexburg, you know is about the most exciting thing within 30 miles, and 200 yards into the dunes and after the cookout Charlie wouldn't start. The lights came on but when I turned the ignition to Start I got nothing. Not even an effort. So I opened the hood and tried a few different things, and then a kind gentleman pulled off and offered to tow us to town. Before chaining up he asked if he could take a look, and after just a couple minutes he started it. Turns out there's a little plastic piece that connects the clutch pedal and it had just come unhooked. I like to think of it as a hidden security feature. If I'm concerned about someone stealing Charlie, I can disable him in just seconds.

Tricky, Charlie!

Day One

On the first day I bought Charlie, man was I excited. I got him from a guy in Rigby, just ten miles away from our home in Rexburg. I had test driven it and then wrote him a check, at which point he gave me a handwritten receipt and the title. We drove over to Kara's parents and then I went to show the truck to my friend in Idaho Falls. On the highway onramp, the front u-joint snapped and I was stranded. It's a manual transmission and the emergency brake is gone entirely, so without a connected driveshaft, I was stuck sitting there on the ramp with my foot on the brake. I couldn't even get out to chock the wheels because Charlie would have rolled away. So I sat there for about a half hour and then my friend came and towed me to his house, where we spent the better part of the evening knocking out the old u-joint and putting in a new one. I learned that night that driveshafts are virtually indestructible. You can hit them as hard as you want with heavy sledgenhammers and you're not going to do anything but knock the rust off.

Introduction

My truck is special. Too special to be included on the family blog. It has enough adventures for its own blog.

Charlie was born in 1980. He used to be two shades of blue. At some point in his life the owner replaced the drivers side door and front panel with shiny new parts. But they matched the colors; it was just that the older ones were faded and rusting while the new ones were not. So I decided on this awesome chrome color after seeing a picture of this car



but the effect didn't really work. I will post pics to show what it looks like instead. Anyway, Charlie is my buddy. I put him up for sale a couple months ago and didn't even get an offer. I think it's a sign that Charlie and I are meant to be.