Another thing I got to this weekend while Finn was asleep was to pull out the A/C ductwork under my dashboard. It was inoperable when I got the truck, although there was power to the blower fan. There was no compressor on the engine and the supply/return hoses had been cut just outside the firewall. Figuring it would be a number of years and several Lotto tickets before I’m able to buy an aftermarket A/C system, and because I’d like to get under the dash itself to replace bulbs and fix electrical gremlins, I decided to yank it out.
The vent bar came out easily (in part because one of the bolts was already missing) and the PO had thoughtfully installed quick connects on all of the wiring. Once that was out, I tackled the condenser unit under the passenger’s side. This was trickier because my glove box latch is hopelessly broken, so I jimmied that open, removed the box liner, and pulled the door off. There are four bolts holding it onto the firewall, three in the wheel well and one in the engine bay. They all came off so easily I had to look around to see if anyone was pranking me.
Once that was disconnected and the hoses underneath came off, the whole assembly lifted right out. It’s definitely seen better days. The picture here doesn’t show five pounds of dog hair and mud caked into the rear of the condenser unit.
Now I can get underneath and sort out the wiring, replace all the bulbs, and (possibly) even pull the purple dash off and replace it with the black one I refinished four years ago. But I’ll have to be careful not to anger the Scout electrical gods.
A couple of years ago, when I was in between Scouts, I rode along with a neighbor of mine to a Land Rover meetup at a restaurant in Columbia. We hung out, talked trucks, and then walked inside for some lunch. It was a real easygoing way to meet new people.
Recently I got to thinking about all the guys with Scouts who I’ve met over the years who don’t know each other or haven’t found the Binder Planet, and thought I might try to get a group together for the same kind of gathering. I started emailing folks in the Baltimore area and soon the word was out.
We met at the Famous Dave’s in Columbia this morning, and by noon we had about 15 guys with 6 trucks in attendance. First to arrive were Erik M. and Stu S., followed by Stephen G. with a beautiful red 6(6?) 1200 pickup. Next was Brian T., coming in from the Eastern Shore with his Scout, and Jesse A. from Annapolis came in with his Scout right after noon. We also had a bunch of guys who have trucks in the shop– Jason H., who is doing an engine transplant and bodywork, my neighbors the Dunmires, who have a Scout II in the middle of bodywork, Brian H., whose Wagonmaster is currently with Mike Moore in Virginia, and Pate M. from the Eastern Shore, whose Scout II is also in the middle of serious surgery. Carl B. came in from the west side of town as we were finishing up lunch, the victim of some overheating issues.
We hung out in the parking lot for a couple of hours with our hoods up shooting the breeze, and every once in a while someone would slowly cruise past and stare at our trucks. We even got a nod of approval from a guy in a lifted diesel Ford.
Then, we went inside for some beer and barbecue. (I took no pictures inside, sorry).
When we walked back outside, gray skies had turned sunny, and we stood out in the lot for another hour or so talking trucks.
I had run into the Target before everyone arrived to see if they had a couple of Matchbox Scouts, meaning to give them out for stuff like “rustiest truck” and “farthest distance driven”. This guy got one just cause he was cool.
All in all, it was a great day, and I hope everyone had a good time.
I’ve got a pile of T-shirts drying in the basement waiting for a turn with the heat gun. We should have about fifteen guys and six trucks gathering to meet up, talk, and have some barbecue on Sunday morning. I’m very much looking forward to it.
We got word early last week that Howard, my sister’s best friend for fifteen years, had passed suddenly and without much warning. I shuffled some things around and hit the road Thursday evening to make his funeral mass Friday morning. From what I’m told the viewing was packed with friends, and the mass was no exception. At one point the priest in charge of the service leaned in to ask the older gentleman sitting next to me (one of the elders) if someone could go locate enough host to use for communion.
Renie had written a eulogy for Howard, and it was funny, touching, authentic, and moving. I was proud of both her words and her poise.
After the service, we drove over to the firehouse, where the reception was being held, and found ourselves sitting with several of Howard’s friends from Ithaca. I struck up a conversation with the gentleman sitting next to me, who mentioned he was from Thailand, and we started talking about travel and food. Within a half an hour he was inviting the family to come and eat at his restaurant (one of Howard’s favorite haunts) and we made plans.
At the table, he set us up with four glasses of Proseco, and things got progressively better from there. Starting with two types of Thai soup (Tom Kha and Tom Yung), we worked our way through four appetizers, stopped for a bottle of red wine, and then worked through five (!) entrees. The restaurant is pan-Asian, so the menu ranges from Thai to Indian, and the mixture of curry, lemongrass, and chili powder was outstanding together. After our entrees, he insisted we try the dessert menu, but not before a glass of grappa or Yuzo (lemon infused sake) to clear our palates. We wound up sitting for four hours enjoying the time together, raising a glass to Howard, and savoring every bite.
Saturday it just so happened there was a party planned for Grampy, who turns 98 this year, so I decided to stick around and celebrate with everyone. He just got moved back into his house from my uncle’s, and a couple of cousins spent the last few weeks painting and cleaning and getting things ready for him. He’s now installed in the middle room (the family room from my younger days) with a palace-sized chair and a hospital bed in front of a flat screen TV. He looks better than I’ve seen him in years, and I could see the spark in his eyes the whole time I was there.
Being able to visit with everyone was great, and once again I ate way too much.
Sunday morning I hit the road and made it back to Baltimore by 3, just in time to sharpen the mower blade and attack the lawn while Finn played on the swing. Jen got the rear bed weeded, and after some work with the edger the house doesn’t look like it’s been foreclosed upon anymore.
Jen and I scheduled a party with some of our neighbors for Saturday night. Which, in our family, means we use the occasion as an excuse for a massive spring cleaning. We’d started doing some preliminary work this past week, but as anyone who does a major overhaul knows, progress made only lasts for minutes.
I started by going out for breakfast and hitting neighborhood yard sales on my way home, where I scored four satellite speakers, an unopened hiking compass, five Xbox games and a Playmobil pirate ship for Finn. After eating, the girls got started at the house while I went across the street to the church playground, where I’d volunteered several weeks ago to help with spring cleanup. A nice man named Rich and I shoveled and moved three tons of playground sand (which, after the rain, weighed in at more like six) to the sandbox and and helped level wood chips under all the equipment. Thankfully, there were donuts and coffee to keep us moving.
On my way back to the house I stopped to see the neighbor’s new C5 Corvette, which he bought through a family friend for a fraction of its book value. It’s black and sleek and in really good shape for its age. We spent about a half an hour poking around at it, and then I headed home to throw myself into housecleaning. We cleaned corners and under couches and all the places that haven’t seen the light of day since November. Bathrooms got scrubbed, floors mopped, and even the basement got a sweep (if guests are going to the kegerator, it can’t look like the dungeon from Silence of the Lambs down there).
At 5:30 we were scrubbed and ready for guests, just barely. Four kinds of cheese were laid out. Dinner burbled quietly in the crock pot. Music wafted in from the den. The house was pristine for about a half an hour and then kids arrived and EVERY SINGLE TOY HIT THE FLOOR. What followed was a wonderful night with friends; there was great conversation. There was homebrew, vodka, white wine and sake. There was delicious cajun shrimp and sausage gumbo. There was a cake from Sugarbakers. At some point I built a fire. The kids got along great. Everybody called it at about 10:30 or so, and we staggered up to bed tired but happy.
This morning, despite my hangover, I hit the ground running. Well, not exactly. I hit the couch sleeping after Finn came in at 7, and rested there until 9:30 while she took in some PBS Kids. After a BE&C and some strong coffee my head quieted down and Finn and I hit the Home Depot for some lumber and supplies. Back at the house, I disassembled an ancient workbench in the garage to make way for shelving to maximize storage space, which took up a good chunk of the afternoon. Because the whole structure leans to the east, the shelves aren’t square, but they’re all 2″ wide and they hold four times as much stuff. I moved a lot of Scout stuff around and freed up the back of the building for a homemade hoist to store the traveltop, which went in at about 5:30.
Right now I’m typing this quietly in Finn’s room as she tries to fall asleep. Mama is downstairs watching Game of Thrones. I have a half a glass of beer and a slice of cake waiting for me. My back and legs are going to be singing to me tomorrow, but what I got done was definitely worth it.
It’s definitely a version 1.0 and there’s a lot to be desired in the execution, but I got the top off today by myself without having to call in any help.
Right now it hangs in the back of the available parking area of the garage , which means I can’t back the Scout in with the soft top up. I think the next iteration might involve a winch and a stronger bracing system for the top itself, and some way of scooting it backwards before it gets hoisted up. Maybe I can make some simple sawhorses and walk it backwards onto those before it goes upwards. I’m definitely going to add a third set of ratchet straps to the current setup to sleep soundly at night.
The soft top hardware is tacked in place, but I’m headed out to the store tomorrow to buy stainless hardware to mount the rails before I put the canvas on. I was tempted to put my snap top on (and I still might) but time got away from me today and I still had to clean up.