20091210

Rover Progress



Today it was all Rover. I got the last of the carpet pressure washed, the dry stuff put in, the seats in, and the rest of the wiring run. It's really coming together well. Whoever owned this thing before me had a big white dog because there's literally pounds of hair stuck everywhere. The pressure wash loosened it nicely and I think it will vacuum out well. Tomorrow I just need to pick up a couple feet of 4 gauge to connect the amp fuse to the battery and run the rear headliner speaker wires and make all the connections. Three hours, tops. Then to seal the sunroof and wash/wax and possibly buff. Can't wait to be done with it.

It also occurred to me today how ironic it is I'm installing a stereo I spent more on than the truck. Funny how that works. At least that was pre-recession money. Quality pics when I'm done, then to decide if I want to sell it for profit and buy one a little nicer. I just can't seem to leave well enough alone. Laters. 

20091209

DB's Website and my co-write

Just wanted to quickly mention that my buddy Donny "good ol' DB" Brazile has his music site up and running and the best part is that everything's free! Unfortunately that also means my one and only co-write is free so I won't be seeing any mailbox money anytime soon. Damn. Check it out anyway and look for my song, "Emily." Laters.

Back in the swing...

After a few weeks of downtime I decided last night to get back into it. And back into it I got. First up was my long awaited fork boot install. I thought they looked a bit long but hey, why not give it a try. Here's what I ended up with:



Not satisfied with this I took a good look, then grabbed the X-Acto and started cutting. After awhile, I came up with this:

 

Now that's what I was going for, and this afforded me the opportunity to break the Washington corrosion off the bolts and give them some Anti-Seize and a re-torque. You know, like any good anal retentive tech should. Better pics to come. Bad light + iPhone = Shite.

  

Then this morning I woke up with Rover on my mind so I did what must be done. I loaded all the carpet in the back and headed down to the car wash. Five bucks in quarters and 30 minutes later I had this:

  

Everything is drying nicely thanks to the wonderful Phoenix climate. If the wild hair is still in my ass tomorrow I think I'll finish the stereo install and start replacing carpet and back seats. Right now it feels too much like a van. That's fine as long as it is a van and has a cool mural on the side but murals don't look good on Rovers. After that it's buff and wax and pics to follow. 

I also want to mention a great little shop in Mesa called Eastside Performance. They're the friendliest, helpfulest, no bullshittenest shop in the Phoenix area and you should definitely give them your bidness. It's where I bought the drag bars and fork boots and where I'll buy most everything from now on. Their prices and service are beyond compare. It's worth the trip just to see what they have in the showroom. Can you say Brough Superior? Check 'em out. Laters.

20091208

Cay's Blog

Hey all. I've been out of the loop lately, what with Thanksgiving travel and temp jobs and all but here I am-firmly back in the loop. Wanted to mention a great blog: Cay Broendum Spare Time. Cay is an uber talented Danish artist and bike guy. Especially check out his pen and ink bike art. This stuff is great and I'd love to see these done as fine art posters. You'd definitely see one or two on my wall.


In other news, the Rover project has stalled a bit as I've pulled the Sporty out to install some accordion fork boots. I'll get back on the Rover soon as there isn't much left to do. Clean carpets, reinstall sunroof weatherstripping, carpets and back seat and finish off the stereo. Then a nice buff job to make her shine again. Should be sweet. Photos of both Rover and Sporty to come. Until then, laters!