The Wanderer

[silver_bullet]

for those who are paying attention, yes, one of those 90* elbows is plastic sewer pipe. Two reasons... the aluminum one costs $50.00 and second, I don't think having metal right next to the battery terminal is a good idea.

That is a prime example of necessity being the mother of invention..... Nice

[Deaf Bob]

Does your firewall have a sheet of plastic in the middle and around the heater/ac box?
Maybe some insulation between them?

[SuperBuickGuy]

Does your firewall have a sheet of plastic in the middle and around the heater/ac box?
Maybe some insulation between them?

I think the answer to your question is yes.... all diesels have extra insulation.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Onward, roof rack


the whole purpose is to mount the awning....


crowded shop, friend and his daughter were working on his Jeep.... only legs because, well, can't let anyone know I let a Jeep into my shop and she's studying to be an FBI agent (hush, hush).....

[Deaf Bob]

I think the answer to your question is yes.... all diesels have extra insulation.

3-4 other cabs I have had-used do not have that sheet/insulation..one is a BBC/4 speed Flatbed
2 cabs have it both are dualie crews.. One (73, also bbc) did not..

Burned my 4X4.. firewall or heater box is where it started..
Got home from monthly bulk shopping.. Sat in it 5-10 min reading texts.. Went in house and let dogs out. Came back out and cab full of smoke
This is an AC model, other dash/heater I can use is non ac.. Most damage around dist, and in heater box Strangely ac box is good..
Windshield cracked as heat went up pass side defroster.
Stinks real bad...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Soooo, was going to take this to the dog n pony show but alas, stopping


I went to adjust and it was at the limits - suspect the drums are toast, have 'spares' but we'll see.... likely not taking this
funny thing, I ordered these on speed (next day) but didn't order the seals on speed (tomorrow).... whoops

[silver_bullet]

OOF!!!!!!!!

[SuperBuickGuy]

OFF-ROAD APRIL 1994 THE WANDERERS # 63

HEADLINE: THE WANDERERS
SUBHEAD: PHONE SICKS
BYLINE: BY RICK SIEMAN

FORWARD: Carl and Emma live the good life. Carl, a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, drives a huge 4WD Suburban all over the country to explore off-roading areas. The Suburban, nicknamed The Whale, is loaded to the max with every goody known to man. Emma, a very patient lady, tries to keep the short-fused Carl out of as much trouble as possible.
***
When we last left Carl and Emma, The Whale was on its side because of an over-sized and under-engineered portable shower system Carl had built. After getting things right-side up, Carl noticed that there was no sheet metal damage, as The Whale had flopped in soft sand.
After draining out the bogus shower system, Carl drove into a nearby town to relax for a while and to order their mail sent to them. Carl and Emma had a P.O. Box for receiving mail, and every once in a while, they'd spend a few days at a motel, have the mail sent to them, and catch up on the outside world.
While Carl rubbed out the scratches in the paint and got rid of the shower system, Emma relaxed and caught up on her reading and TV soap operas.
When the mail arrived, Carl thumbed through it, discarding most of the typical junk. Then he let out a loud yelp! "Emma! Lookit this! We just missed out on winning this $6 million dollar prize from Ed MacMahon at the Publishers Clearing House. All because we didn't mail our entry form back in time. Ain't that enough to make you sick?"
Emma studied the wad of paper and sheets of stamps carefully. "Well, I'm not so sure we really won, dear. It says that we COULD have been one of the big prize winners. Actually, it's a little bit vague."
Carl grunted. "I'm not so sure. Take a look at this letter. There was us and six other people who didn't respond, and we all missed out. Man, it makes me sick. Emma, there's gotta be some way we can keep in touch with civilization in case of real emergencies like this. Maybe we ought to get one of those cellophane phones?"
Emma looked puzzled for a moment, then brightened. "Oh, you mean "cellular" phones!"
"That's what I said, woman. You ought to pay closer attention when I talk. Anyways, the way I understand it, you can carry one of these phones in your pocket. If we get one, we could have the message center call us if there's something important for us ... like this thing from Ed. After lunch, why don't we head into town and check out the prices on those things?"
Carl stopped by Electronic Blitz City, and picked up a pocket-sized cellular phone that was on sale. The salesman explained how to use it and hooked him up to the service right from the store.
On the way back to the Motel, Carl made a few experimental phone calls:
"Hullo, Uncle Fred? Well, this here's Carl, and guess what? I'm talking to you on the telephone!"
Uncle Fred seemed un-impressed. "So what, you big dummy. I'm talking to you on a phone, too. It ain't like it was just invented, ya know. Now make it quick; Bowling For Dollars is on the TV and I want to see if Jamie Farr picks up a 7 - 10 split."
"No, Uncle Fred. I mean I'm talking to you from the front seat of my Suburban. I got me one of those new cellulite phones."
"You mean "cellular" phones, fat boy. And you dragged me away from the TV just to tell me that? You must have been banging your head on the roof of your truck from too much of that off-road driving. Goodbye, and don't call me unless you got something important."
Not discouraged, Carl dialed another number:
"Hullo, Marvin? This here's Fred. How's the weather there in Sarasota?"
Carl turned to Emma. "Marvin and I were in the Navy together. We chased around and ... I mean, we did a lot of fishin' together."
Emma scowled and pulled the plug from the phone out of the cigarette lighter socket. "Quit wasting good money on your rowdy old friends. If you want to go fishing, well, let's go then. That's all you've been talking about lately, anyways."
Carl brightened. "You're right! We can go do some fishing, and I can still stay in touch with the world with this here celluloid phone. There's no way I'm gonna miss out on one more Sweepstakes Prize!" ***
Carl found a neat little spot where they could camp and fish. It was next to a small lake, and the locals told him that there were plenty of small-mouth bass, lunker crappies, and scrappy blue-gills. Emma really liked the idea of blue-gills, and would go after them with ultra-light one pound line on her rod, and normally would lose nine out of ten hook-ups. Even when she caught one, she'd release it quickly, much to Carl's disgust.
After pitching camp and ingesting a light snack, they got out the fishing tackle and headed for a likely spot. Carl put a night-crawler on the hook for Emma, then got out one of his favorite lures, a Doctor Wizard Hook-O-Rama Wriggling Hula-Dancer Bass-O-Matic Special, and made a long cast out next to a half submerged tree.
Carl felt a nibble on his line and tensed. He wrapped one stubby finger over the line to get a better feel, and poised, ready to yank on the rod ... when the cellular phone in his pocket rang.
It startled him so much that he almost fell into the lake. Carl flipped the ON button. "Hullo?"
The voice on the other end started talking rapidly. "Is this the Market Street Pharmacy? Well, I want to re-new my prescription and my doctor is out of town for the weekend, so can you ...?"
"Hey, lady. This ain't the pharmacy. This here's Carl and you got a wrong number."
Click.
Carl reeled in and cast out again, about three feet to the left of his last toss. Once again, there was immediate activity on the line. Carl poised, ready to nail a big one and ... the phone rang again!
"Hullo."
"Pharmacy? This is Mrs. Watkins and I want to re-new my prescription. I got some moron on the first call and ..."
"Look, lady. This ain't the pharmacy. Would you mind taking the paper bag off your head the next time you dial. I'm in the middle of fishing, and you're not making it any easier."
Click.
Carl flipped his lure out once again, and this time, got a solid bite. He immediately pulled back on the rod and got some tension on the line and ... the phone rang once again!
Carl reached for the pocket phone, letting the line go slack for just a moment, and a lunker bass leapt out of the water, shook his head wildly, and spit the lure out, then disappeared into the greenish water with a loud splash.
"Hullo?"
"Pharmacy? My stomach has been acting up and I absolutely have to re-new my prescription, but I keep getting some idiot on the line and ..."
"Listen, lady. This is the idiot ... I mean Carl, on the line, and I wish you'd get your act together and quit bothering me. I ain't a pharmacy. I am a fisherman. A fisherman who just lost what looked like a three-pounder, if it was an ounce. So I'd appreciate it if you'd take your finger out of your nose - or wherever else it's been - and try to dial the right number."
Click.
With a sigh, Carl cast out again, hoping that the bass would make another pass at the lure. There was no action by the tree, so Carl made a few more casts further out. Five minutes later, he felt a few bumps on his line and got ready and ... the #$^&*%$^*$#$#^* phone rang again!
"Hullo."
"Market Street Pharmacy? This is Mrs. Watkins. I'm a regular customer and I absolutely need a re-fill on an upset stomach prescription and ... "
"Mrs. Watkins?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a dog?"
"Yes, of course. A lovely little poodle name Muffins. Why do you ask?"

[SuperBuickGuy]

"Because this is Carl again, and if you interrupt my fishing one more time, I'm going to come over and filet your dumb poodle with a chain saw and use it for bait. Is that clear?"
Click.
Carl took a deep breath, dragged his line in, and tried a different lure. This time he tied on a Sub-terranian Frog-faced Spinning Minnow Split-tailed Blazing Screamer, and made a clean cast under an over-hanging tree.
Amazingly, the phone didn't ring for quite a while. Maybe ten minutes. Then just about the time the line started wiggling again, the phone rang.
Carl bit his lower lip with his upper teeth, thought for a moment, then answered the cellular phone: "Market Street Pharmacy. Can I help you?"
"Thank heavens I got through. I've been getting some ill-mannered lout on the line every other time I called. The phone company really ought to do something about that."
"Oh, I agree. We've been having a problem with that lately. Now, how can I help you today?"
"Well, I have this terrible upset stomach problem, with gas pains and all, and the doctor has been prescribing this prescription for me, but the doctor is out of town for a few days, and I absolutely must have the prescription re-filled."
"Certainly. We're here to help. Now please read me the label on the bottle? Uhhh-hmmm. Yes, yes. Fine. Mrs. Watkins, I have some excellent news for you. The Sturgeon General has just sent me a letter that says you can save big bucks if you can make the prescription at home yourself. Apparently, your prescription is on that list. It's all part of the new Truth in Drugstores Policy."
"Isn't that amazing!"
"Yes, it is. Now, if you have a pencil and paper handy, I'll tell you how you can make your own prescription."
"Oh my, this is wonderful! My last prescription cost me $28.50. Please go on."
"Okee-dokee. First you take 1/4 cup of vinegar, mix it with five tablespoons of baking soda, add one ounce of Louisiana Hot Sauce, stir in two tablespoons of castor oil, one pinch of oregano, a splash of tonic water, crush up three Vicks cough drops and run it all in a blender for two minutes. Got that so far?'
"Uhh, yes. I think so."
"Good. Then you take this solution and add two egg whites, one teaspoon of Hershey chocolate syrup, a level tablespoon of curry powder, four ounces of Ex-Lax, ..."
"Ex-Lax?"
"Yes. It's one of the key ingredients. Most important. Then add an ounce of gin, two ounces of Pepto-Bismol, three ounces of vodka, four ounces of India ink, five ounces of instant de-caff coffee and a splash of Vitalis Hair Tonic. Put this all into a pan, bring it to a boil, let it cool down, then drink 1/2 cup every 20 minutes until it's all gone. Got that?"
"I think so. Are you sure about that Vitalis Hair Tonic?"
"Of course. It's what we in the profession call a catalyst."
"Well, thank you ... ahh ... I don't know your name?"
"Carlson. Doctor Carlson. This should most certainly solve your stomach problem. And feel free to call any time. We're here to serve."
Click.
Carl let out an evil chuckle and cast his line out once again. An hour later, there was some serious action on the line, and a large smile creased Carl's weathered face. Part of the smile was the fact that some fish were nibbling and bumping at his line, and the other part was an inner evil joy that Mrs. Watkins was probably bending over a toilet, blowing her lunch into the bowl, retching at full tilt.
The line wiggled and Carl braced for a big hit ... and the phone rang again!
"Hullo?" "Dr. Carlson? I just wanted to call and thank you for all the help with my prescription. It settled my stomach quite nicely. So much so, that I got on the phone and called all my friends and gave them your number. You can expect a lot of calls real soon. And thank you again."
Carl thumbed the OFF button on the cellular phone, stared at it for a hard moment, then reared back and flung it as hard and far as he could into the lake. The phone hit the water, and a monster bass jumped up, gulped the phone down and disappeared into the depths.
The sound of vile Navy curses filled the air, but that didn't bother Emma, who had just caught and released her 28th lunker blue-gill.


(NOTE TO ART DEPT: HOW ABOUT AN ILLO OF A LARGE HAIRY ARM THROWING A CELLULAR PHONE INTO A LAKE, WITH BASS JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER IN THE BACKGROUND?)

[SuperBuickGuy]

so my other task (FJoverland comment) is these


It figures but rather the standard 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 brakes they're 3 1/2. Autozone will have them - and in that I'm torn, I'm glad I can fix it but not too happy that they're open....

[SuperBuickGuy]

finishing
picture for posterity (also so I know how to put it back together)


how I put them together - a ratchet strap keeps it all together while I put the bits in....


and back on the ground

[DanStokes]

Gimmie a brake! (Just HAD to say that.....).

Dan

[SuperBuickGuy]

Time to snorke
and to head off the haters - the point of the snorkel is to get the air intake above the dust. I have had to clean air filters during trail runs because even here it can get dusty.... and no, it's not likely I'll ever submerge this Suburban - and as you'll see when part 2 happens, it won't help with that anyway.
this is not for a Suburban, rather it's for a FJ80 (Toyota) - I have no idea if someone makes one for this, this was cheap, so I make it work


cutting the hole




surprisingly close


holes to hold it on


time for some heat to make it fit better - heating.... heat the plastic until it shines, push to where you need it, cool with water spray... success.



and there it does



imagine a duct running from the hole to the air cleaner.... then a box over the air cleaner.... that's part 2


hard to see, but I've heated the upper tube and pushed it closer to the body



and a bracket that needs one more bend and one bend to kink the other direction.... simple, but on the next installment

[silver_bullet]

There you go Aaron, giving me more badd ideas!

[SuperBuickGuy]

One, stainless bracket

installed

and now a cheap, Toyota snorkel attached to a Suburban