A view of the Mighty Miss'

Hi all - we had a great trip back to Minnesota and Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. We had a chance to go see Marty and Kelly - captured some views from Garvin Heights - pretty place. We also stopped by the Saint Mary's campus - we placed Finn in the creche. It was a great trip! I also organized a reunion at the curling club - was able to see Brian, Theresa, Paula, Beth, etc. We had a good time! Mike

Marc and his buddy

Bailey got a buzz cut to keep the pollen and brush out of his fur when we walk. Hard to see from these photos, but he turned out pretty cute!!!

Fall in Seattle

We've had a few nice fall days in Seattle. Marc and I were able to get out and enjoy them with the dogs. Now the rain has set in for awhile, but here's a glimpse of some of the sunny weather.

Bathroom updates

OK, boring post I know, but we switched out a few little details in the bathroom to make it look a little more fresh... new shower curtain, etc.... Mike

Old house

For those of you who haven't traveled to Seattle to visit, I thought that I'd take a pic of the reprint that we ordered. King County archives keeps vintage photos/negatives of historical snapshots used for taxation purposes. Our house was built in 1926. This photo was snapped in the 1930s. It hangs in our dining room. Surprisingly, it hasn't changed much over the years!

Tiger Mountain Summit

Marc's brother Joel came to visit us here in Seattle, and we took the opportunity to hike Tiger Mountain. It's about a 35 minute drive from here. We took the opportunity to take some of the unmaintained trails (in other words... steep) and made it to summit #3. It was a great hike!

Curling Season

Mike's curling season got under way last night. Marc and our friend Mary went to go see the action and have a cider at the bar. [Marc]

Sailing

A couple weeks ago our friend Alan invited us to go sailing on his boat out on Puget Sound. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day. Alan even let Marc steer the boat for a while. Unfortunately, Mike forgot to take his dramamine(tm), so he was looking a little green almost the whole time. The last picture here is after Marc got soaked by sea spray, which was I guess his own fault since he was at the helm at the time. [Marc]

Still Some Sunshine in Seattle

Bailey and Sprout enjoying Sunday morning sunbeam. [Marc]

Truck Restoration Video

I frequent a website dedicated to old trucks called Stovebolt.com. They have a feature of my truck which can be seen at:

1954 GMC 100

I also stumbled upon a great 9-10 minute video of a guy from Wisconsin who did a great job on his 1946 Chevy truck - over 8.5 years! Check it out!

1946 Chevy PU

When the weather clears up this afternoon, I will be back at it...

Mike

The Harvest Continues

[Marc]

New rubber

Hi folks - happy Labor Day Weekend! Are you sick of hearing about my truck? I suppose we could change the blog to "Mike's Old Truck Project" versus Our Seattle Adventure, as I could be doing this in whatever city. Well, when I bought the truck, my goals in the short term were to:
1) Fix the brakes - done
2) Change the tires - done (this post)
3) Install seat belts

Well , there were some bumps along the way!

Anyway, the tire thing proved more work than it should have - the rims on the wheels were 16", but designed to be used with inner tubes. The four tires were bias ply - front 6.50-16 and back 7.00-16. They were all terrible. Bald. The back ones were retreads, and it looked like the tread was peeling off. The thing bumped and glided all over the road, tracking in every road imperfection. The date branded on the tires was 1975 - so older than me!

I could find replacement bias tires on the internet from Jim Carter, but who to install? Most of the tire shops around here have young kids (with strong backs) that don't know how to work on these. My 35 yo neighbor saved the day - he found 4 16" radial tires (10 ply) off a duallie. Two were near perfect, two were somewhat worn, but still plenty of tread. $50 apiece for the good ones, $15 apiece for the worn ones. Bigger than the original tires, but would work. I found new tubes on E-bay. Plus a spare tire - it was a weird size - 6.70-15 - so no radial conversion. But I found a new old stock bias tire on E-bay that was perfect!

Jeremy (my neighbor) came home on Sat evening after work (his tire shop) - we ripped off all the tires and mounted the new ones in the yard! I have to emphasize Jeremy -- I'm not skilled with tire irons. But now they're on!

Now I just need to get the truck running again - but I figured out the problem... the wire between coil and distributor is shot! So I'm not getting a spark! More to come... Awaiting parts in the mail (story of the year).

Anyway, I took some pics of the tires - front left (radial) and spare (bias, new old stock or NOS).

Now I just need to work on those seatbelts...

Mike

Sweet old truck

Click here to view these pictures larger(TOP PHOTO)

Click here to view these pictures larger(BOTTOM PHOTO)

I wanted to post these pics - this is one of Butch's old trucks that has gone to pasture - now known as the "dump truck." It appears to be a 1950s Chevy Advance Design big truck - duallie, flat bed, probably 1-ton? Pretty neat! It was decorated as such for a wedding on the property. I will have to check it out in person next time I am back in MN!

Lauren's Wedding

Mike's coworker/friend married Doug in Los Angeles' Temescal Gateway Park. It was a quaint, beautiful setting, with a dinner/dance to follow in the reception hall downhill. All in all it was a great time!

Sunday Visit to the Beach

After the wedding festivities (more on that later), we headed north to see the beach and ocean at Leo Carillo State Park. The beaches in California are always crowded in the summer, Sunday was no exception. But it was still quite beautiful. [Marc] PS About the candid looking-into-the-distance style photos -- just something different to try, and everyone looks less squinty that way in the bright sun.

Harvest Time Begins

We're back from a weekend trip to Los Angeles (more on that later). My post-return inspection of the tomato plants found a good handful of cherry tomatoes. (Actually, I think the variety is officially a "grape tomato," but that's a finer point than needed.) The first of many, I can see. [Marc]

New turn signal lenses

They say that God is in the details - well, that's what I focus on when I get frustrated with the mechanicals... The secret is not to try to do too much at once, and remember that the cover can stay on indefinitely - and the truck WILL wait for you!!! The old turn signal lenses were original, cracked, and opaque. I found these from Jim Carter - about $4 or $5 for the pair. I polished up the chrome around them and put them on. Bit by bit...

New Glove Box

Another quick, inexpensive fix to add detail. The new glove box was $13 at Jim Carter. I should have snapped a pic before pulling old box - but as you can see, it was worn, had been painted once, and had water damage, etc. I think it was actually a grease stain on the bottom. There was so much space beneath the dash that pulling and installing took a mere 10 minutes!!! Notice the USAA card flashed at the side in the last shot. The AAA card will also be there!