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!

New Door Panels

The interiors of these trucks are simple - as best I can tell, this truck represents a deteriorated amateur restoration from the 1970s - when reproduction parts were not available. Now I can get just about any part that I want on the Internet. It's great! The door panels and headliner are made from molded cardboard. Looking at the original photo on top, the original cardboard was covered with vinyl. It had much water/moisture damage (I think that this truck sat in a leaky barn for many years after it was fixed up). Anyway, I bought new panels with metal trim from Jim Carter - about $50 - then polished up doors and installed. It will make a nice improvement! Slowly coming along...

My frist tow

Well, the truck drove home (30 miles from Monroe, WA), but it has not really been touched in years, so there are many things that I want to do to make it a reliable weekend driver.

Here's what I did so far:
1) Rebuilt brake system - hired out
Rest I did myself
2) New battery - Optima 6V
3) Replace upper radiator hose and clamps, flush radiator
4) Change engine oil
5) Change transmission gear oil
6) Change fan belt (as pictured above)
7) Change spark plugs

The weekend before last I went down to the tire shop to talk to the sales person about new tires (promised a call back, but no return phone call). 'Tis OK, because my neighbor and I are going to break and mount the tires in the yard! Anyway, I totally stalled out and kept stalling and stalling and stalling - especially when under load, going uphill. Needless to say, I had the truck towed home. Thanks AAA - it was quick and didn't cost me a dime. Now the trouble shooting begins - fuel vs fire? I think that the timing is too retarded, so that will be a first step. Then it's a review of the fuel system - clogs are VERY common in these old trucks as crud from the gas tank floats around. I will stick to cosmetics for a little while as an ego booster...

What lies under your seat

I saw a YouTube video about a woman who was updating her 1954 Chevy truck - what I realized is that the bottom seat cushion is not attached - it basically sits in the frame and is removable. Underneath is a tool or other compartment. Although I didn't have any tool in it... What was found was a 1 ft in diameter by 6" high mouse nest (dormant, no mice) on top of old carpet. I pulled it all out and used the Shop-Vac to remove any last trace. The truck is starting to smell just a bit better!

Blog Trifecta

A couple random pictures from our trip to San Francisco over Fourth of July weekend, just to make a trifecta blog post. [Marc]

Tomatoes

And here's another summer project ... tomatoes! Back in early June I put out a few tomato plants in the planter on the southwest corner of the house. Because of the Seattle climate, you really can't put them out very early, and you need to keep them protected from chilly weather even then. (I learned this from a tomato growing class at the local garden club.) I put out a couple heirloom beefsteak varieties, a red grape tomato variety, and tried an 'ivory' colored variety just for fun.





I designed my cover/trellis to expand up once the plants got bigger. (Yes, that's sun tea on the corner.)





Now the plants are almost as tall as the trellis!







Lots of fruit, but nothing has ripened yet. Hopefully we'll see some delicious results before the end of the growing season. Will let you know how it goes. [Marc]

We're going to be so rich!

In case you've been wondering what Marc's been up to while Mike is working on the truck ... Here's a little project I did a couple weekends ago. New drawer boxes and runners on the built-in unit in the hallway!

First, I removed the existing runner-less drawer boxes and installed new high-tech Austrian gliders in the wall unit (only the best materials, you know me).



I had ordered new, pre-assembled drawer boxes on-line. Special locking devices that fit with the gliders go underneath the boxes. (Note how they have a cedar plywood base, nice for storing linens.)



Then, I installed the new drawer boxes in the wall unit.





Finally, I tore apart the original boxes and re-installed the front panels onto the new boxes.





Voila! No more squeaky, creaky, askew drawers. They now glide in and out quietly with a nifty soft-close motion. (Cue oohs and aahs from audience.) Now I know how Nadine from the television show Twin Peaks felt. [Marc]

Small dogs fit in many places

Hi all - we've been busy with fun activity this summer, and I confess, working on that truck has been the highlight of my free time! I really enjoy troubleshooting all the problems to get it to a place where it is a reliable weekend driver. There will be a separate post on that. Anyway, as above, Sprout "jumped" in the laundry basket (or was placed there... before washing, of course). Bailey is used to clean up after the mess - Marc spilled couscous in the refrigerator, and Bailey wanted to clean up the dust at the bottom of the dog food bag. They're great for crumbs!