Sometimes you gotta know when to say whoa.

Times are hard. No surprise there. Look around and there is a lot of strain on the fabric of America's financial health. And who are we kidding? WE are America's financial health. And we are facing trying times. This year the Union Rescue Mission will break all records in serving hot meals to people in need. Homes are sitting empty and many people's savings are a fraction of what they once were.

I had a feeling things were going to get tough about 2 years ago. Maybe God was telling me something, maybe it was intuition. Not sure. But I kinda kept along with things I had planned and watched and waited.

No need to do that anymore. Project Blue Oval YJ is up on the chopping block. I just can't continue to put money into something so unneeded when things are so dicey. There are thousands of dollars and tens of hours just sitting there and it all has to go. Well, at least most of it. I do have a plan as I hate to leave the 4 wheelin' world completely. God willing I will be back with another vehicle, one less capable, but much more practical. Too bad. I really liked the way it was coming along. That 5.0 sure looks good in that engine bay. The 37" Goodyears have never seen dirt. Bummer.

So, to all the companies that helped with good deals on stuff, sorry. It sure was not the plan to have this happen, but my family comes first. Hopefully we can make that up by using select parts on the 'plan B' rig.

So, I will post more on the pages of C4x4.com, but feel free to contact me from the contacts page if you are interested in all or part of the project rig.

Thanksgiving

Be thankful.

Go wheelin'.



Colossians 3:15 (New International Version)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

No SEMA no mo'

"Well, this sucks!"

Penguin from the movie Madagascar as he stood in the desolate Arctic landscape.

Last year I had a so-so experience at SEMA, not too fun, but it was something I felt was important to cover and, hey, it is a day off work. So, it was with a bit of reservations that I filled up the 40 gallon tank of the S.S. Suburban and pointed it towards Vegas at about 03:30 in the morning.

After 90 minutes at SEMA in the SUV and Truck hall, which is where the core of 4WD related stuff always is, I realized we were nearly done walking it. 90 minutes! Usually I am barely able to cover that one hall in 4 hours. You could have rolled a bowling ball down the hallways on Thursday and hardly hit anyone. Wondering if the economy is affecting 4x4s and buying habits? Here ya go.

In fact, I wonder if I even have enough pics for an article. I think I will just blog about a few things I saw and spin off a tech article or two. I was speaking to one industry person who said vendor attendance was off 35%. One suspension manufacturer had a single truck, barely lifted, and about 6 catalogs in the booth sitting next to bare carpet and two chairs. Hmmm. I guess that when you are barely paying your bills, a $50K truck with a $10K lift and tires is a bit, ahhh...irrelevant to most folks out there. In fact, on the way home MC and I were making a list of all the companies that were not there. It was a big list.

Something else that I was thinking about as well: With a lot of folks hurting financially, losing houses, jobs and hope, I could not help but feel a bit disgusted as I walked by the dozens of multi-multi thousand dollar trucks with chromed and airbrushed everything, the booth after booth of wheel makers with the wanna' be Dubs and $250,000 Mercedes/Rolls/Caddy/Maserati whatever pimp-my-rides. Vanity.

So this will very likely be my last SEMA show. It will be interesting to see who can ride out the storm we are in and actually be there next year as a company, but that would be kinda goulish to go just for that.

And, there is the Off Road Expo that really is affordable for the small guy, and frankly, is a lot more fun to attend.

I don't think that the Jeep as a fun family adventure vehicle is a goner. It may be used less or modified a bit less, but it is not gonna go away. On the other hand, I frankly have been ignoring the competitive aspect of rockcrawling, etc, but I have to wonder if it is waning a bit. Perhaps this is a bit of a sifting and refining process for the American consumer. I am a capitalist by nature, so if you want to start the 150th ghetto wagon wheel company, more power to ya. But really, do we need it?

This whole Jeeping thing began with old Army Jeeps and has progressed to multi million dollar semi rigs and huge advertising budgets. We have all benefited from the technology and improvements that has come from that growth, but if it all comes down to you, me, and an old army Jeep, it will still be wheelin'.

Life Changes Fast

This is Ray. Ray is a great guy who has given tons of time and effort to the 4X4 community. His involvement in Cal4Wheel will benefit you and I and all wheelers, even if you are way across the nation. A rising tide lifts all boats.

Ray had some serious health challenges lately and could use some prayers. Something Ray said to me while we were talking about the last few months stuck with me. He said "Life changes fast".

It does, but God is not surprised by any of it.

Keep Ray in your prayers and I fully expect to see him out there in his Jeep in no time.

Been chipping away at the Jeep

Funny thing, I was getting the yard work done and I had the garage door open to get stuff, etc. So, at some point I walked past the Jeep and looked at the PS box. Hmmm...wonder where I put the old hoses? One thing led to another and there I am, all greasy fingered in my work clothes. You would think I would learn. I have ruined more good shirts that way.

So, I got a few more things done. Sized up the length for the PS hoses...likely I will need a custom hose. I think NAPA will make those up. I still need to get an adapter to make the clutch hose bolt up to the new MC, but that should be easy.

I talked to the tranny shop and found out the Dana 20 is a no go behind the AOD. I thought so. I do not want any adapters. Too costly. So that left the BW 1356 but I am not sure I would end up deep enough in the gearing. Even with the wide ratio gears in the tranny, I dunno. And, based on the talk with the tranny tech, I got the feeling it would be kinda $$. No price yet, so meanwhile I need to nail down some more details.

I got the shock towers welded up for the front shocks. Slick setup, but then I found the Skyjacker shocks were the pin strut (?) type, not what the new towers need. Sigh.

2 steps forward, one step back. Typical project stuff.

I must be crazy

So, this weekend, while working on project Blue Oval YJ, I fit up a serpentine belt that was the correct length to accommodate the extra length of the changes I made to the A/C and such, and then I installed the master cylinder for the clutch, this being the third combo I have tried that will marry the Ford slave to a suitable master, and I still have to figure out the hydraulic hose fittings. I removed the stock headers and installed the aftermarket headers that will bypass the clutch slave.

Then, today, while driving back from dropping off my son at the grandparents for the night, it occurred to me that I would like to install the auto that came behind the 5.0 when I got it.

Sigh. Nothing like eating a couple hundred bucks a day later. Why couldn't I have decided that before I called 1 800 Summit and ordered the brand new headers and MC?

Well, I still need to go to the tranny shop and figure out the ins and outs + cost factor, but maybe I will have a bunch of parts for sale soon. If I do the AOD, I will need to have it gone through and converted to a 4WD output. I am thinking about a Bronco D20 with Tera Low 3.15 gears. Not cheap, but small and tough enough and it is way easier than the doubler I have. I would run a BW1356 but that is not really low enough IMO. Even cheaper though.

Well we shall see. I wish I had all the money that I lost changing my mind last time with the Klune stuff. You would think I would learn. Now I have the entire set-up from the back of the block to the transfer case, including a brand new Centerforce clutch to get rid of.

At least the serpentine belt is idiot proof. 1 out of 3 ain't bad.

Pinched in the knobbies.

Feeling the pinch that fueling up that Swamper equipped rig requires these days? How about the food prices to go camping, much less just put food on the table? Mercy.

We recently took a drive to the beach on Memorial Day to get out of town a bit (took my wife's car...28MPG) and I was amazed at the amount of lifted, 4WD diesel trucks pulling toy haulers coming back from Pismo or wherever. Man, it costs $160.00 to fill my Suburban. How do you feed a Super Duty pulling a 5th wheel and all the gas for the sand rails, quads, etc? I dunno, but I have a guess. Can you say, "Hellooo, VISA"?

I cannot help but wonder how fast this will put a crimp on all motorized sports. The enviro groups must be lovin' it. Think of the lawyers fees they will save (wait..actually that is where they MAKE money....oh well).

Makes me wish I had put a 4.3L V6 in that Jeep instead of a V8. Well, maybe just a little bit. Regardless, I wonder what used Toyota 4X4 trucks are these days? Likely less than filling up that Superduty and driving it to the dunes!