Hi ya'll. This is the first chance I've had to get on here and update this. As noted above I was SO excited about this weekend. Well it didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped.. It started out great, but I'm really glad it's over.
Ok here's my latest novel.
Friday Evening:
Decided to take the new-to-us Denali. The weather looked a little scary and the idea of leaving my spotless Olds wagon in mud-filled salvage yard parking lots was not very appealing. Besides I figured I'd get to see how the AWD worked if we really got some weather, and on top of that, I've hardly driven the Denali and figured it would be good on the road trip.
SO I put some plastic mats over the carpet floor mats and tossed my tools in the back, and left Austin after work Friday night. Grabbed some to-go grub just north of town and popped in my Best of Bob Seger CD, and sang Night Moves and Rock and Roll Never Forgets and I drove north on I-35. Sun went down, windows down, 69 degrees....cruise set...big comfy truck...nice!
I made it to Italy Texas, about 2 hrs into the trip, when the red and blue lights showed up in my rear-view. I was NOT speeding...tags are valid.....say what? Have not been pulled over in years. Well it turns out BOTH of my license plate lights were burned out. Bored cop...happily he gave me a warning, after asking where I was going, had I had anything to drink, and checking my insurance and such. OK then.
Got to Dallas at 10:30 and watched the weather. Checked the trip odometer, which I'd set 190 miles ago when I filled up in Austin, and the Denali's average was 16.7mpg. Not bad for such a big tank with AWD and a 6.0 V8!
Forecast for Saturday was upper 70's with drizzle possible, turning cold in the evening with a large cold front bringing possible severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, and large hail. Ahhh Dallas weather. Crashed at midnight with visions of salvage yards dancing in my head....
Saturday, 8am:
Woke up to overcast skies and low 60's temps. No drizzle yet. Threw on my grungies and hopped in the truck with the rest of the house still sleeping. Hit the ATM so I would not be tempted to use the credit card and spend more than I should, grabbed a McMuffin and a coffee and headed to southeast Dallas in a FINE mood. Overcast and 60-70's is great yarding weather, no sweating, no freezing, and no sunburn.
First up is Al's Atomic!
And first up is a vivid image of the reason I can and will never sell my Cutlass Supreme
Followed by a HUGE Eldo. Anyone need a 500? Sorry, this had a 425 in it. I was surprised.
Plastic bumper fillers that crack and dissapear....what a good idea.....
Amazingly it had a really good dash
White 9C1
And blue 9C1
Hey let's cut the green hoses that everyone wants....
Seville with FI 350 Olds. Some good parts left. Trunk has more carpet and padding than my first apartment..
80 Monte with a ton of good parts, and yes, a RUSTY ROADY next to it.
This was the rustiest Roadmaster I've ever seen in person. It had Texas tags on it, but the papers in the glove box said Illinois. Wow what a mess. Look how the front fenders rusted!
Scary D-pillers
Yes that's a HOLE under the sill plate!
Who really NEEDS 1/4 panels?? Oh and I like how it's a "98 Roadmaster....right...
'94 Roady sedan
This car is EVIDENCE! VALUABLE EVIDENCE!
You can THINK about it...but DON'T do it....
Amazingly it had the 3-spoke Sport wheel on it, in nice shape too!
Daddy who's going to hold your hat??
Poor old Electra wagon
And here is white Roady wagon #2! TEXAS wagon, SOLID but beat up.
I'm kicking myself for not getting this roof rack rail. It had perfect chrome, just dusty!
And could it be?? A hitch! MINE!! MINE!!
Greasy but solid tank straps
And check this out, no rear window defogger. Clear glass! Weird!
Hitch is MINE...a whopping $25 later! Came off easy, and the wiring was inside the car too. I also nabbed a keyless-entry box. Good haul!
Next it's off to Pick-N-Pull just east of downtown off I-75
Really solid Regal. Rust-free doors
What tanks these old Chevys were. HUGE bumpers
Clean but stripped Roady sedan
View of the Dallas city skyline off in the distance
This was a pretty '95 Roady sedan. Black with red cloth Limited seats. Poor thing!
Need some Nova Rally wheels for your 70's Camaro?
No good finds at Pick-N-Pull Dallas, so west to Pick-N-Pull Grand Prairie. Leaving Pick-N-Pull I remember to lock the Denali doors before driving through East Dallas.
Pick-N-Pull Grand Prairie is HUGE! Sky is turning darker and wind is blowing now, but still no rain and in the low 70's. Feels good!
How about a big totally rust-free 70's Malibu wagon?
How bad a driver do you have to be to wreck your Fleetwood, replace the entire front clip....and wreck it again....?
Looking at the tailgate this seems to be a Buick Eurosport....
Sad clean Delta 88 Coupe
Wow ANOTHER Malibu wagon!
Those are some SERIOUS hatch-struts!
Need a window deflector? Perfect shape!
Another sad Cutlass
I remember looking at these new on the lot the year I graduated high school...
And here is a good example of one of Oldsmobiles coffin-nails....
Cutlass sedan with lots of good parts
Cutlass coupe with two chrome SSII wheels. Tempted to nab one for a spare!
Malibu sedan...sadly manual windows. I want some power rear 1/4 windows!
Another Cutlass, bucket seats and console!
'79 Caprice with blinding-red interior
A lonely Fiero
Another Cutlass sedan with four good SSII mag wheels.
[img:b8d0]
https://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z410/1981X11/Dallas%20Weekend%20P
ump/DallasWeekend226.jpg[/img:b8d0]
Lord I was born a Ramblin Man! Ha!
Plain but perfect tail lights. Lenses and chrome are show-ready
Off to Jefferson St in Grand Prairie. Think this is the right way!
First up is Allstate Wrecking. This is not a Pick-N-Pull yard, the pricing depends on the counterman's mood, BUT the owner is a GM man, and loves Buicks. This is a must-stop, always.
Very picked-over, but this entire row is late 70's to early 80's Cadillacs
And he ALWAYS has some old Buicks
80's Buick sedans....getting closer...
Poor Electra wagon
BUT this is the main reason I stop at Allstate. He has the biggest collection of Roadmaster sedans I've ever seen. I counted 26 on this visit...and NOT ONE had my blue center arm rest!!!!
The Caprice/Parisienne/Delta 88/98 area
Big yard, tons of GM
G-body Bonny sedan. Not seen much
Now down the street a bit to Awesome. Sadly they'd just had a $50 all-you-can-pull and the cars were really stripped! Got some Ram stuff for my Dad her though. SUPER CHEAP
Looks like it caught one. Hahahahahaha! I kill me....
Heading the right way...
Holy Cow...
Looking for parts for Dad's Ram I walked up on this crispy dude
It was starting to sprinkle now and there was thunder in the distance. The temps had dropped into the 60's too but I wanted to get in one more yard. This was around 4pm.
Very clean and solid Elky. SAD to see this in here
Need a really good Elky front bumper?
This car wreaked of pot...
Ahh another good Cutty...sad
And one for the Ford crowd. Fan-cy inside. Notice the scary clouds in the distance. Lightning was flashing now
And again, no power windows...
Monte Carlo Luxury Sport....hit HARD
And to end on a funny note, here's a really great Pacer parts car. '79 wagon. Laird would KILL for some of the interior parts for his fishbowl, but it was raining now and the yard was about to close....doh!
Driving down Jefferson in the rain after a good day of yarding. ALL of those places on the left are big salvage yards, as far as you can see.
And on the other side of the road is where many of the wrecks are created! Ha!
So the plan was to go yarding on Sunday. The plan changed, sadly.
I went to a good Tex-Mex dinner at Ta-Molly's in Waxahachie, and then drove back to my brother-in-laws in the dark. It was raining now, thunder and lightning, and the radio was saying there was ping-pong-sized hail to the west. Nice.
There is no cover at my brother-in-law's house, and I was scared the Denali was going to get hail damaged. I pulled up under the edge of his garage, his car was inside the garage, and shut the Denali off. I looked at the roof of the house and the hood of the Denali.....water was running off the roof and splashing directly in the middle of the hood, so if it hailed, the hail would roll down the roof of the house and land dead-center on the Denali's hood.
I decided to just back it up so no water from the house was running onto the truck. I jumped in and turned the key......crankcrankcrankcrankcrank.....no start. Say WHAT? The truck had run like a watch the entire trip....up to Dallas last night and all over that day. I tried again.....crankcrankcrankcrankcrank.... Wow. Poped the hood and looked around, nothing I could see out of place.... Dang.
I slammed the hood and closed the door and locked up. I'd been in SUCH a good mood all weekend. Now what?
I decided there was nothing I could do about it and showed and jumped in bed. Couldn't sleep. I knew the only places open on Sunday that could look at the truck would charge a fortune, and being full-time AWD, you have to have a flatbed. I had fitful dreams of money flying out the window.... Plus it did hail later...but I figured there was nothing to do, so be it.
Woke up to a bright sunny, but COLD day. It was in the 40's and WINDY. BRRRR!! I opened the garage and looked over the Denali. No hail damage, thankfully. I opened the door, put the key in, said a quick prayer, and turned the key... Crankcrankcrankcrankcrank..... Dang...
I got some starting fluid, popped the hood, removed the intake plastic, opened the throttle and blasted through the throttle body. Walked back to the driver's seat and turned the key...WHOOOMmmmmm.....stalll. Bad fuel pump....slap forehead...curse, and go inside to price the local parts stores.
Borrowed my brother-in-law's Focus and $250 (!!) later I had a new fuel pump. I was now in a funk, dreading trying to drop that gas tank. Found some jack stands and his floor jack, and then found out his floor jack has a blown seal. Slap head again. Call father-in-law, and he only has a little 2-ton jack. Go get it...way too short. Try setting it on old 2x4's, which begin to crack and split as soon as I try to jack up the truck. Nope...scary...
Drive to Duncanville to the closest Harbor Freight....which is happily having a tent sale and have a super-nice rapid-pump 3-ton Nascar floor jack for $70. Buy new floor jack, and spend $8 on a hand pump to siphon the gas out of the tank (I'd been dreading using a garden hose and sucking it out...yuck).
Drive back and put my new jack together. Go inside and put on three t-shirts...the wind is cold and hurts...lows 50's....the sun feels good but it's COLD under that truck!! Get the truck on the jackstands, then fill three five-gallon gas cans and two three gallon cans with gas. Arms are now so tired from pumping I can barely raise them...time to remove the tank....which appears to be the size of a coffin...
I get the filler-tube hoses off and put the jack under the rear of the tank and remove the tank straps. The front of the tank rests on a crossmember, the rear slowly falls to the ground. I can SEE the pump now, but there is not room to get it out. I can NOT figure out how to get the fuel lines off.
After 30-mins of being cold and pissed I go inside and fire up Youtube, and find this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJqkZVTRakE. According to the video, there are two quick-connections at the front of the tank, and all you do is reach over the tank from the passenger side and squeeze them, and they will come off in 30-seconds. Yeah!
I crawl under the truck and try every which way to DO this, but can't find the hoses. There is a black box next to the fuel tank...no idea what it is, but it's large, has lines running to and from it, and I figure it might be part of the air suspension or AWD setup, or who knows, so I don't want to remove it.
I finally am able to reach the quick-connects by reaching over the crossmemberon the driver's side and feeling around on the top of the tank. Forget seeing them...and zero leverage...STUPIDEST DESIGN EVER!! I can pinch the release buttons but the hoses will not budge...metal edges cutting into my arms, dust in my face....this is NOT how I planned to spend my "free" weekend!!
After cursing and twisting and telling the GMC that it IS NOT going to beat ME, I finally get both hoses off. Arms sore and bleeding, I move the jack to the front of the tank, give the tank a shove, and cheer out loud as it lowers down....followed quickly by a snap sound....WHAT NOW?
I broke a line off that black box next to the tank. The nipple has broken off inside a hose....a hose I could not see when the tank was up in the frame, and nothing that was mentioned in the Youtube video... It's now later afternoon. I have work the next day, I'm covered in gas and dirt, and now have broken some mystery box under the truck.
Dejected I slide/shove the heavy tank (some gas STILL in it) out from under the Denali. I sit down on the ground and stare at the evil thing. Even out of the truck it looks at big as a coffin..
I decide there is nothing more I can do tonight. I go inside, shower, wash my clothes, and call my boss to tell him I'm stuck in Dallas and will be missing work the next day.
Then I get online. The mystery box is the Evap Cannister. Really?? It's not under the hood anymore. STUPID!
Monday morning I wake up to frost on the roof. It's sunny, but only 32-degrees. All I want to do is go HOME. I ache, I'm sore, and the last thing I want to do is mess with the Denali.
I put on three t-shirts again and drive back to Grand Prairie. Happily I find an evap cannister at Awesome Auto Salvage. It's frickin freezing.
I drive back to the house, and glare at my our new truck and tank sitting there...and again wish I'd just driving my good old wagon...
Happily it's warming into the 50's and the wind has dropped off. I go in the house and clean the new/used evap cannister (it's me..I can't put on a dirty part...), then go back outside and sit in the sun and swap out the cursed fuel pump
Now that I know what I'm doing, I manage to get wrestle the tank back under the truck and get it all mounted, hoses on and new evap cannister on in only 40-mins...then spend another 30-mins trying to re-connect the goddam fuel lines using my sense of touch and language that would make my mother slap me..
At 3pm I slide out, dump all the gas cans back into the tank, wipe off my hands, reach in and turn the key.....and the Denali fires up on the first crank... I feel like crying... If it hadn't started I thing I would have gone nuts.
I clean up my huge mess, shower, put my gas-smelling clothes in a plastic bag, thank my in-laws SO MUCH for putting up with me and apoligize again for the mess on the driveway...they may never have me back...
I'm on the road back to Austin at 5:30 after putting $78 in the tank. Truck runs like a watch again. I get to Waco at 6:30 and treat myself to fajitas at Chuy's.....oh they were SOOO GOOD, and then get home last night at 9:30pm...and crash. Oh it was 72 when I got back to Austin. 190 miles from winter to springtime...I love Austin...
Was SWAMPED all day at work playing catch-up, but figured I needed to write you all my novel.
Oh and here are the spoils from my weekend. New hitch for the Custom Cruiser after I clean and paint it. New Chrysler/Infinity speakers for Dad's Ram...one of his is blown, figure one of these will work. Also the interior door handle on one rear door on the Ram is broken, and they are plasti-welded to the door panel (!), so nabbed an entire door panel for Dad. A new dash vent for the Denali, one of the vents had a bad adjuster, and a set of C and D-note Roadmaster sedan horns for our friend Jim in Virginia. Will box up your Tugboats this weekend Jimmy! They're dusty but not Rusty!
Oh and yes I remember to replace the license plate light bulbs on the Denali... Have no clue how I remembered, but I did.
Really GOOD to be home.
The END.
-Mike
Home 
Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:43 am
