2012 deer season prep
I think I'd blog more if I had some comments.
The latest news is I bought a truck at wrecking yard price to fix up for this next hunting season. It's a 1986 Ford F-250 Lariat. It has 4 problems, from easiest to hardest: 1) tailgate release is broken, 2) master cylinder leak, 3) air blender door stuck in defrost position, and 4) needs a new carburetor. But otherwise it’s in pretty good shape: body and frame straight, engine rebuilt 40K miles ago, decent paint. It’s just that money is so tight these days so it will take a while to get it done.
I did fix the tailgate, a fun project. I have no idea how they could possibly assemble the darn thing in the first place. There is virtually no access to the release handle and the connecting rods that open the tailgate. I wound up cutting an access hole on the inside of the tailgate behind the release handle and that made it a trivial job. I’ll screw in a patch plate and next time (if ever) this happens it will be easy to fix. The following model year Ford did introduce an access panel. Duh.
I’ll probably do the master cylinder next while I accumulate funds for the new carb. The air blender door apparently has a broken hinge so it’s not a vacuum problem that could be difficult to trace, so besides being in an awkward spot, that will be straightforward.
The other thing is that I decided to lighten the load I’ll be carrying up and down the mountains. I think I can shave about 30 or more pounds off compared to what I was hauling up and down last year. I can save a couple ounces with better and lighter gear but the real weight loss will be me! I’ve already lost 20+ in the last 9 weeks and hope to get to 30 lbs down by the end of July. That weight loss coupled with good cardio shape will make it easier all around.
My tag for D14 (San Bernardino mountains) came in the mail over the weekend so I’m all set.
The latest news is I bought a truck at wrecking yard price to fix up for this next hunting season. It's a 1986 Ford F-250 Lariat. It has 4 problems, from easiest to hardest: 1) tailgate release is broken, 2) master cylinder leak, 3) air blender door stuck in defrost position, and 4) needs a new carburetor. But otherwise it’s in pretty good shape: body and frame straight, engine rebuilt 40K miles ago, decent paint. It’s just that money is so tight these days so it will take a while to get it done.
I did fix the tailgate, a fun project. I have no idea how they could possibly assemble the darn thing in the first place. There is virtually no access to the release handle and the connecting rods that open the tailgate. I wound up cutting an access hole on the inside of the tailgate behind the release handle and that made it a trivial job. I’ll screw in a patch plate and next time (if ever) this happens it will be easy to fix. The following model year Ford did introduce an access panel. Duh.
I’ll probably do the master cylinder next while I accumulate funds for the new carb. The air blender door apparently has a broken hinge so it’s not a vacuum problem that could be difficult to trace, so besides being in an awkward spot, that will be straightforward.
The other thing is that I decided to lighten the load I’ll be carrying up and down the mountains. I think I can shave about 30 or more pounds off compared to what I was hauling up and down last year. I can save a couple ounces with better and lighter gear but the real weight loss will be me! I’ve already lost 20+ in the last 9 weeks and hope to get to 30 lbs down by the end of July. That weight loss coupled with good cardio shape will make it easier all around.
My tag for D14 (San Bernardino mountains) came in the mail over the weekend so I’m all set.
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