New guy intro
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:19 pm
First of all, wanted to say that this forum has proven to be an awesome place so far. Everyone has been really helpful and encouraging, which is awesome and (sadly) not always the case with many online communities. I've been part of other car forums and you always seem to get random trolls and d!ckhe@ds that screw things up. So if you're reading this, thanks for helping make this a great community. </touchyfeelystuff>
Secondly, wanted to introduce myself. I bought this 72 Wagoneer sight unseen from a woman near Sacramento a few months ago. It was apparently her grandfather's car, but she didn't have the time or energy to keep it running the way he would have wanted. So she sold it to me. I drove it down to San Diego with really, really sketchy brakes (leaking wheel cylinders) and bad ball joints. (The shop that inspected it told me it was just loose tie rods, but when I got home I jacked it into the air, the front wheels were flopping around like crazy.) Once again, sketchy. It was a fun maiden voyage!
Aside from that stuff, there are (of course) the gremlins that come along with owning a nearly 50-year-old car. A little bit of rust in the usual spots -- driver's side floor pan and around the driver's side rear wheel. I'm in the process of replacing nearly every piece of rubber in the car (minus the tires — they're good). Electrical system has proven to be *ahem* a huge PITA. I think it was taken apart and put back together by a drunken gang of orangutans. (Missing grounds, bypassed switches, etc.) The tranny cooler lines were leaking pretty bad and had to replace those. Jury is still out on whether the rest of the tranny is working okay aside from that, but at least it's not pounding ATF anymore. The rear main seal is leaking. Steering box/link needs to be replaced. And gas tank has a hole (now patched) and needs to be replaced. But overall it's pretty clean rig. The engine compression tested well and it's all there.
It's now my daily driver. I was driving a perfectly reliable, practical, and BORING Honda, but after some unfortunate health news a while back, I've kind of decided to stop waiting for some distant, elusive "future" to enjoy the things I want to be enjoying NOW. This is the first V8 I've owned since 1998, and it was high time. I've got plans for an eventual frame-off resto, but that's probably at least a few years out. For now, I just want to get it mechanically sounds and then drive and enjoy it.
Lastly, it's in need of a name. My wife suggested "Papa Smurf" due to it being very large (sweet irony) and the blue/white color, but that seems too long. So what does everyone think? Does "Smurf" work? Any other ideas?
72 Wag by Geoff Ledford
Secondly, wanted to introduce myself. I bought this 72 Wagoneer sight unseen from a woman near Sacramento a few months ago. It was apparently her grandfather's car, but she didn't have the time or energy to keep it running the way he would have wanted. So she sold it to me. I drove it down to San Diego with really, really sketchy brakes (leaking wheel cylinders) and bad ball joints. (The shop that inspected it told me it was just loose tie rods, but when I got home I jacked it into the air, the front wheels were flopping around like crazy.) Once again, sketchy. It was a fun maiden voyage!
Aside from that stuff, there are (of course) the gremlins that come along with owning a nearly 50-year-old car. A little bit of rust in the usual spots -- driver's side floor pan and around the driver's side rear wheel. I'm in the process of replacing nearly every piece of rubber in the car (minus the tires — they're good). Electrical system has proven to be *ahem* a huge PITA. I think it was taken apart and put back together by a drunken gang of orangutans. (Missing grounds, bypassed switches, etc.) The tranny cooler lines were leaking pretty bad and had to replace those. Jury is still out on whether the rest of the tranny is working okay aside from that, but at least it's not pounding ATF anymore. The rear main seal is leaking. Steering box/link needs to be replaced. And gas tank has a hole (now patched) and needs to be replaced. But overall it's pretty clean rig. The engine compression tested well and it's all there.
It's now my daily driver. I was driving a perfectly reliable, practical, and BORING Honda, but after some unfortunate health news a while back, I've kind of decided to stop waiting for some distant, elusive "future" to enjoy the things I want to be enjoying NOW. This is the first V8 I've owned since 1998, and it was high time. I've got plans for an eventual frame-off resto, but that's probably at least a few years out. For now, I just want to get it mechanically sounds and then drive and enjoy it.
Lastly, it's in need of a name. My wife suggested "Papa Smurf" due to it being very large (sweet irony) and the blue/white color, but that seems too long. So what does everyone think? Does "Smurf" work? Any other ideas?
72 Wag by Geoff Ledford
Not in a threatening "we'll beat a guy up" way at all, but the mods and admin are awesome at banning the bad seeds pretty quick, while at the same time recognizing that life is hard and not everyone is a peach all the time. 
Getting face-to-face makes screen names a real person and real people deserve a little patience. On the other side of the coin, getting a little grace tends to tweek a disposition for the better. 
sweet rig, welcome to the forum
