The official "Something is definitely wrong with me" trip (1 Viewer)

[120mm]

So, as I mentioned in my intro thread in the Series 80 forum, I am going to fly from Iowa to Phoenix, where I will pick up the broken down FZJ80 I bought, sight unseen, drive it to San Diego, then back through Dallas and up to Iowa from there.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/returning-to-the-land-of-cruiser.831878/

The car is currently in the shop, having its transfer case and rear main seal replaced, and hopefully, it holds together for the trip. I'm hoping to blog about my/our trip here:

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/magic-carpet-ride/

A cool thing about this trip? In Phoenix I'm hooking up with a friend I met in Afghanistan, and we are going to use this to reminisce about our time together there, driving around in my Type 76. I may have something seriously wrong me, to take a trip like this with a vehicle that I not only am not familiar with, but one which I bought knowing full well it had two serious mechanical issues.

But since we're intellectually bungee jumping here, I'd really love to have suggestions as to places to go/visit along our route. Suggestions?

Drew

 

[dirtEJohnson]

Sounds like the cactus,tumbleweed and cornfield route. Enjoy!

 

[120mm]

So, I made it to Phoenix. Unfortunately, the Land Cruiser is not done, and the shop was closed when I arrived. So, unfortunately, I need to wait until tomorrow to stop in and talk to the mechanic.

I posted pics and a story onto my blog, here:

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/18/pleased-to-meetcha-phoenix/

I found out the spare is missing, so I have a fairly urgent need for a source of Land Cruiser tires/wheel for a spare.

 

[120mm]

You know what's hard? Working by the pool and in the hot tub when you're waiting for your new, never been driven by you Land Cruiser to get fixed. Life has its consolations, though.

 

[OGBeno]

Um.... is that your travel companion?

 

[120mm]

yes.

 

[OGBeno]

:highfive:

 

[120mm]

I Love my life.

 

[120mm]

Well, I finally got a chance to drive my Land Cruiser. The check engine light came on within 1/4 mile after picking it up, but it's only a dead O2 sensor heater (I had no idea there was such a thing, actually, but I don't care about that right now; will fix it later.) I have nothing but praise for Interstate Auto of Chandler Arizona and their service. They rejected a bad transfer case from the supplier, which made it a day late getting done, but they also worked to knock the price down. I am pleased as punch at that.

I've described my day today on my blog:

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/1921/

In summary, we had fun, but found out you just can't drive to Apache Junction hoping to find an off road trail. It takes actually knowing where to get to the starting point, so we plan on going back on Saturday and actually going off roading.

Gratuitous faked off road pics:

This place is amazing:

 

[120mm]

Well, we are still in the "shake down" phase of life with the new series 80. The electrics are slowly reawakening in the doors and seats, oddly enough; evidently they were unused for a long time and just the act of using them has started to get them to function.

We finally opened the moon roof, and all hell broke loose. Seems the speed shield was only held on by the moon roof being closed on the driver's side. A bit of excitement as Janiece grabbed it as it flapped around and kept it from damaging itself or the car further until we could get off the highway. Ended up unfastening the other side and throwing it in the back for the duration.

I started the project of cleaning the interior: A chore, as the Arizona sun eats interiors. The leather is ossified, and while the driver's seat bottom is completely toast, I think I might be able to save the passenger seat and I definitely can restore the rest of the seats. In Western America, we use something called "Saddle Soap" or we use Neatsfoot Oil to clean and restore leather; urbanites have other names for it or use higher tech things.

The genuine simulated synthetic "wood" is completely shot through with sun rot. And to boot, a prior owner was a smoker of the cheapest brands of cigarettes. Cleaned out the ash tray, but spilled drink, food and nicotine tar has permeated the old paneling, which peels off with little effort.

We did some mild wheeling along a canal. Tomorrow we will take on the Apache Trail, a mild off-road scenic experience nearby.

I've updated my blog again, with more scribbles and pictures: https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/23/1927/

 

[120mm]

So, Saturday we went out to Apache Trail, which lies northeast of Apache Junction, AZ. A really easy trail with a couple of semi-challenging smaller trails off of it.

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/the-problem-with-bucket-lists/

Found out the hard way that my friend was afraid of heights. She was a real trooper though, and kept the camera running, though her face turned several different colors out of reaction to the admittedly steep drop offs on a pretty sketchy road shoulder.

Saw several highly inappropriate cars out there. Ferrari 360, Porsche 959, several new Corvettes, and one idiot with a Smart car. I cannot imagine what washboards feel like in a Smart car. I'm thinking broken bones and internal injuries, personally.

We did get off road a little bit, but ran out of time to have more fun.

Stock "flex"

 

[120mm]

So, we made it to San Diego, and while heading out to Coronado beach to get some sun and watch the water, I shucked my right front Birfeld.

Updated my blog: https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/the-road-to-san-diego-and-bust/

Fudge.

The drive to San Diego was absolutely beautiful and the truck behaved marvelously. I cannot wait for the mechanic to take his piece of flesh and return Marjan to me so we can drive back.

 

[120mm]

Broken down in Gila Bend, AZ. The "fix" I paid $2375 for in San Diego broke again.

Crap.

 

[120mm]

So, I was towed by AAA to Chandler, where I couldn't find a mechanic open or who wasn't overwhelmed by Super Bowl cars. Thankfully, this forum hooked me up with Parts R Us and inkpot, who took their Saturday to help me correct the prior mechanics' "fix"

Read all about it in this thread:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/lo...d-buzzing-from-front-right-part-of-lc.835788/

And in this blog post

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpre...ence-and-the-art-of-land-cruiser-maintenance/

I hate crooked mechanics. And love this forum.

 

[120mm]

Thanks to Parts R Us and inkpot's heroic efforts, I am now back on the road. After a very thorough fix and an amazing tutorial on Land Cruiser maintenance, I now am confident of Marjan's ability to drive across country.

Had a nice 4.5 hours on the road which put me in striking distance of Iowa Park, TX to pick up my older sister. I am overnighting in Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the same hotel where another one of my work partners and I stayed while training some high speed - low drag guys back in 2012 for an Afghan deployment.

I feel major guilt about Lordsburg, because back in 2012, I induced one of my co-workers, who is really an awesome young lady, to eat a prickly pear there. She was in pain for a couple days after it, but while she forgave me nearly immediately, I still have a hard time forgiving myself.

 

[120mm]

Made it to Iowa Park, TX, safe and sound.

The first thing is, once I started out, my car developed this horrible noise and shake, so I pulled over, which appeared to fix the problem. I started out again, and AGAIN with the horrible shake and noise.

Then it struck me. Write this down, kids.... If your Land Cruiser starts to make a loud noise and shakes, check to see if you are in f*cking New Mexico. If you're in New Mexico, it's probably not your car, it's probably the horrifically bad road.

But soon I was seeing Texas and the sunrise. The road wasn't that much better, but Texas is closer than home. Ironically, I had Janis Joplin playing, and "Me and Bobby McGee" started playing about the time this scene played out in front of me.

My first set of hills came in front of me, and Marjan took them on with ease. No muss, no fuss and he soared over this pass without drama. For once.

Decided I needed to get some dirt in his tires, so pulled off to check if the tires were leaking any liquid. Turns out the right rear one was leaking some mysterious fluid. Funny how most of my cars develop this leak, and always from the wheel furthest away from oncoming traffic.

Deeper into Texas, my GPS, Sally, told me to take off cross-country on a bunch of small roads. While I was leery at first, turns out the speed limit on a bunch of these pencil line roads is as fast as 75 mph. Initially terrifying, one gets used to it quickly, even though some of those roads go through semi-residential areas, which is also spooky.

My last act before I found my sister's house was to decide to drive down the alley that appeared to go straight to it, rather than going around a large four block detour. But to my surprise, once I came to the end of the alley, I found that someone had unhelpfully cut a relatively recent ditch across it. With strains of "Flight of the Valkyrie" sounding in my head, I crossed this pathetically small ditch without even noticing, really. Land Cruiser ownership rocks!

 

[120mm]

So, the lovely Janiece was called home for a family emergency, and I picked up my sister in Iowa Park Thursday night. Friday was pure "race home" to Iowa which went spectacularly dull. And after the drama of earlier in the trip, I am fully satisfied with "dull"

Maybe it's just me, but I really enjoy the plains of Oklahoma and Kansas, and think Missouri, while slightly curvier, is pretty cool, too. I am now determined to return to these places and try some off-road trails.

First view of Kansas

While some complain of Kansas as being "boring", I find the prairie near I-35 as being achingly beautiful.

First view of Iowa

In nautical terms, I named this picture "All Stop, Finished With Engines, Shut Boilers Down Except Watch".

 

[120mm]

Since IH8MUD eats my pictures, I've posted pictures and story in my blog, here:

https://hotmilkforbreakfast.wordpre...ished-with-engines-shore-leave-for-all-hands/