Truck Dreams

This one happened last week. There was a car dealer across the street. There was a white sign board across the front of the building but there are no signs on it, just some square lights between one and two foot square, spaced 10 to 20 feet apart. If you touch one it turns off, touch it again and it turns on. Not quite sure how this was done as they were a good 10 or 15 feet in the air.

Truck with Utility Bed

I'm looking for a new car so I cross the street and go inside the showroom. The first vehicle I see is a pickup truck with one of those utility toolbox bodies on the back. There is a table-like extension hanging off of the back and on it is the largest vise I have every seen. The jaws are like three feet wide and it stands three or four feet tall. It was several times the size of my last dream vise.

Aluminum Underbed Toolbox

This morning I had another truck shopping dream. This time I am out looking at a 1972 Ford truck, maybe a little bigger than a pickup because it has a polished aluminum tool box hanging underneath the right side of the bed just behind the cab (exactly where you would expect to see one on a real truck). The exterior of the truck is in excellent shape except for one scuff mark on the toolbox. Somebody has gone to a lot of trouble to cherry it out. Then we look at the interior and the vinyl seats have big rips in them and the foam rubber stuffing is working it's way out. The seller wants $22,000 for it. No, that's not happening.

Someone else's much nicer 1989 Ford F-150

Back in the real world, I took my son's old Ford pickup into Madison Automotive in St Johns last week to fix some minor problems and also to take a look at the chassis and see if they can figure out why it's such a rattle trap. It should have been obvious, but the truck has a two inch body lift and (illogically) I was hoping for some kind of specialized, but easy, fix. The answer that came back was the entire suspension is worn out and all the bearings and bushings need to be replaced. It can be fixed, of course, but it would cost $2500. Not sure whether my son's affection for this beast could stand that kind of pain.

Road to Pill Hill

Meanwhile, I should probably get a different car. The Hyundai is wonderful, but since my back flaked out, getting in and out is a little difficult.  An SUV with a higher seat height might be the thing. Diligent daughter thinks we should get something with four wheel drive so she can borrow it to get to work when it snows. She works on Pill Hill and the road going up is probably one of the worst in Portland. Dump a little snow on the ground and it could very well become impassable. Since I have had good luck buying rebuilt wrecks, I am probably going to look around for one of those.