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Why is this so cool? (Post #114) 11/19/2008

Why is this cool?
Maybe it isn’t cool. I think it’s pretty cool. I was watching the TV the other night and Billy Joel said on TLC American Chopper that, “he liked the way old things looked and how new things worked”. If you drive a Land Rover Series or FC and perhaps even a Range Rover Classic you know how Billy feels.

Here is a pic of Billy’s Indian Bobber that they built. Classic lines, old styling, and all of it BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW.

Every time I get in my Range Rover Classic I think about all the fun stuff I could do to her to make her better. Sadly the budget is not there for any of it. But it’s fun to dream. Its almost more fun to think of the potential than to actually work on it.


Why don’t auto makers go with this idea of old looking new stuff? You can buy a refrigerator that looks like it just came off the appliance showroom floor circa 1957 that is brand new.

I’ve been collecting up all the old camping stuff from my mom’s house. What a great task it’s been to decide if that stuff can be used or just stored? I spent 6 hours restoring the old family ice cream maker. Hell no it doesn’t have an electric motor…it’s manual only! The way God intended ice cream to be made. How many of your family households had the rule if you don’t turn the handle you don’t get any ice cream?


So while I wallow in the past, my children are hell bent for leather to obtain the latest and greatest of everything out there. A co-worker and I were reminiscing about how we missed our old bag cell phones. You didn’t drop calls. You didn’t have 3000 features you have no idea how to use. No texting, no internet. Hell I didn’t even program the three pre-programable buttons. I only knew three people with cell phones in their cars an 95% of my calls were to my home number or by buddy’s cell phone.
It was just phone calls, from your car. Simple, functional, yet modern.


So the next time you see a Series or if you are lucky enough to drive one on a daily basis, think of us poor schlubs who wish they had one. Think of your favorite tortured blogging anachronist that longs for a time when things seemed simpler. Well they seem simpler to us in this modern time anyway.

Gone are the days…awwww crap…I gotta go my kids are texting me from their bedrooms asking what we are having for dinner tonight.

Have a Good Day and Happy Rovering.

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Swivel Housing Grease (Post #113) 11/12/2008


My daughter was reporting noises coming from the Range Rover Classic. Most of the noises are from the exhaust system including a new vibrating noise that I’m hoping is coming from the
ceramic parts inside the catalytic converters. I’m going to get some expert advice from JagGuy this weekend for diagnosis.

In any event I got some more lube into the swivel housings. If you’ve been reading you know the grease that came out of the front differential was very soupy indicating a mixing of the swivel housing grease with the 80w140 in the differential.

You can read about it in the Techtips on the OkieRover.com website.


I took a picture of the window regulator. Or more accurately what is left of the regulator. I’m going to measure the last remaining wheel and try to find a replacement on the web.

I also heard of a great way to preserve your rear lift gate. My buddy JagGuy employed a method they use to protect E type Jaguars and their unpainted parts from rusting. He said it worked great on his new upper lift gate on his 1991 Classic. More on that when I do mine.

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Gas Prices (Post #111) 11/04/2008


What the hell?
So gas prices have dropped below 2.00$(US) this weekend. 1.87$ was seen on the east side of Norman at a 7 Eleven for ethanol. That’s just insane. I think the American consumer has seen the light and has cut their consumption. But are the prices a product of reduced consumption or a failing market that is in total free fall?

I would like to believe that the American consumer is going to stop letting the oil industry rape them openly like they did last summer. We shall see if the prices stay in the “reasonable” range through the spring. As summer comes and the magic chemicals are needed for the switch to summer gasoline we’ll see if the bastards try to jack up the prices again. I predict they will.

I will continue to car pool as it has allowed me to save a great deal of money. I drive just one week a month now. And if the prices stay down then I’m only spending 45$(US) to get myself to work for a month. In a small way, I feel like I’m sticking it to the oil industry. And I hope they notice.

I didn’t know celebrities actually pumped their own gas. But they do, who’da figured. Mena Suvari knows her gas pumps.

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The Magic of the Service Engine Light (Post #110) 10/27/2008

I was under the hood of the Discovery just the other weekend looking for the vacuum leak that was causing the pre-heater to throw codes. I found it and got that sorted out. While in there I noticed some things. The coolant leak I found when I was swapping the plugs and wires. Well it is looking like that again.

And guess what? Yeah I’m overheating. And this morning the coldest day of the fall I had NO HEAT. So I’m guessing I’ve got a coolant issue somewhere. I’m going to fill it up tonight to see if I’m just low on fluid. I hope that’s what it is. I, like many others, are having a bad fall quarter financially and car repairs are way down the list of necessities right now. The potential expenses on the other current problems doesn’t leave us much left for a new serious problem. So lets just hope it’s just low coolant.

Also a couple of weekends ago I changed out the differential lubricant on the Range Rover Classic. It came out the consistency of goo. The only way to describe it is a cross between the 90-140 and the grease for the CV joints. Kind of a black slurry. It couldn’t possibly have been doing it’s job. I have to order some new pre-measured CV lube and get that in there quickly.

I can’t seem to find the swivel grease at Atlantic British site. I know they have it…but it’s not on the site, or I’m using a different name than they do.

So to recap, we need oxygen sensors and swivel grease for the Range Rover and for the Discovery we need a solution for the window regulator and to sort out the coolant/no heat issue.

Geee, aren’t cars fun?

Speaking of fun. I ran across a really good site the other day. And I’ll pass it along to you.

It’s got all the fun pics of hot rods and motorcycles and some chicks too. I really liked the design and content. Lots to see and lots of pictures. I’m not a “hot rod” kinda guy. I do like old cars and I do like motorcycles. Mostly old motorcycles. And I really like the 50-60s culture. Rock-a-billy is fun to listen to and just counter cultural enough to keep out the posers (like me) but easy enough to get into. Just buy a old bike or build yourself a hot rod or cruiser and some boss clothes.

I really enjoyed some of the hot rod pics. This one caught my eye. With my buddy JagGuy building a car hauler out of a 1940s truck, I thought this guy has a really nice rig.

That is taking a concept and throwing away any sort of budget and just getting in there and making something great. The best part is, I know a place in Newcastle Oklahoma that has a similar truck in his driveway. They’ve been just sitting and rusting in his yard since I was a boy. I drove by there last month and they are still sitting there.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

If you keep going west on NW 10th you’ll see a nice Google Glitch if you are looking North.

When I see “potential projects” like this I wonder what people are thinking. I wonder if when they buy that old truck they had plans to “do something” with it. I know I’ve driven by at least 50 cars I wish I had the time and money to make into fun projects to drive. From a Volkswagon bus in Willow, Oklahoma to numerous 1960s and older camper trailers, to this 1940s behemoth (I’m guessing a Packer) that’s been just sitting in this guys backyard on Carter Avenue for at least 15 years I know about.

View Larger Map

It’s the blue blob there in the middle. It looks like it has all the parts. Just never been worked on. My dad’s friend had a bunch of cars sitting in a field in Tuttle Oklahoma when I was growing up that I thought would have made great hot rods. With my more mature age today, I know they would have made great restoration projects.

Until next time… fire up some Rock-a-billy at the nutSie website and cruise over to the Blacktop site and check out the bitchin’ rides.

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Window regulator (Post #109) 10/13/2008

What a piece of crap. The passenger side window regulator faied in the Discovery….AGAIN. This time I get to pay for it. After I got the thing removed from the door I realized it was made of aluminum. A really poor quality of aluminum as well.


99.95 from Atlantic British. I can get a used one from Motorcars LTD for 77.36.

The question now is do I spend the extra 22 bucks for a new one?

Is this thing repairable?
Can an enterprising fellow such as your humble greasy fingered narrator get replacement wheels?

My motor is fine. It was the plastic runner wheels that failed. Why do you make something out of plastic, when aluminum would have worked just as well?

Rhetorical question WOODCOCK!

So it can fail and require replacement, that’s why! The dealership replaced the last one under warranty. I am going to replace the next one out of my pocket. Yeah I’ll take pictures.

Why did the passenger side fail twice? The world may never know.

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