According to Wikipedia, "Morphed [Power] Rangers generally possess enhanced strength, durability, agility and combat prowess." Come April, I will get to find out how much a Ford Ranger shares with that claim (minus the agility because like, it's a pickup truck).

Long story short, my uncle passed away last Friday. He was my mom's only brother and ended up a bit estranged by his own choice, living in Washington state and working as a stone mason in Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island. I never met him and he hadn't spoken to my mom in ~10 years. Even though he was estranged, everyone we've spoken to said he read our annual Christmas letters and knew what we were up to. He was apparently proud of his only nephew and all the car things I got up to. So, when we go out there to spread his ashes and gather his things in early April, I will be driving his truck home to DC with some of his masonry work (a few artsy pieces) in the backseat.

The plan is to clean up the truck, sell it, and split the profit between furthering my racing season and a donation to the non-profit that helped him out for about five years. We collectively think he'd be okay with that, so... here goes.



I've never driven cross-country before and will obviously be taking the northern route across I-90 and I-94. My plan is to log some pretty heavy days and stay with friends along the way. His case worker and her husband are having the truck taken to their local mechanic, who will do an oil change and give it a general PPI type of inspection. Anything big will be fixed before I set off, anything small can be ignored or repaired once I'm home. We've been told Dennis took very good care of the truck, since it was used to run his business and was one of few material possessions he was proud of.

It looks kind of filthy but I think it'll clean up well with some elbow grease. It'll make a great first car or beater truck for someone.

What I know so far:

• 2003 Ford Ranger XLT
  
• 4.0L SOHC V6 in its most powerful iteration - 207 hp, 238 tq
  
• 5-speed automatic
  
• 2-wheel drive
  
• 210k miles
  
• Appears fairly loaded - has power locks/windows, 6 CD changer, sliding rear window, leather seats
  
• Was first purchased in WA as a commercial vehicle, then he bought it in 2010 with 147k. Clean Carfax, no accidents.
  

I am getting back into doing roll racing events, I am doing an event that anybody is welcome to sign up for at pocono raceway on april 21. Everyone who wants to come is welcome to stay at my parents house with me which is about an hour away from pocono. Its a great time and you get to see some insane cars like 2000hp lamborghinis. Just let me know if anybody is interested in coming along, oh and the company that puts the event on is slipstream racing events, just google them.

<JeremyClarkson>
In this forum thread...

I change a tire:



Ryan drives through some water:



...and Taylor says, "oh bother."



</JeremyClarkson>

When I bought my Range Rover, the guys at the overland shop told me a Range Rover would go anywhere... slowly. When Scott bought his RR Sport, I told him that too. So we decided to plan a small off-road trip, just the two of us, to try out our quasi-trucks. He wanted to go somewhere in western Maryland but it was the same travel time as going to JMU. So on Saturday, I said "well why don't we just go to school, get some students to join us, and run Flagpole?" Taylor drove down with us, Ryan showed up with his F150, and we met up with Kevin, Brandon, Adam, Nate and Joe.

There was a mention of snow the night before and our collective attitude was "eh, it should be fine."

So we met in the Baseball lot at 9 AM yesterday and marveled at Ryan's kind-of bald tires. After filling up with gas and distributing walkie-talkies to each car, we headed up 33 West for Switzer. The idea was to go up Switzer, cross over to Flagpole and go back down Flagpole.

We turned onto Switzer's... entrance road? or whatever it is, and pulled over to air down to about 25 psi. Easy. We're doing Real Off-Roading and not sucking at it yet!



I put the Range Rover in "Grass, Gravel, Snow" mode and raised the ride height as we set off. It was pretty snowy but we were making it up the trail easily enough. There is a point where the trail narrows and it took careful steering inputs to 1) not hit the trees that are threatening to take off your mirrors and 2) not slide 8" sideways and fall off the mountain. 



After going, I dunno, 30 minutes up the trail, Kevin and I reached a suitable stopping point and stopped so the others could catch up. Ryan's truck required even more careful input due to the larger size and tires that should have been replaced six months ago. When we stopped, Kevin noticed my right front tire was flat. Fuuuuuu. No worries, I have a full-size spare and it's got air in it! 

The others all caught up and stopped to help.





We get all the tire-changing shit out of the RR and get it in the air. In the snow. On the one flat part of the trail where we were. I grab my impact and sockets and the 24mm is what sort of fits, but Brandon (of Costco tire-changing fame) goes "no, these are a 22, I know it" - well, much like Ford and Chrysler (and whoever else), Land Rover uses these infernal chrome-capped lug nuts. The caps swell up and you can't fit a socket on 'em. Thankfully, Kevin had a hammer, so we hammered the 22mm socket onto each lug nut and then hammered the nut out of the socket. This made the tire change go slowly. But, we did it and I was back in business.

Taylor spent some time getting Nate turned around. His Outback was not a match for the snow and small bits of ice.

We decided to turn around and head back down Switzer the way we came. Going down was easy enough, Taylor provided some very good insight for what to do if you start to slide (less brakes, wheels straight, add throttle but gently). The Range Rovers have hill descent control, and between low range and HDC, I had no problems getting down the trail. Ryan was a bit panicked at first given how his route up the trail went - but his F150 also has a form of HDC and he got down with confidence.





Got to stop at the bottom of Switzer to take some photos and take turns running through a big mud puddle. Then, we decided to go up to Flagpole since "it's easier than Switzer, we can definitely do it."















Snow coated the road that leads to Reddish Knob/Flagpole but it wasn't bad. We had a nice drive up and everything was super scenic. 



We stopped at a little clearing and Taylor had a go at driving up a hill and then back down the hill. Looked easy enough, I'll try it next. My first attempt did not involve enough throttle and I couldn't get momentum to go up very far. So, Taylor recommended I back up and really give it the beans. 510 horsepower coming right up! I made it a bit farther but started losing traction again, and then... BOOM from the front left. No warning lights, no funny sounds, everything is sitting level so this can't be all bad. It wasn't all bad, but I had ripped a 4" gash in the inside sidewall of my front left tire. And if you're counting at home, I had already used my single full-size spare.



Scott was willing to give me the spare from his Range Rover Sport, but we were unsure if the spare would fit my truck given the Supercharged models have these gigantic front brakes (anything below a 20" wheel is a tight fit, if even possible). AND, the RRS comes with a space-saver spare. Thankfully, it cleared the caliper by a few mm or so. This did require the same lug nut dance due to swelling, but we at least knew the "fast" way to deal with it.













At this point, I decided to turn back with Brandon so we could head into town and try to find some tires. Surely Harrisonburg residents use a lot of 255/55/20 tires and they'll be in stock somewhere. The rest of the guys hung back briefly but soon headed back down as well, after reaching the summit of Flagpole just a few minutes past where I got stuck the second time.

Brandon and I got to town - Costco didn't have anything, and Walmart only had a Bridgestone, not the Michelin that I had on the rear. I decided to limp it home on the two spares (60 mph max on 81/66 is super fun!) and deal with it this morning. We grabbed some wings as a bigger group before parting ways. Taylor was kind enough to follow me all the way up 81 and 66 until our exits had us split.

Thankfully, my local tire shop was able to get two replacement Defender LTX in my size and they'll be installed by the time I leave work today. Tire Rack and Discount Tire are out of stock until late March, but his warehouse had five in stock. 

Even with all of the bullshittery, I still had a ton of fun. Scott and I definitely want to go back and do these trails again in the dry, when we can see the rocks that are pointed at our sidewalls and thus avoid them. The first tire was lost to bad luck, the second to my ignoring the overland shop's advice. I have now learned something and my wallet is slightly lighter for it, but of all that could have broken, this wasn't so bad.

TLDR: Scott and I drove to Harrisonburg to practice changing tires in very adverse conditions while sliding down a mountain.

I have a 60" Samsung Plasma. Recently unhooked everything and set it back up on a new TV cabinet. Since then while watching TV the picture will cut out and come back on like I switched inputs even though I didn't.

I tried switching HDMI cable between both HDMI ports and have the same issue. Tried a different HDMI cable and same problem which leads me to believe it is the actual ports? How did they both go bad with a simple unplug and replug? Can I fix this?

I'm not starting a project thread for my Honda Fit but I'll probably be doing an event here or there. I really wanted to do the rest of the refrigerator bowl season but so many time consuming changes keep happening. So for now heres the one I did. I just want somewhere to post this stuff. Feel free to share your own stuff too.

https://youtu.be/eSSydJZQToA

Sent from my FRD-L04 using Tapatalk

Hey all! I ran into some of you at MAAP during a Cars & Coffee event a week or so back and figured I'd join up and make an intro. I've been part of the VT car club (better known as CCVT) for like 5 years now (since I started at VT) and recently moved back up to Hburg for work.

Enough of the boring shit. Here's my Volvo. (never heard that one before, have ya?) It's fairly stock considering I got it 3 weeks ago, but I have plans. (and hope to have some new wheels/tires on it by this weekend if they ever get delivered.....)

'11 C30 R Design 6MT


In addition to the 'ole moosemobile I've got an '04 4Runner...


...and a slow 4-cylinder Honda that needs a new front tire at the moment
 

Looking forward to meeting up with you guys!

After listing these on Facebook and Craigslist I realized I don’t want randos coming into my house.

Soooo, who needs a hand me down couch and loveseat? Throw me what you think is fair. I can help you move these for cost of fuel, but they need to be gone by the 23rd.

I am selling my 2008 Dively open deck trailer. I purchased it new to originally tow behind my Ridgeline due to it's lighter weight. New radial tires, bearing at the beginning of 2016 with minimal use since *(purchased an enclosed trailer). Custom made low-profile tire "rack" . The trailer has always been covered when not in use. Perfect for Miata's but I've also towed a '68 F100, and a '73 Camaro on it. Fenders are fixed in place but I have never had an issue opening the doors on lowered Miata's. I am selling to purchase a full deck trailer because my TR6 is too narrow for my comfort to put on the trailer. Pictures coming. 
ET154B-102

15 ft. Runways
21 ft. Total Length
4 Wheel Brakes
Curb Weight 1451 lbs.

Standard Features:

7000 lb. G.V.W
3500 lb. Axles
8'6" Overall Width
6'11" Clearance Between Fenders
Diamond Plate Fenders with Full Inner Panels
8" Fender Height above Runways
*Will Clear Most Car Doors*
Diamond Plate Runways 19.5" wide
4" Channel Steel Frame
5' Slide Out Diamond Plate Ramps
5' Beaver Tail Dropped 3"
14" 6 Ply Rated Tires
10" Electric Brakes
16" Loading Height
Dropped Rear Crossmember for Clearance
Safety Chains
2000 lb. Post Jack 
*Set back to Clear Tailgate*
4 Key Holes
2 5/16 Ball Coupler
7 Way Bargman RV Plug
Break-A-Way Kit
LED Lighting
Anti-Rust Sealer & Black Enamel

$2000

So back around Christmas I was having lunch with an old high school friend who mentioned in passing that he had a Jeep Cherokee he needed to get rid of. His HOA/Condo Authority or whatever was hounding him because they are allowed two cars and he has 3. So I jokingly told him I’d give him $500, which he promptly accepted. Obviously he told me I didn’t really have to buy it, but I’ve been wanting something to play with, and for $500 How could I go wrong?

So he told me that it had sat for essentially the last year without really being driven. Obviously the best course of action was to take a Greyhound bus all the way across the state to Alexandria and drive it home, sight unseen. The day before I came he tried to start it and the battery was dead, so he had AAA replace the battery the day before I came. Greyhound arrived yesterday at 3pm, I checked the oil, coolant, tires, etc. before dark and was happy enough with it to drive home. It was having trouble cranking over, cranking really slow, but did start. Filled it up with gas and hit the road at 5:30am this morning. For the first 60-70 miles the ride was pretty rough, kinda all over the road, but by the time I made it to the 66/81 interchange it had settled down significantly. 

Drove it all the way to Galax, VA, made a few stops, then drove it on to Bristol. Stopped at the gas station near my house to pick up a couple cold beers, came out, and it wouldn’t start. Instant cursing. Called my wife and she brought my multi-meter and a small tool kit out to the gas station and met me. Tried to jump it, no dice. Checked the new battery with a volt meter, 12.8 volts, not the alternator, so I figured it must be the starter. Got underneath and saw the oil on the starter. The O-Rings around the oil filter mounting hardware are known to go bad, which these are, and leaked oil onto the starter causing it to take a dump. Crawled underneath and smacked it with a 18mm ratchet while the wife cranked it and it started up. Drove it home and put it in the garage. The roof rack clears the garage door by about 4”, but the door goes up and down fine, so success!

So I’m not entirely sure what my plans are for this Jeep. I could change the starter, clean it up, and flip it for about $2500 right now. Or I could keep it, put some money into minor repairs it needs and either sell it for more, or keep it as a fun car/3rd vehicle. I haven’t decided yet. Anyways, on to the breakdown:

1999 Jeep Cherokee Classic
4.0 In-line 6, AW4 automatic, 4x4
154k miles
3” Rough Country lift
31.5” tires
CB Radio (just needs antenna)
Steel Front and Rear bumpers with recovery points
Steel rock sliders on both sides
Roof Rack
$500

What it needs:
Starter - obviously
Front brakes
Brake line from the master cylinder to the rear brake lines is pretty rusty, could use a new one.
Oil Filter housing O-rings
Valve Cover Gasket
New fluids
Saggy headliner fixed 

Otherwise it’s in pretty solid shape. Maintenance records from my buddy show a new thermostat, radiator and water pump at 150k in 2014; new front U-Joints in 2013 at 135k; diffs, transmission and transfer case serviced in 2011, new o2 sensor in 2013, new front wheel bearings at 135k in 2013, new exhaust in 2014 and a new window motors and wiper blades in 2016.  I priced out the parts for the above work and they can all be had for less than $500 total. So in theory I could have it all tidied up for less than 1k. 

Thoughts? Keep it for fun? Fix it and sell it?











Barely clears my garage door with the rack on:




So I’ve decided my ultimate goal is to see if I can do everything I want to this Jeep for less than $1,000. So I’ll keep a running tally here. Obviously my labor won’t count. 

Vehicle: $500
Starter: $53.39
Valve Cover Gasket: $33.47
O-Ring Set: $12.59
Floor mats (realized after I got it home that I had 3 different colors): $19.97
Oil and Filter: $25.76
Two D-Rings for Rear Bumper: $19.92
Key Fob (dropped they center light console down and saw that I had the circuit board for it, but no fob): 10.99
PCV Valve: $5.99
Radiator Cap: $5.39
Bushings: $12.36
Total: $699.83

OK, I got carried away telling the story so here is the BLUF

TL/DR – I bought a car when I wasn’t really looking to buy because the right one came up. It’s a 2014 Estoril Blue II 328i xDrive Sports Wagon with M Sport Appearance, Brake and Suspension options. The previous owner is the GM at a Lamborghini dealership and took me and my son for rides in a Huracan. I am ruined.