Florida Interlude
Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 5:55 pm
It was a lovely peaceful sunny warm day in the middle of Florida at a different wildlife refuge than the prior one mentioned in the IAC Greetings From Florida II post.
This one I happened upon in the night. I had no idea that the road itself was the only dry place for miles around. Naranja puttered down in 1st gear with bucks and stumbles (what a lovely place to rebuild the fuel pump I sez to myself). There was NOWHERE to turn around. I did see a sign that said "no vehicles beyond this point" and thought it might be wide enough to allow a turn around but the reflection of the headlamps suggested no. So did the morning walk:
At any rate, the road finally came to an end 4.5 miles straight into the swamp, and there was my turn around. I camped there to the sounds of peepers and bull frogs and bird calls. Here is the morning dew on Naranja Westy just before my one mile walk up to the road sign that said "no vehicles beyond this point":
It was a smelly walk. That swamp has a lot of decomposition going on. I was about to leave in a huff when I realized that my nose had gotten used to it. So I tore out the passenger seat. Look at that perfect horsehair from the factory. This might be a rust-traumatized car where it got hit here and there and there and over there and there and there again, but let's remember that it only has 46,000 original miles, too:
Re-glued the passenger side rubber mat with 3M Super 77.
Waxed the paint at the seat pedestal and the pivot plate and lovely it was:
Here's the driver's seat area and loosening wheel well mat before I started:
Here's the driver's seat area when I was done. GummiPflege is magnificent on these rubber mats:
Because I had to disassemble the sliding door sill plate to loosen the front edge plate to remove the aisle carpet so I could glue the mats, I took the occasion to apply three layers of clear packing tape to the sill plate, like I have to the Road Warrior and the BobD and Chloe:
A "Hi ho! Sorry to disturb you! What a beautiful day, EH?" startled me and wrecked the first application of clear tape (that took an extra half hour to clean all traces of adhesive off and re-apply). Some guy who looked like he stepped through an African Safari wormhole is standing there.
"Well, how many miles was your walk in?" I asked testily, hoping for a brief answer.
"Wellllll, let's see here . . . it was aboot . . . well, if I factor in . . . hang on . . . . . oh I guess . . . no wait, he he he , I'd saaaaaaaaay aboot 4.63 miles."
"Nice job," I said with all finality in my voice.
"What a great day to do projects all by yourself out here!" he boomed. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"
"Taping the sliding door sill plate."
He spent 15 minutes staring at his phone and tapping and sliding fingers around, then boomed out his intention to walk back from whence he came.
"You be sure to enjoy this beautiful day out here all by yourself!"
"Have a nice walk back," I replied as I continued to wash tape adhesive off the sill plate.
Lubricated all sliding surfaces, painted the horse hair pads with clearcoat (maybe that will slow their deterioration into Kellogg's Shredded Wheat . . . ? ), glued the driver's side rubber mat, and waxed the brake reservoir storage area and behind the seat:
So does anyone else have a 1977 with old style driver's seat on rails with the swivel passenger seat? Does your Westy have a higher driver's side seatbelt anchor and a lower passenger seatbelt anchor in the aisle?
GummiPflege!
Spent a good hour repacking the car, because I had everything strewn everywhere to access the front seating area.
Friggen phone chirrupped out there. Cindy! 40 minutes of a phone call that has distracted me into a deep twenty years-in-the-making reassessment.
Took off with my clean clean seats and seat tracks and secure rubber mats into the golden afternoon sunshine:
There's more. For example, the Road Warrior's tachometer is back in service after a seven year hiatus in plastic bubble wrap:
This one I happened upon in the night. I had no idea that the road itself was the only dry place for miles around. Naranja puttered down in 1st gear with bucks and stumbles (what a lovely place to rebuild the fuel pump I sez to myself). There was NOWHERE to turn around. I did see a sign that said "no vehicles beyond this point" and thought it might be wide enough to allow a turn around but the reflection of the headlamps suggested no. So did the morning walk:
At any rate, the road finally came to an end 4.5 miles straight into the swamp, and there was my turn around. I camped there to the sounds of peepers and bull frogs and bird calls. Here is the morning dew on Naranja Westy just before my one mile walk up to the road sign that said "no vehicles beyond this point":
It was a smelly walk. That swamp has a lot of decomposition going on. I was about to leave in a huff when I realized that my nose had gotten used to it. So I tore out the passenger seat. Look at that perfect horsehair from the factory. This might be a rust-traumatized car where it got hit here and there and there and over there and there and there again, but let's remember that it only has 46,000 original miles, too:
Re-glued the passenger side rubber mat with 3M Super 77.
Waxed the paint at the seat pedestal and the pivot plate and lovely it was:
Here's the driver's seat area and loosening wheel well mat before I started:
Here's the driver's seat area when I was done. GummiPflege is magnificent on these rubber mats:
Because I had to disassemble the sliding door sill plate to loosen the front edge plate to remove the aisle carpet so I could glue the mats, I took the occasion to apply three layers of clear packing tape to the sill plate, like I have to the Road Warrior and the BobD and Chloe:
A "Hi ho! Sorry to disturb you! What a beautiful day, EH?" startled me and wrecked the first application of clear tape (that took an extra half hour to clean all traces of adhesive off and re-apply). Some guy who looked like he stepped through an African Safari wormhole is standing there.
"Well, how many miles was your walk in?" I asked testily, hoping for a brief answer.
"Wellllll, let's see here . . . it was aboot . . . well, if I factor in . . . hang on . . . . . oh I guess . . . no wait, he he he , I'd saaaaaaaaay aboot 4.63 miles."
"Nice job," I said with all finality in my voice.
"What a great day to do projects all by yourself out here!" he boomed. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"
"Taping the sliding door sill plate."
He spent 15 minutes staring at his phone and tapping and sliding fingers around, then boomed out his intention to walk back from whence he came.
"You be sure to enjoy this beautiful day out here all by yourself!"
"Have a nice walk back," I replied as I continued to wash tape adhesive off the sill plate.
Lubricated all sliding surfaces, painted the horse hair pads with clearcoat (maybe that will slow their deterioration into Kellogg's Shredded Wheat . . . ? ), glued the driver's side rubber mat, and waxed the brake reservoir storage area and behind the seat:
So does anyone else have a 1977 with old style driver's seat on rails with the swivel passenger seat? Does your Westy have a higher driver's side seatbelt anchor and a lower passenger seatbelt anchor in the aisle?
GummiPflege!
Spent a good hour repacking the car, because I had everything strewn everywhere to access the front seating area.
Friggen phone chirrupped out there. Cindy! 40 minutes of a phone call that has distracted me into a deep twenty years-in-the-making reassessment.
Took off with my clean clean seats and seat tracks and secure rubber mats into the golden afternoon sunshine:
There's more. For example, the Road Warrior's tachometer is back in service after a seven year hiatus in plastic bubble wrap: