Has It Really Been A Week?

Since I last posted, not much has happened Corvair-wise, which, at this time of the year, is a blessing. After getting Ringo squared away for Ariel, I went back to driving Glinda. Wouldn’t you know it? Her starter (which had been suspect for many months) started doing the same thing Ringo’s had – turn the key, the starter spins, but the engine doesn’t turn. I was, however, after a dozen or so tries, able to get her to start so I could drive instead of tow her home. Once parked at the curb, she’ll stay there until I get the replacement Bendix drive and starter rebuild parts from Clark’s.

While I’m on the subject of Glinda, I’ll mention that the first parts of her transmission transformation arrived in the yesterday’s mail. The clutch/brake pedal assembly unique to ’67 through ’69 models was the only conversion pieces I couldn’t get from the Corvair Ranch. Now I just need to set aside a day to go to the Ranch and pull the rest of the parts from the Corsa I drug up there a few months back. I got a phone call last evening responding to Lucy’s Craigslist ad. The caller’s first car had been a Corvair, “back in the day” and when he discovered the ad, he had to call. He’s interested in buying her, and will try and come out next weekend to check her out.

I know it’s not Corvair related, but it is fleet related. As reported a couple months back, the lovely Loriann and I decided it’s time to replace our current rescue vehicle. While the Suburban, even with its 322,000 miles, still effortlessly drags home dead ‘vairs, its upkeep burns valuable time that should be spent keeping the fleet afloat. At that time, I thought I could get away with a Chevy Colorado with the inline 5 engine, but research indicated those are not enough truck to safely pull a car, especially one on a trailer. Since we wanted to downsize, the replacement truck had to be shorter than the Suburban. Since I wanted to stick with Chevy, the search began for a short wheelbase (SWB) regular cab (RG) Silverado. The same research that pushed me away from a Colorado also pushed me towards GM’s 5.3L V8. Any other engine wouldn’t cut it when doing any heavy towing. I soon found that a SWB RG with the larger engine were a rare combination. I finally settled on a beautiful, low-mileage ’07 in VA with exactly the combination I wanted (pictured above). This decision did not come without its twists and turns. I was temporarily blinded by a spectacular deal (nearly $6k below book) on a ’09 Ram long-bed, but the CARFAX showing two accidents and the lovely Loriann reminding me it really wasn’t what I wanted caused me to see the light. And then there’s the ’04 Dodge Hemi GTX in WV I fell in lust with. While my heart REALLY wanted that truck, the higher mileage and a few mechanical issues caused me to snap out of that infatuation. Hopefully, I can talk the dealer down a little and trade in the Suburban to save me some bucks.

On the garage front, this weekend the lovely Loriann and I will be picking up the Christmas present she gave me – tiles to cover the greasy, grimy garage floor. I found a company doing a liquidation and we’re getting 19” square PVC tiles for only $3 a piece. The pattern I decided on (with some help) will look like the following image. So two VERY exciting acquisitions in my near future.