I saw the stray yesterday briefly. My Mom fed it; but it doesn't hang around. I noticed that it is not limping anymore; so that is good. Which means I can work on the Crown Vic again. I will start where I left off with the relays. And then make a serious effort to suck the 93 out of the gas tank.

Since I am working on the house projects again; I am beginning to see the need for another pickup truck. So I have been eyeing up Putter Project and trying to justify getting that truck running again. I have to see how available 292 I6 parts are for that truck. They were hard to find 20 years ago; probably more so now. It will definitely need a head gasket at the bare minimum. Since it has close to 600k on the odometer (work truck its whole life), it should have a rebuild. I concluded that I should start thinking about an LS swap; as they are easier to find and get parts for. The problem I have is not making it into a major project. It would make sense though since I already rebuilt the front suspension; it has new fuel lines (my first use of -AN stuff); and I have body panels that I never installed. And when I am done, I can sell the truck and get a little money back. But, before this happens, I will have to get the Crown Vic running and moving; so I can move it around the yard; or even park it somewhere else temporarily while I am working on the truck. Hmmmmm........something for me to consider.

 

The following makes sense but it is easy to lose track of the finances associated with trying to resurrect a vehicle like that. Rodents chewing through wires can cause a freaking nightmare. If the inside of the tank is corroded you'll likely want another one of those. Sometimes the law of want overruns the law of finances.

​​​​​​This ain't your first rodeo. Just putting it out there because I know what it's like to want something bad enough to put logic out the window but hanging on the outside of the window frame.

 

Certainly considering that. I am trying to figure out how many times I will need to rent a truck for the known house projects. Renting vehicles (probably from U-Haul) can get expensive. Then there are the trips to the gas station to deposit waste engine oil (changing oil in 4 vehicles currently); and the trips to the conservation center for the yard waste. Which is a major pain currently because my trailer hitch carriage assembly for the Explorer is very heavy and cumbersome. I am going to see what it will truly cost me to LS swap that truck; and if I can pull the front end off to do it. I know that I will definitely need a NV4500 for the swap. The gas tank may need to be replaced as I still have the original with the OE pickup. I'm pretty sure that the aftermarket ECMs have a return-style fuel system.

 

So, I caught COVID again. Been out of commission this week. Still in a self-imposed quarantine until at least my fever goes away. As annoying as this is, I am grateful that I am getting the later versions of this disease; and not the first 2 strains. Once this is over with (for now), I am going to tackle the back porch step project and get that finished. Then work on the Crown Vic a little.

I am not looking forward to going back to work after a week's absence. It's almost always chaos when I get back. I'll endeavor to fire up the Grand Marquis over the weekend. It should be okay sitting for a week without running. My other cars including the Crown Vic when it was closer to stock, would give me some attitude.

 

Sorry to hear that, sir.

Best of luck in your recovery

 

Get better quickly, man. That Covid is some nasty stuff. My wife had it back in January and it damned near killed her. She was in the hospital 13 days.

 

^^^^^^^Oh dear!!! That's crazy! I have much respect for your wife for having the strength to endure all of the things that she goes through.^^^^^^^^^^


That's what happened to my eldest Aunt. She got the 1st strain and was in the hospital for 2 mos. She lost some of her hair and still suffers from brain fog.

I'm on Day 2 of a normal body temperature without Tylenol. I will take a test tomorrow to see where I am at; but regardless, I will be at work early Monday morning anyways.

In my quarantine, I had a good amount of time to think about things. With my Chevy C20, I have concluded that after I get the Crown Vic running (or part it out if I am unsuccessful), I will start gathering what I need to LS swap that truck. I though about a couple different ways to approach the swap, given our current situation. I still have some details to work out (e.g. how to dispose of the 292). Most likely whatever engine I get; will get a full rebuild; and as far as mods go; an aftermarket ECM, and headers to get things running. Otherwise, I will leave the rest of it stock; because work truck. I got some time to think about this before pulling the trigger.

 

There is a 292 group on Facebook, so there a market.

 

I joined a forum for inline 6 engines 20 years ago. I will see if I can find the info to login to that site; or at least find out what site I joined (crappy memory).

Day 3 of a normal body temperature; in fact, it's below normal by a degree. And I tested negative this morning; but my nose is bone dry. So, I might do another test after I sneeze to verify the results.

After having a week off from work; I discovered that almost all of the old guard in this neighborhood are gone. My childhood acquaintance (I hung out with him for brief periods of time when I was a kid; but friends now as adults) who lives a block away; and who also has a Grand Marquis (with Marauder wheels); just sold his parent's house (almost mansion size). My neighbors who live across and diagonal from us; just put up a FOR SALE sign and families are coming to look at the house and neighborhood. The only old people left is my family and the family across the street. So now I know that we're on borrowed time from here on out. I am going to make an earnest effort to complete my projects in a timely manner. Hopefully before we have to make a quick exit from this town; because I know that the new kids on the block are not tolerant of poor people. We'll see though.

 

Having class and demonstrating the pride you have in the way you maintain what is yours goes a lot further in the eyes of others that are not morons.

The no getters of today's generation will figure this out 20 years too late to do anything about it. Don't want to put out the effort, Will be standing around looking at others who bothered that have something to show for it.

May you continue your recovery in an expedient fashion