While Cappa is sipping energy drinks from the belly buttons of supermodels in his brand new JK, I've been using a 39-year old military truck as my sole means of transportation.  So what's it like to live in a formerly abandoned vehicle with a wasted engine and no amenities?

I have to admit, I'm pretty jealous of Cappa's new ride.  No payments, no carbon monoxide, and no getting flipped off by other motorists who have to pass through your oil cloud.  I have been getting on board with driving a crapbox once again.  It is nice only having one vehicle to worry about, though.  It's given me time to address some of the little things on this truck that normally would go undone.  Here are some things I've noticed and have been tinkering on.

Fuel Tank: I installed Nasi's tank (see other blog) and now it holds gas.  No gauge, though so I carry 5 gallons of 87-octane on the bed side.

Headlights: When the previous owner converted to 12V he wired the headlight connectors wrong so one beam was high and one was low no matter how the high beam dimmer switch was pushed.  I cut the wiring on one side and fixed it.

Paint: The truck has a jungle tiger stripe camo on the passenger side and was painted desert rose (pink) on the driver.  I sanded most of the driver-side down in anticipation of a repaint.  I found "U.S. Army" and the serial number on the hood, but I can't make out the whole number.

Tranny Crossmember:  There were only 4 bolts holding it in and they were loose.  I threw 4 more 3/8 bolts in and tightened everything down.

Heater: A small box-type aftermarket heater had been bolted to the passenger firewall.  It rattled and shook going down the road so I took it out.  I'll rivet in a block off plate for the heater hose holes in the firewall today.

Steering Stabilizer: With unbalanced 38-inch Swampers the steering wheel danced all over the place.  I installed a steering stabilizer I had laying around and it's pretty smooth going down the road now.

Brakes: They work good, but they always pulled hard to the right.  I popped off the driver drum and found the lining had disintegrated off one side.  I cleaned two of my best oil soaked shoes from the rear and installed them on the front.  Stops on a dime now, even with the factory single pot master.

Windows: I welded the cracked window regulator channel on the driver-door and now the windows go up and down.

I've still got a long but easy list to do before it's really presentable.  I want to rework the cobbled clutch linkage from the original Chevy conversion.  I need a new engine.  I want to take the home built hard top off and install a soft top.  I've got to paint it.  Finally, I may or may not convert to power steering.  It would make driving it easier, but I love how little there is to the mechanicals of this truck.  Bare bones is where it's at.