I still think there should be some kind of karma as relates to old Jeeps.  But, Moab proved that isn't so.

 You all know the story of buying the Jeepster like 6 weeks before EJS in Moab and busting ass trying to get it running, driving, and stopping well enough to feel comfortable up on the cliffs. That in addition to getting stories in and working on other projects too.

Anyway, if there was any kind of vehicular karma, after weeks of sun up till way past sun down wrenching, welding, cutting, and soldering on the Jeepster, you'd think I'd get a break.  Looking back on it now, I did, and that break was for TDS, not EJS.

I get to Moab on Thurs night, after a straight through drive from SoCal in the long term diesel towing the Jeepster, looking forward to a week of wheeling this thing I've put all this time into.  When I left CA, it ran great, had new brakes, brake lines, master cylinder, new floors, a "roll cage", new tires, it was the recepient of a DSPO wire-ectomy, lights were working that hadn't in years (like brake, turn, etc), new windows, new seals, etc etc etc.... (too much to even begin to list here)

Here's how Moab went for me this year vis-a-vis the Jeepster.  Bear in mind I was still turning in stories, shooting features, going to meetings and dinners (pressing the flesh), and just trying to get all the EJS-related stuff done in addition to wrasslin' the Jeepster.

-Friday- Wake up to snow, take Jeepster to get brakes bled- running a little rough, but no biggie... check out Moab Rim, Cliffhanger, and talk to shop owners in town about the coming Easter Jeep Safari.  Manage to squeeze some time to do some compounding on the Jeep to make it look less like it sat for so many years.

-Sat- Decide to go down towards Kane Creek to take some pictures of the Jeepster, the tires, and some basic trail tools.  It was cold, but weather was ok to begin with... get 10 miles or so from 191, tools out, hood up, shooting pictures, and we get smacked with sleet, snow, rain and other fun things.  Jeepster has no heat and no working wipers.

-Sun- Head out to check out Gemini bridge with some friends.  Get about 30 miles out of town, and the Jeep stops running.  Puking gas down the carb cause the float isn't closing the needle.  Manually reseat the needle, clean the crap out of the carb from the bad gas, and drive it on back into town.

-Mon- order carb rebuild kit, tried to go out and run Green Day out at BFE... but by the time I got the Jeepster there, it wasn't running so great so I didn't go on the trail... talked to some people, watched everyone else head out, and when I tried to leave, the Jeep started and died immediately...I ended up pulling the carb apart like 4 times on the side of the road cause the Jeep died.

-Tues- More of the same... dead Jeep, pull apart carb, reset needle in its seat, lower the float so it exerts more pressure on the needle and seats better.  Still end up pulling the thing apart however many times. 

-Wed- carb rebuild kit comes in, I go pick it up, and its the wrong part... I handed them the number... the stoner behind the counter somehow screwed it up... then tells me he can have it tomorrow.  I went to a different parts store and have a photoshoot with some of the Jeep underground's Jeeps, and a couple of features to wrap up, not to mention a double-stacked pair of dinners.  Not much time to rebuild the carb anyway. Get the added bonus of overheating the Jeep not once, or twice, but at least three times... boiled a gallon and a half out of the radiator by the end of the day.  Had to get towed back to town cause it overheated, died, and wouldn't restart.   Such fun.

-Thurs- first thing, go get carb rebuild kit.  The Jeepster dies 20 feet from the parts store in the middle of the road, I push it uphill into a parking lot, walk back to the parts store, get a Jerry can, walk to a gas station, get gas, walk back to the Jeepster, manage to get it going, but not before smacking the starter a few times with a D-ring shackle, and after losing that hour, I need to check out the show.  I've already lost enough time to the dieing Jeepster so I say screw it, and unhook the grand from the trailer, and take it to the show.  I learn at the show of some guys going to do Fins N Things, so I head out there.  Before you know it, it is 7pm, and guess what? I've got another dinner to get to...

-Fri- more features, etc etc... get done around noon, have a sit down breakfast with some of the Jeep's owner's I'd just shot, sat down to finish the last story, and do some checkers and lasers, and then head to talk to some friends that have helped with the cluster-F of a week, and get to another dinner... by the time I get back, my buddy Phil wants to go wheeling, so he starts in on the carb rebuild, I get back, and we button it up/adjust the float and whatnot, and put in a new fuel pump... somewhere after midnight, we call it, ready to wheel.

-Sat- wake up, get ready to head out, Jeepster won't start... long story short, the BRAND NEW napa fuel pump with like 15 minutes of run time on it was broken... the accelerator pump didn't pump soon enough leaving a huge dead spot in the throttle, and something mysteriously started making the thing miss sporadically.  Put the old fuel pump back in, mes with the accelerator pump, and finally say screw it... we head out planning to run Kane Creek anyway.  After the 3rd or 4th water crossing, the clutch on the Jeepster starts chattering BAD (thank you 23:1 crawl ratio), its raining, cold, and windy, and we decide to turn back... After nursing the Jeepster back, getting it running twice more, I load it on the trailer and call it.

A week in Moab is better than a week in LA, that's for sure.  But after this year's Moab my butt was kicked and I didn't even want to look at the Jeepster again.  I put new fuel pump #2 in it yesterday, and its running ok down here at 2500 feet.