PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

It certainly helps! If your cabin air is already cool, vs sucking in outsite hot air. I noticed it quite a bit coming back from Utah 2 weeks ago on I80 going up inclines.

 

In the parking lot at the gym this morning...

 

@HomerTaco
@Plain Jane Taco
@Blackout14
@98tacoma27
@ABA180
@ChadsPride

You guys have been among my staunchest allies and supporters on TW, so I figured I'd share this with you...

What do you guys think of this van? I consider it a bargain despite certain obvious flaws...

A guy I know who helps run the Chevy Astro/GMC Safari owner and enthusiast forum (Yes, I'm a member of that forum too) owns this van...

I met up with him in Doylestown today to discuss arrangements for me to loan my collection of Chevy Astro brochures to be scanned for all to see on AstroSafari.com

It's a white 2003 Chevrolet Astro AWD, loaded with every option except the G80 locking rear differential ("positraction") and leather seats. The van has over 300K miles (302,143 at time of pics), and this is what's wrong with it:

1. One of the cylinders has had a "slap" since the current owner bought it; He bought it cheap a couple years ago and expected to get maybe 5,000 miles out of it; 45,000 miles later, she's still going, but the engine is on it's last legs...
2. The A/C works, but leaks; A full charge lasts the entire summer; When charged, the A/C works great!
3. The parking brake does not work (Brakes are good)
4. ABS light is on (Again, brakes are good)
5. Some minor body rust...
6. Body is not perfect, but ultimately solid...

Here are the good things about the van:
1. Just about everything else aside from what I mentioned above DOES WORK! Cruise control, heat, power windows, power locks, radio, all gauges, brakes (except parking brake), etc; ALL WORK!
2. Engine starts and runs quite well despite having a "piston slap" and being quite tired...
3. Transmission is good, and the van runs and drives okay...
4. A/C may have a leak, but compressor is good; It blows cold when charged and the charge will last the whole summer...
5. Clean New Mexico title (Owner lives in NM, but keeps it here to drive when visiting family)
6. No accidents
7. All-wheel drive, which would be my primary reason for buying this thing, works perfectly!
8. Comfortable seating for 7 (including the driver)!
9. Surprisingly GOOD stereo system!

The asking price for this van is just $400! I'm tempted to buy it, get the A/C charged, drive it as a secondary "beater" vehicle through the winter, and then sell it for a profit in spring 2018!



Take a look at the stereo; The first thing you'll notice is that this is the factory Delco AM/FM stereo with CD player, but with one subtle update; The radio has been retrofitted with an AUX input, and that little white thing plugged into the cigarette lighter is a Bluetooth adapter!

Also note that this van is equipped with rear A/C and rear heat, highly desirable options in a large van like this:

You cannot see it very well in this picture, but the woofers have been replaced by the present owner (pretty sure the rear speakers have been replaced as well). The tweeters are factory. I plugged my iPhone into the Bluetooth adapter, of course I put on "Once Bitten Twice Shy," and let me tell you something...

For a system in a $400, 14-year old van, with 300K miles, this system CRANKED!

Picture below shows driver's side woofer and tweeter:


And here we see the venerable 4.3L Vortec V6, one of the best engines GM ever made! 300K miles and pretty much on it's last legs, but still running!

This what Chevrolet meant back in the day when they said their trucks are "Like a Rock!":

 

@Blackout14
@HomerTaco
@Plain Jane Taco
@ABA180
@98tacoma27
@The Hunter
@ChadsPride

My boss sent me to the local produce place to pick up some limes (for those of you just "tuning in" who may not know me, I work as a barback and "runner" at a bar/nightclub/music venue/restaurant)...

The owner/founder of The Kombucha Bar (www.kombuchabarnj.com) was promoting her home-brewed Kombucha juice at the produce place, and after she and her associate complimented my Tacoma, I was offered a free sample that I absolutely loved. As you can see I bought myself a glass bottle of the stuff at the produce place and absolutely loved that too...

I'm told this is a very healthy alternative to things like energy drinks, diet sodas, and Gatorade...

The two lovely ladies were quite impressed with the Tacoma and approved of me using my "selfie" to give a shoutout on TW...

 

Unless you've got the cash to replace the motor in that van I'd stay away from it.
What does you'd Dad think?

 

A while back I tried some of that stuff because I was told it was basically iced tea. I didn't realize it was fermented. I don't drink partly because I'm incredibly sensitive to the taste of alcohol and it just tasted super bitter to me. It only gets worse with higher amounts--those fruity things with about 3% in them? Tastes like I took a sip of rubbing alcohol. No sugar, no fruit, nothing.

 

My wife & son love that stuff. I'm not a fan for the same reasons @js312 mentioned.

 

My dad is more worried about the cost of insuring the van than anything...

 

Typically a second vehicle doesn't add much to insurance. At least that's the case here in MA.

Those 4.3s seem to have a reputation for reliability, but I'm not sure all years of them deserve that. I've seen a few rod bearing failures in S10 Blazers with mileage around the 100k mark.

 

The 4.3L "W Code" engines used in 1992-1995 S-series pickups, as well the S-Blazers and Jimmy SUVs, were know for being a bit troublesome and having problems at around 100K. I think there may have been other stuff too, but I forget exactly what...


Despite having less horsepower and torque, the TBI engines were much more reliable than MPI "W Code" engines (see picture)...

 

Makes sense. The failures I have seen were on a 93 Jimmy and two 95 Blazers with 4.3s.

 

@HomerTaco
@Plain Jane Taco
@Blackout14
@98tacoma27
@js312

So a few days ago I pulled into my parking space at work, happened to glance into the bed, and saw a small canister of pepper spray...





I work at a bar, and an unfortunate fact of life is that people discard their random shit in the bed of my Tacoma quite frequently. I saw this pepper spray and immediately assumed that some person had thrown it in there because they were too damn lazy to find a garbage can!

I picked it up, and it felt empty, so I went inside, showed it to my boss, and complained about people using my pickup as their garbage can. I then asked my boss is she knew whether or not it was illegal to simply toss pepper spray in the conventional trash, before throwing it in an actual garbage can. This was like 3 or 4 days ago. End of story...?

NOPE!

This morning I'm about to get in the shower when I hear my mom calling for me. I was a bit annoyed, because it seems like my parents always wait for the most inconvenient (and often annoying) times to ask me something (Examples; When I'm running behind schedule and I am actually in the Tacoma about to pull out of the driveway, when I'm trying to watch TV, when I'm in the middle of a challenging level on a PS4 game, and in this case when I'm in my bathroom totally naked about to take a shower!).

I responded a wee bit rudely and my mom got annoyed, but then she asked me if I'd taken dad's pepper spray, which he carries with him while running. It only took me a split-second to put two and two together...

It never crossed my mind that it belonged to my dad, and I assumed he'd learned his lesson a few years back after leaving his day planner with all sorts of important (and personal) information (like business contacts) on the roof of his Acura before driving off one time. FYI, my dad's "faith in humanity" was restored when a Good Samaritan found the planner by the side of the road and called him saying she'd found it...

Still hasn't learned his lesson, by the way! He regularly leaves the house without his wallet, sunglasses, water bottle, etc...



The only lesson he has learned is that when he misplaces his car keys, he'd better not blame me for it...



At least two or three times, he has also misplaced the keys to his (or my mom's) vehicle and blamed me for losing them, only for the keys to turn up in the pocket of a jacket weeks or even months later. Basically, he would put the keys to the van in his jacket pocket in the cooler months and forget about them. He would put the jacket away for the season without realizing the keys were there, and then assume I must have not put the keys back where I found them after borrowing the van. Yes, I've had a Tacoma for almost 8 years, but it only seats 3 people, and it only seats two comfortably. Literally all of my friends who had driver's licenses, prior to us selling the Odyssey in 2013 that is, were driving 4-door sedans...

I regularly borrowed the Odyssey for a night out on the town with my friends, as it could fit the most people comfortably.

Back to the story:

I yelled through the crack in the bathroom door and down the stairs, "You mean that can of pepper spray I found in the bed of my truck the other day?"

My dad, from somewhere else within our house, yells "Yes!"

I say "That was yours? I threw that out! That was like three days ago!"

My dad is understandably upset, but I tell him that I work at a bar and people throw shit in the bed of my truck all the time, and that it felt empty. I then shout "Maybe you'll think twice about leaving stuff in the back of my truck!"

Seriously, I'm always complaining about people (more often than not drunk bar patrons) tossing shit in the bed of my truck. What's even more funny is that my dad didn't realize it was missing until several days after I found it, and thus didn't bother to ask until now!

As I write this, my dad is currently out on his run. I know he is not mad at me, because this one of those rare occasions (translation: NONEXISTENT) times where I am actually right and he is wrong.

The moral of the story here is obvious! Don't leave stuff that could be mistaken for garbage in the bed of my truck and forget about it, especially when you know very well that I regularly complain about people using my Tacoma's bed as a dumpster!

 

You need a tonneau cover, Charlie. When your bed is covered, it's harder for folks passing by to throw stuff in it

 

I've discussed this with my dad already... LOL

 

Saturday, July 29th, 2017:

That Shell station, Easton Road/Route 611, Doylestown, PA

The FW1 people disappeared for about 3 months, but now they seem to be back, and they are much better at "blending in" too!

I was well below half a tank, so I stopped at the Shell station on my way to work on Saturday morning to get some gas. The FW1 guy was just wearing regular clothes and I did not notice him at first, nor did I notice the stand set up in front of the convenience store.

As I pulled in, I noticed this older "plainclothes" guy (didn't know he was selling FW1 at first) approaching a woman who was putting gas in her Chevy Trailblazer. Initially I thought he was one of those damned window washers again. The woman told this guy she wasn't interested and he walked away. As I drove around to the pump I normally used, I saw that two landscapers were filling up their pickup trucks and my usual pump had an "OUT OF ORDER" sign on it.

As I circled around the gas station, I saw a gray Prius parked next to the vacuums, and two people were standing next to it talking. Looking back on it, I think there were three FW1 people and they all carpooled in the Prius.

I ended up pulling up to the pump right next to the woman with the Trailblazer, and with a smile on my face I said "my usual pump is out of order." She smiled, and then I asked her what that guy was talking to her about.

She told me he'd been trying to sell something, but she turned him down because she was in a rush and needed to get to work. Before I can even swipe my credit card, I notice the guy approaching my truck out of the corner of my eye. Keep in mind that I just spent two hours washing and detailing my truck a few days earlier, and it was still quite clean and shiny...

I looked over my shoulder and said "I just spent two hours detailing my truck earlier this week." Either he didn't hear me or he just blew me off.

He walks around the front of my truck and starts with the usual "How are you doing today, sir?" bullshit...

I repeat myself, saying that I just detailed my truck a few days earlier...

He didn't get the message and asks "What do you use? Meguiar's?" Remembering that I had in fact used Meguiar's the other day, I said "Yes," and then rather coldly said "I'm not interested."

He said okay, thanked me, and told me to have a good day. Whatever...

I then finally get the chance to actually look at the gas pump I'm using, and there's a sign on it that says "CASH ONLY."



I look at the woman with the Trailblazer and tell her the pump is only taking cash. She's like "Are you kidding me?" I just shake my head and she tells me that she leaving and to just use the one she's at, before telling me to have a good day and driving off...

I get in the truck, make a U-turn, and pull up to the pump "Ms. Trailblazer" had been using, and while the gas was pumping, I got the opportunity to snap this with my trusty dashcam...



The above photo shows the FW1 guy who first approached the woman with the Trailblazer, and then me, chatting with the owner of that white Mazda6 to the left. The FW1 guy is wearing the grayish shirt, and the older man who owns the white Mazda6 is just out of sight behind pillar wearing a teal green shirt. This handicapped man (note placard hanging from rearview mirror) just wanted to put some gas in his car, and barely even got out of his car before getting bombarded by the salesman. The Mazda owner said no thank you as well...

The photo below shows the FW1 guy (circled in red) waiting for another unsuspecting victim, in this case the owner of that gray car who has gone inside to pay for his gas:


At least he didn't come out of nowhere and start demonstrating the product on anyone's vehicle without their permission...

 

Thing too with our trucks is stuff in the bad that size doesn't blow out easily

 

June 15th, 2017:

 

June 15th, 2017:

Here's the intersection a cop followed me from while I was delivering pizzas because he thought I was drunk (Red arrow marks where I was stopped; Blue line marks where cop was stopped):

 

June 15th, 2017:

 

June 15th, 2017:

Jaywalkers! The orange hand is flashing, which means I have the right of the way...

I'm amazed people making a left turn in this intersection don't rear-ended stopping for jaywalking pedestrians...