A lesson in adversity, resilience, and discipline

@erok81
Used that @totalchaos uniball tool today to pop the uniball out of my Silverado UCA

zipped that bish right out and got the new one right it

taking the wheel on and off took longer

 

I need to get one of those one of these days. Knowing my cheap ass I’ll sit there and try to hammer it out for 2 hours.

 

That’s okay, I rewatched the how to use the tool video
And I’m probably gonna redo the job tomorrow to make sure I didn’t over send it with the impact

 

Thankfully mine is a street truck and they’ll probably never wear out.

 

Ooo that was a good one
Probably true tho
Even the one I took out wasn’t in aweful condition

 

Well,
This year has not played out at all how I expected or what I’ve worked forward.

taking a note from British officers during a crisis; I’m taking time to breath through it all.

Spent most of this year either doing some form of medical treatment or appointments and when I wasn’t doing that, I was fighting SSDI suspending my pay because they didn’t get some document from the VA in a timely manor (big surprise)

wasted 6mo going through a lengthy job interview process (because my pay kept getting cut off by SSDI) and doing multiple aptitude test in order to proceed to each additional round of interviews only to be shot out for the position by a previous temp employee.

my Silverado 5.3 had to be pulled after it caught on fire so we put the taco 6.2 in it….
Got another 6.2 for the taco; got 90% of the way to finishing building it and then had family financial problems arise and had to sell the motor at a huge loss.

been trying to offload my dirt designs links to someone who needs them for their project but thus far just a metric ton of tire kickers who want every detail to include shipping info to their location
Only to bail out when they decide they don’t know how to fab or have access to fab


Have had problem after problem after problem in the family hemisphere and just found out today that a new job that a family member had been selected for which would have substantially increased their income and quality of life at work; didn’t exist… HR basically wasted 2mo of transfer paperwork for them to move from one floor to another and the job was not actually going to be open until July 2024 IF AT ALL.

the Tacoma doesn’t seem to be in the cue at the shop
Doesn’t seem like the associated party is interested in working on it and so far my attempts to nudge some info out of them for plans have been unsuccessful.
Additionally in the condition the truck is in, it would be wildly difficult to transport it any long distance and potentially any distance at all since it no longer has front core supports or any internal ribbing in the cab ontop of a motor that hasn’t been touched or looked at since prior to Covid lockdowns.


As it stands
The Tacoma still needs
-Engine
-Transmission
-cab cage
-engine cage
-full back half fabrication
-mounting and triangulation of 4 link
-Full wiring and plumbing
-steering upgrades of any kind






Full bourbon collection of 100+ bottles went up for sale to try and get the show back on the road but thus far the economic decline has flooded the market with people attempting similar financial recovery, so a large amount of time of time has been dedicated to trying to get the collection liquidated but so far it’s been unsuccessful.


Today was just a shit day and I needed to get it out into the air

(this is why men scream from the tops of mountains)


Anywho
Here’s a picture of Nappa lookin like a tank

 

Thank you for posting pics of your dog, (waiting to) building your truck and posting in the ltbs thread

 

I reached out to my friend. He doesn't know any fabricators in kentucky.

I am a civilian myself. But I understand that work has been absolutely crazy for others. So it's good you are here @Caboose117

 

Well damn, I didn’t think I was gonna be moved by a Tacoma build today but here I am. I just spent the last hour and a half reading this entire thread, and I just gotta say holy cow. Sounds like you’ve gone through hell and back trying to get your build done, and I commend you for still going. I can’t wait to hear another update on it… even if that update takes a year or two.

I’m not sure where you’re currently at, but if you’re in central Kentucky anytime before January, id love to buy you some dinner (I’d say a drink but I don’t drink). After reading what you do for vets, and being a vet yourself, it’d be my pleasure. Believe it or not, your story is inspiring. I’ve been thinking about selling my Tacoma to make paying for college easier, but the past hour and a half inspired me to not give up on my dream of building a trophy truck Tacoma. So thankyou, and seriously… if you’re ever in central Kentucky or near Elizabethtown, let me know

 

Thank you.
I was just at Brian tooley racing today in bardstown working on a relationship to build another motor for the Tacoma in the future since the Tacoma will need something hefty to move 40’s
I’m leaning towards a 6.6 L8T

I live in Lexington Kentucky still.
I’ll be at the Brian tooley racing cars and coffee meet on Saturday in my Silverado

we did trunk or treat on Friday and Sunday this past weekend

 

Super fun event this morning, thanks for the heads up on it. I didn’t see your Silverado there but maybe that’s just cause I had to leave early… or maybe I just have bad vision But thanks for the heads up on the event. My niece and nephew loved it!

 

I got rained/fogged out
Made it to the gas station and watched two cars slide through an intersection in the fog and was like… Nah, pass

but I was looking forward to going to that event all week, only hiccup for me would have been it looks like I had way less candy than I needed for that big a show haha.

I think they were planning on raffling off some bourbon I gave them but since I didn’t go I can only see what happened in their instagram story til I drive up there again

 

Well
Transmission and transfer case on the daily just committed suicide

woooooo

 

F

 

Yeah… happy birthday to meeee

 

Please choose junkyard replacement this tiiimmeee.

At least before a built trans...

 

Unfortunately
From the noise I hear
It could be damage to both my trans and engine
So all 3 drivetrain parts may have committed suicide

it drives when everything is bone cold
But it’s slow as fuck

I have a solid relationship with my motor guy so from the motor end this should be okay minus the distance between here and SA TX

I have 3 options from the standpoint of transmission
Junkyard (haven’t found any yet)
Local rebuild (don’t know anyone in lex I’d trust)
have Circle D rebuild it

based on the noise it’s making I’m not expecting good things

 

Car-part shows a few around cky for 3-5k

 

I can fully rebuild for 800whp for 3400

 

Stardate; Captains log;
Entry…. 00????


I’ve woken up on a hostile planet
Covered in frozen water crystals
My puddle jumper won’t power on
Must have damaged a relay in the crash..


Just kidding
Motor has a spun bearing
Trans broke the TQ converter
Need to ship it since it’s non op
1200$ each way 3-5 day transit
And the weather keeps causing setbacks.

I need to hurry up and conclude these repairs
Got some cabin fever and the hostile life forms that inhabit this domicile have become canabalistic in behavior only showing signs of self interest and gratification.

just trying to survive each day lol
But you know what God said
Narrow is the path
Difficult is the journey.

I have faith in God.
I’ll endure.