Janaury 2010 Trail Head
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Janaury 2010 Trail Head
What Am I Doing? This Is Never Gonna Get Finished!I never learn. Regardless of how many piles of
I bring back from the dead or turn into at least somewhat-competent and questionably-reliable trail Jeeps. It's not that I enjoy torturing or punishing myself, like Hazel conveniently forgetting to wear his helmet while wrenching, or Trasborg finding some way to add yet another AMC 150 feet of wire to a Jeep that originally only had two switches and three wires to begin with. The problem is that I have an active imagination. Pretty much any Jeep that doesn't have rust holes you can drop a bowling ball through has potential to me. When I buy a new-to-me (used) Jeep, I typically have an unrealistic idea of what it will look like, how easy it will come together, and how well it will perform when I'm done building it. Of course, past experience never comes into play; I simply forget about the parts of the build-up that I hate. Things like fitting a radiator that's two sizes too big for the space behind the grille, routing exhaust that wants to take up the same space as some other necessary component like a starter, steering, or a driveshaft, needing the most expensive or rarest part ever made (water pump, alternator, headers and so on) because it's the only one that will fit, plumbing brake lines with 97 bends per foot, or running complex delicate wiring around razor-sharp objects. All of these harsh lessons are simply deleted from my memory until I find myself there yet again. Bolting on a winch has become bumper-building. Simple skid plate installs have turned into slip-yoke eliminator and CV driveshaft upgrades. Spring-over conversions have transformed into complete suspension makeovers. Even something as ordinary as an engine rebuild has turned into a two-wheel-drive to four-wheel-drive conversion. I only think about the fun and rewarding moments. Many times I honestly believe everything will simply bolt together. Or I dream about how it will start on the first crank and how awesome it will flex and climb up and over impossible obstacles. Because of this, I've hit a wall during the build-up of nearly every involved project Jeep I've assembled. It's usually after a long day of reality when things don't work out how I had planned. I'll often sit and look at my blown apart or freshly cut up and smoldering Jeep and think, "What am I doing? This is never gonna get finished!"inline_mediumwraptextright26391671/trail_head/154_1001_january_2010_trail_head_editorial154_1001_01+jeep_build_ups_editorial+frame.jpgTrue
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What Am I Doing? This Is Never Gonna Get Finished!I never learn. Regardless of how many piles of
I bring back from the dead or turn into at least somewhat-competent and questionably-reliable trail Jeeps. It's not that I enjoy torturing or punishing myself, like Hazel conveniently forgetting to wear his helmet while wrenching, or Trasborg finding some way to add yet another AMC 150 feet of wire to a Jeep that originally only had two switches and three wires to begin with. The problem is that I have an active imagination. Pretty much any Jeep that doesn't have rust holes you can drop a bowling ball through has potential to me. When I buy a new-to-me (used) Jeep, I typically have an unrealistic idea of what it will look like, how easy it will come together, and how well it will perform when I'm done building it. Of course, past experience never comes into play; I simply forget about the parts of the build-up that I hate. Things like fitting a radiator that's two sizes too big for the space behind the grille, routing exhaust that wants to take up the same space as some other necessary component like a starter, steering, or a driveshaft, needing the most expensive or rarest part ever made (water pump, alternator, headers and so on) because it's the only one that will fit, plumbing brake lines with 97 bends per foot, or running complex delicate wiring around razor-sharp objects. All of these harsh lessons are simply deleted from my memory until I find myself there yet again. Bolting on a winch has become bumper-building. Simple skid plate installs have turned into slip-yoke eliminator and CV driveshaft upgrades. Spring-over conversions have transformed into complete suspension makeovers. Even something as ordinary as an engine rebuild has turned into a two-wheel-drive to four-wheel-drive conversion. I only think about the fun and rewarding moments. Many times I honestly believe everything will simply bolt together. Or I dream about how it will start on the first crank and how awesome it will flex and climb up and over impossible obstacles. Because of this, I've hit a wall during the build-up of nearly every involved project Jeep I've assembled. It's usually after a long day of reality when things don't work out how I had planned. I'll often sit and look at my blown apart or freshly cut up and smoldering Jeep and think, "What am I doing? This is never gonna get finished!"inline_mediumwraptextright26391671/trail_head/154_1001_january_2010_trail_head_editorial154_1001_01+jeep_build_ups_editorial+frame.jpgTrueRead More | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us
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