As I’m not on drop-off and pick-up duty for the kids, I’m able to drive my truck to work most of the summer. It’s not far; it barely even warms up, which is too bad because it really does drive better after about 10-15 minutes. It’s only an 8 minute drive.
But the new tires I put on back in... June(?) have been life-changing. The old tires might have been from 1973, and while they weren’t dry-rotted, they were pretty harsh and generally awful on the road. Oh, sure, the truck still has shocks that also predate President Carter, and bushings all around that are probably more worn out than internet forum discussions on what oil to use. Oh and the brakes need a new master cylinder. Baby steps, you know? I could spend $5k making the truck 25% better to drive, but it works, and I gotta space things out. At least I finally put in the shoulder belts this spring. That way if the brakes fail I’m at least not bouncing my head off the steel dash... right? (JUST KIDDING.... mostly!) haha! [nervous laughter]
Anyway, none of that has stopped the truck from starting every time, and getting me to where I need to be. It’s reliable and simple, and has no electronics, no nannies, no beepers or buzzers, no automatic anything - no radio, no dome light, no door locks. Compared even to my 15 year old daily drive, it’s dead simple. It only has FOUR fuses in the cab. Refreshing.
Currently I can’t drive it in the rain because I need a new clip to attach the wiper arms to the motor. Naturally, the old clip gave up when I was 15 miles from home in the rain. Such is life. I should have that addressed soon. It’s probably the single worst thing that’s happened with the truck thus far.
I’ll miss driving it nearly every day, but I won’t mind getting the E46 moving again either. It doesn’t sit all summer, but it’s the last-choice vehicle most of the time, so it probably could use a good flogging. And maybe an oil change.
Bring on the cold weather!