This post really doesn't have anything to do with me, but I promised I would let you know about the latest happenings here at Green Acres, so here it goes. As you're well aware if you read my blog very often, my best buddy Gary is just about as crazy about old Dodge vans as he is about vintage (that's a more elegant way of saying old) travel trailers. There's eight travel trailers here including me, and the van population is beginning to catch up. As of today, the seventh van to join the fleet arrived via flatbed tow truck. It's a sad example of a van, but some of my trailer relatives here aren't any better. We are what we are, right? Gary somehow sees beauty and value in a lot of things that most other people would quickly discard. That's why most of the trailers and vans here can call Green Acres home. It's kind of a safe haven for the sad and neglected. I'm EXTREMELY fortunate to be one of the ugly ducklings that got saved from death by my visionary bestie. Like most of the other two-wheeled and four-wheeled residents here, this van was found on Craigslist. I've watched Gary correspond with the owner on the computer for several days. They finally agreed on a time to meet up, and the rest, as they say, is history. I've heard so much about this van in the last few days that I had a dream last night about what to name him. He's a RAM van, and he'll be used for PARTS, so the name RAMPART popped into my head. Gary liked the name when he heard me mumbling it in my sleep, so the name was a keeper. Rampart has a good engine and a relatively new set of tires. He's a 1992 model, the same year as my other bestie and tow vehicle Dodge, so interchangeable parts between the two may be helpful in the future. Rampart had a pine tree fall on him recently, and that heavily damaged his roof and windshield. He's driveable, but neither safely or legally. That's why his previous owner was selling him, and for a super cheap price. Gary has a wild idea about putting Rampart's 3.9 litre V-6 engine into his old 1965 Dodge A-100 van that currently doesn't have an engine of it's own. With all the pending projects around here, I'm not sure that will ever happen. But it doesn't hurt to dream, does it? Dodge hung out with Rampart for awhile today. They reminisced about the good old days at the Pillette Road Truck Assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, where all of the "B" Series vans originated from. The factory has since been demolished. Sad. Rampart knows his time is limited, but we will all try to make him happy while he's here. And being a parts donor, he will live on for many years to come. Welcome to Green Acres, Rampart.
