Fixing The Boo Boos

Poor old Dodge. Our best buddy and tow vehicle extraordinaire made it through 25 years of his life without any accidents. Then, within a five month period, he got hit twice. Luckily, Gary didn't get seriously injured either time. The first accident destroyed Dodge's left rear corner and several related parts. While the second accident was not as severe, there was still some visible damage and some hidden damage that needed to be repaired to make everything fit as it should. The bottom of Dodge's left front corner was pushed back by roughly an inch and a half. That doesn't sound like much, but it caused the bumper and grille to be misaligned, and the front edge of the driver's door rubbed on the front fender during opening and closing. We counted on Rampart (our parts donor van) to come to Dodge's rescue in supplying the pieces needed to repair all the damage from the rear end collision. And now, Rampart would once again supply the needed parts to repair Dodge's front damage. Just like with the previous repairs, master body technician and our good friend Chris over at Custom Coatings And Restorations, was the man we counted on to get Dodge back in shape. Chris came by our house and helped Gary remove the donor front fender off of Rampart. Gary had already removed Rampart's driver's door to use on Dodge. At the body shop, Chris removed Dodge's damaged parts, and with Dodge on the frame machine, Chris pulled out the lower corner that was pushed back during the accident. He then welded on the replacement fender, and attached the replacement door. Dodge's original lower door hinge was very worn, but a brand new replacement was purchased on eBay. It arrived right on time to be installed with the replacement door. The used parts aren't perfect, but there are no new parts available for old vans like Dodge. Once they are painted, nobody will be able to tell the difference. A paint job isn't going to happen for awhile. In the meantime, Gary is still trying to decide what color Dodge will eventually be. I vote for shiny silver with red accents, so that Dodge and I match each other. Time will tell if my vote counts or not. I'm not paying for the paint job, so I guess Gary will make the final decision. As I write this, Dodge is sitting next to me here in the Green Acres Garage. Gary is getting him mechanically ready for our upcoming camping season. Once all of that is done, and Dodge is wearing Rampart's front bumper and grille, we'll be ready to roll. It's been a long and extremely hot summer, and I'm looking forward to some much cooler weather and some quality time away from home with my two best buddies on the planet. Thanks for checking in. Catch you later!

Fenced In

Hello out there! It's me, your little pal Toaster. Yes, I've been absent from blogging for a LONG time. I apologize for not checking in more often. These summer months here in Florida are GRUELING, and I spend much of my time hanging out with my buddy Dodge, just laying low and trying to stay cool. If you live here in the south this time of year, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. If you don't, and you live in a cool place all year, would you like to adopt me? Before you obligate yourself and say yes, you'll have to commit to adopting Gary and Dodge as well. We're a package deal, you know. Gary doesn't get to slow down as much as me and Dodge during the summer months. Like all humans, there are always lots of things he MUST do. And then there's the endless projects that keep piling up. As much as he would like to complete them all during the couple of cooler months we have here in Florida, there is never enough time. That said, let me tell you about the biggest project of the summer (a new fence), and all the things that needed to be done first in order for that project to happen. Let's start with the overgrown property lines. Sure, Gary trims them from time to time, but cutting everything back far enough to put in a fence is another animal. When it got right down to it, there wasn't only the seventy 50-gallon garbage cans full of small debris that he cut back, but also eighteen small trees that he cut down himself, and another four larger ones that were taken down by a tree service. With all that clearing, there was only one snake seen, and he was a poisonous one. Gary took him out before the snake had a chance to take Gary out. After that, a guy with an AWESOME remote control stump grinder spent a few hours grinding down all the stumps that were sure to be in the way of the fence line. Next on the agenda, twelve loads of fill dirt was brought in. Our property has always been VERY low, but with these latest fill dirt deliveries, monumental strides were made toward correcting that problem. Previously, eighteen loads of dirt were brought in when the garage was built, and another seventeen when the carport was built. So, there have now been a total of forty-seven loads of dirt brought here. That's a BUNCH!!! Next came the tractor work. In three and a half-hours, those twelve loads of dirt were spread in the lowest areas, and the borders of the yard were evened up along the fence line. For the first time since Gary bought this place, there's no longer big ponds of standing water after heavy rains. A few days after the tractor work, it was finally time for the installation of the new fence. I'm glad that Gary didn't have to do the installation himself. He hired professionals, and all he had to do was to write them a BIG check. Previously, there had only been a four foot fence across the front yard, and nothing on the other three sides. The old fence had MANY rotted wooden posts. Now we have a six foot chain-link fence around the entire yard, all 800 feet of it. There is a sixteen foot gate in front of the garage, and a fourteen foot gate on the concrete driveway on the south side of the house. The new fence was placed about two feet behind the old fence across the front. That provides room to get a vehicle completely off the street when the gates are closed. With the old fence, if the gates were closed when Gary came home, whatever vehicle he was driving stuck out in the street until he could unlock the gate and pull into the yard. There were more close collision calls from passing vehicles than I can count. Gary finally got around to taking down all of the old fence this week. The only thing left to do is to remove the old four-foot gates across the concrete driveway, and that's easy. Just a few bolts and it's done. There's an advantage to having all this dirt in the yard right now. Gary's mowing time is about a third of what it previously was. He has no plans to plant any grass seed. The grass is slowly popping up through the dirt all on it's own. It kind of reminds me of the little hairs that pop up on Gary's bald head. Whoops.....did I actually type that?  On that note, I'd better bring this happy installment of the Adventures Of Toaster to a close, and try my best to become invisible before Gary reads that little dig about him I just typed. Nice chatting with you all. I hope it won't be the last time (HaHaHaHa!!!).