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Ken & Ken do the Rubicon
Contributed By: Ken Wetherall
ed. note: I didn't even attempt to show this one to y'all in anything other than its original raging glory.... (grin)
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 15:53:33 -0700
From: SuperKen
Subject: Trip Report...No Survivors :(
yup, thats what i call last weekends trip of myself, 36ken, and my club,
'The Hillhoppers,
to the Rubicon. there were 7 vehicles in r party. NOT ONE escaped a
system failure before,
during or after the trail! I shall begin.
For those of u that r not aware, i drive a 1967 Super Wagoneer with a GM
sb 350ci, th400/d20, detroit locker/pwr loc, 427rp's, SOA, 33 1250 15 on
8" rims.
the trip up was no prob until placerville. i sutained 3k rpm indicated,
and
56-59mph indicated. at placerville i stopped at a 76 station to refuel
and make
a call to my parents. i made the call first, so i parked near the row of
phones.
i completed the call, but the Super would not start, would not even turn
over.
yall might no the sound..early in the morning in late december, the
battery has
only enuff juice to turn the crank 1 rev!!! so i break out the
diagnostic tools, check
all of the fuses, relays, solenoids..nothing. no drop in voltage, no
damaged
terminals, no loose connections. call AAA. he cant jump it..starter wont
turn over
at all. its 2130, iv been here 2.0 hours. in last desparation i remove
the bat conns and re clean, reinstall, and presto!!! it starts! :0. I
go to find 36ken.
he wasent at the campsite we talked about, but i new he was in the area,
so i pulled
into the parking lot and slept in the Super.
next morning at the prescribed time i took up station at the disscussed
rendezvous
intersection. over the agreed opon cb ch, i heard his group call out for
my club;
i answered. over the next hour the rest of the other 5 vehicles met at
the rendezvous
point. in total we had: 2 wagoneers, 1 bronco, 1 M38, and 3 cj's, and 2
dirt bikes.
we headed for the trail start, loon lake entrance. its 0700 or 0800
one mi into the trail, Ray Skillen discovers that the front diff on his
64 cj5 is NOT
providing traction. diagnostics show broken front spiders gears. out
comes the welder
on the m38 and we weld the spders together to make a poor mans spool.
its 1130
half a mi later on asscending flat granite, Dennis Skillen's 52 m38
loses the
bolts that hold his RF spindle to the knuckle. we stop. 100yrds behind
me,
36ken is having carb probs. i respond. BOTH of his motor mounts have
broke, tilting
the motor to the pass side and back against the firewall. we break out
the tools.
some time later, it begins to hail HARD!. the dry granite slabs turn
into great
flowing fissures of water. the depression i am sitting in to give me
more
headroom to work under 36kens wag fills to the depth of 7-9". i get my
rain gear.
we rig up a tarp between the open hoods of 36ken's wag and my Super. we
cant move 36ken's
wag so i have to sit in the puddle of water, my rain gear keeps me dry.
i lost track
of time. it begins to rain and thunder and lighting. the m38 is
repaired. my club
decides to abandon the trail and regroup at a condo near S lake! i
tighten the last bolts on
36kens NEW motor mounts that he had in is 'oh shit kit'. we reverse
course and head out.
9 min later, Dave Lewands 78 cj7 punctures the RR tire. we stop for its
replacment.
36kens front air locker wont DISENGAGE, his PS pump SCREAMS at each turn
of the wheel.
mike in his 79 cj7 has an oil leak near the filter and HIS ps system is
not responding.
we get to the paved road where i fill the tires of both the Wagoneers.
my club tells via
cb that they r on the road headed to the condo. 36ken and i complete the
aire up, and 36ken
returns to his campsite with his group, i head to S lake. 1 mi later, i
over take
my club that has pulled off to the left hand shoulder. hoods r up! i
stop.
the white bronco has broken the coil spring mount on the LF diff. out
comes the welder. but we
manage to park near the only forrest service mosquito breeding ground in
all of the Eldorado
NF. my club arrives at the condo in S lake, its 2330. we pig out on ALL
the food that we had hoped
to eat at Buck ils lake. next morning we do the same with all the
breakfast food.
we all leave at 0900, i arrive at concord at 1330 and call it a day.
--
Sincerely
kenneth e. wetherall If a Wagoneer can go where a
kenns9@earthlink.net CJ can go, then it's a
Super Wagoneer.
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