the next morning I rolled out and took this shot of shawn's wagon and my T I got to the show and had a great time slinging art and hanging out with friends all day. the live bands were great. and the go go gorillas were funny. I beat feet back to Travis' because the sky looked like the world was ending, and then me and Shawn took his wagon to dinner at a local burger dive. burgers were delicious. we then proceeded to get ice cream and cruise around Wichita. We found a place that sounded like home, and eventually worked our way back to our garage for the night. Travis' wife Vanessa, had asked for a ride earlier, so when they got back from dinner with their club, I took her for a drive in the roadster. afterwards I couldn't find my hat. I was tired, so I figured I must have set it down somewhere and i'd look for it in the morning. when I got up and out the next day, I went to talk to the guys loading up in the street, and lo and behold guess what I found. I guess it was on the trunk when we left the night before. I loaded up all my junk and after a few stories and a couple goodbyes, I headed for home. I always forget how freaking boring kansas is. I stopped to take photos at the same place I took some last year, in florence at this neat old garage. And then after filling up in emporia, I ripped up I335 to Topeka. but about 20 miles before Topeka I smelled a weird burning smell. I didn't see any smoke, and didn't hear anything abnormal, until I looked at my volt gauge... No bueno. now if you're a veteran of this thread, you will know, this is a recuring theme. The curse of the ****py alternators. SOOOOO I mapped the closest O'Reilly's and made my way there, while watching the voltage go down. once there we found the invoice for the last one I warrantied, and they found that they didn't have that part number. But luckily for me, another store 4.5 miles away had one in stock. So after having him call and verify, I beat feet there, and checked again that they had it before I took mine off. Once I had mine off and on the counter, some of the problems were apparent. there's supposed to be a bearing and a cap there... and a bolt there. at first I didn't dig into the old alternator, knowing it didn't work was good enough for me. then I got the "new" one... when I pulled it apart to re-clock the mounts, I checked the inside, thankfully, and was greeted by a broken brush this probably would have worked, but I wanted to see if there was a better one in my old alternator, so i drug it back out of the box and tore into it. where I then found the reason it didn't work... not only is it worn way down, the copper strap was no longer attached. luckily the other brush looked better than the two broken ones, so I used it. The aftermath: I then put it on the car, fired it up and was greeted by a lovely sight. I then filled up with gas in a sketchy gas station, and proceeded to drive circles through Topeka (remember I said I LOATHE driving here?) I finally hit the road and after a stop in Atchison, just like a few days before, I headed off into the sunset for the last leg home. and right at dark, HOME. I was greeted by big hugs from my girls and then we all went to bed, as I was tired. I had a ton of fun hanging with Shawn, Travis, Vanessa, and all the other people that showed up. another 600+ miles down, and more memories made. next up is gathering at the ROC! . BE THERE. .
This would all be great if only you didn't pamper this thing.... hahahaha!!!! Another couple of great trips in the books. I will miss seeing you in OK
Always awesome hanging with you & Shawn, thanks for bringing the noise,... er... uh... fun to our yard
Good stuff! Given how you're more often than not, overloaded, have you ever thought about rebranding the T to "the Pickup Bed T" and adding a pickup bed? It might fit your way of life just a little better. Just a thought.
The Jalopy Journal
