Down Memory Lane, Lurching I Go, Again ... Part 5

 Just a few more memories of 10 weeks in the Eagle Mts., 1978.  I was there to do fieldwork for my Master's Thesis, but personal "life experiences" the following year knocked me off-track for a while.  Despite that, I enjoy the memories of adventures in a vehicle that I would own for 10 and 1/2 years.  (And I still miss that old truck during times of nostalgia.)

Figure 1.

After a year and a half in grad school and some "normal" four-wheeling, I had no idea what awaited me in the Eagle Mts., as far as challenges go.  Prior to getting this 1976 J-10, my Dad gave me lessons on driving with a manual transmission and advice on dealing with the higher center-of-gravity.  (My first car had been a 1970 Pontiac LeMans.)

My Dad got a good deal on this truck from the local Pontiac/Jeep dealer, as they were clearing out the 1976 models.  Despite being a little underpowered at highway speeds, with the 256 cubic-inch "inline 6" engine and 3-speed manual transmission, it seemed "geared well" for off-road usage.

It had skid plates under the oil pan, transmission, and the 19-gallon gas tank (and I made use of those skid plates a few times).  It had no air conditioning, but as I was still young, that wasn't as much of an issue.  An advantage was that the lack of A/C made for less engine-compartment clutter, making maintenance easier, which I would appreciate later.

After we added the camper, we installed the roof hatch, indoor lights, a sturdy toolbox on the right side, plywood on the floor, and carpeting, it was to be my "home" during fieldwork and travels.  In a late-1977 visit home, prior to the Eagle Mts. fieldwork, my Dad and I installed a sliding rear cab window to allow passage between the cab and camper.  (I am eternally grateful for his support and assistance.)

For my long-distance commutes between GA & TX, the final touch was adding a CB radio (it had the basic AM/FM radio), to keep up with road conditions.

One bit of prep missing was practice in shifting from 4x4 High Range to 4x4 Low Range for the really challenging sections of mountain roads.  If memory serves me correctly, in 4-wheel drive, you had to be coasting in neutral at 5 - 7 mph (or something like that) to make the shift.  So you had to plan carefully.  

For those that haven't had the "fun", with a manual transmission, you have 3 pedals for your 2 feet to operate.  If you stalled-out on a steep mountain road in High Range, getting restarted and moving forward was quite the worrisome experience.  (I think these experiences were the genesis of some of my later phobias.)

"Normal" driving in the Eagle Mts. was grinding around in first gear, 4-wheel-drive, at 10 mph.  There was one stretch of road, perhaps 1/4 mile long, where I could shift into 2nd gear.  The weeks of hitting normal bumps and half-buried cobbles, ruts, and gully-crossings took their toll.

A quick summary of the toll taken by the rough roads, over the Summer of 1978:

• One flat tire, one cut-sidewall (needing replacement).
• Two broken engine mounts and a broken transmission mount (discovered at the same time).
• Carburetor components loosened by vibrations (leaking gas).
• A lost right-side mirror and radio antenna.
• nough brake fluid lost that my pedal went to the floor on a steep, downhill slope.  (Pumping it brought it back.)  I always carried containers of "vital fluids" in my toolbox, as well as tools and a small "bottle" hydraulic jack.
  

All in all, the truck got me around and back home each time. Another cropped up a couple of years later.  The water pump gave out and fixing it cost about $200 in parts and labor.  When it happened again a year later, I had a repair manual by then and decided to do it myself.  It took 3 hours, but it saved money and gave a sense of accomplishment.  

From then on, like clockwork, once a year, it would happen.  I learned to listen for a particular extra "whirring" sound and I carried an extra water pump, water, antifreeze, and tools.  I gradually learned tricks and shaved the time down to 30 minutes the last time I did it.

I kept that truck until mid-1987.  After getting married in 1984 and adopting a baby girl in late-1986, there just wasn't a safe place for a car seat in the cab.  [In middle-1981, I had purchased a used 1981 Datsun long bed pickup for traveling and had equipped it with a camper, also.]  I traded both in on a 1987 4x4 Jeep Cherokee for the continuation of my fieldwork near Aden Crater.

BTW, I had my biggest mechanical scare with the Jeep truck, the last time I took it to Aden Crater.  Leaving the parking area on the slopes of the shield volcano, after bouncing over a rough lava flow, I heard a loud "clunk" from the engine compartment.  I turned off the engine and opened the hood.  

The battery had come loose from its clamp and had fallen against a pulley, which cut into the casing and sprayed battery acid "all-around" the engine compartment.  I quickly clamped it back in and prayed it would start.  The sun was low in the western sky and it was a long walk to the only ranch house in sight and we had no idea of how they greeted strangers at dusk.

Thankfully, it cranked and got us back to the edge of town.  We stopped at a convenience store to see if it would crank again (it didn't).  The damaged cell had drained completely.  We called somebody to pick us up and I got a new battery the next day.

A chapter was over.  Over the years, that truck had taken me from Phoenix to Atlanta to Ottawa and Montreal, through mountains in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, and Georgia.  I hope it continued to have "a good life" and served others well.  In the words of Neil Young, "Long May You Run".

[I used to think that if I ever won a REALLY BIG lottery prize, I would hire a Private Investigator to research the VIN, and if it still existed, go and buy it back.  Dreams, dreams.]

[A few more stories and References, tomorrow.]