Happy Thursday!

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 08/03/2017 at 09:15 • Filed to: rants

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Last week was a good week in my car world. Just a good week overall, really. I wrote this post up on Friday but got busy and never published it, so here you are:

Thing 1 : I had the rear calipers on my ‘03 bmw 325 wagon replaced at a local trusted independent shop (in 2015). A few weeks ago my wife noticed that one was sticking (I posted on oppo about it actually). Long story short, the shop replaced the caliper for free under warranty. Not just the parts, but the labor too. I can’t hurt, exactly, that the last time they did a job for us they charged what I thought was an extremely fair price, so I showed up with some good beer as a “thanks.” Good vibes both ways. But for an independent shop to stand behind an aftermarket part AND LABOR nearly two years after doing the original job... I though that was exceptional.

* Since writing this originally, I sent a co-worker there for brake work after a dealer told him he needed new rear pads & rotors. This shop said, “nah, you’ve got a solid 50% life in all your brakes. Nothing wrong at this time.” Needless to say, the co-worker was thrilled and said he would 100% be returning there next time he needed anything.

Thing 2 : the retired guy who fixed the tailgate on my truck hadn’t yet decided how much to charge me, after I asked him twice casually. So Friday morning I stopped by and said, “I want to give you some money.” He laughed out loud as he so easily does, hemmed and hawed as we talked about his Model T snow machine he’s working on, and finally said, “OK I want to charge you $200.” For cutting off the bottom 1/4 of my tailgate, fabricating a new sleeve for it, sourcing materials, finishing it, priming and painting it, then fabricating two new mounts/hinges for the truck. This would have easily been $1000+ at a body shop.

Lastly, I traded my ‘61 Ford for a ‘15 GMC 1500 Z71 to tow a boat to Maine over the weekend. What a nice truck, I was really impressed with the interior, and of course it towed very nicely. This is where I spent the weekend with my friend’s boat:

this is the waterskiing equivalent of a powder day, except your tracks disappear every run

My friend is a big waterskier and I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years, so this was a welcome sight. No other boats, 2 miles of open water with not a ripple. I am still sore, and it’s Thursday.

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > functionoverfashion 08/03/2017 at 09:30

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Being a guy at an independent shop, we love getting paid in beer and cookies/baked goods.

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Nooooooooooo! That truck was amazing .

functionoverfashion > Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever 08/03/2017 at 09:48

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... for the weekend! I still have it

Rust and Dust - Oppositelock Forever > functionoverfashion 08/03/2017 at 13:20

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Aah, I misread and got worried.

There’s a soft spot in my heart for old war-wagon pickups, especially when painted in old fire department/department of transportation paint schemes. My grandpa had a ‘74 GMC 4wd in a godawful ugly yellow/greenish and white two tone paint scheme.

Aaand thanks to falling down the Google rabbit hole while looking for a picture of one, it appears I’ll have a 1/24 Revell model of his truck (with correct snow plow rig!) on the way soon.

Nothing > functionoverfashion 08/04/2017 at 09:28

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That is a beautiful canvas for skiing. Is there a course set up there?

functionoverfashion > Nothing 08/04/2017 at 09:30

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Nope, just wide open. There were only maybe 25 boats on the whole lake capable of pulling a skier, even. Only one other inboard. That was kind of the beauty, though, even on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in July it wasn’t busy at all. My lake... I basically wouldn’t try to ski on a Saturday afternoon.

Nothing > functionoverfashion 08/04/2017 at 09:42

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Nice. The water at our camp has gotten a lot older. Where there used to be a lot of ski boats and jet skis, its mostly pontoons that creep out in the evening hours. There are still a handful of Mastercrafts and Nautiques out there though. You can’t make it out in the pictures, but there’s a course set up across the river from us.

Morning:

Evening: