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Mr. Sharkey
Member
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2007
- Messages
- 30
- Reaction score
- 18
- Points
- 8
- Location
- Minerva, Oregon
- Vehicle Year
- 1987
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.3 liter gas, about to become 2.5 liter turbodiesel
- Transmission
- Manual
Necro Thread revival, the continuation of the story...
After posting the above, the seller became very reluctant and refused to allow me to work on the truck any longer citing the domestic troubles and the husband's medical condition. This continued after he was hauled off a second time for being violent and then committed to a residential memory care facility. I continued to stay in contact with the wife, offering sympathy, and not pressuring her about the truck. Eventually, the old gentleman was put on hospice, and about a month ago, expired, somewhat to the relief of his wife. Again, I decided to wait and allow her to bring up the subject of the truck.
Not having my own wheels was getting to be a bit of a drag, so when a 2007 Lexus RX350 AWD came up at a good price, I bought it so I could at least haul my utility trailer and get up the steep part of my driveway in snow.
Two days after applying for a title for that car and paying for registration, the seller of the truck called and said "Let's talk truck", and gave me her beginning negotiation price.
This afternoon, I went over, put a brass barb coupler in the leaking coolant line, hooked up some jumper cables, and cranked the truck to life. We reached a mutually agreeable price, I paid her cash and received the signed title. Drove the truck the mile back to my place and returned on my bicycle to pick up the RX350.
This truck is going to need some minor work. In addition to the rat damage, there seems to be some electrical gremlins that will need attention. The radio won't work unless the parking lights are on, and none of the radio buttons work, so it is stuck on 530 AM standard broadcast static with no way to adjust other than volume. That I can live with for now. More disturbing is the unusual random small relay clicking under the passenger side dashboard when both doors are closed, even with the key off. Opening either door stops the clicking. I'd be less concerned, but while driving home, the "door open" warning lamp in the instrument cluster was illuminating on and off, accompanied by an annoying electronic chime.
I guess the first thing to repair is going to be the ignition switch. It is so stiff that I have to use both hands to twist it over to "start", and it doesn't spring-return by itself, has to be manually cranked back to "run". The key fits fine, and doesn't seem to be what's binding. Not the steering wheel lock either, from what I can tell. Squirting WD40 into the keyway didn't change anything.
All this plus a thorough cleaning, vacuuming, and having a lot of odd paint scuffs all over the body rubbed out will be needed to get it where I'd like it to be. I'm sure to be creating new topic threads here to address some of these mysterious projects as I get deeper into it.
Oh, and our final purchase price? $2,000. Truck has 34094 miles on it. I was actually trying to get her to take more, but she wouldn't budge, she handed back $500 before offering to shake hands to seal the deal.
Just high-pressure washed. Needs a good hand wash to get off several years of stored-outside grunge, especially from the roof and hood.
After posting the above, the seller became very reluctant and refused to allow me to work on the truck any longer citing the domestic troubles and the husband's medical condition. This continued after he was hauled off a second time for being violent and then committed to a residential memory care facility. I continued to stay in contact with the wife, offering sympathy, and not pressuring her about the truck. Eventually, the old gentleman was put on hospice, and about a month ago, expired, somewhat to the relief of his wife. Again, I decided to wait and allow her to bring up the subject of the truck.
Not having my own wheels was getting to be a bit of a drag, so when a 2007 Lexus RX350 AWD came up at a good price, I bought it so I could at least haul my utility trailer and get up the steep part of my driveway in snow.
Two days after applying for a title for that car and paying for registration, the seller of the truck called and said "Let's talk truck", and gave me her beginning negotiation price.
This afternoon, I went over, put a brass barb coupler in the leaking coolant line, hooked up some jumper cables, and cranked the truck to life. We reached a mutually agreeable price, I paid her cash and received the signed title. Drove the truck the mile back to my place and returned on my bicycle to pick up the RX350.
This truck is going to need some minor work. In addition to the rat damage, there seems to be some electrical gremlins that will need attention. The radio won't work unless the parking lights are on, and none of the radio buttons work, so it is stuck on 530 AM standard broadcast static with no way to adjust other than volume. That I can live with for now. More disturbing is the unusual random small relay clicking under the passenger side dashboard when both doors are closed, even with the key off. Opening either door stops the clicking. I'd be less concerned, but while driving home, the "door open" warning lamp in the instrument cluster was illuminating on and off, accompanied by an annoying electronic chime.
I guess the first thing to repair is going to be the ignition switch. It is so stiff that I have to use both hands to twist it over to "start", and it doesn't spring-return by itself, has to be manually cranked back to "run". The key fits fine, and doesn't seem to be what's binding. Not the steering wheel lock either, from what I can tell. Squirting WD40 into the keyway didn't change anything.
All this plus a thorough cleaning, vacuuming, and having a lot of odd paint scuffs all over the body rubbed out will be needed to get it where I'd like it to be. I'm sure to be creating new topic threads here to address some of these mysterious projects as I get deeper into it.
Oh, and our final purchase price? $2,000. Truck has 34094 miles on it. I was actually trying to get her to take more, but she wouldn't budge, she handed back $500 before offering to shake hands to seal the deal.
Just high-pressure washed. Needs a good hand wash to get off several years of stored-outside grunge, especially from the roof and hood.
