lying down

Tonight after dinner I asked my SBF if he wanted to come over and hang out. He said he just felt like going home and lying down. I got it. We had an early morning and rode our bikes 30-something miles in rain and WIND and up lots of hills in the gorgeous Texas hill country. But I had no idea THIS is what he meant. (I'm not quite sure what's being investigated ... maybe a plug or something ... ?)

Gia on duty

Don't F with us. The creepy white van is now being guarded by the baddest villain in the land, Miss Gia. Also, SBF got a little excited and pulled out the first row of seats BECAUSE HE COULD. Kinda crazy how easy that was to do.

hubcap hate

I don't know exactly why, but SBF hates these hubcap covers. (I kind of like them, but what do I know.) He says they're gonna be painted black.

junk yard trip #1

Tuesday night SBF went to a junk yard after seeing an ad on Craigslist for a similar van with big front SEATS for sale! WHAT?! He took the seats out -- the plan is to remove the benches from the CWV and put in two more normal seats so we can all ride in style and comfort and SAFETY. He also scored an owner's manual and a big ol' hitch that he is going to bolt onto the back. We need the hitch for the bikes, of course. This was on the priority list so it's a super sweet find. I wish I could have gone to document ... next time!

A/C repair

The repair shop followed this complicated line to figure out the problem with the A/C. I'm not sure what the exact diagnosis was, but for about $500 they can make air blow out of the back vents again. After this fix, I think everything else is cosmetic. Yay!! The FUN STUFF!!

repair estimate

So the car repair shop came back with an estimate for repairs, making the van now cost about double what SBF originally paid for it. $4400 for all sorts of brake work and new latches for the back door. Also, the front calipers were sticking, making it shimmy. Yikes! Apparently this will make it safe for driving down mountain passes. That was a concern of mine. That is always a concern of mine. Even in normal, new, well-maintained vehicles that I have taken on mountain passes. It's one of my strongest anxieties. I have MONTHS to worry over it. And MONTHS to be assured that it will all be JUST FINE. We're waiting to hear back about the A/C.

The initial check list

I offered to take The Van to the car repair shop while my SBF is out of town, and this is the list he sent me with. I don’t think the guy checking me in at the computer was expecting such a long list because he kept asking me to back up. And my list took up 4 little pink sticky notes on his desk. We forgot to mention that the A/C isn’t blowing in the back and needs to be checked, but otherwise I think all the important safety items are covered. This will cost $212 just to evaluate. That will be the first money he puts in, not counting the first 30 gallon fill up after we left the car lot because she was pretty much on E at purchase time.

Change:
-Engine oil and filter
-Transmission oil and filter (if applicable)
-Coolant
-Brake fluid
-Rear axle oil
-Drive belts (serpentine)
-Air filter
-Spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor (if applicable)
-Check brake pads and rotors
Rear axle drive shaft input seal may need to be replaced
-Eval front end bushings/pivots When braking the steering wheel has a slight shimmy as well as at about 50 mph (front end bushings?)
-Rear driver side door cable is detached somewhere. Replace fix as necessary
-Wind shield wipers

Free Candy!

My SBF tried to comment that his van is not creepy. It has too many windows. Too many big, beautiful, untinted windows. He’s right. It’s not that creepy. But what if we wrote “FREE CANDY!” down the side?! Then it’s a little creepy. 

She beeps in reverse

My 16-year-old, who has this crazy obsession with large, old, impractical vehicles (A 1970-something Chevy Blazer, specifically.) was curious to drive the van too. She sat up in the driver's seat and squealed about how this would be like driving HER truck when she finally got it. HER truck might even be higher than this. (She also wants her impractical car to be raised, of course.) By the way, if you have one of those for sale, and it runs well, and you wanna sell it to me cheap, let's talk.

The van was parked under my plum tree in front of the house so I told her to back it up first so she didn't take out the branch or the oversized mirror on the van. I waited for her to do it. I waited for her to HEAR IT. And then OMG she about DIED. "We sound like a GARBAGE TRUCK!" It's so funny. We totally sound like a garbage truck in reverse. "That is SO embarrassing!" I really don't think it's that embarrassing. I think it's hilarious. At least I did think it was only funny until I actually had to put her in reverse in a parking lot with other people around. Then it was a little tiny bit embarrassing. And also a little tiny bit funny.

So she pulled the van out and drove it around the big block like I did earlier that morning. A little girl on a bicycle almost crashed into a stop sign pole staring at us. She looked terrified. We drove by her one more time as we finished the loop and she still looked very afraid. (Maybe this will get us a word on NextDoor?)

I think my big kid kind of liked driving it. I hope she liked it enough to be a third road trip driver. I have a feeling this thing will take longer to travel in and be a little more exhausting to drive. Especially compared to the sweet rides we have that were made in this century ... Heck, this decade ... Heck, these last 3 years ...

I drove her too

Until yesterday I hadn't actually driven her. I got to follow home from the "dealership" in the actual new truck (for the FIRST TIME!) while my SBF drove his new-to-him new van home.

But, there she was, sitting in front of my house, and I was really curious about what it would be like to drive such a beast. I tried the key in the door to unlock her and it was tricky and I thought DANG! I can't even get IN and was about to give up when finally the lock gave a little. Um, this seems like something for the list. Item: Make the door so that we can GET IN THE VAN.

Luckily I remembered that the door key is not the same as the ignition key (even tho they look exactly the same) and was able to get the van started relatively easy. Relative to unlocking the car door, that is.

So finally I drove her slowly through the neighborhood, passing small children riding bikes and throwing footballs and stopping to stare ... I was that lady driving the friendly white van. (I smiled and waved at all of them.) So far no posts on NextDoor about the white van creeping up and down our streets. My neighbors are seriously slacking.

It all started with a craigslist ad ...

I wish I could say something like, "It all started with a craigslist ad...", but I kind of think it started way before that. But for the purpose of this very first post, It all started with a craigslist ad. A craigslist ad and a 1998 Ford E350 15-passenger van with 46,000 actual miles on it. This thing must've done a lot of siting because I have probably walked more than 46,000 miles since 1998. Well, close to that.

Also, I wish I could say she was in pristine condition and stored in a garage all her 21 years, but then she would have been out of budget. (Wait, was there even a budget for a spur of the moment creepy white van purchase?) Instead she has a rusty bumper, a rusty roof, and her insides are not quite perfect, but actually, not too bad either. I kind of really, REALLY like sitting inside her. She's super cool and spacious and has a lot of potential.

The tricky part, I think, is where to start. It could be really easy to just start DOING and CHANGING random things on her, but I THINK I've convinced my SBF to make a list. We need to prioritize. The good/bad is he actually knows how to turn the potential things into real things (He's crafty and clever and can fix helicopters and bicycles and probably ANYTHING.) so it's gonna be hard to HOLD. HIM. BACK.

We're starting with a tune-up. You know, to make sure she can actually get us places without breaking down. Because that seems the most grown up, (most boring) most important thing to do.

In MY head, the second most important thing would be to make sure we have 2 more seats with headrests, because you know, whiplash. Why are all those seats so low? Didn't people get whiplash in the 1990s?