Off season Aspen projects have begun

[Aspen500]

Guess I'm not doing too bad in the grand scheme of things. When I hear of all the problems other guys my age, or even younger, are having, some pain is minor. What always kind of scares me is when guys my age, who are seemingly healthy, all of a sudden drop dead for one reason or another.
If it will ever stop raining, I really need to take a ride in the Aspen. Not only to check how the new shocks work but also for my sanity, lol. There is no better mood enhancer than that! Trust me, my mood needs enhancing. A little sunshine wouldn't hurt either...........................Not sure if I remember what the sun looks like though, it's been so long.

 

[barbee6043]

A ride in any of my old Mopars puts a smile my old face!! Even a slant one!!

 

[Aspen500]

Well, a ride in the car did put a smile on my face! At long last Eos, the goddess of dawn, allowed Apollo to ride his golden chariot into the now clear blue sky and everything dried up very nicely. Weird, the stuff you remember from high school like Greek mythology. The important things, not so much, lol.
As for the new shocks, all I can say is:

 

[XfbodyX]

Thats great on the shocks, not a shock though! that it rides better. Its rare a marketed firm ride/performance shock is also the goto comfort ride shock.

Not sure godess of dawn, Apollo, Greek mythology? What in high school covered that? I dont recall any of that myslef, but its been a while.....might want to get a water sample checked . Our extreme in high school was Spanish class which I did not take.

 

[Oldiron440]

I think it's bad cheese, Wisconsin you know.

 

[Aspen500]

Sorry, not a huge fan of cheese so it can't be that and Rib Mountain municipal water passes all the tests with flying colors every year. I really don't remember what class the Greek mythology was in. Most likely in a history class. Ares the god of war, Aphrodite the goddess of love and one of their sons Eros the winged cupid of love and pleasure, Zeus the father of Apollo up on Mt. Olympus............Sure, I remember that crap but put an algebra problem in front of me and you'll get a confused stare. It's odd because I remember my dad with a 2 page algebra equation (electrical engineer) with an answer at the end. I would look at it and say "huh?". Even with him teaching me and after school one on one with the teacher, it just wouldn't sink in. Oh well. Yeah, it's been a long time since I graduated in 1982.............But I drift and digress.

Chalk it up to me not doing my research way back when on shocks. I didn't know the Gas-Ad-Just shocks were way firmer than stock. Otherwise I may still have bought KYB's but used the Excel-G (I think they're called) instead which are supposed to be similar to stock. Actually, I didn't know that until just recently when people on this site mentioned it and THEN I did the research. Live and learn as they say, whoever the hell "they" are.

 

[Aspen500]

Now,,,,,,,,,,back to the luggage compartment. Other than a panel for the underside of the deck lid, it's pretty much done except,,,,,,,,,nothing is attached. Checked Hobby Lobby, Michael's, etc for HD Velcro and all I found was packs of 2" x 4" strips. Hmmmmmmm,,,,,,,,,never thought to check Menard's. Bingo! 15' x 2" role of adhesive back Industrial Strength Velcro in stock. Who'd of thunk it? Probably everyone but me.

Once I get over there to get some, it's Velcro city to get everything secured. Still need to get me a donut spare but that's minor. There's a 2003 Crown Vic behind the shop waiting to go on it's final journey (frame rotted, left lower control arm not hooked to anything) I should check and see if it's got a mini-spare and swipe it, with permission that is.

 

[jasperjacko]

How's your ride ht. after the shock change?

 

[Aspen500]

It didn't change much, if at all. The front is MAYBE 1/8" lower. From the floor to the fender lip, through the CL of the wheels the front was 26 5/8", rear 29". After the shock change, front is 26 1/2" and rear is still 29". Same height, MUCH nicer ride, which means much nicer to drive. Now, if it would EVER stop raining all the time and/or looking like it could rain at any second, I'd be able to do a longer evaluation.

I checked the trunk of the above mentioned junk '03 Crown Vic at work for a mini spare before the salvage yard came to get it and,,,,,,,,,,full size wheel and tire, darnit.

 

[Oldiron440]

If you have a limited slip I don't know why you would want a space saver spare.

 

[Aspen500]

Because a full size won't fit in the space, is why. I do need to make a piece to hold the center of the panel under the rear deck up in the middle yet, along with secure everything but the space for the spare is just only so big and, the cover I have is for a mini-spare. The space saver spare from a CV is right around the same diameter as the rear tires so, I'm not worried about the Sure Grip. Besides, when was the last time you got a flat tire? I've owned my Dakota for 21 years and the spare's never been used. I crank it down every so often to lube the winch and cable, just in case I do ever need it but, the tread has never touched pavement.

 

[Ele115]

Flats are rare for myself or my wife. I check tyres at least every time I wash the car or once a month, depending on what is driven and I do find screws or something which I then have to use a safety seal on. I keep the inflation up too, including the spare although TPMS will tell one of us if there is an issue. I would really love for them to push for TPMS for heavy truck though. It's beyond me why truckers cant have this technology. MOST flats can be prevented. I think my last was in Georgia about 15 years ago some hunters got my RR tyre with a rifle round near Calhoun. That one went flat QUICK.

 

[BudW]

I have a ’96, '96 and a ’02 Minivan mini-spare. Both fit without issue onto an FMJ differential – but tread is close to the spring (not enough to cause an issue).

The odd part is the ’96-00 Minivan wheel (and mini-spare wheel) will not fit onto a ’01-06 Minivan or vice-versa (wheel or mini-spare). Both hit the brake calipers in different locations.
BudW

 

[Aspen500]

Certain year mini-van spares will bolt on but as you said, the offset of the wheel is odd. That's why I'm after a Crown Vic spare, the offset of the wheel isn't as severe so the tire itself would be farther out. Then again, the number of times I've gotten a flat on the Aspen in the past 32 years is exactly zero. Last time I got a flat that needed a spare was my '70 Barracuda waaaaaaaaaay back around 1982 and that was mostly because, as a high school student, I had crap tires.

 

[Aspen500]

I'm going to try everything in my power to finally get that gosh darnit gas cap painted today. Kind of windy out so, it may or may not happen. Yeah, I could do it in the garage if I took the Aspen and Dakota out but that's a lot of dicking around, and I'm really tired from work last week. Typical Saturday, all I want to do is nap and lounge around after working my rear end off the previous 5 days. What's the saying? The mind is willing but the body is weak? Something like that...... To be honest, the mind isn't all that willing today either.

 

[Aspen500]

About time, right? Once the clear is cured, I can put it together and finally,,,,,on the car.

 

[XfbodyX]

How much did you have to mix to spray that?

 

[Aspen500]

It wasn't much. The bottle I mixed it in is graduated in milliliters, and I mixed about 90ml of base and clear ( roughly 3.5 oz). Only used maybe 20ml of each.

A secret. I used one of those Preval sprayers. Figured I'd give it a shot since they're cheap (about $4.50) and if it didn't work, a gas cap is easy enough to sand down and do over. Turns out, it worked fairly well.

 

[Aspen500]

I like this way more than that aftermarket chrome cap the car has had for at least 32 years. The painted one looks more "right".

View attachment 35570

 

[80mirada]

That looks perfect