New Gear Day! – The Boring Old Man

A New Ride, A New Project, A New Adventure…

Today I’m writing about my “new” truck, just purchased a few weeks ago, finally “officially legal” per California SMOG requirements (a bit of an ordeal!) with a transferred title and insurance coverage!

Fair warning, I’m gonna nerd-out a bit here… If you’re not a “car guy/gal” or a gearhead, you might wanna pass on this one…lest you be bored to tears.

OK, where to start… For the last few years I’ve been driving a pretty nice SUV, but it’s a little long in the tooth (model year 2000), expensive to maintain (if you’ve ever owned a European car, you know of what I speak!) and parts are becoming obsolete, making it even more expensive and difficult to maintain. But it fit the bill at the time, it was a steal actually, it drives great and still actually looks pretty darn good for being 24 years old with 142k on the odometer. However, it needs brakes, it needs tires, there is a weird electrical gremlin causing an intermittent tail light malfunction… and frankly it doesn’t fill my needs in my new job, not to mention I was looking for rooftop baskets to hold camping gear and such because it is lacking storage space. The bottom line is I don’t want to sink any more money into this old rig, knowing I wanted to replace it with something more suited to my current needs. The hunt began in earnest a few months ago.

I got a little methodical (and obsessive) after determining the criteria:

1. Pickup truck, minimum 6′ bed, 4×4

2. Capable of towing

3. Something common enough to have parts readily available and strong after-market support.

4. Cheap enough that I could pay cash, but could be driven away.

5. Something “simple” that I can work on myself.

After much searching on Craigslist, researching forums and YouTube, I decided to find myself a GM GMT400 model – Chevy and GMC trucks produced from 1988 – 1998. Currently known as an “OSB” (Old Body Style) amongst the rabble.

Now, I have some experience with these trucks… My father owned a couple over the years, a company I once worked at as their fleet manager (amongst other titles!) had a several of them and I had a ’97 GMC Yukon for a while that was built on the same platform, just in an SUV format, rather than a pickup. So I knew these trucks pretty well and had a good idea of what I was getting myself into. I’d driven half a dozen of them, at least, and wrenched on as many, if not more. This was it, a decision was made. Now to find one!!

There are still a bunch of these trucks on the road, but surprisingly few for sale (make of that what you will). Of the ones for sale, they were either clapped out, beat up old work trucks OR exorbitantly expensive (I found a few asking between $17k – $25k!)

Then it happened, a UNICORN appeared! I found a 1999 Chevrolet K1500, Z71 package, extended cab with a short bed, in BLACK no less!

Now you might be saying, “you said from 1988-1998”, and you are correct. What I didn’t know going into this search, was that ’99 had “carryover” models. So it is essentially a 1998, but initially registered as a 1999.

I may have overpaid at $4k, but considering what was in the marketplace, I honestly don’t think I could have found a better base to build my “forever truck” from. My research tells me these “OSB” models are skyrocketing in value these days, so the same truck might have cost me another grand or two had I waited another year to pull the trigger. And it is loaded – all the creature comforts you could want in a truck, but it’s still an actual truck.

As an aside, my all-time favorite truck is the GM 1967-1972 model, and ten years ago you could pick them up for a few grand… Now I’ve seen guys asking $6k for one with NO motor, NO transmission and rusted out rocker panels and cab corners… A nicely restored one runs $25k-$40k. A fully customized rig could run you close to 6 figures… So not only can I not afford one of those, they are way more of a commitment than I can make for a full on restoration at this time of my life.

So the OSB it is! Honestly, after the ’67-’72s, the “OSB” models have been my second most favored truck since they were released. I do like the Ford F-series trucks from the early 2000’s too, but I think in the long run, I’ll be happier in the GM, it just suits me. I did have a 2001 F150 once upon a time, and I liked it, but even 6-7 years ago it was getting hard to find parts for it because there were so many changes made to the Fords every couple years.

My new truck has SUPER high mileage on it (301k!), BUT it had the transmission rebuilt about 100k back, the positraction rear-end was recently rebuilt, it’s got a new AC compressor, a new AGM battery and a newish high output alternator. It’s got an aftermarket stereo with Bluetooth, a lumber rack and a tow hitch with electric brake controller. There is even a hardwired DC/AC inverter installed in the cab, so I can charge my laptop or tool batteries from the comfort of the driver’s seat! And most importantly, it starts right up with no nonsense and runs like a top.

Now, it’s far from perfect… The steering is REALLY sloppy. Maybe it just needs a new steering shaft, maybe a new steering gear box… It has nearly new AT tires on the front, but the rears need replacement. The new tires are an odd size and not what I would have picked, but I’m going to throw on a pair of matching tires in the back and when they wear out in a year or two, replace the full set with the proper size. The brakes are a little “soft”… not horrible or dangerous, but they could be better. The body has a few dings and scratches, nothing major, but it’s clearly lived it’s life as a truck!

Other then that, it’s more or less good to go. Not that I’m gonna stop there. No-sir-ee!! I’ve got BIG plans for this rig!

A quick walk-around

I priced out a 2024 Silverado, similarly equipped and it was about $55k. I decided my budget for this build would be 50% of that cost. Minus the initial purchase price, that leaves me with a build budget of $23.5k. FWIW, the sales tax ALONE would have been more on the new truck than what I purchased th ’99 for. And my annual registration will be a tiny fraction of what a new one would be. I know several guys with new, expensive trucks that have to shell out over $1k annually for registration here in CA, mine should be between $200-$300 per year.

The puzzle is how to make this an “all-in-one”, does everything I need rig? I need this truck to be ready for:

Daily driving, construction materials hauling, off the beaten path surf destinations, camping trips and hauling musical gear around. Oh, and it must function as a mobile office. Off grid and self-contained. AND, I want it to look good while doing it! No small feat.

I’m a fair-to-middlin’ mechanic and pretty well equipped with tools and whatnot, but I live in an apartment with no garage (and a picky landlord!) so this is going to be a SLOW process. My B.I.L, Captain Karel, has been cool in the past letting me take over his driveway on weekends for mechanic work and I may be able to sneak in to my Pop’s shop on weekends for some of the necessary cleanup/cosmetic work, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do at home, unfortunately.

Now that the smog check thing is done (it was an ordeal, but thankfully now complete for only $120) and it is registered and insured I’ve started shaking it down to see what’s what and what the priority of needs is. Then the FUN starts!

After some initial preventative maintenance and a good scrubbing inside and out, the first big project I want to tackle is removing the rear seat and building in a custom storage box that matches the interior (part of the mobile office setup), and then some cosmetic stuff. The truck is lousy with chrome plating and I’m not a fan… A new black grill is in order, removing the wheel arch trim, etc. The chrome bumpers will go when I’m a little more flush with cash.

But yeah, I’m really excited about this new adventure. I hope to build the truck of my dreams and drive it ’til I can’t drive anymore! Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tools of the (New) Trade

My new job is VERY different from my old one, although there are a great many similarities. In an odd way, it was the skills I learned as a youth and young man working in “the Trades” that got me several Director titles, but the higher I went up the ladder, the further away I got from the very things that put me there in the first place!

When I took my first facility manager job, back in the late 90’s, the entire crew was me. Sure, I had HVAC contractors and electricians come in from time to time for big jobs, but the day to day work was very hands-on. Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall and painting, roof repairs, data systems – you name it, I did it. From there, every new place I worked had an in-house crew for me to manage and while I still did some actual hands-on “real” work, my time was spent more and more on accounting and payroll, HR issues, ordering materials, dealing with bureaucrats from all levels of government, permits and performance reviews… blah, blah, blah. I had no ambition, desire or frankly, talent for any of that stuff. No love for it, certainly. At my last job, I don’t think I picked up a tool more than once or twice in 6 YEARS!!

Now it’s a whole new world for me and I found that I had to re-gear. My new role is a big mix – I still “manage” and I do a lot of customer service type stuff – meeting with clients, working with the sales people and such, but I also get to be hands-on again, which has been fun. I’m not actually building, but I’m the guy to go in “after the fact” and take care of the little detail things that may have been missed during construction.

The tools are basic, BUT since I’m going into high end, finished homes, I need to be neat, organized and clean. At the same time, I need to be very mobile, and more-or-less self contained. And still be able to carry my laptop and some hard-copy files with me… An unusual situation for me!

I started with this bag as my foundation. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08SCP9112?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

This was the only tool bag I found that had a laptop sleeve in it, decent reviews and didn’t (completely) break the bank. I’ll run it for a few months to check it’s performance and do a product review down the road if warranted.

First, I did a necessary mod to the bag. I do this with just about everything – I don’t believe I was born to be a billboard… If companies started making QUALITY products with NO visible labels, I’d be a customer for life, but I digress…

Now that the bag was ready, I needed to get my tools easily identifiable, since I work with a dozen tradesmen and things tend to disappear in those type of environments. Not that they’re dishonest, tools just have a way of getting mixed up and disappearing on job sites – ask me how I know! I used to engrave my initials on all my tools, but this is hard to see from across the room, or if something gets dropped into the bottom of the wrong tool box…

Once the paint dried, it was time to get loaded up! The paint isn’t pretty, it’s for positive ID purposes only. I just made sure to mask off all moving parts and anything that might mar a finish if it rubbed up against something.

Now, as an aside, this here would make a pretty good “homeowners” tool kit. Nothing fancy or complicated or expensive. A few of these items I had lying around (and if I’m being honest, I could have filled out this entire kit from what I already had, but I didn’t want to spend half a day digging through my ministorage unit to find it all!) and there are a few items not yet in the bag (battery drill and bits and a few other odds & ends) but what you see in the pic will take care of the vast majority of “simple fixes” around the house and excluding the bag, I don’t think I spent more than $200… And honestly, I probably won’t use more than 50% of the contents the majority of the time. I believe in being prepared, but I also don’t want to lug 40 pounds of unnecessary tools around with me all day, so I may scale this back once I get into the swing of things.

In my old life I was used to having a large toolbox at my side or a fully loaded van and a massive tool bag of specialty tools for whatever trade I was in at the time, so this is a little weird to me!

But in this new life, I think this is gonna be just what I needed!

Now I just need to figure out the whole “mobile office” thing… While I never liked being “tied to a desk”, not having one at all (or power or wifi or the usual accouterments of office life) is another challenge in and of itself!

If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!

Thanks for stopping by!

Persistence Pays Off!

Just shy of a year ago, I lamented in a post about putting off what you need for so long that the item is no longer available. We’ll, in my case it wasn’t something I needed, just something I really, REALLY wanted.

Well, I’m happy to say that after 50+ weeks of relentless hunting and several strikeouts, I’ve finally obtained my unobtanium guitar!!

At Christmas I was convinced that I was never, ever gonna get my hands on one of these beauties, and came very, very close to pulling the trigger on an alternate. The thing was, this guitar WAS my alternate in the first place! And I’ve dreamed of owning a guitar like this since about 1982! Anyhow, thankfully I talked myself out of it and just a couple short months later I found THE guitar I wanted – used, but you’d never know by looking at it! And the best part is I picked it up with a factory hard-shell case (a pricey option!) for less than the guitar alone would have cost me a year ago, had they not been discontinued. Small blessings! So yeah, I had to hunt for a year but in the end I saved over $300, not too shabby!

It’s not very often that I’m the recipient of “good luck”, so I’m really relishing this moment.

Now I need to start practicing!

Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, Happy Day!

I’ve been waiting for this for a very, very long time and it’s finally here! Left handed Fender “Players” Jazz Bass!

I had a Jazz bass copy a decade or so back, but it was right handed and in a really ugly finish, so in one of those times in life where I needed a little extra to make rent I sold it off cheap on Craigslist.

I’ve wanted a lefty bass forever, and finally bought one a month ago, but when it showed up, it was a lefty body and neck, but strung as a right handed bass. D’oh!

After learning it would cost me more to have it setup back to a lefty by a luthier than a new one would have cost me in the first place, I returned it.

As luck would have it, shortly after I returned the bunk bass, I found this one listed as a demo model, and it only cost me $30 more than the used (and useless!) bass I returned! When it showed up, it was in the factory box, with all the paperwork and it still had all the protective plastic wrap stuff on the tuners and pickups, etc. So yeah, basically a BRAND NEW bass for the price of a used one!

This was the “last piece of the puzzle” I needed for launching my self-produced music in my little home studio, so now it’s time to hole up in there and let the creative juices start flowing!

Feelin’ like a kid on Christmas morning right now!

Thanks for reading!