I still drove the truck a lot, but didn't have something that I could take on longer trips and not worry about anything breaking. Even though I was still a senior in high school, my parents were looking ahead to when I started college. My girlfriend at the time had a Civic, and after driving that a couple of times, I decided that I really liked the little car. My dad found a 2013 Civic at a dealership near his work, and so we test drove it. About a week later, I had a reliable car to get me where I needed to go when my trucks were down.
About a month later, we decided to bring the Dakota back home and fix her up. She had been sitting at a shop for the entire summer and most of the fall because we didn't know for sure what we were going to do with it. My dad decided it would be a good learning experience to pull an engine, so I started working on tearing down the engine bay.
By this point, it was Christmas time! I wanted my truck to stand out a bit, and since the paint is crap, I didn't care about taping some Christmas lights on the truck. I ended up getting a lot of compliments, and a few looks of disdain
On Christmas morning, the one tool I needed, that I didn't have, showed up under the tree. This engine hoist has been one of the most useful tools that has ever been given to me.
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Christian Carpenter
1963 C10 -
Frankentruck 283, Muncie 3 speed with overdrive
Overdrive wiring here
1963-ish truck bed trailer -
Half-Wit
1981 C10 -
Penny 305, th350 --> Soon to be 350, Saginaw 4 speed
1995 Dodge Dakota Sport
"I'll put it simple: if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right." - Doc Hudson