Throw your car a bone, lately?

General Discussion
1

My car is “man’s best friend” (I don’t do dogs or pets). It serves me well with no complaints.

Over the years, he/she has to park outside half the year facing all kinds of sun and severe weather without any eye (headlight) protection. And being that it’s a senior citizen in “car years” it has developed cataracts. The eye (headlight) lenses have clouded over, not just lately, but several times.

I’ve polished and I’ve sanded, and I’ve used miracle methods to permanently remove the cataracts, but it’s short lived, they return in a few months. The tired old eyes (headlights) were weathered and checked.

Recently the driver side low beam bulb burned out, blinding my best friend in the left eye. I was about to go buy a new bulb, actually 2 (“How far behind can the right one be, I thought?”).

Instead, I rewarded my best friend by logging onto Rock Auto, finding headlights in stock, at reasonable prices (about 100 bucks for the pair with shipping) and placed an order. I ordered late Wednesday with standard shipping and the FedEx guy delivered them before noon on Saturday. They were each in well made boxes, designed to protect them and those boxes were inside a larger box with bubble wrap in it. The outer box and inner boxes arrived totally undamaged! Rock Auto Rocks! I’ve used them many times and I’ve never been disappointed!

The headlight complete assemblies came with new Phillips bulbs, low beam, high, beam, and t/signal/side marker bulbs, as advertised! I carried them to the car and had them installed in literally less than 10 minutes. The whole car looks better! He/she can see, again! And I can see the road!

What bone have you thrown to your daily driver best friend, lately?
CSA

2

Not my daily driver unless I have a home project going but…

Did a polish, wax and Back to Black all over my truck. Combined with the new hood, it looks pretty good from 25 feet.

3

I changed the plugs last week, and adjusted the throttle linkage slightly to obtain a higher tv pressure in the transmission, giving me firmer upshifts, that occur at slightly higher speeds.

4

I, too, am a big fan of replacement headlights from Rock Auto, and have them on my 1999 Honda and 2007 Chrysler van.

Last week the Honda got its summer Michelins back on, and a hand washing. Today its summer wipers, and the Yakima rack for some hoped-for local canoeing any day now.

5

Got me $500 trade in. Think it was about right, hoping it goes to a good home and is happy. Forgot to pull the dream catcher off the mirror, I have a spare, so all is not lost.

6

My cars and the trucks I drove were tools just like the wrenches in my cabinet. Some worked better than others but I have been sentimental about them.

I did refer to one truck as if it was a person when I started a new non union job. They had a fleet of GMC Brigadeers with small V6 diesels (gutless wonders). They worked OK hauling cereal South from Buffalo to central PA, but coming back home with 42,000 of scrap paper you crawled uphill at 15 mph or less. Since I was paid by the mile at a low rate, this was very irritating.

I got back from a trip and told the owner I wanted him to get me a roll of duct tape. He asked why and I told him it was so I could cover the headlights because that truck saw the hills coming and got scared and slowed up before we even got to them.

I will bet most Cowboys in the Old West had horses they hated because they made the job harder but none that they loved.

7

Actually… I am reluctant to admit, that at present… I feel like I’m the shoe cobbler with holes in his soles… The plumber with leaky pipes… The Rabbi who… oh never mind, you get the idea.

I’m not sure, but I think it stems from repairing other peoples machines all day and into the night…

I can only hope that this too shall pass, as it is seemingly, a phase I am going through. Fingers crossed.

** Oh wait… I did just do upper ball jernts, two wheel bearings, a new egr valve and new valve cover gaskets on the Exploder… But I still feel that I am extant in a state of neglecting my machines… I’m not up to my usual level of upkeep… I do know that.

8

OK, now I’m a little irritated. I placed an order Sunday, paid extra for expedited delivery and the schedule is to deliver on Friday. What, are there no roads from UT to Minnesota? Am I in the north woods or something? I suppose with Rock, it depends on where the warehouse is that they are shipping from. Maybe it was in Florida and just a stones throw away. Usually it takes a week to get anything from Rock though to Minnesota.

What the hey though, an extra $100 or so now and then to restore a vehicle to near new condition is well worth it. I ordered a right mirror assembly from them and it was about $60 and a perfect match to the original.

9

Generally., any time I order from anywhere, I use “standard” shipping and don’t upgrade or pay additional for faster delivery. And almost every time I get the item(s) quicker than what was stated, sometimes much quicker.

That Rock Auto order was shipped standard shipping and was supposed to arrive tomorrow (April 29), according to their information at order time.

I no sooner received verification of the order from them and the delivery date moved from tomorrow (Wednesday, April 29) to last Saturday, the 25th! This is typical when I order things. Why would I want to pay extra?

I believe it left Ohio, then to Georgia I seem to recall, but didn’t take long getting to Orlando, FL, and then to Palmetto, FL (near here). It left Palmetto Saturday morning and was delivered by noon.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

10

When I order Acura stuff from either Florida or AZ, it’s a slow boat the other way to Minnesota though. Just gotta allow a week I guess, but I miss not driving to a dealer to just pick the stuff up same day.