Now you're talking!

Wouldn't it be cool to also get the average engine RPM too!

Mini-GTG
 

Looks like things have stabilized here with my mom - instead of moving her to hospice as things appeared likely on Monday, she'll be moving to a skilled nursing facility tomorrow. Once she's safely transported and moved in, I'll be pretty free to do other stuff, so I'm thinking that Saturday afternoon might be a good time to meet up for those that are able - temps should be back up to 50 or so by then too.

I'm proposing we meet in Kernersville in the KMart parking lot at maybe noon or 1. I'm told there is a Starbucks there and some restaurants close by that we might want to use. If I've got the lay of the land right, that's kind of central to those who expressed some interest in participating. If there's another location that works better I'm not opposed to driving and my GPS works.

I'll apologize in advance for the condition of my car - I haven't had a chance to do any cleaning and my presumed valve cover oil leak has gotten worse so the engine is more than a little oily.

Hospice to skilled nursing is a good improvement! Glad things are looking better.

Things have taken a significant turn for the worse, so based on how things are at the moment, I'd anticipate that the prospects for a Saturday GTG are now unlikely. If things change again maybe we could pull something off but it would need to be pretty much spur of the moment.

The car lit right off at 20F this morning, so I'm happy with that.

Dang... I'm sorry to hear.

be strong. I went through this for over a year with my father... the end is hard.

You just take care of Mom. We can have a GTG any time.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

PaulM

Glad to hear your mom is better. If you pass by Vancouver British Columbia let me know would love to meet you & the SL :)

Hope your mom turns out fine! My mom will be 89 shortly, and is also on the opposite coast from me, so I feel for you.

Let me know when you're heading up to the Pacific NW. I and a few buddies in the Seattle area would love to see your diesel SL. (Maybe I'll even have gotten further on my own r129/om602 SL diesel by then...)

The elderly can rally on one or more levels before lapsing backward again. In my experience the combination of skilled nursing home care, or, in-home 24/7 round-the-clock care and assistance is the best one can do. My advise (from personal experience) is to stay close geographically, if at all possible.

We just moved to in-patient hospice at the facility in Winston. Have had two good days but of course everything is day-to-day and even hour-to-hour.

Well, sorry to read this, but I was feeling this morning this be best as more equipped, so even in recovery can assist better.

Yes, with my passed grandmother became hour to hour. But, she chose when to go, the morning after her birthday on 24th of August, at sunrise; she knew she had done what she told us and the doctor's she do back in mid February when they said she only had a few months to live. Man, I am starting to loose my composure...

Sorry to hear about your Moms but , be joyful you're close enough to her to have wanted to go see and tend her..... many are not that close to their Parents .

The trip report is nice too ~ I wish you'd been around when I was fooling with my European Spec. '75 350SLC manual tranny ~ I'da loved to make it a Diesel as the V-8 chewed up my fuel budget badly .

Be well , take it slow , we'll be here whenever .

So sorry to hear about your mother. Hopefully things will improve!

I'm over in Winston-Salem, about 10 minutes from Kernersville. If you need anything, let me know. Tools, parts, a helping hand, etc.

A group of the local MBCA club members are going down to Amelia Island this weekend, but we are having a club get together technical session the next Saturday (March 21) at a automotive detailing shop in Greensboro. If you're still in town, you're more than welcome to join us!

Jamie

Thanks for all the kind words and wishes. Well, the roller coaster just continues to do it's thing, however, now things appear to be on a significant up turn. Mom is eating well, communicative (as much as an advanced Alzheimer's patient can be) The pneumonia is gone, temp is normal, vital signs good and it appears that we're heading to where she no longer qualifies for in-patient hospice, so expecting to return to a nursing home.

So with things stable and pretty much in control here, I've decided to head in the direction of San Diego, but stop off for a few days in the DFW area. That way if things turn yet again, I'm only a day and a half or so from getting back as needed.

I had one interesting development with the car while here. One morning I set out for hospice and within 30ft, the car just stopped. It started right up again, went another 30ft or so and stalled again. Once more I fired it up - same thing. So I nursed it back down the driveway and began troubleshooting. The first thought is always clogged filters and since my fill up here in Kernersville was at a Sheetz station as opposed to the high volume truck stops I normally use on the road. But I have a fuel pressure gauge so a quick check of that showed normal pressure so I was able to rule that out immediately. Next on the list was the shutoff valve. On this car I use a vacuum solenoid to activate the shutoff so I decided to isolate that by unplugging it and capping the vacuum line. Bingo - fired right up, stayed running no problem. So I drove around for a bit with needing to pop the hood to use the manual under-hood shutoff whenever needed. The vacuum solenoid was leaking so every time I fired it up vacuum would slowly build until it eventually shut off. My vacuum line has an orifice designed to bleed vacuum within 8 seconds, so after a short wait, it would start right back up.

My interim solution is to use a long length of vacuum line into the cabin to shut it down. A couple of quick sucks on the hose and it shuts right down. Today I took advantage of the nice weather, and my mom's condition, to run up to Pick-a-Part in Winston and search for a suitable replacement vacuum solenoid. Found one off a Mitsubishi that should do the job nicely. Unfortunately the installation will need to wait for a few days.

So I learned something about working with junk yards in the process. When I went to check out they identified the part as an "EGR valve", which it sort of is, but they also show a "vacuum valve" on their list, which it really is. The former is $10 while the latter is $4. Lesson learned - always tell the nice lady at the counter what the part is, don't assume they'll pick the cheapest for you. (In the San Diego yards they often do).

Unless there is yet another change, it's off to DFW first thing in the morning.

Glad things are better! :D

So, no stop in Arizona? Okay, will get my act together when back in Sandy Eggo. ;)