Saturday, September 3, 2016

L.A. Fleet Week

Had good crowds down at the Iowa yesterday. The US Navy has two ships open for tours, and the US Coast Guard has one.

The USS America LHA-6, and USS Wayne E. Meyer DDG-108, represent the Navy, and the WMEC-618 Active is there for the Coast Guard.

Friday was kind of the kick-off day, and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday are expected to draw about 100,000 people for the 3-day weekend.

If you're headed down there, get there EARLY, as parking will be absolutely insane.

As much as I'd like to, I just can't be more active for Fleet Week this year. I'm under the gun to get the Supra finished by next weekend so I can get the front and rear ends aligned, and have some "shakedown time" driving here to make sure she'll be ready for the trip to Vegas.

The strut from the right side of the car has now been completely rebuilt, just like the left side, and today I'll pull the Lower Control Arm and get started on it. I would expect the right front to be completed by Sunday evening. Then it's bleed the brakes, drop the car to the ground and do the final torquing of the suspension bolts, and on to the rear.

8 comments:

  1. Good luck with the Supra! And yes, Fleet week is NUTS!!!

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  2. Oh yeah it is!

    The took the entire parking lot in front of the Iowa, and reserved it for the festivities. There's TEN food trucks, a complete functioning Field Hospital set up, and a large, covered table/chair area that looks like it seats 500 or more. The stage is there, and that's where they have the USO Canteen set up at night.

    Oh, and FOUR beer trucks!

    The nice thing is that we just show our Iowa crew badge, and we get waved out of the parking lot for free.

    The right side of the Supra front suspension is going much faster. I'm just about ready to start putting it back together. I pulled the strut, and had it completely rebuilt in ONE day. I pulled the lower control arm out last night, and should have it rebuilt and back in the car this evening.

    It's soooo nice having all the tools I need to do it, along with the experience of having already done it one time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your Supra postings have prodded me to do some minor work on the 86 Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Cleaning emission crap. The brake pedal is getting a little soft. Next up is replacing the master cylinder. Mornings are a little cooler so the "too hot" excuse is wearing thin.

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  3. That or a 1987 Bronco II recently purchased. It needs a master cylinder and shocks. The emission report when tested was flawless, looked like a new vehicle.

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  4. I had to look up what model the Mitsu was....I always remember them as Dodge Rams!

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    Replies
    1. Dodge D-50. Also, briefly, available as a Plymouth Arrow. I owned a 1984 4x4 Turbo Diesel which I wish I never sold. I also owned a 1986 4x2 2.6 Automatic that was wiped out by a tornado in Windsor, CO in 2008. They are probably 80% as good as a Toyota for 50% of the money. Works for me.

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  5. Ah, yes..."Me and my Arrow..." with music by Nilsson himself!

    Tornado in Windor? Well...I grew up in Illinois, so tornados aren't new to me.

    Mitsu used to make some really good products. I think they've lost their way lately, though.

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Keep it civil, please....

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