Category Archives: Cars & Trucks

Spare engine block for Jeep

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I took the Jeep to Cruise Night where hundreds of (mostly) old car and truck enthusiasts gather to see and be seen. My friend Paul introduced me to Bob who finds/buys/sells old Jeeps and Jeep parts. Bob and his wife were on their way home (Colorado) from a Jeep gathering in Ohio where Bob purchased an old engine block.
As fate would have it, just the engine block I’d need if the tiny crack in my block (see image below) made the Jeep un-drivable.

So I bought it for $100 and will keep it in the Annex as Cosmic Insurance against my current engine blowing up.

Fast food run in the Jeep

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I’d love to know what the designers of the Jeep had in mind with the fold-down windscreen. Perhaps easier to carry more equipment or people?
Barb got her first ride in the Jeep today.

I’m still getting used to just how small the Jeep is.

And here’s the boy with his new toy, decked out in his anti-tick treated wood clearing outfit.

Chevrolet 3600 (Advanced Design)

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“The Advance-Design is a light and medium duty truck series by Chevrolet, their first major redesign after WWII. Its GMC counterpart was the GMC New Design. It was billed as a larger, stronger, and sleeker design in comparison to the earlier AK Series. First available on Saturday, June 28, 1947, these trucks were sold with various minor changes over the years until March 25, 1955.” (Wikipedia)

High tech car theft: Relay attack

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A friend of mine had had his truck stolen recently while on a business trip to Dallas. He parked his truck in the parking area of the motel where he was staying. When he came out the next morning, his truck was gone. Obviously stolen. Here’s what the police told him probably happened.

One of the thieves stays close to the vehicle to be stolen with an electronic device that connects to the electronic ignition system. The other thief –armed with a different electronic gizmo– walks up and down the hallways of the hotel, sending out a signal that connects to the electronic key fob of the truck. A signal is then sent to the device in the parking lot, unlocking the truck and starting the ignition. It’s called a “relay attack” and here’s some video of a car being stolen from the owner’s driveway.

The key was probably on a table near the front door so the thief didn’t have to get any closer than the front porch.

My friend asked the investigating officer what could be done to prevent this kind of theft and was told his best bet was a Faraday pouch. Amazon has hundreds of them.