UPDATE: Dan forwarded a pic of his yoke.  Despite grounding the sm420 rib, the yoke still won’t make it by the tranny while spinning.

For the last year, Dan has invited me up to take a look at his project: the rebuilding of his grandfather’s jeep. Well, I finally got a chance to drop by his remote Deer Park, Washington, home.  

As soon as I arrived, my gracious host gave me the cold beer he had promised, a very tasty bottle of Red Hook.  Soon after, his four kids wandered in the garage to see what kind of strange guy would drive all the way to Deer Park to look at a jeep and talk with dad.  Clearly unimpressed, they dashed back into the endless , densely treed property like baseball players from the movie Field of Dreams.

Meanwhile, Dan and I looked over his jeep and we talked about various issues he circumvented.  He said his goal was to build something functional that he wouldn’t be afraid to scratch and dent, so he didn’t sink much time or money into the body.  For example, the rust in the bottom of the body was repaired with some fiberglass and steel from the old body sitting across the driveway.  It was nothing fancy, but sound.  He was concerned it might not be nice enough, but I told him the most important thing is that it satisfied his goals, was solid, and got him closer to exploring backroads.

We also talked about his sm420 tranny. His yoke is hitting the side of the tranny, despite the grinding he has done (I should have gotten a pic of that).  He’s hoping he can find the slightly smaller V6 yoke.  Does anyone have one of those?

While we talked, his wife dropped by to say hello.  We chatted a bit and then she dashed off to finish supper.  Dan noted that he convinced his wife he needed a new garage to work on the jeep  by parking his jeep inside the existing garage.  That seemed to work, so he built a new shop around the jeep project just down the driveway.  It’s a fine man cave, clean, organized, with plenty of light.

I asked Dan to take my picture with his jeep and he kindly obliged.  After which, I left his piece of paradise to head south so I could hang out with my cousin and explore family history. So, many thanks to Dan for a pleasant time.  It was worth the drive!

Here’s yours truly.