Finished up the work on the bus yesterday. Some new brake pads, wheel cylinder, carb rebuild, and a Petronix ignitor. It really is amazing what a guy who knows his carbs can do with these things. It’s dialed in so nicely right now. If you remember the trouble I was having originally with the bus stalling when I punched the gas at all, well, that’s gone. It just idles smooth and accelerates right on up the ladder. Love it. I feel like we got really lucky being told about this shop. The guys were awesome to us as a family, and were true to their word with everything. Time and money well spent in Amarillo.
This has nothing to do with the mechanics, but here is a pic of my ridiculous brake light setup as of right now. This is the second switch from NAPA. The first one didn’t work at all, this one only works if I apply pressure to that one connection with a zip tie. Release that little bit of tension and something inside that thing no longer touches where it should and the whole switch is worthless. What crap. I was hopeful that after the guys fixed the brakes that the hydraulic switch on the master cylinder might start working again, but it wasn’t to be. I tried it today and still got no brake lights. So for now, this plastic toy switch will have to do. Come to think of it I could probably find a better switch inside one of the kids’ toys. Maybe that Hulk action figure.
We bailed out on Amarillo today, but not before stopping off at Cadillac Ranch.
21 Comments on “Cadillac Ranch”
Ah, cutest Lowe pic ever.
Nice of people to leave their empty rattle-cans lying around on the ground at Cadillac Ranch.
Pat,
Many hydraulic brake switches have a thread similar to a valve stem, so you may be able to test the old switch with an air hose at a gas station. They usually close at +/- 80 PSI so you could use your Ohmmeter to see if and at what pressure the switch closes. If so, the problem is with insufficient hydraulic pressure inside the master cylinder, not the switch. HTH
LOVE the family portrait — that may be the best one yet!
Did you see my son’s name on a Cadillac? HA! Yeah, my son also commented that they picked up paint cans while they were there. He guessed that the reason there are no trash cans was either because the wind blew them away or they were stolen.
Actually there is a large dumpster at the parking area. It’s full of cans and painted with as many layers as the cars themselves.
Our motorhome brake lights stopped working for us at a campground in Grand Junction, Colorado. It wasn’t the switch. We got an RV repair guy to come to the campground and when he fingered the switch, the lights came on. Step on the brake pedal — no brake lights. He ended up adding a piece of tubing to the end of the switch so that it would be actuated by the brake pedal. Something shifted, I guess, but it works now.
Cool photos as always!
I am loving the family photo. How long is your timer for? I still haven’t figuered out how to set the timer on my camera. Maybe that should be a project for me today.
We bought a twenty dollar infrared remote. Just a small button that activates the shutter from up to about twenty feet away. Made a huge difference in trying to take family shots because you can just fire off fifty frames instead of trying to get everybody to look at the blinking light on the self timer.
Outstanding photo of the family on the Cady! Worthy of a new book cover?
I heard through the coconut that your boat sold again in San Pedro, CA. Seems someone flipped it for a profit. Do you miss it or the boating life?
I see there was a Spindrift for sale in San Pedro, but not ours. Though even if the guy sold it for more than he paid I doubt there was much profit in it, especially if he had to pay a broker’s fee.
Oh my heavens, the cuteness that is cowgirl Ouest! I can’t stand it.
KEEP ON LIVIN THE DREAM BUMS, IT’S USUALLY ………..very parallel o my own………
Great photos –
Why didn’t the mechanics fix the break light switch?
Because I didn’t pay them to. 🙂 There are a lot of things I would pay to have repaired, a brake light switch is not one of them.
Happy Mothers Day to Ali! You have a great family! Best family portrait yet.
Quest looks so adorably awesome in that hat! Like
a cow-rancher girl. Here in Australia we call ‘ Ranches ‘
stations however, they are owned by the government and leased
to private individuals for 100 years, they are very large, some
as large as a small European country!
– Best Wishes.
Trent.
Fabulous photos as always! Teaching Lowe to tag early, love it!
Yeah, we have to be very careful now that we don’t leave a spray can of anything laying around. I can imagine the whole bus being tagged with a can of WD-40.
Pat,
don’t be afraid to carry a spare set of ignition points with you, in case you have to switch back to the old system. when electronics fail, they’re gone. a spike or too much heat & you’re out of luck.
cheap insurance.
fd
We didn’t throw the points away.