Re: Help Replacing Sliding Side Windows

[tsm1@domain.elided (Tom Mandera)]

>Senior Mandera:

Is that supposed to be Senor (w/ a tilde) or did you really mean I'm old?  ;-)

>But alas, there is much against going topless. Vandalism and theft, when

Same problem here... solution?  Alarm w/ pager.  At least, that's what I
plan... 

Recall that I had my junk CD player and brand new AC/DC CD stolen from my
Scout *in my driveway*.. in front of the garage... the stupid CD player was
DUCT TAPED to the trans housing and covered in mud.... go figure.

>all that easy); the wet seats; the nights that drop into the 40s when

40s?  You think it's bad in California.... ;-)

I've driven through the McDonalds' drive through with an inch of snow on top
of me and the interior of my Scout before.. man, do you get some stares...

>damage to the nice interior (with carpeting no less) I was planning on

*nod*  My '72 has the "deluxe" interior of the day... rubber floor mat, but
very nicely upholstered seats (of which the front bench is shot from a
heavier-than-me person driving it for a few years).  My solution was to
*TARP* the interior in the summer (when I had just a Bikini top).  Put a big
old Tarp over the rear bench seat and strap it down.. run the tarp to the
tailgate and put some antifreeze jugs on top of it to hold it down.

Certainly not very elegant!

>that 250 lb Traveler top; the PIA of lining up the rear hatch and having to
>remove/replace it everytime.

Convert it to a liftgate/tailgate like Rob Marks.. one less excuse then.

>To top all that off, due to the difficulty of removing/replacing the
>bulkhead and tailgate, combined with the fact that Traveler's have trim,
>gaskets and latches for the hatch that Terras don't and vice a versa, I
>don't think I'll be put putting the Terra top on and off too often and will
>probably just sell or trade it instead along with my two useless tailgates.

Taking the top off is easy for those with tall enough garages.. ;-)

And you don't *have* to put the Traveler trim inside y'know...

Maybe I'll hafta relieve you of the Terra top... I need another Scout to put
a Terra top on... maybe build it for hunting... I'm told dead game bleeding
all over the backseat is a not-so-great thing... plus just GETTING IT IN...
and on top of my various spare parts, recovery and survival gear, etc.  All
of which assumes I actually *get* something one of these years... ;-)
(Lookin' like no Elk for RMIHR thus far... ONE packet left... maybe I'll
talk a few friends out of some more...)

>I have in the past, with it's 118" wheelbase it's never going to be a real
>"down and dirty, rock crawling, stream crossing, tree climbing, off-road

You would be surprised.  In fact, I think, for most things, a sprung-over
Traveler would be a great trail rig... though you couldn't be super
concerned about sheet metal.. because it *is* longer and not *quite* as
maneuverable... but I wouldn't mind a spring-over Traveler to play in, too.

>machines. No, I think there is a Scout 80 or 800 in my future for such a
>use :-).

OTOH, if you're just justifying this all in your own head, then yeah... the
Traveler is WAY too long so you NEED an 800... and maybe a 100" Scout II for
parts for the 800 (axle swap n' such).  Yup.  Definitely just the
treatment... see, the 800 needs some upgraded axles... but the Scout II has
too much rear overhang.. so you *NEED* both to make ONE good rig.

Right?

>So, I think my top will  just be staying on. I'd love to go topless in the
>summer, but it just seems like such a pain.

That's what I was beginning to think with my SOFT-TOP.. just unbottoning and
re-buttoning it was a chore... but then, one day, I said Dang It.. I'm not
an old man yet.. I'm still entitled to do stupid and inefficient stuff like
put the top down in the AM for my 5 minute drive to work, and then put it
back up when I get home in case it rains over night.  It's a PITA, but... I
refuse to become old and succumb to a hardtop n' such like Hofstetter did.
Next thing I'll be driving a Grand Cherokee for it's cushy ride, leather
seats, lombar support, AC, and automatic transmission...

>Let me ask you this, how many folks out there with Travelers take their
>tops off for the summer? How many of those who do, have a nice interior?

Well... you've seen the interior of my Traveltop... ;-)

-Tom (who still hasn't put his 'glass inserts into the hardtop yet this
winter...)