Sadly, no Edna.

[missghoulina]

Thanks for being late on all the 'ew, stop it you two.' jokes, STODD. Still made me laugh.

And also, it's okay -- I won't be traveling ten hours for anything again, unless I have proof from a trusted source that it's in okay condition.

And I would've let you guys know if I could have gotten her to WV -- sadly, she didn't leave Kentucky.

But thanks for all the support! I'll let you guys know when I find a hearse, and if I need any help.

[Psychoholic]

/me sings

And I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more...

[JustGrim]

In a way I hate to tell you this Missghoulina--but it was only the alternator on the '69...

the guy had both terminals on the existing one grounded so it is no wonder it "died" on you. I took up a $50 lifetime warranty one and in 20 min. had it purring down the road. It resides at the JustGrim household now...the fellow called me on Friday and asked if I wanted it since you returned it that Thursday evening so I took him up on it at $1500.

Remember I did offer to meet up with you that day (lunch and freaking out the Cracker Barrel old folks) but you never got back with me and I did not have your telephone....could have saved you a wasted trip and that '69 could have been in Reading, PA right now. Chris (Psychoholic) is correct...always have a safety net and know people along the way in case you need assistance.

Hope that other hearse I told you about pans out for you that is closer to you. You really deserve a hearse after all you have been through!!!!

[EternalCombustion]

Damn, That is COLD.

I can feel the chill here in WV. Actually, I think it's snowing outside.

[Highbars]

WELL........

[Morella]

I wish you had had my phone # before you left. I guess it was someone's wiring mistake, but an engine will not run without battery juice to fire the ignition. I would have had you charge it 5 minutes on jumper cables with everything off, then started it, and it had run well with the cables still on, I could have told you that it was battery/electrical. A $7 meter or $5 tester from Radio Shack could have found the problem. I would have had you check volts and ohms in a few places. Also, an alternator problem on a GM can be as simple as a burned-out light bulb. A touch to the brown wire with a 50-cent piece of wire each time you start the engine will flash start the alternator, and once it's putting out, it will keep doing so. Maybe you should have taken a Wal-mart tow bar. If your chase vehicle was 6 cylinders or bigger, it probably could have gotten you back at 45-50 mph, which is as fast as you want to go on a tow bar anyway. If you have to go 40 mph, ignore the traffic, and if a cop comes up behind you, try to take an exit. Write "in tow" on your rear window, and either buy some magnet-mount tail light systems, or, if you have some savvy, splice into the ones on your towed vehicle, as if it were a trailer.

To anyone who is going to pick up a hearse and has limited mechanical knowledge, perhaps you should PM a few of us whose helpful advice you see here and in "the garage", and see if they are available and willing to give you their phone numbers for advice, and if I give you mine, I appreciate at least a quick one-minute call to tell me that you made it home OK. I'm sorry to say that I was in tears all weekend, all choked up over several family problems hitting me at once, and I'm not sure that I could have made it through a phone call...or maybe that would have been what I needed to get my mind straightened out. I'm actually very fragile on the inside, even if I don't appear to be. If I cut off my hand working on my car, I won't even notice it. I'll just switch hands and keep going. I know, I'm weird, but I can be helpful sometimes.

BTW, as a general caution, when you tow bar a car, have the ball on the tractor vehicle slightly lower than the hookup point on the trailed vehicle; otherwise, if you stop suddenly, the tractor vehicle's rear end can be pushed up, causing the driver to lose control. Denise's little tippie-pooh of the day.

[missghoulina]

You know what? I know everyone is being helpful and everything and I really do appreciate it, but you have no idea how irritated I am right now.

I realize that a) I should have gotten back to you about the trip down there, and b) should have known people in KY and WV and all that, but hindsight is 20/20.

I'm glad you have my baby. I'm glad that she works for you, and that I wasted 22 hours and over three hundred dollars in gas. I really am. Not trying to be a super bitch or anything; I am really happy that you have my car.

But even if you had come with me, would you have been there when she died? She died 2 hours from his house; and you live an hour away. Would you have had the tools to fix her on the side of the road?

I'm glad that it was just the alternator. I'm happy that I was too stupid to realize it. But then again, it was 6 o'clock on a Thursday night before Memorial Day weekend, so even if I knew what to get fixed, I couldn't have, because there was no one around to fix it.

So, my lack of knowledge and pre-planning is your boon.

Good to know.

I'm off to beat some poor unsuspecting passer-by up.

Also, the other car in NJ is a piece of shit. She no longer has her original grill, her side mouldings, or her floor/interior. Her back window is broken out, and all the remaining windows are off their tracks.

So no, I'm not getting that '69 either, nor am I getting my baby because you went right out and bought her.

So, thank you. So very much.


/end bitch-rant.

[StrayCat]

I just saw demons jump out of the ground in my front yard and start doing the hokey pokey....now i know why....damn.

[tonytheskin]

[JustGrim]

Now let me get this straight....

Girl drives 10 hours to buy hearse, girl buys hearse, hearse breaks down on way home and girl has hearse towed to original seller and gets money back, girl goes home and posts she is looking at other hearses for sale.

Seller calls JustGrim and offers to sell me the hearse, tells me if I don't want it he will sell to next potential buyer on his list who wants to put it in a demo derby, I go and purchase hearse replacing alternator and put in new battery which fixes problem, drive it home but realize it only has front brakes working and rear brakes kaput/leaking lines. I tell girl what problem was on the board so she will be better prepared on her next purchase and why it is important to have a safety net along the way.

Girl gets pissed because "nor am I getting my baby because you went right out and bought her".

WTF????


Damn....guess I should have passed it up and let it go to the fellow who was planning on putting it in a demolition derby....

[missghoulina]

I apologize for being a uber bitch.

I'm glad you didn't let it go to that guy.

And I'm sorry to hear the brakes are going to be expensive.

Forgive me?

[Psychoholic]

Daaaaaaaayum!

[JustGrim]

Step out of the car....face the front of the automobile and put your hands straight out to your side....

wait a minute--I am regressing back to my old profession!

[StrayCat]

Step out of the car....face the front of the automobile and put your hands straight out to your side....

wait a minute--I am regressing back to my old profession!

A rapist? oh wait thats not it......

[Morella]

the guy had both terminals on the existing one grounded so it is no wonder it "died" on you.

I really hope I'm not stirring up a bucket of bung juice, but I just can't resist the opportunity to learn something, and I'm too coitated up to figure it out today.

Did this actually damage the alternator? With no 12v to energize the field, my intuitation (a South Dallas word) would be that it would just sit on it and spin, not putting out anything, but not hurting anything either, unless the regulator was damaged by the current from the light bulb and a ground on the other side, instead of some dighting voltage from da big wire.

You are deep-frying my brain in voided material, because there are three wires on the older alternators (this is GM, right?), and you only mentioned two.

-denise (mindfucked)