Kicking off the blog...

As per requests, I have moved my project updates to a blog.  Enjoy.

On July 17, 2011, I moved Grandma's 1974 Satellite from my parents' place in Avon, MN to my garage in North Branch, MN.

Sounds pretty simple... it wasn't.  It was well into the very hot and humid days of this summer.  Mark Martin picked me up in his nice 2005 Titan to run up to the trailer rental place.  Upon arrival in Avon, pleasantries were exchanged with the family and then we proceeded with a plan of action while I pumped up the flat driver's side rear tire.

My Plan A was:
1.  Detach trailer.
2.  Use Titan to tow Satellite into driveway.
3.  Move trailer in front of Satellite.
4.  Put blocks in front of trailer tires.
5.  Use Titan to tow Satellite onto trailer.
6.  Hitch trailer to Titan.
7.  Away we go.

Mark had issues with this plan.  In fact, the comprehensive literature we got with the trailer rental explicitly stated that the trailer should be firmly hitched to the towing vehicle when you load the trailer.  So I proposed a plan B where my dad's little pickup (AKA: The Mighty Zeus) was used to tow the Satellite onto the trailer which was hitched to the Titan.  Problem is that would require Zeus to pull a 3600-lb vehicle onto a trailer at an angle on wet grass... unlikely.  Dad proposed plan C which involved him pushing the Satellite on with Zeus.  I had issues with this... I don't want the rear end of the car screwed up any more than it might be already, but I figured with the bumperettes on, it shouldn't scratch the chrome or anything.

And so it goes... we lined everything up, Zeus started pushing... and the frame and rockers of the Satellite slammed hard at the top of the ramp going on to the trailer.  The angle was no good... so we inflated the tires more and planned to push again.  At this point I tried to voice concern that as the rear end of the Satellite goes up the trailer, so too will the bumper which might then walk up the front of Zeus... causing... damage to Zeus?  Maybe Dad winds up with a huge blue car in his lap as it rolls back when Zeus slips under the trunk?  I don't know.  Regardless, I didn't anticipate what really happened.  I was standing at the rear of the Titan, overseeing the progress of the Satellite... it cleared the ramp and was about to roll free... I started shouting 'stop' at the top of my lungs because it was rolling very quickly...and Dad was still pushing.  The well-inflated front tires hit the lips at the front of the trailer tracks and bounced right over, slamming the car's frame hard onto the trailer and sliding forward.  I had a sickening image of the car sliding inexorably right into the back of Mark's truck.... but it was stopped early.

Turns out my fears of the car winding up in Dad's lap were all for naught, as Zeus' bumper wound up on top of the bumperettes, so Zeus' front end was well off the ground, hanging off of the rear bumper of the Satellite. Dad reversed and gunned it, dropping his front end to the ground and leaving me to assess further damage.

We wound up getting the Satellite back on the trailer properly with blocks of wood, boards and a hydraulic jack, in conjunction with a tow cable on Zeus, now pulling the Satellite backwards.  We had put blocks on the trailer to help keep it from rolling back off as well as putting a tow rope in front, hopefully to help stop the rolling once we got back over the lip.  About an hour of work later and we had her loaded properly.

We stopped at a coin-op car wash so I could pressure wash off the engine, rather than degreasing in my driveway.  It looks much better now... and a good amount of dirt came off the body with the pressure spray also.

In the weeks that followed, I ripped out the old carpet, removed the seats and swept out as much of the dirt and rust as I could.  I removed Joe's aftermarket red lights from the interior panels (sorry, bro) and started removing the trim pieces that I don't plan to re-use.  I also repaired the driver's side rear tire so it holds air and I can roll it in and out of the garage on my own.

I tried out some rust protector.... it seems to work well so I've been getting surface rust spots where I can find them.  I also started poking around the engine compartment, cleaning up around the brakes and removing the windshield wiper fluid reservoir.  I need to get baggies and tape to label everything so I can store it properly.  I washed off the front and rear seats so they look much better... I think the rear seat vinyl I can keep for sure, but they both need to be repadded and a little bit of derusting.  I may modify the front frame rails so I can push the seat back farther than stock for my long legs.

Next steps  are probably to remove the interior body panels near the quarter panels so I can further asses that rust.  I also need to get the trunk open so I can clean and work in there and also jack it up so I can brush off all of the dirt, rust and spiders that are underneath the car.