From the new guy

 

 

Hello Boonies!

     My name is Danny Helfen.  Call me Scorch. I am a new member.  Some of you I know some of you I don’t.  That’s ok I figure it wont be long till I have met everyone.  I have been hanging around for a little over a month now.  I have to say that it has been a blast so far.  I have been able to go on a couple trail rides and campouts.  I have really enjoyed Land Between the Lakes.  I have never been to an OHV park before and I must say LBL raised the bar for other places.   Camping was great till I got away from the fire.  Dam it was cold.  I was very pleased with how my stock TJ handled the trails.  I was disappointed that I got stuck the times I did, but I know that I will be better able to go where I want once I make a few modifications.  Many said to me that once I get more aggressive tires I would not have to use the TJ Recovery Unit (Rat’s XJ) as often.  It has been great how quickly I have been made to feel like one of the gang.  My son Quinn has accompanied me on both trips.  He took quite a beating on the last trip to Hank’s (his nose is just fine not a sign of the tumble).  He has loved playing with Ashley, Ivy, and Hunter in camp much better than riding on the trail.  Go figure.  I guess I would too if I had to sit in a car seat all day being tossed back and forth feeling like I was gonna flip over on Bonsai Hill and like I am going to go through the windshield on the way down, then listening to my dad cuss up a storm getting through some of the obstacles.  I know soon enough he will want to borrow dad’s jeep and go wheelin’ himself.  Julie, my loving wife, has been very supportive of my newfound hobby (She recently remarked to me, after watching the video the Professor sent to me of us wheelin’ at LBL and Hank’s, that she wont ride with me in the jeep unless I buy an older one that she doesn’t care about messing up.  I don’t see a downside here.)  As of now I am looking forward to riding again at Hank’s.  Hope to see all ya on the trail.                         

                            Danny “Scorch” Helfen         

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distributor properly re-assembled, I set off toward the house.

   I have put a distributor in an engine on several occasions.  Usually, this is a task that requires somewhere between several and quite a few attempts before the oil pump drive shaft lines properly AND the rotor is pointing the right way.  Surprisingly, I had to do little more than drop the distributor in its hole.  Everything simply lined up on the first try.

   So, I got things buttoned up and moved to the cab.  I turned the key and once again, the engine spun but there was still no fire.  After this, I gave up for the day.  Friday was now gone, and I was still no closer to a running truck.  I knew now that it was either the computer or a wire problem.

   Saturday, ah yes, Allen and Brenda’s wedding day.  I didn’t even touch the truck.  Just the trip to Cannelton was enough of an adventure for my tastes.  If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the screen on my GPS sometime.  I think Lisa and I were on nearly every street in that town.  As many times as we drove by the nursing home, the women sitting outside were probably starting to either become dizzy or think we were planning a drive-by.  However, after a good evening with friends, I was still no closer to having it fixed, and I was down to only one full day of vacation left.

   I talked to Steve Roach, remembering that he had saved the computer from his gray Ranger.  Since that truck was set very similar to mine, I figured that I could swap that unit for mine to find out.  Sunday morning began fairly early, as I drove up toward Steve’s way.  I found the computer, just where Billy said it would be, and started back home.

   I didn’t go out to mess with it for a while.  I basically put it off, not wanting to be disappointed once again.  Finally, I got up and went to work on it.  I unplugged the computer and replaced it with the new one.  I then turned the key, and just as before, no fire.  By this time, I was really getting mad.

   I pulled the coil wire and replaced it with the other wire and plug once again.  I grounded it and turned the engine over as before.  However, this time the plug was actually throwing sparks.  I had no idea what I had done, as

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