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Thread: RANCHO suspension... WHY did I do this?

  1. #21
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    Steady as she goes Mark. Heal up and giver her hell!

  2. #22
    Senior Member Mark J's Avatar
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    I wish the healing would be faster than 4 months, and counting.
    Well regardless... the leaf springs are getting picked out for me in the next few days. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting this jeep back at its original height and ride. It's literally painful to drive right now!

  3. #23
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    Hang in there Mark, it will heal. No bouncing in the Jeep for a while.

  4. #24
    Senior Member Mark J's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmorgil View Post
    Hang in there Mark, it will heal. No bouncing in the Jeep for a while.
    I had forgotten that "bucking bronco" feeling when I drive it at about 40mph. Ouuuuuuuuuuuuch!!!! I'm not 17 anymore!

  5. #25
    Super Moderator bmorgil's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark J View Post
    I had forgotten that "bucking bronco" feeling when I drive it at about 40mph. Ouuuuuuuuuuuuch!!!! I'm not 17 anymore!
    Ha ha now I have to tell a story.

    I woke up a few decades ago from some neck surgery. As the room became clear and bright, I was able to look in only one direction. My head would not move. Directly in front of me on the ceiling in the darkened recovery room, the PBR World Nationals were on the T.V.. Bull Riders, their heads snapping back and forth and back and forth, slow motion back and forth. Their heads snapping chin to chest back of their head to their shoulders. I watched for hours unable to move.

    No bucking in the Jeep man!

  6. #26
    Senior Member 5JeepsAz's Avatar
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    You saw signs!!! Riders on the Storm! Into this world they're thrown...No, wrong song. Ghost Riders in the sky? "Cowboy change your ways or with us you will ride..." Let's count the blessings everybody's got their head on straight. I will say this, Mark J picked an interesting year to have it done. On the one hand, everybody was pandemic'ing out, which means we were all waylaid for a year in some ways so maybe felt sympatico, and, on the other hand, he didn't have to pandemic out since he was already laid up, so maybe that makes him normal? Upside down year for sure. My brother jerked his screws out being silly and had to go back for a tightening, 6 more weeks of a head and neck container, so hopefully you avoid that. Maybe to avoid the bmorgil situation you could park yourself next to your Jeep or the other way around and just look at each other. Then again, some of us might be guilty of doing that anyway. Feel better, man!

  7. #27
    Senior Member Mark J's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmorgil View Post
    Ha ha now I have to tell a story.
    ...Bull Riders, their heads snapping back and forth and back and forth, slow motion back and forth. Their heads snapping chin to chest back of their head to their shoulders. I watched for hours unable to move.
    No bucking in the Jeep man!
    That's hilarious, and thank you for that story. The irony: waking up to that scene after major neck surgery. I can't imagine the "future damage" that will occur to those riders. UGH!
    I woke up in post op to some beautiful nurses. Or, they looked that way with my "Propofol glasses" on!

  8. #28
    Senior Member Mark J's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 5JeepsAz View Post
    You saw signs!!! Riders on the Storm! Into this world they're thrown...No, wrong song. Ghost Riders in the sky? "Cowboy change your ways or with us you will ride..." Let's count the blessings everybody's got their head on straight. I will say this, Mark J picked an interesting year to have it done. On the one hand, everybody was pandemic'ing out, which means we were all waylaid for a year in some ways so maybe felt sympatico, and, on the other hand, he didn't have to pandemic out since he was already laid up, so maybe that makes him normal? Upside down year for sure. My brother jerked his screws out being silly and had to go back for a tightening, 6 more weeks of a head and neck container, so hopefully you avoid that. Maybe to avoid the bmorgil situation you could park yourself next to your Jeep or the other way around and just look at each other. Then again, some of us might be guilty of doing that anyway. Feel better, man!
    Thanks for those good words too!
    It was something I had considered for years. And I already had c6/c7 discectomy fusion 4 years earlier. So, why not do the entire neck?!! This was now "revision" at c7, and then discectomy/fusion up to c3... fun fun fun. Still waiting for pain relief...
    Funny, when I realized this "little" pandemic was going to go on (and on and on and on) I did start numerous projects regardless of my neck pain. I did restorations to another antique slot machine, a 30's wall telephone, and an old metal Lionel train bridge. Then I set up a ham station (Kenwood HF rig) in the garage, and made a long wire antenna for the roof and put up a 20' 2 meter antenna for my local communication radio.
    But during all this time THAT Jeep was in the garage. It had been in the garage so long (1995) that I had forgotten it was there. It just became part of the garage, like a large yellow shelf, or a yellow water heater. It also had become a storage bin of sorts. I had sh*t in bags sitting in the back and on the floor areas. First thing I did was move that crap out. And about two years earlier, I removed the top and roll bar... sold 'em both on Craigslist. I thought if I ever got it working, I just want a stock looking jeep. There will be no more off-roading, or driving regularly in rain. It never rains in California, right? When September rolled in, I had seen the surgeon, and made my decision for this major surgery, finally setting a date for Nov 9th.
    And the pandemic rolled on... and there was my jeep, NOT rolling on; not rolling at all. I knew I couldn't do everything to restore this to a daily drive yet but that I could at least, maybe, make it run. One battery, carburetor, fuel tank, fuel pump, hoses later - it started and ran, very rough at first. Still have a cracked exhaust valve but it ran. It actually ran better each time!
    It ran, but didn't stop. However, with that low gear, who needs brakes? The surgery date was looming on me so I did get most of the brake overhaul started. In a way, it WAS the pandemic that pushed me to do something NOW or it may never get done. It definitely was a year never like any in my life, or anyone others as well. Following surgery, the only thing I really could do was park myself next to the jeep and look at it, imagining me driving it again like I did when I was barely 16 years old.
    Fast forward to two months after surgery, when I'm "cleared" for most everything, I resumed and finished the brakes. I had a few times where I strained my neck too much being underneath, lifting my head to tighten up hoses, etc.
    Without writing pages more (which I could), I'll summarize this with the fact that, even though this year was awful, for all of us, it did give me time to reflect in ways I had never before. And I made tremendous progress (I think) in getting this jeep to a point of driving. It's even insured now. Registration is another story...and I'll start a new post for that.
    So being laid up with a pandemic, made me actually think differently in terms of time and being able to take "baby steps" in working on the 3B. I had plenty of time to just wait (for parts) and start something else while waiting. Multi-tasking is not something I'm good at, but I certainly learned it in 2020. And, suddenly things came together: I can get in the jeep, start it up, and drive away now... and stop too!
    Now as 2021 rolls in, like a bucking bronco, I'm certain to get that damn Rancho suspension off and the cushy new/old leaves in, for a painless ride, or a less pain ride! Thanks again to everyone here. It's nice having this jeep family to share things with.
    Last edited by Mark J; 03-12-2021 at 12:11 PM.

  9. #29
    Senior Member 5JeepsAz's Avatar
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    I'm sorry to say this, but. From reading your timeline there, it appears the catastrophic mistake was parking the jeep in the first place. Let me recap. You had a cool jeep. You parked it. You actually started parting it out. Decades of calamity followed. You finally came to your senses (I am so glad we all had a chance to reset our mental gears during this pandemic, some of us just went plum crazy for a time). Now that you started working on the jeep, caring for it, suddenly life makes sense again. I'm the same way. When the buzzer of insanity in my life is buzzing, I just take solace in my old jeep. Now what is bizarre is, in this age of side effects, is people love it as much as I do. My walk of life takes me here, there, near, far. I like seeing all kinds of people from all places, variants I guess on the walk of life. This universal jeep feeling? It's awesome! Everybody loves it. Now you know I'm teasing, but that doesn't make me wrong. Restoring a jeep is a process that brings out the best in all of us. Really glad you're fixed up, even if the pain is still there. At least you took steps, and now pain free existence is more likely. Fix the damn jeep brother!!!

  10. #30
    Senior Member Mark J's Avatar
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    Ok that was a good one, again!
    The funny thing is that I really started "parting it in" by storing that crap inside, making it a CJ3B "wheeled storage container."
    Only thing in it now is my jacket, sunglasses, all in a small plastic basket (under the original upholstery back seat) with the proof of insurance and temp driving papers.
    I have a crank start for it, but that stays out! It's from a WWII jeep and I don't want that thing stolen.

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