Not sure if I’m in the secret society of folks who will learn about this little patch of pavement... if so I want to drive.
That mystery road, If you turn left when you hit Robbinsville, is it down that way and you turn off to the left? The turns got a nice bank to them? If it's there I've been down it and it's a blast but the pavement is missing in some spots but nothing too crazy.
@Sully I'm not sure how informative that is, though there is a road out that way I need ModFather to chime in to confirm.
Dave, I’m hoping my wood guy gets some dry stuff in soon, if not I’ll have to make a run to Sylva, but either way Fontana will have firewood at a decent price! (Just flag down my rust bucket!) The road I’m talking about isn’t around Robbinsville, it’s another 30 miles south, outside of Nantahala... I did go up the other side today, and it’s a mess! Fallen trees, little to no remaining pavement but cool as hell for photo op’s! Imagine the Dragon if nobody ever came here for the road, then still close the only viable big business in 2005 (Stanley Furniture Co) and think about the armageddon at the same time... It is actually kinda creepy to drive... An R60 wouldn’t have any issues, especially if it was like the Porker with an owner that didn’t give a F***! I do plan on going through the full 15 mile stretch soon, to see where the bad pavement starts, and marking it 1/4 mile before that point... It could still be a fun run with a turnaround and head back at the end. However, it is a 30 mile drive from Robbinsville, and the best end starts past the halfway point to Franklin. Maybe a few of us could turn it into a day trip, starting at Fontana, up through Nantahala canyon with our special detour (and a photo session) then continuing into Franklin, and catch the Moonshiner section of 28 back to Fontana... Possibilities! With the minimum traffic left here on M/A, I bet we could just set it up with us here and not tell the other 600+ Dragonites. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oh, and just to clear it up... My S10 sits 2.5 inches off the ground, the 4X4 doesn’t work, and I went through the 5 miles I did this morning before work with a 1000+ pound load of rocks in the back... I “shop” local for landscaping supplies! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Why did you take the rocks out of your head and put them in the bed of your truck? Hahahahahaha Can’t wait to get to Fontana because today it snowed and sleeted all day and tomorrow we are getting hit with our 4th Nor’easter which is going to dump a foot of snow or more on us . A big F U to Winter, today is the first day of Spring. WTF
Doing some landscaping around my driveway. Building a multi level retaining wall with flower beds trying to clean up the look a little bit... Only problem is I need A LOT of rocks! It took 5-6 truckloads just for the top level! It’s snowing here today! They closed the schools at 6:00 this morning, and didn’t do any road prep. So far we’ve got about an inch here at work... Thought we were past this. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
March always brings in the biggest storms in the SE. It always fools you.. nice and warm in shorts then boom snow. Stay safe and warm.
So, the truck broke... It’s currently at the shop since I have nowhere to work on it myself. I grenaded a wheel bearing, bent a suspension arm, and had a bad wire causing my driver side brake/turn signal light not to work... Plates are due at the end of the month, so it needed to get fixed quick. Good news is that I will have it back in plenty of time to haul firewood and stuff to MOTD. I also have done a lot of work in my bathroom since my last update... New wall texture, paint (only used 7 Colors this time), a galvanized tin ceiling, and a lot of wood trim... (Pictures on request) And the only other big thing to happen was, I became the official photographer for the place I work. Hey let’s face it, it’s not the first time one of my hobbies have given me a slight bump of success. My first official Photo Shoot was last weekend, doing the website shots for our newest rental cabin. It was actually pretty fun getting to wander through the house, getting to be the one to set things up, light the fireplace, and enjoy the actual cosmetic experience instead of just the maintenance part of it. I’ll let a few of the pictures do the talking. The 14 ball in this shot might have been purposefully placed... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks Lee! I would promote my work as an alternative place to stay for MOTD, but... At $300+ per night, the steep rough gravel roads on the property, and the distance from Fontana, nobody in their right mind would wanna stay there for a car rally. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So it’s been a while since my last check in... Sorry about that, I’ve been busy! A lot has happened though since MOTD. Bekah and I are still holding our relationship together despite our struggles, which is good news. We started a project on the house only to have the incompetent contractor we hired to do the job screw us over, not complete what we hired him to do, and almost had to go to court to get our money back from him. What was supposed to be a simple addition to our deck and replacing the back door with a huge french door turned into a nightmare! We’ve since hired another contractor, but the weather hasn’t been cooperating to get the job done. My BMW 135iS is gone! Traded it in last month and went back to another big 4 door Jeep. Same year as my old one, but Black and this time I was able to get a Rubicon model with all the good factory off road hardware. Already started with some of the easy free mods, like modifying the air box, removing the rear sway bar, and stubbing the front bumper, but I am going to build it a bit. A few days ago, Bekah bought a new toy too... After listening to her go on and on about wanting her own Jeep, and looking at shade tree built crap pile after crap pile online, I made a discovery... I stumbled across an add for a 1951 Willys CJ3a that had gone through one restoration, and things were still being done... It ran and drove, sorta, and was done with all original parts. But I looked into how much the guy wanted for it knowing that they normally aren’t cheap by any means in any kind of condition. I was shocked to hear that he only wanted $5500 for it, and that fit perfectly with Bekahs $6K budget. So after making a couple new friends, and watching a heartbreaking goodbye, we towed the little Willys home. Actually we towed it straight to the shop we use in town, because the brakes don’t work, and the steering locks up, but hey... It’ll get here! We actually had a guy walk up to us as I was taking that picture and offer $10,000 for it! We however declined that offer! I noticed a few things on the Jeep as we were looking at it that struck me as odd the first time we went to see it... It’s got the M-38 split opening windshields, and the military correct 3/16 diamond plate full floor on the body tub... The night we picked it up I started rubbing paint off of the original data plate on the upper left of the firewall, and I won’t know for sure until it gets home, but under years of oil grease and paint I’m almost certain I saw CJ2a in front of the serial number. Which means it could pre date 1951 by a few years and be one of the holy grails of Jeeps! Outside of all of that, it’s been a great summer! Work is going great, and most of the time so is life overall. I’ll check in when I can! See ya later! ️ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So, from what our mechanic is saying... Most of the parts he’s seeing, it’s more than likely an early CJ2A as the data plate says! Good news! And probably earlier than I thought, with most parts cross checking with years 1943-1945... AKA Pre Civilian model! ️ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Helluva find, Dick! And to still be able to drive [or even touch] an unrestored piece of American history even greater!!
That’s cool... what a find. Did the previous owner know? Have to admit.. the 4 door Jeep thing is appealing especially for me with Wife and now two dudes... one is almost as tall as me at 12 (going on 13 in less than a month).. all dudes.