Goodbye old girl... Sending my 91 to the yard

[peter683]

Well after many loyal years of service i made the tough decision to donate my 91 to a charity.. She was failing quuckly.. Bodywork.. Window operations brakes etc...

 

[DeRocha]

Well after many loyal years of service i made the tough decision to donate my 91 to a charity.. She was failing quuckly.. Bodywork.. Window operations brakes etc...

Sorry to hear that.. It is always sad to see one you've had for a long time go..

 

[Roadrunner777]

Yeah, I'm driving my '94 to the junkyard later this month. It's a strange thing for me because I have never, not in 50 years, had to get rid of a running vehicle. But, it is so deep in rust, the body shakes when you close a door, and my standards are not that high, but it's really not road worthy because it is so structurally unsound. I could not, in good faith, sell it for someone else to risk driving. I'm not even sure I'm going to risk driving it over the extra $50 or so I would get for it... I may just have them come get it.

Sometime later this month, I will be posting what is essentially a give-away for parts and stuff which will include 12+ new Motorcraft sparkplugs, the double-platinum kind for this type of ignition, an ODB-I scanner, and other misc stuff I clean out of my shed.

 

[Josh P]

I know the feeling, when I'm done with a vehicle I cut it up so it never ends up back on the road. My last car had a ratchet strap holding the axle centered cause the upper arm bushing was no longer available. Sad to see it go but there is an obligation to the rest of the motoring public to maintain a safe vehicle. I hope your next car provides you many years of faithful service.

 

[410Fortune]

My beloved B2 is rusting away from the inside out.....rust inside the A and b pillars and roof support beams along the window channels...............borrowed time. And OF COURSE their values are skyrocketing right when mine is gonna be headed to the crusher. I will strip her of all cool parts before she goes. I have a few years I am sure, but we are on borrowed time. I have a 01 Sport trac I have been holding onto as her "replacement" something about a sport trac with long travel a 331 and 37's that has me thinking, it's okay to let go of the mighty BII after what 25+ years now? yikes, scary thought. Sure I could do a frame off put the body on a rotisserie and do a full restore.... but If Im going to do all that would I really choose a BII? That IS the question

Glad to see you donate it! That is good karma for you!
The last truck I had to relieve of duty I stripped down to nothing in 2 days and sold every part....01 GMC 2500hd with a 6.0 vortec.... worth WAY more in parts

 

[dcm1978]

Well after many loyal years of service i made the tough decision to donate my 91 to a charity.. She was failing quuckly.. Bodywork.. Window operations brakes etc...

If you still have the vehicle, I'm hoping you can help my friend, Anna. Here is her story:


By Anna Von Reitz

Our family, like most American families, is divided by the perennial Ford versus Chevrolet argument. I never thought too much about it and have had both Fords and Chevrolet trucks over the years.

About twenty years ago, give or take a couple, I bought "Bessie", a used 1991 Ford Explorer, as a work truck..

Both my husband and older sons stared at me in disbelief.

"You bought a Ford Exploder?" They howled with laughter, shook their heads, and stamped their feet.

"You wanna go broke on car repairs, Mom?"

I think Bessie heard that remark. She promptly proved them wrong and year after year, she clicked along like a sewing machine, requiring little more than regular lube, oil, and wiper blades.

Minus fifty? Turn on the oil pan and head bolt heaters for an hour, and Bessie would start. Volcanic dust? She'd keep chugging.

My work took me deep into the hintermost portions of Alaska's road system, down the Alcan Highway, and up the Dalton Highway hundreds of miles above the Arctic Circle---- "up and over" some of the most remote country and roughest roads in America. Bessie rolled her way over the Denali Highway, which isn't really a highway as you all might understand it, and deep into the Denali National Park. She took ferry rides to places like Kodiak and seemed to enjoy the salt spray splashing over her nose.

Now, I will readily admit that my husband's Chevy Pick-Up is a very good truck and easy to keep in repair and a gallant hearted machine if ever there was one.
Yes, I readily admit this, and yet....

When Bessie topped over 400,000 miles on her first engine, I said, "That sticks it." --- and I took a picture of her and wrote up and sent in a story about her to The Detroit Free Press, giving the UAW a resounding "Huzzah!" for a Job Well Done.

Proof's in the pudding. You can't argue about 400,000 miles on a single engine. You can't poo-poo entire years of service with no repairs at all.

Ford fans went crazy and soon there were more stories, "Still Rolling in Alaska!" got aired all around the globe. My ancient Ford Explorer basked in the well-deserved glory and we just kept on keeping on. 2021 will mark her 30th birthday.

But Bessie is on life-support now. She needs a part that we can't find anywhere. All you Ford Fanatics out there, all you boys who have a favorite junkyard just like you have a favorite fishing hole---- everyone, please help.

What we need is technically described as the "Fuel Pressure Regulator Return Line". It's a piece of braided steel hose with connectors on both ends, one metal connector feeding back to the fuel tank, and one snap-on plastic connector feeding into the Fuel Pressure Regulator itself.

Typical -- the plastic snap connection broke off.

This particular hose was standard issue from 1989 onward for a number of years, including 1991 from what we've been able to gather. The Parts Number for the hose is: FOTZ-9C968-A, and the whole Fuel Supply and Return System Parts Number (which would include the phantom hose) is: FZTZ-9J338-N.

Please scrounge around and see what you can find, guys.

Bessie is a living symbol of American know-how, American engineering, and American quality --- because she is all of that, and more. She's an American from the tip of her antenna to the rubber on her treads. Detroit might have built better cars, but I don't know how or when.

Bessie is the toughest, scrappiest, most enduring car I ever owned, and let's face it, she's a lot like her owner. It's only right and fitting that she should be wearing a set of our new Private Owner Plates and be part of the All-American Brass Tacks Tour, trundling from town to town and sharing our history with people across America.

So shake a leg, brothers and sisters. She's one of ours and she's down for the count. We've already scrounged through every junkyard in Alaska, and all the internet After Market sites we could find, but someone, somewhere has this part, either in a scrap yard or hiding in the back of their shop.

Either call me at (907) 250-5087, or email at: avannavon@gmail.com with subject line: "Bessie".

 

[dcm1978]

Yeah, I'm driving my '94 to the junkyard later this month. It's a strange thing for me because I have never, not in 50 years, had to get rid of a running vehicle. But, it is so deep in rust, the body shakes when you close a door, and my standards are not that high, but it's really not road worthy because it is so structurally unsound. I could not, in good faith, sell it for someone else to risk driving. I'm not even sure I'm going to risk driving it over the extra $50 or so I would get for it... I may just have them come get it.

Sometime later this month, I will be posting what is essentially a give-away for parts and stuff which will include 12+ new Motorcraft sparkplugs, the double-platinum kind for this type of ignition, an ODB-I scanner, and other misc stuff I clean out of my shed.

Before you get rid of your vehicle, maybe you would consider helping my friend, if you can. Here is her story: Thanks


By Anna Von Reitz

Our family, like most American families, is divided by the perennial Ford versus Chevrolet argument. I never thought too much about it and have had both Fords and Chevrolet trucks over the years.

About twenty years ago, give or take a couple, I bought "Bessie", a used 1991 Ford Explorer, as a work truck..

Both my husband and older sons stared at me in disbelief.

"You bought a Ford Exploder?" They howled with laughter, shook their heads, and stamped their feet.

"You wanna go broke on car repairs, Mom?"

I think Bessie heard that remark. She promptly proved them wrong and year after year, she clicked along like a sewing machine, requiring little more than regular lube, oil, and wiper blades.

Minus fifty? Turn on the oil pan and head bolt heaters for an hour, and Bessie would start. Volcanic dust? She'd keep chugging.

My work took me deep into the hintermost portions of Alaska's road system, down the Alcan Highway, and up the Dalton Highway hundreds of miles above the Arctic Circle---- "up and over" some of the most remote country and roughest roads in America. Bessie rolled her way over the Denali Highway, which isn't really a highway as you all might understand it, and deep into the Denali National Park. She took ferry rides to places like Kodiak and seemed to enjoy the salt spray splashing over her nose.

Now, I will readily admit that my husband's Chevy Pick-Up is a very good truck and easy to keep in repair and a gallant hearted machine if ever there was one.
Yes, I readily admit this, and yet....

When Bessie topped over 400,000 miles on her first engine, I said, "That sticks it." --- and I took a picture of her and wrote up and sent in a story about her to The Detroit Free Press, giving the UAW a resounding "Huzzah!" for a Job Well Done.

Proof's in the pudding. You can't argue about 400,000 miles on a single engine. You can't poo-poo entire years of service with no repairs at all.

Ford fans went crazy and soon there were more stories, "Still Rolling in Alaska!" got aired all around the globe. My ancient Ford Explorer basked in the well-deserved glory and we just kept on keeping on. 2021 will mark her 30th birthday.

But Bessie is on life-support now. She needs a part that we can't find anywhere. All you Ford Fanatics out there, all you boys who have a favorite junkyard just like you have a favorite fishing hole---- everyone, please help.

What we need is technically described as the "Fuel Pressure Regulator Return Line". It's a piece of braided steel hose with connectors on both ends, one metal connector feeding back to the fuel tank, and one snap-on plastic connector feeding into the Fuel Pressure Regulator itself.

Typical -- the plastic snap connection broke off.

This particular hose was standard issue from 1989 onward for a number of years, including 1991 from what we've been able to gather. The Parts Number for the hose is: FOTZ-9C968-A, and the whole Fuel Supply and Return System Parts Number (which would include the phantom hose) is: FZTZ-9J338-N.

Please scrounge around and see what you can find, guys.

Bessie is a living symbol of American know-how, American engineering, and American quality --- because she is all of that, and more. She's an American from the tip of her antenna to the rubber on her treads. Detroit might have built better cars, but I don't know how or when.

Bessie is the toughest, scrappiest, most enduring car I ever owned, and let's face it, she's a lot like her owner. It's only right and fitting that she should be wearing a set of our new Private Owner Plates and be part of the All-American Brass Tacks Tour, trundling from town to town and sharing our history with people across America.

So shake a leg, brothers and sisters. She's one of ours and she's down for the count. We've already scrounged through every junkyard in Alaska, and all the internet After Market sites we could find, but someone, somewhere has this part, either in a scrap yard or hiding in the back of their shop.

Either call me at (907) 250-5087, or email at: avannavon@gmail.com with subject line: "Bessie".

 

[shran]

I've junked a bunch but I usually part them out pretty thoroughly before taking the shell in. The only one I sent in complete was an '85 F150 - kind of a rare truck, short box extended cab with a 351W. Frame was cracked around the steering box and I was moving across town and lost my storage spot.

Think I'm gonna have to put my daily driver '88 Ranger down in a couple years too. Drivetrain has been gone through and it runs great but the rust is taking over... last fall I had a 2" hole in the floor, now it's almost a foot wide. Cab corners are gone and the bottom of the d/s A pillar is rotted out too. Maybe I'll run across a good cab somewhere and keep it alive.

 

[Roadrunner777]

I wish I could help your friend. I have a '94 which will not be compatible. I think someone mentioned you could use a later year FPR and hose, which you can get new. I would do that for the simple reason that old used fuel hoses are not entirely dependable, and a leak in this instance will leak directly on the passenger side exhaust manifold. Going on the cheap could cause a fire, which in an Alaskan winter, in the middle of nowhere, could result in a deadly stranding. I would not mess around on this... if you can make this work with the later year hose and FPR, new parts, that's how I would go.

 

[dcm1978]

I wish I could help your friend. I have a '94 which will not be compatible. I think someone mentioned you could use a later year FPR and hose, which you can get new. I would do that for the simple reason that old used fuel hoses are not entirely dependable, and a leak in this instance will leak directly on the passenger side exhaust manifold. Going on the cheap could cause a fire, which in an Alaskan winter, in the middle of nowhere, could result in a deadly stranding. I would not mess around on this... if you can make this work with the later year hose and FPR, new parts, that's how I would go.

Yeah......that sounds like good advice. I'll pass it on to her. Thank you

 

[peter683]

sorry I no longer have that vehicle