crisperation for the storm... UPDATE!

[crispone]

So, the National Weather Service is issuing SNOW STORM WARNINGS all over the place from NOW through WEDNESDAY morning for the Ohio Valley area... I'm hearing anything from 11-16 inches over the next 48 hours. (I know, not a big deal to SOME of you... but with 25-35mph WIND expected... this thing could get interesting...)

I rinsed the FIRST half of winter's SALT and GRIME off the beater truck earlier today... topped off fuel, stocked up on supplies... etc... now "tiny truck" is just sitting out there WAITING for the whole thing to hit... Also gave me a reason to dig the Honda out of the garage... (first time this season...)

I can't help but feel sorry for the Solara... the windshield wipers at attention as if to say "I'M OVER HERE!!!"....



I know... it's SOMEWHERE in the background there... just waiting...



"tiny truck" has better footing for what's headed our way tomorrow...



^^^ ...of course... THIS guy has the BEST TRACKS!



Well... NOT a "big" fan of Honda's... but TOYOTA doesn't MAKE a snow-blower... to MY knowledge...

Besides... I added a Yoshimura Racing Exhaust off a Suzuki GSXR1100 to help "off-set" the Honda's stereotypically QUIET "good manners".... Yeah... the NEIGHBORS aren't too sure about it... ESPECIALLY at 4:45am!



-crisp

[unbalancedwood]

You have some nice cars crisp. What year is that truck, it looks brand spankin new..besides the little bit of rust from all your snow i guess...

[ClassySolaraGuy]

Put that Lara in the garage!

[anttarz]

you should get a car cover for the solara

truck looks awesome

[DoctorMark]

Truck looks great! It looks like you just had it painted.

[crispone]

You have some nice cars crisp. What year is that truck, it looks brand spankin new..besides the little bit of rust from all your snow i guess...

HA HA!!! FOOLED YA! (I rinsed it off an hour before the photos... just a couple days ago, I shot it looking like THIS \/ )





Thanks, though... the truck is a '94... the last year before the TACOMA name was adopted... mine is "just" the P/U or "TRUCK". I still like it... it gets me through the rough stuff. I picked it up in '98 with 39k miles, and now it has 159k. The bigger rubber just KILLED the little marshmallow of an engine... so I put Downey headers, a JET chip, NOLOGY wires, Flex-o-lite "Black Magic" cowl and electric fan, Borla exhaust (cat back), and a Centerforce clutch when the old one began to give it up. I also had to put fresh front reman. calipers on 'cause the stock one's were eaten up by salt-rust from the harsh winters... and I stuck some "Powerslot" rotors and HAWK pads on while we were at it. Stops GREAT compared to before... even with the heavy rubber. The rust has already left little patches of winter's cancer in spots on the body... 3" body lift for the 33x11.5's to clear, "Ironman Stewart" promoted Bilstiens, and some centerline 15x8 rims (no holes) to keep the dust off 'em. PIAA H3's and Silverstar "HID-like" sealed beams... It's a basic look, but it works. Anymore, I just get in and DRIVE the TAR out of it... hope it keeps pluggin' away for me... I'd just as soon keep this little workhorse.




^^^It definitely looks BETTER after the rinse. Here it is facing the DRIVEWAY that provides my little Toyota 4x4 with alot of JOB SECURITY!!! (After the PLOWS come by, getting up the 5 foot elevation differential at the slope is a REAL CHALLENGE... even for THIS guy...


-crisp

[SleeperSolara]

Looks nice man.
Be safe when that shite hits.

[lilm]

LOL u put a bike exhaust on a snow blower.........


BWAHAHAHAHAHA

[crispone]

Left the office early... picked up my first two kids, the older boys... KNEW that I might be the only vehicle in my extended family that could get around to bring kids home later when the storm got bad... it was already poor conditions when I picked Lief and Noah up and ran them home... I figured I'd have to snow-blow the drive for my wife to get in with her Honda Odd-Wussy Van...

Here's a shot just after I pulled into the yard mid day...




After my wife got home a couple hours later, I set out to her parents house to pick up the other two... my 2 year old daughter, Magellan, and little Brock, all of 5 months old... the forecast was and is still BLIZZARD...

Here is the "early going" shot just after leaving my drive...




Halfway there...




"artsy shot" of refinery storage tank... (actually, more like "random snap"... )




....an HOUR and HALF LATER... a couple miles from home... conditions deteriorate...





Here I am JUST pulling off the road INTO my DRIVE... (notice the little "bungalow cottage" house that was pictured in the "peaceful night" thread a few posts back... WHERE ARE MY TRACKS??? (Keep in mind, I spent an hour and a half CLEARING THE DRIVE once with the SNOW BLOWER after the tracks shown in the FIRST SHOT at the top of this post!!!)






Needless to say... it's a BLIZZARD out there!!! The 30+ mph winds are like a STEADY SUCKING from the NORTH/EAST... I'm sure the direction will SHIFT when the LOW pressure passes through in the night. Most INTENSE winter weather I've seen here in Ohio/Midwest since the winter of '78 ALREADY! (And it's not OVER yet...)

I actually saw a bunch of vehicles getting STUCK in the deep snow right in the middle of intersections and the like IN TOWN... THREE of them were FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE... you know, Merc Mountaineer, etc... it's ALL about CLEARANCE (I got on I-75 for ONE exit on the way... but RIGHT after I took a photo, I had to LOCK-UP all four and swung it at a 45 and managed to bring it down from about 45mph JUST IN TIME to keep from PLOWING into a box-van that was TOTALLY hidden in the white-out-like conditions... TOO CLOSE FOR ME!) Decided to take the CITY STREETS as a result... SLOW, but less risky...

I ALMOST got a PHOTO of myself CRASHING in a BLIZZARD! ...dumbass..

Glad to have made it home safe with my kids. THIS is why the little black toyota is a beater, but a KEEPER!






Hope you all in the NorthEast are READY for this monster!


Be safe....

-crisp

[MCOjerry]

I don't miss that crap at all!

Stay safe.

[Akfahad]

I don't miss that crap at all!

Stay safe.

Hahaha...I hear that.

[crispone]

^^^ Sad... sitting outside by the old-school supra... exposed to the elements...


Here's my driveway...




^^^NOTE: Those are DEERTRACKS in the drive and along the brush-row...



...Looking back from standing in the road...

...er... my Honda Caterpillar Drive Honda Blower may get a workout YET!



-crisp

[shocar4]

man your pickup reminds me of my brothers old toyota that he used to have...feel your pain with the weather....we just got that same storm here in illinois.....8-10 inches and the winds were gusting to 45mph! brrrr!

[crispone]

^^^ Here's the house in a similar shot as the shot in the "peaceful nite" thread, as seen after the storm... (this morning...)

You can JUST make out the solara in the background on the left...


The DEER were out and digging up the whole corn I threw out before the storm...




-crisp

[crispone]

man your pickup reminds me of my brothers old toyota that he used to have...feel your pain with the weather....we just got that same storm here in illinois.....8-10 inches and the winds were gusting to 45mph! brrrr!

COOL! Very familiar, indeed!


-crisp