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Day 3 - "Only now, young Skywalker, when it's too late, do you understand the true power of the Dark Side of the Force..."
Well, by Sunday I figure I've done as much as I can do for Gumby. What more can I do, right? There is no point putting in the new blocks if there are already ones in there. This is what Gumby looked like after the kit was installed.
It doesn't show as much in the pictures, but the rear end was drooping badly. It was especially evident when accelerating. Still, it's a great looking truck.
Day 4 - "I HATE when it does that..."
Well, now it's Monday. I spent the entire holiday weekend putting the lift kit on, and all I've got to show for it is a saggy butt and a broken finger. I can't take it, I tell ya! So, I call Rough Country again, and order up a set of OEM replacement springs. They have 'em, and they're in stock. These set me back $90/spring, plus shipping. So, the next step is to find a shop that will put them on for me when they get here (I read the rear spring write up in the IFSJA web site tech section and decided I wanted nothing to do with it). I was having a hard time finding a shop that would put on owner-provided parts, and then I thought, lets look in the phone book for a suspension shop.
I got a phone book and looked up auto repair. Right there was an ad for Suspension Plus. I called them and they said "Sure, bring it in when you get the springs." Saved!!! I found out later that the phone book was 2 years old, and that Suspension Plus quit advertising in the Yellow pages. If I woulda had a newer book, I never would have found them...Someone up there likes me, I think.
Anyway, now it was time to wait for the springs to get here.
Day 5 - "Oh what tangled webs we weave..."
Still waiting..
Day 6 - "Hmmm...that's an interesting color you have discovered..."
Still waiting...
Day 7 - "And now, for our next trick..."
Still waiting...Called Rough Country. They assure me that it was dropped-shipped today from their California warehouse. Apparently, they were in the middle of an inventory, and could not ship anything. Since the warehouse is less than 100 miles from my house, I expect it tomorrow, even using UPS Ground.
Day 8 - "What, you mean it's supposed to do that?"
OK...My springs are supposed to get here today. The last time I was expecting a shipment, I missed the UPS driver by 15 minutes. That was New Year's Eve. I spent the next 5 hours after that frantically trying to track the driver down to get the kit. I finally got it at 8:00 P.M. on New Years Eve. I swore I wasn't going to go through that again. Besides, I was sick of waiting. I wanted this to be done.
So, being the computer geek that I am, I go home to work in my home office while I'm waiting for UPS to arrive. I can do anything from home that I can from work, so it doesn't matter much to me. It also helps to be the boss. Just when I'm starting to think that UPS isn't going to be there until the end of the day, the truck pulls up! Yea!!!!!
I sign for my springs, throw 'em in Gumby, and head off for the suspension shop. Just before I get to the freeway, my phone rings. Oops...forgot it was payday. My department wants to get paid. Double back to work, get the checks and hand them out, then I'm back on track to the suspension place. I get there about 3:00 P.M. and they say they can have it done by 6:00 P.M. Great!! I call a friend and she comes out to pick me up. About 5:30 they call back and say they can't have it done 'till Sat. around Noon. Fine. I go out and stay at my friend's house, then we head back to the shop the next day.
