The Trappers Loop run had started off spectacularly. The mountains were still
green because of our late Spring/Summer, the purple wild flowers as we reached
the top of East Canyon were awesome, and the weather was just the right
temperature as we traveled in our LBC's.
Now, my day was hot, dusty, dark and greasy!
>From where I was making this observation, I really couldn't see much more than
the feet of people standing near the Sunbeam and the tires of cars whizzing
past on the Ogden Canyon road, just a few feet away. What I did have a good
view of was the underside of our Sunbeam and the raw gas running down my right
arm as I held my thumb over the hole in the rubber gas line. Oh, and my left
hand was pinching the line, back by the electric fuel pump, in an attempt to
stop the flow of fuel out of the gas tank.
To catch you up on this tale: After we had our stop in Morgan, UT to get
fluids and have one of our group 'visit' with the local Sheriff, Jill and I
began to smell raw gas as we traveled. Accompanying this was the gas gauge
plummeting towards 'Empty'. When we reached the left turn to head to Ogden
Canyon, we turned right and headed to the gas station that was just down the
road. We didn't have enough gas to make it to Ogden even though we had filled
up (11 gallons) the night before!
I looked under the car when I was filling the tank and saw fuel running out
from under the car nearly as fast as I was pumping it in. Jill and I decided
that we were destined not to ever have lunch at the Oaks, because we decided
to head for home, figuring we would need at least one more fuel stop before
reaching Salt Lake. We stopped at the Oaks and found the BMCU group and told
them that we were heading for home.
That's when the 'fun' started for me. Clayton Merchant and John Progress
wouldn't hear of us not having lunch and said that we needed to fix the fuel
line right there, right then. Larry offered his hydraulic floor jack that he
'just happened' to have. A quick look determined that it would be best to
drive the right side of the Alpine up onto the dirt berm to be able to get
under the car safely. So that's where I was, under the Sunbeam, with arms
outstretched, watching fuel run down my arm and also onto the muffler. Seems
that the fuel line had not been tied up far enough when I had replaced it and
had been rubbing on the universal joint at the differential.
Clayton got partially under the car to take over the job of pinching the fuel
line and John kept us supplied with tools as we called for them. Clayton saw
a piece of my old plastic fuel line still on the car, and suggested we cut a
section off, and use it to go between the two sections of good hose after I
had cut the bad section out. That's what we did and John provided zip ties
to use in place of hose clamps.
We tested it and the repair held the pressure from the electric pump with no
leaks.
The cost? One BMCU shirt, and one brake line Clayton sacrificed at a first
attempt fix. Not bad! What was really fun was when I went into the
restaurant, all greasy and dirty from being under the car, and asked where the
restrooms were. The look on the hostess' face when she looked at me was
really funny.
Cost of lunch: $25
Two tanks of gas: $60
BMCU comraderie of Clayton & John: Priceless
Glad we were able to have lunch with everyone for the first time, celebrate
Sharon's birthday and to provide the entertainment! The tour was an awesome
way to spend a beautiful Sunday morning.
See you all at the Alpine Loop Tour next month.
Roger Davis
1906 E. Parkridge Dr.
Cottonwood Hts, UT 84121
Hm: 801-943-7493Cell: 801-597-2154
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