Near Jim Thorpe PA is the Pioneer Pipeline, an above ground oil pipeline built in the 1880s to compete with Rockefeller’s railcars to transport crude to the refineries of New Jersey. The pipeline is still extant and visible, but used as a carrier for fiber optic communications cables.

Did you read the article? The writer’s two Jeeps held up very well. The Jeep Wrangler is a relatively simple, body-on-frame vehicle. 

I had the impression that while popular in the States, Jeep Wrangler parts were harder to get in Latin America and especially Africa. The Toyota LC Prado seems to be the world overlanders’ vehicle fetish.

Boats are huge money pits, no matter what the size.

I always look it that way. Being born into a First World society such as the USA makes you a lottery winner in the game of life. Even as middle class schlubs we have lives of comfort and security unknown to probably 90% of all humanity, if we include everyone that came before us.

That’s what I was going to say. The cake doesn’t bear any loads.

Incidentally, the Japanese have a specific word for “old man smell.”

Ah, but who was the first to run out of gas? It may have been Bertha Benz, wife of Karl. She made the first cross country road trip and had to stop by pharmacies to obtain distilled petroleum for her car.

If you read her Wikipedia entry, seems like she had help from others such as a rich daddy and an uncle who provided her with a workshop and house. Seems like aviation was a hobby she dabbled in. Not really that inspiring, although notable. 

$349 each? Yet another accessory that’s going to be easily swiped by savvy thieves.

Wednesday is when they were built. Monday and into Tuesday the workers are hungover, Thursdays and Fridays they’re already in weekend mode.

Current day Japanese Navy still uses it. Rising Sun has a long historical legacy and really isn’t in the same category as a Nazi swastika. But hey, some people gripe about the British Union Jack.

“ . . . relatively simple, clean body panels (look at the doors, for example) and the big, meaty wheels with their chunky tires and big, black fender flares do way more than any cladding ever would.” Like a Jeep Wrangler in basic trim or a Defender 90.

No, the point is routine stops can lead to bigger catches. He was only caught because of a routine traffic stop. 

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was caught during a traffic stop for a missing license plate by a police officer. Just saying. 

The roll cage supports go inside the panels and are anchored to the frame.

“The majority of the defender’s architecture dates directly back to the series II.” True. I have a 1994 NAS D90 that I’ve done extensive work on. There’s something about the basic architecture that seems quaint and outdated, the way body panels screw together and how the core of the body shell is the bulkhead with…

Future collectible?

Given all that horsepower and no visible rollcage, how will this Defender survive a high speed rollover? I have a Defender 90. The body apart from the steel bulkhead and frame is just thin aluminum.

Is there no source for high quality yet reasonably-priced hand tools in the US? When I was traveling in Japan, I found Japanese-made or German hand tools (Wiha) for reasonable prices. It seems in the USA stuff is either Made-in-China crap or professional-grade but expensive like Snap-On.  Are there tariffs on tools?