I spent the last two days rewiring the switch and control boxes. That turned out fine, but the well pump is still only responding in bits. I believe it to be the well pump itself. So, on Monday I’ll be getting the pump folks out here.

Meanwhile, we initiated operation pasture-water-to-garden-system. Well, that might not have the best mission title, we did successfully tap into an irrigation line we weren’t using anymore and use it to push water to our garden watering systems. This will make our watering tasks much simplified again (and by “our” I mean Ann’s).

Here’s the manifold I built today. This irrigation junction used to water a portion of the pasture with unground sprinklers, but we removed that line of sprinklers in favor of a pod watering system, which we like.

Here is where the hoses are going:

And, as you can see, all that work is worth while, because Ann gets to use her Country Jacuzzi (aka a cattle trough). Losing the water hasn’t all bad 🙂

Oh joy of joys! Yesterday our well pump stopped working. I called the pump service folks to diagnose the issue, but they couldn’t get me on the schedule until Tuesday. Ugh.

So, instead of working the FC, or anything else, I have been taking crash courses in learning how the our well pump system works (thank YouTube) at the wiring/capacitor/relay/switch level. After exploring the box with my voltmeter, in the pump control box I diagnosed a bad capacitor, so that was progress, but couldn’t readily locate one near me for sale, so I ended up buying a new pump control box and rewiring it in place. That went well (unintended pun). The pump started, but doesn’t continue running (starting the pump differs from running the pump amperage wise).

My next idea was to check out the box below the pump. It contained two switches, controlled by different mechanisms, that turns on and off the electricity to the pump control box. It’s a box I’ve never opened (never needed to open). I was pretty shocked at the condition of the connectors; the leads are corroded and/or bad (see closeup). It may be the case that the corrosion is effecting the ability to feed the pump with enough amperage. So, Friday morning’s task is to locate new switches, then redo the wiring in the box. Fingers crossed this works!

Thankfully, we have access to the neighbor’s well, via multiple hoses, so we can fill pots with water, keep our cows watered, and water the garden.

Upper right box is the new one (cover off). Lower left box is the next project.

Yikes!

John spotted a Wagoneer in the 1963 movie, Man’s Favorite Sport, which stars Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss. If you have. subscription to Amazon Prime, you can watch it for free.

I’ve never seen the movie, but John describes it as a “it is a ’60s take on ’30s “Screwball”. Best of all, he says “it isn’t terrible”. How could you pass up the movie with a review like that :-).

The Wagoneer would have only recently been released to appear in January 1063 movie, so the may be one of the earliest appearances for the newly styled Jeep. The snout of a second Wagoneer also appears. Look for it in the campground scene (see pic below). You can see some still shots from the movie. at https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_185640-Jeep-Wagoneer-SJ-1963.html.

PHOTO CREDIT: https://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_185640-Jeep-Wagoneer-SJ-1963.html

UPDATE: Thanks to pics posted to Facebook by Ken Wyatt, we now know that Frank’s GPW has moved to the lobby at the Golden Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection.

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Originally posted September 27, 2018: Gordon mentioned to me that Frank Sinatra had once owned a GPW. So, I spent some time searching for Sinatra and jeeps. Here’s what I have so far:

Franks GPW went to a Sotheby’s auction in 2003 (which listed it as a 1942 GPW),

then to a Barrett Jackson auction in 2005 (which listed it as a 1944).

It now resides in the Tebo Museum (private museum approx 400 vehicles) collection (Facebook link) (Flicker Link). Here’s how the jeep is presented:

Back when Frank built his home in 1947 at Palm Springs, California, his daughter noted that the town was still small and the roads rough, so “We . . . needed our jeep to manage the dirt roads, sand dunes, and tumbleweeds,” No indication as to what jeep model this was.

Of course, Frank spent some time in jeeps while acting. For example, this still photo from a French eBay page of Sinatra in a jeep is from his 1958 film “Kings Go Forth”.

According to an April 1966 Esquire magazine article,

“At other times, aiming to please, his men will overreact to his desires: when he casually observed that his big orange desert jeep in Palm Springs seemed in need of a new painting, the word was swiftly passed down through the channels, becoming ever more urgent as it went, until finally it was a command that the jeep be painted now, immediately, yesterday. To accomplish this would require the hiring of a special crew of painters to work all night, at overtime rates; which, in turn, meant that the order had to be bucked back up the line for further approval. When it finally got back to Sinatra’s desk, he did not know what it was all about; after he had figured it out he confessed, with a tired look on his face, that he did not care when the hell they painted the jeep.”

According to the “Remarkable Cars” website, this 1941? MB was used during the filming of the dirty dozen, then purchased by Sinatra, who then gave it to Burt Reynolds. It is now located in the Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

I’m sure there’s much more out there. I’ll add to this thread as I learn more.