Building in Coupeville again

Building in Coupeville again - ( not quite ! )

Hi,
Here I am again building my new home in beautiful "historic" Coupeville in the American Pacific Northwest .
I must be mad putting myself through this at almost ( this month) half a century old .
Still I must say that I am happiest when I set myself goals and achieve them . The harder the better and thus the happier . No gain without pain !

I transited via a three day stopover in Boston and got off the Seatac Shuttle in Coupeville at after 1 am local time . My body clock was still mid Atlantic so rather than disturb my friends Darrell and Cindy I trundled my bags to my Chevy van , chucked out some tools , made the bed up and crashed out .
I woke remarkably refreshed and set about sorting the van out . The battery was flat after six months rest but unfortunately so was my emergency starter . I put the starter on trickle charge and was hailed by my neighbour to the right - ( in more ways than one ) Bob . After a brief chat he swiftly came up with a battery charger which I swiftly set up .whilst I walked to the local store for provisions .
On my return I turned the key and bingo !
I was mobile again !
I called Darrell and he was at home and said come right away . I tried to put the Chevy in gear but it wasn't having any of it I used reasonable force - a mistake and ping . , something broke inside and the van did not go in gear . I turned the engine off and tried to reboot it ( this often works with computers ) The key turned easily and the engine wouldn't start . I called Darrell . He picked me and my case up .
To cut a long story short I spent the next few days making lists of materials and helping out Darrell with various jobs ( pictures here ) whilst the excellent mobile mechanic , Darrell's " Uncle Tim " fixed my van . He had to replace the steering column with one he sourced from a scrap yard but still charged under $200 . The steering is now tighter and I have a black steering wheel instead of a blue one !

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