Gremlin to the rescue, as Toyota 4-by goes down hard...

[Gremlingts@xxxx]

 Well, I knew it had to happen eventually - I have 25 cars with only my 
Toyota truck running "fairly" well, and the clutch throwout bearing went out 
this weekend, 100 miles from home. Luckily I made it home, but now needed a 
ride to work. Hmm. Well, guess I can wrench on the '74 Gremlin in this 
"balmy" 20+ degree weather this fine Monday morning! >:( BRRRRRRR! I did it, 
though, I used my new timing light to adjust my ear-adjusted timing from the 
Kenosha trip ( it was way off ), and added a quart of tranny fluid ( way low 
), and while it still doesn't idle right, and it's blowing blue smoke now, at 
least it SHOULD get me to work and back ( taking my tools just in case ). I 
had to clean out all the stuff in it, as I was using it as "storage" like 
most of the other non-running cars in my driveway. LOL. Filled my old '74 
Chevy p/u up in the cab now, though. I gotta build some more sheds! Or get 
rid of more stuff. :) Anyway, got the truck to the transmission shop this 
morning, I got an estimate , with new clutch too, of about $700 ( good thing 
I refi'd my house, and have a few extra grand in the bank due to delayed 
house payment startup! ). Hopefully I can get my truck back, and keep my 
Gremlin off the treated roadways to keep her from rusting. 
In other news, the driver ( me ) got a new king-sized bed a few weeks 
ago, and I feel GREAT! Cost $1,700 ( big OW! ), but it was the best thing my 
wife and I could have done, the old bed was causing us literally SO much 
pain, we woke up tired, hurting, etc. Since the new bed, I have actually 
slept better, no pain in the morning, AND even with only 5-6 hours sleep a 
night, I feel FULLY rested. I didn't realize how much a REALLY good bed can 
make a difference. You can't get this feeling from a $400 bed, either. We 
bought a pillow-top Stearns and Foster, not absolute top of the line, but 
close enough that it will cost us, but figure this : you sleep 1/3 of the 
time, so in 3 years, you've spent about 1 year in the bed! How much time do 
you spend in your car every day??? If ANY of you hurts in the morning, I 
would recommend a new bed, it is one of the BEST investments I've ever made ( 
and I HATE to spend money on even necessities like this ), so think about it 
. You'll be a much happier Gremlin driver if you don't hurt when you wake up 
in the morning. I know I am happy with my purchase, even if it did take alot 
of money to do it. We are making payments, so at least I won't lose alot of 
money right at first. LOL. 
Well, I need to get to work, so I'll catch ya later. Bye!

Jerry in Virginia