Lost and Found: Part 2

Continuing the telling of the Truck Recover Saga. First off, I'm about $700 poorer, which I didn't really realize until I checked my bank account this morning. That was close to all of the money cushion I had, so that's too bad. But whatever, I have my truck, I'm going to Tahoe this weekend, it has a muffler, it's bitchin. I never thought I would appreciate having a quiet car as much as I do after first having no muffler, then not even a Catalytic Converter.

Taking some steps back.
So a week ago, I got a call that it had been found, etc, and that I would need to jump through some hoops to get it. All they could tell me was that it was "driveable." So I went to the SF police department, got a release of vehicle slip, and the guy told me to go across the street. Went there, he obviously didn't realize it was in San Leandro, so it wans't there.

I got up early and caught the train to the East Bay, San Leandro, where my car had been found and was now in an impound yard. Biked to the SLPD, traded my SF release of vehicle slip for an SL one, and then biked to the tow yard. Saw the truck behind the fence, and was pretty stoked that the thing even existed. Found the office, signed papers, went out to get it and saw some interesting things. #1 eyecatcher: A radiator in the truckbed. And lots of wires. OH SHIT THEY RIPPED OUT MY RADIATOR. Open the hood. Nope, just some radiator... sweet guys. #2, open the car, and there isn't much left inside. Center console gone, speakers gone, owners manual gone, etc. Bummers, but whatever. #3, the tow truck guy says "Hey, was that knife in the dashboard before?" Umm, no, dude, I did not stab a knife into my own dashboard. It's a cleaver, and I thought about leaving it there, but it creeped me out, and was probably used to hotwire it. So now it's under the seat. As if that's not creepy.

I try to start it, no dice, obviously battery is dead. The guy tries to push it backwards out of the yard for me to pop the clutch and drop it, but hey, dude, it's flat. Obviously doesn't work, so he goes to his truck and gets his jump start kit. That wasn't your first idea? It starts, and it's even louder than before. I think. I wonder to myself if in its absence I had forgotten how effing loud it was, but it definitely seems louder. I realize the gas is really low (well, the gas light's on... the gas gauge has never worked). So I hope that I'll make it to a gas station asap. It's loud as fuck, hurting my ears, but I make it the 4 blocks or so to the station. Definitely get some weird looks. Fill up 17.8 gallons, about a gallon more than I'd ever put in or even thought it could hold. Glad it made it. I realize at this point they took the Brio sticker off and I hate them even more.

I drove down to a car parts store and got some turn signal bulbs and a brake lock, which tow-truck man said is way better than the club. I believe it, sounds good. I was kind of depressed, because the truck seemed sad, so loud, so naked. But, I had it, and that was good. Drove back home with the bike in the back, parked it, locked it all up, and went to work.

So, the truck is mine again. I put the bed top on this weekend and got the exhaust fixed in record time at an amazing place in SF. Really nice guys, and they showed me that the Cat had been cut off, so I needed one of those. Unfortunately the most expensive part. Costs me $170 to replace, whereas the thieves got probably $5 or $10 for it cut off. As the muffler guy said though, that's $5 or $10 more dollars than they had before. I still need to replace the jack, tools, and registration, but that will all come. It's back, and I love it. Things could be different, but they could be a lot worse, too.

Lost and Found: Part 1

Last time I remembered I had a blog was when my truck got stolen. Stupid bastard assholes took it from a block away from my house. Some people told me it was definitely in a chop shop and gone forever.

But ALAS! Last Thursday I got a call from an "unknown" number while at work. I picked it up, and "Hello, this is the San Francisco Police Department of Auto Theft. Your car has been found in San Leandro."

Amazing. So, I got it, it's recovered, it runs. I'm stoked. There were a lot of weird things that happened between then and now, which I'll remark on in Part 2, but it's back, locked up like a death row inmate, and mine.