Garage Projects

The Mighty Merc – Crossing the 1,000 mile mark

This past Turkey Day, we loaded up the Mercury for its first long road trip, which at the end of the trip marked the 1,000 mile point since the build first rolled out of the garage.

So we took this much junk (for a one night stay) and crammed it into the back of the Merc:
Sara L.: Phone Uploads &emdash;

And hit the road to go see family in Southern MO. We made a side trip down to the farm to goof off for a bit and it gave me a chance to take it off road for the first time, though I’m not going to say that it was anything challenging. So we started out with wide gravel roads…:
Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

To narrower gravel roads:
Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

To two track:
Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

Once we were down there, we wandered around the property a bit:
Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

And it’s funny how much things can change in just a few years. I took a photo of the Merc sitting in the same spot that I once had the truck sitting:
Sara L.: Build and Misc &emdash;

Sara L.: 1st Road Trip &emdash;

So how are things going after a 1,000 miles? Pretty good actually. I still need to fix some nagging road issues such as a drive shaft vibe and tire balance, but otherwise, it eats up the miles pretty well. It does suck down the fuel while doing so though, at last count it is getting about 11.25 mpgs since the cold arrived.

Once I get my balance issues sorted, I’ll be moving on to the more off road orientated things to get it ready to wheel for real (rear tow point, skid plate, etc). I’m starting to get excited about that!

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