Driving a long ways for a spare chassis.Am I stupid?

[JCFitz]

So I've been told by my boss who overheard me talking on my cell phone about driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel for a spare Zenith 29JC20 chassis that I am stupid.

He is not a tv collector,just an old tv shop owner. He said so what get one when you need it. your stupid to drive all that way.

I'm thinking of the scarcity of the parts and grabbing one while I can. I know these Zeniths are built like tanks and don't burn flybacks up like RCA but I'm thinking of 5,10,20 years down the road or it it could be next month that flyback that works now may fail or some other unobtainable part and there may not be any to be had. I mean we're talking about a near 50 year old tv.Parts ain't growing on trees and anything can fail as these sets age.

So who's stupid? I'd like to think most colectors here would be thinking like me. Plus I may buy another Zenith roundie set if another member doesn't buy it first.

See my boss has borrowed my truck and hasn't unloaded the load of dirt he picked up and I gotta wait until next weekend to make the drive. Driving the work van there is out of the question for sure.His insurance is for business and would likely not cover an accident on a weekend excursion well out of his service area.Plus that van has almost 200,000 miles with a whining rear end and would probably break down with my luck.

To explain the truck situation I let my boss use my truck whenever he needs to use it. In exchange I drive the work van everywhere including weekends and never buy gas.I just stick his credit card in the pump.I only use my own money to buy gas for a long trip to pick up something which in that case I always use my own truck.

[Keefla]

My 2c,i think your boss is just trying to justify not emptying out your truck so you can use it to get the chassis. Id make the drive for it, thow im kindof a pacrat too so maybe not the best to comment. I think most here would agree thow, you are not stupid. Have him empty out his dirt so you can get your goodies!!

[marty59]

29JC20 chassis's don't come along every day and you bet I'd grab it. Throw his dirt out at the edge of his driveway and go!

Even though I personally wouldn't need one, to have access to it I would be doing someone else a favor by saving it.

[ctc17]

Tell your boss I drove from Los Angeles to South Carolina twice to clean out a tv shop and bring a bunch of it home.
No, you are fine. If you enjoy it and it gives your old set some security its worth it. Go get it

[drh4683]

Its worth it for a 29JC. Unfortunately, thordarson never made a replacement fly for the 29JC20, so if you have a bad fly, you're out of luck without that parts chassis. 29JC20's are known for flyback troubles as well. I had one go out on mine and I know oldtvman had one go on his too. Hopefully thats a good parts chassis and that it was scrapped due to a bad CRT and not a flyback...

[Findm-Keepm]

You're not stupid - you have my full support here too.

Make it a fun trip - if you are into the space thing, Wallops Island is a great stop. I've stopped there many times on my trips north. I used to make the trip to Accomac with my junior sailors that got the ol' 75 in a 55 speeding ticket. The Navy said they had to have a command rep, so I'd volunteer for the day off....10 minute trial, 5 hours of sightseeing, paid for by the hapless sailor.

You might also want to do double duty - if there is anything you need but can't get where you are, chances are the Hampton Roads area will have it. Anything else you need? I'm here on the "southside" of the CBBT - if you need parts, lemme know. Arrangements can be made! Same goes for Bryan G - need anything from down here, lemme know.

Cheers,

[CoogarXR]

Asking the "am I stupid for buying another old TV (for whatever reason)" in this forum is like asking "does anybody want cake?" at a Jenny Craig meeting...

Go get that bad boy, and picture all of your fellow pack-rats here cheering you on like we are in Arsineo Hall's audience.

[Red Raster]

Living 620 driving miles north of Seattle makes finding collectable sets sitting on the curb a little tough. Shipping gets exponentially expensive as the cube volume and weight go up. It took a bit of driving to find and get a 621 630 721 or how about driving 2200 miles from Chicago with the seats all the way forward (occasionally looking back at the restored working CTC 5 on the back seat diminished the pain considerably).

[bandersen]

No, you're not stupid. Heck, I've been considering driving down to Jackson, TN to get this sad little Motorola 12K1 in the hopes the CRT is good or maybe it has parts I'll need for my 12K2. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=310320834489

Sure, it's only $10.99 BIN, but it would be a 1,000 mile round trip.
If I can squeeze 30 mph out of my VW and figure $4/gal, that's $133 plus one long day of driving Now that's crazy

[AUdubon5425]

I once bought a Renault sight unseen for $500, flew to Boston and drove it back to New Orleans. That's crazier than anything mentioned so far.

[JCFitz]

Originally Posted by drh4683

Its worth it for a 29JC. Unfortunately, thordarson never made a replacement fly for the 29JC20, so if you have a bad fly, you're out of luck without that parts chassis. 29JC20's are known for flyback troubles as well. I had one go out on mine and I know oldtvman had one go on his too. Hopefully thats a good parts chassis and that it was scrapped due to a bad CRT and not a flyback...

Most likely bad crt. he says the 21FB22 is a dud and he no longer has the cabinet or tuner. I was scared to death when my broken HV cup allowed the rectifier cap to get too close to the cage and the rectifier cap arced to the chassis so bad the picture disappeared and I smelled a burning smell.Talk about scrambling for the power switch. The first time I fired it up after repairs I was praying real hard that flyback was ok. I hope no here grabs the chassis out from under me now that the cat's out of the bag. I made a generous offer.

Now I wish I had seen something else mentioned on VK 24 hours ago. That dirt would already be in the driveway and I'd be on my way as soon as I got off work today. I'd have offered to prepay to save it until I got there even.
http://allentown.craigslist.org/atq/2406890002.html

I've emailed them just in case but I'm not setting my hopes too high being the cat's been let out of the bag here and I know there are members in that area.

[rld-tv01]

I have driven to Mass from VA to pick up a BW set. I also picked up another TV along the way in New London Connecticut on that trip. I have driven to St Michaels MD to pick up an RCA 630. I drive to the ETF convention in Columbus Ohio every year and always bring some TVs home.

[JCFitz]

Originally Posted by rld-tv01

I have driven to Mass from VA to pick up a BW set. I also picked up another TV along the way in New London Connecticut on that trip. I have driven to St Michaels MD to pick up an RCA 630. I drive to the ETF convention in Columbus Ohio every year and always bring some TVs home.

You were close to me and bgadow when you visited St Michaels. Actually I'm about 65 miles away.Bryan is a little closer.

[Sandy G]

Well, yeah, you ARE crazy, but so what ? We ALL are, in one way or another, so do what makes you happy, & rejoice in the fact that you can indulge yrself...This is the kind of thing that you'll remember/cherish the rest of your life...

[kx250rider]

That's the early one with the two 3DG4 B+ rectifier tubes, isn't it? I've only ever SEEN TWO of those, and I have been collecting TVs since 1978. Get it!!!

Charles