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2005, Beaulieu Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford, $12.99

I was struggling to find something to go with sushi and Chinese take-out at Giant Eagle near Parma Town.  The wine selection area was large in area, but for some reason, the shelves just didn’t have a very good selection of reds.  I finally decided on this Napa cab from Beaulieu Vineyard.  Not a vineyard in Napa I’ve visited, but being of the 2005 vintage, I figured it should get a lift from that well regarded year.  It was very enjoyable for the price.  It went very well with the meal.  I’d recommended it to anyone looking for something not too fancy or complicated when in the mood for a Napa cab.  It had some body and some very mild white pepper, but not too harsh.

2005, Font-Destiac, Bordeaux, $13.99

Made a quick stop into Heinen’s near by and found what I was hoping to be a low priced 2005 Bordeaux that might prove note worthy.  Well, I was left disappointed on all fronts.  The bouquet was flat and uninspiring.  The first few tastes were flat and rest of the bottle was in a word … flat.  On the positive, the finish was smooth and no heavy, earthy after taste, but this just consistent flatness all around.  I think I’ll pass on this one going forward.

2005, Cotes du Rhone, $13.99

I recently discovered Vino Matique! in Berea, OH, USA.  They are a wine store that has a small but interesting selection of wines for sale as well as the ability to taste about 10 different bottle.  They have a fancy vacuum dispensing machine that for $2 a glass, you can taste a wine before buying, if they have the bottle you are interested in the machine.  I haven’t tried tasting any wines, but since they have a rather unique selection, I found their display of French wines and have started from the inexpensive ones.  This particular selection is quite good, especially for the price.  Michelle tried it and she liked it (rare since she is more of a wine or sweet wine fan) but commented that is was strong with a peppery taste.  I found the peppery taste in good contrast to the power grape fruit taste of the wine.  We had the wine with another dinner experiment, Steak au Poivre from the Food Network.  For the price, I strongly recommend this wine and especially complementing a steak such as the slightly rich, Steak au Poivre!

2005, Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, approx. $13

Third time I’ve picked this up when Giant Eagle puts it on sale.  First time with sushi was excellent for the price.  The third time with steak was good, but not the the same as that first experience.  It seemed to lack some of the black pepper notes I recall from the first try.  Still, for the price, a good choice with red meat and or pasta with a red sauce … even sushi.

2001, La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino, $16 per glass

Since it was our anniversary and we were celebrating at Lago since Parkers, where I originally proposed, is no more, I tried a glass of this Brunello.  After so many Brunello articles in Wine Spectator, I figured I would splurge and try a glass.  In a word, outstanding … like nothing I’ve tried from Napa or Somona when tasting at all the open wineries I could fit into a few day trips.  I enjoyed the glass of wine with some bread and the calamari appetizer which had a light tomato sauce with a bit of a spicy kick.  It remained excellent with both.  I highly recommended it.  Unfortunately, byt the time the duck arrived I had finished off the glass and thus can’t share how it blended with a main course.

2006, Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon, approx. $9.99

Again, victim of a sale at Giant Eagle.  Claim is original price is around $14.99.  Rather forgettable … nothing stood out.  Flat, unexciting .. definitely worth passing on even for a few dollars less that $9.99.

Some pictures I snapped last year after a heavy snow fall … thought these might make the current Cleveland weather seem a little less brutal:

The next conversion … making the lift a big more manageable, replacing the 460 for a 300 inline 6, replacing the C6 with a 4 speed (4th = OD) Ford manual and replacing the mated NP205 for a divorced NP205 including a new 8 inch drive shaft between the trans and the transfer case.

In order to keep an eye on everything, I have pulled together relevant gauges. Pictured here:

Stock 1977 Ford gauges
VDO RPM gauge (right of steering column)
Engine vacuum gauge (bottom left)
VDO Oil pressure gauge (right of stock gauges)
VDO voltage gauge (right of oil pressure gauge)
Edelbrock fuel mixture gauge (below oil and voltage gauges)

The steering column still has the automatic gear lever which does nothing. The four speed shift lever is pictured and mates with the transmission through the floor to the right of the driver side seat.

Freshly painted NP205 from a junked 1977 F250 with a Henderson Driveline customer constructed 8 inch drive shaft. The mount is the frame cut from the F250 and extended with tubular (cubed) steal to fit the wider van frame:

Freshly painted NP205 from a junked 1977 F250 with a Henderson Driveline customer constructed 8 inch drive shaft. The mount is the frame cut from the F250 and extended with tubular (cubed) steal to fit the wider van frame:

Home made mounting frame for the Ford 4 speed transmission. The regular van frane support and mount angle the output shaft of the transmission too high making the angles of the U joints on the 8 inch drive shaft too severe. Hence, dropping the rear of the transmission a few inches made everything line up nicely.

The ti rod pictured is the standard Dana 60 … I just bolted the steering stabilizer mount to the ti rod and painted everything nice and black:

Shot of the rear front leaf spring mount. The mount is a fabrication of the original twin i beam suspension mounts to hold a spring instead. The springs are replacements for a 1977 F250 with a few of the smallest leaves removed to weaken the spring a bit so it is less bouncy and match the height of the rear lift:

Another shot of the rear front leaf spring mount. The mount is a fabrication of the original twin i beam suspension mounts to hold a spring instead. The springs are replacements for a 1977 F250 with a few of the smallest leaves removed to weaken the spring a bit so it is less bouncy and match the height of the rear lift:

The rear Dana 60 fresh from Dynatrac. Nothing like a custom made, 35 spline Dana 60 with 4.56 gears and a Dana limited slip differential arriving in a big crate to just bolt in and drive away:

Replaced the stock intake and exhaust manifold with Clifford Performance water warmed 4 barrel aluminum intake and stock cast iron exhaust manifolds from a 1996 Ford F150. I tried the Clifford headers but they robbed too much low end torch and increased the high end. They also were extremely loud. Thus, for everyday driving, they just didn’t work for me. Now if I was racing and keeping the RPMs at 3000-4000 regularly, then those headers would be a must have.

The carburator is an Edelbrock Performer 205 with a manual choke. In order to everything to work together, I needed to adjust the timing, change the rods and jets and add a 4 core radiator to keep things cool … stock cooling just couldn’t keep up anymore:

The rear Dana 60 (again) fresh from Dynatrac. Nothing like a custom made, 35 spline Dana 60 with 4.56 gears and a Dana limited slip differential arriving in a big crate to just bolt in and drive away:

Van in mid conversion. Note the white passenger door … picked up from Madden Truck Parts on Brookpart in Parma, OH after bouncing off a dump truck on I90 at about 50 mph due to a weak steering ball joint:

Cleaned up and freshly painted front reverse rotation Dana 60 with my custom steering setup. The engine cross member needed to be cut to allow the axle differential housing to move freely with the rest of the suspension. The the thick black hose is the return for the cooling system and the thin black hose is the return for the power steering fluid:

Front axle hub on the drivers side. Added the coil spring mount in order to act as a secure shock mount. Rancho RS5000 shock on each side: