Originally Posted By: bbhero
That's very interesting SilverSnake. Bet it got exceptionally cold in that area. And.. you must have lived quite an interesting life
Exceptionally cold is an understatement. It got to 70F below the year I was there. No humidity when that cold so it had to warm up a lot to snow. If you went to a friends house for a party or dinner, you had to go outside every 1/2 hour to start the truck to keep it from freezing up. Machinery does not like extreme cold. I had to install a manual choke in my truck when I got there because the automatic choke would never open from 20 below on. Running full rich will use a tank of gas rather quickly. Artic wheel bearing grease was required so your front wheel bearings would not freeze up and stop rolling. First I ever heard of synthetic engine oil was in Alaska. They sold a brand called Polar Start up there way back when. I could go on and on.
Interesting life to be sure. 27 years in the military (retired in 1996). Alaska was one of the most interesting assignments. At the time the pipeline was under construction and Fairbanks was a true wild west town. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was paying people $75K per year with room and board provided (in the 70s that was a ton of money). The guys would come into town and cut loose after months on the North Slope. Needless to say a lot of their money went to booze and ladies of the evening. Lots of "altercations" and believe it or not, only 150 State Troopers to cover the entire state. Those guys were made of iron. Services were hard to come by. When I got to Fairbanks after coming up the Alcan Hwy (1200 miles of which were gravel and dirt), I stopped by the Ford dealer for an oil change. They said they would put me on the waiting list (30+ days). Fortunately, the radar site had shop space they let us use to change our own oil.
I could tell stories about that place all day long.
That's very interesting SilverSnake. Bet it got exceptionally cold in that area. And.. you must have lived quite an interesting life
Exceptionally cold is an understatement. It got to 70F below the year I was there. No humidity when that cold so it had to warm up a lot to snow. If you went to a friends house for a party or dinner, you had to go outside every 1/2 hour to start the truck to keep it from freezing up. Machinery does not like extreme cold. I had to install a manual choke in my truck when I got there because the automatic choke would never open from 20 below on. Running full rich will use a tank of gas rather quickly. Artic wheel bearing grease was required so your front wheel bearings would not freeze up and stop rolling. First I ever heard of synthetic engine oil was in Alaska. They sold a brand called Polar Start up there way back when. I could go on and on.
Interesting life to be sure. 27 years in the military (retired in 1996). Alaska was one of the most interesting assignments. At the time the pipeline was under construction and Fairbanks was a true wild west town. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was paying people $75K per year with room and board provided (in the 70s that was a ton of money). The guys would come into town and cut loose after months on the North Slope. Needless to say a lot of their money went to booze and ladies of the evening. Lots of "altercations" and believe it or not, only 150 State Troopers to cover the entire state. Those guys were made of iron. Services were hard to come by. When I got to Fairbanks after coming up the Alcan Hwy (1200 miles of which were gravel and dirt), I stopped by the Ford dealer for an oil change. They said they would put me on the waiting list (30+ days). Fortunately, the radar site had shop space they let us use to change our own oil.
I could tell stories about that place all day long.
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