Ukraine Refugee Assistance

VikkiDp said:

Driven5 said:

Great find on those stamps, Vikki! What do they say at the bottom?

And as always Bill, your outlook on life is *almost* as inspiring as all those kids. Thank YOU for the sacrifices you've had to make to keep this going!

Country of volunteers 

Honest to goodness, I wouldn't have a clue about how advertised those are inside of Ukraine, or how many people are paying attention to the commemorative stamps being offered.  But I can say that I've never received so much attention as a "volunteer" before, and 100% attribute it to those being produced at the time of our run

People noticed, and they were so darn appreciative

In reply to bbbbRASS :

Thanks, man!

Hey, any chance you got a build thread for that BMW of yours?  I used to have a 330CI back in Kuwait and LOVED it.

Driven5 said:

Great find on those stamps, Vikki! What do they say at the bottom?

And as always Bill, your outlook on life is *almost* as inspiring as all those kids. Thank YOU for the sacrifices you've had to make to keep this going!

Much appreciated, sir.  I'm just glad we (as GRM) are in a position where we could "act" the way we can.  There was a thread going on that transmission as the scenario was being played out.  DarkMonohue has already scrounged up the spare parts to make the uninstalled transmission whole again.  And of course, going into Donetsk would have been a non-starter without VikkiDp there to help navigate and translate.

Together, I think we're going to get these kids through this

Everyone, I have the full video for the run report out.  Give it a gander when you got a second:

I've got Yaroslav's fundraiser open as well.  Here's the link to the donation page:

https://donorbox.org/get-yaroslav-his-4x4

Unfortunately Mr. Murphy continues to be a mother-berker, and is working against us again.  Shortly after Katie closed her fundraiser, PayPal decided to remove that option from their platform.  As GoFundMe doesn't allow military fundraising, we were forced to find another host.  We're hoping this works out.  Payments will go directly to my Yahoo paypal account, which had to be upgraded to a "business account" for this feature (I'll sort the implications of that out later).

On our webpage (www.DniproExpress.com), all of Yaroslav's donation links should take you to that same donation page.  Feel free to share with all your friends/families/neighbors/etc.

There's no deadline for this fundraiser.  We set the goal at $6500, but consider that to be arbitrary.  We're going to base this purchase off of our purchasing power with regards to funds collected.  When things look like they're going stagnant, then we move.  We'll start at "beat up Mitsubishi L200" and keep on going until we hit "brand new Toyota Hilux".

The requirements are simple:  Reliable, diesel, 4-wheel-drive, pickup. 

From there, I'm hoping we can have some fun "preparing" it for delivery (maybe some stickers and a quick "going over") but don't want to fall into the trap of turning the vehicle we buy into a "build". 

This is the drone that needs to fit in the back:

Oof da!  In all of this, I forgot to post pictures of the truck!

Here's what she looked like "post-run"

And speaking of "trucks", we have some news with regards to Yaroslav's "truck":

A Mitsubishi L200 will be what's requested.  He reports that there  are a couple units in operation near him and that the mechanics even have some spares.  From our new donation page, we've received $425 so far but we aren't sure if this is pre or post the 1.5% this platform charges to host.

That's not really an issue though as:

1)  VikkiDp is holding a wallet with cash that can be added to this fund as needed (previously donated for the units by a donor on the Kyiv Independent's discord server)

and

2)  Said donor from the KI discord server is pledging to add more to the pool in February (he will IBAN/SWIFT to avoid the fees).

It's looking promising everyone!!!

I think you guys might remember this picture from our 3rd run to Dnipro:

I thought I’d show you some pictures of the progression from then until now (as it’s been rebuilt!)

Built out of solid Ukrainium, I tell ya what.

After much dilly-dallying, all raffle prizes are finally on their way to our winners. You should all have tracking notifications from USPS very soon, if not already.

Thank you again for making this possible!

Hi everyone!!! Hope you're doing well 

So a little bit about the Malva rehabilitation center (as i promised )

When I read the news after the attack (it happened early that morning), i was immediately suspicious(actually, i had no doubt) that the rehab center was hit. Unfortunately, my suspicions had been confirmed. Fortunately, no one was hurt - it was early in the morning and the kids and the employees weren't there yet (well, someone like a watchman or a security guard was, of course), but... buildings on the grounds of the center were damaged - the boiler house, windows were blown out in the center building itself , and ceilings were damaged.

When I told you this sad news, you guys responded immediately to help 

I contacted the center and asked how we could help them - they were very happy that there were people willing to support them!!! and, of course, the first thing they asked for was supplies for the renovation 

ummm... honestly, I wasn't sure we could do this.

First - i understand nothing this sort of thing, the next one - how can we bring all this stuff in? and the next one and the most important - we won't be there until December  it's the problem... 

*after a little while, i figured out a way we could do it  there's nothing impossible

But at that time Bill offered to bring them cash that they could spend on whatever they needed.

Ok - i ask them, but they can't accept cash and they say it would be nice if we brought some candy and Christmas treats for the kids  okay, we can!!! just tell us what you need and we'll do it!!!

So, finally we got a very detailed list of what they needed and there were things for each of the specialists that work with the kids  and that's what we ended up coming with  here's a thanks to everyone involved 

Well, what about repairing the damage? you ask me 

Well, all is well!!!  

a few charity funds and volunteers had responded and helped with repairs stuff and new windows. Volunteers helped clean everything up after the attack.

 When people act together, they can do incredible things!!! Let me tell you!!! and each of you is also a part of it!!!

some before and after photos 

*the boiler house

*the rehab center and top floor windows

*the ceilings

Hi everyone!!!

I got a message from one of the moms asking for help 

-translation-

Vika, good evening. I wanted to ask you, but i'm so ashamed - how much has been done for us. I weaned one of my sons off diapers, thanks God. Maybe you can help, I really need 2-3 packs for my youngest son. I'll be very grateful.

If you can help i'll be grateful too 

There are a few others moms who need support as well.

Have a GREAT week, everyone!!!

VikkiDp said:

Hi everyone!!!

I got a message from one of the moms asking for help 

-translation-

Vika, good evening. I wanted to ask you, but i'm so ashamed - how much has been done for us. I weaned one of my sons off diapers, thanks God. Maybe you can help, I really need 2-3 packs for my youngest son. I'll be very grateful.

 

If you can help i'll be grateful too 

There are a few others moms who need support as well.

 

Have a GREAT week, everyone!!!

For any wanting to help, we can 100% use my gmail paypal as a collection plate for this.

Cheers, and happy Monday everyone!

BOOM!  $50 is on it's way to VikkiDp as we speak! 

Thank you guys!!

DarkMonohue said:

After much dilly-dallying, all raffle prizes are finally on their way to our winners. You should all have tracking notifications from USPS very soon, if not already.

Thank you again for making this possible!

Thanks DarkMonohue!   Mine arrived yesterday!

This arrived the other day but I've been running around a lot this week and hadn't made the time to post pictures.  This is a really nice looking kit, I'm hoping to find a little time to start assembly this weekend.  

Thanks to Dark Monahue for all the coordination and behind the scenes support for the effort.  Bill and Vikki, thanks for all you do to make the world a better place one good deed at a time.

In reply to 11GTCS and WonkoTheSane :

Awesome!!!!  "Once upon a time in Ukraine...", I love it!  I cant wait to see those kits put together!

I've been at a different sort of "U-Gears" (Me-Gears?) lately.  I'm going super slow and steady this time and have been putting in about 30 minutes to an hour each day just cleaning and checking things.  A few things:

1) I cant believe that mad thrash over Christmas worked.  There was a lot of things I was NOT paying attention to.  Direction of shift sleeves, verifying the synchros actually lock up (instead of just slamming them together) and a million other little bits that I think I got right on nothing more than just "dumb luck".  Case and point, I'm pretty sure that 3rd gear is not working in my current (installed) transmission because I never noticed until now that the 3-4 synchros were ever so slightly smaller than the 1-2 syncros.  I guess I just got it lucky the first two times because I had things organized in the order they were removed and never HAD to notice?  Well, this time as I was verifying "lockup" I accidentally picked up the wrong synchro once and said "aha!!"

2) Just how darn GRITTY things were!  I swear, you'd have thought this was the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers.  I spent a lot of time (and about 2 cans of brake clean) wiping all the sand and dirt off this thing.  Of course that mean that the bearings were blasted completely dry, so they got stuffed with a lot of assembly lube.

anyhoo, I'm at a stopping point now while we wait on logistics.  DarkMonohue has spent a lunch break or two ordering some c-clips and shift interlock pins that I lost from his local brick and mortar joints and once those get here we can complete the install (Thanks Mr. Monohue!!!!!)

I'm still going to have to split the case of my current transmission, mind you.  But only because my current tail housing has that broken reverse lockout (although I will admit to being tempted to install this one without the reverse lockout...  but better safe than sorry).  When I do drop the current transmission, I'm hoping to have things as "plug and play" as possible.

here are some shots of the rebuild (again).  Of course, it begins with cleaning the mess from the last thrash off of the (ever so tiny) work bench:

Of, I forgot to mention.  A woman named "Hannah" on the Kyiv Independent discord server donated some cash to the truck.  This was HUGELY unexpected (she has my SWIFT/IBAN info), but she told me to get the transmission parts (which I had to inform her that DarkMonohue wouldn't let me pay).  So to help me out, I bought a proper pair of snap-ring pliers!

This is something that I've been putting up with for waaaaaaaay too long.  The sets I have were like $5 for a set of 4 and they work like they cost $5 for a set of 4.  I never bought a new set because "of courser this is the last time I'm going to rebuild this".  It's been torture, and I hated every minute of it.

This new pair?  Heaven.  These are better in every possible way, and I should have bought them a long time ago.  I will admit I was hoping to pick up a set of duck-bill types, but the local tool store didn't have any.  Ah well, you'll see the new tool in red on the work bench.

and there we are.  Of note:  Synchro with broken tooth was not used.  It was discarded and replaced with a spare from the bench stock.

Good times

Oh snap, $50 more just hit the g-mail account.  Sending to VikkiDp as we speak!

Thanks you guys!!!!

And I thought I posted this one, but I guess I didn’t… I snapped a good hand-full of plastic hooks for that cargo net on that last run. The very second I got back, I had the 3d printer fired up and was making replacements. In testing they seem to be a lot stronger, so fingers crossed they’ll keep things contained the next time we got the truck stacked to the sky.

Good times.

Alright, everyone!  Before the weekend, I owe you all an update.  Here goes:

For Yaroslav's 4x4 fundraiser, we are sittin' pretty!  Vikki is holding funds from a donor from the Kyiv Independent's discord server (Arctic Raven, if you're ever over that way), and we have exactly $447 (post fees) in our account to add to those funds.  With the two together, we are RIGHT at the bottom of what's needed to purchase a set of wheels for the 25th Airborne.

With regards to the "Mothers in need" , we have $100 on the way to purchase any needs they may have.  That account is always on a slow burn in the background and can be accessed through the gmail paypal.

The links to Yaro's fundraiser is here:

https://donorbox.org/get-yaroslav-his-4x4

but if you were looking to share on social media then directing people to the webpage itself might be a better option (so they can see photos, videos, etc).  The link for that is here:  https://dniproexpress.com/adopt-a-drone-pilot

BUT, if you're on GRM then Yaro's fundraiser is 100% tied to our Yahoo paypal account if you wanted to skip the donation platform fees ;)

Cheers guys, and have a great weekend!

Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:

BOOM!  $50 is on it's way to VikkiDp as we speak! 

 

Thank you guys!!

Oh snap, $50 more just hit the g-mail account.  Sending to VikkiDp as we speak!

 

Thanks you guys!!!!

Thank you guys!!! 

Everyone,

I would like to report that our total collection is about to tip $1500 (not counting the purse that Vikki is holding).  The funds should be in my account in approximately 72hrs, and I've warned Mrs. Hungary that truck shopping will be in our very near future

Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:

 

Everyone,

I would like to report that our total collection is about to tip $1500 (not counting the purse that Vikki is holding).  The funds should be in my account in approximately 72hrs, and I've warned Mrs. Hungary that truck shopping will be in our very near future

Honestly, i still can't believe it!!!

with approximately 1400$ in my hands we've already collected 2900$ 

Ohhh, guys, cross your fingers!!!

TONS of questions ahead, but i believe we'll get it done 

Have a good time, everyone!!!

Hi, guys!!! Hope you're doing well 

Rostislav and Eric say "Thank you!!!" to all of you!!! 

And let me say "Thank you" from me, too 

Have a good day, everyone!!!

Oh awesome!!!  I love Eric's chubby cheeks when he smiles

If you guys go back and watch the "Kids Only" video from Christmas, their older brother "Bohdan" is the kiddo at the beginning putting on the boxing gloves we sent him.

Ok, some truck news!

So in total we received about $3000 USD.  I say "about" because I have to withdraw it still and there are going to be slight fluctuations in the exchange rate. 

I've been pouring over Mitsubishi L200 advertisements on FB marketplace, hasznaltauto.hu, and Mobile.de.  Here's what I've learned:

The first is, prices for these are either under $2000, or over $4000.  There doesn't seem to be much in-between.

The next is, for the vehicles in our price range, we're going to have to pick and choose what problems we're going to deal with and what we're willing to settle for (this got to be a slippery slope, as the GRM in me wanted to save as much money as possible in the spirit of fixing things with "sweat equity")

Two examples that came to mind were these two:

Both fell under the $2000 category, but I wasn't super impressed with either.

The top one was local to the city I live in.  It has no license plates, no technical inspection, and the power steering pump has failed.  The power steering is no problem, but there wasn't any way we could "sweat equity" out of having to pay for registration, etc.

The second one we can name "Merle" because it is haggard!

I thought we could have rattle-canned a paint job, but ultimately wanted to bring something that would generate excitement in Yaro's unit when it arrived.  With everything bent, rusty, or held on with zip-ties, I didn't see this one doing that.

The third thing I learned is that the Mitsubishi L200 series of pickups suffers from some (potentially serious) frame rot and cracking problems.  I found one in Germany that was COMPLETELY split, just forward of the passenger, back tire.

Which brings us nicely to this one:

This one is about 3-hours east of my house, which is where things start getting a little cheaper (it's a poorer part of the country).  Still though, with this being about $2000, and with it being in WAY nicer condition than a lot of the competitors, I had a good look over the photos.  Near the end, the owner had this one posted:

I can see that some patch panels have been welded in where the frame has been split, so I'm counting on those (ugly) welds holding up until I can get it to my garage.  Once there, I can use my TiG welder to weld up any remaining issues (or even add reinforcement plates) and think it's the best use of our sweat equity.  When done, and in true GRM fashion, we will truly have punched well above our weight.

If we fail?

No.  We're not going to fail, because we're not above pulling that box right off the back of that truck and fabricating our own repair plates from scratch.  This is GRM we're talking about!!

But seriously, the owner putting something like that right out in the ad is rare at the best of times (and almost unheard of out here).  I don't think they're hiding anything, and we have an appointment to see the truck on Sunday. As long as we don't run into too many frame rot issues, I don't think we have any reason NOT to drive this home.

Cross your fingers it doesn't sell before then!

In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :

Which brings us nicely to this one:

 

Ummm... not bad 

as you rightly pointed out, you need to get a good look at the frame 

because the conditions in which the truck is supposed to be used are off-road, mud(lots of mud) and high speeds (very high speeds, i'd say...) 

So, my fingers crossed!!!