Wednesday, September 24, 2014
"We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up." - Christopher Morely
My day got off to a GREAT start. I almost went back to bed because I was afraid the rest of the day would spoil its beginning.
I was out in the garage at 5:00. In last night's post I mentioned I got the flywheel installed, and I did...sort of. It was in place, the hard part, but the six bolts weren't in. I needed to get some LockTight, which I did on the way home from the gym late afternoon.
By 6 a.m. I had everything in place, including the engine hoist at the ready, the flywheel wedged in position and the torque wrench set to 60 ft. lbs. But I quickly realized that while I might find a way to get this done it would go much better (and safer) with a helper.
Behind me I hear a "hello" and turn to see a guy about my height, maybe 70, walking a beautiful German Shepherd pup - I'm guessing 6 months old. He was curious to see what I was up to with the truck, very visible to anyone walking by our open garage door.
Charlie was there for the next hour. He lives about four blocks away, is a retired metallurgist, but most importantly, a car guy. Major car guy! He's built, collected, shown, and raced some great machines, mostly British, and co-owned a shop in NY that specialized in British sports cars. In his garage - which I'll be visiting very soon - sit not one, but TWO '67 Jaguar XKE's. For those who can't put a face with that name:
One is a silver convertible and the other a 2+2. Both have the legendary Jag straight six (good for 180 mph), and both are in the process of restoration. He raced the convertible when they lived in NY and was quite successful. His list of previously owned cars include a TR7 and a Rolls, all of which he either built, showed, raced, or all of the above.
When his kids were in H.S. he told them he wouldn't pay their gas or insurance but he would build a car with them. His son chose a '69 Mustang Mach 1 which they built out to be "very, very fast" and...I forget what he built with his daughter, but I remember thinking, "She has good taste."
Charlie knows his stuff! Knew about the T5 I'm putting in the truck, knew about this engine's lower end, told me I'd really like the sound if I put dual exhaust on it (already purchased and ready for install), and mentioned in passing that he attended Bob Bondurant's racing school. Oh, and they used to live in Tacoma where he built himself a drag boat.
"If you ever need help with anything here...."
Uhm, if you weren't out walking your dog I'd ask you to help me get the flywheel bolted up.
"The dog will be fine. Let's just hook the leash here..."
Fifteen minutes later the job was done.
Great guy. Not any part the blowhard or egotist. Just a car guy talking to another car guy telling his stories as I soaked it up. Charlie has played around at the top of the game and has serious skills. What a great way to start my day. Imagine a H.S. trumpet player meeting Wynton Marsalis.
In for a quick bit of b'fast (three eggs and BACON) and then off to the metal shop to media blast the starter linkage and the manifold bolts. Both will get painted and installed tomorrow morning.
Yeah, starter linkage.
A '59 Chevy truck has a key for the dash, but only the "run" position for that switch. Then you push a 2" metal button on the floor to activate the starter.
Besides being a stick shift, the starter button on the floor means almost nobody could steal the truck even if they wanted to. Most Americans can't drive a stick and wouldn't have a clue how to start this thing.
Oh, and there's a manual choke and a manual throttle knob.
From the metal shop to the nearby Starbucks. Skinny carmel latte and sermon prep. Home for lunch and more [wrestling with the] sermon. Some births are harder than others.
We hit 107 today. Wonderful.
I've fallen into a routine that includes particularly strenuous workouts on M,W, and F.
Today is W.
Tonight I'm draggin'.
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