Old Trucks Like Me

05/28/2024

Old Trucks Like Me

Cold Starting SoB

Good Morning, Blah, blah, blah. I’m not fully awake yet as the coffee isn’t flowing thru my system at full speed, so like a cold running 67 Chevy c10 pick-up in a Michigan winter I’m a little sluggish.

And like that c10 after I get going I will hopefully kick it into high gear and leave a smokin’ post behind…or not.

In the Shop

With maintenance costs steadily rising over the years I have been able to keep this ol’ body and internal gears in pretty good shape considering how rough it has been used through the ages. This human vehicle ran at peak performance for years before starting to need repairs.

Then the problems started in. “We need to remove your fuel filter” and poof, just like that my gallbladder was gone and I was running fine again. Fast forward a decade and outside of basic tune-ups I was operating in top notch fashion.

In the 1980s I needed to make repairs on the interior such as the web of fabric they placed in my stomach wall for hernias’, yes multiple {6} so I stayed in the repair shop for a few days. With new interior fabric I once again was out and running fine.

It Was an Accident!

I wasn’t paying attention! In 1995 I was running this old truck at top speed for miles on end and so I was pumping racing fuel into that damn fine running V8 when I took a wrong turn and busted the right front control arm, or in plain english “I shot myself in the right knee”.

The result of that accident was loss of insurance, job and the privilege of operating anything but a wheelchair for the next year.

So, after getting the leg repaired and waiting a year to get back on the road I started out with “Baby Steps” and learning to walk again was comparable to learning how to operate a clutch for the first time.

Restored

Back in good operating condition I did what any “Hill Jack” living in LA “Lower Alabama” would do, I started hauling stuff around and by 2007 I had overloaded the belly of my pick up bed and weighed in at 400 pounds. Now anyone will tell you that overloading those springs like that will cause problems down the road and guess what? It did.

No Converter

It started out as any other day and come evening after another day of pushing my luck it was time to find a mechanic that was open after hours “ER” as my exhaust was plugged up and I wasn’t firing on all 8 cylinders.

After being put on the rack and checked out {cat scan} they found that not only did this make and model not have a converter but that my straight pipes were not functioning right so they removed my exhaust. I awoke finding that I was running with no tail pipe and my exhaust was coming straight out of the headers. {a colostomy} which was repaired 4 years later at a better shop.

Last year I had a minor maintenance problem with the air cleaner and had to once again make an appointment to take this old vehicle into the shop. They removed 1 1/2 inches out of my right lung and pronounced me clear to return to running down the road.

Fuel is Fine

As you can guess the coffee has kicked in and another nonsense post has made its way onto your screen. Enjoy this beautiful day we have been blessed with and keep the maintenance up to date on your “personal vehicle” Did I tie it in good enough? Let me know your thoughts.