It was the points.

Okay, the date of my postings are actually different than the actual date when the events occurred. So far its been a couple of days in arrears but that is always subject to change :) Sometimes it takes me a while to update the blog. I do actually have a life outside of this truck! So when the date is significant or worth mentioning, I will post it in the text of the blog and you will know to ignore the automatic date that is shown. In fact, ignore that anyway.

The date is Valentine's Day 2009. There are many things to do on Valentine's Day; the least of which is working on the old truck. After doing all the things that I want (and need) to do, I finally make my way to the garage. I replace the points and condenser. My wife actually helps me bump the engine over in order to gap the points. I tighten everything down and test for a spark to the plugs. To my utter disbelief, there is spark to the plugs. Finally. Let me repeat that, I said "there is spark to the plugs".



In the depths of my heart, I know that the fuel pump and the carburetor will need to be rebuilt before she will ever run. Sitting for 20 years will guarantee that much. ... but I am an optimist. Did I tell you that? So encouraged by a spark to the plugs, I decided that I should try to see if it would at least sputter. So I poured a little gas into the carburetor, being careful to pour equal amounts precisely into the two barrels. I positioned the fire extinguisher close to the truck and then pumped the accelerator a few times. I turned the ignition key and... it rumbled a little, grumbled a little and then... she actually came to life. The engine actually started and ran!!! OMG. It was running!!! The Truck was running!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Valentine's Day 2009; what a gift!! I had envisioned that when it first started running again, I would have it outside so that the accumulated oil in the cylinders would smoke a little and dissipate. But noooooooo, I had it fully inside the garage and one of the garage doors was closed. I never expected it to actually run. But now that it was running, I was afraid to take my foot off the accelerator for fear that it might die. So I started blowing the a-ooo-gah horn trying to get my wife or one of my children to come help me. Again, noooooOOO. Does anybody else have teenagers in their house? Then you know what I mean. I could have been drowning or worse, and if they were in the middle of texting someone or i-m-ing, then I was surely going to die. So I sat there gunning the engine and building up deadly fumes. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I took my foot off the accelerator and ran for fresh air. To my utter disbelief, she kept on running. I stood out in the driveway looking back into the garage and looking with amazement as it billowed smoke ...and I got a little pensive. It was running... OMG, the truck was running. This was a full 3 months(or more) ahead of my timeline. All that I wanted to do was call Dad and tell him the truck was running.


My senior year in college, I remember my dad calling to let me know that the truck had stopped running and that he had tried everything to get it running again. The points and condenser were new so those were the last things that he thought could have been wrong. His health had really begun to fail and it was probably a call for help as much as it was a call to relay information. Sadly, I had no bandwidth. I was 'heads-down' trying to wrap up and graduate. We never got around to trouble shooting. Shortly thereafter in 1990, we almost lost Dad. He lost consciousness for a few days and at that point his health dropped off precipitously. One thing led to another... marriage, babies, work, grad school and suddenly 20 years had slipped away. Dad passed in 1998 and the truck still wasn't running. Somewhere along the way, I decided that I would bring this dream to a conclusion; both as a gift to my dad and journey of discovery for myself.
So here I am, right in the thick of things. I was so elated when it rumbled to life; so elated! I was giddy for hours. I remember looking at my wife and saying ' I want to call Dad and tell him the truck is running'. She said, 'He knows'. And so just in case... Dad, if you don't know... it was the points. Who would have thought?