That’s what I told the guys working on my pickup. It’s about time you guys finished putting all the parts on my old Ford. I might have told you that I am in the middle of re-doing my truck. It was hard to let go, but I finally understood that I was not going to crawl under that garage guest any more. It just takes me too long to heal when I drop something on my toes. I’m tired of lying down on my creeper and sliding under the gas tanks. I have one on each side, so it takes me twice as long to do anything I want to do.
The gas tanks had been leaking and I couldn’t figure out why. The gas gauges were never correct, so I would just wait until I ran out of gas on one, then flip the switch and run the other tank. That works fine until you forget to fill up the one that just ran out of gas.
I finally faced up to the understanding that I am not very good with automobile electrics. I also didn’t have windshield wipers because it takes a new switch and motor. Ditto to the heater not working that also required a new motor and lines installed.
There were lots of items on my fix-it list. I had sat down one day and written down everything that was wrong with the truck. Then I started seeking out mechanics that still worked on hot rods. Then I had to get on the internet and find the parts that were not being made any longer. You can find anything you want if you look long enough. Of course, you have to have some of the parts because you can’t afford to buy parts that haven’t been made in years.
There are lots of repair shops in Salinas and even in South County, but very few — make that none of them — worked on vehicles older than they are. I got tired of pulling up to a garage that had a good reputation as mechanics, asking them if they could work on my truck, and they smiled and said, “Sure! We love working on these old cars and trucks… Uh, where is the computer hookup?” They thought I was a goof off when I told them that there were no computers in 1956.
Then one day while crying on the phone to my younger son, he reminded me that our next door neighbor had an uncle who worked on customs. The difference between custom mechanics and regular mechanics is about $10 an hour.
I called ahead and made an appointment to go over my list and his available time to get the list finished. “How long do you think it will take to get all these jobs done?” I asked innocently. He laughed and said something to his mechanic. I don’t speak Spanish fluently, but I understood “Loco.” I sat down and started telling him about how I had heard of his expertise with older cars. He had an office decorated with lots of photos of cars from the early ’50s.
He is a great guy and I trust him to do the right thing. If he dedicated his time to my truck I would probably be paying about three times as much because he would probably have to do the work himself. When I wiped the tears from my eyes, I told him I would deliver the truck and I would not harass him or drop by all the time. He said he thought that we could do business.
I delivered the truck and he has been moving in and out of the shop and working on it as time allowed. I’m pretty sure this is the week I bring it back home. I have owned that truck for over 60 years. I may have to have the driveline switched over to electric in 2035 when Gov. Newsom said we can’t have any more gasoline cars.
That should be an easy answer to our climate problems. Of course, we will have to have new sources of electricity because we can’t even turn on our fans when the sun shines down. I don’t know where these politicians went to school, but they sure have a hard time understanding that we don’t have any new sources at this time, and nobody wants a nuclear power plant in their backyard.
Do you ever wonder where these politicians come up with their ideas? I mean we would have to be pretty dumb to take everything they say as gospel. Biden spends money by simply telling the treasury to print more. If that continues, I have some monopoly money that should allow me to buy a Tesla.
First he causes inflation to get a good hold on our economy, then he gets mad when we say it’s his fault. This next election should be interesting. I haven’t figured out how they will make sure each of our votes count. I didn’t pay much attention back when I reached my majority. The politicians back then were too busy selling guns and deadly things to our government.
You know that’s how the deal works. Get elected and find out which bill they will pass next and then buy a ton of the depressed stock and watch your money grow. They don’t even hide it anymore.
Pelosi had her husband buy millions of dollars worth of stock and then voted to give a big contract to the company. It’s not just her or the Democrats or Republicans. It is all of them. They get elected as a conservative and then begin fleecing the public.
About the only thing that makes me smile is that Biden will go down as the worst President we have ever had. He and his son should be in jail awaiting trial on using their position to blackmail other countries. Shoot! He even brags about how he got the Ukrainians to stop investigating his son.
OK, that’s it for this week. I’m sorta wounded today. We took my mother-in-law out last night for her birthday hurrah, and I think someone slipped some alcohol in my Kool-Aid.
God Bless.
