...Yep, that's what I've figured out. Einstein figured out that time slows
down or speeds up or something when you get older - - - or something like that.
What I've figured out is that when you're old (well, a lot older than you used
to be) what used to be two Saturdays and two Sundays is now equal to two
months. What used to take two weekends for me to do (let's say, pull a front
clip off and yank a motor and transmission) now takes upwards of two months.
At any rate, I finally got the truck and trailer unpacked from WOS (and that
was minus the race car itself, mind you - I sold that at Bonneville), and have
most everything stored back on the shelves in the shop. Finally, today I spent
a few hours working on the Studebaker. Got the windows and mechanisms out,
ready to pull the doors off, and the front clip should be off by Saturday - -
or, should I say not later than the third weekend of this month - -or maybe the
second weekend of next month. But Ohhh, did it feel good, I mean really good,
to get out there and start to turn wrenches and watch things on the car change
as I worked. I guess it's the ability to see the progress in taking something
that somebody else (a corporation) designed and built, and watch it turn into a
personal creation under my hands.
I love learning things as I work on cars. Not always big, important, or even
useful things, but just mechanical and engineering things. Like: Why did
Studebaker use a splined shaft, similar to GM (you know, they round off and
slip after thirty or forty years) for the inside door handles, but used
square-shouldered shafts like an old Dodge truck for the window cranks? Those
things always work. Why aren't the doors and windows the same? Or at least,
why didn't they use the sturdier and better square-shouldered shafts on the
doors, and the whimpy splined shaft on the windows?
Oh well, we'll never know the answer to that. But, one thing for sure, they
had a good design team when it came to appearance and aerodynamics. I sit out
there in my lawn chair (when I take occasional, short breaks) and admire
Raymond Lowey's talent. I can't wait to get this thing out on the salt!
Dick J in East Texas
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