Fellow fiends:
A member of my local car-guy support group came by yesterday with the plan
of helping me take care of a few minor matters and getting Old Whitesides
('63 B) back on the road for spring. Brian will almost always come over if
you tell him you're working on the B and there might be some pizza and beer
for lunch (hint: no matter how hard you work on these cars, you won't loose
weight). Nothing major to do: replace middle freeze plug, give the carbs
and timing a check. General look-see. Test drive.
I was embarrased to learn how easy replacing that freeze plug turned out to
be. Of course, working on either the front or rear plug would have been a
bit harder. Nothing had to come off the engine for the middle one, save the
dip stick. I also discoverd a slow coolant leak at the stopcock for the
block, tucked back there by the oil cooler pipe and the starter motor. Most
likely I need a new gasket. Those brass valves don't go "bad," do they?
Having taken care of the freeze plug, replenished the coolant, and put the
batteries back in, we came to the moment of truth. Would it start? The
spirit of Kimber smiled upon us; by crackie: it kicked over and started up
on the first try. Got oil preasure even! The car hadn't been run for about
four months. I wasn't expecting any trouble but it was a big thrill for me
when the engine did take fire. :-) Some careful listening and some
throttle blipping and some mixture checking indicated that the carbs and
timing were very close to the mark as is. Drop the top, test the brakes and
go for a spin...
We happened to be enjoying one of those first really nice sunny Saturdays
yesterday (buds are just starting to appear on some trees in the front yard)
so the top-down spin was really nice. Brian and I were having a great time.
I think he said, "Okay, this is it! I'm in my element." about six times in
the space of five blocks, driving along the banks of lake St. Claire. We
switched driver/passenger sides and he said it about five more times, now
behind the wheel. The car ran very well, has a nice solid feel to it,
sounds wonderful, and has that 'purity of form' I love with the early disk
wheels, no backup lights, pull handles, etc. I wasn't kidding on the list
directory, this one is my pride and joy.
Back home. Big smile. What's the weather forecast for tomorrow?
Will "back in the saddle" Zehring
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