<VV> today's odyssey

[LonzoVair at aol.com]

Hey guys (and gals),
I had a rather fun day today... which is nice for a change... I got up early 
and saw Cheryl off to work and the girls off to school, and packed up my tools 
and some sheets of cardboard and headed to my Mom's place, about 50 miles 
north of here... main purpose was to fix my step-dad's 1986 Chevy Sprint, 3 
cylinder 5 speed,  which he lovingly calls "The Rat". 
On my way up I-65 I merge into traffic and while passing some truckers I see 
a red pickup truck hauling a trailer... he comes up behind me, and once 
everything is clear I pull to the right for him to pass (I'm going a steady 70-75, 
closer to 70)... he's hauling 2 old BMW bikes, one sporting a 1962 Ohio tag 
looks to be "race ready" with crash bar around the engine and no other bells & 
whistles, the other has a white fairing, and on the end of the handle bars are 
turn signal bulbs/lenses and a nice set of hard saddlebags... it had a Michigan 
tag on it... the guys gave me a thumbs up as the passed and pulled in front 
of me and held a steady 70-75 mph.... I kept a little over a car's length 
between us, and we followed each other until I got off at Mom's exit... they beeped 
as I hit the exit ramp, and I waved so-long...
Once I got to Mom's I asked where the parts were for the Rat, as my step dad 
was headed to work and pulling out of the driveway... he told me not to mess 
with it, but since I'd never listened to him before, why should I do that now?
;-)
I'd purchased a clutch cable for him 2 months ago, and he'd already done all 
the hard parts... including loosening all the bolts... just squeezing up under 
the dash was the hard part for him (He's 5' 10" and stocky, not fat, but add 
to the fact that he'll be 65 in 2 months I figured this would be something I 
can do!)... I reminded him that my arms are a foot longer than his, and since 
he didn't have time, and I did, well.... it just made sense!
The hardest part was getting the new firewall boot to seal... the rest was 
pretty easy, except for the part where I was upside down, with my head under the 
dash, when Mom opens the passenger side door... "Here, this will let more 
light in there..."... about 30 feet away she was burning a brush pile, with 
leaves and bark and stuff where they'd been splitting wood... 3 minutes later my 
eyes start burning, and I start coughing... "MOM! *cough* SHUT THAT *cough* DAMN 
*cough* DOOR!".... I couldn't help but laugh afterwards... she's always the 
type that will try to help and ends up doing the wrong thing... another 
example... I'm under the dash and she walks up and wants to talk... I either work, or 
talk, but not both... I said "Mom, don't talk to me right now, wait until I'm 
done, ok?" "OK" she says... then she says "I think I need to feed the 
chickens... are you thirsty? Look, there's that woodpecker! Here, let me get you a 
blanket to rest on so you don't get dirt in your hair...." and it went on and 
on! Thank God I got the car fixed quickly.... and then I took it for a test 
drive... THAT was a sight! This car was not made for someone of my height or shoe 
size... one foot covered 2 pedals, 1st gear was where my leg was, and the 
steering wheel was tight against my left leg... and then I shut the door!
Well, I fixed it, drove it a mile, and turned around... found 1st, 2nd, and 
either 3rd or 5th... and reverse... he'll be happy to be getting his 45+MPG out 
of his Rat instead of driving the 87 Ford F100 with the 300/6...
On the way home some truckers sent a horn blast my way... they must have been 
telling each other about me while I was heading their way... 
All in all it was a very fun and productive day... and the 69 didn't give me 
a problem at all..... tomorrow I will get back to the job here at hand... 
listing more stuff on eBay, and getting an inventory of what tools I have....
Anyway, I wanted to share that with you guys.
Later,
Lonzo




Lon Anderson in White Mills, KY
CORSA, Corvanatics, Central Kentucky Corvair, Derby City Corvair
Quart Low Quarterly editor
1961 Greenbrier 110/pg, 
1963 Greenbrier 110/4spd.
1964 700 sedan 95/pg
1969 Monza cp 110/pg