2011 - January - In the Best Running Condition for 36 Years

The following is a posting I put on the 1928Chevrolet.com website

http://www.1928chevrolet.com/index.html

Hi Guys,

I will probably jinx myself (even though I don't believe in that sort of stuff) but the old girl is definitely running the best she has in her 36 plus years since the restoration in the early 70's.

I can now cruise all day at 45 to 50 mph, and tackle distances the previously would have been a dream, and that leads me to the most important discovery I have made in the last 12 months or so, being that after say 40 miles of highway driving when everything is really hot, she almost seems, and I use the words sparingly "to run smooth".

In the last 12 months I have racked up 1000 miles, and the previous 12 months 800 miles, and this is from a car that in over 20 years clocked up only 4000 miles.

Apart from a period of about 8 years when she was on blocks, locked away, neglected and unloved, I never had the confidence to drive far from home except on a couple occasions due to the drive train, apart from engine and tranny, being noisy and harsh as the only parts I had to rebuild in the 70's were the best of the worn items.

Not now thanks to lots of Billy Possum and Filling Station goodies that were put in about 4 years ago, combined with getting more fussy as I have got older, which gives you the patience to spend many hours on things that have little outcome, but they mount up over time, and I believe there is always something to do.

Apart from wanting to share this with you guys, the message is that what ever problems and dramas these chunks of metal give us, they can and will always be overcome.

You may want to walk away, lock the shed, and curse the day you thought "I know, just for something to do I will restore a vintage car", but eventually the affliction or illness drags you back into the shed, something goes right and all is forgiven.

In my case it took 3 attempts over 30 years to get the wooden spoke wheels "right", and I had a torque tube / uni joint problem that saw me rebuild the gearbox 3 times in quick succession, but in the end it was fixed done and dusted and now just a blur.

And I am sure there have been other problems over the years.

Should there be any one out there doubting their ability, HAVE FAITH, IN THE END MAN WILL ALWAYS WIN OVER A MACHINE, I hope!!!!

Regards

Ray