Cartharsis

At our last chat I recounted the beginnings of my love= for cars, which started me to think more about the past and those things that contributed to my development into the human I am today.

There were a couple of notable events that are relevan= t to cars, the British Marque, and my need for cartharis. I had not thought about this for m= any years, but following the 51 Plymouth, which a I shared last time, my intere= st in moving my butt from point A to point B and the associated benefits began= to grow. My father's universal response, when discussions of sports cars came up, was, "What do you w= ant that for? So you can pick up girls?"&= nbsp;

Now, my father was a well educated professional, but t= he arm bone wasn't connected to the leg bone, if you get my drift. There are few things at which I ca= n say I have been first in my life; for example I only went for the Beatle look a= fter others grabbed hold, and I only threw up in the family car at a party after= I saw my friends do it, but I am pretty certain that following my father's comment I was the first to utter the phrase:

"Duh"

That was also the response at the mention of a boat.

As I grew older and went to college I saw the need to = become more responsible in my choices of automobiles. While living in Northfield, Massachusetts I saw an ad in local paper for a 1968 SAAB model 96 being sol= d by a couple named Hans and Olga. The car had two distinct benefits to me; one it had low mileage as Hans and Olga didn't get out much, and it set me apart as someone who distinctly understo= od unusual, yet refined automobiles. This car was the V4 model, not the old RnnnnnaaanaaaRnnnnnaanaaa (co= ugh cough) 2 stroke model. The V4= had some of the throw back feature= s of the old 2 stroke in that it had the "free wheeling" lever that wo= uld disconnect the drive train from the motor when descending a long hill, of w= hich there were many in New England.

This was necessary for the two stroke because if you w= ere descending a long hill with the motor turning over at 2 -3000 RPM with the throttle closed, the motor was not being properly lubricated. As to the V4 its only purpose was = to give you the sensation of participating in a soapbox derby at 70 MPH.

There is quite an amusing story that goes with the SAAB which I may share at another time. . .Oh, what the heck, it's not like you = have a job or anything, after Congress misunderstood the directive and came up w= ith a plan for Job Cremation.

My friend Hal saw my SAAB and wanting to stand above t= he crowd as one who understood distinctly unusual cars, he bought one. Hal's everyday vehicle was a Chevy= C-10 pickup with a three speed on the column.&n= bsp; You may remember that one of the features that made the SAAB 96 distinctly unusual was four speed on the column. One dark and wintry night, Hal and= his wife were motoring in the SAAB when they came upon an icy patch and the car started to skid. As it bounce= d off the snow bank, far from any semblance of control, it finally came to rest a= few feet from a tree, lined up quite well between the headlights. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hal mo= ved the lever to the reverse position, placed his arm across the back of the adjacent seat so as to look backward, gave it some gas to gain traction, and let out the clutch.

Remember the C-10 with three speed on the column?

The damage was limited to the front bumper, the front = apron, the radiator, and his sense of manhood.&nb= sp; So much for distinctly unusual.&nbs= p;

Time for an update on the A type overdrive. The job is done and the car is bac= k on the road. Other than a few bo= ogers that can be expected from a 40 years old transmission of unknown origin, it= is operating quite nicely. I did= make a small modification by moving the switch from the lever on the left side of the column to a toggle just next to the shift lever so that shifting is alw= ays with the right hand. It works= for me, but your mileage may vary.

As the logs have gone to ash, and the glow of the embe= rs grow dim, it is time to close this fireside chat. Thanks for listening. Until next time.

David