Last weekend I went down to the In-Laws to work on Danno's Jeep. Well, technically, it's not a Jeep. It's a '42 Ford GPW. It's an original Jeep design form before "Jeeps" actually existed. Very sweet vehicle. However, he has decided that he would like to restore it to its original condition. It's gonna be awesome when it's done, but it has a very long way between here and there. So anyway, I got his permission for Jeff and I to work on it with him.
Let me tell you, the 3 of us combined offer a great deal of interest, a very decent knowledge of Jeep history, and VERY LITTLE mechanical know-how. This is why "Machine Gun Sally" has sat buried under mounds of miscellaneous crap in the garage for the past couple years. Nobody really knew how to get started and everybody was a little afraid to try.
Enter Yours Truly; Big Chief Leap-Before-Looking. No project is too daunting for me to get involved in it. This is largely due to the fact that I refuse to think about how difficult it might be before I get started. I figure the level of difficulty will be readily obvious once I'm into it, but by that time I'll have momentum working for me and I'll be able to push on through. As Danno said to me late Sunday afternoon, the project would never have gotten off the ground without someone like me to push it along. Of course I probably wouldn't have spent as much time spitting stuff up or have had such a horrible headache had we not started it, but hey... More on that later.
On Saturday night, we determined that we needed a 16' by26' space in which to work on the Jeep. Being as the only reasonably workable space was the garage which also had to house the 2 family daily drivers plus all the assorted stuff that always seems to gather in a garage, we decided our first task was to completely clean and reorganize the garage. It only took 4 or 5 hours. Sylvia was SO pleased at how good it looked. I think my willingness to do these projects is the reason she still allows me to come visit.
So Sunday morning, we dug into "Machine Gun Sally". With Danno, Jeff, and I, you have an interesting selection of personalities. Danno is somewhat introverted and he tends to be very hesitant to give orders. Jeff is also pretty quiet, but a little more willing to take control when he sees the need. I, on the other hand, am not at all shy in these situations. I may not know what I'm doing, but if nobody's telling me what to do, I'm darn well gonna do something. Thankfully, seeing that that was the case, both of the other 2 decided it was probably a good idea to give me specific tasks. We accomplished the first few tasks outlined by "All-American Wonder, Vol. 1" and were just getting to emptying the radiator when we were called in for breakfast. Jeff, who has MUCH more automotive experience than I, (and fits a little more comfortably under the Jeep than Danno,) was handling that task and discovered that the butterfly bolt that would unplug the radiator was stripped. He was being very careful not to make a mess because radiator fluid is toxic and we all know stories of pets dying from drinking it. Cuddles may not be my favorite animal in the world, but I don't actually wish her harm, so I, too, felt we should try to be careful. When we were not immediately successful emptying it out, we opted to go have breakfast and approach things later on with a clear mind (and a full belly).
Though Jeff had, thus far, been leading the charge (in his always logical, controlled manner,) both Danno and I finished eating before him and were itching to get back to work. (This was not shocking. Jeff tends to be a bit.. deliberate. Rachel often refers to him as "Grandma" because of his tendency to approach life at a very leisurely pace. I feel this is a bit insensitive, but I must admit, I make a concerted effort to relax when I'm with him, because I know moving at my normal, somewhat frenetic pace will not mesh well with his much more unhurried tempo.) We headed back out to the garage, where I set about removing the plug from the radiator.
I quickly found the right tool for the job and, following Jeff's instructions, opened the plug just a little, hoping for just a small trickle of radiator fluid which I could catch in a coffee can. Unfortunately, I found that radiator fluid doesn't like to trickle. Since the plug was still partially in, it could not exit in a controlled stream, but instead reacted to the plug like water from a garden hose does when you put your thumb over the end- It just all sprays sideways. Resultantly, I was getting very little fluid in the coffee can, but quite a lot elsewhere. Primarily in my hair, on my glasses, in my mouth, up my nose, etc. I, being a scientific genius, realized that if I just removed the plug entirely, the resulting stream would be much easier to catch. Somewhat surprisingly, I was RIGHT. The torrent of radiator fluid spewing from the core streamed happily, if somewhat rapidly, into the waiting coffee can.
It was at this point that I recalled Jeff saying something about needing an extra can so that when one can filled with fluid, the other could be set in place while we carefully disposed of the first. Realizing that my coffee can was filling much faster than Jeff, with his "controlled drip" theory, had probably anticipated, I swiftly set about finding an empty receptacle to put in place when it was needed. As you might guess, I was unsuccessful in finding one. I hastily attempted to replace the plug in the radiator. This resulted in my ingesting quite a bit more radiator fluid, but not in actually replacing the plug. At this point I gave up and watched the can overflow and radiator fluid continue to spew onto the garage floor.
I jumped up and went to get Danno's Shop Vac. I returned just as Jeff was entering the garage with a very contented, post-breakfast, expression. His look turned to one of abject horror when he looked at the area surrounding the Jeep, which now looked like Lake Antifreeze.
"Didn't you hear me say to let it out SLOWLY???" he asked incredulously. "And where is your extra can?"
Without bothering to explain myself, (I learned a long time ago that explanations are often pointless. Especially when you don't have a particularly good one.) I took the top off the shop vac to remove the dust filter. Jeff asked what I was doing and Danno explained that to vacuum up liquid, to remove the filter so it doesn't get ruined. It shocked me that Jeff, who I know owns his own Shop Vac, was not aware of this bit a vacuum protocol, and I honestly felt quite a bit better for a moment. After all, I may not know much (okay, anything) about emptying a radiator, but at lest I know how to operate a shop vac. Of course I stopped feeling superior when I realized that someone like Jeff never spilled, and thus never had to occasion to learn what to do with the dust filter. And moreover, if he did spill, he'd probably take the time to read the manual to decide how best to approach the situation. Sometimes working with smart people can be very humbling.
Anyway, once I finished cleaning up the mess in the garage, I took a minute to go out in back and cough up as much of the radiator fluid as I could. It turns out that it has a somewhat tongue-numbing effect, but other that that, I didn't suffer too many ill-effects from it. It did, however, leave me with a hell of a headache. Also, my next morning "sit-down-job", as my Grandpa would have said, was a little bit glow-in-the-dark. Ah, war stories...
Anyway, we all continued to work, and, by the end of the day, had made significant progress. So I feel a good time was had by all. I can't wait for the next Jeep-work weekend. Maybe I can electrocute myself or run myself over or...
Laterz
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