So there is is this great show up in Canada called Ice Pilots: NWT. It follows the team at Buffalo Airways flying vintage WWII piston pounders. DC-3/4, Curtiss C-46's and the turbine Electra. It's nothing but plane pornography if I'm to be honest. Seventy year old air craft in the far north, the roar of a radial engine and the sheer work it takes to pull it all off.. I torrent it because it's not here in the states and am up to date at the moment. There is just one small problem with the show.
Being the engine nut I am I see these guys wrenching on these engines, getting oil covered, hear them run and something in my brain just snaps.  I think "I have an old engine and wrenches" and before I know it I'm in the gravel with a spanner trying to set my valves. All the while wearing my mad bomber cap and talking out loud in a terrible Canadian accent. I sure hope no one ever gets a camera on me when I'm doing this!
But is it really so bad? When you have a car with eccentricities, that you use as a daily driver not a show piece and rely on it, it's times like this, these man and machine bonding times that really cement your understanding and appreciation of this time machine you're driving.
Sure he's still hesitating off an idle no matter what I do but it's now more manageable and the idle itself seems to have smoothed out a bit. I've been adjusting the timing by ear and so far have been pretty pleased with the results. Still not sure why it slides off so badly but I now have a dedicated socket and wrench for the distributor pedestal so it's a simple matter of opening the engine bay and having a good listen.
I speak often of the joy of being able to interact with your vehicle, not just "driving" it. When you know it's good moods and bad moods, can sweet talk it or can fix a problem as it happens that's a great feeling. I know a lot of people who carry a tool box in their vehicle but how many can actually truly effect change on the side of the road?
I'm not the greatest at this mechanicing stuff but I'm trying to not shy away from it. Sadly we have snow on the way here soon and not sure how much longer I'll be able to be a driveway mechanic. Oh did I mention I "fixed" the hole in my floor with Gorilla Tape? Well that'll be another post. Because permanent temporary fixes are just a fact of life in the Old Car Club.