Well, of course.

I swear the smell of fresh castings and o-rings and gasket sealer awakens a certain appetite in my otherwise happy Brick. The satisfactions brought on by the taste of *premium* unleaded and fresh clean oil, of leather treatments and waxings and continual fussing are all temporal, easily undone by the smell of just one new part, completely unsettling an otherwise steadfast and reliable collection of Swedish steel. Not to be satisfied with just one, to become almost childlike, demanding and unrelenting, and the one turns to one more, then to another. A whole ton of Undeniable, calling for attention *right now*. All of a sudden you've got FCP and IPD and even AZ (WTF!) on your speed dialer (again).

Or this time, maybe she knows I've got to sell her.

Pretty dumb, huh.

Maybe she remembers the time I first found her, neglected by an owner who forgot how to love her, broken engine mounts and oil everywhere; missing foglight and a whole lot more, but proud and straight, gathered together in waiting.

She brought me home a hundred miles that day, and then some, and not a protest at all about old belts and dirty oil. Not a miss or a bump, and she asked me to trust her.

After a hundred hours together out in the garage and a few skinned knuckes on both sides I suppose we've gotten to know each other pretty well. Her way is always the way it has to be, familiarity with it a boon to me.

Two years and seventeen thousand miles, and she never left me disappointed, driving with my baby boy and the lovely Mrs. Shifted, navigating through narrow rivers of SUV and semi-truck steel where a breakdown could have made the whole day bad; in Chicago, through the tunnels and the heat and the eighty mile-per-hour rush without skipping a beat, sure-footed through the blizzard at I-196 when we counted 16 cars spun out by carelessness and distraction; time and time again bringing us home.

Soon it will be time to say good-bye.

The engine stopped right in the driveway the other day, hall sensor suddenly failed, as if she wanted to stay right here, for a few more hours together. The driveway, of all places. Only in dreams...

Today there was more, PBlaster on the nuts and feeling a good ratchet and wrench in the hand and on the metal. Now she wants a steering shaft, the whole assembly thank you and not just the lower coupling, which is all I have been able to find among the usual suspects.

Anyone know of a source for the thing? Both u-joints are kind of shot and I want to make her happy one last time.

This one I'll miss.

Shifted

P.S. sorry about the rambling; I shall miss the Board as well...
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'87 745t 217,000; '93 Toyota MkII; '73 Suzuki Jimny (Brute) LJ20 360cc

Sounds like she wants to spend a little quality time together in the garage to have more fun in the concrete jungle. I mean look at her for a moment. She is to perfect to just send down the road right now all straight and clean. She wants attention just like the first time.

I remember my very first volvo, a faded red 1979 242 flathood that had a serious rod knock, more of a bang. I dragged her home and that weekend it had a heart transplant with a good B21F that the local yard donated to the cause. I was still in highschool at the time and this is when the earth was still cold. After the engine and a good buffing the soft curves came out to reflect the sun and it looked almost like a new car, we spent 42,000 miles together before the CIS started giving me trouble. A week after that was replaced the car burned to the ground thanks to a leak at the fuel pump that sprayed the underside of the car. It happened so fast there was nothing I could do but get out and watch. I was so stupid I left the engine running along with the pump and had 15+ gallons to feed the flames on a rural road. Only good out of that was a lession and an excuse for not handing in my homework that was due the next day!

One thing to keep in mind however is a 700 has a much better sense of smell, they can pick up the scent of new parts for many miles around. Mine was hot on the trail of a alternator and made this known by the actions of the voltmeter. If you've ever flown a private airplane you know what a VOR is, well the voltmeter needle was doing about the same thing. If I strayed to far one direction or another the needle was pointing in the opposing direction keeping me on course. A stop at French Lake parts yielded another alternator and the remaining trip home the needle stayed centered and drifted slightly left as the battery discharged. As it turned out I got the wrong alternator and was forced to press diodes from one into the other. I have a diesel so the mounting ears are different but the car was happy anyway. Now if I can figure out this intermittant start issue things would be peachy!

Badge988

PS Keep the car

We're in the process of moving back to Japan; I will be left with our family cruiser, the Toyota Mark 2 (kind of a Camry on steroids with a beautiful inline 6 and proper rear wheel drive) never sold in the U.S.. My little '73 Jimny is there waiting too, I brought her back from certain death several years ago and she continues to be a rare headturner in a sea of white minicars.
I'm definitely going to try and find another Brick, but the real oldies and goodies are a little tricky to come by; most cars in Japan are crushed before they reach a decade old, 15 tops. The price of parts for the ones that remain can be breathtaking...
I will be looking, hope springs eternal.

Shifted
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'87 745t 217,000; '93 Toyota MkII; '73 Suzuki Jimny (Brute) LJ20 360cc