Thinking you'll be interested to hear if my wayward F found it in its power to find its way - and me - to its next intended destination, following its Saturday misbehavin' -
Thanks! to Spanky for keeping me company, telling his stories, for the better part of 3 hours, at the Casey's gas station a few miles from our Hampton Inn, after it decided to fiddle with me by blowing out one of its cylinder head freeze plugs. And good this happened near an exit so we and the F could pull off at an exit before its temp gauge needle pegged higher than about 70% of the way to buried 'Hot.' At least it was considerate enough to pick a plug that was fairly easily accessible, so our crack repair crew wasn't forced to pull off other obstructing parts.
I first attempted calling Certified Transmission, in hopes one of its nearby locations was open and could help the F. But no-go, as the phone just offered its 'Sorry, we're closed' message. We were now familiar with Certified following its introduction to us just the day before during our visit to Peter Fink's spectacular Muscle Car assemblage. More on this later.
We were assisting woman who pulled in her compact Kia SUV next to the F, as her oil light was lit. i showed her how to check her oil, and that no oil level registered. We had her purchase three quarts of oil. which we added, and she was still a quart low on her little 4-banger motor! Relieved to see our flatbed finally arrive to ferry the F and its occupants - us - back to our Hampton Inn - a short 12-minute ride. This tow guy was familiar with old Chrysler iron, as he had flatbedded a 1956 300-B just the evening before to a nearby campground! Another car with which we're all somewhat familiar!
A few advance texts and brief phone updates clued in our repair crew about the initial diagnosis of the F's malady. Happily, this proved out to be an accurate diagnosis, though it was a head freeze plug, and not one down in the block. Pulled my floor jack and jack stands from the trunk, removed the left front tire and access panel, and the F was prepped for its surgery. A huge THANKS! to John Begian for supplying a freeze plug from the supply he carries in his C's trunk, and THANKS! especially to Russ Thill and Mike Meier for crawling under the F, identifying the culprit plug, working in harmony and getting covered in grease while installing the replacement plug. Thanks also to Howie Dardick for making a Harbor Freight run to pick up a radiator pressure tester, that the crew used to confirm the repair was stable. We added the 2 1/2 gallons of antifreeze I had in the trunk and fired up the 413. You'll note that Russ and Mike aren't copied on this email, since their Old-School ways haven't captured them as slaves to this modern innovation. And I'd be remiss in not thanking the outstanding supervisory crew - many of you copied on this email - for your outstanding service in overseeing this intricately complex operation - THANKS!
I was unfortunately awarded the Hard Luck Award at Saturday evening's Banquet. I really wasn't running for this position, and didn't want to accept it but, for some crazy vibes in the air, it was overwhelmingly forced on me. Thanks, but No Thanks!
So how did this saga end? The F actually did take me and find its way home yesterday afternoon, without further excitement. No leaky freeze plug and no radiator overflow. Cruising with John Begian in his gorgeous C, we enjoyed an uneventful ride home.
Noel
P.S. - This morning my phone rang, and I fielded the call - from Certified Transmission in Omaha! The manager saw that I had phoned there Saturday morning, and followed up to offer his assistance. I explained what happened with my freeze plug, how I was familiar with Certified from our Friday visit meeting Peter Fink and enjoying his collection, and had driven home to Illinois yesterday. Now that's a way to run a business!!!
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