So there I was, 16 with my first car, now stranded in front of my buddys house. And I had NO idea what to do with it. Couple buddys made suggestions but no help. It cranked but wouldnt start. Had drove it there but now just nothing. One said I wasnt getting fuel, but how the )(I)(@#U!!XXX would I have known.... I was a mechanically ignorant 16 yr old. Anyway I borrowed a few dollars and a bike and rode 3 miles round trip to a Western Auto store and bought a fuel pump. The clock was ticking since I HAD to be home for supper- I was the supper maker since my mom had died. Using a borrowed wrench, started to take off the fuel pump and lo, the bolts were so loose they were about to fall out. Maybe it would start if I tightened the bolts. And it did. Scraped and washed the oil and dirt off , returned the fuel pump, and made it home. Nothing like learning through experience. The car? A 37 DeSoto 4 dr, no first gear but overdrive so I drove starting in second, sometimes shifting into OD2, sometimes right into third. Anyway- Might have seemed obvious (the solution) but I hadda get my hands very dirty and become intimately involved with the machine. Dont think a shop manual woulda helped here. Oh yeah. One sunny afternoon I poked around the engine compartment and discovered this thing that appeared to be loose and sort of rattled. Since it seemed not to be connected to anything I took a hammer and banged it and knocked it off. Seemed to make no difference.... Well the thing was the heat riser counterweight, it may have reduced gas mileage some but never had any trouble starting it with no counterweight. Guess that old flapper in the mainifold just sat there and vibrated to wherever it pleased. Nothing like experience again, hands on? When I was teaching, I had a little ditty I handed out that went on for close to a page. Students HATE to make mistakes of course. Esp when newly at college. Anyway the gist of it was, if you don't make any mistakes , you won't make anything at all. There is NO other way. And dont we as old car fanatics know it!!!!! Rotsa Ruck. L. |