Pull out of garage and lo and behold on garage floor (ugh!):
Challenge #1 – Differential Oil leak
Mechanic thinks it may be a differential pinion seal.
Miracle #1 – NOS seal available
Larry remembers seeing a differential pinion seal at home and finds it in 2 minutes, packaged and labeled. Off to mechanic one hour away.
Challenge #2 – Car stops running
Oops… Can’t make it! Car sputters like it’s out of gas and stops on a busy highway, facing uphill, blocking a driveway, 10 miles from shop. New electric fuel pump didn’t feed engine.
Miracle #2 – All quickly repaired
Mechanic replaces differential pinion seal and reverses fuel pump wiring to correctly pump gas TO the carburetor, not FROM as before. We are good to go. First stop – gas station.
Challenge #3 – Gasoline Leak
While filling up Larry notices a huge gasoline leak below the car! A metal fuel line had been mysteriously crushed and ruptured. It is Friday afternoon before a long holiday weekend.
Miracle #3 – All quickly repaired
A couple of motorheads pull up to the next pump with a Mustang racer in tow. They feel sorry for Larry lying on the concrete, staring at his new gasoline pouring out on the ground. So we follow them to their garage. In 30 minutes they have it fixed and charge us nothing. Unbelievable! Thank you Brandon and Cody.
Is the universe trying to tell us something about the trip? Nuh… we are “Good to go.”
miles traveled we arrive at our first stop to visit friend Larry Ott in McConnelsburg, PA. Larry and Larry resided in the same barracks as privates in Monterey CA in 1965; bought a ‘47 Cadillac (and a few others) together.
This stop takes two days… too much philosophy to catch up on.
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