Today it's Charlotte that's heavy on my heart. Charlotte is a 1967 Ford F250 Camper Special that came to us as a gift from a good friend. She's got a long and storied history as a family truck. She's been camping, wood-hauling, Christmas tree getting, a farm worker and a gentle trainer in the world of kids-becoming-drivers.
When we received Charlotte she didn't run and, not having a budget set aside we nestled her into a driveway home until we had the necessary funds to bring her out of dormancy. Alas, the time came early this year. With a job change and some selling off of other things we finally had a budget. It was time to start diagnosing Charlotte's heart problems.
The boys and I have been tinkering under Charlotte's hood off and on for the past month or two. The first order of business was to get her running and moving under her own power. The fuel tanks had become so rusty that even when we did get the engine turning over it was just a matter of minutes before the fuel filters were clogged with rust and tank debris. Additionally, the mechanical fuel pump had given up. Between the pump, filters and bad gas, Charlotte's engine was starving for fuel. A good cleaning of the tank, new electric fuel pump and a case of filters set us right on that but now the battery wasn't charging.
Basically, all of the peripheral items that needed to feed Charlotte's heart had failed her and needed replacing. After every new item we would take Charlotte out on the gravel backroads of home for a test drive. Invariably, we would end up walking home to get the tractor (Mabel... I told you we named everything...) and pull Charlotte home. It wasn't until recently that I smartened up enough to put a bicycle in the back of Charlotte before heading out on a test drive, and that wisdom had to come from my loving wife. She's pretty smart which makes me wonder why she chose to marry me but, I digress.
"Mabel - 1950's Massey Ferguson - Trusty companion in times of need"
With every iteration of the test and repair process Charlotte began to run longer and stronger. At one point last week we returned to our driveway under our own power, a moment of great celebration indeed. But our glitter soon turned to despair.
Two months into the Waking of Charlotte Devine something became clear; Charlotte has a smoking problem. We soon realized Charlotte's trail of blue smoke wasn't going to magically disappear with the addition of some new and inexpensive part that could be purchased and installed in a day's time. Truly, a tragic moment.
All along the way Dan, a good friend and Ford aficionado from church, has been helping me with the necessary upgrades to Charlotte. His advice is straight and true and, he too has an affinity for Charlotte. Dan's counsel has been invaluable in all of this and he's helped me stay optimistic along the way. But now that we've done just about all we can without pulling Charlotte's engine it came time for me to face the facts; Charlotte has a bad valve and possibly set of stuck/bad rings.
Both of these diagnoses aren't life threatening. Indeed, it's actually some pretty decent news. The repair and refurbishment of these two problems is relatively inexpensive. Unfortunately though, we had to abandon our efforts with Charlotte.
This story has reached a juncture that needs some 'splaining'.
Our home, a little slice of heaven, is located at the foot of the Coast range along a wide, agriculture rich river bottom that is laced by the meandering Luckiamute River. The cool and quickening smell of mint rises strong in the heat of the July sun from the acres of deep green across the road from us. Just beyond the mint are wheat fields. But possibly the most prominent crop of all in this part of the world is grass. Yep, grass; rye, blue, bent it's all grown right here at our doorstep. Until about 5 years ago our lovely section of the Willamette Valley was the largest producer of grass seed in the the world. And with that grass comes grass pollen.
"The fields of home - grass and hay galore!"
As some may know, my wife bears the burden of some pretty extreme allergies. During the first few months of spring and summer she doesn't leave the house. Her allergic reaction to pollens is so extreme that the maximum strength antihistamines and hormones render her lifeless and still unable to take a deep breath. She doesn't ask for pity, but you better dang well change your clothes in the laundry room before coming in from working outside.
Because Jalet is locked into the house for 3 months in the earliest part of Oregon's good weather she develops an incredible case of cabin fever. Peering through the dust and pollen covered windows to the world outside takes it toll on her spirits. If she's not watchful her fever can quickly turn to a serious case of depression. Add to the mix all of the allergy meds and you've got a constant cocktail of discomfort.
So, when the grass seed is harvested and the pollen levels drop she's charging like a racehorse in the chute to get out and reconnect with the world that so cruelly abuses her for the three months prior. The girl loves to be outside and a truck is her key to freedom.
The connection between our beloved Charlotte and Jalet's freedom is likely quite apparent now. Our efforts to revive Charlotte were intended to give Jalet the keys to discovery again. But with the news that the necessary repairs would come at a greater cost in time than money we had to make the difficult choice to let Charlotte become a secondary project and get something the would be reliable and operational within the next two weeks. A heavy sigh of disappointment is appropriate here. Go ahead, I did. As a matter of fact I spent hours wandering from tool box to coffee pot, wrench to bench, wondering if I was giving up too easily or giving freedom.
Freedom. Jalet is going to need her freedom before I can get Charlotte lovingly restored to her reliable condition and therefore, we decided to look for another truck. We're not giving up on Charlotte, just meeting a short term need I keep telling myself.
After some searching on Craigslist we found our answer. Meet Fern Zuckerman, a 1989 Ford F250 4X4. She's probably not going to win the county fair beauty contest but she'll pull our trailer and take my lovely bride on a camping trip when the pollen clears. And really, that's what we need right now.
Charlotte has great days ahead of her, I believe. We have two upcoming drivers who need to know the value of mechanical aptitude and the price of maintenance. I suspect Charlotte is going to be the perfect teacher.
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