Originally Posted by
5JeepsAz
Mine is the 64 pickup version of what you are writing about. I wrote a book once. It was terrible. So take this for what it's worth, all rights extended to you. lol
1. The father teaches his 15 year old son to maintain it. "You have to know how to keep her running if I'm going to teach you to drive her."
So this thing was a year between Kaiser-Willy changeover. It may have had the new Tornado engine. Revolutionary overhead Cam and nobody knew how it worked, or how to work on it. So the dad here is giving his son info that will serve him 40 years later when overhead cams are common. And dad is smart if he knows how it works Only engine made by jeep. Jeep itself was in quotes at the time due to a licensing or copyright issue between owners. So maybe dad is teaching son about recruiting the best international engineer to create the engine, or maybe about the legalities of Kaiser-Willy, but it's a lot more than fixing an engine.
That's interesting! I didn't know about that, but the timing lines up. The father is actually a computer engineer, so it might not have completely eluded him. He's not afraid to admit when he doesn't understand something and that could be the case. Maybe I'll stick to teaching him about oil changes, brakes, etc with the dad and have the son figure it out as he needs to. He's crazy smart, but somewhat socially/emotionally challenged.
2. Learning to drive in it. I know driving tests were on the road back then, but I would love any details you could give me.
It's a three on a tree. You shift the thing on the column. So dad could have son sit tight to shift while Dad drives, then once shifting is learned, they switch and dad shifts while the kid leads to stop, go, and steer. No power steering. Arms were bigger then. And I am guessing kid would have learned to drive something at age ten anyway.
The son knows how to drive a lawn tractor, so he's familiar with gear shifting. I hadn't thought about splitting the responsibilities. I guess that would work with good communication. Even if it doesn't work with the father teaching the brother, the little sister (12) is jealous. Her brother eventually teaches her after their father falls ill, but that seems like something the siblings could do.
3. They need to rush to the hospital and the son drives her like he stole her. Again, any information or stories would be great. How do they handle speed? Turns?
True story. I drove a jeep at high speed 35 miles through a forest in middle of night to get to a hospital. I was worried about elk, deer, skunks, etc. Mostly worried about anyone hunting in the dark or spotting because they hide. When you hit a cattle guard at speed it is heard for miles in the wild. Whump whump. That tells anyone who years it's an emergency. They just know. And they say a prayer when they here it. Gear shifting and revving at hill tops to wake anyone up in the next valley. I went on the premise that my urgency would be heard by the manner of noises I was making, that the manner of those would indicate I was a local who knew the roads. I got there, thank God. And was only able to be a shoulder to cry on, the reason for my haste turning to the beginning of grief long and lasting. I thanked God for my new tires and my trusty jeep even as I tasted salt from tears on her check at the loss we only learned about in the darkest part of nighttime. I still am glad I survived. Driving like a bag out of hell was what it was.
I hadn't thought about the sounds or the possibility of hitting deer, etc. It'll be a suburban area, but the engine revving alone would likely wake some people and get some dogs barking. They get the call from the hospital that their father is slipping fast and they race there. They make it safely, but not in time. The brother doesn't fully understand the importance of being there, but he knew what it meant to his sister and feels terrible that he couldn't do that for her. Since he's 18, he takes custody of the sister and does his best to take care of her.
4. Years later, after the son inherits the jeep from his father, it breaks down in a terrible rainstorm. Just a plot gimmick at the moment, but I need to figure out why it would've broken down. It needs to be something the son thinks he can fix, because he gets out of the car.
Hey man, he obviously gets out to lock the hubs! Of course, he sets the emergency brake, which obviously causes some problem because it probably doesn't work when he's standing there so he has to wait till it rolls down an embankment and comes to a stop in the meadow to lock his hubs. He's not worried, that thing would drive out but fine. But then the brake does work when he releases it, of course. So he has to get under the car to wriggly the lever to release the brake by hand, which requires hitting the thing, so he grabs the rock for the purpose.