Ham's '48: "The darned thing is out..."
My acknowledgement to Pelago for stealing the title for this post, but the truck is out of the car barn for the first time this spring.
Well, I thumbed my nose at winter today. I put the snow shovel and snow blower in the shed, I turned over the dirt in the garden beds and then … I uncovered the truck and took it out for the first run of the season.
I’d started it several times over the winter, but starting it and taking it for a run are two totally different things. After I rolled up the cover and tied it up with a rope (there is no getting the cover back in the box) it was time to kick the tires and try to light the fires. All the tires were up except for the flat spots so there wasn’t any reason to delay.
I flicked the lights to check that the battery was alive, pulled the choke to full rich and cranked the beast. I didn’t use any goose juice, just started it on its own. I turned the engine over three times (12-cylinders, you can count each one) and then turned on the ignition and pushed the choke in. About halfway in, I got the splutter that told me it was going to go. I held the choke there for a second or two as it cranked and -- son of a gun - the magic happened! It started!
I let it idle for a bit and I watched the gauges come alive. Fuel went up to F (where I left it last winter), the ammeter set up at about half-charge, oil pressure climbed up to 40 PSI (its normal place - even if it’s really only 30-PSI) and the Temp gauge buried itself at 100 downscale.
Then, throwing caution to the winds I decided to hit the road. That first quarter mile is brutal with all four bias-ply tires flat spotted from sitting all winter, but after a bit they got out of sync and the vibration wasn’t so bad. The little shudder at 30 MPH is still there, no better nor any worse. I got all of a quarter-mile down the road before a lady jogger stopped me. “Nice truck, what year is it?” So, I had to tell the quick story about the truck - it would be rude to not talk to the nice lady.
I made a quick mile and looked at gauges again. Everything was normal, Temp was nailed to 160 where the racing thermostat holds it without any overshoot. (Thanks BMorgil!). I decided to take a 10-mile run around the county roads. It was a beautiful day, windows down -the wind was blowing in what little hair I have left. I had to stop and talk to the crew that was putting in a new drain tile on Wayne Trace as well as the guy doing a GPS survey who stopped me to say “Nice Truck!” (Guys, old Jeeps get noticed - there is no sneaking around in them.)
On the last leg back down Minich Road, the truck wanted to turn loose and go, I looked down and I was running an indicated 45 MPH on the speedometer- which I know is close to 49 MPH. I can’t explain it, but since the trip to Toledo last August, after about 10 miles to get warmed up - it just wants to run.
We got back home and I pulled it into the car barn. I looked it over closely - none of the pesky leaks seem to have showed up, not even the drip from the differential vent. It looks like it’s going to be a good summer.
Take that winter…. Phhtttt.
