Hey gang! We are back from the weekend and boy do I have some updates for you! Last week, Deidra introduced you all to the last piece of our puzzle – our truck. In it, she talked about big plans for the weekend, the truck’s name, and sharing those updates. Well, here we are buuuuuuut, these updates are not all peaches ‘n cream. That old truck of ours put us through the paces this weekend and I would like to tell you about it.
The Old Truck Has a Name
The good news that came out of the weekend is that the truck has a name. As stated in the last blog post, we typically name all of our cars. It’s the craziest thing, but apparently, we are not alone seeing as how naming people’s cars was trending on Twitter last week. At any rate, I was trying to think of a good strong name. A name that would remind you of an old man and then it hit me: WILLIE! The old truck will hence forth and forever will be known as Willie. It sounds like a name where you might hear someone say: “Go tell Uncle Willie that dinner has been ready for 20 minutes and the family been waiting for him to come in and bless the food.” You know, that Willie.
Strong Name, Stubborn Truck
What’s in a name you ask? A lot! We wanted a good strong name to represent the old truck, but what we did not know is that this would translate to a stubborn old truck. Yes, strong and stubborn. I would like to now think of Willie as the stubborn old relative who you want to help to do the right things to stay healthy, but refuses. The family can be like, “Uncle Willie, please take your medicine so you can stay out the hospital”. Uncle Willie might answer back with a strong, sharp & quick, “No!” followed by “I haven’t needed to take medicine all my life and I ain’t startin’ now!”
Well this is our truck and needless to say it worked my nerves this past weekend. We had a list of things we wanted to accomplish. In short, we wanted to:
- Get the front tire changed
- Start up the truck to drive it around
- Hook up the trailer and drive it all together
- Fix the lighting for the trailer
- Repair the Gas line on the Tractor
- Load up all the equipment and bush hog the property.
Let’s just say, we were able to check #1 off the list and that’s about it. All the rest were a wash because we couldn’t get Willie to go. First, we had bad battery connections followed by a dead battery. Then we had a starter solenoid that was bad. Next, it was loose battery cables. Then there was something going on with a switch (which I later disconnected). I spent the majority of my time on my back underneath Willie and if that wasn’t the case, I was standing over the engine. If I wasn’t standing over the engine, I was sitting under the hood. I don’t mean that figuratively – I mean it literally, sitting in the engine compartment of Willie.
All the while, Deidra was there with me the entire way. If she wasn’t running to the auto parts store with me, she was struggling to press the clutch down to start the truck while I sprayed cleaner in carburetor. Then in the midst of it all, she thinks to grab the camera because it would make a great blog post. Me on the other hand, cared less about a blog post because stupid Willie wouldn’t go to the doctor….err, wouldn’t start. But, here I am and below are a few shots from the weekend:
So What Now?
Our daughter asked me yesterday if we were any closer than when we first started. At the time, I didn’t want to think about the old truck because I was at my whits-end. However, after sleeping on it and getting up to run this morning, I believe we are a lot closer. The biggest reminder is that this is a 1985 truck and the fuel pump is manual. If any of you ever started a car in the 1980’s or earlier, you know that you have to pat the accelerator a few times to start it. The problem is if cars sit for too long, I have learned that the gasoline can evaporate out of the bowl of the carburetor.
I talked to Deidra’s Step-Dad yesterday and he was trying to walk me through things. I believe the dry bowl problem is what he was trying to resolve by pouring a little gas down a screw whole in the top of the carburetor. If the bowl is dry, then there is no gasoline to help start the engine (since the fuel pump is manual). In trying to be careful not to flood it, I believe I didn’t pour enough. So, the next time I tackle it, I will take the top off of the carburetor and check the bowl to see if it is really dry. Until then, Willie you have won this battle, but I will return with reinforcements! I will get you next time Willie! NEXT TIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!