Just chatter, turned 72 today, Fords in my past
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01-27-2011, 08:47 PM
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Just chatter, turned 72 today, Fords in my past
I have not been beyond the F-250 area of this sites forum. And, I have been away for some time. Got an ICP problem with a late '03 6.0 and needed some guidance, decided to fix it on my own before I get too old!!!!
Walked the short mile to the local auto parts just after dark this evening to get a 27mm deep socket, cant go any further without it. On the way, I realized I have been doing this stuff for 60 years. 'Spect some of you may not be that old yet......
In 1951, Unc Charlie had a 1930 & 35 Ford trucks on his farm along with a '37 Chevy & a 1950 Mercury. My first exposure to anything auto-mechanical took place there that summer. Unc led me & his son Charles, year younger, out to the barn where the '37 Chev was parked inside. He raised both hood sides, pointed out some things on the front of the engine, about 10-12 word of instruction & said, '...take that water pump off & bring it to the basement....'. Being the whizzes we thought we were, me & Charles flew into it with all the enthusiasm that are part of the territory of being 11 & 12 years old!!! Some time later we took it to the basement & watched as Unc repacked it, gave it back to Charles, go put it back. In the process of things, we lost a 3/8 bolt, Charles went to a nearby bolt box & got one that looked right. I promptly snapped that aluminum bolt off in the engine block..............never did understand why Unc was so mad............until today on the ICP sensor job!!!!
From there it was all good........or so I like to remember. In the summer of 1953, I got a '28 Ford pick up, came with a necessary accessory, a crank. It started once in a while on its own, but most of the time I cranked it. Moved up to a '47 1 ton Ford to work with, back then everybody worked, I laid sewer tiles & put in galvanized water piping, had my own set of pipe threading tools & transit level. Built forms & poured/finished concrete too. Still have my trowels/floats/edgers, use them on occasion. I was 14. Also aquired a 1930 channeled 5 window coupe w/rumble & '48 flathead. Still had that as late a '58, drove it on skating dates along with a '33 3 window cpe w/rumble, a '34 5 window cpe, a '34 convert & pickup, '48 coupe & '46 four-dr.. All these came before I got a drivers license. That came in 1955, but no one drove to school then, expulsion offense. During high school, got a 1940 cpe w/1952 Caddy engine, 2 two barrels, and a 1940 four door to hauled the guys to the creek. Everybody swam in the creek as often as possilbe, sometimes on a hot Sunday there would be over 100 people at each of 3-4 different swimming holes. Wife & I still go but no one else does.
About 1959, got a 1950 coupe, bad deal, block was cracked between several valve seats, Mom had a 1950 Caddy., I hardly ever drove it but after a couple times, the Fords seemed clunky. Still, they had the style & zip I loved. Particularly the 1934s. Had a 1952 also, once again, block cracked same place..........my last Ford, bought a nearly new powder blue 1956 Cadillac convert. Babe magnet then....... Got married to a gal whose dad had given her a new '57 Chev. That was 1960, I promptly traded it for a 348/315 hp '59 Chev convert w/four speed & 4.56 & we went dragracing.....my first exposure to that, been doing it since, this will be my 52nd year at it, still using the same 1962 Pontiac I had back in 1964. I have no recollection of what happended to any of the Fords I had. 5-6 years ago, one of my high school chums came from Flagstaff to visit relatives south of here & stopped by to visit, he said I sold him the channeld coupe in 1959 & he drove it to Navy training in Cal. Sold it when he shipped out later. No history on the others, just some scattered b&w photos. After while, all a man has left is his memories as he is no longer able to create an new ones.
Will happen to you when you get there too........ PJHeck 1/27/39
Walked the short mile to the local auto parts just after dark this evening to get a 27mm deep socket, cant go any further without it. On the way, I realized I have been doing this stuff for 60 years. 'Spect some of you may not be that old yet......
In 1951, Unc Charlie had a 1930 & 35 Ford trucks on his farm along with a '37 Chevy & a 1950 Mercury. My first exposure to anything auto-mechanical took place there that summer. Unc led me & his son Charles, year younger, out to the barn where the '37 Chev was parked inside. He raised both hood sides, pointed out some things on the front of the engine, about 10-12 word of instruction & said, '...take that water pump off & bring it to the basement....'. Being the whizzes we thought we were, me & Charles flew into it with all the enthusiasm that are part of the territory of being 11 & 12 years old!!! Some time later we took it to the basement & watched as Unc repacked it, gave it back to Charles, go put it back. In the process of things, we lost a 3/8 bolt, Charles went to a nearby bolt box & got one that looked right. I promptly snapped that aluminum bolt off in the engine block..............never did understand why Unc was so mad............until today on the ICP sensor job!!!!
From there it was all good........or so I like to remember. In the summer of 1953, I got a '28 Ford pick up, came with a necessary accessory, a crank. It started once in a while on its own, but most of the time I cranked it. Moved up to a '47 1 ton Ford to work with, back then everybody worked, I laid sewer tiles & put in galvanized water piping, had my own set of pipe threading tools & transit level. Built forms & poured/finished concrete too. Still have my trowels/floats/edgers, use them on occasion. I was 14. Also aquired a 1930 channeled 5 window coupe w/rumble & '48 flathead. Still had that as late a '58, drove it on skating dates along with a '33 3 window cpe w/rumble, a '34 5 window cpe, a '34 convert & pickup, '48 coupe & '46 four-dr.. All these came before I got a drivers license. That came in 1955, but no one drove to school then, expulsion offense. During high school, got a 1940 cpe w/1952 Caddy engine, 2 two barrels, and a 1940 four door to hauled the guys to the creek. Everybody swam in the creek as often as possilbe, sometimes on a hot Sunday there would be over 100 people at each of 3-4 different swimming holes. Wife & I still go but no one else does.
About 1959, got a 1950 coupe, bad deal, block was cracked between several valve seats, Mom had a 1950 Caddy., I hardly ever drove it but after a couple times, the Fords seemed clunky. Still, they had the style & zip I loved. Particularly the 1934s. Had a 1952 also, once again, block cracked same place..........my last Ford, bought a nearly new powder blue 1956 Cadillac convert. Babe magnet then....... Got married to a gal whose dad had given her a new '57 Chev. That was 1960, I promptly traded it for a 348/315 hp '59 Chev convert w/four speed & 4.56 & we went dragracing.....my first exposure to that, been doing it since, this will be my 52nd year at it, still using the same 1962 Pontiac I had back in 1964. I have no recollection of what happended to any of the Fords I had. 5-6 years ago, one of my high school chums came from Flagstaff to visit relatives south of here & stopped by to visit, he said I sold him the channeld coupe in 1959 & he drove it to Navy training in Cal. Sold it when he shipped out later. No history on the others, just some scattered b&w photos. After while, all a man has left is his memories as he is no longer able to create an new ones.
Will happen to you when you get there too........ PJHeck 1/27/39
#2
01-27-2011, 09:01 PM
#4
01-29-2011, 10:42 AM
Join Date: May 2006
Location: southern Ohio
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#5
01-29-2011, 08:24 PM
heckinohio
Great post and story thank you for sharing this, how about stopping by the Ohio chapter and sharing this with your fellow Ohio'ians ?
Ohio Chapter - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
Great post and story thank you for sharing this, how about stopping by the Ohio chapter and sharing this with your fellow Ohio'ians ?
Ohio Chapter - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums
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