[SEL] What was your best engine trip?

[kerogas at sbcglobal.net]

 > > Being a "lurker" doesn't help, and only making wise cracks or off topic
> > postings doesn't help either.


I guess it bears repeating , no fear in being redundant here
>>>>>>>>>
my father was given  a pair of silver spurs from a close friend in order
that he might polish them and weld indian head nickels on the loops for the
boot straps . They both got busy earning a living , started letting the
hands ride the horses and pretty much forgot all about them for 30 + years .

Some 10 years after his passing,his wife , who was a frequent visitor to our
garage,in an epiphanal moment , asked pop where those spurs were . She's
looking at me , but he has his back to her and is looking at me with a wide
eyed sort of  " I have absolutely no idea what she is talking about "  I
smiled real big and told her , No problemo JoDelle " Iremembered them from
when I was a kid and knew where they were . fortunately .

I done them up  as promised and delivered to the son , who took his fathers
place as ranch forman for a large and long time local cattle concern .  *
note keywords long time (before 40's)and cattle (need lots of WATER!) so
anyway
 The guy is enormous , kinda looks like that grumpy old cat  from American
Chopper too .
Up to this point there was no alterior motive other than to restore an
heirloom , his fathers spurs for chrissakes .
It just felt really good .Well,this particular bruin was visibly shaken and
got the vapors on us for a second . Then he says . "You guys are into those
old engines aincha ?   Theres a whole barn full of them out back you can
take whatever you want outta there "  He goes back in the house to reflect .

   What was that,did someone just scream BOMB!!! ?!?!?! There were Monitor
pumpers and LBn La's stacked up like cordwood , bins of  parts NOS pistons
with bearings , NOS cylinders , fist fulls of mixers , valves  about aton
of Baker stuff . Not like I found a mint Charter or a Harley 45packed in US
Army cosmo , but  this was all still pretty new to me andI had just  got a
baker to run  by itself . It was my motherload . And it was 108.997 degrees
inside that metal shed  , and the dust was about as thick as my index finger
. on everything . I was loving it . I took all afternoon
so as to savor it and not pass out from the heat. Its all pretty much gone
every direction by now , but my favorite Baker I have now I built from all
new parts outta that pile . I thik that was the same year the wrecking crew
went to work on the Todd .
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


This particular stash of engines can also be instigated in the near
extinction of a local species of  fowl . But thats an engine anectdote  .
not a trip story . I'll whip that out when its gonna be good for a grade .



 Chuck Balyeat
http://www.royalcrossfarm.com/


PS
OH YEAH GEORGE  !
The desperately stuck  R~V that like to ate Harrys foot...........she lives
and again ! Amd what an exquiste
mess she was too . We  fabbed and tapped on it enough it didnt cost much but
a LOT of time and a lot of fun
We didnt try , but you can probly cut white pine with that conrod . Sure
could use a new one , but he only runs it at home but little at that . Its
all about the journey anyway .