Resurrection

Cherry-Bomb. (Photo by Linda Hughes.)

For two weeks Art Dana’s (“DAY-nuh”) fabulous Cherry-Bomb (pictured) has been sitting in my garage over my pit.
The Cherry-Bomb is Art’s 1949 Ford custom hot-rod.
Art is the retired Regional-Transit bus-driver with fairly severe Parkinson’s. We have similar interests.
The steering was sloppy, and Art had tried to farm out rebuilding it, but got nowhere.
We ended up attempting the job ourselves, but failed. (See previous blog.)
We were unable to remove the steering-box.
Art thereupon called his friend Louie, who apparently has some Shoebox Fords himself, who said removing the steering-box from a ‘49 Ford should be easy-as-pie.
Louie had the steering-box out in about 20 minutes. (See blog.)
All it was was removing a metal retainer plate from the firewall.
It was a trick we didn’t surmise, plus the tiny and undecipherable exploded drawing didn’t detail it.
So Art and Louie went back to Art’s place to rebuild the steering-box, leaving the Cherry-Bomb undrivable in my garage.
No steering.
Yesterday (Wednesday, July 15, 2009) they came back out to install the rebuilt steering-box.
I really couldn’t participate.
I had taken the dog to the park yesterday morning, and was now babysitting the dog.
Linda had to work all day at the post-office.
I had left the garage unlocked, so Art and Louie could begin if they arrived while I was at the park.
They didn’t.
But later inside my house I heard tapping out in my garage.
Louie was trying to punch out a retainer-pin in the column-shift linkage.
A mounting-bolt for the steering-box had been bought to replace the one that broke.
We produced the other two mounting-bolts.
We also produced the U-bolt that clamped the steering-column to the dashboard bottom.
“It’ll be a bear to remount,” I said. It also was a bear to remove.
“You have to wedge yourself under the dashboard in front of the seat. It ain’t easy!” I said. “You’re working blind.”
I went back into the house to continue babysitting the dog. I was also keying in a blog.
About two hours later, they had it all together, and Art was about to back out of my garage.
Art fired it up, but Louie had to add gear-oil to the rebuilt steering-box.
Then, moment-of-truth.


Resurrection. (Photo by the so-called “old guy” with the dreaded and utterly reprehensible Nikon D100 camera.)

Art fired it up again, and backed out of my garage.
Louie took Art’s Camry onto the highway.
Then, resurrection.
Art arrowed the Cherry-Bomb out my driveway onto the highway.


Put the hammer down! (Photo by the so-called “old guy” with the dreaded and utterly reprehensible Nikon D100 camera.)

Art may be a wreck, but he knows what he has.
This ain’t no wallflower; this is the Cherry-Bomb.
It’s an old-style hot-rod, but it’s a hot-rod.
Put the hammer down!
Art goosed it, and blew right past Louie.

• “Linda” is my wife of 41+ years. Like me she’s retired, but she works part-time at the West Bloomfield post-office.
• For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) I drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service, the transit-bus operator in Rochester, NY. Art was a fellow bus-driver.
• “Shoebox” Fords are 1949-1951; called that because they are very squarish.
• Our current dog is “Scarlett;” a rescue Irish-Setter. She’s almost four, and is our sixth Irish-Setter. “The park” is nearby Boughton (“BOW-tin” as in “ow”) Park, where I run and we walk our dog.
• Art’s car still had the column-shifter, although the shift-lever had been hacksawed off. His car has been converted to a floor-shifter. (It’s a three-speed standard tranny [transmission].)