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As you have heard me say many times in this column, the simpler things are the better. Some how as the years click by ever faster, things in everyday life get more complicated. The newest ride in the garage is a '01 that has a six speed transmission; a nice touch, that six speed, but where were those engineers when we were down on power and needed all the mechanical advantage we could get. Power bands in early cars were pretty narrow and a couple of extra cogs would have come in real handy. Today's modern engine management systems can produce horsepower over such a broad range that most cars could start off in third gear and only the driver would know. If I got locked out of second and fourth gear I don't think that it would really hurt that much, I've got four more to pick from. There is one feature that I'm not very pleased with and I may put some thought into disabling it. That is the safety circuit that prevents the starter from engaging unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed. I certainly understand the need, after all who hasn't seen someone turn the key when the car was in gear? Or maybe even done it ourselves? It hops forward, or with the handbrake on, the tail dips like a bow to the Queen and you look like an idiot behind the wheel. I've seen the Sixty Minutes show where children are run over and garage doors are demolished because a driver thought the car was in neutral and it wasn't. Too bad, accidents happen. Anyone with an old car knows how important it is to be able to start the car while in gear. How else would you get home after the clutch cable breaks? A turn of the key, a little hippity hop and you're on your way. A few years ago we got a five-speed BMW from New Jersey (Cape May actually) all the way to Massachusetts, with no clutch. Careful planning and only three or four hippity hops and the job was done, nothing to it. If I couldn't engage the starter unless the clutch was depressed I would still be sitting on the Garden State Parkway. How would you get the car off the road when it died and wouldn't restart? Just put it in second gear, turn the key and it will ease itself onto the shoulder. Now isn't that a safety feature? I think so. Of course the best safety feature is to build a car that doesn't die on the road and I have to admit that cars are definitely getting better as the years roll along. But that takes some of the fun out of driving. Where's the adventure in just getting from A to B? Speaking of adventure, last weekend returning from the PCA autocross at Ft Devins, I was taking the back roads through Lincoln when the 914 began to sputter on left turns. The gas gauge said 1/8 of a tank was left but the car was saying that it was empty. Some years ago I had installed a 911 multi-gauge that gave me oil pressure and oil temperature but cost me the gas gauge. A separate single gauge was placed in the center console and worked pretty well but I had never run the tank low enough to find out where empty really was. Now I know. When it says 1/8 of a tank, it's empty. I was on a well traveled road that Bill Seymour had showed me some years ago. He says that takes his Lotus Super 7 (or whatever it is) that way because there’s less traffic and the road is more entertaining. I agree, but it's also because you don't have to be doing 85 mph to keep up with traffic. It makes for a better drive and is a short cut. It's also rolling hills and farm land without a lot of development around, like gas stations. I rolled to a stop where a dirt road met the blacktop about a quarter mile past a farmhouse. It looked like a working farm so I hoofed it back up the road to see if anyone was around. Farms are as good as gas stations because they always have gas around for chain saws, lawn mowers, tractors and the like. There was only one car in a driveway that would hold ten, but one was all I needed. Chickens walked out to meet me (in Lincoln!) and there was an old dog under a tree that had long since retired from guard duty. He was friendly enough but deaf as a post. Even the chickens ignored him. The woman who came to the door asked if I needed to use the phone. Now think about that for a minute. When's the last time that someone came to your door and asked to use the phone. In a country with more cell phones than people (isn't marketing great?) you probably can't remember because it's been so long. I told her that I had run out of gas and needed to buy a gallon if she had any in the barn. She said that she wasn't sure where her husband kept it but if I could find it to help myself. It was pretty easy to spot the gas can. It was right next to the five gallon container with the word DIESEL written on it. I love efficiency. I often wonder why light switches say on and off when only one word is needed. Why mark both cans when only one needs a label? It had a whittled down stick in place of a breather cap, the mark of a true farmer. Unlike modern cars, the gas filler neck was a straight shot with no trap doors in the way. Those of us with old cars can add gas from a milk jug, a lawnmower gas can or a Mason jar, all containers that were outlawed years ago. Don't try that with your new SUV. You'll wind up with gas down the fender, all over the ground and none in the tank. The trap door keeps the fumes in and the gas out. If you jam a stick or a screwdriver down in the neck to keep the door open it will let about a gallon a day dribble in. You should live so long. Adding the gas and driving back to the farmhouse was the easy part, getting her to take money for the gas was the hard part. Many years ago she and her husband while traveling through upstate New York had their car run out of gas at the top of a long grade. There was a farm on the top of the hill but nobody was home. Seems that they helped themselves to some gas in the barn and even though they left some money, she always felt bad about taking the gas. Now it was her turn to be generous. This adventure took less than fifteen minutes. It may sound strange but it added immeasurably to my day, and as they say, left me with a great story. I can't even remember the last time that I ran out of gas but whenever it was I'm sure that it was a major pain. This time it was almost fun. Simple problem and a simple solution. Life should be so easy everyday. KTF |
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