Fully Ready

For the last four months or so, I've been looking forward to driving "Nell" to the Classic Thunderbird Club International regional convention with my #1 son.  The convention is coming up this week, and my son and I are pretty pumped up about it!  We will be driving Nell over 500 miles up the coast highway to get there, so it's important that she be in tip-top condition.

This summer I have taken Nell to several cruise nights, and she has been a reliable ride.  I figured she was really ready for this long trip.  Last Sunday, after taking my sweetheart out for a cup of coffee, I got out of the car and noticed drops of water appearing on the ground in front of the bumper!  It looked like it was raining, but just in a very small patch immediately in front of the car, and the bumper was also wet.  Kneeling down for a closer look, it became clear that the radiator had sprung a pinhole leak!  Bummer!  I guess she isn't ready after all.  The radiator is pretty old, and probably should have been replaced a year ago... but I was too eager to get the car together.  I thought I could get by with the old radiator.

Monday I was on the phone with T-bird parts houses trying desperately to find a radiator that I could get in a few days.  On the third try, I found one in my state.  When I came home from work on Tuesday, the new radiator had arrived!  I got a heavy duty 4-row copper version, which should have a little extra cooling capacity.

I had Friday off, so bright and early I pulled the old radiator and started cleaning up the engine compartment.  This is much easier to do with the radiator and fan removed. 

The before picture, after I drained the radiator.

Taking the shrouds off is pretty easy.  The rust stains on the radiator came from an ill-fitting cap that I used when I first assembled the car last year.

The upper shroud showed some rust after I pulled off the old rubber strip.  I repainted the shroud, and installed new rubber.

The new radiator is just a little thicker, with an additional row of tubes.

I repainted the upper shroud gloss black.  While paint was in the gun, I painted the aftermarket 6-blade fan as well.  Then, on a lark, I decided to paint the tips of the fan yellow, like a WWII fighter plane!  I'd seen pictures of another t-bird that had this done, and I thought it looked cool.   The tips of warplane props were painted a bright color so that ground crews could see where the danger circle was when the engines were running.  This seems like a good idea for a car engine, too.  It also is my own way of paying homage to Uncle Toronado, the WWII P38 pilot that owned this car for 20 years.

The engine compartment. detailed and reassembled.

Here are a few victory shots.  Nell looks great, and is a genuine blast to drive.  I'm really looking forward to the trip with my Son this week, and being around other t-birders for a few days!

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At my recovery meeting last week, the lesson was on Step 6... "being fully ready for God to remove all our defects of character".  It's easy to think I am ready, and another thing to be fully ready.  God has a remarkable way of reminding me of my lack of readiness.  A lingering stare that could turn to lust, a lingering attitude or entitlement... these are like pinhole leaks in my radiator.  Am I fully ready to let God fix me, to replace a part of me.  Do I cringe at the cost of the repair, or do I move out in faith?

I had to let go of something this week that was holding me back from being fully ready.  It may not be the only thing, but I'm just a little closer to being the man I want to be.  The man I think God wants me to be.