My elderly neighbor has a Nissen truck...a little red one. He's had it for years. The unspoken truth is that He is so old, this will be his last vehicle. A new truck will be too expensive for him. He will not live long enough to get a lot of mileage out of a new truck. Neighbor is a retired experimental engineer . He understands mechanical things, so He does most all the repairs on his truck. He also buys used snow blowers, lawn tractors, shredders...things like that....and gets them up and running. Some times, he makes a part for his machines. Neighbor loves to do it. He loves the problem and the solution. His yard is littered with machines, against the zoning regulations, but every one likes this old guy. We turn a blind eye to the junk yard in our residential neighborhood.
A few years ago, He had an accident . The truck sustained damage to the hood, front bumper, and passenger side fender. The truck was in the shop for a while. Neighbor was without wheels for a while, but finally got the truck back. It looked better than ever. Rusty hood and fender were replaced with new and shiny. Trusty truck was back in action.
Last summer, truck had a mechanical problem. There was water and antifreeze in the wrong place. What in the world is wrong? Bob diagnosed that it had a leaky gasket. He took the head off. He bought a new gasket. Neighbor employed my grandson, Stephen, to help put the engine together again. He had to get a repair manual to learn about the unique features involved. The two men got most of it together. Stephen was getting busy, so neighbor called another mechanic to finish the job.
The truck was started up. Still the same problem. Neighbor is trying hard to not take it to the garage or dealer, because of the cost. Finally He bites the bullet and takes it to a mechanic.
The garage finds that the problem is not a blown head gasket. It seems that during the first accident, the timing chain became lose. No one saw it. The timing chain wore a hole in the water pump housing, causing the leak and mixture of two liquids. (Stephen had told neighbor that there was nothing wrong with the gasket. Neighbor did not believe him.)
The repair is made and bill paid. Neighbor drives the truck for a total of three days. It runs beautifully. Then a car stops suddenly in front of him and He rear ends it.
Another insurance claim. The insurance company wants to total the truck. They are in negotiations for how much the truck is worth. Neighbor points out the fine engine, like new now. The final deal is not completed as I write this blog. Neighbor has decided that He will no longer drive in the dark. ...but what will he drive in the daylight?