Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Resurrection

There are not many opportunities in life to get a second chance. We are often faced with a fork in the road and never return to see where that other path may have led. Recently, I was reunited with my first vehicle, which has been set idle for the last 15 years. It had been moved once--about 10 miles--during that time, but not under it's own power.  It had been watched over by my loving parents as I scoured the countryside, looking for a path in life. After 4 years of military service, 4 years as an undergraduate, and just over 5 years of full time employment as a Mechanical Engineer of sorts, it seemed like it was time.

The vehicle is a 1949 Willys-Overland Pickup. Not the rarest of birds, but not very many can be found commissioned as a daily driver. It, and it's sibling the "Wagon", are often overshadowed by their little-older brother, the universal "Jeep". I happened to be visiting home for a weekend trip bachelor party and decided buying a one way plane ticket would solidify my commitment of bringing the truck down.  I had also taken my daily driver, 1979 Ford F-150 to live with my sister on a farm the preceding winter, so have been wondering the silicon valley truckless for months at this point.  All subtle but key steps required for the transition due to my lack of parking or garage space in Sunnyvale.


The weather was clear and all reservations made with assumptions about the trailer and the border-line tire size vs wheel straps. But with the help of my dad's portable 12V winch, it was on the trailer and cinched, with little to no space to spare. Slapped a red rag on the Willys bumper and away I went. Besides burning a few tanks of gas, having to prove to Califorina I wasn't harboring a couple tons of citrus in the U-haul, and the straps loosening as the crusty front tire kept deflating, the trip was a complete success. I was able to pull into my driveway in Sunnyvale mid-day when no one was driving down my street, and back the trailer into the driveway without someone thinking they were helping by shouting directions from 50 feet away.
With some crafty rigging, I was able to let the truck off the trailer without sending it through the fence and the truck nestled into its new home.  It may be a little rough around the edges, and is definitely going to require some TLC, planning, and crawling through miles of mud, sweat and blood, but there's nothing like the feeling of driving a vehicle that you resurrect with your own two hands.