However, there are some things I DO know. I know how to love my family, even if it means forgiving them of the stupid, maniac things they do sometimes; I know even the most nonsensical bits of celebrity trivia and can recite them at a moment's notice, and I know a little bit about cars.
I took great pride, while living in Florida for a year, in going home to my Grandpa and telling him I changed my flat tire all by myself. I even went so far as to take the damaged tire to a gas station so that they could patch it for $2. My Grandma says my Grandpa was pretty proud of me for that one. Did I mention the tire was flat....and I was at work? It would have been nice if the tire had been flat at home.....but that's not usually the way those things happen. I had several offers of help, but felt I needed to prove something to myself and all the men looking at me like I had lost my mind as I refused their assistance. And I did prove myself.
My Father had this wonderful knack of insisting that someday his children would need to know about cars, hence the reason he insisted on us helping him as he worked on the family car. I know the difference between a socket wrench and crescent wrench. I know what a radiator does and where it's located. I also know how to put oil, coolant and gasoline in my car. And believe it or not, when my brother Paul is explaining an engine block to me, I mostly get and understand what he's saying.
That's why I feel confident in the Johnson Sibling Cooperative to Restore Cars initiative. Let me take you back a bit.......my family has had a long-standing love affair with one car. The Chevrolet El Camino. First of all, who can resist a vehicle that's half car, half truck? I mean, really! For as long as I can remember, I've always seen an El Camino parked somewhere in the vicinity of my family's home. My Grandfather had a few, my Uncles had a few, and my Father even had a few. I don't quite remember when my father procured the cream-colored Camino, but I distinctly remember him being proud of the bronze racing stripes he added to the hood. This began a long, tiresome road of the car sometimes working and sometimes not. My brother Paul caught the El Camino bug from my Father, and both of them never noticed that I secretly nursed my own crush on this wondrous car. Because who would believe a teenage girl would one day long for her own El Camino?
Now, let me just say, that my Father's El Caminos were very....temperamental. Sometimes they worked....sometimes they didn't. And let's all be real honest......this drove my Mother nuts. As long as my Father has had a love affair with this particular make and model, my Mother has had an understandable hatred for it. She obviously didn't share the Johnson's enthusiasm for Chevrolets. But that's okay. It's not for everyone.
As Paul turned of the driving age, my Dad bequeathed the car to him. Paul's dream was to restore this car. I even went so far as to submit an application to Overhaulin', a reality TV show, in order for Paul to receive the ultimate prize of getting this car overhauled by a creative collective of California know-how's. It never happened, sorry to say. And I have to admit, the application was REALLY good.....my Dad and I both worked on it.....and I gotta say, we both have a panache for writing. So it was good. It was funny. It didn't get picked.
Back to the El Camino. At this point, she had been passed from Father to son. She proceeded to spend the next several years sitting in a parking lot and garage, as nothing was ever done to her. Paul got super busy with non-important things like getting married, and producing the sweetest chubby-cheeked-human ever created.
Paul contacted me about a month ago, telling me he was selling the El Camino. I'm gonna just tell the truth. I cried after I hung up the phone.
This car had been in our family for quite a while. And I felt bad for the ol' girl. She had been made promise after promise of a new life, a new body, a new soul......and she never received anything. I cried for her and I cried for me. I didn't know how I could buy this car, or where I would store it.....and if I bought and stored it....what would I tell my Mom???!!! Maybe that was the real dilemma.
Paul being the amazing brother he is, didn't want to sell the car to a stranger anymore than I wanted to see it sold to a stranger. He arranged my brother Roy's garage for it, and set me up on a long-term payment plan, knowing full well I was a poor college student.
We both rejoiced.
That was alot of background info.....but I said all that to say.......Roy, Paul and I will be jumping off into the restoring biz come September. We are all equally excited about this opportunity. It's more than just working on a junk car.
We've got plans. We have no money. But we do have time. And we have the know how. We are all actually pretty smart, mechanically. Thanks Dad!
And since we were MADE to help him on the cars, once upon a time, he's absolutely right that it really WILL come in handy one day.
I think the secret to a successful restoration venture, is planning.
The time we are giving ourselves to finish our project: 5 years
The date we will first begin our project: September (when its cooler)
And I know that the ol' girl is smiling, sitting inside Roy's dank and creepy-crawly garage. She's going to get rebuilt from the chassis up......and yep, I know what a chassis is.
I think most of all, I am happy that I will be spending time with my brothers, working towards a common goal. There will be temper tantrums, much laughter, maybe even a few tears........but that's a small price to pay for keeping something in the family. Don't you think?
You're asking if I've had a conversation with my Mother yet.......um, no.
Of course, certain people can't keep their mouths closed, so she's aware of the situation.....but....I'm not really allowed to repeat what she said about it.
I don't know all there is to know about cars. But I know a lot about restoration. And I know its a lot of hard work, whether it's internal/emotional, or on an 80 El Camino.
Wish us luck!! :0)
I can't believe you guys are going to work on that old peice of junk! Your dad was a very good mechanic and he couldn't keep it running. Sorry to sound so depressing but I think you guys are all nuts! Of course you do come from a long line of nuts.... and I do wish these squirls would stop trying to pick me up.
ReplyDeleteMy dad didn't restore it from the bottom up. He repaired things as was needed....we may be nuts....my Mom would agree with you....but if we succeed we will be very HAPPY, PROUD nuts! :0)
ReplyDeleteso....I'm wondering, how did I miss the not being "made" to work on cars, I don't ever remember doing anything to any car, I know how to put oil in and I "might" be able to change a tire if needed, I use the word might because I know how but have never actually had to do it.....hmmmmmm things to wonder.
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