I'm sure not many knew I was gone, but I'm back! <BG>
Three weeks ago I went over to a close friend's house to work on the
engine for The Baron that has been out at the machine shop and finally
came back. I purchased all the necessary gaskets and went over there
because he has a heated pole barn (a REQUIREMENT when wishing to do car
work in January in Michigan!). To make a long story short, on my way in
with an arm full of engine parts, I got stupid (extremely stupid) and
grabbed the edge of the heavy steel door with one hand to pull it closed
behind me. I did not quite get my hand out of the way in time... Six
hours later they had sewn the tip of my left middle finger back on, set
the bone and sent me on my way with some painkillers and the
instructions to do nothing to "further irritate the injury".
Yeah...
I visited the specialist Wednesday for the first time since it happened
and he unwrapped it. He said "it looks good". This must be a matter of
opinion... I certainly thought it looked horrible (I won't go into the
gory details)! He told me that I will keep the tip and have full use of
it, although one side of it would always be almost totally "dead" as far
as being able to feel anything. He replaced the huge mess of a bandage I
had on with a much smaller one, and now I can actually use my computer
again!
On other news, the weather in Michigan is improving and I now have The
Ghost out on the road, thanks to all the kind assistance from the list
when I was renewing her suspension!
I'm having troubles with keeping her running as she warms up though...
Once warm, everything runs perfectly, but before then it's terrible.
When I first start her up, choke all the way out, she runs fine. As she
gets warmer, when I come to a stop, she wants to quit, no matter where
the choke is set. I've tried (awkwardly and with a friends helping
hands) to adjust the fast idle screws and the mixture, but nothing seems
to help.
On another note, I just got my confirmation to attend one of John
Twist's weekend seminars, and unless I'm mistaken I'll actually get to
meet a list member there face to face. Are you still here on the list
Nina? Do you live in Berkeley? If so I'll see you Feb. 19th in Grand
Rapids!
--
Chris Chandler
'72 B Roadster "The Red Baron"
'70 B Roadster "The Ghost"
|