Welcome to the online edition of Blowin\u2019 Smoke. While I write a Blowin\u2019 Smoke column in every issue of Canadian Hot Rods magazine that used to mean I could only regale you with my wit, wisdom and hot air six times a year. Thanks to the internet, this space will now allow me to steal time you will never get back at least once a week and maybe more if the brain synapses are particularly active.
\nYou will also be able to access a Blowin\u2019 Smoke archive with more than 30 of my past columns and if I\u2019ve moved you to tears or just bored you to tears you can let me know by commenting on the columns. Thanks for visiting the site. Stay a while and check it out. There\u2019s lots to see and over the next month or so we\u2019ll be tweaking and modifying things and making improvements based on both our observations and your input. Look forward to hearing from you. Now for the rest of the story. Maybe you can relate.
\nThey say experience makes wise men of us all. Well, that might be true of other people, but not gearheads. The other day I went with a buddy of mine to look at a \u201979 Dodge C class motor home that was one of those \u201cjust figure out a way to get it out of my yard and it\u2019s yours\u201d type of deals. The main attraction was the 440 and Torqueflite drivetrain that at one time motivated this beast. Gearheads are the \u201ccrazy cat ladies\u201d of the automotive world. Why stop at one, two or three engine blocks and trannys taking up space in your shop (or yard) when you can get find home for more \u2014 especially when they\u2019re free.<\/p>\n
Though the Dodge hadn\u2019t moved in 10 years \u2013 we were told the engine turned over and that it had less than 90,000 miles on it. Of course, whenever my buddies and I go look at junk the wheels start turning and optimism kicks in. My buddy started thinking this dung heap was \u201cactually in pretty good shape\u201d and could be salvaged and turned into the road trip living space we often talk about when groups of us head to swap meets or to be spectators at hot rod or drag racing events. Hey, it was \u201cfree.\u201d
\nUsually, I\u2019m sucked in by the optimism. That\u2019s the gearhead curse: Anything can be saved and is worth saving. A past experience was tempering my enthusiasm. Free ain\u2019t always free. Not even six months ago, we decided it would be worth it to remove the very same type of vehicle \u2013 a Dodge C Class motorhome \u2013 from this same buddy\u2019s grandfather\u2019s farm. This one didn\u2019t have a 440 and vandalism and at least two dead, rotting racoon carcasses squashed his dream of putting it back on the road. Instead of just calling a tow truck to haul it away, we thought we\u2019d use my car trailer to make some easy money at the scrap metal dealer. If \u201ceasy\u201d means a full days labour, a broken winch line and severely maxed trailer then we were right.
\nThe big problem was the brakes were seized on the driver\u2019s side rear wheel and we could not get the wheel to turn no matter how many times we pounded it with a sledgehammer. My 4,000lb winch couldn\u2019t pull it on the trailer without the assistance of my<\/p>\n
buddy\u2019s pickup and a tow strap. We also soon found out the vehicle was just going to fit the trailer with the rear dually\u2019s hanging off the deck. Once we got the thing on the trailer and after a quick trip to my shop to reverse the ball on the hitch (the trailer was dragging on the road so we had to get the ball lower to drop the nose of the trailer down) we felt pretty good about ourselves. Our sense of triumph lasted as long as it took to get to the scrap dealer (about 20 minutes) who informed us the grand sum of all our sweat and effort was less than $40. Yep. We called the other local scrap dealer in town and they said they wouldn\u2019t even take it unless we stripped all the living space from it and brought them a bare frame and cab. We went for lunch and laughed at ourselves saying at least we never gave up and let the tow truck company get the $40 bucks and hey that winch line needed to be replaced anyway. The lunch ate up the $40.
\nLesson learned, right? Well, here we are six months later contemplating something of a similar scenario all in the name of a 440ci engine and tranny that might bring us a $200 at a swap meet if we\u2019re lucky.
\nHere kitty, kitty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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