Warning, Contains Nostalgia

Last Thursday I did a quintessential guy thing ,I bought a new truck.

My last new one has  been a loyal servant since 98 when I brought it home from the Ford dealer.

240000 miles later, it is getting on in years and I can hear the transmission struggling to change gears once it warms up.

The Expedition has lasted through three collies who loved it and jumped in eagerly , always assuming it would take them to places of new and interesting smells.

It travelled well, never breaking down during a trip, always getting us where we planned.

It rolled over snowy mountain passes, cruised up ocean beaches, crossed deserts and Forest Service roads, handled rain , mud and ice with surefooted ease.

DSC01957

Now I drive it while  Ford is building its replacement, an F150 Crew Cab with a fair amount of goodies. I even got an engine with the ‘eco’ prefix. Goodbye V-8, I will miss you.

My family always treated dogs and cars as part of the family story, each having it’s place in the saga, each treated as members in good standing, remembered for service and the good times when gone.

We tended to buy new and drive until the wheels fell off. My Dad’s first postwar car , a 54 Plymouth wagon was still going thirty years later , having been handed down to a few cousins. It was the first vehicle I remember sitting in and pretending to drive at high speed at age three.

So I need to find a place I can donate the Ford to, someplace that will use it to help folks who need transport, or train kids who want to learn a trade.

Meanwhile, now I have to replace the Red Headed Irish Wisecracker’s Lincoln LS.

America, what a country.

TKC1101

About TKC1101

Curmudgeon (Reserve Status), Corporate Refugee, Proud Grandfather, Small Business Advisor and Salvage, Heinlein American
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36 Responses to Warning, Contains Nostalgia

  1. 10 Cents10 Cents says:

    “Meanwhile, now I have to replace the Red Headed Irish Wisecracker …”

    I just want you to feel at home TKC. Nothing like taking things out of context to bring up fond memories.

  2. 10 Cents10 Cents says:

    Great story!! Car and motorcycles really connect to guys. For years in Japan I didn’t have a car. I didn’t really need one. I got by on a bicycle and great public transportation. When I finally got a car it felt wonderful. A car is so loaded with comfort, music, heat, and even a roof. Who could ask for anything more?

    • TKC1101TKC1101 says:

      I always wanted speed and serious acceleration with all those other things. Never know when you might need to get to the malt shop real fast for an emergency.

      • Vald the MisspellerVald the Misspeller says:

        In my misbegotten youth, I had a Ford F150 with a 428 Mercury Police Interceptor shoe-horned under the hood.
        It was as you say ‘real fast'(in a strait line). It didn’t get mileage so much as yardage, and an ’emergency’ was anytime I passed a gas station without stopping.

        • Vald the MisspellerVald the Misspeller says:

          That should be ‘straight line’ though I did find myself in desperate straits on occasion.

    • NandaNanda says:

      :-D

    • drlorentzdrlorentz says:

      “I got by on a bicycle and great public transportation. When I finally got a car it felt wonderful.”

      I’m moving in the opposite direction. I ride my bike to work almost every day. My car sometimes does not leave the driveway for a week or two at a time. I use Uber to get to the airport. I’ve even considered selling my car. Of course, my wife still has her 4-door sedan that we could use on rainy days.

  3. EThompson says:

    “We tended to buy new and drive until the wheels fell off.”

    My husband finally traded in his diesel Benz at 160,000 miles. I noticed tears in his eyes. Even the cat was disoriented.

    • 10 Cents10 Cents says:

      It was a piece of dust, Liz. Manly Men don’t cry. DocJay will tell you that it is physically impossible for us. My nose just got longer for some reason.

    • DevereauxDevereaux says:

      Man, those things are SLOW. Must have taken him a lifetime to accumulate all those miles.

      • EThompson says:

        Naw, we lived in CA at the time. You can accumulate those kind of miles in an East Coast minute.

      • EThompson says:

        We were on the 5, 405 and Pacific Coast Highway nearly every day. We were always driving!

        Now in FL, I’m hard pressed to fill the gas tank once a month.

  4. Mike LaRocheMike LaRoche says:

    God bless pickup trucks.

    • NandaNanda says:

      …And those who drive them…Amen?

    • EThompson says:

      If I could only manage to get in them without a high jump pole! :)

      • Mike LaRocheMike LaRoche says:

        Yep, I reckon gettin’ in one is hard for petite chix!

        • DevereauxDevereaux says:

          That’s what those handles up on the windshield frame are for. You grab that, stick your boot up on the running board and pull yourself up – rather like getting on a horse.

          • EThompson says:

            Dev, I’m sorry to tell you that my 4″ ankle stiletto boots could not cut it. ):

  5. NandaNanda says:

    So enjoyed this “slice of life”, TKC…Tasty! More, please/thank you?

  6. ctlaw says:

    The ecoboost engines have a problem with carbon fouling:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ynGWxzJHjA

    In theory, carbon deposits are a problem for all gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines.

    The reason is that because fuel goes directly into the cylinder the detergents in the fuel never get the opportunity to clean intake valves.

    The problem is that techniques for cleaning non-turbo GDI engines can damage the turbo.

    • TKC1101TKC1101 says:

      If that’s a problem, I just do not renew the lease. I had heard this one. Are you saying there is no procedure for cleaning the intakes?

      • ctlaw says:

        Remove/disassemble the heads and clean by hand.

        I assumed you were going to try to hit 240k on the F-150 too.

  7. ctlaw says:

    The Lincoln LS had two main problems. First, its original sin was that Ford intentionally neutered it to not offend Jaguar which sold a platform-mate as the S-Type.

    The Jaguar topped out with a 4.2 liter V8. Ford neutered that to make a 3.9 to keep it below the Jaguar. Then, to have a lower tier engine, ford used its 3.0 V6.

    The LS should have had a larger engines such as a 4.6 V8 and a 3.5 V6.

    The second sin was in not having AWD at a time when that was becoming common.

    • TKC1101TKC1101 says:

      Ford achieved a near perfect weight balance with the car and it is a great handling sedan. For years, it was the perfect Q-Ship, surprising a number of other drivers with the power it could tap. Not bad for a commuter car .

      AWD was unnecessary for our needs, we had a 4X4 right next to it, and it was great in the rain as it was.

      • ctlaw says:

        Weight balance and independent rear suspension were the LS’s strengths.

        The fact is Ford should have been able to sell you a V6 with as much power as the 3.9 V8 for a few thousand less or a V8 with more power for about the same.

        AWD is needed in the midwest and northeast. Some manufacturers do not ship certain RWD cars to these markets that they do sell in the warmer states.

        • DevereauxDevereaux says:

          AWD ought to be available for all high performance sedans. It enhances the performance.

          And let’s face it – an awful lot of Americans have lost their ability to drive a RWD, certainly “sportingly”.

  8. ctlaw says:

    My Mustang is in the shop for some more warranty work. As a loaner, they gave me an F-150 SuperCrew. It’s a Lariat with the base normally-aspirated V6 and 6-speed auto.

    The engine is clearly overmatched, but not surprisingly so.