This young man came to the shop one time with an old pickup...a 1969 Chevy Silverado...He was restoring it. He was showing me the new seats and new dash...all original. He raised the hood...slick-as-a-mink! Almost everything was chrome...the breather, rocker arm covers, timing chain cover...almost everything that was attached to the engine, was chrome...even the alternator. He was proud of it. He came down for me to put the timing light on it and adjust the floats on the 4bbl dual line Holly carburetor. I noticed the grill was out and it didn't have the air conditioner condenser...the radiator was exposed! I asked him why he was running it that way...with the radiator so exposed. He said he had taken the grill out to remove the condenser, if he decided to put the air conditioner back in, he was going to get a new condenser. The next week he called to ask how much I'd charge to rebuild that engine. On his way home from the city that day the engine died, just before he got it home. He had been listening to the tape player and singing along with it and didn't hear the gurgling and hissing coming from the radiator. Seems when he was following a truck into town his radiator caught a small rock, knocking a hole in one of the flues in the radiator. By the time he got almost home the engine got so hot it seized...locked up. Moral of story: Don't drive with a 'naked' radiator! |
