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Chapter 19 - The Fire Within
Greetings all, Brian here again. Signed in as my Dad so that I can upload pictures! This is about my most proud thread as all the hard work is truly coming to fruition. The seemingly unending project is progressing toward culmination. (Much to Cathy's approval) In case you don't want to wander through all the below prose, here's the Cliff Notes version...The Legendary Spence Car is alive and well. If you listen real hard, you can hear the theme song to the 6 Million Dollar Man..."We can rebuild him. Better. Faster. Stronger."
After three plus years of building, wiring, and plumbing I was nearly sick last Friday night as I considered the plans for the following day. Our checklist of activities had dwindled to a simple few items such as “prime oil pump, add antifreeze, add fuel”. A few sleepless hours later the alarm clock sounded signaling the start of a much anticipated day.
The preliminary tasks went quickly, but were not without excitement. Our gleaming machine was leaking critical fluids like a sieve due primarily to AN fittings requiring a little extra snug to create final, drip free seal. With fuel pressure in the injector rails and all items checked from our list, there was only one job left for this warm Saturday afternoon.
With a gentle twist of the key the PMGR starter whirred to life and somewhere deep within the shining black cast iron engine block a high voltage spark ignited a cocktail of compressed air and vaporized hydrocarbons with a deep and hollow resonance. Seconds later a gleaming silver piston was hurtling through space in a direction opposite of the one it had been just been traveling. Close by, seven other followed suit and the engine jumped to life with authoritative bark.
After starting so smoothly, the engine seemed to ‘remember’ that startup is not supposed to be that easy, and quickly registered a protest from being awakened from slumber by promptly emitting puffs of black smoke as the protective assembly lubricants began to burn from the now firing cylinders.
Though not in peak tune, the engine is alive and well. Our entire neighborhood has embraced the Cobra project, and once the rumbling eminated from the garage that afternoon our friends flocked to check out the newly awaken monster on the corner. The car sounds tough as nails and drew smiles from all friends who looked on. Such was the local excitement that we were persuaded to fire up the little snake again late into the evening hours – an activity that will surely draw a different reaction once the neighborhood excitement wanes for the hot rod..
All adjectives aside, my pride could scarcely be contained through the day as the engine actually started. Easily. Quickly. The whole time the motor was running I was waiting for some sort of out of place sound alerting me to some sort of impending disaster. Though we’re not out of the woods yet, there is a light at the other end of this forest. Dad and I are now sprinting to that light, hoping to get this little car on the road so we can put all of our hard work to the test!
