140 bricks

Poor Faye Valentine. First, the conversion from a Bosch alternator (externally regulated, and therefore complicated) to a Chevy unit (internally regulated, three times the amp output and FREE from a friend) has proven to be more difficult than first imagined. However, after several attempts at wiring and getting everything mounted properly, the project is done and healthy. Now there are deeper problems. We must face the fact (she and I) that her piston rings are so badly worn that there is practically no compression left, meaning that the amount of oil she is burning would cause any self-respecting, environmentally-aware person to lose consciousness. Worse than that, the 'performance' SU carburettors are running too rich, and like all English-built automotive components, are a tuning nightmare; which presents the problem that when Faye has been running long enough to be warm, the combination of no compression and over-gaseous mixture means that no amount of coaxing will induce her to start again---until she has cooled down for at least an hour. This makes simple operations such as filling up with gas or stopping for a quick grocery-run a matter of extreme embarrassment and frustration. *Sigh* Well, I guess now I have an excuse for a high-performance engine rebuild...A costly, time-consuming project to slip in between classes, work and SoCal-style living costs. Hmmmm. Maybe I will just never shut the car off. That way, every time I stop somewhere and run inside I can come back past the burbling, sputtering, belching exhaust pipe and count how many bodies have been asphyxiated and fallen twitching to the sticky pavement...