Craig vs. distributor = distributor wins

I think I’ll tell this tale from chronological end to beginning.

4. Wednesday night. Finished tearing down BB’s engine—which we'd never done before and was pretty exciting to tell you the truth. We hauled everything to the mechanic where Craig got to take revenge on the case by nailing it with a mallet until the crusty pink bubble gum (grease) holding the case together gave way.

3. Wednesday afternoon. Craig called to say “Hi. I think I need to go to the doctor”. The picture below shows exactly why and what happens if you jam a distributor (with cap) into your face using full force. I believe there was also pressure built up that assisted the distributor in its travels.

2. Tuesday afternoon. Our mechanic informed Craig that the dude who built the engine had used a particular type of grease which is fine unless you let the engine site for three years without starting it (like ours had). The grease had hardened into a weird flaky pasty substance that evidently would have burned up our bearings had we started it. The engine needed to be torn down and cleaned...oh, and put back together too. Grumble…

1. Tuesday morning. We had (more or less) the following conversation: (I should add—for some mysterious reason neither Craig nor I enjoy calling our mechanic. We like him and everything, but we just dread the phone calls.)

Craig: I just really don’t feel good about the engine. Have you thought any more about me taking it to the mechanic?

Maryn: Long sigh. Silence. Okay, FINE.

Craig: Really?! Finally!…but I don’t really want to call the mechanic.

Maryn: Alright, I’ll call him if I can buy Bradford’s cooler.

Craig: Sold.

Pause in conversation.

Craig: You’re an “old stuff whore”! You just sold out for a vintage cooler.

Maryn: Yes, so what’s your point? (okay, actually I just laughed really hard)

In conclusion, while I was super ticked off that our engine had to be torn down, I was glad that Craig convinced me to have it looked at and now hopefully (knock on wood, cross your fingers, no whammies) we’ll have an engine that we can feel confident taking out of cell coverage areas. I got a new/old cooler (isn’t it BEAUTIFUL?) and Craig paid $$ to have his face fixed.