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| Pirsig thought that the term "gumption" had a quaint ring. |
In his book Robert Pirsig writes about the hazard of the "Gumption Trap." This isn't something that you fall into and are trapped like in quicksand. Instead it is a state of running out of gumption which causes you to come to a a halt in a project or endeavor. "Running out of gas" would be a similar metaphor for the same predicament.
For some reason (and there will be plenty!) you find yourself losing the resolve that you had when you started the project. Everything then grinds to a halt. Sometimes never to be completed.
This usually isn't your fault, at least not directly. Most of the time it's just that competing aspects of your life have to take precedence over the project at hand. Obviously, we have to set priorities in our lives. Nursing, fixing, and fussing over an older hobby car usually isn't one of them.
This is the "Life" that gets in the way. This is also the reason that cars and motorcycles often end up as basket cases or future barn finds!
There is no point in putting on the judgement hat.
These things just happen.
It's overcoming these delays, distractions and diversions that tells the real story.
But, sometimes it's not about competing demands. Sometimes it happens because we run into a dead end and don't know what to do and just how to proceed.
Sometimes it's just the realization that the task we've taken on is just harder and much more tedious than we anticipated.
I remember when I was changing out the transmission on the XJS. Removing the transmission cooler lines. There was very restricted access, (what a surprise!) I could only turn my wrench one eighth of a turn at a time.The threaded fitting was almost an inch long, and there were two of them! There I was lying on my back asking myself "how did I get into this mess?"
I was feeling pretty disgusted and frustrated, so I stopped what I was doing and slid out from under the car.
I got something to drink and sat down outside clearing my head.
I remembered an article that I had read in a past issue of Skinned Knuckles magazine written by Matt Joseph. He was sitting in his shop with some of his old buddies. Matt had just moved his little restoration shop to a new location and he wanted to make a good impression with his new neighbors. He would often do little jobs as a favor for his neighbors. I may be a little wrong in remembering the exact details, but the gist of the story remains the same.
A local gent brought in a cast iron end plate from an agricultural implement gearbox. There was a bearing race pressed into a boss cast in the end plate. The bearing race needed to come out for replacement. It looked like a simple job.
It appears that the bearing had broken up and the inner race and balls had fallen apart, leaving just the outer bearing race.
Matt figured that he could whip out this job in a couple of minutes, impressing this local yokel. At first Matt figured that he would just use one of his many pullers to lift the race out of it's place. He tried but just couldn't get any purchase to pull it out. Then he looked at the back of the end plate hoping to find a small hole that would allow him to insert a thin punch and drive the race out. There wasn't any hole in sight, so he thoroughly cleaned the accumulated grease expecting to find the hole.
No hole, and the race did not have an exposed edge where a chisel could strike from the opposite side.
One of the buddies suggested that they heat the end plate and then strike the back of the plate with a hammer, that should allow the race to just "pop out."
That sounded like a great idea, and Matt triumphantly fired up the torch to heat up the unit. With a smug look on his face Matt grabbed a large mallet and started pounding on the back of the end plate, expecting to it pop out and land with a clear ringing sound on the shop floor. But, no dice.
The fifteen minute job had now taken more than two hours. Now an intense discussion arose among Matt and his friends. The local farmer listened to this discussion as various ideas were rehashed. After a time the farmer remarked, "I guess you city guys can just figure a way to talk the thing out!"
Obviously something had to be done. A previous idea had been proposed that perhaps the race could be burned out with a torch. This idea had been rapidly rejected because of possible damage to the end plate. Matt asked the farmer if he would accept the risk. He just replied that the part was of no use to him the way it was.
Matt wrapped the part in some wet rags, fired up the torch and managed to burn a small hole in the race. A punch was then used and the race popped free. Finally!
Matt recognized that sometimes that you just need to use the best resources available to you and make a decision.
Maybe I just needed to grab another helping of gumption.
So I crawled back under the car and resolved myself to a very tedious process. And the task proceeded until it was done.
I've said this many, many, times, sometimes You just have to do the work.
Other times You just have to walk away ... at least for awhile.
I guess that sometimes the most important thing to do is actually to do nothing at all, especially if there is no compelling reason or need to do anything. Drive your other cars. Just let the damn thing sit.
But only for a while.
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Today I finally had some free time. My poor XJ6 has been sitting for three weeks at least. I've been wanting to start it up and drive it, at least a little bit. I began to wonder if the car would even start. I actually had misplaced my keys a couple of weeks back. I didn't want to start it with the spare key as that would probably trip the alarm. I later found the keys in the pocket of the jacket that I had been wearing.
I got in the car and turned the key. It started instantly, without any noises or drama, settling down into a steady idle. I backed it out of the driveway and took it for a little tour of my greater neighborhood. Ten miles later I was reminded just how much I liked this car. I don't need another car, I don't even want another car. I just need to fix this one!
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