How to tame a Gremlin
I have decided to try to learn more about things where I do not have any need for the knowledge. Make it that what you will. A long time ago I was showing the the fundamentals of Gestalt where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Found that phrase away and carried on with my life. And now I’ve learned a new application. Old cars. It turns out that the pieces used in old cars were often uniform from one manufacturer to the next. Yes, they had slightly different names and slightly different part numbers but in the end a brake line is a brake line is a brake line. Apply that to many other parts. Today I watched a couple pull an old car out of a garage. Old being relative of course but this one being older than anything I’ve ever driven. And it didn’t run. However, some of these people have more knowledge than I give credit for. With a few wrenches and some carefully applied spray and a bit of fuel fed into the motor from a boat tank with the line fed through the firewall the car pulled out of the garage as a motive unit. I know, it will not pass inspection but that is a local thing. In this case they found a set of good tires, repurposed from a small trailer. And they found a thermostat for the radiator in a box. Not the right radiator cap but that doesn’t matter in the end they were able to drive the car home without anything seriously happening. A lot of praise for the driver for the comfort of an older car. I should add that in its time this was not considered to be a comfortable car. It was actually the star of many jokes. A gremlin. I know I will never be called upon to pull an old car out of a garage and right at home but knowing that the knowledge is out there and that the fundamentals apply from one car to the next makes me feel better about the world at large. No wonder automotive parts stores were able to exist. You always need a part, right? And if you can make the car roll down the road without attracting a tow truck or a police car you are on your way to mobile success in certain parts of the world. I will probably keep watching videos like this because they’re so entertaining. Problem solving in a good colour scheme.
