Never the Same IC#14 Kirk’s New Love

It was love at first sight, and she was totally green.

 

Cue: “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” https://youtu.be/lK_tErs-d2Y  

Now that Kirk had become busier working at the dealership and occasionally at Mike’s garage, Kirk didn’t have the time, at least daytime hours to pine over his heartbroken loss of Dee. Sure, he’d occasionally have dreams of her, so vivid he could feel her small, warm hand in his, taste her soft lips on his, and gaze into her lovely brown eyes; though at least, he didn’t have the spare time to sit around and replay what he once had and imagine what could have been with Dee�"well, not too much time anyway.

Anyone reading this nonfiction bio along the way knows that Kirk had dated other girls since Dee, but he never got that spark, the warmth in his soul, like he did every single day with Dee. No doubt Kirk would never be the same after Dee, and he convinced himself through and through that he’d never, ever fall in love again�"at least not a love like he had with Dee.

***

Well, irregardless, life had to go on for Kirk, so it seemed after some time had passed, he had gotten away Scot-free after the Infamous Ambulance Crash though he still kept a wary eye on his rear-view mirror whenever he drove, especially waiting at stoplights. So, while expecting the police to show up, he continued plugging away performing the unrewarding warranty repair jobs at the dealership that no one else wanted to do and being the low man on the dealership’s maintenance totem pole…

However, with time, the dealership paid for his attending seminars on certain automotive components like carburetors, electronic ignition, and the grand complicated component of them all, automatic transmissions. For the most part, Kirk absorbed the basics of those first two, but the transmission clinic proved difficult for Kirk to handle. He managed getting through the clinic with lots of hands-on experience, but for some reason, he had a real problem recalling all the specifics of a transmission rebuild. He just couldn’t remember to put it all together and actually rebuild a transmission.

Do I have some kind of mental block over this? Or some inability to recall certain linear steps?

Because Kirk had an innate trouble with all those check balls, valves, and clutches that just had to go in a transmission in a certain order in a certain manner, indications seemed to point to the reality that Kirk would never progress into an expert auto mechanic.   

Nevertheless, Kirk continued working at the dealership doing all those mundane jobs as outlined previously. During this period, because Kirk worked all week at the dealership, he spent less time at Mike’s garage. He couldn’t quite fathom how one could be enamored with working on cars during your time off when you spent all day working on cars. Though on the other hand, he felt he owed Mike somewhat for the earlier loans of cars and the glowing referral on the mechanic’s position. He just couldn’t spend all of his off time mechaniking, he had to have some rest and relaxation which came in the form of hanging out at bars and nightclubs now that he had a steady flow of cash rolling in. Not much became of his nighttime bar crawls, just a bit of a buzz and a whole lot of BS with the boys.

So, unfortunately, work became his central focus. During Kirk’s breaks at the dealership, he would often wander over to the body shop just to see what was going on. Big deaf happy-go-lucky Paul always liked to show off his latest paint job whether it was just a door that needed to be matched after repairing a dent or a complete paint job, Paul was the proudest worker at the place. Kirk would always be impressed with the fine work Paul did and told him, well, in so many words and gestures. Also, over time, Kirk got to know Mark a body man there as well. A few years older than Kirk and as it seemed, Mark was also a cheerful guy. Maybe the lingering paint and body filler fumes resulted in everyone working the body shop to have better, cheerier attitudes. On the other hand, maybe the artistic flair needed to work at the body shop created a happier work environment, maybe the body shop manager proved to be an all-right guy. Who knew? Anyhow, Mark apparently, Kirk found out, had a reputation of wheeling and dealing cars and parts, and that didn’t deter Kirk one darn bit.

One day during a visit, Kirk noticed a pinned-up note about a car for sale and the note said to talk to Mark. So, by now, Kirk had accumulated some money and thought, seeing the Baja Bug looked worse for the wear and tired, he should step up to something powerful and faster. After all, he had been getting a taste for the horsepower, sound and feel of horsepower since road testing all the sporty cars that he worked on.

So after work, Kirk followed Mark to where the car in question sat. Kirk saw the car and feel instantly in love. Literally, Kirk fell in love at first sight. The car he gazed upon was a beautiful racing green 1967 Pontiac Firebird, which also happened to be a convertible 400 engine model with a four-speed stick�"PERFECT! The body looked perfect without a scratch or smudge anywhere. The black top appeared perfect without any wear or tears, and the all-black interior didn't have any flaws as well. The ONLY minor problem with this beauty on four wheels was that it lacked an engine. Yeah, a minor detail that could be managed quite easily�"yeah sure, Kirk.

Mark said, apparently, because he wasn’t sure whether the engine had blown a rod or something else had been given to a so-called mechanic who promptly disappeared with the engine from the public eye.

So, hmmm, Kirk deeply wondered about finding a suitable, a powerful engine for his new love in his life. Despite the lack of engine, overall, the car deal itself seemed a relatively good transaction, and he’d worry about an engine later on, after all, it was just an engine that the Firebird required.  

Will the Firebird rise from the ashes? Oh, sorry that’s the Phoenix that rose up out of the ashes. Close enough to be the same bird, eh?   

Anyway, Kirk and Mark flat towed the beauty home to Kirk’s house and there it sat and sat a little longer. It, no doubt, was a good-looking model. There at the time and before, back to 1967, all kinds of big talk originated from fans and magazine on how wonderful the Camaros were. You know, how sporty, how powerful, and so on and so forth. Kirk and others, many others, believed the Firebird was a much better car than the Camaro in many ways even though both were derived from the same basic model. First, being a Pontiac, the Firebird had a better fit and finish to it. Second, there were extra trim and details that the Camaros couldn’t compare to. Maybe there were more aftermarket racing parts for the Chevy Camaro, which equaled faster prepared cars, but third, the stock Firebird could go head-to-head with the stock Camaro with ease. In fact, because the Firebird could be faster, General Motors executives required the Firebird to have a horsepower restriction on it so it wouldn’t out perform the Camaros which were supposed to be the GM Pony Car Flagship to take on the all-time market-leading Pony Car, the Ford Mustang. No need to compete for the title within the same corporation.  

Well, with the Firebird sitting there in the yard, Kirk just had the itch to get it on the road. Luckily, all the other parts he needed to get it running were with the car like the transmission, bellhousing, exhaust, and so on. So, Kirk scoured junk yards and want ads trying to find a suitable Pontiac 400 engine. Yeah, he located a few, but some were two-barrel carburetor models (low horsepower), some with iffy histories, and others, the owners just wanted too much.

But low and behold, Mark suddenly “found” a 400 engine out of 1970 Pontiac GTO which “just happened” to be the highest horsepower engine ever put in a Pontiac! It was called the Ram Air IV, and the price Mark named seemed reasonable. Just the ticket to fly that Kirk dreamed of! And Lo and Behold, Mark JUST HAPPENED to find a set of exhaust headers to fit the Firebird. It didn’t really occur to Kirk at first, though later on when he thought about it, the circumstances didn’t bother him too much that this perfect, clean, low-milage high-horsepower engine just abruptly became available for Kirk’s car.

Perhaps Kirk’s luck had turned positively along with his improved attitude on life or something completely different was going on. Kirk didn’t dwell on the possibility that the engine and headers were “five-finger discounted parts” because all he focused on was that he would have a real, honest-to-goodness muscle car! It seemed with his unexpected good fortune with the Firebird and subsequent direly needed engine that perhaps Kirk had suddenly become a recipient of favors from the all-seeing auto gods, but he really, deep down assumed that indeed, Mark dealt in Black Market cars and parts. Honestly, Kirk didn’t care one darn bit because he was in love and her name was Firebird.

Now that Kirk had the parts to put said love on the road, his lowly pink Baja Bug looked pretty sorry about this time, but that was Kirk’s main mode of transportation. The twosome did have some fun times out there especially in the snow. Anyway, after Kirk couldn’t imagine working on cars after work after working on cars at work all day (Got that?) well, Kirk began putting in long evening hours preparing the Firebird to run and go down the road, so he learned all about working on cars after working on cars all day.

Yeah, well, so, there he was. The car came with all the parts Kirk needed though for some things, he had to go out and buy like a new clutch and pressure plate, new battery, starter, and exhaust mufflers. Of course, the whole job took longer than Kirk expected, as always for Kirk the uncoordinated mechanic of sorts, but then again, he wanted the ‘Bird to go together right and stay that way. One worry lingered that a mechanic always has with an engine swap is that you never know exactly what kind of condition the engine is in that you bought until you start it up, so that’s why buying an engine from a car you heard run is best. Kirk stressed along those lines and held his breath on the startup.

After an install, one can make sure everything is right, from fluid levels, gas, oil, coolant, to timing settings and fuel in the carburetor. After checking and rechecking, Kirk gave it go with a bunch of crank overs. Nothing. He poured a little gasoline straight into the carburetor. He fiddled and rechecked the timing; it seemed okay. He tried it again. Nothing. Backing up to school-learned basics like when he practiced for the high schooler Automotive Troubleshooting Contest, he pulled off a sparkplug wire and cranked over the engine. No spark. He rechecked the point gap and made sure they were set and clean; okay. He checked all the wire connections; he tightened the connections. Still nothing.

Hmmm. Kirk pondered the situation a while. He ironically determined that it doesn’t always have to be easy. Think basics; more basic, basics, he decided---again. Power to the coil�"check. Spark from coil�"no. On a whim, he wiggled the coil. It was loose in the clamp. He pulled the coil, wiped it down, put it back in, tightened it down. Cranked the engine. Spark! He put all the wires back on. He cranked the engine. KABOOM! A huge flame erupted from the open carburetor almost igniting Kirk’s longish hair.

“Whoa, baby!” Kirk cried, though with a smile!

The distributor being already loose, he retarded the timing a little. He cranked the engine, one rotation�"varoom! The engine started and sat there idling just as pretty as you please. The throaty, powerful exhaust tone intoxicated Kirk on the Firebird’s first breath of life. His love deepened.   

The big event of getting the engine installed and running over and done, Kirk moved on to other things to get his car on the road. He finalized hooking up the transmission linkage and clutch adjusted. A bit more difficult and time consuming, he had to adapt the exhaust system to the headers which exited larger and in a completely different places. There were brakes to inspect, lights to check, windshield wipers to replace. Along with those state inspection required items, he noticed for the first time that the tires had a size bias. All four tires were low-profile, “wide-oval” tires, but the rear tires were a size larger than the front. Kirk theorized that the bias should make the ‘Bird handle better.      

After a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles for plates, Kirk readied himself to drive the ‘Bird to get it inspected. Driving out on the highway for the first time, (legally, that is), Kirk nervously took it easy yet, very excited to feel the car get up to the speed limit. He drove very cautiously, guardedly. He felt every bump in the road, every noise in the driveline, every beat of the engine. He didn’t want to take anything for granted on his new car. So, babying his new car, he drove the ‘Bird to the old gas station where he worked as a grease monkey as a young teenager. Kirk didn’t know the mechanic who performed the inspection, but his old boss still ran the garage though didn’t have many kind words for Kirk. Always a grumpy man of few words, Kirk didn’t push him for chatting it up about his new muscle car or the good ole’ days. The ‘Bird passed the inspection without any problems, of course.

Kirk would never be the same after falling in love with his new love�"the ‘Bird.