The 02 Project Update

So the story actually begins in December when I was driving home from school in Rexburg Idaho. My little 2002 was plugging along great until we entered that offal stretch of interstate between Twin Falls and Boise AKA "The Dead Zone". We were rushing home because a winter storm was quickly making its way west threw Oregon's blue mountains. I was worried that the DOT would close down the freeway over the pass, as they often do during winter months so every time we needed fuel, we would bolt out the car like a NASCAR crew franticly pumping the gas and cleaning the windows. Any other physical or emotional needs would simply have to wait until we crossed the pass. As usual, the incident happened faster that I could react. First the engine began to loose power, and before I know it I was guiding the poor car off to the side of the semi truck congested road. The engine had ran clear out of oil and it was 100% my fault. As you might imagine, feelings of anger, fear, and frustration filled my sole.

Snapshot the June

For months after the incident I had planned on selling the car for parts and buying a newer one once I had saved up enough. Then one day as I was perusing threw Craigslist, I came across an engine up in British Columbia. Out of curiosity I called the owner and was able to get some more info on the machine. The engine had been rebuilt 10,000 ago and them was stored for the next 10 years in a garage. After having a mechanic give me the green light, I made my offer.




Snapshot to August

As a wise man once said, "every time you fix your car, it will take you twice as long and cost twice as much as you had originally planned."

Sadly this has been the case for me. Fortunately I have been able to keep my sanity by periodically escaping for a game of soccer, traveling to New York, or playing a round of Settlers of Catan. Over the last two months, I have spend many hours into the wee night laying under the car with my hands black and gritty. Surprisingly my most productive hours working on the car have been around 10:00pm to midnight. The few attempts I've made at working on the car past midnight have failed miserably as I wake up hours later still under the car. The good news is that I can honestly say that I am really close to having everything done. The new engine is in installed with 90% of its attachments now connected.