thenumerateninny.com
Natterings of a Woman in STEM
The Beast
As a newly-wed, my husband lusted after an SUV. I reacted as any bride would to a rival and quashed his excessively expensive vehicular ardor. However, it is easier to supplant a want than to eliminate it; so, I encouraged him to buy a 1965 Ford F100 pickup truck for a grand total of $695.
I would like to say that over twenty-three years of ownership, we have treasured and restored this automotive piece of history, but that would be untrue. We had other priorities. The truck was used for mundane purposes, such as hauling landscaping materials and providing adventures in the form of breaking down in the middle of busy intersections. Further entertainment occurred when friendly persons (born after the 1960s) offered to push this obstruction out of traffic. Helpful young people were quite surprised to discover how heavy an American-made vehicle of that era could be.
For most of its existence, the engine of this pickup truck was a rather pathetic thing. It was/is a gasoline engine; not a diesel as you might expect. This inherent limitation to the truck’s get-up-and-go-ness was exacerbated by the fact that that the engine had not undergone any major work since a rebuild in 1979. The engine not only leaked oil, but the oil it leaked was as black as mascara – and that after the very first drive around the block! Once, a friendly neighbor lent us a compression test kit and, sure enough, only one cylinder aspired to an almost decent compression ratio. The other cylinders gagged out a ratio of five point something embarrassingly abysmal. The cylinder rings were as worn as any mother’s nerves.
Only recently, as I was degreasing the driveway (not my first effort unfortunately), I realized that no child of the house had fractured a bone for some time. This meant that we had money to repair something other than an orthopedic surgeon’s bank balance. In short order, the truck was delivered to Valhalla Automotive in Reno, Nevada. Their excellent mechanics rebuilt the engine, saved my driveway, and fawned over our favorite vehicle. A positive, resulting from this work, was that the truck’s fuel efficiency increased significantly and now proudly attains double digit miles per gallon. (Remarkable, I know.)
What is so fantastic about this engine, however, is its simplicity and accessibility. You can look at this engine and understand the function of its components. Compare this to the engine of my 2008 Nissan Altima, which is simply obscure.
In addition, there is so much space in the truck’s engine compartment that the engine is quite serviceable. A small (limber) person can climb in and reach most of the nooks and crannies. My own children had no interest in this chimney-sweep type role, but a young friend misspent his teenage years changing out gaskets for us. (Thank you, Elijah.)
To see other posts about The Beast – as our Ford F100 is called – follow The Numerate Ninny at:
thenumerateninny.com 
I have fond memories of the beast! Having been lent it for a joyride to Lake Tahoe, it was exhilarating to be coming back down the mountain at dusk and discover that the lights had decided not to work that day! My other half was in his element and loved having to almost stand on the foot pedals and use his own actual strength to steer it. This is proper driving he opined, as I laughed manically all the way back to Reno. Quite an adventure for two Irish folk on the loose in Nevada.
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