Things WERE Different Then
Submitted by Pete Norgeot
My Dad had a 1938 Ford Station Wagon (Woodie). There was something wrong with it but I don't remember what it was.
I was 13 but, I decided to fix it. I'm pretty sure it needed a clutch because why else would I decide to take the engine out?
I knew that I did not have any tools. I also knew that Dad only had pliers, screwdrivers, hammers, and Stilson wrenches. Cars were a lot simpler back then and didn't need fancy wrenches and stuff. I just had to work with what I had. Like I said, I was 13.
I had never taken an engine out before but I HAD disassembled some Lionel train engines and successfully re-assembled them so what's the big deal? I discovered the big deal. The hard way.
I was able to get the engine unbolted from the transmission, disconnect all the wiring, remove the radiator and exhaust manifolds. Back then, antifreeze was an option if it wasn't winter so there was none to drain & save. Lastly, I removed the engine mount bolts. The engine was ready to lift out. Ooooops!
I didn't have a way to hoist the engine out. Not only did I NOT have a tripod or a tree limb to lift from, I didn't have a Chain Fall or a block & tackle to lift with. Double Ooooops!!
Not being a quitter, I came up with Plan "B". I simply removed the grille and with the strength of a gorilla (and the brain of an amoeba) I physically horsed the engine, end over end, out of the car and onto the ground. I was quite pleased with myself until Dad came home. He wasn't impressed.
Or happy. However, he had figured that the Ford was toast and had brought home a 1941 Buick 4-door sedan w/ suicide doors.
I was warned in the most threatening way to keep my hands off the "new" car. I agreed. He said I could have the Ford. Remember, I was still 13.
I now had my own car. I wish I could remember what the problem was with the engine (it had to be the clutch) but whatever it was, I fixed it. Now I just had to get it back into the car.
This time I was better prepared. I rolled the car under a nearby pine tree that had a fairly large branch sticking out. I borrowed a block & tackle from a plumber down the road and whipped that puppy in. I re-fastened everything, hooked up all the wires, put the grille and radiator back in, filled the radiator with water and fired it up. It ran!
Back then, there were a lot of woods in back of the house. If I was going to be able to drive my wagon anywhere it would have to be in the woods. There was easily 500 feet of woods between our property and the back of where the South Orleans General Store is now. Directly across the street (Route 28) from the store was Emma Rogers' driveway (now Eli Roger's Road) which continued past her house and ultimately would take you into Nickerson State Park in Brewster.(that was before the Mid Cape Highway had been extended to Orleans which cut off my access to the Park)
Hatchet in hand, I began the incredible (looking back on it now) task of chopping down enough trees to clear a road that would be wide enough to get me (and the car) to Emma Roger's driveway.
It took weeks, maybe a month. If you are wondering why no one complained or stopped me, it was simple, the store/gas station/post office complex hadn't been built yet. There was nothing there but woods. No one saw me.
Now I could 'hit the road' so to speak. Nickerson Park here I come.
