Engine

I decided to leave the interior lights on overnight, which apparently use electricity, so a battery charger was pressed into service the following morning. 

New car problems.

Anyhoo. The day I bought Baby and brought him home, I pulled the whole truck and trailer into the shop, shut the big door, turned off all the lights, and went to bed. It wasn't until the bright noon light of the morrow that I returned to have my first look under the hood. 

I was a tiny bit nervous, never having purchased a vehicle without at least seeing a picture of the engine bay. Maybe it was butchered with go-fast parts and bad wiring. Maybe it was covered in oil. Maybe it wasn't even the original engine. Lots of maybes can drive you mad, so I try not to engage in that kind of worried thinking. I had what I had, and it was time to take a look.

Where the H.E.double-hockey-sticks is the catch to open this thing?!!  Nothing inside the car. Welp. Let's look elsewhere. Well, I never. That is so cool. Ford has hidden the latch in one of the grill uprights to pop it, then you do the traditional fingers under the edge and press up on the paddle to open the hood the rest of the way. 

Feeling smart for no reason, I lifted the large hood to reveal...

No big surprises! That's good. That's great, actually! What I discovered after a good 15 minutes of poking around is that everything is present and accounted for. What it left the Michigan factory with, it retains to this day! Now, I have no doubt that the typical wear items have been replaced over the many years since 1963. But the main things are still the main things. Power steering, air conditioning compressor, carburetor, intake, manifolds, valve covers, air cleaner, washer fluid bag, battery cables. It is all where it should be and in the condition you might expect after seeing the exterior of the car.

I'm super happy about all of it. There is a little oil on the engine, but nothing is smoking or smelling. You have to assume a little leak here and there on old cars, even when they have been well maintained. The oil is at least clean and free of contaminates, the coolant is the proper green, the A/C blows cool and the compressor clutch engages, the engine fan works, and the engine never even pretends to overheat. It is as good as I had dared hope.