Wake Up little Tillie Wake Up.....it's Spring 2016 !

For those of you who are old enough to remember the Everly Brothers and their song, Wake Up  Little Susie, Wake Up, the title to this post may make sense... for the rest of you here is a link !

Ok, enough of the nostalgia... here is what's happening to prepare Tillie for the 2016 driving season.
After the final drive of the 2015 season, I drained the hot oil and dropped the filter. The following day, after all the "mess" connected with an oil change was cleaned up, I installed the new filter and secured the oil drain plug.  Then a 2" wide piece of masking tape was placed across the middle of the windshield where I wrote in large letters "NO OIL IN CRANKCASE".  I'm still debating if leaving the crankcase empty over the winter is a good idea, so if anyone has a thought on the matter please, leave a comment.

My engine builder recommended Brad Penn 20W50 weight oil, so that's what I use. By the way, the local automotive speed shop where I buy this oil orders it by the pallet...must be good stuff!

Last fall, I filled the gas tank with 93 octane fuel and mixed in the Sta-Bil storage additive.The fuel shut off valve was turned to "off" and the engine was run until the carbs were dry, so we'll be good to go this spring.

The Optima battery was pulled out last fall and put on a Optima conditioner / maintainer....fancy words for a battery charger that keeps the battery ready to go to work!

Of course, adding air to the tires, checking the coolant level, and all the other fluids, needs to done before the first ride of the season.



I did splurge on new seat belts for Tillie. The old belts were only two years old, but I found very cool- looking, vintage, race type belts made by Simpson. (And, my wife really liked them,too. :-)) When you snap these bad boys on there is some serious holding power going on !

The Simpson belts are 3" wide vs the "regular" belts that are 1-7/8" wide and just look wimpy next to the larger belts.

 The spring 2016 first engine start was delayed by a fuel pump that decided to "expire" during the winter!

Once I got the fuel pump changed out, Tillie fired right up, but after about 30 seconds I saw smoke coming up out out of the engine bay! Yikes, then I remembered dropping a small amount engine oil on the exhaust manifold which quickly burned off.

Our delayed Mother's day ride ended up being a lot of fun for wife Rhoda, dog Happy, and yours truly.  Happy motoring this summer !