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 Chapter Three:
Painting
When I got my "new" old car, a 1990 Plymouth
Acclaim, it had been repainted with one of the lousiest paint jobs I
have ever laid eyes on. It was (and still is) a dull, pale blue,
with a peeling roof and hood.
Lesson One: For small
paint jobs, you can do-it-yourself by buying little spray cans of
paint and rust-killer at your local car supply store. Just follow
the instructions on the can. But
Lesson Two: When
your whole roof is peeling off, it may be easier and wiser to have
someone else give you a cheap paint job.
Lesson Three:
If you're looking for a cheap paint job, you don't go to an auto
body shop. They give you quality paint jobs. And these are veerrrry
expensive a quality paint job on my car would have cost over a
thousand dollars, and the car itself only cost 1,500 dollars.
Lesson Four: For a cheap paint job, get a Maaco paint
job. It won't last forever, but it'll do. Unfortunately, due to
inflation, these are usually over 500 dollars not really so cheap,
depending on how much money you're willing to spend to make your car
look pretty.
Chapter Four: Deceleration
This
was my first real fiasco with "my" Acclaim.
Lesson One:
Failure to Accelerate When your car fails to accelerate when
going up hills, this could be a problem. Do not overlook it.
Lesson Two: Failure to Accelerate, Part II: When your
car fails to accelerate while NOT going up hills, this could be an
even bigger problem.
Lesson Three: Deceleration When
your car begins to decelerate, despite the fact that you are pushing
the gas pedal to the floor, and your car is running, and then the
little engine light and check oil lights come on, you have a problem
for sure. Pull over to the side of the road.
Lesson Four:
Coolant If your car goes "ka-thoonk" when you pull over and turn
it off, you may think you hit something. But if you go out to see
what's wrong with your vehicle, and you see green stuff squirting
and oozing out of the front of your car, you just have a really big
problem. But I probably don't have to tell you that. For future
reference, we will refer to the green, hot (don't touch it) liquid
as coolant, a.k.a. antifreeze.
Lesson Five: Driving with
Minimal Coolant If you are not too far from home when your car
decides to spit coolant everywhere, you may try to make it back to
your home. Be very careful to make sure your engine does not
overheat by watching the engine temperature gauge (it has an H and a
C on it and several little lines in between). You don't want the
needle to reach the H. To keep the engine as cool as possible, turn
on your heat, and put it on high, because the heat comes from the
engine. If you begin to experience a burning sensation because of
this heat, open your windows to cool off. Whatever you do, DON'T RUN
THE AIR CONDITIONING, because this makes the engine work harder,
thus getting hotter. If the needle of the temperature gauge reaches
the H, pull over to the side of the road and stop until the engine
has cooled. If you don't keep the engine cool, and it begins to
steam, pull over and don't be surprised when you experience another
"ka-thoonk" and coolant mini-fountain.
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