This could not have been better. When I close my eyes, the guitar sounds in this song are what bounce around in my brain. Right now I have a hundred images swimming around in my head. When I started this post “Shrunken Head” was playing on the Pandora Road Kings Radio Station. One of my best friends, Bear Bechtold, who you have seen in pictures with me back in my Marine Corps days, created this station. It’s rock-a-billy and hard country music, perfect for working on cars in a “garage” if you get my meaning.
I had a medical appointment this morning, more trouble with the vertebra in my neck. For now we are trying the true 1980s mantra “better living through chemistry” to put another surgery off as long as possible.
So after it was done I had an hour to kill before I was required back at work, so I stopped by Rover Cannibal to pick up some bits for the Range Rover. Ryan greeted me as usual. I told him what I thought I needed today and he called for K.C. to help me out. K.C. is the inspiration for this post.
K.C. is a grizzled veteran of the garage scene from days gone by. He seriously has the look. Today he was sporting a sleeveless work shirt and the quintessential bandanna tied on his head. On his right bicep he sports a “Born to lose” tattoo. If you were standing in a parking lot and an old Harley rolled up, this is the guy you’d expect to be riding it. Truly classic.
K.C. disappeared to find two dust caps for my front axle. He returned with a single dust cap and told me they were hard to come by, I got the last one.
Note to self: add these to my “Parts I Strip off Salvage Land Rovers”
While he was gone I went through my mental list of things I will soon be working on. The only thing that came to mind was windshield wiper assembly. Ryan showed K.C. a picture of what we were looking for. K.C. and I scrambled up the stairs to find a wiper assembly. The wiper assembly consists of the arms and such that the electric motor is attached to that moves the wipers to and fro. You regular readers have seen the picture of the rust that has been accumulating.
K.C. went right to it. The one he grabbed had the motor still attached. I didn’t need the motor so he removed it. He tagged the motor with the year and put it on the appropriate shelf. When you have as many parts as they do, it doesn’t pay to just leave it sitting. It would take twice as long to figure out what it was later than to just take care of it immediately.
I headed back down stairs to square up with Ryan. He asked me if K.C. found everything. I responded in the affirmative. Ryan said, “K.C. is the man. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” I can see it too. He is the man.
So the next time you are reminiscing about the olden days of speed shops and rock-a-billy, remember that in the gritty part of Oklahoma City there is a living time capsule earning his daily bread the hard way with sweat and grease and tools down at Rover Cannibal.
Thanks for reading, keep on rocking, and Happy Rovering.
