Christophe located a used engine for Betty on the Internet that was about 150 kilometers. We planned to pick it up tomorrow so today we began with the removal of Betty’s broken heart. I’ve done hardly an automotive work (yes, even though I have a degree in mechanical engineering...all that means is that I could perform some high level mathematics at one point) so this was going to be a great learning experience.
We began with draining the water from the radiator, disconnecting the batteries and various hoses, all the while writing down on a list the items we had performed in order not to forget them when putting the new engine in. We borrowed a few items from his neighbour Philippe, the main one being a hoist to lift the motor out. In France it’s called the “chevre”, which means the goat. Not sure how it got that name as it looks nothing like the animal nor displays any of its characteristics.
It begins:
Mid way through the operation:
Surprisingly, only a couple of hours into it and we were ready to begin hoisting the motor out. Well, that’s where things slowed down. Due to a stripped bolt we could not remove the front bumper which made it tougher to hoist the engine out. After a couple of hours of raising this, hoisting that and jacking up some other thing, we finally got the motor out. Both Christophe and I enjoyed being able to say “Enleve le chevre” (Remove the goat). Betty and I are committed now...hopefully the engine we get tomorrow will do the job.
The engine is out!
Betty and I have never been so close:
That evening Christophe cooked a fantastic risotto. Wow, this guy can build houses, fix cars and cameras and even make a mean risotto...impressive!
Christophe cooking the fantastic risotto:
No comments:
Post a Comment