It is a time of changes and it is with a heavy heart that I wave goodbye to my F-100.
Too be honest I'm not too sorry, there comes a point in every relationship when its time to move on - the skill is being able to recognise that point and being prepared to be honest about it.
In the case of my truck it was the growing regularity of stalls while idling that really did it. I could look past the noise, the total lack of creature comforts (such as a passenger side window that could roll down, or holes in the side of the truck that would blast freezing cold air onto my leg during winter that no amount of detective work could uncover).
I could forgive the absence of power steering, its perchance for fish tailing in the wet weather and the car radio that would only play out of one speaker and that could not be heard at all above 60 kph.
I could forgive all that because it was awesome.
People stopped and looked and starred and wanted a ride. It could haul arse like few things in the world. Its tray could hold over a ton of crap and then some. It was big, it was tough and I was the only person who could drive it.
It was a totally awesome 1979 F-100.
It was also starting to cost me to maintain it. In the last few months it's been in the shop 3 times, all for some fairly major work. I did not take me too long to work out what it was going to cost to fix the current problem (again).
So I had to harden my heart and clear my head. This needed some tough decisions and they had to made without consideration for the truck.
On Saturday I picked up my new wheels, a 2001 Land Rover Feelander. Its not an apples to apples comparison. But it is an improvement and a better ride. The radio works as does the tape deck and CD stacker. There is an abundance of buttons on the dash, the purpose of many I can only begin to guess at. The engine is more sophisticated than the F-100, even though its a 6.
But at the heart of it all is the right vehicle for my needs.
Haven't got a name for it yet, but I am looking forward to driving it home tonight.
To Know Me Is To Love Me...
- BubbaJay
- Suave raconteur and dinner party favourite. Once held the Olympic torch, has delivered newspapers to prime ministers, shaken hands with Prince Charles, wrecked Jason Donovan's skateboard, climbed 300 metre granite cliff faces, surfed with dolphins, appears on community radio and is in demand for these and the accounts of other thrilling exploits!
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