Don's baby is back

Many of you are saying, "Don's baby? You mean Good Old Rusty is back?" No, no, no. Good Old Rusty is gone forever. Yeah! No, Don's other baby, the Ford Galaxie 500, has been fixed and is back home.

We bought the Galaxie back before Dresden was born. This was before Good Old Rusty came back and we were thinking, "Four kids, where are we going to fit them all when we drive around." We knew we couldn't afford a mini van. Don always wanted an old car. I figured we could drive it until we could afford something else. In the mean time, Don would have his dream car.

After Good Old Rusty died I started using the Galaxie to get around. It of course was not the vehicle I would have chosen, but it seats 6 and that is enough for our family. It at least looked better than the van I had used to parade the kids around town.

The Galaxie is a 1967 blue Ford. It has a 390 engine and a trunk big enough to hide at least two bodies. It still has the original AM radio and bench seats. There is no air conditioning, but there are wing windows that do let air in without having to open all the windows.

I think the first time I drove the Galaxie it broke down and I was stranded. I had flooded the carburetor. Don picked me up and went back to get the car hours later. It started right up for him. Don sent the carburetor to his brother and had him rebuild it. We also had the gas tank emptied and cleaned. We ended up replacing both mufflers and the distributor cap. Don assured me that the car would run as good as new and there wouldn't be anymore problems.

Yeah, he was wrong. We started to have car troubles again about the time we started to have van troubles. We were on the freeway when the passenger side back tire shredded off and left us stranded. We had a spare, but no lug nut wrench to take the tire off. Don hitchhiked with a nice man that took him to Wal-Mart to borrow the wrench. Don came back with the wrench, a bottle of water and a can of Dr. Pepper.

As cars flew past us, I worried that we would be hit from behind. I worried about Dresden and Zander as we sat in the hot car. I called the highway patrol and asked if they couldn't just park behind us for protection. By the time a highway patrolman came, I was a nervous wreak. Don had already taken off the tire and was about to put on the spare. I was glad to have the protection.

It didn't take long to realize that the spare was flat. A UDOT truck came and filled the tire with air. The tire still wouldn't hold the air. He told us to drive quickly. We drove off the freeway and went straight to Wal-Mart. They fixed the tire for free and sent us on our way.

We knew that the time had come to replace all four tires. We found the cheapest tires we could. We were set, at least I thought we were.

I was on my way back from running downtown when the car broke down again. The car just lost all power right when I was driving. I pulled over as much as I could before the Galaxie stopped completely. There I was on Beck Street blocking half of the lane. I tried unsuccessfully to find someone to help push the car off the road. My niece, Heather, came and brought me and the kids home. I was frustrated and I just couldn't think about the car.

It wasn't until Don called a couple of hours later that I told him what had happened. He left work right away to get his precious car. As we neared where we had stalled, I realized the car was gone. Don was terrified. He thought for sure someone had stolen his baby. He flagged down a Highway Patrolman who told us that the car had probably been impounded and to contact the Salt Lake City Police Department.

After jumping through several hoops, we picked the car up from the impound lot and brought it home. It, of course, started right up for Don! Don replaced the fuel pump and assured me that the car was as good as new and there would be no further problems.

Then, Don realized that there was still something wrong with the car. Maybe it had something to do with the time it stalled on him. It was his first time. So I guess that made it more necessary to take it in to a shop. We took it to Tunex to get minor adjustments made to get the car running again. As I picked up the car, the mechanic assured me that it was running great and I wouldn't break down anymore.

I hopped on the freeway to go home. The car stalled. I was livid! I started the car back up again and headed back to Tunex. It stalled three more times. I coasted into the parking lot and stomped in with my kids. The mechanic apologized profusely and said that there must be something wrong with the carburetor. Don's brother Dave rebuilt that carburetor and I just could not see how that could be the problem. But Don told them to open up the carburetor and see what the problem was.

Meanwhile, I was car less. I had baseball games and other events that I had to attend and no car. It was frustrating. I borrowed Debbie's car one day and drove Don to work another day. The rest of the time I just did without. It was hard. My dad lent us his truck this last week and that helped a lot.

The mechanic called and said that the carburetor was filled with rust. The gas tank needed to be replaced. It was a special order item that took a week to ship. What could we do? It is our only vehicle that fits the whole family. So we replaced the gas tank. The car was done yesterday. Don's baby is back. Don says that the car has finally reached its full potential and he can feel its power. I, on the other hand, am just waiting for the next breakdown.