Everybody Loves Stella

We finally got Stella back after three stressful weeks at the shop.  The list of parts which were required to fix the rear wheel and surrounding mechanisms was lengthy and sad. The mechanic replaced the right wheel bearings, spindle, knuckle, outer side U-joint, bolt at the bottom of knuckle, right rear caliper, rear brake pads and rear rotors.  Wow.  I can't believe that this poor car drove us as far as she did with so little to work with. The shop, which I spent much of the three weeks bitching about to anyone who would listen, ended up shaving more than $600 worth of labor off our final bill.  Why? I like to think it's because  they like us (or feel sorry for us!), but probably it's because they know they aren't finished with Stella yet. ;)

We found her parked just outside, filthy dirty, with hardly any coolant left in her radiator and a dead battery.  Mike tried valiantly to jump her (see below) but there simply wasn't enough juice to get her going, so we had to recharge.  For an hour we sat next to her in the sweltering heat, waiting patiently for her battery to charge on the pavement outside. We finally got her back on the road and home safely, though her engine started heating up near the end from lack of coolant.  I feel like she's hurt bad, but at least she's home safe with me now.

This repair is only outdone by the total engine replacement which took place last year in August.  At that point we had only owned Stella for about three months or so, and everyone thought we were nuts (some even told us so!).  Much to my honest surprise, this time around was much different.  During my brief moments of doubt, the moments when I seriously considered the possibility that I wouldn't be able to continue rehabilitating this car, every single person I confided in told me I should keep her.  Every single one. Friends, family and coworkers alike seemed distraught that I was even entertaining the idea of selling her now, after all we'd been through together.  My mother, whose looming judgement once almost scared me away from buying Stella in the first place, said it best:

"Right now you should enjoy whatever Stella has in her to give you.  Continue making her better so she'll one day be able to give you more."

Somewhere along the way, and somehow without me noticing at all, people fell in love with Stella.  I guess it wasn't just my life she changed forever.

~~

Broken

It's been an onslaught of bad news from the shop, which shouldn't catch me off guard anymore but somehow still does.  They've had her for two weeks now, and almost a week longer than they promised it would take.  After awaiting her parts to arrive, the mechanic (Bill) realized that he didn't have the proper tool he needed and he had to order that as well.  Apparently they called all over the Lansing area looking for both parts and the tool, with little success.  Mike said they had to order from California. 

Without the invoice, I don't know exactly what needed to be replaced, but on Wednesday (the day AFTER it was supposed to be finished) they called Mike to come into the shop to discuss the 'complications.'  Basically, we were told that this car has had absolutely ZERO preventative maintenance done throughout its lifespan (nearly 40 years).  As a result, the mechanical parts that attach the wheel to the frame of the car are deteriorating so badly that they've basically frozen themselves together.  Things that are supposed to pivot don't pivot.  Things that are supposed to glide against one another don't glide.  You get the idea.  

Stella is in terrible shape.  Anything that hasn't already been replaced by Mike and myself (and that list grows longer and longer, luckily) needs to be replaced, eventually.  

All this bad news meant more parts, labor and of course, more money.  The bill, which rivals the cost to replace the engine last summer, will more than clean out the account we had put together since last fall to pay for repairs this summer. I don't mind spending that money--that's what it's there for--but now we go forth into the remainder of the season without the financial net below. 

And then Mike tells me the bad news.  

"Wait, all that stuff before was the GOOD news??"  Yeah that's exactly what I said.

He tells me that the driver's side rear wheel and affiliated mechanisms are in just as poor a state as this passenger rear wheel which we are currently paying to have rebuilt.  The only difference is that the mechanisms on the drivers side haven't quite begun to snap apart yet, but that could go at any time.  

ANY.  TIME.

That could mean a year from now, or next week.  And for the first time since owning this machine, I feel defeated. I want to do what is right by her, but I can't.  I simply can't.  At least not this summer.  Mike tells me all this while I'm at work, struggling to remain focused, and it's all I can do not to break down and cry.  Stella's health is deteriorating faster than Mike and I can afford to keep up with her (and I already spent one House Fund on her last year--much as I love her, that won't be happening again).  I faced a sad reality and a tragic choice.

A). Sell her and cut our losses

or 

B). Take her off the road for a year or more until we have the funds to do what needs to be done

My heart usually rules in my decision making, but unlike a lot of people, my brain ALWAYS gets a say. Always.  Logic and reason were telling me to sell her, even if only for parts, while my heart screamed "NO!"  In the end, it was Mike who convinced me of the right thing to do.  For him the choice was never a choice at all.  We love that car like a child.  Maybe no one else can understand that, and maybe it's irresponsible and financial suicide, but it's nevertheless true.  

We don't give up.  That car is alive today because of us--we've invested money and soul into her. And I find myself grateful that Mike is as batshit-crazy in love with this car as me.

Because the driver's side wheel hasn't had any symptoms of being on the verge of suddenly falling apart, Mike feels confident (at moments more than me!) that we'll be safe driving her.  Next spring we'll have the proper funds to do the same to the driver's side as we did the passenger.  But we won't be driving her NEARLY as much as we have been.  No more highway travel, and no more 2 1/2 hour joy-rides through the countryside.  Once a week or biweekly, and special occasions only.  And, if we notice anything going sour, we park her the remainder of the summer.  Period.    

I still don't have Stella back, and I still don't know if there will be any more bad news.  This car is bound to have some good karma eventually.... right? :(