Thought I'd share this story and at the same time say an extremely belated
thanks to someone who's name I don't know; hoping maybe he checks these
postings:
Around 1985 or 1986, I was driving my Spitfire in Ottowa when I got stuck at a
light. Seems the clutch was blown. Behind me, I heard someone say, "Trouble
with the Spit?"
My first instinct was, Oh no, some turkey who thinks he knows cars. But we
stared at the car a while and he said he knew something about Spitfires, and,
more importantly, where to get a clutch at 6 p.m. on a Saturday night. We had
the car towed to a parking lot near his house, and he took me to a shop where
the mechanic was still around -- tuning a muffler to get the right pitch. I
had the feeling I was in the company of some people who knew what they were
doing.
We bought the clutch and the fellow said he'd help me install it the next
morning. A friend came from Ogdensburg, where my wife and I were living at the
time, had a few beers, & went home.
Next morning we went back to Ottowa, and the guy met me with a pot of coffee
and tools. Without a lift or anything elaborate, we got the clutch out and the
new one in; took the better part of a morning and afternoon, but finished
before dark.
He insisted on no payment; said it was just a favor and he liked doing the
work. I was writing a column for a newspaper at the time and wrote about the
episode, starting with a lead that went, "If you haven't gotten around to
blowing your clutch this year, you must go to Ottowa and do it."
Anyway, if you're reading this, thanks whoever you were.
Jay Jochnowitz
'73 GT6 (still for sale if anyone's interested, send requests for details and
pix to JJ40@aol.com)
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