Let me tell you about Mack. He's a quiet guy. you wouldn't know how smart he is unless you spent some time with him. He's made a lot of money because people tend to trust him and he always deals fairly with them.
But Mack had a problem. He has businesses in a northern state, a southern state that borders Tennessee, and Florida. But Mack is afraid to fly. I don't mean reluctant. I mean afraid. He had never been up in an airplane. A long time ago, Mack used to ride trains, but they didn't always go where he wanted to go. He had a nice car, but he never really liked it. The truth is, he didn't like any of the cars he could buy, so he decided to build himself a travel car. Did I mention that he's smart? He can weld, overhaul an engine, fix dents, and do anything like that. So he went out and bought a big old Packard. It was already old enough to be an antique (This was nearly 20 years ago.)and the engine was totally shot. He went to a junkyard and bought a Perkins diesel engine from a wrecked taxi. He took it apart and rebuilt it like new. Then he yanked the old straight eight engine out of the Packard, stripped the interior, and built a new car inside the old shell. The engine had both an alternator and a generator, because he needed both six and twelve volts. He even had two batteries to go with the two electrical systems. The dash lights, dome light, turn signals and tail lights all worked on six volts and the starter, air conditioner, headlights and radio worked on twelve. The funny thing is that he kept the car looking like any other 1950 Packard. He used wheels off a pickup, but adapted them to take the Packard hubcaps. He installed steel reinforcing in the form of a crash cage and hid the tubing so well, you might ride in the car without noticing. He even put beams in the doors. The suspension, steering and brakes were modern, but the steering wheel was the original and the air conditioning vents were below the dash board. I seem to have slipped into past tense here, probably because I haven't seen Mack in several years. But if you happen to see a tan 1950 Packard cruising I-75 or I-95, it might be Mack. Listen for the clatter of a diesel. Packards aren't supposed to sound like that.
Howard