Midweek Musings
Midweek Musings
Midweek Musings
Being the middle of the week I don’t really have much time to get work on the car done, at least nothing of major significance. The weather hasn’t cooperated as far as refinishing wood, as it’s been cool and damp and will be until tomorrow, so all of my interior trim has been sanded and sits awaiting better weather conditions.
That being said, there is always time for the little accomplishments, and today is one of those times. Making one of my rather frequent (of late) trips to the dealer to pick up some parts today, I got a neat little piece in my “bag ‘o’ parts.
A “rotary knob”. Better known as the knob on the turn signal stalk.
Now some people would probably chide me for worrying about replacing such a minor and sort of non-functional part. What’s wrong with the one that on the car? Well, take a look:
Yuck. Not only is it disintegrating from age and exposure to the elements, it’s filthy and would probably fall apart if I attempted to clean or rejuvenate it. Compare between old and new:
Yeah, now you see what I mean. Hardly a comparison. So the turn signal stalk gets polished and a new ‘rotary button” gets installed.
And yes, I rotated it to the proper position after this picture was taken. I had to go back and refer to the picture I took of the original to determine how it was oriented. Call me “Mr. Short Term Memory”.
Here’s my musing:
The old turn signal knob will go into a box of small cosmetic parts removed from the car during restoration. Those parts will be placed somewhere in the car, maybe in the trunk or under the back seat, so that they stay with it. I do the same with coins or any little tchotchkes I find in the nether regions of a car, like under the rear seat. It’s sort of a respectful acknowledgement of former owners and passengers that form a part of the car’s provenance. Yes, some would say it’s silly, but then again, there are those who give their cars names and personify them in other ways, which I have done on occasion myself.
I believe that those who came before me live on in this car in some form. Maybe only in my mind, but if it makes me feel that I’ve respected the value that the car represented to previous owners. Sure, it sounds a bit nutty, but even without personifying the car, it has characteristics that make it unique relative to a small group of people. It participated in life events. It gave people pleasure, and maybe even pain at times. I believe there are remnants of these things that stay with the car, even if I don’t know of them.
There isn’t a person who reads this blog that can’t say they have fond memories of a former car, or a number of former cars. They become a part of the fabric of our existence, and often move in and out of our lives as we age. We associate them with all sorts of life events, so wouldn’t it seem logical that these events are a part of their provenance?
When a future owner discovers the cache of old parts, they may very well toss them in the trash. I would rather think they would carefully sort through them and provide the same respect I have, knowing they were a part of the car, and more importantly, a part of past owner’s and passenger’s lives.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019