Chapter 11: I Tried Restoring a Police Car (1)
Chapter 11: I Tried Restoring a Police Car (1)
I’ve got all the release documents in order... Now all I have to do is load up the car and take it with me.
Normally, I would have needed to hire a vehicle transport service to move the car, but I already had the trailer I had won at auction that morning. I also had a truck capable of towing it.
Who would’ve thought things would work out this smoothly? Have I ever been this lucky before?
This was the “hometown” I had been so reluctant to return to, yet ever since I arrived, everything seemed to be falling neatly into place.
It had only been a few days since I had been living through the same meaningless routine day after day...
And now, I was even looking forward to beginning the restoration of the Crown Victoria tomorrow.
First things first. I should hook up the trailer before it gets any darker.
I drove my beloved Chevy truck toward the storage yard where the trailer was parked.
A receiver and ball mount had already been installed beneath the rear bumper of my Chevrolet C1500, allowing it to connect to a trailer.
Before coming to the auction, I had bought the setup for around two hundred dollars and installed it myself.
The hitch ball was two inches in diameter. I had chosen the most commonly used general-purpose size in the United States.
Connecting the truck to the trailer was simple.
First, I backed the truck toward the trailer until the hitch points lined up. Then I got out and cranked up the jack mounted on the front of the trailer.
Creak, creak.
Once the trailer’s coupler rose higher than the truck’s hitch ball, I climbed back into the truck and reversed a little farther.
After aligning them properly, I positioned the truck’s hitch ball directly beneath the trailer coupler and lowered it into place.
That was it.
Next, I attached the safety chains and connected the seven-pin connector I had modified in advance, since my truck was an older model and required some alterations.
Blink, blink—
The trailer’s brake lights synchronized properly with the truck.
All right. Now I just need to load the car...
Unfortunately, that was the genuinely difficult part.
If the vehicle had been drivable, I could have easily driven it onto the trailer by myself.
However, the car I had won at auction had lost all its coolant because of the front-end collision.
Starting the engine carelessly could cause unnecessary engine damage.
With no other choice, I repeatedly turned the steering wheel to adjust the car’s direction, climbed back out, and pushed it from behind little by little. I was struggling through the process when a gravelly voice came from beside me.
“Hey, kid. Want some help?”
It was the man who had made such a strong impression at the auto auction earlier. He had a healthy, solid build and deeply tanned skin.
“Oh, it’s fine—”
“I’ll steer from inside. You keep pushing from behind.”
Before I could respond, the man opened the door and climbed into the car.
Then—
“Push harder. Keep going. That’s it.”
He called out instructions to push, stop, and adjust direction, helping me until the car was fully loaded onto the trailer.
“Thank you very much. That made things much easier.”
“Nothing to thank me for. People in similar lines of work should help each other out. Repairs? Or custom work?”
The man gave me a casual once-over as he spoke.
His manner of speaking was somewhat rough, but his expression was very different from how he had looked during the auction.
“Not custom work. I do restoration, which is closer to repair work.”
“Oh, restoration... That’s meaningful work. Anyway, I’m Chuck Redding. I mainly sell cars I buy at auction. Give me a call if you ever need anything. I can’t promise I’ll sell cheap, but I don’t lie and pass off junk as something good.”
—————
Chuck Redding
Automotive Dealer & Auction Buyer
Small-Scale Auto Dealer & Auction Specialist
—————
Of everything written on the business card he handed me, the words Auction Specialist caught my attention most.
Since I would need to obtain base cars for restoration through various channels in the future, this was exactly the sort of connection that could prove useful.
Judging by his presence and fighting spirit at the auction, he was clearly no amateur.
Outside the auction house, he actually seems pretty decent, too...
Since I had only just entered this business, every new person I met seemed interesting and unfamiliar.
No matter what kind of special ability I possessed, succeeding in restoration work would be impossible entirely on my own.
“Thank you. I’ll contact you if I’m ever looking for a particular car.”
“Sure. That’s enough.”
After thanking him, I carefully secured the car’s wheels to the trailer with wheel straps.
Vroom, vroom, vroom—
My beloved Chevy truck had a massive 5.3-liter V8 engine. It had more than enough power to tow an eighteen-foot trailer.
It was quite old, but as a work truck, it quietly did exactly what it was meant to do.
Good boy.
On the way back to the warehouse, I kept checking the rearview mirror for no particular reason.
The mirror was filled with the trailer and the Crown Victoria loaded on top of it.
I had possessed neither of them that morning.
Just looking at them already made me feel reassuringly wealthy.
Ha. Wealthy, my ass...
“Two thousand three hundred dollars for the trailer. Two thousand one hundred fifty for the restoration car. Add the auction fees and the cost of the hitch ball I installed on the truck...”
Another five thousand dollars had disappeared in only a few days.
Of course, that was inevitable during the preparation stage, when there was so much equipment to acquire. Still, as someone who had never spent money like this before, the speed at which my wallet was emptying was frightening.
If I’m going to do restoration work seriously, I’ll need a lift and an air compressor, too.
For now, I was staying in a motel out of necessity, but it was hardly a good solution in terms of either cost or distance.
Starting a new business really is a headache.
The money was one thing, but there were also countless other details to worry about.
Still, I had learned that in times like these, the best thing to do was handle the tasks in front of me one at a time.
Before long, everything would eventually get done.
Once this restoration is finished, I’ll start looking for a proper workshop that can accommodate a vehicle lift.
As for housing, I could always get a mobile home somewhere nearby.
The first step in that entire process was obtaining the manual for the vehicle now sitting neatly inside the warehouse.
[Would you like to register the 2011 Ford Crown Victoria P71 in the Restoration List?]
Yes.
The answer came naturally now.
[The vehicle has been registered in the Restoration List. Loading related information.]
Maintenance information about the Crown Victoria flooded into my mind.
Ahhhhh...
I still had not gotten used to the strange sensation that accompanied the updating of information inside my head.
“Whew. This thing was built pretty tough, too.”
A short while later, once all the information had finished loading, the Crown Victoria before me suddenly felt as familiar as an old friend.
I lightly ran my fingertips over its surface and slowly walked around the entire vehicle.
As I had confirmed at the auction, the interior and rear exterior were both in excellent condition.
The problem is the front-end damage...
Aside from the exterior panels I already knew about, it looked like only the headlight bracket would need replacement.
Since the headlights were among the more expensive individual components in the front exterior assembly, being able to salvage them was a major advantage.
The radiator... Yeah, it’s cracked.
The radiator was the heat exchanger responsible for cooling the engine. Coolant circulated through it, and airflow generated while driving helped lower its temperature.
It was one of the major components most easily damaged in a front-end collision, but fortunately, it could also be removed and installed relatively easily with bolts.
Next, I used a floor jack to lift the vehicle and inspect the undercarriage. The only issue I found was a slight oil leak around the oil pan.
“A gasket is cheap enough.”
The rest of the undercarriage appeared to have undergone a fairly comprehensive maintenance job at some point. There was some hardening and aging, but the components still had plenty of service life left.
“Good! Other than what I saw during the preview, there don’t seem to be any unusual problems.”
I had been nervous because none of the other auction participants who looked like professionals had placed a bid.
Apparently, it had not been a hidden disaster after all.
All right. I can order the engine oil, gasket, and coolant online.
I also needed to buy a radiator compatible with the car...
“Haah. Come to think of it, this is another Ford.”
Whether that was good or bad, I already knew the perfect shop nearby where I could get parts like these.
Jingle—
“Welco—huh? Jason? You’ve been coming around a lot lately.”
Hutchins Vintage Auto Parts, a shop specializing in Ford parts.
The moment I opened the door to the bright chime of the metal bell, Steven, who had been slouched behind the counter with a bored expression, shot upright.
“Tell me about it. Completely against my intentions, too.”
Even back in high school, I had tried to avoid running into him whenever possible. Yet here I was, at this age, getting tangled up with him all over again.
Should I call it an ill-fated relationship or destiny?
“Seriously? You’re the one who keeps coming here. So, what do you need this time?”
He pushed up the crooked cap on his head with one finger as he asked.
“A radiator compatible with a 2011 Crown Victoria, including the upper and lower supports.”
“Heh, another Ford? Huh? Wait a second... A Crown Victoria? You didn’t bring home another Police Interceptor, did you?”
Why did this guy have such annoyingly good instincts?
“That’s exactly what I did.”
“What?! Really? Hey, Jason, be honest with me. You actually like Fords, don’t you? That’s it, right?”
Steven shoved his face close to mine, nostrils flaring with excitement.
He looked like a fifteen-year-old boy asking whether his friend liked a girl.
Then again, maybe that was about right for this bastard’s mental age.
“I just happened to win it at auction. Anyway, what about the radiator?”
“Hmm. A radiator for the police version...”
While he hurriedly moved his large body around and rummaged through the shelves, I slowly looked around the shop.
There were boxes containing every imaginable kind of part.
Some components were not even boxed and were simply wrapped in plastic, filling the steel shelving units.
There seemed to be no particular order, and there was not a single classification label in sight. The place was nothing more than towers of parts piled up however someone felt like stacking them.
How does he always manage to find exactly what he wants in a place like this?
The fact that he could identify the correct part from nothing more than the vehicle’s year and model already proved that he was no ordinary enthusiast.
It was not like he had a special ability like mine.
“Oh, here it... is!”
At that moment, Steven pulled a large box out of a corner, blew the dust off the top, and grinned.
He looked like a child who had successfully found buried treasure.
Well, I guess that means he genuinely loves this work.
Thud.
“Here. The radiator. You don’t specifically need an OEM part, right?”
“No, but...”
The outside of the box he had brought over was marked:
Spectra Premium CU2157
As Steven had said, there was no need to insist on OEM parts for something like this.
However, if compatibility was even slightly off, I might have to do extra work, such as modifying or securing the brackets.
Which meant that at times like this—
Ding!
—————
[Compatible Radiators for the 2011 Crown Victoria]
—————
My special ability made the problem easy to solve.
Within seconds, I could immediately confirm compatibility inside my head.
“Yeah, the CU2157 is a perfect match. How much?”
“One hundred eighty-five dollars including the supports. Special price, just for you.”
Steven threw in a joke that was not even remotely convincing.
Still, it was cheaper than buying from an online retailer and paying shipping, and about average compared with a large brick-and-mortar auto parts store.
It was a fair price.
“I’m paying cash, so give me a special five-dollar discount.”
“...Huh? Uh, sure.”
Apparently caught off guard by my counterattack, Steven shoved the money straight into the cash drawer without even counting it.
“So this restoration must be pretty simple, huh? You’re not buying many parts.”
He followed me outside, continuing to ask questions.
“Yeah. There’s nothing I really need to touch in the drivetrain. I only have to replace the damaged front exterior parts.”
“Well, the police version is built like a tank. You’re going to show it to me when it’s done, right?”
“Not necessarily. But if you want to see it, come by my warehouse later.”
“Nice! I’ll be looking forward to this one, too. Heh. By the way, this trailer looks pretty good. You won it at auction, didn’t you?”
He had followed me all the way to where I was loading the box, and his eyes gleamed like a hyena’s.
“...Yeah. I got a good deal thanks to you. Thanks.”
“Huh? That’s it? Aren’t you supposed to buy me something?”
His smug tone brought back traces of the irritating Steven I remembered from the old days.
“I did buy something. This.”
I jerked my chin toward the radiator box loaded in the back of the truck.
“No, not that. I mean buying me a drink. You know, bottoms up!”
What was this?
Was he going to ask me to buy him fried pickles again?
Those were not even particularly good.
Either way, I had no time to waste exchanging pointless banter with him.
Right now, my head was completely occupied with the desire to finish restoring the Crown Victoria as quickly as possible and take it out onto the road.
“I’m busy right now. Later.”
“Tch. Playing hard to get, huh? Fine. We’ll drink after you finish the car you’re working on. Don’t forget. You promised to contact me when it’s done.”
Without answering him, I climbed into my Chevy truck while he pointlessly kicked one of its tires.
Vroom—
The moment the engine started, I quickly pulled away from the shop.
If I stayed any longer, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he would start pestering me about buying a Ford truck again.
[Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor]