Don't let the huge task intimidate you. Just begin.

Last Sunday was the three year anniversary of Hella's arrival in my driveway in Ellensburg. She'd been hauled on a flatbed trailer for six days across North America from Ontario, Canada. It would be quite the understatement to say I was excited when she arrived! What made it even more special was that my kids were there when she did. What a feeling that was!

The day after is when the true scope of the project settled on my shoulders. I had an 8000 pound military relic in my driveway that hadn't run for over 30 years. She had been in a barn all that time and become a home to birds and rodents. Besides the yucky messes to deal with, about the only thing that was functional was the steering. This was a mechanical project the likes of which I had always aspired to tackle. Yes, I was intimidated, but I knew I could do it. I spent that day inspecting every inch of the truck and created my initial work list. The first of countless lists to be generated over the next three years!

After three months of bloody, greasy weeknights and weekends, she fired up for me for the first time! The sense of accomplishment was amazing! The thrill faded quickly when I had to turn around and limp home a half mile into my first test drive. This was not going to be quick or easy! It was clear the work had only just begun. So, I kept working and she kept limping home as the test drive radius expanded in ever widening circles with each system restored. As the distance grew, I found more problems and set to repairing them. It was over a year before I took her on her first true trip, which she broke down on! Her first successful trip over the mountains without issue was 15 months after I had begun working on her. It would be another year before I was taking her on serious trips with reasonable certainty that she'd get me back without too much drama. All the while, with every breakdown, I was learning what I needed to learn to keep her rolling for the life ahead.

It's now been four months since I swapped out her original flathead six and transmission for a modern V8 and transmission. With that heart transplant she went from 80 horsepower to 250. The new mill just ticked off 2000 miles and is running like a boss. After years of crawling painfully slowly up hills, I doubt I'll ever stop grinning stupidly as I roll on the power and go up them at the speed limit! I have finally arrived at a practical point of operation where I jump in the driver's seat, fire up and go without drama. It is wonderful! There's still plenty of maintenance to keep up on and I know she'll throw surprises at me as we travel. But I know that I'm up to the task now. Thank you to all my friends in person and online that have helped me get her to the point she is now. You all rock!

Anybody who takes on a project like this knows you are never finished with it. You bond with the machine and start talking with it like Han and the Millennium Falcon. I think we literally give the machine a soul as we go. Hella is more than my truck, she's become my home and friend.

Bringing this rig back to life and making it what I need it to be has taught me a lot about devotion, endurance, humility, and most of all vulnerability. Most folks restore vehicles like this for amusement on sunny summer days or parades. It's an entirely different proposition to make one your only wheels, your home, and take it on the road. Only a mechanic could do something like this. Good thing I turned out to be a decent one! I've always enjoyed working on my vehicles, but I never would have guessed how important those skills would be to my future. It is amazing the way life is always preparing you for the next chapter. Good or bad, all that is happening in your life is teaching you something of value for the road ahead. Be encouraged that the heartbreaks and setbacks are intended. They present opportunities to grow and evolve in ways that will inspire your purpose and unleash your full potential. That is, if you are brave enough to face them full on and seek the lessons.

Photo- May 26, 2016 as she was...