After such a blessing we received yesterday, that I have made into a challenge for myself---
This afternoon- our 76 year old neighbor stopped by.
Awhile back, he'd forgotten to remove the plug from his boat. It was up on the lift, but wouldn't drain rainwater.
When I found it, after a big storm, the water was a foot deep on the floor, and about 1/2 way up on on the 4 cyl. GM engine.
The water had shorted out all manner of wiring and filled the below deck gas tank by soaking in under the gauge sending unit plate.
I drained that, and asked if he'd let me tend to the engine since it was just dead. No power to nothing.....
It has the same powerplant as mine, that I've worked on and overhauled a couple times since the 80's.
He was reluctant.
I told him if I could fix it in the dock, "WE" wouldn't have to tow it to a ramp, load it, and take it to a shop & back.
Even then, if the bill was less than $500, that would mean there wasn't really anything wrong with it.
So I did, I hacked around on it for a week or so off & on, and brought it back to life..
He was just tickled,,,,,, as grateful as a dog with a new stick.
He asked what I'd done. And wanted to know what I'd spent so he could pay me back.
I told him I'd flushed the gas tank, replaced a few cables, wires & terminals, and rebuilt the carberator. But water didn't get into the block.
I also changed the ignition coil & module, not because they were bad, but they were 1996 issue and I didn't trust them any more.
Compared to the hassle of the antique coil or module failing out on the lake---
the price for them is more or less free, so I took good ones off, and put on OEM quality new ones.
I told him the price of the carb kit-- '$40, and don't worry about it.
I work on these things for the challenge, and because I enjoy it.
Besides,,,, I changed the other stuff on my own, just to be sure I wouldn't have to go out and tow ya back,
or that you could come out and tow me back home'.
That was a couple weeks ago, and I'd moved on to other things, and sort of forgot about working on his boat.
Got a visit today, he came over to thank me again, and wanted to give me a 'thank you card'.
Nobody does cards anymore, but he's old school...…. I took it, and thanked him for the thoughtfulness.
After he left, I opened the card, and there was $300 bucks in it.
My dilemma now is-
How am I going to get the value of all that money back to him without him getting suspicious?