Motor Swap

***A quick note: this post was inspired by Tweety's post Life After Death.

I.
Just like most car enthusiasts, i love my car. I go places with her. I spend hard earned money on her. I even spend money i haven't earned yet on her. And just like all relationships, we had our ups and downs. Some of them are my fault, some hers but for half a decade we managed to survive.

II.
After years of being together i guess she just decided to die on me. I received an email confirming it, my beloved engine has died on me. Maybe it was because of the way i drive or i didn't maintain the her as much as i should. Or maybe it was just time for us to move on our separate ways. Or maybe she has her eyes set on another car where she wants to reside in. It doesn't really matter anymore since she has decided to go. The email confirmed it. (This was how she looked like, ain't she a beauty of an engine? the 1st 16 valve engine the country has seen, i think **not actual pic**)


III.
I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. What was i supposed to do with an engine that didn't want to be in my car? What do you do with a dead car? You commute. I spent countless hours commuting to and from work. Countless hours thinking about ways to revive the old trusty car. Countless hours convincing myself that it's over. That i have to move on. And for awhile this was how my engine bay looked like. Empty.






IV.
But i knew i had to get up and do something. I scrounged up and saved all the money i could and went about reviving the old car. It took awhile. Hours spent ssearching and researching. If i was to replace my beloved engine, it had to be with something better. Something faster. Something i'm sure i will love much more than the old engine. After some months i got an email saying "bro, there's a 2nd Gen Silvertop Engine at autotech's warehouse, just waiting for an owner. Why not give them a call?". I called up autotech and confirmed that they have a 2nd Gen ST in stock. I went there with money in hand and asked to see the engine. And 'lo and behold, she was a beauty.


V. I let autotech do their thing. And after a few days, i received the much awaited text. "Bro your car's done. You can pick her up anytime - shagee". I was reluctant to go to autotech as i didn't know what to expect. Shagee met up with me at the warehouse and handed me the keys. He explained that there may be a problem with the radiator and the aircon and the exhaust pipes hasn't been connected yet. I hesitantly placed the key in the ignition, saw all the lights in may dashboard turn on, noticed the new "check engine light" turn on too and did the inevitable. She fired up like a dream. I know the exhaust pipes weren't connected yet so she will sound like a bat out of hell but i was wrong. Nothing compares to the sound of high revving engine pipes or no pipes. And that was the start of me and my car's love affair with the 4AGE Silvertop. We still have our issues but we get by.

***For che, who has been my high revving, high performance engine, pushing me to success and happiness.