After two summers without AC I just couldn’t handle seeing my sweaty, miserable daughters melting in their car seats as we drove 2 hours to Jellystone park to camp. Robert, my occasional mechanic, had quoted $900 to replace the condenser and upgrade to R-134. With Bush’s stimulus check in hand I brought the Brick in for the operation.

Five days later I’m out $1800! Turns out it needed other work in addition to the upgrade. What a surprise. Now we have a new timing belt, new water pump, all new belts, new bushings and the front of the engine is straight and doesn’t squeal. It’s nice to have chilly air and a quieter engine, but DAMN! I probably would have just kept driving w/ the windows open if I’d known I also needed to spend $1000 to just keep the thing on the road. But I guess now the Brick and the family are protected from overheating.