So where do I start? I have had a few. Actually I just had one this month that involved a boat a bear and a boat trailer but that is a story for another day. This story is from around I am thinking maybe 1993 and is a 2 part story. I never was a Ford fan but for some reason I purchased a 1987 Ford high top conversion van for towing my bass boat. It had all the bells and whistles, tv, vcr, sky lights, carpet, bed etc. etc. Day after Thanksgiving I was taking my eldest son and my dad pheasant hunting here in Pennsylvania and as we are driving down the secondary road I notice I had 0 oil pressure. I told my dad, I hope my gauge broke as I have 0 oil pressure and just that quick the engine started the tell tall clatter of no oil. I pulled into an abandon school parking lot, grabbed my cup of coffee went to the rear of the van to get my heavy coat for the trek about 1 1/2 mile to the restaurant we passed to use the pay phone. (prior to cell phones or me having a cell phone) My father had this habit of his knee hitting the automatic door locks as we drove so the door was locked and I was trying to get him or my son to unlock the door. Me not being in the best mood in my scurry to go back to the drivers door to unlock the doors I slipped in the ice and fell with the coffee cup in my hand. Yup, broken thumb. Few choice words, doors unlocked, coat on, walk started. Called my wife to come get dad and son, called tow truck to roll back me home. So much for my Ford with 79, 000 miles and 0 oil pressure. Phase 1 of story

Phase 2. For some reason that I can't remember I determined it was a bad oil pump. So Pennsylvania, winter, cold, snowing, van too high to fit in garage, oil pan on 351 can't be removed without pulling engine, deer season starting that Monday (this was Saturday) I lay in the snow with broken thumb and struggle to drop pan and get my hand in there far enough to remove and replace the oil pump. I managed this working all day on the ground while it snowed. Jump ahead to Sunday we needed to do some grocery shopping so I told wife we would take the van to make sure I had it fixed. I drove her to the store and dropped her off. I went to the local quick mart to get a coffee and was going to go back and wait for her. Van seemed to have good pressure and ran well. As I waited at the intersection light suddenly everything disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke. I mean everything! The smoke was more than if you were burning tires. I figure I better get this thing home before it quits again so I took the back roads to get home to jump in our 1984 Chevy Caprice wagon.

Here comes the accident part of this story. As I am racing home with the smokey van I am accelerating and slowing and looking in the rear view mirror to see how much and when it smokes the most. I glanced up and right there instantly the road was covered in standing deer. I am not sure how man 6 maybe 7 or 8 but yes left front drive side I hit a huge deer. The impact felt real well on my broken thumb as it rolled back the side of the van. I kept on going, was almost home. Jumped in the Chevy and went to pick my wife up at the store. We loaded the groceries and said to her, "You won't believe why I have the Chevy and I am not even going to begin to tell you!"

Finally, $ 2800 body damage repaired by deductible insurance at the Ford dealership. $2400 at the garage for a used engine installed. The transmission vacuum modulator diaphragm was worn and injecting transmission fluid in the engine and that is why there was 0 oil pressure. Thumb eventually healed. Last Ford I have owned. This was in fact a job I did not do myself. The End

If not for bad luck , no luck at all