Chapter 19

He did see ... but not her intent.

‘Let’s see how firm is her intent ... is she enraptured by the money, including status, or is she after dad for himself?’

The three 224cc Champlain engines were ordered, shipped, delivered by ‘Brown’ to the house and dispatched to My Eighty in company with Bethanne ... not on a bicycle. She rang the bell ... knocking would be useless.

The guys in the machine shop hollered, “Gen ... you have company at the door!”

“Well ... answer it.”

“No ... this is your place ... you’ve told us that ... over and over.”

So ... She degreased, shucked her leathers, started her shopcar and drove to the ‘man-door.’ Political Correctness hadn’t struck the island ... and ‘never would for all of me.’

Just in case you don’t know ... The Eighty Acre Forest machine shop is EIGHTY Thousand square feet and front to back is a hike. Genevieve works, by choice, in the wayback.

She arrived, shut down and opened the ‘WHAT HAPPENS HERE STAYS HERE’ door ... Bethanne ... and car/truck.

‘She drives. How about that?’

The car/truck deserved a second look ... a 1934 Cadillac Over-Head-Valve sixteen cylinder engine with 6 Stromberg 97 carburettors mounted in a Cadillac Sedan Delivery ... not that Genevieve had a clue. She had to ask.

“What on earth is that?”

“Cadillac.”

“I can read that ... it’s on the grill shell. Where?”

“A little something Daddy had in his garage. When I was 8, I used it as a playhouse.”

“Awesome.”

“I think grandfather special ordered it.”

“It looks like a boarded up hearse.”

“I think it might have been ... Daddy called it the sedan delivery.” She looked at it fondly. “Daddy washed it every Sunday ... he washed all the vehicles on Sunday. Religiously ... or so he said. What he said was, ‘you kids run off to church with your mother. This is my church.’

“Well ... com’on. I’ll show her off.”

“Not without the crowd ... they’d never forgive me.”

Genevieve opened the front door and hollered, “Demonstration ... You don’t want to miss this.”

Gen listened long enough to get the facts.

And while the shop was gawking, Genevieve moved the engine boxes from by the door to the wayback.

Champlain 224cc engine tins are purple ... but ... take off the tin and a 224 looks almost like 212 Predator. So close a clone that it takes a true aficionado to tell the difference ... the differences are on the inside... 8 degree wedgemated crank, Tuffrided crank journals, roller crank bearings, balanced flattop piston and alloy rod, steel cylinder liner, an oil pump, highlift cam, roller cam bearings, roller lifters, roller rockers, chromalloy push rods, thicker case castings, forged aluminum flywheel and cooling-fan and dual magneto ignition. All that and great care at assembly. Other differences include fake low oil shutoff and no governor. Add a Mikuni carb and miracles occur.

BUT ... and it’s a big one ... the first time the Champlain goes full throttle the nine thousand rpm is a dead giveaway. This is a genuine RACE engine.