A Mustang Story
March 21st, 2008 § Leave a Comment
There's a cool story about a 1965 Mustang in the LA Times today. The story ends well for one person but sadly for another. My heart goes out to Judy.
Nervous Today and Probably Tomorrow
February 26th, 2008 § 2 Comments
I’m really nervous today. I drove the wife’s car into work; the same car that has been basically inoperable for a year now. I’m sure you’ve heard the story. My father in-law, cousin in-law and I have spent too many hours to count working on that engine. We’ve disassembled it probably 10 times all the way down to the block trying to stop the cylinders from filling with water during operation. The car has new heads, gaskets, upper and lower intake manifolds, and a new catalytic converter. After all that we are no closer to having fixed the problem than we were when we began. So, out of frustration and desperation we poured a couple bottles of Head Gasket Repair stuff into the car a few weeks ago. If you haven’t seen stuff like this before, let me tell you it’s nasty stuff. Basically it’s supposed to clog the leak by forming a ceramic bond, which will last “FOREVER.” If you are like me this probably raises several questions. I do not want to hear any of them though. I’m worried enough as it is.
In the couple weeks since we put that goup in the engine the car has been running. Granted, I haven’t driven it all that much. It sat in the driveway all last week while the wife was out of town. Now that she’s back, and I’m getting ready to leave town for a week, we have started driving it again. Thankfully most of the time, the wife and I can carpool to work, but next week I’m going to need a car for my business trip, and I’m not ready to push that car on a trip to Oxnard. That means the wife gets to drive it while I’m gone, which is unsettling to me. I really don’t want her to end up on the side of the road waiting for a tow-truck. That’s not a lot of fun; however, that is what I am afraid is going to happen. And, I’m going to be worrying about it the entire time I’m gone. They only thing I can do to help ease my mind is drive it as much as possible this week, which makes me nervous too. It’s pretty much a lose-lose situation. My options are: be nervous now and later, or be extremely nervous later. I’m opting for nervous now and nervous later, by driving it this week.
My Mustang
February 20th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
It was my first and only car from high school through college. I stopped driving it because I was running it into the ground, and because the transmission went out. My dad and I spent several weekends trying to rebuild the automatic transmission ourselves but could never get it quite right. Transmissions are a pain. So we eventually had it rebuilt, but in the mean time I bought my Focus. It has sat at my parents for a few years now, not having run for a while. I don't even think the rebuilt trans was ever put to the test. It's funny how priorities change.
This summer I started making some engine mods to make it drivable and reliable again, but never had the time to finish it up. It's a stock 289, but over the years we've added dual exhaust, an electronic ignition, and I'm in the process of converting from a 2v carb to a 4v carb. I have almost all the parts, but I've been cleaning stuff up as I go along and discovering additional projects. It really only needs a good solid weekend of work, but with the wife's car being a pain in the behind, and us buying a house I haven't had time to devote to the mustang. Hopefully in the next few months, while the wife's busy with her travel season at work, I'll have time to devote to it. I'd like to bring it up to Burbank and clear some space for it in the garage. We'll see if that happens. My goal now is to have it done for this summer.
Favorite Album Covers
October 24th, 2007 § 1 Comment
Nirvana – Incesticide
The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers…
Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary
The Who – Who’s Next
Led Zeppelin – Presence
Mustang
June 17th, 2007 § Leave a Comment
This is what I hope the engine for my 1965 Ford Mustang will look like one day. For now, I’d be happy to settle for one that runs and is covered in oil and dirt… I’m working on cleaning it up some, but mostly I’m trying to make it run again, after allowing it to sit at my parents’ for a couple years.
Of course, I’ve decided to upgrade a few things in the process. I’m moving from a 2v to a 4v Carb for starters. Who know what else I’ll decide to do along the way. Only time, and cash-flow will tell.
