Triumphs, Challenges, and Human Nature - Oh My!

     Numerous people have heard this saying from me on several occasions over the years; “…sometimes it’s embarrassing to be part of this species called humans.” I will admit that I am guilty, on too many occasions to mention, of falling into that category. Last weeks example - my 87 Mustang. I knew it had a blown head gasket. I knew it had to be fixed… and soon. I knew roughly what the cost of the parts and the repairs (that I could not do myself) would be. I knew that the costs could be higher than what I estimated they would be. So when the car was finally finished, why was I still grimacing over the repair bill?

      Call it human nature. Call it having a chance to digest things. Or more likely, because of the “drama driven, never enough” society we live in, call it that we’re never really satisfied. And that last part is a pretty sad state, my friends. It’s been a few days since I stuffed the bill in my pocket and I’ve had time to reflect over what’s on it. First off in reality, I never even should have thought about what the final tally was, despite the fact it was a couple of hundred bucks over the original estimate. In the end, I got a screamin’ deal… plain and simple.

       What drove the bill up was the fact that the AFR aluminum heads were warped and had to be milled. This process is not something my friend nor I could do, so that job had to be farmed out. The guy who did the work, (thanks again Dan) not only did an outstanding job, but did it for dirt cheap. Why? Because he found out that these were going on an antique Mustang that served double duty as a drag car thinly disguised as a street vehicle. He thought the whole package (sleeper image) was “downright righteous”. He also heli-coiled some bolt holes in the heads, so we could install some new (as well as the correct type; ASE not metric) bolts that help keep some steering components in place. He did that part for free. The money I paid, along with a huge dose of thanks (and a 30 rack) just didn’t seem enough.

      While tearing the motor apart, we also found out that the 9 month old serpentine belt was just a whisker too big. The previous owner had to improvise since the A/C and the air pump were long gone by the time he bought it and he couldn‘t get in touch with the guy who built the motor originally. The guy ended up buying a new belt at a NAPA in New Jersey and the part came with a lifetime warranty. Since I had the original receipt, my local NAPA contact took that belt back, (muchas gracias Harley), listed it as defective, and gave me the correct size belt I needed. Again, free of charge.

      Is all this diatribe an attempt in massively gloating my good luck or ego? Far from it. The key point here is, is the power of building an effective network of friends and fellow gear-heads. I didn’t even know Dan before last week, but we shared a deep common thread of the love of performance cars and drag racing. You can also build a network of friends, contacts and fellow gear-heads from the most unlikely places. For example, before I purchased the Mustang, I restored an old Chevy C-10. 90% of the body work & paint was performed by several low security inmates that were due to be released from the local prison. It took way longer than we ever thought it would (about 8 months), but working side by side with these guys was an enlightening experience. Yes, prior to their stay at the prison, they made mistakes. Yes, they paid their debt to society. Yes, the admitted they fucked up. But they were also very real & human - more so than many other people I’ve dealt with “on the outside”. Even though that work was done over 3 years ago & the truck is long gone, I still keep in touch with one of the guys who helped with the work. He’s very down to Earth & probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet… tattoos and all.

      It also proved the benefits of documentation. One of the big selling points of this car was the fact the owner had a notebook that contained every receipt, part manuals, dyno sheets - anything that was installed, worked on, or done to the car over the past 15 years. That can be almost invaluable. Coupled with the fact that three different owners managed to hang on to all this paperwork before I got it, this is an absolute miracle- especially in this day in age.

      We still have some minor things to do on the 'Stang over the next few weeks. One of them is numerous oil changes. I’ll probably be performing about one a week for at least the next month to make sure all that crap (coolant & oil mix) is out of every crevasse in that engine. 

     In the end, a co-worker of mine put it best. After all the work was finished, the Mustang was fired up for the 1st time in 3 weeks & she ran like a Swiss watch. He said, "was it worth it?" The thoughts of listening to the V-8 roar, the aggressive cam, and the loud exhaust, made me smile and respond, "yeah... no question." Looking back on all the people who helped in any way on this major project also left me (and I still have it) with a deep sense of awesome and gratitude.

     Until next time, peace out.
     Dave