Mechanics 101: Introductions

One of my passions is cars. If this is a surprise to you, then you don't know me in person, and haven't picked that up from the fact that they few posts I have hear thus far are essentially only about cars. But I digress.

Cars are a passion, and I love to share my passions with others. I've found with cars, that they're a bit of a dying art. My father didn't teach me, they weren't big to most of my friends, and if I didn't have a hyper mechanical mindset to seek out and immerse myself in the literature I probably would have been content to know just enough to not get ripped off when I take my car in for service. And really to me that's a travesty.

As such, it is my desire to help to educate anyone seeking to learn more about cars. Maybe you're a guy that's always loved the idea of turning a wrench but don't have anyone to help get you going, maybe your a gal looking to educate yourself to keep those guys at the local oil change house from taking advantage of you, regardless of who you are, this is for you!

The goal of Mechanics 101 is to make the subject matter easy to digest, to explain it in a way that anyone, no matter their background can understand and digest. If the posts are met with positive responses, I'll look into going into deeper detail and maybe some "higher level" classes. Of course this all assumes that I keep this blog going, and the only way that happens is if I feel like some people are taking advantage of it!

So what are we going to cover in Mechanics 101? Here's a quick breakdown:

• Automobiles: Basic Anatomy
• Engines
• Suspension
• Brakes
• Fuel: Gasoline vs Diesel
• Octane Rating: What it really means
• Why should I change my oil?
• Road Trip Prep
• How do I take care of my car?

And any other topics that I think of as I go along. There's no real schedule for when I'll hit each of these topics. In all reality there's no real order I'll go in either. I just plan to hit all of them at some time or another. If you have a topic you'd like me to write, either listed or not, just let me know and I'll do my best to cover it!

Keep your eyes open for the first post sometime in the next week. It'll be Automobiles: Basic Anatomy, and it'll familiarize you with the major components of a car and a brief history of the automobile, how it came to be, what it is, and where it's going in the future. Should be a fun one!

The Search Defined... (Pt. 2)

What's the search criteria?

This is the important stuff. For me the breakdown is as follows:

Make: Ford

Model: Mustang

Trim: Fastback

Engine: I6 or V8

Trans: MT Preferred but AT acceptable with V8 Engine

Condition: Time Sensitive
Current Budget: $7500

Now to explain, where I am currently living I don't have the capacity to take on much in the way of a project car. I'm in temporary housing while I wait to transition to a new location for work. Once there I'll have a house with a garage and I can take on a true project. In the mean time, if I'm going to buy a car now it needs to meet certain other criteria. It needs to be sealed, as in, doesn't leak isn't susceptible to weather as it would have to sit outside for three months. It needs to have an intact drivetrain, makes it a lot harder to steal than just a shell that can be easily rolled. And if at all possible, it needs to run. Which if we're honest, at this price point I'm not really going to find.

For the engine, in 1969 and 1970 for was using the same rear end and transmission in all cars with the 250 I6 as they were in the V8 cars, so this makes an I6 to V8 swap pretty affordable (It's still not cheap, but it's better than other years) which means that "cheaper" I6 cars are acceptable options. 

I'd really like to have a manual transmission, but it's hard to find non-restored manual cars. As such the automatic transmission is what you are much more likely to find. But an automatic to manual swap isn't bad in price either, as long as you're willing to do the work yourself. 

In a perfect world, I'd like to find a 1970 Fastback with a 302 and 3spd manual transmission. The odds of this are slim, so I had to have some other options so that my search didn't go on for years!

It's been a week now, and I haven't found too much out here yet. But as good possibilities come up, I'll post them and explain my thoughts on what makes them a good or bad option. Stay tuned!

Image Credit: RustingMuscleCars.Com

The Search Defined...

As I alluded to in my last post, but didn't actual define, I'm searching for a  new project car. I wanted to document the search for everyone so that I could illustrate the process that I set for earlier.

The Project Defined:

What car would be my project? It's both a complicated and simple question all at once. Those who have known me for a while know that the answer is simple. A Ford Mustang! I've been head over heals for the Mustang since I was old enough to know what a car was. 

And yet, for any trust Mustang Enthusiast out there, you know that the hardest part is picking WHICH Mustang? There are so many options out there to choose from for a car that's celebrating it's 50th year of continuous production.

Image Credit: motortrend.com

For those of you unfamiliar with the Mustang lineage breakdown I'll do a really quick and dirty summation here:

1. 1964.5-1968: Classic Mustang
2. 1969-1970: Race Mustang
3. 1971-1973: Aero Mustang
4. 1974-1978: Mustang II
5. 1979-1993: Fox Body Mustang
6. 1994-2005: SN95 Mustang
7. 2006-2014: S197 Mustang

Some would break the last two eras down even more to emphasize the different body styles present in those chassis. But for this discussion it's not important. This project needs to be a new era of mustang that I haven't already owned. To recap that list:

1. 1991 Ford Mustang LX, 4 cyl, 5 spd
2. 2012 Ford Mustang GT/CS, 8 cyl, 6 spd
3. 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, 8 cyl, Auto

With those cars in mind, and knowing that I don't want to do a 94-05 that leaves me with only the classic Mustangs, and what many would argue "aren't true Mustangs" the Mustang IIs.

Now I have a bit of a penchant for going for the odd and unique. I'm not sure why, but I get a thrill out of doing something a bit outside of the norm and expected. As such, there's a certain draw to the Mustang II. Here's a little car that it certain instances doesn't have bad styling...

Image Credit: corporate.Ford.com

And in other instances look like a Ford Pinto and a Ford Crown Victoria had some kind of odd love child...

Image Credit: MustangII.net

But, and this is where research is important, there is a major downside to being unique. And in the car world that is typically cost. While a Mustang II itself actually sells fairly cheaply, the lack of community love for the car has caused a lack of aftermarket support. Parts are expensive, and sometimes nearly impossible to find. Body panels aren't really reproduced, so you need to find a rust free example, and the small size of the car means engine options are limited. You wont really get much bigger than a 302 into one of these mini-Mustangs. I decided that while one of these cars would be awesome to own at some point in the future, they don't really fit the desired mold of what I want to go with right now.

Back to the roots!

This means the only options left are the original Mustangs and the Race Mustangs (to be fair, the race Mustangs is a bit of a self-assigned designation. I single those years out because the Mustang was used as a platform for Ford to homogenize its' racing engines for use). And in this bracket of years, for me, there is, has, and always shall be a clear winner as to which I want most. The 1970 Mustang!

Image Credit: Paintref.com

In all honesty, I knew it had to be this car. It's ALWAYS had to be this car. For the last ten years I've been lusting after this particular Muscle Car like a fourth grader lusts after cake. And this time I'm determined to not allow my impatience to steal me away from my cake.

You see the 1973 that I just sold, I bought it because I was tired of saving money and not having a project car, so I jumped in on a car I didn't know all that much about in terms of the restoration process or part availability. It met the basic criteria of Mustang + Fastback + Rust-Free (or so I thought, but that's another story) so I bought it, and I shouldn't have. Now mind you, it was (and is!) a cool car, very classic, very Mustang, and very not for me. The lines just didn't do it for me, the interior just didn't give me the same fire, and the sight of it sitting in my garage didn't give me the satisfaction that a 1970 would. Which is exactly why I sold it, I wasn't going to drop a ton of money into a car that in my head would never be what I really wanted, but rather just what I had.

Stay tuned for the search criteria...

The Search is ON!

So a few weeks ago I managed to sell my project car. It was a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, Numbers Matching, and relatively rust free. It was a good project car, and I learned a lot about project cars from it. Enough so that I felt like I was ready to unload so that I could apply what I had learned to a new project car. I didn't feel like there was a good resource online to help explain how to buy a "good" project car, so I thought that I would set forth a list of qualities!

How do you make sure that you get a good project car?

1. Clearly define what you want before you start looking. This will be imperative to help direct your search and keep you from making a snap decision.
2. Research the car you've decided to work on. You should look not only at how many of them were produced, what they're currently selling for, but more importantly how available parts are for your desired choice. This part availability is going to directly affect your search. If there are certain parts that you know are more or less impossible to find you're not going to accept a high price tag on a car missing said parts.
3. Search for a period of time. There will be a lot of temptation to go out and buy the first car that you see that gets close to meeting your requirements and is in your price range. Unless you're after a super rare car though; DONT! Give yourself some time to search and look and really decide what it is you want in your project. Do you really want a ton of rust repair and body work to do? Or are you more interested in just having a motor to tinker with while you drive the car daily? These are important questions to answer now before you've taken the initial dive into the project.
4. So you've found a car that meets your desires list, it's in your price range, and local; now what?
1. Ask the seller for basics on the car, when did they get it, why are they selling it, what have they done since they got it? This can give you an idea if the seller is just a flipper or someone more interested in the car itself.
2. Make sure you get the VIN of that car, this will let you verify if the car is original, exactly as advertised, and help to make sure there are no legal issues with the car. Remember, sellers occasionally mis-advertise what they have, this could either be intentional or accidental, but in all cases it is the buyers responsibility to get their facts right.
3. Inspect the car from front to back. Open the door, every door, the trunk, look in every cranny and where possible, pull up carpet and look under trunk mats. Rust tends to start where you can't see it in day to day operation so make sure to really look the car over. Any imperfections found now are good opportunities to try and haggle on the price. If you're standing there in front of the seller waving a wad of bills in their face odds are they'll be more willing to try and make it work than if you try to hash it out with them over email.
4. Does the engine run?
1. No? Not a problem. Do your research ahead of time and find out what tools are required to turn the engine over by hand. Bring these tools with you to the inspection. And engine that turns over freely is not a sign of a good engine per say, but it is a sign that the engine isn't frozen. Worst case, you may need to sleeve some of the cylinders, but hopefully it's better than that!
2. Yes? Fire it up! Give the engine a moment to settle out and then listen for any irregular noises. Any excessive mechanical noise could be the sign of a larger mechanical problem, or worn or out of adjustment parts. If the engine sounds smooth and there's no issues. See if you can take if for a spin around the block.
5. On a test drive you want to take note of a few things. Does it seem like all the instrumentation works? Are the brakes firm or spongy? How does the transmission shift? None of these should really be deal breakers at this point (I mean come on, your project car runs and drives!?) but they are tools to use to try and get a lower price.
5. Price negotiations. The most important thing here is to remember to always be polite. No matter what at the end of the day you're trying to purchase someones personal possession. Remain professional, courteous, and refrain from foul language or insults. If you've done your research well you should have a good idea of what the car is worth. It's then up to you to decide if you want that particular car badly enough to risk insulting the seller with a low-ball offer. The higher the initial price of the car the more likely there is to be some wiggle room. How much will vary greatly and isn't something I can really put a number on.
6. Got the car? Awesome! Now it's time to take care of the paperwork. Title and vehicle sale process are dependent on the state of sale. So do some upfront homework. Ideally you want a vehicle with a clean and clear title.

So hopefully they gives you a better idea of how to go about buying a project car. In short order here I'll go through in detail how I'm going through this process with my current search and let you guys be a part of it each step of the way!

Happy hunting!

Life to the Machine

Blogs are hard. At least to me they are, you see I don't really know how to generate content that an audience of any notable size would actually enjoy. So instead of focusing on that, I'm just going to write on things that interest me, and anyone who wants to tag along for the ride is more than welcome to do so. So if you want to take a ride through the mind of a former Disney Imagineer turned Weapons Designer then grab a seat. The machine takes a few minutes to warm up, but once it's going... well I imagine it'll be rather hard to stop it.