Looking forward to the long weekend as I could get to Mustang Maniac on Saturday and rest for a day on Sunday then do some homework which I had in mind on the bank holiday Monday. Saturday morning I loaded up the car and went to the garage to pick up my sockets and tools bag, I walked in picked up the stuff and put them in the boot and shut the garage door. Realising I forgot the ratchets I went to open the door Again. Locked. I searched my pocket, no keys. I went to the back of the car and checked the tool bag, no keys. I then had the cold sweat feeling, I put the keys on the service trolley in the garage. Now I always unlock the garage, lock it again and put the keys in my pocket. That way when I shut the door it’s already locked and so I don’t forget. Get the spare key, there is no spare key! When we bought the house there was only one key for the garage and I have been meaning to get one cut ever since for a number of years now should we say. At this point it’s dilemma time, do I try to get into the garage or leave it until Sunday? I decided to leave it, and went to say goodbye to the wife who could hear me havin’ my own little rant to myself out the front. She didn’t laugh (yet), but used some of the words that I was using previously to describe my stupidity back to me. Her stifled laughter didn’t last to long as I got in my car with the right hump. All sorts of things were running through my mind, locksmith? Replacement door? I just didn’t know what to think, all the way to the yard I was fretting and nothing on the radio calmed me down, cyclists two abreast down country lanes gave me the hump, getting stuck behind a bus down country lanes gave me the hump. Eventually I got to MM and bumped straight into Adam and Chris. I explained what I had done with my garage, they explained the best way to “re-gain entry” back into my garage when I got home. How do they know these things? Anyway, Sunday I tried their techniques to open the door. Now I needed a replacement part, I took the old one with me and took it to place I know who stock all that sort of stuff. Got home and replaced the handle and lock with a stronger quality one. All fixed again and now I have two keys.
Tip:
If you need another key, get one cut before it’s to late!
I unloaded half the tools I normally take to the yard and went to the workshop. Where Adam showed me the head liner that had been fitted. It looks great and gives it new lease of life. There were a couple of fold marks near the edges that would drop out shortly under the pressure of the headliner bows. I was well pleased and decided to go for a celebration Cherry Bakewell cake with the guys in the boys club.
Next was some exhaust work, as the parts had been sprayed last week and they were waiting for Yogi who didn’t get a chance to re-hang the exhaust as he was busy on other cars. So as I watched him last week I had a go myself, I soon realised it’s not as easy as he made it look. I eventually got it all back in place and aligned it up best I could get it. Just in case Yogi wanted to move bits I didn’t clamp it up hard, but just a tiny pinch to hold the brackets in place. There was not a lot of room to manoeuvre under there but it’s hanging in place and ready for Yogi to do his thing with the three-inch headers to the main pipes. I know they are not aligned up square and neat, but they will do just for now.
The next part was the carburettor fitting, I removed the old tape from the inlet port that kept the area clean. I rubbed the area down clean ready for the gaskets to be fitted back in place. John joined me and we worked out the sequence of gaskets to be fitted. The first gasket was to seal the intake to the carb spacer.
Then comes the carb spacer, not essential but these give extra torque and power to the engine and make things run that much nicer. This spacer sits on top of the previous gasket.
The next part is the gasket for the bottom of the carb and then the car itself.
The sits on top and is bolted down for bolts each corner.
With the carb in place the throttle linkage was connected to the butterfly controls of the carb and the vacuum advance line. I’m not sure I like the pipe and may change that to look neater.
Adam joined me late in the day we got to grips with the pipe work. We fitted up the new black silicon pipes with my new clamps which turned out to be a real pig to fit in position due to the bulk of the T-bar fittings at the top. We eventually got there but I needed to order two more clamps for the top hose. The clamps should have fitted, but they wouldn’t fit over the pipes and the ridge at the end of the water pump. I will order the next size up they should be with me by the time I get to MM next week.
Feeling a little worse for wear at 7.30pm we decided to call it a day. I had forgotten all about my locked up key, that was until I got on the dual carriageway, put the car in cruise control and reflected on the day, what a stupid boy I had been I thought to myself. OK I didn’t use those exact words but it sort of means the same thing.
My homework? Well that was to bring home a wheel and tyre from my collection. Adam tells me I had different steel wheels from different cars and only one of which was a Mustang wheel. The wheels were welded on some, riveted on others, different sizes and slightly different designs all that I hadn’t noticed. The only good bit about it all was that the Mustang wheel had the best tyre of the bunch on it. I will clean up the wheel and use that for my spare should I ever need it that is.
Amazing how every little piece of metal looks good on a Ford Blue background. Side question…Is your word boot our word for trunk? If so, I believe I’ll start using it here across the pond!
I try to keep the language USA English, but sometimes slip up. But yes, “boot” is the Trunk. Same as “bonnet” is your hood. “Wing” is your Fender, but wing can also be used for your Rear Quarters, such as “Rear, near side wing”. Near side being the side closet to the Pavement or your Sidewalk. Offside is the reference the side of the car furthest from the sidewalk. Phew, crash course from this side of the pond. Lol.
All that being said I find myself using USA’isms on my UK cars and get funny looks. Lol. More than normal that is!
For some reason your title brought to mind Max Headroom. It’s funny, because we haven’t had TV for years, but we do rent British sitcoms on DVD every now and then. Your headliner looks great.
The good old carburetor. I rebuilt many of them in years gone by. Way, way, way back in my motorcycle days, when we would go for rides into the mountains, we would have to stop along the way to adjust the jets in the carburetors to change the fuel/air mixture so the engines would not cut out at the higher altitudes, and then do the same on the way back down or they ran too rich. The cars weren’t as sensitive as the motorcycles, but we would make the adjustments to the cars’ carburetors if we were at altitude for longer than just driving over a pass. I have to say that I prefer fuel injection.
Hi, I totally agree with you about fuel injection, a lot less hastle and computer sorts the mixtures out for you, that’s mechanical evolution. The downside is a lot less fun if I can use that word. Good ol Max Headroom, now you mention it yes, maybe a little before its time. Classic entertainment. Thanks for kind comments too.
And front wheel drive is not nearly as much fun as rear wheel drive 😉
Again another very valid good point. 🙂