The Formula Project: Back under the hood

 

It's been close to 4 years since I brought the Formula home.  4 years and 18000 miles later it's been a tale of love.  But not that sweet unconditional love beaming from your dog's eyes when she looks up at you.  No, no, no.  This is the kind of love that demands all of your attention, a few pounds of flesh and most of the contents of your wallet if you don't put the brakes on every once in awhile.

Love hurts....

One way or another it always does.

Considering my ownership of this family heirloom began with $500 worth of parts and the front of the engine in pieces within 24 hours of delivery the tone was set.

BUT!

Opportunities abound if your eyes are open.  Which led to a new YouTube channel and more relevant content in this blog.

I've been busy trying to make a living doing something other than turning a wrench or saving somebody's server so time's short and so is the money.  That means projects fall into 2 camps; Things I want to do to the Formula and things I HAVE to do.

Seems there's lots of things I've HAD to do in the past 6 months.  Luckily, every one of them has been documented with a video.

Speaking of which, the 3 videos below show what I've been up to.  To sum it up: The car doesn't sound like an old rocking chair anymore, the transmission stopped hitting the floorboards and starts easier now that the PCM has some clue as to what the engine termperature is.

Check it out!

Kinda Quiet around here... Here's why.

So I know I haven't posted much of anything lately. That has a lot to do with not having anything to really share.  Reason being things are not going well in the old wallet these days and my Formula is still unregistered because I haven't been able to come up with the approximately $500 it's going to take to replace the catalytic converter and get the registration renewed.  

FYI, the good state of Arizona charges $8 for the first past due month then an additional $4  for each subsequent month the registration is is late.  So if I can't get it registered for a year it could cost me the original $30 plus an additional $52.

The El Camino needed attention too and I ended up manually doing a 4 tire rotation (5 with the spare) and some brake work.  Brake work that came about because of the brakes getting noisier and a slight pull to the right on applying them.  Nothing worth a video and still not quite right but passable.

So now I have two half-assed cars...

So when money's tight bad things tend to happen and one of them is in the video below.  My water main broke leaving me on the hook for $575 to get it fixed.  

Needless to say I'm on the payment plan.  A BALLOON payment plan that's seriously cutting into the whole food and shelter thing.

But this too shall pass and someday soon I'll be back wrenching on the Formula again in hopes of getting that bad bird back on the boulevard....(see what I did there...lol) 

For now here's a little slice of a day in the life of elcaminoguy....

YouTube Automotive Treasure Trove

For a lot of you the weather is still very much "Winter" so you're probably not out and about or turning wrenches on your baby too often.  So what to do?

Well, if you're like me you find some favorite automotive videos on YouTube and maybe even subscribe.  Oh and don't forget the companion channel to this blog...Gearhead Garden Channel

One thing to remember about HOWTO videos on YouTube though.  Use the information at your own risk.  Don't take anyone's word as gospel and research from more than one source.  Anybody can post a video on YouTube even if they're a complete idiot!

This first example of a channel I follow comes from Scotty Kilmer.  I like Scotty, he reminds me of my step-dad and his information is usually pretty good.  He's a mechanic with almost 5 decades of experience under his belt that he's more than willing to share on his YouTube channel.  Along with videos like this, he also does a weekly Q&A show on his channel where he answers questions about car repair.  In this video he talks about the different grades of gasoline and when to use them.

This next example comes from a specialty automotive supply company called Eastwood.  I've known about Eastwood for 20 years and purchased specialty tools and products that I couldn't find anywhere else.   Their videos usually cover some procedure using their products.  The devil's in the details and Eastwood is a good place to go to deal with them.  There's a lot of good information that's helpful when you're trying to restore a classic.  This video features a project  79 Camaro Z28 and a primer on paint and finish techniques by TV's Keven Tetz.

The last Video is from a channel called Ramblin' Around.  It's basically a talented DIY Car guy named Jordan who details among other things the trials, tribulations and triumphs of putting an '87 Trans Am back together.  Lots of interesting stuff here.  This guy bleeds 50 weight but isn't full of himself.  It's the quiet guys who do the real work which is why I like his channel.  

So that's it.  I figure if I don't have any new content for you at least I can turn you on to someone who does.  Stay tuned though.  I still have the 95 Formula and will eventually get enough money and time to get it to pass emissions.  Expect a few videos and some writeups when that happens.  

You can be sure I'll detail those adventures here.

Happy Holidays from Gearhead Garden!

Merry Christmas !!!

&

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of my readers the Happiest of Holiday seasons.  If it's December and there's something for you to celebrate I encourage you to live it up to the fullest!

Be safe, Be happy and keep it pointed between the lines!

Check out the following video from my one of my other YouTube channels sharing this year's tour of my neighborhood's Christmas light displays.  Nothing better than a holiday tradition in a classic car.

I'll be back around the first of the year with more in my ongoing tale of Formula Vs. Smog Check!

Peace!

Mustangs aren't Mustangs Anymore!

There's no denying it, when most people think muscle cars it's likely the first image they think of is a Mustang.  That is, if they're under 40 and don't know any better.  

Oh yeah, the hallowed names of GTO, Chevelle and Challenger eventually show up in there somewhere but Ford's marketing department has done a bang up job of obscuring history with the Mustang. 

So is today's car the best engineered example of the breed in its 50+ year history?  Of course it is.  

The question is, can it really be called a Mustang?  In Ford's rush to globalize its offerings it seems the Mustang is destined to join the ranks of other fine examples of Ford's "world cars." [sic]  An "honor" bestowed on such legendary models like the Escort and Fiesta.  [even more sic-kening]

So is it any surprise that the 2015 redesign was so "sophisticated?"

It saw the first appearance of an independent rear suspension as standard equipment in a Mustang (except for 99-04 Cobras) which until now was a feature left to those "copycats" over at GM and Chrysler.  Coincidentally, both the Camaro and Challenger owe much of their engineering to "them civilized" folk in Australia and Europe.  European tastes won't tolerate a car with a live axle unless it's 100 years old and requires a crank handle to start it.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against IRS ( the suspension not the tax guys) but if your buyers don't care about carving corners at the Nürburgring then who are you really trying to impress with an American coupe?

Let's not forget such "must-haves" like that center mounted touch display with GPS and smart phone integration.  A feature no self-respecting BMW or Mercedes owner would be caught dead without.

Or the price.  This one's a sin all 3 current pony cars suffer from.  Instead of being within reach of "Joe Six Pack" the entry point of these cars is more in the realm of "Joe Six Figures."  Considering the average price of a pony car with a decent V8 hovered around 3 grand in 1969, you'd come up about 10 grand short (around 25%) in today's money when you adjust for inflation.    

I'm not even going to get into the very "euro" trend of sticking a damned turbocharged 4 banger in everything.  An option now available on the Mustang!  Yeah, Ford's done it before but nobody looks on those days with nostalgia.

Finally the look. 

Sorry, but the new Mustang isn't a Mustang at all.  It's a squished ripoff of an Aston Martin Vanquish.  Think I'm nuts?  Forget the goofy stripes or hood scoops and take a close look at the two photos below then tell me who the Mustang is really being aimed at.  It sure as hell isn't the traditional pony car buyer!

Nobody should be buying a Mustang thinking they're getting a cheap Aston Martin!

I've been screaming this from the rooftops since the first photos of the redesign leaked and nobody was listening.

I'm sure it has something to do with most buyers not getting past the engine compartment and 7" touch screen in the dash.

Ford is trying to upscale Mustang's market which is a mistake for a car as iconic to middle-class America as the VW Golf is to Europe.  

Get real, nobody looking at a Bimmer is going to consider a Mustang folks.  America's population is aging meaning the people with the cash to afford the gouging won't want it for much longer.  They'll go buy a 5 series BMW sporting big puffy seats with built in butt massagers.

That leaves the target demographic populated by debt-burdened millennials enamored more with smart phones and public transportation than an overpriced European wannabe.  

Offering up a 4 banger won't help either, especially when it costs 2 grand more than the base V6! 

The idiocy of it is stunning.

In short, the 2015 Mustang is all wrong.  It's only tenuous link to the mark's heritage is a throaty sounding powerplant wrapped in the bodywork of a cheap European knockoff.  It's more Ford Focus than Ford Mustang.  In fact, side by side it's hard to tell which one's styling is influencing the other.  My money is on the Focus...

Bottom line...It's a sellout with no redeeming features outside of its power train.

Not that it's all bad.  Take that power train and stick it in an '08 Mustang GT and you might have something!  Even the 2010-2014's retained more heritage than this car.  Those were cars I wasn't wild about either but at least they weren't trying to be a Ford Ka!  

Hopefully the Camaro and Challenger will stay true to their heritage and their market.

Muscle Car limbo

It's a strange place to be.  That in between time when your ride is transitioning from being just another "old car" to a "Collector car."

So it is with my 1995 Formula.  It meets the definition of a muscle car  ( save for the year but who cares what GoodGuys thinks.)  It's got all the check boxes ticked including having the most powerful V8 available at the time (LT1), 2 doors, rear wheel drive and of course, it's completely impractical.

It also hits all those less attractive aspects like being unreliable, expensive to fix and forever in need of attention.

Right now I have to use the car as a daily driver but it is 20 years old so even with all the care its received over its life there's no hiding those liver spots.  

The catalytic converter's developed an annoying rattle, the rear end urethane bushings squeak like an old bed, the power windows worry me and there are times (like now) where it struggles to roar to life when the weather isn't quite to its liking.

In short it's an old car with all the requisite annoyances.  
Considering my meager income I've done a fair job of addressing a lot of the issues.  Projects that included things like replacement of a distributor, water pump, ignition system and radiator and some worn out interior pieces to name just a few.  It's a start but I know from experience that it's far from the finish.

It's times like these where I sometimes wish I had my old Toyota truck back.  That thing could run on a thimble of oil and two drops of anti-freeze and still take you across the country and back with the AC blowing ice-cold the whole way.

But it wasn't as fun.  Being towed home multiple times is a badge of honor for a collector car.  Even if it is inconvenient.  

Your Camry?  I Guarantee you're looking at Autotrader.com after the first tow...  Besides, did you ever notice how collector cars never seem to look better than on the back of a flatbed?  That's soul baby!

I mean think about it for a minute, not many things with a Toyota or Hyundai badge can be said to have a "soul" and no Kia, calling one of your cars a "soul" doesn't make it have one.  Nobody will ever get excited over an Avalon when its 20 years old either.

Besides, none of those would respond as well to my pleadings to "just get me home baby."

This is where I find myself now and while I foresee a bright future for the Formula for now it's often the stuff of nightmares instead of dreams.

It's the test all car-guys must go through.  If you just give up and trade it in on a Hyundai I have no respect for you.  All great things must be suffered for.

...and god do I suffer...

But this is the stuff of legend.  The stories to be shared with others so afflicted. 

Of course this assumes I don't have to sell the dream for a couple of bags of groceries...