I have 2 babies in my life and this is one.  Just thought I'd share for all the other idiots like me that fall head over heals in love with a bucket of bolts. 

Last October I was on the way back from 'cars and coffee' event and this fine piece of machinery started jumping out of 2nd gear.  As my heart sank with dispair I crossed my fingers it wouldn't be anything major.  Well the clutch had gone to hell.  The clutch linkage was this bastardized half repair of an old z-bar, and now the tranny wouldn't engage in 2nd or 3rd.  So....I decided I'd replace the entire thing.  New tranny, new flywheel, new clutch, new hydraulic kit, go all out. 

Then 3 weeks later I got a layoff notice.  That really sucked.  I kind of new it was coming, but I thought I was safe.  Aside from the despair of being out of work, my entire restoration project got put on hold.  It's really hard to justify maxing out a credit card when you don't have a job.  I was more concerned w/ keeping food on the table and paying the bills but getting this thing up and running was never to far out of mind.  So what was originally going to be done in November got pushed back to Christmas, which got pushed back to January, which got pushed back to early spring.  I started to wonder when and if this thing would ever roar again.  In late May I'd saved enough money after working for 2 months to order the new transmission.  The Flywheel followed, next came the hardware, last week I placed the order for a new hydraulic clutch kit from modern driveline.

So after a long delay, I've cleared out the first weekend in August to do the install.  Have 2 buddies coming to help and thing thing is going to be roaring down the high way.  I seriously feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.  These cars start out as just hobbies but some how they become a labor of love.

I know a lot of people got hit hard the last few years with the economy and job market.  Along w/ my kid, staring at this car collecting dust in the driveway kind of motivated me when I was down.  To all those who fall on hard times, just keep going and be patient. 

I'll post pics when this thing gets going again.  I'll need to burn 500 miles to break in the new transmission.  Might make a stop over at Mustang Steve's.

Joe

Last edited by TremendousWand (7/08/2013 7:37 AM)