1966 Ford Mustang
| Update: August, 2004 I've sold Beverly. It was tough to sell my first car, the car I'd had for 9 years, but it was time. She was just rotting in the driveway. She had a starting Gremlin that tooks months to fix, which really took away from the driving experience. I'd gotten to where I really enjoyed driving a vehicle that started consistently and ran well - and the Mustang wasn't it. I sold her to a guy that owns a race shop, and I think he'll make me proud. |
This is my baby, Beverly. I bought her in California in 1995 from
Mom's tire guy and drove her to Texas. Sort of. First I drove
to Arizona and got stuck. And then I drove to New Mexico and got
stuck. Made it all the way through Texas to College Station with
no problems, though. When I bought her she looked like she was painted
with gold primer. I immediately tinted the windows, which actually
made her look better. She had a good interior, but the engine wasn't
exactly pretty. She needed quite a bit of work, although I'd done
quite a bit in Arizona and New Mexico (she overheated and melted
the ignition wires together--but that's another story).
Casey's Mustang Pony Coupe
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I didn't know ANYTHING about cars when I bought her, but I'm cheap so I quickly started learning once I realized what auto shops in Texas will charge a woman for repairs (I'm not kidding--and the service is disgusting too). I've since put in a new differential, a radiator, replaced the door locks and ignition switch, removed the smog pump, reattached the defroster hoses which were floating around the floorboards, and I do all the basic maintenance. The stuff I avoid: transmission repairs, engine removal/replacement; big stuff that requires more equipment and room to work. I also try to avoid anything electrical after melting a wrench on the battery. I understand wiring enough to know I shouldn't play with it.
I moved back to California in 2000 when I graduated but the job
market out there sucked and I ended up back in Texas, but left Beverly
at home. Before I brought her back out here I had my neighbor, a
fantastic mechanic, replace the engine. He replaced the 289 with
a wonderful looking 302 from his 67 Mustang. I think the engine
had about 28,000 miles on it. He also replaced the transmission,
the radiator, and did a brake job. She's run much better since then.
In fact, she runs! 
I've had a few problems with her not starting,
but it seems to be an issue with the connection to the battery.
I bought cheap cables a few years ago and it's time to replace those
with better ones. I've also got a yoke I need to install, but that's
going to wait until I move somewhere with a driveway--my apartment
complex wouldn't look fondly upon it.
Future plans for her include sanding her down and painting her, and removing old rusted panels and welding in new ones. Welding school here I come!
The one thing I can't decide is what color to paint her?
Or maybe....
Champagne!