He's a Cat, They Do That

Peter, leaping from the hood of my Mustang:

I'm guessing he has something like this on his tiny little mind:

Cats.  Bizarre as they can be, it's still way better than having rats around the place.

Site Mention: The Manual Gearbox Preservation Society

Link here.  It's not just about performance.  It's about driving the damn car, and driving it well.

Getting Ahead of Cascading Failures

Last Sunday's post was about fixing the (1) plugged drain on the under-hood airbox that caused (2) wet passenger side carpet and (3) a waterlogged cabin air filter leading to (4) not having AC or, even more importantly, a working windshield defroster, which potentially leads to all kinds of bad.  That was only a leisurely hour's worth of fixing.

However, as the old hard-pitch commercials used to say, But wait! There's more!  (5) The AC blower motor was rusty and unreliable from all the water it had ingested.  Tearing into a dashboard is usually nightmarish, but not on a Mustang.  Here's a quick video on replacement:

Total time, including the drive to and from the auto parts store, was right at one hour.  The actual install time was 15 minutes flat – and that was using a ratchet wrench, not the faster power drill in the video.  Didn't even have to empty the glove box.  Remember/note to self, 7mm socket for the glove box bolts, 8mm for the blower bolts.

I'm hoping that this gets the car ahead of this particular chain of fail.  Next up: install those door panels.

Leaky Mustang?

Just cleaned out the front drains on my Mustang this morning.  Nasty stuff in there, causing a leak onto the passenger floorboard.  Took my time and fed the cats while getting it done.  Anyway, here's a video of how to:

Yeah yeah, it says some random years.  Mine's a '12, works the same way.  Finally one tip for making it easier to get that passenger panel back in.  Before starting, flip on the wipers, then turn off the car with them up on the windshield.  It gets the passenger side arm out of the way and just makes life smoother all around.

It's Been a While...

... since I've had a good Mustang post.  Here we go!

A Thing of Beauty

1973 Mach 1 Mustang, 351 Cleveland.  Half-hour watch.  No, I didn't buy it, but I can admire it.

Well huh.  Direct video embed isn't working.  Go watch over at youtube.

News Flash: Ford Concedes that Earth is Round

... and that over-the-horizon radio reception in cars is a Good & Necessary Thing after all.

Article: Ford reverses course on AM radio, will include it in new cars.

Next Question: Will other automakers pick up on this sudden, unexpected outbreak of common sense?

The BMW M1 Story

I'd always marveled at and wondered about these rare, beautiful cars.  Here's a 16 minute exposition.

What a hot mess.  Interested in one for yourself?  Look over at Bring A Trailer – $651k and rising.

No really applicable tags, but it appeals to the car nut in me so file under 'Mustangs.'

More on the Demise of AM Radio in Cars

Article over at PopSci.  Key point: AM is the only over-the-horizon band in common use in the U.S.  That matters a lot to us out in fly-over country.  FM, along with various 5G and wifi options, are by their nature line-of-sight only.  Why is this so difficult for car makers to understand?  Have they all turned into flat Earthers?

Look, I'd love to see the noisy, archaic amplitude modulation component of the AM band broadcast standard ditched and replaced by a more modern modulation method – digital radio mondiale comes to mind.  But until that day, drivers who understand that the Earth is round need the long range capability AM radio currently delivers.

Columbus and NASA checked: horizons are easily explained by this spherical model.

Bad News for the Long Overnight Drives

Ford is dumping AM radio from the 2024 Mustangs.  Article at Road & Track.

Bad move.  As the one over-the-horizon band in common use in the U.S., AM radio is key to getting the news out here in fly-over country.  (note: this post also gets the 'hurricane' tag)  Too bad the move to digital on the band was screwed up so badly 20 years ago, but here we are, and Archaic Modulation is what we are still stuck with.  Suck it up Ford, this is the real world, and until we sort out something better on medium wave between 530–1700 kHz, AM is what we have.

First the return of the 4-cylinder, then an electric SUV "Mustang," and now this.  Yeesh.  What next, a "Vegan Edition"?

A New & Interesting Barn Find

1965 Shelby 350 in a barn in Georgia.  Details here.

Oh, a little work and it's going to be beautiful.  See, after the last three posts, I haven't totally nerded out.

Hm, not convinced, not a fan.

Ford releases Mustang Mach-E winter testing footage

An all-electric crossover SUV?  It may be alright, but whatever it is it's not a Mustang.  These sorts of branding missteps muddy a product name, piss off the long-time fan base, and consequently spook potential buyers.  I predict that for these reasons alone, this thing'll be gone within a couple of years.  Which is a shame, because it may well be a perfectly good vehicle that buyers want.

Movie Review: Ford vs. Ferrari

This is a very good movie, with no aspirations of greatness.  Look, it's about GUYS with CARS and MONEY who set out to win a race, and to do it against all odds.  The only big idea in evidence here is that when asked these guys said "Hell yeah we can do this.  Now get out of our way.  And keep the money coming."  Then they worked hard to make it happen.  Beyond that, it's all broad brush strokes, bright colors, and loud engines.  No subtlety, no subtexts, no sideways commentary about the '60s.  In some ways the story and presentation could be called "cartoonish," but only in the best possible sense of the word.

Likewise, the acting and cinematography are top-notch.  As is the writing; there's not a clunker line in the entire movie.  There's just enough tension between the characters to make them all pop out in 3-D, while maintaining their core traits.  For all the simplicity of the story line and the overwhelming personalities of the characters, it works, it's believable.  The whole thing is a professional effort.  It's also a lot of fun to watch.

Three-plus out of Four Stars.  Go see it in a good theater, with a good LOUD sound system.

Is it a bad thing when a movie merely aspires to goodness, not greatness, and then solidly hits the mark?  In a way, does that make it great after all?

Car Guy: "Yay Bikes!"

Article over at Eric Peters Auto: Cycling vs. Driving and the Death of Car Culture

Look, Eric Peters is about as car-crazy as me in the Mustang on my second triple macchiato, but he gets it.  Bottom line quote:

Beleaguered drivers ought to cheer cyclists onward – happy in the knowledge that freedom still exists here and there.  Instead, those who've lost theirs seem determined to make sure no one else has any, either.

Hell yeah.  It's short, go read the whole thing.

Old Car Pre-Flight Checklist

Article at Eric Peters Autos.  Read, heed, and don't trash a classic car over a dumb mistake.

Seeing how the Mustang is up to seven (!) years now, this stuff is starting to apply.

You Can't Take It With You

... but maybe it can take you with it?

1968 Ford Mustang sold with previous owner's remains inside

Cremated, of course.  Not like there's a mummy riding shotgun or some such.

I dig my Mustang and all that, but this is taking it a bit far.

Surprise: New Antenna!

But this one's nothing exotic.  The rubber boot on the Mustang's AM/FM had weathered out and cracked.  Water was getting in and reception went in the tank come wet weather.  So... eBay to the rescue via a "Genuine Ford Parts" site and a $20 bill.

Top: Old and Busted.  Bottom: The New Hotness.

Ignore the "Wash Me" written in the dirt.

The change-out was trivial, about as mechanically simple as any conventional threaded hand-tightened screw gets.  Post-mortem on the old antenna revealed that, as long suspected, it does in fact incorporate a loading coil in the base.  I've always been impressed by this radio system's performance.  It makes late night AM DXing on quiet rural stretches of highway enjoyable, and a good way to pass the long hours of a nighttime drive.

First Mustang Coupe Headed to Auction

It'll likely go for something in the half-million range.  Article at Fox.  VIN = (buncha zeros)2

Not really my way to fly, but it does have its own cool factor.

Volcano Eats Mustang

Details at 11.  No wait, details over at the BBC.

Yeah, it requires flash to play.  You probably don't want to watch it anyway, it's slow and painful.  You can see enough in the one still pic that shows if you don't have flash installed.

Depreciate That!

Eric Peters makes the case for buying 10 year old used cars here.

That's pretty close to what I've always done, up until the Mustang, but even that was an exceptional deal under a special set of circumstances.  The truck?  Pfft, $2k for a 17 year old mechanically sound F-150 was the best car deal I've ever made.  Before all this I've had a chain of good used vehicles, and it's saved me a bundle.

There's a time and place for new cars, but new shouldn't be the default option.  Borrowing money for a car shouldn't be the default option either.  Take a look at this chart and think it over.