So my AutoKrafters 3 piece '65 only motor mounts came in today...

...and I forget what the bolts look like. They and the nuts are flanged, no? (It was about 30 years ago I took them off)

If you did I never got them (or I've forgotten). I sent mine to ChuckCobra who was building his own Daytona Coupe from scratch, handforming the body over a buck. He'd never done it before.

Realmongo said:

Did you ever get anywhere with the Fairlane?

Click to expand...

No, thinking of selling it, the C5 sideoiler, the Dove HR Tunnelwedge and the 660's that still have their airhorns.

My post notifications must not be coming through. Had a busy week last week, more on that in a minute (prepare for a novella).

The car is a '65 and has the 3 bolt holes in the "frame", the '66 make the engine sit higher, its not going to be a high hp/tq deal, I just felt like keeping it original. Plus, after I sell my F-100, I may buy a '63.5 Falcon Futura from a friend, it has a 302/C4 in it and the body is in better shape and I could also use the mounts in it.

So last Monday (the 4th) I'm on my way home and get a call from my 21 y/o son. He been in an accident, lightly rear-ending a pickup in his '05 Honda (need to update my signature). Now previously this year he put the car in a ditch after an ice storm, a 12' deep ditch that he ramped off an embankment, but was super lucky in that there was a tree just over the embankment that cushioned the fall, the airbags didn't even go off (and he was wearing his seatbelt).

After moving some very large rocks (estimated 2000# small one and 4000#-4500# large one) we got the car pulled out and discovered that besides the bumper cover being destroyed and a passenger rear door dented from sliding sideways into a dead 18" diameter tree after the car stopped sliding forward, the car still ran an drove. A trip to the alignment shop proved that although the lower crossmember under the radiator was bent back and up pretty good from the tree that slowed his fall, it was all within spec, only slight adjustments to be made, he had previous outer tire wear so it was out a bit anyway. A trip to LKQ yielded a silver door that sorta matched, but we had yet to find a matching front bumper cover. The condenser was bent but still held a charge, the radiator bottom was pushed backwards, but still worked fine

This time, the steel inner bumper went under the receiver hitch on the truck and into the condenser and radiator. The hood was buckled up about 10" above the fenders and we couldn't get it open. I had to cut the hood at the bend in order to get the hinges unbolted and had to cut the loop that engaged the latch to get the front part off. Surprisingly enough, the condenser is still holding pressure, but the radiator now leaks. The upper core support is bent back and up, the passenger fender pint is bent down and in and that headlight inner point is broken, The car has 241k on it and although it runs great, it uses a quart about every 3k (4 cyl VTEC) and is just not worth fixing. I don't know whether to call LKQ to come pick it up tot he tune of $400-$600 or try to sell it as is with a clean title on Marketplace and try to get $1000-$1500 out of it (which is what everyone tells me to do). I took Tuesday off to help him look for a car. O.M.G. WHAT AN EXHAUSTING ORDEAL!!!!!

He had planned on replacing the car at some point this year, even before the first accident. I had planned on buying the Honda from him to keep around as an extra car, it gets great mileage and would be a good loaner to a family member or friend that had car problems (my buddy Tony's wife's 2010 Dodge Journey with 99k had its CVT trans go out, $4500 to replace on a $3500 vehicle, they could have used it until they found something to replace it). Even after the first wreck I had planned on doing this, but not now. He had $5000 saved up, which, before the pandemic would have gotten him something decent, not now. $10k at a minimum, $15k you have some choices. Everything we looked at on Marketplace or Craigslist was either rebuilt or worn out. The bank (with me cosigning) said less than 100k and newer than 2003 (which I thought odd they'd go back that far, but on the other hand, a vehicle with under 100k must be decently taken car of) and if a rebuilt title, they'd only offer 50% of the value of the rebuilt car, not 50% of asking price. All the dealerships said $15k was the sweet spot, they didn't last long at that price at all, if you find it, you'd better buy it

He was really stressing over getting a loan (he's on the Asperger's spectrum), we figured about $12k was a $200/month payment for 60 months which was the max he wanted to pay at 3.49/3.99 with me cosigning as opposed to the 10.99 he'd get on his own. Full coverage was going to be about $180-$200/ month. After the first wreck we had found an '05 Grand Marquis with 50k for $5000, but the guy put it on Marketplace the evening before he was going out of town for 2 weeks for work. We were second on the list, was supposed to get an answer by 1pm if the first person passed (he did) but didn't get the answer until about 4pm. I was occupied, saw the message an hour and a half later and he'd moved onto the third person. I was a bit miffed after being in constant contact with him for 3 weeks, but an hour away.

Now we had found a '05 Crown Vic, silver with grey leather with 54k for $7000. It had been up for a couple days and I was sure it was gone and the ad just hadn't been taken down. It wasn't so we arranged to look. A grandma car, she'd stopped driving it, then passed, it was passed on to a son, who had bad health and hardly drove it, he'd passed and the family wanted to get rid of it. I loaned him $2000 out of my shop fund, it needs some scuffs buffed out, both front corner lights and some touch up on both front bumper corners (I'd rather take the bumper cover off and have it sprayed) and he has half jokingly talked about getting a cop bullbar (if he does, I think a black grille to replace the chrome on is in order). The tires are all the same size, but none of them are the same brand, there is yellow curb paint almost halfway around the front left aluminum rim, it probably needs an alignment, but it ought to be a good car for him for quite a while. He'll get the windows tinted (legally) soon and hopefully keep this one in good shape. It won't get as good of mileage as the Honda but his liability with uninsured motorist that he didn't have before is less than liability was on the Honda alone even after the wreck. If he tires of it and its in decent shape, I may buy it from him, lots of guys taking Ford Unibody trucks, cutting out the floors and bed and putting them on '03-up Crown Vics and I happen to have a friend with a Unibody collection....

But back to the Mustang, as soon as I figure out the bolts and go get the engine/trans picked up I'll get her stabbed into the car.

Our middle daughter got married in March to a lineman and our oldest daughter had our first grandbaby in February, a grandson named Jackson.

Right now my greatest stress is inflation. I had felt I was finally getting to the point where money wasn't so stressful but the rising costs make me feel like I've backslid 10-15 years. We're about 20 months from having our house paid off, then we'll take the house payment and pay off the wife's Flexand be debt free. The constantly rising costs of construction materials are pushing my shop build back and keep making it smaller, soon it'll be a doghouse.