Tidy up

Yesterday I took my car to have some work done. The roof lining is the original one and after 37 years it’s discoloured and brittle. At some stage it got a small hole, which was “explored” but one of my daughters and transformed into a triangular rip of about 4 cm. While it was at the trimmers, I thought it time to have the one piece carpet that I’ve had for about 5 years put in.

Since the new engine went in the cooling system has struggled a bit. In traffic it gets a little warmer than I’d like and in a hot day when driving on the highway the car’s temperature continue to increase. In short, I’ve had enough and just want it fixed. My regular mechanic has had a look at it and said there is nothing wrong, but why then does it almost boil? I want to be able to drive it, not nurse it.

I took it to a radiator place. The guy there was amazing. He looked at the radiator, which is a three core and went in with the new motor, as did the water pump and the thermostat. He told me to take it somewhere else, as all of the things that he would look at should be OK. I say it’s amazing because he was honest enough not to jerk me around by spending some money at his business before sending me elsewhere.

He recommended a business in town that I had heard mixed reports about. This business has a reputation as dealing with high performance cars and does great work. The mixed part comes in from people who don’t have performance cars and who want minor mechanical work done – they get the feeling that they’re not welcome.

I went to the place that he recommended with a little trepidation. Parked outside was a rare and collectible Mustang and I felt a little better – an old Ford was here. The person there had a look and ran off some options. He was very friendly and helpful and undertook to get to the bottom of the issue.

Not surprisingly, when I organised this, I had it going to the trimmers one day and the mechanic the next. When I got to the trimmers he had another look at everything and proclaimed himself ready. “We’ve got this for two days, right?” he asked. I explained that it had to go to the mechanic’s tomorrow and told him which business. He said that he’d get it there for me. He then asked if I needed a lift anywhere. Impressive. I was OK, as my wife was coming to pick us up (my daughter had come with me – she loves riding in the old car).

But on to where we are now…

Not surprisingly, for the head lining to go in, the rear screen has to come out. Not surprisingly, the trimmer wanted a glass company to do it. $ Ker-ching! I went over to that company and teed them up to meet the car at the trimmers. There arrived 10 minutes after I did. Not surprisingly, they rang me yesterday to say that the screen had come out with no problems, that the area under the rubber was OK (they can rust) but that the rubber itself was a little old and had a small tear in it, so should therefore be replaced. $ Ker-ching!

So, today I wait to see if the car made it to the places that it had to go and what the fiscal damage will be. However, I can’t wait to see the results and hopefully drive it in all conditions.

More to follow.