Roundup - Missed my target

Well, the weekend came and went. My Mustang is still in the garage. The week I had intended to work on the car to get it finished (meaning: ready to drive) was a loss. I got sick and had no energy to get anything done. I did have a few accomplishments for the two days I did get to work on it and a few set-backs.

Setbacks
While I got the bottom all buttoned up (new pan, gasket kit, pump shaft and gasket), I decided, for some reason, to remove the oil dipstick after the pan was on. MISTAKE! As I tried to free the dipstick tube, it was resilient and very resistant to my pulling. I saturated the tube with liquid wrench and let it sit for an hour. I returned and gave the tube a few more tugs and, VOILA! The tube broke free. When I say broke...I mean literally. The tube snapped off leaving a nice piece flush to the edge of the timing cover.

The second setback occurred when I tried to mount my new water inlet/thermostat housing. I removed the old, rusty part to find that instead of bolts that thread into the manifold, there are very long studs threaded in. The studs are rusty (but usable) and are so long that there isn't enough clearance (between the stud end and the timing cover) to slide the new housing into place. So, I am at a crossroads with this. Do I attempt to remove the studs (with the understanding they might snap off into the manifold) or do I try to shave off enough metal from the timing cover casting to get the clearance?

For the roundup weekend, I took my Sport Trac to both the Pony Trails and the Sunday Round-Up. I got the truck all shined up and detailed for both events. For the Pony Trails, we arrived under cloudy skies at Bellevue Community College with all of the other Mustangs, and F350 and a Pinto (we felt less out of place). As we departed for the cruise, the skies opened up and poured...there went my shiny truck. The Pony Trails concluded at the Shelton drag strip for an interesting day of watching Mustang after Mustang make 1320 passes.

Round-up Sunday was fun and sunny. My son and I parked in the "Collectible Fords" area with Torinos, Galaxies, Falcons and other various Fords. We set up our canopy cover and our folding chairs and took a walk to see the other cars. Steve Saleen showed up for 2 autograph sessions (see above photo), signing beautiful Saleen Parnelli Jones 302 Mustang posters and my son's Mustang hat (he signed it "Barricade" at my son's request...in honor of the Saleen Transformer car).

It is back to business to press on with my Mustang.