I’m getting better at recognizing it but it’s a lifetime lesson. Though, to be fair, I’ve surprised myself more than once!

Kittylytic converter

Seriously?? The owner should’ve been kissing your butt and offering all of your money back even if you had sat back all weekend laughing at them.

Nice, it’s awesome when it at least ends up being an easy fix. I had a 289 that would overheat in drive thrus. I threw a new thick aluminum radiator, water pump, thermostat and coolant at it but nothing made a difference. I found out when I rebuilt it that the coolant passages in the block had so much buildup there…

Knowledge ain’t cheap!

My insurance will cover the cost of getting the tow truck out there, and then I pay the cost per mile. So, to tow 10 miles it’d only be something like $50. Sometimes they include that sort of thing in your insurance for free or close to.

I bought one to drop the subframe and found out when it was too late that I really needed two. The lifting points on my engine are catty-corner from each other so even going across the engine bay the engine ended up twisting. Getting it untwisted and back onto the subframe, while rewarding, did not make for a fun…

I volunteered to replace the serpentine belt tensioner on my wife’s Camry. It’s fairly accessible, the part’s pretty cheap, no specialty tools needed, I can get it done before lunch. She gets home and finds me with my head between my knees. I turned one of the two fastening bolts the wrong way and it snapped off in…

Not too long after I started my first job after high school, my 65 Mustang developed a loud tick so it got parked in the street and I went and bought myself a cheap reliable ride. A few months later I decided rebuilding the engine would be a great experience. My girlfriend at the time’s folks were all about the idea…

True, it’s definitely a luxury. I guess it’s a different story if it’s a car you’re familiar with already versus something brand new.

Good point.

Agreed. This isn’t some “Ferrari” that looks like it was pulled off a merry-go-round with a lawnmower engine. It’s a good looking car with a reasonably matched engine for a price that’s in reach of anyone that knows how to save a buck. If I see a GT40 driving down the street, the stirring in my loins doesn’t consider…

Yeah it occurred to me that if he had shown up with a trailer it’d be a much different ending. I’m not so bold to assume I can get anything working enough on the spot to be able to drive it home. Much respect for people that do!

All of the times I’ve taken chances on strangers online it’s never panned out well for me other than a few feelgoods. I’ve gotten screwed a few times, but I’m usually able to hedge my bets and limit my losses to what I’m comfortable with. It’s good to hear a positive outcome like that; it’s what makes me keep trying.

Damn it I miss In-n-Out

I’ve driven in a handful of states, but specifically I drove for about 7 years in California and 5 in Washington and have visited Arizona a number of times. Arizona has the dumbest drivers and California has the most aggressive/terrifying. Washington drivers certainly aren’t top shelf, but they’re not bad.

And replacing those components (not to mention the diagnosis to identify which component) can get very pricey. The charcoal starts breaking down and will get pulled through the rest of the evap system and start plugging everything up.

Up next: why you don’t want to overfill your tank either!

Now that you used that magical W word, I’m taking a second look...

Reminds me of a story my friend in high school told me. He and his folks were coming back late from some function or another and needed food badly, so they stopped into the only thing that was open and nearby: a Del Taco in some scummy part of LA. They went in and before they could even say hi the attendant looked at…