Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 Today was quite the successful Day.

Overall they looked pretty good
 but a couple on the left had some deposits on the electrode.

This time I threw the old plugs away as soon as I fired up the car and determined that it was running fine. For some reason over the years I've had the compulsion to hang onto the old plugs, "just in case." Just in case of what? Would I ever reuse these old plugs? No. It's not like this car is an old lawnmower that routinely fouls it's plugs and I've gotta constantly come up with a replacement. Modern, that is within the last Quarter of a Century, ( !) cars only get a plug change between 50-90,000 miles. 

There's that little pressure release valve.

If you're going to work on the fuel system you have to depressurize it first. That little schrader valve sits at the end of the fuel rail under a little black cover. I pressed it and was rewarded with a little geyser of gasoline. I also undid the fuel cap. I stopped short of unplugging the inertia fuel switch and letting the engine run dry.

There's the little bugger.

1996 is the last year where the fuel filter doesn't use those metal high pressure connectors. Instead it uses plastic clips to retain the fuel line. It does make the job a bit easier, but prepare to get doused in gas.

  

To get to the filter you've got to get it up in the air.

                                                I've always liked the presentation of the 4.6 engine

                                                                        in the Mustang.

My goal after changing the plugs, air and fuel filters, and coils on my '96 Mustang was to successfully pass the smog test. First though, it was time for an oil change. The oil didn't have that many miles on it, but it had been sitting in the pan for almost exactly one year. Years back I remember hearing some advice on a talk radio show. The topic was, how to ensure that your car will pass the smog test. Most people don't worry much about it, but my Mustang has 215,000 miles on it. It's passed every time without drama but I still worry. I must say that it's running like a champ. According to the results on the emissions read out, the car passed well below the margins. Obviously if there isn't a high reading for unburned hydrocarbons, the cylinders and valves must still be in pretty good shape. It also idles really smoothly at 600 rpm. I always say that a car that idles good, is good.  This same SOHC 4.6 has been used in the Lincoln Town Car and these are routinely posted for sale with 300,000 miles on the clock. This is a very well designed motor, it evens includes an oil to coolant oil cooler. It's a motor that responds well to proper maintenance. It also probably doesn't hurt that it gets regular usage and not just around town. This year I've driven it to Lake Tahoe and Pismo Beach twice.

It was also time to pay the registration fees on my XJS. I went to AAA and they stated that I owed 112.00 and that the car needed a smog check. I told them that it is now on historical plates and was exempt from the smog check, and was only supposed to be 25.00 for registration renewal. They went back inside to do some research (we were in a Covid outside based transaction) and told me that they could waive the smog check but the fees were still 112.00. They advised me to contact the DMV directly for more clarification. I was a saving 85.00 on the smog check, so I said go ahead and ring me up! I'll look into this a bit more later. The main thing is that I got my tags. 

The funny thing is that the XJS also passed the test by wide margins the last two times. I hadn't even changed the spark plugs since I bought it.  Pre OBD II cars don't have a check engine light so there's no visible indication of problems. If it's running right it should be good to go. I still worry, so I put it on historical plates.

There was a lot of car talk between the Wife and me over the last couple of days. She is feeling the Christmas Spirit and would like me to have something that I want. She often tells me that she doesn't really know what I want, which is not surprising. I often have a problem trying to figure that out!

Getting to the heart of the matter the only new cars that I'd really want are a 2015 or newer Mustang GT convertible or new model Lincoln Aviator.

Then my Wife pressed me, "Do you mean that you wouldn't want to have a "hobby car" anymore?

Uhhhmm, Uuuhh! I'm treading on very precarious ground now.  I better think twice before I say anything. 

While I don't imagine that I'll be wanting to buy a car that needs complete rebuilding, I don't want to close that door completely. 

"I just can't see you not having a car that you want to work on. Even if you had both of those cars you probably wouldn't be satisfied." She is right, but I do have to streamline the fleet.

Several months ago I wrote a post about modern custom cars. I've been doing a lot of thinking about that as I was cruising around in my '07 Mustang last week. I was listening to my Brian Setzer CDs. I'm a big fan of his Rockabilly and later Big Band music. I got to thinking again, is there a newer car that would let me reference the late 50s and early 60s? 

I loved my slammed Riviera and my old 50's and 60's Cadillacs, but I don't see myself going down that path again. Neither, I'm learning, does my Wife. I''ll be mulling this over for the next several months.