Grillin' Merkin

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I should blog more!!! I've got so much I'm behind on.

Anyway, I've done a LOT of wrenching on me cars this week!!! Enough for a month, I'd say, but I may do yet more...

They tried something new at work (well, non-work related, they're ALWAYS trying something new...), a Bring your Toy to work day. Bring your classic or hobby car or bike or boat or whatever to work and show it off. They cordoned off a prime area of the parking lot (right near the newly remodeled cafeteria) for us to park 'em in. I was planning on bringing the Falcon since I first heard of it, and I did. The week before, when I was washing her off, I pulled out the grille I'd salvaged when I junked my '65 Comet, and thought to myself, "I could make this work".

I enclosed a couple of shots from the first Car Show they did on the work picnic day a couple years back for reference, how it looked with no grille (but with the recently installed square lights). I had to hacksaw off the ends of the grille, and it was tricky getting it in, and it's not a perfect fit, but it's plausible, and better than nothing. I'd already been thinking of using the Mercury logo in the center when I fabbed up a grille.

I already had the horn bar from the Comet from when I first got the car. I told a few people since I now had a Mercury grille in her, I should tell people to call it a Merkin!!! (For the LOLs. I don't think enough people know what a merkin is for them to get it.)

So, I'd noticed the back left tire was low before driving it in that morning. Pumped it up, then it was low on the way back, too. Pumped it up again for the drive back. I'd also filled the tank by my work, too. Coming around an interchange, I punched it a little to pass a slow minivan, and she got loose in the rear, and I ended up sliding both ways, for an adrenaline shot!!! The tire was low again. Time for new tires.

The next night, the starter in Baby went out. Had to have her towed home, and my wife pulled the Falcon-Merkin out of the driveway to make room. The tire was totally flat and definitely damaged once she got that done. Bought a new starter (lines were down and they couldn't use credit or ATM cards or checks, so they gave me 10% off!!! Win!!!) and did that, as well as replacing two of the motor mounts (lower one with a polyurethane mount kit). Made a nice difference. I'd been planning on doing an oil change on Janice, and since I had all the jacks & stands out already, went ahead and did that too. Next, I changed the flat on the Falcon-Merkin.

Since I've in the past posted pictures of bad motor mounts before, here's a couple more!!!