Today I set out to take the Mustang (now officially named “Parker”) to the transmission shop to get it looked at.  I started out of the garage and the brakes felt really soft.  I was thinking I just needed to pump them a little and build up some “pedal”.  Well, I get to the light and I call my trusty support vehicle behind me, piloted by the ever daring duo of Maryanne and Zoë to tell them that I need to pull over and check my brake fluid.  I pull out into the street so that I can turn into a big parking lot across the street and as I start to make the turn, I realize that I have no brake at all.  Luckily, I had chosen a BIG, empty parking lot.  I roll to a stop and hop out.  Pop the hood, open the master cylinder and sure enough, barely any brake fluid at all.   I had 2 full containers of fluid in the trunk, so filled it up and gave it a little test in the parking lot.  Seemed to work out just fine, so we made our careful way to the transmission shop with no more issues with the brake.

I drove around the block with one of the guys at the transmission shop so they could hear the noises Parker makes.  Luckily she was more than happy to make the noises.  The mechanic turned to me and asks, “is this a motorcycle?”.

Hopefully they can get it all fixed.  Needless to say, I asked the mechanic to take a look at the brake lines for leaks

I spent a little time today cleaning out the carpet and giving the car a good wash. I’m taking it into a shop on Monday morning to have them check out the transmission and brake system. I can’t for the life of me figure out what is making the noise in the transmission. Someone suggested it might be the torque converter, but I think I would be hearing the noise through all the gears instead of just 1st and 2nd. Hopefully, the transmission just needs some adjusting. It sounds like something isn’t quit catching right in there. I’m going to get the guys at the shop to fix the transmission, change the tranny and brake fluids, give the brakes a look over and just give the car a once over. It will probably cost me a bit, but I’d really like to drive it while I restore. Knowing me, if I’m not driving it every day, it will get pushed lower on my list of priorities

I have to admit, I am a little nervous going in to this project. I have never really been anything more than a tinkerer when it comes to cars, so every now and then I get a little overwhelmed with what I’ll need to do.

If you want to see bigger pictures, click on any of the pictures in the slideshow. (or click here)

Ever since riding around in my Granddaddy’s Mustang as a little kid, I’ve always wanted one. This last week I decided that I would quit wishing for “some day” and go ahead and find one to fix up. I managed to find one in pretty good shape up in San Leandro. It has a nice strong rebuilt six cylinder engine and a pretty clean body. It needs a lot of TLC on the inside, some electrical rewiring and some work on the transmission and brakes. I spent $4k on it and everyone keeps saying what a great deal I got. Now I look forward to taking my time and fixing it up piece by piece. The first order of business is to definitely get someone to look at the transmission, its way beyond my mechanical ability to fix.