*blows dust off blog*

Well it's been a little while since I updated and things have been rumbling on as per. Stuff has slowed up a bit as I've got a part time job and the main Mustang destruction phase is over! The Mustang is dismantled and relocated out back, the next step will be taking the engine apart, cleaning it up and rebuilding it.

Engine and tranny as they are now.

Final version of Mustang art installation

Grassy tyres.

What else has been going on in the garage of goodness? We've taken on a project for a friend and are hoping to get this baby up and running in exchange for some go carts! It needs a clutch which is not easy to find. 

Electric bike lol!

My motorbike is all Gillianified and I've been out practicing a bit. New handlebars are in place, gone are the weird drop thingies and hopefully in is more maneuverability. We've also replaced the rear indicators so they're not held on with electrical tape and sheet rock screws anymore, then straightened the pegs which I am assured were more bent than I could have made them in my "oops I forgot the kickstand" moment, clearly the previous owner had a similar issue. The air filters are all new and all the fluids have been changed. Hopefully the filters last a loooong time as they're a pain to get at.

Lovely new Harley lights. *custom mounts made by Jeff, and me, a bit*

Lovely new Harley bars.

 Speaking of Harley bits ours is now up and running beautifully after much hoo haa. She's been in the shop, this one > Big Dicks Bikes and had new O2 sensors installed and an Autotune system fitted. Well, eventually, it turned out our Power Commander was shot which apparently never happens so the lovely people replaced it, Daniel installed everything which was literally cramming 10 pounds of cr*p in a 4 pound bucket in terms of wiring lol.

This is what we call mechanicing these days lol

O2 sensor on exhaust

The proverbial 4 pound bucket!

The moment of Autotune truth........

And that's pretty much where we are right now. 

Oh dear lord, what a day!

Ok so, yesterday was pretty big. The Mustang is now distinctly less big and in many, many pieces. This kind of job needs a lot of room and for all nice shiny things to be far far away from ground zero. Look for all you doubters, Reginald is running and frankly gorgeous...

Look, all you have to do is hook the battery wires up properly!

Ok Mr Mustang your time is up. We have a Saw's all,  grinder, air chisel and axes. It's on.

I make the first cut....

Less text, more videos and pictures, we're cutting a car up. Not a lot you can say about that! We removed one of the rear windows pretty easily, the other was more stubborn so seeing as there's nothing we need from the car now except part of the floor pan we went destructo on it's ass!

Step 1: hit it with a ceramic sparkplug.

Verdict: fail.

Step 2: shoot it with ceramic bb's.

Verdict: also fail.

Step 3: hit it with a punch.

Verdict: better, however, video fail.

Off comes the boot/trunk

It's ass is literally on the floor lol :P

We tried removing the soft top, it's not that soft. We chopped all the fabric off and ended up leaving the mechanism attached as it was so hard core.

This is what we have so far, looking smaller....

Saw's all blade casualties, the first of many..

We got this far and discovered yet another big bar holding it. Time to bring out the big guns..

Also known as 2 axes and brute force. Crew Chief rule no' 1: if in doubt hit it with a bigger hammer.

Smiley Mustang :)

Smashing stuff is exhausting.

and this is what we're left with :)

Goofy face is goofy :P

I love this man <3

Art installation number 1

and number 2.

And we're done. Time for beer.

The beginning of the Mustang's end.....

2 posts today because we did 2 consecutive days and I fail at writing on the same day things happen. Let's pretend it's Friday evening....

 We picked up where we left off last time this morning and tag teamed the fuel tank. 1 lady either side and Claire and I made short work of getting the metal straps off and releasing the tank onto a motorbike jack. I'd been trying to figure out how to detach the tank from the hose going to the filler cap but to no avail so I had my first go with the Saw's all reciprocating saw and just chopped through it! I made a pretty god job of it if I do say so myself. Once all the hoses were cut and I was liberally soaked in fuel, I took off what I thought was the fuel pump, but no, it was the fuel filter, the pump is in the tank. Joy. Now the tank was completely free and we lowered it down. The filler hose now slips neatly out of the tank, not sure how you'd get to that point without cutting it first tbh.

Tank and filter, tricksy hose still in place.. (nice sawing job though)

My stunning look for the day, I'm channeling pirate mechanic couture. At least my hair wasn't full of sh*te this time lol

The back end is done! Everything is now off that we'll need. Onto the front. This was my view for most of this process.....

Me and this brake are best friends now..

These brakes are waaaaaaaay worse off than the back ones, there is a huge lip in the rotor. We worked the calipers off and kept them for reference if nothing else, then worked on removing the K frame from the body of the car. Jeff said I'd never undo the big bolts holding it by myself but I did. I'm strong, like Bull! Leverage my friend, it rules. Long story short, lots of big bolts, many cables and hoses to get out of the way and the K frame was on the floor. Get in.

Yeah, I suppose that's "K" shaped.

After lunch we tackled that pesky Drive shaft. Air tools meant nothing to these bolts, they're 12 sided and really rounded so the socket just made them more round. Fail. Bring out the grinder!! 

Look Mum not only did I buy an 800cc Intruder this week now I'm trying to set myself on fire!!

We HAD to chop the Mustang up so we could fit everything else in the Garage!

So finally the drive shaft is detached from the rear axle, and once again I was doused in gear oil as the seal on the pumpkin was knackered. Lovely.

Look I found the exhaust manifold, in the cupboard o' car bits :D

Bits and pieces....

Where to begin... I have a whole list of stuff that's happened and reasons why more hasn't happened of late. What we have done is attack that bloody drive shaft with newly acquired air tools -yay for air tools!- alas to no avail. We managed to remove 1 lonely bolt and the rest will have to be drilled out. I have proof! It was an epic task for not much reward....

1 down 3 to go..

Other Mustang progress includes the removal of the exhaust system. WD40 did the trick, after soaking the bolts for a fortnight they were pretty easy to undo. Note to self: next time when removing the exhaust from a 1988 Mustang don't lie under the piece that you're unbolting. It will pin you.

Obligatory picture of exhaust pieces. I don't have one of the headers because I honestly don't know where they ended up! 

My next task was to figure out how to remove the fuel tank while Jeff and Claire were working on the K frame. I was ably assisted by Jakey, who would lie next to me under the car licking my face while I was undoing bolts which was extremely helpful if a little distracting. He also has to be louder than the air compressor at all times! 

Gillian's little helper :)

We've not done much in the garage of late because I had a visitor! The lovely Wendi came for a week and we hung out, went to the beach, had a bonfire party and made cupcakes. Much less engine grease involved all round!

Luauing it up!

Bonifre party: bikers, booze, bonfire. Perfect.

Clearly the only way to roast marshmallows! 

Other things we've done have been routine maintenance, oil changes, air filters that kind of thing. We also had to charge up the Dodge after someone left the ignition on all night and drained the battery. Clever Daniel is clever. These tasks were made better by a liberal application of beer.

And finally, one of our favorite things to do is cruise the Lemon Lot on Base. I have drooled over many things there but this was the best so far, a Plymouth Valiant 200, only $2500. In need of love but looking amazing for it's year (which I have forgotten)

The pictures are all out of whack, it's doing my nut. I give up.

Distractions and updates.

Updates: 

First up this is where we are with the Mustang: it's looking pretty gutted and the axle is still firmly attached to the drive shaft. There is a 12 sided socket/spanner we need in a specific size which Jeff is getting tomorrow. Then it's all systems go!

I used to be a Mustang honest! (huge sippy cup just in shot...)

We've been using a lot of Jeff's tools to get this done, mostly because his are all nicely organised and to avoid getting them too mixed in with Daniel's. So we've been being very careful not to muddle everything up. Or you could just spray all Jeff's one's we're using orange and be done with it...

This works too.

You can tell which one's we've used so far. They're distinctly less orange!

Distractions 2a:

 The Bandit is done. All rejetted, retuned and running like a champ. Those pipes may look stock but they've been drilled and it sounds sooo much better! 

Actually you can't see the pipes, just take my word for it!

Scooter is ready to rock!

Distractions 2b: 

The Harley is coming back together. The back wheel has been off, brakes replaced, belts checked, powder coating chipped in the process -awesome- and now the brakes are being drained. 

Back wheel is on again, almost there!

The air box cover is off so they can figure out how to wire in the HID headlight Daniel's been wanting to install for a while. With all the extra wiring for the LEDs and the Power Commander there's not a lot of room left for anything else. But between 2 Crew Chiefs something will get figured out!

Brake draining....

Daniel trying so hard not to stick his tongue out as he concentrates..

Pretty pictures of the Harley.....

Gremlin Bell, vital.

The Mistress

All this is just too much fun!!

 I leave you with the Workshop rules...