Pulling a Thread

Have you ever pulled a thread in a sweater or a shirt? 

What usually happens? For me, pulling a thread almost always tears the fabric, or unties a seam. (Perhaps I should shop at nicer clothing stores?) Your intention is to fix a loose thread, but most of the time that one little thing you do to fix a seemingly small problem ends up revealing a much larger problem in the process. 

So goeth my update for today, with regards to my new favorite topic to blog about, the Mustang.

(F.O.R.D. stands for Fix Or Repair Daily)

Things started out seemingly well. I fixed that problematic door which has been a terrible pain!

 It wasn't an easy solution, but it wasn't expensive or arduous. It cost me about $12 to fix, $10 for a mirror on a telescoping handle (which came with a magnet on a similar handle, GREAT

 tools to own if you ever work inside small spaces where screws get lost), and about $2 for a can of WD40, something no respectable grease monkey should ever do without. 

The problem was in the locking mechanism. I tried my best to get a picture from my view using my mirror on a stick, and you can see it was pretty far back.

I removed the door panel (and broke some clips, which I'll have to replace... wee!), to reveal the inside of the door. One of the problems I was working with was the fact that there was just barely enough space to fit your hand in there. I sat a flashlight at the base of the door, and dropped a can of

 WD40 down into the hole to manipulate, very awkwardly, until I had greased up the mechanism which was stuck.

Apparently in 60's era Mustangs, this is not too uncommon. The soluti

on is to grease the lock mechanism, the pull up and down repeatedly on the lock until it clicks all the way up.

This wasn't a bad thing, but it was annoying. After about 30 minutes of manipulation, I got the proper areas lubricated, then I began pulling on the lock like one of those scottish strongman guys pulling a truck. After about 20 minutes, it popped. Then, I greased the mechanism again really well to let it saturate areas it hadn't before when it was stuck shut.

It seems to be working very well now!

So, I started today with a victory.  I also replaced the battery terminals, which were too short and corroded. That took longer than expected, and that's when I noticed that I have a problem... a big problem.

(Shiny new battery terminals!)

The frame of my Mustang is rusting. I had to get under my car to replace the negative terminal, because it is grounded to the engine block at the bottom. While I was down there, rust was flaking into my eyes. I had to jack the car up in order to have enough room to turn a wrench to take the bolt off, and when I put the jack under the car, big rusted chunks came out of one section of the frame. 

I am not sure how bad my "sweater" is. But I really hope I didn't find the thread that will cause it all to unravel. It does look like there is going to be some serious welding in my future. I wonder how much welding equipment costs...