Matt's 95 Stang

So this is going to be long, but amusing reading for those that are bord and looking for a good read.

So this last April I had to get my car smogged, having an aftermarket $35 ebay CAI in the car I passed the sniff but failed the visual inspection. I treck of to the local junk yard and find the intake tube off a Tarus (iirc) that looks to be the same and put it on. Drive back to inspection and still fail because it doesnt have a hole for the crank case breather tube . While Im testing I see coolant coming out from under the car and think to myself "self, this cannot be good". SLowPig and I role over to my local shop and am told that my seal on the water pump is no good, also my timing chain cover seal is broken and Im losing oil at a alarming rate. Oh yay I say.
At this time Im told that it would be better to get a new engine that rebuild the top and front end of this one as it has so many miles (150,000) it might come out with more problems then good. At this time I start looking around for a new engine and think, hell if Im going to replace mind as well upgrade at the same time. With about a 4K budget I start talking to a few people and end up buying a "slightly used" 4.2.
Well in talking with the builder we settle on a price, a new custom cam, and I agree to send my SSM heads to him to use on the new motor as I plan on putting a M90 when its all done. About this time the car has been sitting in my landlords driveway for about 3 months while I try to find a new motor and less to say he was none to happy about it. So I have this new "slightly used" 4.2 on its way to be and all is well in the world....or so I think. The motor arrives but the pallet is was on is broken and the engine is on its side . I have a compression test done and am told the new engine, which I paid a great deal of money for, is no good. The test results came back with compression reading all over the map, 1 cyl. was a 5%, another was at 45%. I talk to the builder and am told that is normal for a newly ringed engine with forged parts but my mechanic disagrees and refuses to use the motor. At this point I am out of options as this is my DD and I need it back ASAP as its been down to almost 6 months now.
Soooo I agree to him ordering a crate 3.8 from Ford and him installing it at an outlandish price JUST so I can get my beloved (but much hated at this point) up and running. Fast forward to yesterday when I get a call to come pickup the car. Apon my arrival I pay for everything. 3.5K for a forged 4.2 I cant use, $2,260.00 for the 2nd 3.8 engine, and 3K for the install and inspection and all that fun stuff when those famous words come out - "Theres just one problem". Aparently my less than one year old water pump is leaking out of the casting and is no good. My mechanic tried to JB Weld it but no dice. At this point I just want to run the damn car off a cliff and watch it burn. "You can drive it home but dont go over 35MPH or youll overheat and blow another headgasket" he tells me.
For the first time in almost 9 months I can drive SLowPig with a brand new engine, clutch, flywheel, and exhaust set up and I CANT GO OVER 35MPH, and I cant drive it more then 10 minutes without it overheating....I think I went thru the 5 levels of depression within about 30 seconds. Fast forward to this morning when a 6AM I was out in my pajamas pulling apart my freashly put together motor before work.


Oh yeah and I dont have current tags on it now because I couldnt get it smogged before the motor went. So I have to break in the motor atleast 500 miles before I can smog it and hope I dont get pulled over.

**** My Life

NYstang

Damn,... sorry to hear man!

what you going to do witht eh forged 4.2 now?

arabianobsession

Awwwwwww man......I applaud you for not giving up, but at the same time, you have so much money in it, you might as well keep going

projectresto83

Let me start by saying California blows *****!

Sounds like you have no luck....

3.5k for a used 4.2????? WTF? Your mechanic is retarded screwed you bad man..... Find a new one....

Matt's 95 Stang

Well the car is back up and running with no problems but it wiped out my M90 fund so I have to start building that back up. Good news is that I have the M90, all the piping, most of the gaskets, all the brackets. I just need a tuner, FMI, and a few more nuts and bolts.
As for the 3.5k for the 4.2 - It was really 3 but another 500 for shipping. But yes I got a really bad deal.