Well, I was on my way home, minding my own business, when an idea struck me. It just so happened I was approaching an auto wrecking yard here in Oceanside when that idea convinced my brain to think, "what the heck?".  Before I knew it I was paying my $2 entry fee and away to the Ford section I went. I was strolling along when a decrepit lil' Maverick caught my eye. The engine was gone, and so was the dashboard and interior. Curiously left behind was the grille. Did I mention it was an early Maverick 2-door!? Did I also mention it still had the round grille emblem- not a crack in the acrylic to be found!? The beauty part was it was already detached from the car. Well naturally I had to grab it! Wall art, you see. Dwayne understands. lol. THEN I came across another wonder that made me mutter and curse. Someone had made a '77 Mustang II into a convertible and put "Classic II" decals on the rear fenders. The interior and the top were shot- hence the cursing (well, also because it was there and not being lovingly restored like I would do if I was rich. lol) but in the early days that car must've been a beaut. White with bright red interior and pinstriping accented this rare gem.  Such a pity that this car ended up there.

      I did grab the coin tray out of the center console and from a '97 Isuzu Rodeo (mine's sister) I found a wrap-around sport steering wheel cover like the vintage ones. I spent a total of a tad over $15 for the whole lot.  Tomorrow I get to spend more money- on a starter.  Crud.

Ruby's. Pushing her in a busy parking lot to pop the clutch is getting old.  I was embarassed yesterday art Ralphs- two guys, one in a Dodge truck and one in a Chevrolet Suburban (an old one) stopped and helped me push Ruby so I could pop the clutch and get her home. Most of the time she starts, but once in awhile- and ALWAYS in a busy parking lot- she not only makes the whirring sound but also makes a clunky sound, like thew battery's not strong enough to turn the starter to turn the engine. AAAARRRRGH!

O'Reilly's has two- one with a 1-year warranty for $39.99 and one with lifetime warranty for $59.99... both are rebuilt (yuck) and both have a $15.00 core charge. 

Double check the wiring coming off the starter solenoid it might be the entire problem not the starter itself....IE the wires that have an elbow going to the small terminal on the solenoid ....To many times the slip off connector will break on the inside of the boot causing the wire to lose connectivity to the solenoid....St opping the starter from working....Als o if it's the starter just rebuild it your self it's not hard and costs alot less....A rebuild kit is about half as much....

Update on Ruby: it WAS the starter... I replaced it (oh what fun. NOT!) and it starts without issues now.  I still want to keep the original starter. If it lasted 40 years, then it must be pretty good. I talked to a friend at work and described what I saw on the old starter after I removed it (the gear that meshes with the flywheel freely moves back and forth... or the shaft it's attached to is. He suggested that a bushing went bad and it's fixable. Is it?

Another Wrecking Yard Wonder... I went to Dad's place Thanksgiving morning and stayed the night. The following Friday I went to the nearby Rialto Ecology wrecking yard and came across a car I wanted when I was a kid. It was a '78 Mustang II hatchback with V8 and T-top. It had the styled steel wheels of that era and the requisite caps (not pony ones- just the red ((really pink)) with the gold-colored rings). It had the short colsole and it looked damaged so I didn't grab it. Later I came across a '71 Comet but there was nothing of consequence there... but I thought its goldenrod original color was nice. It appeared to have had the blackout trim too. Coming down the last aisle I was convinced that this trip was a wash-out in terms of Pintos or Fords with parts I can use when I saw the all-too-familiar grille style and (gasp!) the old but good bumpers (the ones that had the long bumper-guards and a strip of rubber that ran the length of the bumpers)! Both front and rear bumpers had dents in them but I would've loved them anyway. It was a '71 trunk model with automatic and other goodies: deluxe interior (in blue-YUM!), body-side moldings, bright window trim, wheel lip and rocker panel moldings, houndstooth vinyl and cloth seats in blue, the aforementioned upgraded bumpers with guards... the car itself was lightest powder blue. The interior was all but shot, but I did rescue a door panel, the rear floor mats (apparently it had at one point the Pinto floor mat set), the crinkly hose that goes from the air cleaner to the blue cannister near the radiator, the windshield wash container (since Ruby's leaks), the overflow dump hose that attaches to the radiator, the deluxe horn button, a door inside release (for a spare) and both radiator hoses (they were in almost new condition). The car had a recently installed rebuilt carb in it. Besides the wheels being cut off (the front ones were cut off at the axle- someone must've needed the rotors or something)and a big dent in the right front fender, the car looked like it ran. It was sad to see it there, even as I benefited from it being there.

I also spotted an MGB roadster in forest green. It was a wonder to see it there too. 

Sorry Dwayne... I forgot you wanted that.