1967 Mercury Cougar XR7 - Project Green Kitty

[SeanP]

She's really into putting things together (puzzles, lego, helped me assemble my engine stand, etc.). Her only gripe is she doesn't like getting her hands dirty.

Let me be clear... it's not because she doesn't like dirty hands, it's because she doesn't like my hand cleanser with the grit in it.

I got her some gloves but they're a little big so they impact her dexterity a little. I found some smooth hand cleaner though, so maybe she'll be ok with getting some grease on her hands again.

I'm very proud of her desire to help and get hands on with tools and learn. Plus she's good company in general.

As Michelle said, I feel like this will serve her well in her life as it's never a bad thing for anyone to have some basic mechanical skills!

[michelle]

Smooth hand cleaner sounds like GoJo would fit the bill...we usually had it in the garage, but it would try to separate in the Texas heat...

[sly]

Fast Orange smooth is my go-to for hand cleaner. I don't like the grit and neither does the pipes.

Finger brush at hand in case I have some tough stuff.

[SeanP]

I have a hand cleaner that I used for highland games to get tacky off of my fingers that's smooth as well. Tried it and she's good with it.

I also found some kid sized nitrile gloves on Amazon, so she can glove up with something that's provides more tactile sensation.

GoJo is a good product. I've had it before and I'll probably grab some of that when I run out of my current stock of hand cleaner (we don't have Texas heat here in Southwestern Ontario... at least not usually).

Good thinking about the pipes. I never considered that.

[sly]

I also have a sink setup outside with a garden hose connection on it, so I can use that to wash my hands if it's real bad. Really easy to winterize too, just disconnect hose and open valves.

[SeanP]

I also have a sink setup outside with a garden hose connection on it, so I can use that to wash my hands if it's real bad. Really easy to winterize too, just disconnect hose and open valves.

That's an awesome idea! I don't think I could get away with having that outside in my neighbourhood. But, might be a good idea to have it available in the garage.

[sly]

yeah... work was throwing out a stainless sink with faucet attached and I took it and put it in one of those small folding tables with the rails at the outer edge. Cut the center out for the sink and attached it. No issues. One T to tie both sides of the faucet together and then a hose adapter and voila... portable sink.

[SeanP]

yeah... work was throwing out a stainless sink with faucet attached and I took it and put it in one of those small folding tables with the rails at the outer edge. Cut the center out for the sink and attached it. No issues. One T to tie both sides of the faucet together and then a hose adapter and voila... portable sink.

Perfect!

Managed to get the speedometer cable installation competed this weekend and cleaned up the garage a bit. Ill slowly work on the intake reinstallation over teh coming days as Im able to.

[SeanP]

I have been unable to get anything done. But I replaced my electric Chevy with a hybrid Ford. So there's that.

[SeanP]

Got the intake pulled, cleaned up the mating surfaces and reinstalled. Slowly putting everything back together as time allows. Noticed that I had a lot of condensation build up on the iron on my engine over this past winter, which has left a rusty residue on parts of the block and heads. It basically wiped right off with a little elbow grease, so I cleaned up a little bit of it. Once I know I'm good with the engine running (plus the million other jobs I have on this car), I'll worry more about the aesthetics.

[SeanP]

Got the car running on the weekend. It's mostly good news. I need to replace the mounting gaskets for the carburetor (reused the ones I had on there, so she's pulling a bit of extra air which has my idle RPMs at 1500 no matter what I do. Also, I need to install the second starter spacer I have... it clears the flex plate weight like 79 times out of 80 but every so often there's a little metallic plunk sound coming from my bellhousing. It should be an easier task now that I'm using a new style gear reduction high torque unit... which works amazing. Then to replace my wheel cylinders.

[SeanP]

Messed up my front driver's hub on the weekend removing the old races. Made a YouTube short explaining what happened and how I was able to replace it (luckily my wife's uncle had a spare he didn't need as he is planning a disc brake swap).

Here's the URL to the short:

https://youtube.com/shorts/3bMpax-DilA

[Tiggie]

I remember doing that with my 68. I used the long punch from behind method. YouTube is great but not every YouTuber is great. The paint and body videos are especially polarizing. Forums seem to house less people, but more qualified people for giving technical advice.

[SeanP]

I remember doing that with my 68. I used the long punch from behind method. YouTube is great but not every YouTuber is great. The paint and body videos are especially polarizing. Forums seem to house less people, but more qualified people for giving technical advice.

Long punch from behind is the way to go. Also the name of my porno movie.

Seriously though, I should have done that from the start. It literally took a minute and would have saved me over an hour of driving and sorting through a basement of parts (actually the basement was pretty organized). I did have a good visit though and got to have a chat and a cold beer. There are much worse things in life!

[SeanP]

Picked up some new front wheel cylinders from the local Napa. Was going to rebuild the originals, but given my luck and lack of time, this seems like $60 (CAD) well spent.