Turning our Mustang Inside-Out

The Mustang parts we ordered finally arrived. They came in two balikbayan boxes, which my brother immediately opened to sort out the contents. He divided them into several piles, by function, in order to find out if all items were complete. It turned out that there were three small parts missing but other than that, all items in the list were accounted for.

Sum of its parts

So here's the breakdown of the parts we've ordered for the restoration of our 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302.

Ebay - www.ebay.com:

1. Chrome Exhaust Tips-3.5" x 18" Angle-2.25"inlet (Pair)


2. Flowmaster Muffler Original - 42443-Free Shipping


3. 65 66 67 68 289 302 mustang tri-y headers(chrome)new


4. 1969 69 1970 70 Mustang Headlight Switch Assembly Dash


5. 68 69 70-73 MUSTANG STEERING WHEEL KIT GRANT BLACK 15"


6. Procomp 16" 2750 CFM Radiator Cooling Fan street rod


7. EXTREME HIGH FLOW AIR CLEANER LID 14" CHROME # S-2030


8. BBC SBF FORD CHEVY PLUG WIRES 8.5MM STRAIGHT BLUE


9. FAN CONTROL TEMP SENSOR RELAY KIT


10. 14" X 3" HIGH FLO AIR FILTER ELEMENT WASHABLE 14X3


11. SBF FORD 302 351W TALL VALVE COVERS ALUMINUM 6070-1


12. HOLLEY CARBURATOR SPACER PLATE # 9132


13. TWO COMPLETE BILLET ALUMINUM IN-LINE FUEL FILTERS FF


14. NEW PERFORMANCE HEI DISTRIBUTORS FOR FORD 289/302


15. Chrome wheel spinners knock offs corvette 3 bar straigh


16. Flowmaster Muffler Original - 42443-Free Shipping


17. American autowire Highway 15 wire harness kit hot rod

Good Tidings

Today I am going to count my blessings just because finally, I feel that my prayers are being heard. The first quarter of the year has passed by so quickly and as I reflect back, I realize that I have so much to be thankful for already in the past three months.

1. Career. Take a look at the update I've made at this post (striked through items 1 & 2) and you'll know what I'm thankful about with regards to my career. Yes, I've been promoted, and although I don't have my own parking space, it's as good as having one already coz I can now reimburse my parking fees. After 8 years in the IT industry, I am finally at the senior level. I could have reached this level sooner but by jumping companies almost every year for several years, I missed out on my promotions. Well no regrets; I have learned from all the companies I have been to and I'm happy where I am now. It's just too bad that my promotion didn't translate to a substantial increase (last year's merit increase was even higher in terms of percentage, compared to what I got now) because upper management changed (thus budget policies also changed). But I did get an additional benefit of insurance coverage so that's still something to be thankful about. Also, our bonuses will be given out next payday so that gives me peace of mind about my upcoming condo annual payment. It's still short of what I need but I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to procure the remaining amount.

Out with the Old, In with the New

When my father was alive, he bought an old, beaten 6-cylinder 1966 Ford Mustang coupe with plans of restoring it. He and my brother set to work and had it appear as good as new. Too bad he didn't live long enough to be able to drive it around. There was still a problem with the alternator when he passed away. My brother worked doubly hard to get it fixed and I even pitched in some money for the repairs, just so that we can complete what my father started. And now, we're selling it. That's it, the blue car on the top picture.

The reason why we're selling it is because my brother saw a V8 1970 Ford Mustang coupe (which was upgraded to a Mach1 by the previous owner) on the Internet, being sold by an American (or British, I'm not sure) who was leaving for the States to have an operation. His initial intention was to buy and sell it. So he borrowed money from my mother and together with an uncle, they went to Subic where the owner and the car was. The owner already prepared the necessary papers so that if my brother decides to buy it, they can already bring home the car. My brother inspected it to be good, and even found out that the registration is current. He paid the owner, signed the papers, and was able to drive the yellow car from Subic to Manila without any problems. Seeing that it's in very good running condition, plus the fact that it has a more powerful engine than our blue one, he decides that he's not going to sell the yellow car; instead he would be restoring it. And the money that he is going to use for the restoration and for paying my mother is the money he will receive by selling th blue car. He even justifies it by saying that my dad would have done the same thing, because he really wanted a V8 but just couldn't find any so he just bought the 6-cylinder (it was not color blue then, more of rusty-orange). And I do agree with that. Plus, after my brother restores the V8 and he decides to sell it, it would fetch a far greater price than the 6-cylinder ever could. But that's just the practical side of me convincing myself that it's ok to sell the blue Mustang. The other part of me doesn't want to let it go. My father bought and restored that car, and I remember he even intended to give it to me because he doesn't want me to drive a Japanese car that could easily crumple (with me in it) in case of collision. Sad to say, my father died, I'm driving a Mitsubishi, and we're selling our blue Mustang (I even have a name for it already, Lalaine).

If I just have the money, I would pay my mother what my brother owes, pay for the yellow car's restoration, and keep Lalaine for myself. Then everybody would be happy.