Let us take a break from the norm here of obsessing about running the best whatever. I did an oil change last night in a project car with abandoned oil in my dad's garage;
3 quarts used Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 (5k on it, fresh drain).
1 very old quart of ProLine 10w40.
1/2 old quart Castrol GTX High Mileage 10w30
3/4 old quart Castrol Syntec Blend 5w30
1/2 quart VR1 Racing 20w50
1/3 quart Mobil Super 10w30 Turbo Performance.
1 new Supertech Filter.
All of this went into a pearl white 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII that I acquired from an elderly man with intent to resell. The old oil looked and smelled ok but I suspect it is two years old. The OLM was at 0% and the owner said that is when he normally goes for a change. I asked if he adds oil, he said no, the dipstick showed full.
The money saved from not buying oil will be used to buy ammo for the gun I'll need to carry when I deal with the people on Craigslist who are interested in buying a 20 year old Lincoln.
Some extra background for anyone who cares, kind of funny.
A friend repeatedly asked me to look at this Mark VIII. He is a retired mechanic/professional drag racer who is now in his 70's and just really into the Hot Rod scene. (I'm in my 20's) We always talk cars. The Lincoln had belonged to his hotrodder friend for 20 years. I was not very interested, but Mark VIII's are interesting cars, air ride suspension, 4.6 DOHC engine that went on to be used in the Mustang Cobra (among other things) a bulletproof 8.8 differential with independent rear suspension, 4R70W automatic. And 1993's were the fastest year, the timing tables were more aggressive then any subsequent model and it was the only year that came with a 1 piece aluminum drive shaft. I thought why not check out this undesirable car, atleast it's kind of fast. A car guy probably took pretty good care of it? Right???
Wrong. I realized my expectations had been raised when I pulled into the driveway. No one would buy the car as it sat, including me. It had been sitting for sale by a busy road for 6 months. It was like that scene in the movie Christine where the guy says "it probably won't even start" That was me. It did start, but it was only running on 6 cylinders. The owner commented that it smooths out once you get on the highway. Oh my god, "you drive it on the highway like this?" His answer was that the last time the car was driven he went to Florida and back and still got 23 mpg running a little rough.
That's over 1000 miles each way.
Jesus. I told him I couldn't see paying anything for the car. This was a problem because he really wanted $400. After about an hour we were talking scrap value and I decided I would not be happy with anything less than nothing. This guy is almost 80, I figured there was probably something he needed done that he just can't accomplish at this stage of his life. There was. In his garage he was unable to replace the water pump on his SUV, being bent over doing it was causing him some trouble. So I did it in exchange for the car, very easy. I came back for the Lincoln and drove it to my parents house (no room at my house). Nothing unusual about the ride, it was smooth, but wanted to die at every stop sign. I cleaned and regapped the plugs, replaced a couple spark plug wires, and went and put down about 60 feet of rubber punching it from a dead stop.
3 quarts used Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 (5k on it, fresh drain).
1 very old quart of ProLine 10w40.
1/2 old quart Castrol GTX High Mileage 10w30
3/4 old quart Castrol Syntec Blend 5w30
1/2 quart VR1 Racing 20w50
1/3 quart Mobil Super 10w30 Turbo Performance.
1 new Supertech Filter.
All of this went into a pearl white 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII that I acquired from an elderly man with intent to resell. The old oil looked and smelled ok but I suspect it is two years old. The OLM was at 0% and the owner said that is when he normally goes for a change. I asked if he adds oil, he said no, the dipstick showed full.
The money saved from not buying oil will be used to buy ammo for the gun I'll need to carry when I deal with the people on Craigslist who are interested in buying a 20 year old Lincoln.
Some extra background for anyone who cares, kind of funny.
A friend repeatedly asked me to look at this Mark VIII. He is a retired mechanic/professional drag racer who is now in his 70's and just really into the Hot Rod scene. (I'm in my 20's) We always talk cars. The Lincoln had belonged to his hotrodder friend for 20 years. I was not very interested, but Mark VIII's are interesting cars, air ride suspension, 4.6 DOHC engine that went on to be used in the Mustang Cobra (among other things) a bulletproof 8.8 differential with independent rear suspension, 4R70W automatic. And 1993's were the fastest year, the timing tables were more aggressive then any subsequent model and it was the only year that came with a 1 piece aluminum drive shaft. I thought why not check out this undesirable car, atleast it's kind of fast. A car guy probably took pretty good care of it? Right???
Wrong. I realized my expectations had been raised when I pulled into the driveway. No one would buy the car as it sat, including me. It had been sitting for sale by a busy road for 6 months. It was like that scene in the movie Christine where the guy says "it probably won't even start" That was me. It did start, but it was only running on 6 cylinders. The owner commented that it smooths out once you get on the highway. Oh my god, "you drive it on the highway like this?" His answer was that the last time the car was driven he went to Florida and back and still got 23 mpg running a little rough.
Jesus. I told him I couldn't see paying anything for the car. This was a problem because he really wanted $400. After about an hour we were talking scrap value and I decided I would not be happy with anything less than nothing. This guy is almost 80, I figured there was probably something he needed done that he just can't accomplish at this stage of his life. There was. In his garage he was unable to replace the water pump on his SUV, being bent over doing it was causing him some trouble. So I did it in exchange for the car, very easy. I came back for the Lincoln and drove it to my parents house (no room at my house). Nothing unusual about the ride, it was smooth, but wanted to die at every stop sign. I cleaned and regapped the plugs, replaced a couple spark plug wires, and went and put down about 60 feet of rubber punching it from a dead stop.
