So, back in June, my neighbor offered me a 245 Turbo wagon that "has been sitting for a few years." For free. If I took it away and dealt with DMV, it was mine. I figured that even if it turned out to be a total basketcase, I would have a nice parts car.

I finally picked it up in September (the car was located almost 300 miles away). Metallic blue, black leather, M46, 182,000 miles on the clock. Not bad, he thinks.

Towed the car home. Changed all fluids, gave the car a tune-up (plugs, wires, rotor, cap, fuel and air filters, valve adjustment). Replaced the almost collapsed motor mounts. The wiring harness was toast; I ended up pulling and redoing the harness myself. In hindsight, I should have bought one from Barton.

Put in a fresh battery, cleaned the terminals and inflated the one flat tire. Started right up, ran reasonably well in the drive way. I did the usual "let it run for 15 minutes and look for leaks/smoke/fire." Waterpump leaks. OK. There is a hole somewhere in the exhaust. Not a big deal.

Alright...time to take it for a test drive (with now 4 year old expired tags!). Put it in reverse...CRUNCH...Let the clutch out and noted that it grabbed right away. Add a clutch to the mental parts list.

Out on the street, brakes are great but the front end is as loose as a cheap hooker. Suspension is tired - probably original bushings. OK, so far, not too bad.

Get it up on the highway and put my foot in it. What's that in the rear view? A nice plume of black smoke. Oh, great. Slow down, change into the right lane and keep it at fifty. Get off at the next exit and back to the house.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day. 05:00 A.M. in John's garage. I've got a load of parts ready to install. By noon, I've got the new clutch in (with a new pilot bearing and tranny mount). Time to drive the other car to turkey day dinner. Back at 6 PM. Work from 6PM Thursday until 3AM Friday. Pick it up again 10AM Friday and work until almost midnight Saturday morning.

I've got new ball joints, new tie-rod ends, new wheel bearings, brand new front brakes (rotors, pads, and calipers), and a new cat-back exhaust on the ol' b*tch. Not bad for a shadetree mechanic, eh?

Back on the road. Oh, yeah, it needs an alignment. Stop by at 9:00 this morning and have it aligned and new struts/shocks installed. Pick it up at 11:30. Oh yeah! Feels nice and tight, handling is great. This is the difference between a "bucket of bolts" and a "new" car.

Clutch feels great. Tranny shifts like a hot knife through butter; no more grinding.

Oops...I forgot about the black smoke. It's still there on hard acceleration. Turbo? Where to start looking?