Yes, please read this one with a smile... I just have to celebrate a little! For the first time in 1.5 years this 245 roared (no exhaust) to life. Opened up the garage door, escorted the "doubting" wife into the passenger seat, put that sucker in reverse and nuked it out of the garage up the driveway. I'm so happy the rebuilt/modded brakes worked, otherwise our neighbor's house across the street would have become a drivethrough. Put it in drive and nuked it (yep, again) back into the garage before the cops showed up! BTW, the wife was scared but had a big smile... yep, it's her car!

Even though this project is already a year behind and has another month or two to go, I have one a little advice for anyone else attempting such a task, its called patience and attention to detail... if in doubt, ask the brickboard! One last piece of advice, if the part isn't worth cleaning, it isn't worth reusing... otherwise, how do you KNOW it isn't broken!

Once this project is done, I will post a "lessons learned" message that will do the following:
A: What aftermarket parts work
B: What aftermarket parts s*ck
C: What mistakes to avoid^2
D: What mistakes to avoid^3
E: What mistakes to avoid^4
F: What shortcuts will make your life easier

Finally, as I crack a cold one to celebrate, a huge Thank you to everyone on this board that has contributed to getting this project to this point with their advice and experience!

I know it isn't enough, but MEGA THANKS!

jorrell