James Z. WI-NY-MX,
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:22 am
I have a different thread on here, but it is so old that I thought I should start up another. This month I finally managed to get my 3.0 Milano Gold back on the road. It has been down for the count for the past 9 years while I went through everything between the rear wheel bearings and the crank pulley (now from a gtv6).
The story began when I tried to drive the car from Mexico to the northern US state of Wisconsin. By the time I arrived, it was sounding so bad that I thought I was about to throw a rod. I pulled the motor and discovered that one of the heads had rattled loose. I think the previous owner had failed to re-torque the heads after installing new head gaskets when he did the 3.0 swap, but I can't be sure. At this point, I should have thrown in a new head gasket and gone back to enjoying the car. Instead, I did the opposite and tore her down. I guess I was reading forums too much and I wanted the car to reach its potential. Or I was just young.
Things changed in my life and I was not usually around the car in the following years. I would generally get to work on it only during the summer months when I would visit Wisconsin. That made progress very slow and there were many times when I thought I should just buy a different Milano. I had the engine, Transmission, steering system and rear suspension spread out between several garages and shops. Things do not usually end well for cars under these types of circumstances.
Fortunately, I found the light at the end of the tunnel. I finally got the car back together last week. I finished it the day before I had to return to NY for grad school. There are still a lot of things to sort out, but my feelings for the car have returned and it was just as good as I remembered it. I am extremely happy to have seen things through. A lot of things have changed since I started this project, and I guess my tastes have changed some as well.
Next summer i hope to upgrade my cooling, replace my lower control arm bushings, finish break in, possibly install Evoluzione bumpers and euro lights that I have around, relocate the battery, and switch over to Megasquirt. In the mean time, I will be back on here pestering everyone for advice as I plan those projects and start accumulating the things I will need.
Here is a photo of the car after its first drive in 9 years- a short trip of 1/8 mile from the garage to the gas pump. The car is rattier than this photo makes it seem, but my friend from the old email list, Scott Potter, told me that I should only care how it looks going 100 mph at midnight.
Thanks to everyone here for all your help over the years.
The story began when I tried to drive the car from Mexico to the northern US state of Wisconsin. By the time I arrived, it was sounding so bad that I thought I was about to throw a rod. I pulled the motor and discovered that one of the heads had rattled loose. I think the previous owner had failed to re-torque the heads after installing new head gaskets when he did the 3.0 swap, but I can't be sure. At this point, I should have thrown in a new head gasket and gone back to enjoying the car. Instead, I did the opposite and tore her down. I guess I was reading forums too much and I wanted the car to reach its potential. Or I was just young.
Things changed in my life and I was not usually around the car in the following years. I would generally get to work on it only during the summer months when I would visit Wisconsin. That made progress very slow and there were many times when I thought I should just buy a different Milano. I had the engine, Transmission, steering system and rear suspension spread out between several garages and shops. Things do not usually end well for cars under these types of circumstances.
Fortunately, I found the light at the end of the tunnel. I finally got the car back together last week. I finished it the day before I had to return to NY for grad school. There are still a lot of things to sort out, but my feelings for the car have returned and it was just as good as I remembered it. I am extremely happy to have seen things through. A lot of things have changed since I started this project, and I guess my tastes have changed some as well.
Next summer i hope to upgrade my cooling, replace my lower control arm bushings, finish break in, possibly install Evoluzione bumpers and euro lights that I have around, relocate the battery, and switch over to Megasquirt. In the mean time, I will be back on here pestering everyone for advice as I plan those projects and start accumulating the things I will need.
Here is a photo of the car after its first drive in 9 years- a short trip of 1/8 mile from the garage to the gas pump. The car is rattier than this photo makes it seem, but my friend from the old email list, Scott Potter, told me that I should only care how it looks going 100 mph at midnight.
Thanks to everyone here for all your help over the years.