1985 Mustang GT Convertible – A small update

I’ve been looking for parts and pieces for this car for quite some time. I finally found the last bit which was the right rear quarter panel and that was tough to find here in Michigan. I had to travel to a place near Joliet, IL one weekend to grab the piece. Same color car! I would have loved to find a NOS part but that was not in the cards.

I also found a front nose piece in Ohio. Another weekend day used to get that.. Finding a nice part WITH the light bar again, took some time to get sorted and sourced. The light bar seems to be removed from most nose pieces

The next bit of work will be separating the body panel from frame bits but first cutting off the frame parts and the separating the panel from the remnants. That should be interesting since I’ll be doing from ‘inside’ the body panel.

Lastly, I also dug around and found the frame measurements for a 1985 Mustang Convertible. If you need the information I have a picture below and if you want the book it come from look for the 1985 Car Shop manual, Volume B2, page 47-04-19.

The second image appears to be the front end measures around the engine bay for a 1990 Mustang Hatch. I’ll keep looking for 1 985 Convertible values.

Measure twice, cut and weld once.

Book List from Amazon

This is a list of books on Amazon where I’ve been stacking up things for years. Going to start reducing my spend with Amazon and because of that I’m going to give ‘Libby’ the library app a shot, see how it works out and see if I can knock a few of these off the list.

MLK Quote

From Apple’s web site:

“You must decide to speak for yourself; nobody else can speak for you.”

Can I read 52 books in 52 weeks?

My goal is to read 52 books this year. I have a nice head start because of my vacation (see list here). Some of these are fast reads others…not so much. Regardless I have a goal!

  1. The Last Citadel: Petersburg, June 1864 – April 1865, Author: Noah Andre Trudeau
  2. Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War, Author: Charles Bracelen Flood
  3. The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  4. Death Without Company (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  5. Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  6. Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman, Author: Robert L. O’Connell
  7. Cibola Burn (The Expanse Book 4), Author: James S. A. Corey
  8. Nemesis Games (The Expanse Book 5), Author: James S. A. Corey
  9. Babylon’s Ashes (The Expanse Book 6), Author: James S. A. Corey
  10. Persepolis Rising (The Expanse Book 7), Author: James S. A. Corey
  11. Another Man’s Moccasins (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  12. Tiamat’s Wrath (The Expanse Book 8), Author: James S. A. Corey – 1/26/2025

Books to read: 2025

A nice list from Ryan Holiday (the list is from the newsletter but posted here). Sign up of the newsletter here.

A few of these I have read, a few of these are not my ‘style’ but.. that’s the point. Get out of your comfort zone. 

Here is the list + my additions: 

  1. Slow Productivity: The lost art of accomplishment with Burnout, Author: Cal Newport
  2. Don’t Just March, Run for Something: A real-talk guide to fixing the system yourself
  3. Night of the Grizzlies, Author: Jack Olsen
  4. The Choice: Embrace the Possible, Author: Dr. Edith Eva Eger
  5. Montaigne, Author: Stefan Zweig
  6. The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Author: Robert A. Caro. Quick Note: I’ve read this series. It is fantastic especially ‘Master of the Senate’. 
  7. A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Selected from the World’s Sacred Texts
  8. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters and What to do about it, Author: Richard Reeves
  9. Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything 
  10. The Children, Author: David Halberstam, Author Julia Baird
  11. Parting the Waters: America in the King years 1954-63, Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-1965, At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King years 1965-68, Author: Taylor Branch
  12. Same as Ever: A guide to what never changes, Author: Morgan Housel
  13. The 48 Laws of Power, Author: Robert Greene
  14. It Can’t Happen Here, Author: SInclair Lewis
  15. Address Unknown, Author: Kathrine Kressman Taylor
  16. The Expanding Circle, Author: Peter Singer
  17. Atomic Habits, Author: James Clear
  18. Bushido: The Samurai Code of Japan, Author: Inazo Nitobe
  19. How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World
  20. Meditations, Author: Marcus Aurelius
  21. General Lee: A biography of Robert E. Lee, Author: Fitzhugh Lee
  22. Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, Author: William T. Sherman
  23. Junkyard Dogs (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  24. The Dark Horse (Walt Longmire Mysteries), Author: Craig Johnson
  25. Public Enemies, Author: Bryan Burroughs.

Naturally, I’ll read other books but this is a good starting point.

Koi!

We lost our cat Alice earlier in 2024. I decided, for a variety of reasons, we needed another cat in the house. 

Here is Koi. We adopted her on September 4th, 2024. She’s a lot of fun. As my wife like to say about here ‘Day time is play time!’.