The NOS Paradigm

The very first day I purchased my mustang, I drove up on the highway for a road trip. All went well for several miles until I hit a traffic jam. I sat and sat and the temperature gauge climbed and climbed. In short order, I went from sitting in a traffic jam to causing one. Eventually the cars moved forward and I was able to push the mustang over to the shoulder. Amongst all the rants from locals who passed by yelling, get that junk off the road! I sat and wondered, why is my car overheating? Thus out of necessity began my introduction into vintage mustang maintenance. I was fortunate in that when the car cooled down, it quickly started and ran like a top. I floored it and got out of that dangerous interchange. When I got home I did some research and found out that my car had the wrong fan blade. A factory A/C equipped car came with a five blade fan, not a four blade and it had a clutch. Through our local mustang club, I was able to locate the correct fan blade . Once installed, the little mustang ran like a top and stayed cool! Now I was a little cautious, what else was incorrect on my car? This was the beginning of my illness to restore my car back to a stock condition. Not necessarily concours, I didn't know what that was. I just wanted all the aftermarket frills off my car as I tried to make the car a daily driver. Daily driver? Horrors! Mustangs are meant to be seen, not driven. Cocky pop, as I regularly log 8,000 to 10,000 miles per year on the little mustang. In my tedious attempt to return the mustang to some sort of stability and not a trailer queen ( I did learn that term) I found the mana of all parts stores - swap meets!  I just needed replacement parts and the local chain auto didn't carry that. I traveled to a local swap meet and as I reached across the table, I quickly got sticker shock. Why does this stock exhaust manifold cost $200? Enter the term NOS. I didn't know what the letters stood for, but they were synonymous with high dollars! Over time I developed an eye to pick out good parts that just needed a little TLC. The exhaust manifold at another table was rusty, but intact. With some blasting and a powder coat (one of the best inventions out there next to steel wool and lacquer thinner) I now had an exhaust manifold that looked NOS, but was pennies in comparison. My cost for the manifold including the powder coat was $30 not $200.  A little sweat equity taught me a valuable lesson and I was able to enjoy my mustang even more. As people exclaimed that the car was a money pit, I would smile inside and say not if you know where to look and are willing to get your hands dirty. Mind you NOS may be worth it, just not until I have exhausted all other resources. Besides, one of the other favorite past times I've developed is tinkering in the garage!