Gearhead Karma Means Christmas All Year ‘Round

Here’s a story that shows why you should always find good homes for all your old car parts. In the months leading up to my recent move across the country, I had this mounting sense of grief over the fact that I’d soon have to junk my old pre-swap Escort engine. I was moving into a 5th-floor condo with beige carpets, for one thing, and hauling a greasy engine that I had no use for from one side of the country to the other made no sense at all. I’d had zero luck locally selling (or even giving away) the Ford 1.6, a less-than-desirable model that was only made for a few years. But it was true also that there was nothing wrong with this tough little mill, and that it had gotten me through a lot, including trips up and down both coasts, daily abuse through high school and college, and even my last transcontinental move. So when it came time to haul it to the scrap, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I wrangled it into the U-Haul and drove it eight states away to drop it off with the nearest person who would accept a free Escort engine: my buddy Austin in Montana. And Austin was so beside himself with gratitude over finally having something to swap into his non-running GT that he then sent me, as a thank-you gift, this brand-new Flowmaster 40-series muffler, which showed up on my desk at CarDomain today! All I’d hoped was for my poor little unwanted 1.6 to go to someone who would enjoy it, but it wound up turning into the very muffler I’ve been wanting for my Escort. Thanks, Austin!