Well it’s May 16th and we’ve only had 1-2 days at 100 degrees so far, that’s pretty nice, but we all know what’s coming, probably by the time you’re reading this issue of Roddin’ Arizona. After my friend Terry and l were stranded (l ran out of gas) on the side of the freeway in 115 degree heat last year, I am now much more cautious with driving in the heat. I will have at least a gallon of fresh water in my vehicle at all times. Hot water in a bad situation would be much better than no water. This weekend l’m also planning a complete coolant flush on my daily driver vehicle along with my normal 4,000 mile oil change. Last month I talked about my ‘65 Mustang, and my attempt to change the starter. Well, the starter swap actually went a lot easier than l expected, in fact l had the job finished in less than 45 minutes once l dove in there to get it done. I changed that starter, after l had changed out the starter solenoid, because the engine would not crank, and the battery was totally fine. To my complete chagrin the new starter changed nothing, the engine would still not crank. At that point l’m completely stumped, until l remembered someone talking about how important it is to have the engine properly grounded. That possibility hadn’t crossed my mind, because the Mustang always started right up and ran great. I inspected the main battery ground cable, but l realized that it was attached to the top alternator bolt, that’s about 5 inches long. The negative cable was not directly attached to the engine block, so l decided to find a new location that would be directly bolted to the block. I found a location on the driver’s side of the engine, the old cable would not reach that far. Amazingly, l just happened to have a  thicker, longer negative cable that fit perfectly. When it was time to turn that ignition key, my brain kept whispering in my ear, IT WON’T WORK. The engine fired up as if nothing had ever happened. Unfortunately, l had spent about $100.00 on the new starter and solenoid, but figured those new components are just a nice upgrade. As of this writing, l am about 85% finished with the Mustang’s paint preparation, before l re-paint it. Hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. All we have to do now is make it through the next 4-5 months of wonderful Arizona summer heat, who knows maybe we’ll even have a normal monsoon season this year.