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When you want to use a generic automotive floor jack, but don't want to mangle your Reatta's sheet metal...

Good idea. I recently purchased a rubber pad for my floor jack that has notches molded into it that might serve the same purpose. I can't jack up my Mustang using the pinch welds because the pinch weld area has fiberglass ground effect parts attached to it. The main reason I bought the rubber pad is because the K member (cradle) where you jack up the front of a Mustang is slightly angled making it easy for a floor jack to slide off if you don't use a rubber pad to provide some grip. Using the jack metal to metal is dangerous and using just a block of wood isn't recommended on the front of a Mustang like mine. The rubber gives the jack a better grip on the K member, and the the pad has a lip on the bottom to keep it from slipping off the jack. For only $8 on Amazon the rubber pad is a good addition to any floor jack.

Decided to try and get some better braking performance on my Reatta. The brakes always felt kinda spongy and like the pads were sliding on the rotors. I have been changing the brake fluid every 2-3 years, but it never made much difference in the 11 some years that I have owned it. Last weekend I changed front calipers and rotors using Delco parts, and some Bosch QuietCast semi-metallic pads. The brakes are way better now. Brakes start grabbing much better without the slipping feel, and I think I must have got more air out because they engage with slight pedal pressure. I think the calipers I took out were originals. They were not leaking at all, but maybe just old and stiff after 35 years. I still have to do the rear pads, calipers, and rotors when time permits. Now that its getting warmer here in Nebraska, it should be soon.

It's sad that they value Reatta parts more for scrap iron than for used parts people could use. Parts are going to get really had to find as more and more of this happens. The biggest yard close to me has done this for a long time with old cars since the original owner died and left the yard to his sons. The sons only employ a couple of guys who pull a few fast moving parts and store them inside the building. Then they have a portable crusher outfit come to their yard every so often that crushes them and hauls them off. Not many people I know go there to get used parts anymore unless they need an engine or transmission.

I was out on appointments today and thought I would stop in that You Pick yard I got all those Reatta parts from about 5 years ago. they are under new ownership now and while they still do You Pick they crushed all the old iron. Gone are all the Reattas, Rivs and even the vintage Regal I am driving [1997-2005]. Looks like Gibson's is the only yard left for me to shop...

I'm almost there myself. I still do it but my body is starting to say no. Working on the Mustang to get it into great condition has been harder on me than I expected. All I still have to do is change the oil in the differential and hopefully I will be done working on it for a while. I think it will be the last car I ever buy to work on myself.