This Is Why I Don’t Wrench
I love cars, but I sure can be mechanically stupid. This is what scares me into not wanting to attempt larger operations on my Formula. Since I need to drive KITT to the DMV tomorrow to apply for a tag and registration, I decided to change the oil tonight before that gasoline in there does any more damage to the internals. I bought some single-weight oil to help coat the parts better for this application, got the car up on ramps, and took a look underneath.
“Boy, that’s funny,” I thought. “The oil pan drain plug sure looks strange.” I’d never seen anything quite like it—it was a large 3/8” bolt in the bottom of the pan, with a smaller hex-head screw in the middle of it. I tried to remove the 3/8” bolt first, but it just spun—it was like it was stripped. Now thoroughly annoyed, I went and got a wrench and held the 3/8” bolt fast while I used a ratchet to undo the small hex-head screw. Of course I had my oil catch pan waiting below.
The screw came out easily, so I undid it the rest of the way with my fingers—and finally a bunch of fluid started to pour down out of the valve. Strangely, though, I noticed it was very thin, and bright red in color…
Suddenly I screamed “OH SHIT!!” and hurriedly tried to stuff the screw back into its receptacle. Finally got it tightened back in there, but not before I’d drained about a pint of transmission fluid into the catch pan.
What a friggin’ idiot!
Of course, I immediately noticed the oil drain plug nearby, grumbled to myself, and set to work on the real job at hand. But now I’d just created more grueling work for myself. Since I don’t keep any Dexron ATF around because my T/A is a stickshift, I had none to top off KITT’s tranny with. After putting in the new oil and filter, I ran through the gears and checked the transmission dipstick—it was reading in the “FILL” area. Yep, before I can drive the car, I’ve gotta top off the gearbox. Running a transmission low on fluid = bad things, as I found out that one fateful day in 1997 when my Grand Prix lost a gearbox seal.
Which means I’ve got to get up early, get my butt down to the store (in a different car, duh) when they open at 8:00, buy some ATF, get back home, top ‘er off, go to the DMV when they open at 9:00, register the Formula, drive it back home, get in my Trans Am, and go to work. Sheesh. Thank God it’ll be Friday, because I’m gonna be ready for the weekend after tomorrow’s over and done with.
Anyway, the oil change went off without a hitch, so I’m satisfied. And there’s another piece of good news today—I just bought my first KITT conversion accessory!
It’s a genuine RPO D80 deck lid spoiler, just like KITT’s original equipment. Better yet, it’s already painted black, and comes with all the mounting hardware. And best of all, it cost just $53 with free overnight UPS shipping. How can you beat that? There was a fellow conversionist on the board who had an extra one and was planning to trade it for some parts with a friend, but the friend had already signed a deal for those parts with a KITT conversion company. So the guy was just offering the spoiler to anyone who needed it. I zoomed in and bought it. You can order these things brand new from places like Year One, but they cost $150 and that’s primered only! I can’t wait to get rid of that ugly rubber aero wing on the back of my Formula, but that’ll be a ways off—at least until I’m ready to fill in the holes and grind off the mounting clips that’ll be left behind.
Woohoo! My first conversion part! 
Categorized as Cars/Knight Project