by Jon Mikelonis

Introduction
Stop calling your project a "Budget-Build" and quit justifying your parts
gathering methods as "Resourceful". Stand up and be counted, you're just cheap. That's right, cheap. The authorities have been monitoring you and you've been caught scrounging wrecking yards, slipping hardware into your tool bag, bumming needle-nose pliers from fellow archaeologists, and purchasing used junk that can be better had at the national chain store. Now that you've been blindsided with the cold hard truth, it's time you're held responsible for the cheap habits you've been exhibiting in order to acquire those precious parts. If you're wallowing in the revelation you just received, then buck up bud because "cheap" is just a state-of-mind and the dictionary has provided you with a way to confidently brush off any future personal attacks. Attacks that target your stingy nature in hands-on Ford restoration and modification.

According to the adjacent graphic, cheap can be defined three different ways. Working from the bottom to the top, entry number three doesn't apply to you because while you are price-conscious, knowingly using "poor quality" or "inferior parts" on your project car defeats the purpose of your time and effort spent in this hobby. The next rung on the ladder defines cheap as;
"achieved with little effort". Spending half your Saturday driving from
wrecking yard to wrecking yard in order to find the iron hulk that possesses the brake rotor you need, which still requires removal, does not exemplify "little effort". On the other hand, if that brake rotor you need to pull is in good condition and costs only $19.99, while the national retailer is charging $149.00 for a new unit, then your effort just met the first definition of cheap. So, if doing what it takes to get parts that are "relatively low in cost" means you've still got enough cash left over to take your wife or girlfriend out for a nice dinner, then being called cheap is something both you and the rest of us can live with.

"Cheap" Fixes
This past November marked the one-year mark since we picked up Project MX in Fresno, CA. Since then we've made the 1972 Montego roadworthy and after this article we will have achieved nearly all the objectives we set out to accomplish. Following is a run down of our most recent progress on Project MX. To accomplish these "budget-minded" fixes we practiced much "resourcefulness". Forget about it... we were just "cheap".

Collapsed upper control arm bushings were making this car unsafe. We chose not to drive the Montego until the bushings were replaced with urethane. As usual, these type of projects uncover more worn components.		Yes, that's a very original looking shock down there, "Auto-Flex". At these moments it's tempting to remove the entire front clip and embark on a complete front-end restoration. We held back due to time and money of course.
Installing new ball joints and bushings into filthy control arms is disheartening. We dropped both sets of arms off at the machine shop for a wash.		Both rotors were worn beyond their limit. We found another 72 Montego at the local Pick N' Pull. Sure, www.partsamercia.com and the local chain had them available but we couldn't accept the price tag.
Do you ever go to the wrecking yard actually expecting to find what your are looking for? Why bring the tools you need? We made a "cheap" breaker bar out of a stock jack and braced the tire with a Chevy Van center console.		These rotors were within limit so we had them turned at our favorite independent general repair shop, Mike's Auto Perfection in Reno, NV. When you find a local shop that treats you right, do them a favor and keep going back for jobs you can't do. We replaced the races, bearings, and seals ourselves.
Next, we attacked the upper ball joints with a high-speed grinder by knocking off the large rivet heads.		Standard replacement ball joints cost us a trip to the chain store, that's OK because we got out of there for next to nothing.