No Michter's tour

I am sending the following message out to everyone:

Guys and gals, I have bad news. Due to the snow storm damage to the buildings, the owner's insurance agent said he would not allow tours due to liability. The snow did significant structural damage to several buildings and they are now unsafe to be inside or near. There is also now renewed pressure from the local government to have the site torn down because more has collapsed. I am VERY sorry about this, but our hands are tied right now. If anything changes, I will let you all know but at this time, tours can't be done safely.

I feel terrible about this but I guess this is what it comes down to. The 36" of snow that Schaefferstown received did an awful lot of damage to the buildings and some could collapse at any time. Until the buildings are secured, no one can go in them.

The Escort gets a new engine!

Well, the band-aid patch I did to the old engine last fall didn't work out. The previous owner didn't do regular oil changes and the block was severely worn- to the point that the pistons could wobble back and fourth in the bores! So it was time for a replacement. I had several options, but I decided to go with a Ford remanufactured engine since it carries a 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty and it was installed by factory trained technicians. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it right! Here are a few pictures of the new, shiny engine that replaces the worn 105,000 mile boat anchor: