Bought my first car this week!

[Electronic M]

Ain't that the truth. Part of the reason it survived was my policy of driving it almost exclusively on days where the pavement was cleared and dry (she only got driven 2-6 times a month on average after the snow fell), and the 80$ weather proof car cover she has been living under. I'd guess the rust failure of the exhaust and strap were related to what driving I gave it.

I don't know if it uses type F transmission fluid (but I'll check soon). In the fall after I got it she was down 2 Quarts so on the advice of my friend who told me 'automatic transmission fluid is all the same' I put in what the local BP had....She was down a Quart a month or two back, and that time my friend talked me into refilling it with transmission stop leak....The leak ain't gone, but it seems a tad better now.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

In the fall after I got it she was down 2 Quarts so on the advice of my friend who told me.

This is absolutely and completely wrong... there's enough types of transmission fluid it could make your head spin (it did mine), and the annoyance of my 68 Ford was that you could only get it in quarts, when I really would have preferred to be able to buy gallons!

The big difference is that the clutch packs in old fords are designed for the friction characteristics of the older fluids, and vice versa... i.e. type F, Mercon, Mercon V, etc. It's a bit of a science and not a good idea to mix and match.