This goes without saying but it's worth saying again, just for good measure and the laughs.
I now have a close friend's car, since he passed away late last year. I'm currently going thru various things to identify little fixes it needs. Mark was a minimalist and removed whatever he didn't want/need on the car. Like the air conditioning system. So point being here is that removal of things leaves some open holes that should be plugged, which Mark didn't bother with since his car was only driven in dry weather. Nonetheless the moral of this story is don't leave any openings into the car, especially if you occasionally have little unwanted friends visit your garage.
Just when you think you've seen it all.......... Mark's wife Trish mentioned earlier this year that in years past, one time they fired up her 993 for the first time of the season and found/smelled peanuts roasting on the engine. Darn mice.......... Luckily we didn't find that on her car this summer . When I started futzing around with Mark's '86 911, I didn't find any in the engine bay or behind the fan.
After taking the old 911 for a few rides now, I noticed the throttle pedal was a little bit stiff and the shifting was a little bit wonky. No big deal. I'll take a look in the center tunnel and see if the throttle rod is sticking (crusty old bushings?) and check the shifter coupler too. So after the kids go to bed last night, I gotta satisfy my curiosity and look in the tunnel to see what might be the fix. I take off the rear access cover, which is as easy as tying your shoes and......... I could hear Mark's voice clear as a bell- "HEYOOOOOOOO! WE GOT PEANUTS!!!!! @#$%IN' MICE!!!!"
The center tunnel was packed full from the shifter all the way to the back. FULL, and that ain't no exaggeration. I'm not talking a handful of peanuts. I'm talking packed tight ram jammed in there like the little bugger was stockpiling for a nuclear war. Along with a heavy sprinkling of thistle seed for extra flavor.
So then its go time. Out comes center console, shifter, then both the front seats to allow easy removal of parking brake & heater controls. Took me three hours face down on the floor looking in the tunnel from every angle to dig, push, pull, blow, poke, prod, smash, pry, vaccuum, etc. all the stuff from the tunnel. Three and a half heaping dust pan loads of peanuts!!!! Mark was up there laughing in tears for certain, watching me tackle this fiasco!
I can't believe the shifter actually moved smoothly and never did I hear any crunching, even when using the parking brake!
Rear access hole packed full to the top
Parking brake removed
Shifter removed
This picture of the pile doesn't do justice to how big the pile was.
