Well at least Al Gore is useful for something! LOL
When i say cooked, the post said something about a bit of the flywheel shearing off!

Your fortunate to have a great Father. Unfortunately mine passed away when i was 12 years old.

Looking at the history of this 2.3 it had a engine rebuild about 5,000 miles ago. Don't know if thats a good thing or a bad thing, and if that helps me any.

My post was not intended to be rude but to suggest that perhaps things are done for a reason. The shoving it into first thing happened probably because nobody ever explained to you how to use a manual gearbox? I started out driving a Fiat 600 and then a TR-4 so I know how to baby a gearbox - doesn't everyone?:D

The redline is different: like skiing out of bounds, touching the fence that says Don't Touch; Not stopping at a Stop sign. It seemed to me that some things are self-evident and designed to keep people alive/safe/riding-not-walking.

Your friend sounds like he should not be allowed near your car again or he will break it. Make him sit in the back.

It is easy to come off harsher than you think you are on the internet.

Not intending to be harsh is a good first step.

Tom W