Hey vanmansam,
Caramel bubbles sound like a headache, maybe best to walk away for a while, hit the books for uni and drive there in a mundane but rego'ed falcon in the meantime.... I face the same thing, to work, in a boring as wagon & it's not that bad...
The Escort, help on the forum and new engines on gumtree are still always there on the weekends............
Cheers Drewdog............