What did you do to your other car(s) today?

[1st 5er]

Started my 1988 Porsche 928S4 for the first time in 9 years. I drained the tank first and put in fresh gas. It ran horribly for about 4 minutes before the fresh gas came through and it started idling normally. I need to drag it out and give it a good wash.

928S4 and you haven't driven it in 9 years? What's the matter with you???

300 cars.

[Mike W.]

300 cars.

Oh.

[alabbasi]

928S4 and you haven't driven it in 9 years? What's the matter with you???

I know, my M635CSI is parked right next to it and has been since the 928 was parked.

[gadget73]

had a passenger in the car last week, now the seat belt is stuck at full extension and won't retract. Guess I'm working on that tonight. Probably just past the stop and I have to get into the retractor to manually pop the catch so it will wind back up. Not a big deal, just involves removing a bunch of old plastic trim that hasn't been disturbed in a long time so there is always some risk of it changing from 3 pieces to 82.

[gadget73]

got it wound back up, the cable that is supposed to release the belt retractor when the door opens is broken, and of course replacements do not exist. I was able to verify it locks up if I tilt the thing so the weight flops but I don't have complete faith that it will actually work in an accident. No idea what the situation is on the driver's side but I doubt its any different.

[e28Sean]

Gave the interior a proper cleaning.

[gadget73]

spent $64 on some hoses and fittings to prove I needed to replace a $25 fuel filter.

but on the plus side I have confirmed that my lift pump is fine and there are no restrictions on the feed from the tank up to the fuel filter. I honestly thought the lift pump was the issue.

[alabbasi]

Gave the interior a proper cleaning.

W208 CLK55?

[e28Sean]

W208 CLK55?

Correct, Sir.

[alabbasi]

Nice, I ran a 2002 W210 E55 for about 10 years. I still have the car but it was t boned so I need to figure out if I want to fix it or part it. I loved that motor for its simplicity, I went onto an S55K afterwards as my daily driver which was also fun but a lot more hassle. I still have a SL55K and CL65 but my new daily is a W211 E320CDI which is plenty quick for a daily and still gets me 35mpg on avg.

[alabbasi]

Had to rearrange some cars so i could fit the 77 450SEL 6.9 parts car in the back of the building which took about 3 hours because it didnt really run well from stale fuel in the tank. I had to pull a few cars out including my 1994 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible which I bought 10 years ago but never drove because it had a brake issue that I did not get fixed until sometime last year. It got its maiden voyage today as I wanted to put some fresh gas. I took it for its shakedown and hit the highway at 80mph before I remembered that the tires are so dry rotted, one is started to peel away from the tread. Holy cow this car drives great! It does need some work which I will list below:

Rear dog legs (not sure what they’re called but the bushings are shot)
The shock bushings in the front are also bad
The blower fan is blowing all the time in hot
Radio just also randomly failed and is no longer working
Seats won’t go forward far enough to unbolt from the back
Check engine light is on
Battery light is on even though alternator is charging

I’m now digging the idea of putting thing back on the road.

[Mike W.]

Had to rearrange some cars so i could fit the 77 450SEL 6.9 parts car in the back of the building which took about 3 hours because it didnt really run well from stale fuel in the tank. I had to pull a few cars out including my 1994 Jaguar XJS V12 convertible which I bought 10 years ago but never drove because it had a brake issue that I did not get fixed until sometime last year. It got its maiden voyage today as I wanted to put some fresh gas. I took it for its shakedown and hit the highway at 80mph before I remembered that the tires are so dry rotted, one is started to peel away from the tread. Holy cow this car drives great! It does need some work which I will list below:

Rear dog legs (not sure what they’re called but the bushings are shot)
The shock bushings in the front are also bad
The blower fan is blowing all the time in hot
Radio just also randomly failed and is no longer working
Seats won’t go forward far enough to unbolt from the back
Check engine light is on
Battery light is on even though alternator is charging

I’m now digging the idea of putting thing back on the road.

Nice fleet you seem to have. Now don't take this wrong, it's neither a complement nor an insult, just an observation.

We clearly are in a different tax bracket.

[alabbasi]

I don't have any children . This might put me in a different tax bracket, but also makes me rich even if I don't make a lot of money :-)

[Mike W.]

I don't have any children . This might put me in a different tax bracket, but also makes me rich even if I don't make a lot of money :-)

Ah, but there's two ways to that. I've only a stepson, but he, his wife and kids are worth the world to me. Hard to quantify in $$$, but still...

Please be aware, I'm not criticizing you in any way, and I do envy what I read of your fleet, I'm just bantering back and forth. Although I do love my extended family.

[alabbasi]

I've only a stepson, but he, his wife and kids are worth the world to me

Then this makes you rich too

[Zeta]

I had to rebuild the clutch master cylinder and release cylinder on my 1997 Tacoma after the clutch went to the floor on my drive home last week. The culprit:


And the cylinders cleaned up with all their internals replaced:


The clutch now feels better than it did two years ago.

[Zeta]

More trouble with the Tacoma. It decided to do this on my way home from work Friday night:




I'm relieved that it happened while I was in the right lane, going 30 mph, considering I was about to get onto the interstate just a block away... don't want to imagine what would have happened at 70+ mph. I got it towed to a shop, they replaced upper and lower ball joints, CV axle, and brake lines, and I was able to pick it up yesterday evening. Today I replaced the lower ball joint and tie rod end on the other side, because they were in rough shape too, and it was probably just a matter of time before it happened again.

Apparently the lower ball joints on the 1st gen Tacoma are like its equivalent of the timing belt on the M20. Check them regularly, and replace if they show any sign of wear, or they will wreck you. I wish I knew that earlier!

[dsw99a]

I performed the same repair on my wifes coworkers truck. same thing, he was heading to get on the highway. failed right in front of his house when turning. i wenrt ahead and did both sides.

[gadget73]

Met up with a friend who brought me the raised speaker grilles for the back shelf that I needed in order to fit the JBL speakers in the rear deck. Pulled that out, cut the ovals in the carpet, and installed the grilles. Put all that back together and installed the speakers. Sound is better balanced now, it used to be too loud in the back.

Replaced the switch on the shop vac and gave the car a quick cleaning while I had the rear seat out. Apparently I'd never pulled the back seat, there was a lot of crumbs and whatnot under there. Found a business card sized calendar from some dentist's office in North Carolina from 2004 too.

[EuroShark]

I towed this thing home last weekend. It's a low mileage European market 308 GTS QV. It had been sitting in a dirty old shed for at least half a dozen years so of course it was filled with spiders, mouse poop and all sorts of other unpleasant things. I spent most of the weekend after we got it home taking everything out of it and deep cleaning. It needs work but I'm happy to have it.

The first car I ever bought for myself was an Alfa Romeo. It was a positive experience but after I discovered BMWs I never really wanted another Italian car, other than a brief obsession with the Lancia Delta Integrale that didn't end up going anywhere. I wasn't actively searching for anything remotely similar to this. It was one of those cars that just sort of happened.

[Mike W.]

I towed this thing home last weekend. It's a low mileage European market 308 GTS QV. It had been sitting in a dirty old shed for at least half a dozen years so of course it was filled with spiders, mouse poop and all sorts of other unpleasant things. I spent most of the weekend after we got it home taking everything out of it and deep cleaning. It needs work but I'm happy to have it.

The first car I ever bought for myself was an Alfa Romeo. It was a positive experience but after I discovered BMWs I never really wanted another Italian car, other than a brief obsession with the Lancia Delta Integrale that didn't end up going anywhere. I wasn't actively searching for anything remotely similar to this. It was one of those cars that just sort of happened.

I used to poo poo 308s because they weren't the V12 supercars, but shit, it's a Ferrari and a great looking car. If even a base one fell in my lap I certainly wouldn't turn it away, let alone a 4V one. Congrats on a nice pickup!

[gadget73]

There is an English guy on Youtube, Number27, that has a 308 that he's been on quite the journey with. He calls it the Influenzo. Cool car, and it sounds lovely now that he's finally gotten the thing running correctly.

I kind of enjoy those vids because he's just a regular guy working on a car in his garage and driveway with hand tools, not someone with bottomless money who just buys a car and sends it off to the expert to fix every problem for them.

[1st 5er]

I towed this thing home last weekend...

Don't get much better'n that.

I'd drive dat bish, If'n it'd hold my 6'4" frame.

[EuroShark]

I used to poo poo 308s because they weren't the V12 supercars, but shit, it's a Ferrari and a great looking car. If even a base one fell in my lap I certainly wouldn't turn it away, let alone a 4V one. Congrats on a nice pickup!

Thanks, and same here. Never really thought they were anything too special but I think the issue was that I was seeing the mid-year US spec examples. They were kind of soggy, didn't have the deep chin spoiler, didn't make much power. Not that the QV is a hot rod by todays standards, but 240hp and a 7700rpm red line should be fun.

There is an English guy on Youtube, Number27, that has a 308 that he's been on quite the journey with. He calls it the Influenzo. Cool car, and it sounds lovely now that he's finally gotten the thing running correctly.

I kind of enjoy those vids because he's just a regular guy working on a car in his garage and driveway with hand tools, not someone with bottomless money who just buys a car and sends it off to the expert to fix every problem for them.

He puts out some great content. I prefer to follow the normal guys with normal budgets as well. None of the last six projects I've purchased have run so this one fits the pattern, and that's the only reason I was able to get my hands on it. I absolutely do not have a Ferrari budget. I hardly have an M5 or 944 budget, but this car was so cheap I couldn't resist. One (or two, or three) of the other cars will have to go to free up time and resources but it was time to shake things up anyway.

I'd drive dat bish, If'n it'd hold my 6'4" frame.

I'm worried about that as well. I'm only an inch shorter than you and I have no idea if I'll be able to drive it comfortably. At least I'm not staring at the top of the windshield frame like I do when I drive an Alfa Spider.

[gadget73]

Thanks, and same here. Never really thought they were anything too special but I think the issue was that I was seeing the mid-year US spec examples. They were kind of soggy, didn't have the deep chin spoiler, didn't make much power. Not that the QV is a hot rod by todays standards, but 240hp and a 7700rpm red line should be fun.

kind of funny how "supercars" of yesteryear are comparable to boring crap like minivans in the horsepower department these days.

[gadget73]

Did this last weekend. Friend needed the fancypants valve body in my wrecked Mark VII to send back for a re-calibration for his car so he didn't have any down time while that was done. I gave it to him on the condition that I needed something to put back in that transmission just so all the parts were there if/when I needed it for a core.

The Mark VII I'm driving has had a lousy 3-4 upshift since I've owned it. I also had the original valve body out of my parts car that was missing one retainer clip. That one had a shift kit installed incorrectly (not by me), and I lost one of the clips when I went through it in an effort to figure out what was wrong. Found one of the spring and valve assemblies installed backwards, but at the time I did not know and thats why it got the fancy valve body in the first place.

Friend brings me down a valve body out of a transmission that got destroyed from a U joint failure and I robbed the clip I needed from it. We put the shift kit valve body in my working car. When the original came out we found one of the check balls jammed in the plate. Some input from the AOD valve body specialist said that particular check ball was related to releasing the forward clutch, which has to disengage in overdrive. The problem I had seemed like a dragging forward clutch, so that tracks perfectly. Car now shifts better than it has since I've owned it, my parts car has a complete core transmission with the valve body out of my driving car, and my friend has the valve body he needs to get his car how it should be. An all-around success I'd say.

[Mike W.]

Argggg. Bought a Nissan Xterra a few weeks ago. Super clean, ran like a top, 107K on it. A little short of 3K miles into vacation in Rocky Mountain NP, we came back to the car after a short hike, turned the key and nothing happened. Broke out the meter and battery checked out good. Everything seems to work, but no crank. Not even a click. Got towed out of the park, 40 some miles to the hotel, free, thanks AAA. I was able to get it to crank by jumping hot to the start relay, but it didn't start, I just confirmed that the battery and starter work. Much research and troubleshooting later I have a guess as to what's wrong. An electronic module of course, a few calls to dealers suggest there's either very few left, all on the east coast, or NLA and discontinued. But I'm still guessing.

Tuesday I go pick up a U Haul truck and car trailer to tow it home to the tune of over $2K. Argggg.

[1st 5er]

Argggg is right. BTDT
Thankful last time we were close enough to home that getting a rental, thank you AAA, driving that home and then returning with Burbie and trailer made the most sense.

[gadget73]

Much research and troubleshooting later I have a guess as to what's wrong. An electronic module of course, a few calls to dealers suggest there's either very few left, all on the east coast, or NLA and discontinued. But I'm still guessing.

some form of security system I'm guessing?

[Mike W.]

Much research and troubleshooting later I have a guess as to what's wrong. An electronic module of course, a few calls to dealers suggest there's either very few left, all on the east coast, or NLA and discontinued. But I'm still guessing.

some form of security system I'm guessing?

No, I think it's the Intelligent Power Distribution Module, AKA IPDM, which is a fusebox with a bunch of relays and lots of electronics that is known to be a problem child. It runs a lot of things but I don't think security. Easy to change if I had one, but I don't.