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

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Finished the prep work and then watched it go from Grundierunggrau back to Gletscherblau Metallic. Should be trucked home on Monday. The bars, skirts, mirrors and bootlid spoiler will be painted early next week. I should also start shopping for a new 'other car' now that this one's too fucking nice to daily .

[Mike W.]

Finished the prep work and then watched it go from Grundierunggrau back to Gletscherblau Metallic. Should be trucked home on Monday. The bars, skirts, mirrors and bootlid spoiler will be painted early next week. I should also start shopping for a new 'other car' now that this one's too fucking nice to daily .

Oooh, that does look nice. See what happens when you do too good of work?

[rmiddendorf]

Finished the prep work and then watched it go from Grundierunggrau back to Gletscherblau Metallic. Should be trucked home on Monday. The bars, skirts, mirrors and bootlid spoiler will be painted early next week. I should also start shopping for a new 'other car' now that this one's too fucking nice to daily .

Oooh, that does look nice. See what happens when you do too good of work?

You accidently wind up with a garage queen instead of a driver. That's what happens.

[wkohler]

You see what happens Larry?!

[Mike W.]

You accidentally wind up with a garage queen instead of a driver. That's what happens.

That's exactly what I mean. Of course I'm not likely to have that problem.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

(Un)fortunately my garage isn't big enough for 3 cars so unless I store the e28 offsite the e34 will be parked on the street and stained with birdshit in no time like the daily driving POS it's meant to be.

[Mike W.]

Lined 'em up prepping for TexFest departure.

I'll see you and raise you one.

[Gelatinous]

Didn't do too much this weekend. Fixed one of the brake lights on the Samurai, one of the housings (from India) was pinned incorrectly causing the brake light to be illuminated instead of the tail light.

I also received my FLUKE 97/AUTO Scopemeter from eBay, so hopefully this week I can diagnose why my speedometer in inoperable. I have a dakota digital universal speed sensor (http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/ ... prd109.htm SEN-4165) connected to a Dakota Digital SGI-5E (http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/ ... prd126.htm) which is in turn being buffered by some simple logic buffers from me because the SGI-5E box is open collector and the speed input to the Intellitronix dash is not high impedance (~2k into an NPN transitor). The dash is an Intellitronix universal 5 gauge dash (https://intellitronix.com/products/digi ... -panel-kit)

But the SGI-5E doesn't output anything until the input is at a certain speed, so I need to be driving, or have the wheels in the air.



I've been pricing out a new vacuum advance for my distributor as mine is shot and looking for a replacement steering box to take some slop out of it. I should try tightening it first though. Also wouldn't mind finding a replacement transfer case that I can put new gears in to get 5th back on the highway. It would be nice to be able to keep up with people on I5 when it's not clogged with traffic.

[1st 5er]

Lined 'em up prepping for TexFest departure.

I'll see you and raise you one.

Nicely played.

[foamy]

was not quite today but over the last few days i bought a new winter car and stripped my old winter car for parts to make the new one live as well as have spare stuff.

old car



new cars engine coming out



old cars engine going in new car



new car running



it took about 4 hours to pull each engine and around 4 hours putting the new one in spent another probably 12 hours after that pulling stuff from the old car such as the transmission the trans computer driveshaft rear diff drivers tone ring both front axles the rear axles were bad so i left those i took the drivers seat belt fuel pump old car had a new filler neck for the tank i took that rear view mirror steering wheel and i swapped over all the interior parts that were in better shape im happy its almost over and ive got a new car that's not about to have the wheel fall off from rust.

[SPF2006]

Finally gave in and replaced the heater core in the 850 wagon. Ran out of daylight after install but will test and heat cycle tomorrow before buttoning everything back up.

This job is actually not too bad on these cars since the entire dash doesn't have to be removed. And nearly everything on these machines appears to be put together with torx fasteners and is pretty intuitive.

[1st 5er]

Went camping in it.

[Gelatinous]

not today, but I fixed my speedometer in the Samurai finally. I also installed a narrowband AFR.

Ordered a new carb (Weber 32/36DGAV) which should be here today with any luck so that I can replace the stock one on the Sammi.

it has a problem with the secondary jet... That venturi looks a little blocked lol.



I only discovered this after installing the narrowband AFR and noticing it was leaning out under WOT.

The stock carb also has a problem in that it needs bushings for the throttle shaft and the accelerator pump is leaking so it's time.

After this, I have to replace the vacuum advance on the distributor and re-clock it so that cylinder 1 compression matches cylinder 1 on the distributor cap. not the case currently, but it runs decently at the moment so I haven't needed to touch it.

[a]

DJaqzz I have 3 sets of Chinese impact sockets that I abuse. My 1/2 breaker bar and ratchet are Craftsmans . If the nut won't budge, drill a flat up close to the bolt on the face followed by a sharp cold chisel. OR use a grinder if you can get at the nut.

Foamy, is that a 46 Ford rack body in the background?

[MicahO]

This crazy winter weather..... Yesterday was 60 and raining here in upper-downstate NY. This washed the salt from the roads...leaving me a very nice day to drive the (piss out of the) M2 to work today.

Chris Harris/Top Gear published a review. It's a scientific assessment of how great the car is. I'd have to agree.

https://youtu.be/YZdGvkPwsqE

[a]

I'm overhauling a Weber grill. Marina was threatening to buy some POS grill from a big box store. I replaced a 6 $ part and I even got the push button ignition to work While it is apart I may as well scrape the carbon off. I'm working in the yurt . I want to get the Rat inside before the snow flies. It needs frame work. The bed needs to come off. The tank needs to come out. I plan to. form pieces cut from a 275 gallon fuel oil tank like I did up front where the body mount rotted off.

1/22/17. Grill and snow blower moved to other sheds. I straightened out the yurt, swept the leaves out of the Rat's bed, laid down carpet scraps and pulled it inside . This is the 3rd winter it has languished since I bought it in 11.

[Drtsk]

Had a short shifter kit installed on my 2014 991.1 C2S cab.
I don't officially have a e28 yet.
I am picking a 1987 e28 535is on Saturday in Boston.
It will be a very long 1 1/2 hour flight to Boston from Dulles.

[davintosh]

I only have one car these days, but when a friend is in need of help, ihr Auto ist mein Auto, in a way.

Richard has an '06 Honda Accord Combi (wagon) and needed some help changing a headlight bulb, so I volunteered. He tore his ACL a few weeks ago, and is just two weeks out from surgery; working with crutches sucks. I looked online for info on the job since he was unable to figure it out, and got led down some rabbit trails that talked about pulling the fender liner to access the thing... Not on this car, because there's sheet metal between the headlight and the fender liner. His came with the optional projector-style bulbs, so changing them wasn't terribly difficult, just not very straightforward, so it took a little noodling to figure it out. Remove a screw, twist off a cap, and there's the bulb. Which was very different from what he had bought for it. Too bad nothing is open on Sunday in Deutschland.

The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well.
But then I like wagons.

[dsmith]

The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well. But then I like wagons.

Looks like an Acura wagon. I'd buy one, if it was low content, manual, $20k. My wife would love it too.

[a]

Rat had a bed-ectomy yesterday. Today , I drained the about 9 gallons from the tank with a hand operated siphon, I added 5 3" sheet rock screws to the wood on my original 40 yr garden cart. I have the rear wheels up, The tank is 1/2 off, and I quit for the day knowing more about removing the gas tank. I'm mulling over hanging a 4' shop light in the yurt. Gonna be some cutting and pasting done on the left frame rail. Rivets are going to get drilled out. I haven't got an exact count, but a couple dozen looks about right.

[Collin380]

The Honda Combi is a nice looking car; too bad they chose not to sell them in the US; I think they would've gone over pretty well. But then I like wagons.

Looks like an Acura wagon. I'd buy one, if it was low content, manual, $20k. My wife would love it too.

Here is my VW Jetta Sportwagen 2.5 5 speed with retro wheels installed...

[dsmith]

I am thinking Golf wagon in July, when our Jetta lease is up.

[Karl Grau]

Took apart the center console pieces so I could get at the changer to remove a jammed CD.

[davintosh]

Speaking of vehicles that aren't mine, but whose upkeep is still my concern, our Ford Transit van was operable again today. The Transit is a great vehicle overall, very well thought out & executed. Drives nicely, seats nine, and the seating is easy to reconfigure. The only thing I'd change is the engine; the turbo diesel engine in it scoots it around pretty well when it's empty, but with a load of bodies on board, it's a little lethargic. But still, of the three vehicles our dorm has, that's my favorite one to drive, mostly because it maneuvers like a European vehicle should; has a turning radius that's similar to the BMWs I've owned.

But we found an achilles heel with a recent cold snap. When the outside temp is around freezing or higher, they run fine, but a few degrees below freezing and they buck and stall and throw CELs and make life miserable. The first time it happened to me was over Christmas break, when driving my family south into the Alps for a day; the thing started coughing and sputtering about a half-hour into the drive. I ended up pulling over, shut it off, started it back up, and it ran flawlessly the rest of the trip. I told the maintenance department about it, and they took it to the dealer to have it checked out; didn't find a thing wrong, not even a code stored on the computer. They figured it might have had something to do with the cold weather, but by then it wasn't so cold out, so it worked fine.

It got even colder last week, and for most of the week, most of the Transit vans -- the school has about a dozen of them -- were pretty much unusable. The scariest part is when they stall on a downshift while you're driving, mostly because the steering assist suddenly goes away. That happened to me a week ago Friday, downshifting just as I entered a curve; that was more than a little disconcerting. Then a day later it happened to an RA from another dorm; she just learned how to drive a stick last summer, and she's at the wheel with a half-dozen high schoolers along for the ride... she was able to muscle it around the corner without a crash, but didn't do much for the poor kid's confidence. After that incident most of the vans were parked for the better part of a week.

At first the thought was that the fuel station we use didn't anticipate such cold weather, and didn't switch over to a winter blend early enough, so the fuel would gel in the lines. That may be the case, but a local mechanic's theory is that moisture had accumulated in the fuel filters over time, and would freeze in the filters, starving the engine for fuel. The filters are located just behind the left front wheel, far from the engine bay that could potentially keep them thawed out. Seems like a reasonable theory, especially when the vans that he changed the filters on work just fine now.

Most disappointing is Ford's response to this issue; "Not our problem." They are leased vehicles, and the dealer wouldn't do a thing to resolve the problem. I haven't been involved in talks with the dealer, but I can't believe we're the only ones experiencing this issue.

[bkbimmer]

I did bodywork on my e24.

[MicahO]

Dave - sorry to hear such a crap response from Ford on that issue. It sounds easily replicated and obviously an engine control issue (which should be their problem!).

This post is really only to make the folks in the non-salty parts of the country appreciate their non-saltiness.

The rear brakes on the Tundra have been less than effective lately. The passenger side has been dragging. Not enough to pull the car to the right, but enough that the brake on that side runs a lot hotter than the other side....which doesn't heat up at all. The Driver's side has been stuck open and doing next to nothing. So I got new pads and new guide clips for the pad carriers and figured I'd dig in. Prepare yourself and try not to get tetanus from these pictures.....

This is the driver's side, where the outer face of the rotor hasn't seen much contact from the pad in some time. Notice how salty the rest of the underbody is, and understand that I had gone through the car wash yesterday morning, and DID choose the underbody wash. That salt is AFTER a hose-down.....



The pads and pad carriers had become one with each other, and I had to hammer the pads out, which were so rusted that they broke apart in the process. Yech.



I ground and filed the pad carriers back into their proper shapes, put in new pad guide clips, a TON of high temp brake grease, loaded the new pads, and totally neglected to take pictures of my handiwork. But I again have working rear brakes on the Tundra! Yay!

[wkohler]

So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?

[MicahO]

So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?

Um .... The salt is good for my blood pressure?

There's a BIG reason that the majority of my cars do not drive in the winter.

[davintosh]

Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?

So what is the logical reason that people use to live in that hell?

The cold keeps out the riff-raff. Mostly.

[1st 5er]

Micah: Your photos aren't showing up. Is it just me?

Nope, me too.

Though I've seen the pics and had my shots.