What have you done to your car today?

[Perfect Balance]

Either get some nice hubcaps (that car does NOT suit running on steelies!)

+1. Just makes the car go from "normal sedan" to looking like a beat pos. My Jetta is missing two hubcaps, and the passenger side of the car looks normal and the driver's looks like it's falling apart, just because the hubcaps are missing.

 

[WrxScooby]

Finally got new exhaust on and made a quick vid

 

[Anna+Reece]

Today I removed the beat up and ruined Driver's side fender on my MR2. I tried painting the Pre-War era Japanese Flag on the fender, but it turns out the thing already has 2 layers of paint, so it turned out horribly. I have a friend that has 8 of them so he can probably help me out with it.

 

[Kent]

Finally got new exhaust on and made a quick vid

Nice. 👍
Bet that sounds great inside the car.

 

[SPhilli911]

Yup, that Subaru sounds great. As much as I wish mine sounded like that, I commute to work long distance and it might get bothersome over time.

I thoroughly cleaned my car inside and out (finally got around to waxing). It looks mint now, almost brand new.

Though I admit I prefer the look of a WRX covered in dirt.

 

[MedigoFlame]

I already got rid of the stupid idea of removing the hubcaps and painting the steelies. Thanks for the help. I do feel like an idiot for thinking such a thing...

 

[stumpydino]

Oil gauge felt like leaking today, now the ammeter has a tide mark and my shoes are stained

 

[Eric.]

Do yourself a favor and replace it with an electronic gauge, before it becomes a fire hazard.

 

[sumbrownkid]

Told my state to scrub out my car title.

RIP Geo Prizm.

 

[Antonisbob]

Phoning around looking for a car, as I sold mine a week or two ago.

 

[Team THRT Drift]

Phoning around looking for a car, as I sold mine a week or two ago.

What do yu have in mind? (Just asking, not offering)

 

[hawkeye122]

This morning, go to open the passenger door
*snap*
Door handle loosely opens, door does not....

Finally take off the cover, and epoxy-d the metal bit back to the handle, rather than buying a new clip.

 

[Pako]

I needed a floor lift jack to help me with my Coilover install.....

Just bought a 3.25 Ton floor jack with a range of 3.5" to 21-3/8". It also has dual action hydraulics which is nice. No one in town had anything that was either low enough or big enough. I went to Costco on a whim and there it was.

Took it out of the box and put on the handle. The dual action "quick lift" is false advertising. It is a single action hydraulic lift.

Model: Arcan XL325R
Costco Price: $99.99
Overall Length: 27.5"
Width: 14"
Low height reach: 12.5"
Weight: 104lbs
Strokes to full height (without load): 8

Google Image:

 

[Thujalvi]

Changed the timing belt, and as trivial as that may sound, allow me to give a quick run down of what sort of operation that is on a BMW M40 motor:

Remove all the water from the cooling system.
Remove distributor cap and rotor.
Remove fan.
Remove radiator.
Remove power steering pump and alternator belts.
Remove water pump pulley and crankshaft pulley.
Remove thermostat housing.
Remove lower and upper timing cover.
Remove timing belt tensioner.
Remove timing belt.
Inspect and replace roller guides where needed.
Replace tensioner.
Replace timing belt.
Put everything back together.

Took me some four or five hours. Good fun

 

[Perfect Balance]

Changed the thermostat on my Mk3 Jetta. I hate this car.

 

[Antonisbob]

What do yu have in mind? (Just asking, not offering)

Anything '60s, '70s or '80s. I've looked at a '78 Regal and a '73 coupe DeVille, but they both needed a lot of work.

 

[Pako]

Had to put a new windshield in.

 

[PhillGuy]

Add more garbage tot he back seat area.

 

[Dennisch]

I was working on my dad's 1970 Bel Air, and I found out that the engine is the same piece of metal Chevrolet put into the car 42 years ago.

Matching numbers. 👍

 

[MaliciousMD]

converting the A/C from R12 to 134. (Who knew it hadn't already been!)

There is a cheaper and more effective way to retain your R12 system and not have to retrofit to R134A. DIY A/C recharge with R154A from electronics air duster cans. Having used it a number of times in R12 cars, I've never had a leak, also seems to get the A/C colder faster. This may be because R154A runs on the high pressure side of the system at a much lower pressure than R134A. Seeing as how R134A requires retro-fit, R154A is the better bet. It will be the required refrigerant for new cars by 2017, and does not require retrofit on R12 systems. Not to mention it's less flammable than R134A...

I was working on my dad's 1970 Bel Air, and I found out that the engine is the same piece of metal Chevrolet put into the car 42 years ago.

Matching numbers. 👍

I didn't think the later GM B-Body cars were worth much at all, even with matching power train. I'd imagine something that large would be quite anemic with one of the straight 6's or even the small blocks. Hope its a 427 or 454 car...

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

ARRRGHHH. I didn't do anything to my car, but somebody else did! I went outside yesterday and spotted a whole bunch of scraping on the Mazda2's rear right quarter panel/bumper. Probably the stupid Tahoe that has the space next to me, which is so big that it touches both lines in our little spaces, and is owned by a family with one kid. That's not gonna be cheap to fix...

There is a cheaper and more effective way to retain your R12 system and not have to retrofit to R134A. DIY A/C recharge with R154A from electronics air duster cans. Having used it a number of times in R12 cars, I've never had a leak, also seems to get the A/C colder faster. This may be because R154A runs on the high pressure side of the system at a much lower pressure than R134A. Seeing as how R134A requires retro-fit, R154A is the better bet. It will be the required refrigerant for new cars by 2017, and does not require retrofit on R12 systems. Not to mention it's less flammable than R134A...

For all I know, that's actually what they've done. I didn't even know the car needed the conversion until my mom called me and said "hey, I've been driving your car 'cause your brother stole my car for the weekend, and it's too hot, so I took it into the shop." She said something to the effect of "converting it to the newer gas" so I assume it's 134a though. Anyway, it's actually already done.

 

[MaliciousMD]

For all I know, that's actually what they've done. I didn't even know the car needed the conversion until my mom called me and said "hey, I've been driving your car 'cause your brother stole my car for the weekend, and it's too hot, so I took it into the shop." She said something to the effect of "converting it to the newer gas" so I assume it's 134a though. Anyway, it's actually already done.

One way you would be able to tell is if the A/C condensor tank has been changed to a larger unit. If the original R12 unit was large enough it may not have been changed. Most R12 tanks I've seen are pretty small, like the size of small oil catch tank. Another sign is you may notice the A/C compressor seems to load or drag the car down a bit more than with the R12, this is because of the pressure difference in which 134A the systems run.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention if you notice your A/C does not get as cold as quickly if it's been converted. R12 and R134A have different thermal efficiency. A/C condensor design for R12 will not condense R134A as quickly even though the R134A runs at a higher pressure.

 

[Eric.]

Got a pretty aggressive alignment today.

He didn't get the camber quite even on both sides, but good enough. That's as much as the left side could do. And 1/16" toe out in front and 1/8" in at the rear.

 

[MaliciousMD]

Got my rotary on today and did a few things with the Turbo II.


Stripped down the stock turbo the other day, now is completely rebuilt. New carbon seal, thrust collar, springs, journal bushings and snap rings. Marked the wheels and nuts before taking apart the CHRA so I skipped the re-balance. Waiting on a new adjustable wastegate actuator & bracket. Need to port wastegate to re-install turbine housing.

So whoever in Japan that owned the car that I got as a front clip for the engine had already ported the smaller wastegate port larger. Unfortunately it looks like crap, and isn't large enough to prevent boost creep. I'll be working this over shortly. Need a longer carbide bit to get deep in her guts. Also noticed whoever ported this wastegate did not bend back the door arm so it was quite loose, and misaligned @ the wastegate actuator.

So I got bored with the stock turbo since I don't have a carbide bit long enough to really port the wastegate. Decided to move on and break out the bigger turbo. T04E 54-trim S5 hybrid, siamese wastegate ports, 14psi adjustable actuator. 👍

Since I don't have enough fuel system or a stand alone EMS to run the T04E, I got bored quick and started sorting through the car. Going through the harnesses with broken clips, making lists of things to replace, order, etc. Then I tweeked out cleaning inside.

Cleaning is boring, so then I just checked out the first of my gauges to come in. The new Innovate MTX-D Dual Function series gauges are what I'll be using. First one to come in was the Oil Temp/Pressure gauge. Great little kit with sensors included.

I'll be using the MTX-D EGT, Boost/Vacuum, and Water Temp/Voltage. Question I keep asking myself is where to mount 4 gauges, Innovate LM-2 wide band data logger, turbo timer, and boost controller where I can see them, but it's not visible to other cars at window level. All without loosing my stereo, FML...

 

[Dennisch]

I didn't think the later GM B-Body cars were worth much at all, even with matching power train. I'd imagine something that large would be quite anemic with one of the straight 6's or even the small blocks. Hope its a 427 or 454 car...

They are worth nothing.

And this car has the I6, with the 3 speed manual on the column. No power windows, it must have been the cheapest Bel Air rolling out of the factory.

But. Now we know that it is the original engine, we are going to rebuild this engine. Otherwise a V8 would have gone in. But keeping the I6 is pretty rare over here.

 

[Clark]

Fitted an original chrome finish kindney grill to replace the all black one that I bought on the car.

 

[MaliciousMD]

They are worth nothing.

And this car has the I6, with the 3 speed manual on the column. No power windows, it must have been the cheapest Bel Air rolling out of the factory.

But. Now we know that it is the original engine, we are going to rebuild this engine. Otherwise a V8 would have gone in. But keeping the I6 is pretty rare over here.

3 on the tree 👍

 

[Punknoodle]

Question I keep asking myself is where to mount 4 gauges, Innovate LM-2 wide band data logger, turbo timer, and boost controller where I can see them, but it's not visible to other cars at window level. All without loosing my stereo, FML...

This is exactly the reason I went for the LC-1 kit as opposed to a wideband gauge, I have a mechanical boost gauge but thats it, all other sensors will be wired in to the Haltech and logged from there. My plan eventually is to get a display logger dash and mount this in front of my factory dash, which will display everything I need it to display, as well as g-force and gps logging, for track days. Over the top for a street car but I'm not a fan of multiple gauges would much rather an all in one solution

 

[RVDNuT374]

I checked the tire pressure and added air as needed.

 

[MaliciousMD]

This is exactly the reason I went for the LC-1 kit as opposed to a wideband gauge, I have a mechanical boost gauge but thats it, all other sensors will be wired in to the Haltech and logged from there. My plan eventually is to get a display logger dash and mount this in front of my factory dash, which will display everything I need it to display, as well as g-force and gps logging, for track days. Over the top for a street car but I'm not a fan of multiple gauges would much rather an all in one solution

By the time you buy all the gauges, may as well buy a digital dash, LOL. The Haltech dash looks almost identical to the RacePak dash, and I do like the RacePak. So tempting...

I've decided to ditch the boost gauge as I have a Blitz SBC Type-S boost controller that displays boost, warning, etc. Figure I can run the 3 remaining gauges right under the stereo and the LM-2 I'll put on my window mount for logging purposes when needed. Plus those 3 gauges will actually function as 6, so I think it will work out to be a clean and not so visible setup.

Need to just PowerFC this car so I can set the Commander display like in my S13. Now where to get $1000 to buy one, LOL...