What did you do in your shop today?

[MiniDave]

I know, I tried a cone filter on my Clubby and went right back to the stock box. Funny how my '89 doesn't seem loud at all with a cone on it.....

[jedduh01]

Pushed this in...

Non runner of about 25 years
      Was used and used thru the 70's and 80's as a racer and a around. Luckily it. Didn't get destroyed.
   Has had some 'track' upgrades as it was SCCA Used in past.  then not used. parked...

Brought out now to put back on normal road use ...
     Will have to refurbish all systems (they're all the most basic)  and get operable again!.

Has the Ford 105E "kent" engine in it  was the spec racer for the time.. Webers
 
Ill technically be learning a lot for this Frame with wheels!

Has Hub conversion done for racing with wider tires.
Has Rear end conversion done. (have original)
Came with Wider over fenders.. For wider racing rubber = all in time to be converted back to stock that came with the car.

Will be fun!



 

[MiniDave]

What year is it? Looks a lot like my old 62....mine had a 1275 Sprite set up tho...

Fun job  ahead of you!

[BruceK]

Is it a Lotus or a clone? 

[jedduh01]

Yes, Genuine Lotus = Has Frame stamping number and Lotus ID Plate. and the History of the previous owner racing with it.
  Even came with Side Curtins, Top + Tonneau cover and plus the original heater box.

I dont know for certain if this was a A series cao begin with , but yes=  early 60's had A series with Ribcase or possibly even smooth case trans.. Jeff shared pics of the A series mounting setup = we contemplating putting in a 1275 .. but if the Kent engine we have works= stick with it.

   Worried about the cooling system,= has a Swirl pot on top = BADLY Rusted= hopefully we can repair and make work!  Other things are a mix mash of vintage BMC and Triumph Parts.

[MiniDave]

Moved the Racing Green over to the lift, and brought the wife's Audi in....it needs a new battery and an air suspension module..... also it has a small rattle in the rear hatch I need to find.

Yesterday I got the Inno engine running in the test stand, and today I got the Racing Green to start too. The RG sat for 4 months in the batcave, and when I went to bring it home it would not start. A quick shot of ether this am and it popped right off....my theory was the carb got dry over those 4 months and it took a while to fill it up again, since it has a mechanical fuel pump. I drove the car up to Vicky Brits this am and it ran perfectly.

All in all, a pretty good day.

[BruceK]

The Audi needs another air suspension piece?  That's a repair you know very well by now.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, so far I've replaced just front the front airbags and rebuilt the air pump, this time they claim it's the control module that is draining the battery.

I put a new battery in it today - damn thing weighs 100lbs and it's right in the middle just at the base of the windshield so you have to lean over, arms extended holding this huge weight, and try and maneuver it into place - it's a total PITA!

We have a new (used) control module on the way - new ones are available for  just under $1K, used ones go from $100-150.....

Hopefully we'll get a few more years out of the car - we have only found one car that she would like to replace it with - another Allroad - and they are a BUNCH of money, even 4 years old. But a 2015 would be moving us up 11 years.....

[jedduh01]

Built a "wood fort' for the Kiddos Pre school...   Picked up a free  work table online... and it was actually a deck... fortified it+ Railed it = will be putting it in the woods for the Preschool kids to enjoy.

Started the Lotus: It Makes vroom vroom noises.
Bled the brakes (fronts are good ) rears no fluid moving = Found the rear line is clogged solid.
Bled  Clutch the  - It  Operates.
On to cooling system = VERY old rubber hoses. will take a trip to parts store to match stuff up.

Had pickup up and going for its inaugural runs!   got brave and got on the intestate=  took a good  drive== came home = drained the 'break in oil'   changed fliter for 20w50 Penngrade.


Worked on a co workers Mercedes (2004)  showing its age at 100K miles... Oil leaks=  Needs 100K service (spark plugs + Serp Belt + battery)
broke 2 Plastic fittings because 15 year old plastic is brittle. (cooling lines)  Now parked until pieces arrive.

Organiezed some + tossed some= cleaned up some!  WHEW i love my garage.

[MiniDave]

Great job on the fort! I have no idea how you get so much done with a family and a job!

[Jims5543]

My son asked for some help with his STI.  It was throwing codes and running really bad.

We went over it and could not find the problem.   I now own a smoke machine.  Once we hooked that up the problem was apparent.  It had a massive leak right where the intake attaches to the Turbo.

The rubber boot was ripped.  Seems to be a recurring problem with the car. He decided to order a COBB boot to replace it.

So we had to get this in.



You tube told us it will take 4 hours.  We finished in 2.5 and would have been done in 1.5 if we did not have so much trouble attaching the blow off valve pipe to the brass fitting on the side in the pic above.

Old vs. New



A small rip.



The path we had to take, it was not easy and not spacious, Astroglide was used, and it got the job done.



Really tight fit.


Car runs perfect now, no codes thrown and smooth like it should be.

[jeff10049]

I'm always shocked by seeing the amount of corrosion/rust under the hood of cars in other climates. That car has more than a 1950's car here.

That intake boot is nice I wonder how those are made I'm going to do some research almost looks hand made wrapped over a form or something.

[Jims5543]

I'm always shocked by seeing the amount of corrosion/rust under the hood of cars in other climates. That car has more than a 1950's car here.

That intake boot is nice I wonder how those are made I'm going to do some research almost looks hand made wrapped over a form or something.

Its a rustbelt car. I advised him not to buy it.  He insisted, so I took a set of ramps to the car lot it was on, we climbed under it and inspected for concerning rust. Most all of it is surface rust.

I told him to get after it, I am sure he will not.

This was a detour, he needs to do the timing belt asap. It is at the end of its life.  I am sure we will be back under that hood in the next month doing that next. THEN he can start of cleaning it up

[MiniDave]

Today, just outside my shop, I gave the Racing Green a much needed bath. I have a show I'm entered into tomorrow and of course, it's supposed to rain all day!  ::)

It was really nice today, and will be clear and sunny and cool on Sunday - Saturday all day - thunderstorms! This is the big yearly Jag Concours, and they invite other Brit cars to come display with them so there will be plenty of Healeys, Minis and MINIs, the odd Lotus or two and Triumphs and MGs. Might even be a Rolls or two......

Last year it did the exact same thing, cleared up just as the show was ending.

[BruceK]

She cleans up good! 

[MiniDave]

Went to the show today, but a huge storm came in so they closed it down at 11:30. Styers and I were across the street eating lunch when they closed it down, we came out just as it started to rain lightly - we were the only two cars left at the venue!
I got about 1/4 of the way home and the storm hit in earnest - rain came down in torrents. I hit a HUGE puddle, water clear up over the hood and my engine died, right in the middle of a very busy intersection - rain still coming down in buckets. It took about 10 minutes but if finally hit on one or two cylinders and then after milking along for about a minute it finally picked up and roared again. The rest of the way home was no issue other than having to drive around people who were crawling along at 15 mph with their flashers on! I pulled into the garage and of course the rain stopped.....

3 green cars in a row!

[ADRay]

Established it! closed on a new-to-us home on Monday, first time I've owned a garage.

[Willie_B]

Have been off and on looking for a small lathe on Craigslist. They usually sell before I can follow up. Got one today though. Craftsman 6x18. Home shop grade but seems to be in overall good shape for being over 40 years old. Time to take it apart for a good cleaning and setup.  Thought on the way home that I can turn my own drums and discs now also.

[MiniDave]

Fantastic! I'm so envious....I would love to have one of these.....

[94touring]

I want one of those too!

A couple weeks ago I got the ladder out, got on the roof, and trimmed a massive truck load of branches from off the roof.

[gr8kornholio]

Made room for a new massive tool box that I inherited. Today back to trim and flooring install. Can finally see the end of the tunnel.

[jeff10049]

My friend Jim is restoring a 1963 Cadillac it has the original 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission.  He paid a transmission shop to rebuild it however it never seemed to work quite right and developed a massive leak at the front seal. We decided to just pull the trans and replace the seal but the fluid was way dark for 50 miles of use and smelled odd almost like cutting aluminum on a lathe with cutting oil.

So we tore it down thrust washers were in upside down and incorrect locations, torn lip seals, incorrect clearances, on and on one blatant problem after another. They even had the clutches stacked up incorrectly with friction against an apply piston instead of a steel.

This is a neat transmission it has a fluid coupling instead of a torque converter and then another small fluid coupling inside that controls the 1-2 and 3-4 shift a clutch pack controls the 2-3 shift. It's basically a pair of two-speed transmissions inline.

I read that the engineers wanted to use another fluid coupling rather than clutches in the rear unit but cost shut that down too bad as what a smooth trans that would have been.

We followed the book and got it back together and it works very well. In the end he is glad he did not try to go back to the builder after seeing there work they should not touch any part of a car.

[MiniDave]

That's what Cadillacs were all about back then- smooth......I have no idea what they're about today?

MAN do I have shop envy! So much room!

[MiniDave]

Today I replaced the LED assemblies on the light bar I use when towing, one had lost it's mind and what few LEDs lit up flashed continuously, the other light mostly worked OK but a couple of the LEDs no longer lit. I hope these new ones last longer, the warranty is only 90 days and I doubt I'll use them before October.

On the old lights, what I thought was silicone sealer used where the wires enter the light's plastic housing appears to be hot glue instead, as some of it melted again and stuck the wires to the bracket, I had to cut them apart to remove the old lights from their brackets. I guess I should have known hot glue could be melted again.....must have happened on the drive home from Snowmass in the 100+ temps, the car was all closed up on that drive and it was fairly cool on the drive out.

I spaced the new lights out way from the bracket a bit, to allow a little cooling air around the wires.

I think this tow bar has turned out to be a really good thing to have, it makes going to these far off runs possible, if not more enjoyable. As much as I like driving my classic Minis, they simply are not well suited to long drives to and from these events....especially in the hot summer weather. Grinding along at 4500 rpm with the windows down and earplugs in compared to cruising in the Clubman tow vehicle, with the A/C on and the cruise control set at 75, there is no comparison.

I bought a new cell phone which takes really good pics, but I haven't figured out how to get them out of the phone and onto my computer yet, till then I just use my old Canon Powershot - it still takes a pretty good pic.

[jedduh01]

Replaced the steering rack in our Volvo XC90

   2 Hours for Disassembly and removal
  1.5 hours for broken bolt remedy ( converter bolts, for exhaust removal)
   2 Hours re assembly   

This SUV at 125 K miles has always driven "shifty"  after replacing Ball joints., struts, links = finally down to this ( a bad rack bushing)
    it drives like never before = Like NEW = no more road wondering...