tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64590467815049121542024-02-19T08:18:43.082-06:00The Sentimental MechanicA Miata nerd and Escort fanatic waxes obsessive over car repair, autocross, LeMons racing, and perpetual battles with rust.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-16231036462149950222013-11-28T10:58:00.004-06:002020-10-02T07:42:43.508-05:00Cleaning and Re-Greasing a Mid-Century GE Fan<script type="text/javascript">
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Some people always talk about how things aren't made like they used to be. Sometimes that's even true. In the case of this fan, that's both good and bad. It's super quiet, it looks great, it's durable, and it moves a lot of air. The faint whir of those metal blades pushing air sounds like an airplane. But those metal blades also have a sparse guard, which makes it unfriendly for little fingers. Stick your hand in there and you could get hurt pretty badly.<br />
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I love this fan anyway, but though it's something you can maintain, that doesn't mean anyone has maintained it. When I turned it on at low speed, it would work hard to spin up. If I wanted it on low, I'd turn it on high first to get it started, then turn it down. I thought it was time to take it apart and see if there was something I could do. (The picture above is from after the cleaning. The shiny brass logo piece was tarnished to the point that it was the same color as the brown wire around it.)<br />
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The guard and blades come off with simple screws. In fact, the whole thing comes apart with just a couple flat-blade screwdrivers. That nub hanging off the center contains a wick that carries lubricant up to the bearing, but the wick was hard and the lubricant well was dry. I'm not sure if it took oil or grease originally, but whatever it was, over its decades of neglect it had become almost a hard wax. I filled it with multi-purpose grease when I reassembled it.<br />
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Note the almost complete absence of plastic components. The coils are wrapped in what looks like wax paper. The strain relief on the cord is just simple string. Here you can also see the wear on that shaft from the lack of lubricant in the sleeve bearing.<br />
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See the heat marks on the rotor. I think the lack of lubricant was overworking the motor.<br />
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Once I had the rotor out, I unscrewed the back half. This is the gearbox that controls the oscillation function. If this thing had been better maintained, this might not be necessary, but you can clearly see this could use a cleaning. Otherwise, the cover on the gearbox comes off without swinging out from the main motor housing.<br />
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There it is. Nothing but black, hardened grease.<br />
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I dug the stuff out with Q-tips, toothpicks and my Gerber multi-tool. I also sprayed in some brake cleaner to help loosen the stuff up, but the black wax seemed near impervious to it.<br />
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Most of the gunk had to be removed by manual rather than chemical means.<br />
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My wife was kind enough to wash the fan blades and guard for me. Simple soap and water did the trick.<br />
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I filled the box with general-purpose automotive grease, and the front reservoir with motor oil. It spins up much faster and operates more quietly than before.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-24882328768076996412013-11-28T10:06:00.000-06:002013-11-28T10:59:05.131-06:00Making a Lamp from a Crankshaft<script type="text/javascript">
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After thoroughly <a href="http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/2002-subaru-impreza-wrx/">overhauling my WRX's</a> engine, I wanted to do something with my <a href="http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/2002-subaru-impreza-wrx/somethings-bent/">bent Subaru crankshaft</a>. I've always wanted to make a table using an engine block, <a href="http://flatsixes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Coffee-Table-Top-Gear.jpg">a la Top Gear</a>. I have yet to get my hands on a block I can use for this, but my <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2013/05/mechanic-decor-wheels-and-tires-as-end.html">end tables made from tires</a> have turned out really well. This crankshaft, then, had to become a lamp.</div>
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I went to Home Depot to look for a lamp-making kit, but I thought they were kind of pricey ($15 or so) and only came in a bright brass finish. This obviously wouldn't match my style. Then, while looking for lampshades at Target, I found a lamp on clearance for the same $15, but with better, black-painted hardware and a clear (instead of yellow) cord. So I bought a good lamp shade and the cheap lamp and headed home.</div>
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I took the cheap lamp apart and figured out how I wanted to put it together. Then I went to a machine shop.</div>
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There's a protrusion at the flywheel side of the crankshaft. It's what centers the flywheel on the crankshaft as you install the bolts. The pilot bearing sits inside this protrusion. Since that prevents the crankshaft from standing flat, I had to get it machined off. A local machine shop did that for me.</div>
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The guy at the machine shop also drilled and tapped a hole inside the crank snout (the timing belt and accessory drive end). He threaded the lamp socket post to match. This way I could feed the wire from the socket through the first main journal and out the center of the lamp. </div>
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I originally cleaned the crankshaft by soaking it in a bucket of Simple Green solution, then doing a quick spraydown with brake cleaner. After that, tried to protect the crank with a clear spraypaint, but the paint quickly cracked and peeled. I got some paint stripper and removed it all. Primer may be necessary to get paint to stick to raw metal, but I want to keep the crank's look; it bears the indicators of spun bearings. </div>
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I'm instead just leaving it bare, hoping that the oils from my hands will keep the crank from rusting. I rubbed it all over with my hands. It's worked so far, but if it does end up rusting, I don't think that'll hurt the look. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-13876595033698279282013-11-28T09:24:00.001-06:002013-11-28T10:59:16.390-06:00Whirlpool Washing Machines Have Guibos<script type="text/javascript">
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Our Whirlpool washer wouldn't spin anymore. So I tipped it to replace the belt, but alas, there was none. A little digging on the internet showed that this clothes washer had a guibo-style coupler between the motor and the bowl drive system. I've seen these before as vibration isolators on the driveshaft of my old Mercedes 240D (and I've heard they're common on German cars). But I couldn't figure out how to get at the one in my washer until I found a video (which I have since lost).</div>
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Instead of tipping the whole unit over, the video showed that you can remove two screws from the base of the control panel. Flip the panel up, pop a couple metal clips loose, and the whole outer shell can simply be tipped forward and pulled off the chassis. It's remarkably easy.</div>
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The motor is held in place by a couple large metal band-style clips, which are secured by a couple small bolts. Once you remove the bolts and bands and wiggle the motor loose, you'll find the busted <a href="http://hooniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Bad-Guibo-2.JPG">guibo</a>--something you might call an isolating coupler, if you're not talking about automotive driveshafts. This is part number 285753A, which is the updated version with a metal sleeve reinforcing the guibo. You can see the failure point on the original bit; the metal piece should make it much more durable. If memory serves, this replacement was about $8 from some online vendor. The shafts and guibo are a pretty tight fit, so it helps if you apply a little grease when you try to put it all back together.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-18867779386473428842013-05-12T10:55:00.001-05:002013-05-12T11:03:28.872-05:00Mechanic Decor: Wheels and Tires as End Tables<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieL7EZA_HKhYYhZJV213TIvZRMih-MFjg8bFdGPJ6wi_FMIsEtUZSMvyUaSoabiwstaaBOK8snAjfe4SAIrEqO945fKmlmyc_oPjVN_7GcObimAv-arz3TbuO76j-uwuR4lcH_jALXu2g/s1600/IMG_20130512_112642.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieL7EZA_HKhYYhZJV213TIvZRMih-MFjg8bFdGPJ6wi_FMIsEtUZSMvyUaSoabiwstaaBOK8snAjfe4SAIrEqO945fKmlmyc_oPjVN_7GcObimAv-arz3TbuO76j-uwuR4lcH_jALXu2g/s400/IMG_20130512_112642.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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When I discovered that the wheels and tires on my Mazda Miata were bent (according to the shop, "bent all to hell"), I also happened to have very little furniture. Conveniently enough, the tires on those wheels were also almost completely worn out. There was no value left in a set of bent wheels with worn tires.</div>
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So I looked on Craigslist for glass discs to use as a tabletop. I found someone selling them for $5 apiece. I bought two, stacked the tires two high, and made night stands for our bedroom. My fiancee approves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51n3OHaRXZGl6xpt5ii3QSE1hiJEDuPQXKXL1K-_1Z7T5RU2NZOWc0wV3c9zhMzvsZ8cSJfoXx_SI1-kZxYDT-D52LYOASht7UoPlE5aOfCnasaSUaLzV_vyq06IjmjydrkIsE6k12iA/s1600/IMG_20130512_112756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51n3OHaRXZGl6xpt5ii3QSE1hiJEDuPQXKXL1K-_1Z7T5RU2NZOWc0wV3c9zhMzvsZ8cSJfoXx_SI1-kZxYDT-D52LYOASht7UoPlE5aOfCnasaSUaLzV_vyq06IjmjydrkIsE6k12iA/s400/IMG_20130512_112756.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Not long after, I found one of my racer friends had a lot of tires left over from a team he worked with. He worked as a mechanic for one of the teams running the Grand-Am Continental Tire series. That team ran the Rolex 24 At Daytona race, which necessarily means a lot of worn-out racing slicks. He hooked me up with four of them for free. He had been keeping them in the hopes of selling them as take-offs that could still be used for shorter events by other racers, but had no takers, so the 20-some tires in his possession were just taking up space at his house. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu_fOfTS6YZ9jXR_4RHAU1JfG7IyrEnYwVaaYLWP75mAL3a5N921iE912OsPa7h99ksAn01tRFXqszRcvh45vH4B-C_nntlKi0g2mCNq_R6EGmPJQ1ZlIKyyF9U0oK6B3iAlj1BbhyphenhyphenzI/s1600/IMG_20130512_113224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu_fOfTS6YZ9jXR_4RHAU1JfG7IyrEnYwVaaYLWP75mAL3a5N921iE912OsPa7h99ksAn01tRFXqszRcvh45vH4B-C_nntlKi0g2mCNq_R6EGmPJQ1ZlIKyyF9U0oK6B3iAlj1BbhyphenhyphenzI/s400/IMG_20130512_113224.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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If you put a set of string lights inside the tires, it'll glow from the inside. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_sYiYjyO57HcHut-ideFnHSiKp-bDPmqBgU3EW7otQwSYYnYI2af31IL_l6CNPmMhDqz13EhjAEWcVhFclErA9ZdMeVdzLkYNdZadcwxFqiXy0L8AB7b_ZpP_YQiGwRvBrnqkNwVMhQ/s1600/IMG_20130511_214930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_sYiYjyO57HcHut-ideFnHSiKp-bDPmqBgU3EW7otQwSYYnYI2af31IL_l6CNPmMhDqz13EhjAEWcVhFclErA9ZdMeVdzLkYNdZadcwxFqiXy0L8AB7b_ZpP_YQiGwRvBrnqkNwVMhQ/s400/IMG_20130511_214930.jpg" width="300" /> </a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-23058476360130225412013-04-25T23:49:00.001-05:002013-04-25T23:49:14.026-05:00The Ford Escort bears lineage to the Mazda GLC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtOtvvbq_G2Ub0vI9L-pzmvwYfSnvSzkpQ7fbLlE4N9c22NaHeGmYAQcOwlgQ9PGZTnBm-e7bT8LaWdXP5kXfY-VP7uteZBlFyn5eCNC3nxU7ulrTH2k29jMjC1D2Q2_AJ87sgCfnFtw/s1600/mazda-glc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMtOtvvbq_G2Ub0vI9L-pzmvwYfSnvSzkpQ7fbLlE4N9c22NaHeGmYAQcOwlgQ9PGZTnBm-e7bT8LaWdXP5kXfY-VP7uteZBlFyn5eCNC3nxU7ulrTH2k29jMjC1D2Q2_AJ87sgCfnFtw/s320/mazda-glc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So. I'm at <a href="http://www.themitty.com/">The Mitty</a> today. It's all awesome, I just about had a dayturnal emission when I saw a Ford GT LeMans race car out on the track, blah blah yadda yadda. The Mitty rules. It really does.</div>
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And then I saw this little race car. It's a good little race car. A 1983 Mazda GLC, one of about a dozen factory-backed cars from that year, and the last one still in existence. All the engine and transmission components are, of course, unobtainium. But that's not what I'm getting at.</div>
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So I'm photographing this car, and the owner obliges to jack the car up for me so I can photograph the suspension, brakes, under-car stuff. I stick my head under the back and I notice a very familiar three-link strut layout. Its setup—hell, the entire rear subframe—looks almost identical to the BG-chassis Escorts I worked on and loved for many years.</div>
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In a sense, duh, it's a front-drive Mazda. Of course it bears lineage. But until I saw it, I never thought that my favorite (crappy econobox) car had ancestry. Noticing that detail definitely put a smile on my face. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLsJjWZnOmG1oZpsQrQfoZiI-rgvb6Jc77pAGAq3v3evUxEWhc28kPZf1O6uiVV4m55c6LDyaWynAJIgRi7W1a8G9AU4N2x3u2YQ78O6IKn3GMqvpylfheISKYXy1BtXihR_HgYyoeBo/s1600/IMG_7183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNLsJjWZnOmG1oZpsQrQfoZiI-rgvb6Jc77pAGAq3v3evUxEWhc28kPZf1O6uiVV4m55c6LDyaWynAJIgRi7W1a8G9AU4N2x3u2YQ78O6IKn3GMqvpylfheISKYXy1BtXihR_HgYyoeBo/s400/IMG_7183.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've had this little Lego truck for a very, very long time. It has travelled decades and continents, and still bears red dirt from Brazil. I'm sure I added lasers and stuff at some point, but I removed them pretty quickly. Even at a young age, I thought it was perfect as-is. The only modification that remained is the backrest I added for the driver.</div>
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That driver is the pilot from an airplane I used to have, but upgraded with a helmet and air tank from one of my later space sets after the pilot hat got lost—probably in a heat vent somewhere.</div>
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I keep this guy in my office. It's my favorite thing ever.</div>
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I didn't want to spend $30 on <a href="http://m.guitarcenter.com/Guitar-Wall-Hangers-Guitar-Stands---Wall-Hangers,New-Gear.gc?ipp=25">guitar hangers</a> for my three guitars, so I sought a solution on a recent trip to Lowe's to buy miscellaneous home improvement junk with my <a href="http://zoewhy.blogspot.com/">fiancee</a>. I figured I'd find something suitable among the bike hooks, and I did. I got these hooks for $10/ pair. I'm sure you could find cheaper ones if you look a bit. They install as easily as a dedicated guitar hook: just two screws and you're done. If you don't like how long these are, you can get ambitious and pull off the rubber sleeve, cut down the arms with a hacksaw to the length you want, bend them into shape with pliers and a vise, and reinstall the sleeves.</div>
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I installed these guys with 1-inch drywall screws, which fit correctly into the holes and match the hook's color. For my headless <a href="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/hohner-g3t-headless-guitar">Hohner</a> (essentially a <a href="http://www.steinberger.com/">Steinberger</a> with different pickups), I hung the hook lower on the wall. Finding a stud shouldn't really be necessary unless your guitar is exceptionally heavy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTHR9as_mNibr2DiHudxVJNEC4P7YcwTxV6UKztJB4ueO1GIqXB2iqctYNHkVd-Xz-UXHMQ-Y5nem3tC31hRttq5SQQZSzIpEgoOdl4RpejDvPzm9MO4-rV3suOGJAmB6h4ts8aYYGNs/s1600/IMG_20130310_234440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNTHR9as_mNibr2DiHudxVJNEC4P7YcwTxV6UKztJB4ueO1GIqXB2iqctYNHkVd-Xz-UXHMQ-Y5nem3tC31hRttq5SQQZSzIpEgoOdl4RpejDvPzm9MO4-rV3suOGJAmB6h4ts8aYYGNs/s400/IMG_20130310_234440.jpg" width="400" /> </a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-74429872578594051622012-12-20T09:32:00.001-06:002012-12-20T09:32:55.626-06:00Parts-Bin Aston Martins<script type="text/javascript">
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Not only is the 1989-2000 <a href="http://www.astonmartin.com/heritage-cars/virage">Aston Martin Virage</a> an ugly car, but apparently they also stole the steering wheel from my parents' 1992 Ford Aerostar. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_AHjEid28TFeIx3b326YA-wc3j2xIlIxMsaJM83hw2XTfv00xpk1ozeKLsXCT1JehCmhTYSpCwrVqbYTnI7pNFs6JIY23hGiEOSnCdp7icbPKVJy6g2kvtgHJ97YZfvGy4P9bOwzDpg/s1600/virage_volante_interior.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5_AHjEid28TFeIx3b326YA-wc3j2xIlIxMsaJM83hw2XTfv00xpk1ozeKLsXCT1JehCmhTYSpCwrVqbYTnI7pNFs6JIY23hGiEOSnCdp7icbPKVJy6g2kvtgHJ97YZfvGy4P9bOwzDpg/s400/virage_volante_interior.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Aston Martin Virage interior</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FKlPuPnN2N-C_putPSz44ObVZuTTGf-EtVeBb8clHrvhelSXDpWOJxJapWqmoD4-nrYZVxf3Sr4tVmAn-tb8Kso5YHxZBZAKbvzalW5KGm5i8IVNr2ok69BU8_OubrLN0aTCgEjDYj0/s1600/73299836.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FKlPuPnN2N-C_putPSz44ObVZuTTGf-EtVeBb8clHrvhelSXDpWOJxJapWqmoD4-nrYZVxf3Sr4tVmAn-tb8Kso5YHxZBZAKbvzalW5KGm5i8IVNr2ok69BU8_OubrLN0aTCgEjDYj0/s400/73299836.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Standard Ford steering wheel from the '90s (Crown Vic pictured)</span></div>
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Notice the placement of the horn buttons, and the Aston logo in the exact location of the Ford logo. The Aston's interior wouldn't be so hideous were it not for that glaring black contrast of a steering wheel and its cheap, plastic turn signal stalk.</div>
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The Virage hit the market not long after Ford took a stake in the brand. This was the time when they started picking up premium brands like Land Rover, Volvo, and, as you can see, Aston Martin. I don't know their exact business strategy in doing that, but we can clearly see it involved some parts-bin cost reduction strategies. </div>
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I can understand sharing components that are out of sight like, say, a steering rack, wheel hubs, differentials. But a steering wheel? That so clearly diminishes the driving experience, and its poor quality is apparent the moment the customer plops into the seat. Not what you want when you're considering shelling out 200 grand. Maybe that's why they didn't sell many of these. Hey, that makes them rare and valuable! </div>
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Today, Ford doesn't own as much of the brand, and Virages are worth about $35,000. Which means you can still buy a nicer <a href="http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/">Ford Fusion</a>—with a better steering wheel—for less money.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-60530492199904942572012-12-12T12:30:00.000-06:002012-12-12T12:30:03.077-06:00Off Topic: Repairing Champion juicers<script type="text/javascript">
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My <a href="http://zoewhy.blogspot.com/">fiancee</a> manages a health food store, and they have for a long time been using <a href="http://www.championjuicer.com/">Champion brand juicers</a>. These things are basically 1/3-horsepower electric motors with a proprietary attachment. Recently the store upgraded to a <a href="http://www.usjuicers.com/">crazy twin-screw type</a> (it reminds me of a supercharger) because their Champions were having problems. One would hum, but not spin up. The other vibrated like an unbalanced clothes dryer. I suspected that these residential-grade units couldn't stand up to the heavy use of the store's cafe (Champion does sell a <a href="http://www.championjuicer.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=13">commercial-grade</a> model), and that they had worn bearings. So I took them apart in our kitchen. Electric motors are simple.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs4VBCZ6-5_WD0OkckIrwbKXzXYPV4zRsXrNMFDZoihR5Nt92pqTTKfZkaDTQZosZ6Uw2GCt7s4wFRlK0X0yHWTRGUc10VPLOVFqPEk52bl0zI5CBFqX6WFvZj3gtkh0vvL_uQ0rKVzg/s1600/IMG_6140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOs4VBCZ6-5_WD0OkckIrwbKXzXYPV4zRsXrNMFDZoihR5Nt92pqTTKfZkaDTQZosZ6Uw2GCt7s4wFRlK0X0yHWTRGUc10VPLOVFqPEk52bl0zI5CBFqX6WFvZj3gtkh0vvL_uQ0rKVzg/s320/IMG_6140.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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By removing the four screws on the back cover, the front cover also comes off. The bearings lightly press into the front and rear covers, so removing them means the rotor (the middle part that spins) easily slides out of the stator coils. Once out, I could test the bearings. They wiggled a little when I tested them, so I decided to replace them. Thankfully, bearing part numbers are universal. I punched it into <a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/">McMaster-Carr</a>. They're <a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#6203-ball-bearings/=kiwwe1">less than six bucks</a> apiece. I ordered a handful of these #6203 bearings.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeJNmD8F1w6aiPIzjARi4IEZzYmuTaYDUVe4UyATtl5dgzge5vcwfcSUULw7DZh-zUbh_kGjYjij22CLLhYxI4JV3ZwwOK182CXAEk5wzzQ2VoHLe9IMfKzYT5a50XBVegiRTAKfXw3Y/s1600/IMG_6147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeJNmD8F1w6aiPIzjARi4IEZzYmuTaYDUVe4UyATtl5dgzge5vcwfcSUULw7DZh-zUbh_kGjYjij22CLLhYxI4JV3ZwwOK182CXAEk5wzzQ2VoHLe9IMfKzYT5a50XBVegiRTAKfXw3Y/s320/IMG_6147.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the model that wouldn't spin up, the bearings were worn enough that the rotor was rubbing against the stator. You can see the contact marks here.<br />
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The bearings are pressed to the rotor shaft, though, which meant a trip to the nearby Harbor Freight store for a <a href="http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-two-jaw-puller-set-40966.html">cheap set of gear pullers</a>.<br />
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Once they're off, the new bearings can be hammered into place. The bearings bottom onto a clip on the shaft.<br />
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It's easy to reassemble, but you must remember the orientation of the front and rear covers. They're marked on the back side. Putting it all back together meant our kitchen was no longer a horrible disaster. Zoe is very patient with my silly projects, and this one, thankfully, ended with two like-new juicers.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-1361738855164808192012-12-08T11:17:00.000-06:002012-12-08T11:17:05.572-06:00Top Gear: 50 Shades of Green<br />
If you are a real racer you will probably say that British Racing Green (BRG) brings you bad luck. (Because it really does, but that's for another post.) I personally wouldn't mind racing a BRG car even if it meant I would quite probably die a horrible fiery death, but do so while looking simply fa-bu-lous.<br />
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When I was a kid my dad gave me a BRG 1:18 McLaren F1 and I LOVED the damn thing. It was so beautiful, such a classy color that caught all the right lines and reflected light on all the right curves. My silly friends that knew nothing about what's good had silver, black, and orange little McLaren F1s, but those cars just didn't look as pretty. It was such a potent shade of green that it made the McLaren F1 into one of my favorite cars of all time. And as a result, BRG remains as my favorite color ever, for anything. Yes, even spoons.<script type="text/javascript">
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See, if I could paint my house Brunswick Green outside and British Racing Green inside (with some white walls here and there to contrast) I would die a happy man. But very dead, because I am sure my fiancee would chop off my head as an offering to the gods of common sense. </div>
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PocketAcehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16050134293526099395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-28201582049772371292012-12-05T20:54:00.000-06:002012-12-06T07:24:39.898-06:00Senna Series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4IQZJOl5RPWLFhqsw8tDObtLcCP5CPkGfKwOBGZS2EpCTrnHPJIPP7RKoV6-H8MKAekSaPCJpoCryszxze1CWC-YRSxM5LW9d0pm8dj36rJEWALuMMJh1wiJ68eBs6NhthEKrn0PJ-jF/s1600/2012-09-09+11.55.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4IQZJOl5RPWLFhqsw8tDObtLcCP5CPkGfKwOBGZS2EpCTrnHPJIPP7RKoV6-H8MKAekSaPCJpoCryszxze1CWC-YRSxM5LW9d0pm8dj36rJEWALuMMJh1wiJ68eBs6NhthEKrn0PJ-jF/s320/2012-09-09+11.55.38.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Autobahn Country Club recently started a new competitive racing championship called Senna Series. The series just finished its first full year. What really attracts spectators and drivers to the growing lineups of rotary-powered formula racers is that drivers are required to race cars painted to resemble F1 machines from the 1980s and 1990s, like this "Lotus" painted to resemble the John Player Special, F1, followed on the grid by a Benneton B190 lookalike.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO1ZTdd_0aFUAUev9xgohC6MEB865iAfKwAoM4O0ZSF7hoc11UG53D4PNKPaftDhrc4PzT39N6yD5M9EpSGi6e2xlk1NRy_eLru7ibsBax0mzRRLSUjPUyOehQIAa_b9WWuEWuX1y-G2L/s1600/2012-09-09+11.55.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO1ZTdd_0aFUAUev9xgohC6MEB865iAfKwAoM4O0ZSF7hoc11UG53D4PNKPaftDhrc4PzT39N6yD5M9EpSGi6e2xlk1NRy_eLru7ibsBax0mzRRLSUjPUyOehQIAa_b9WWuEWuX1y-G2L/s320/2012-09-09+11.55.29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This one resembles a Williams FW-12.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPKorn9W_DO33y3hgCNgU3pHb68ECoeb8xjmNFWEgPDPJx0KDe1yMj95Zkg-Y85H7zTiedB3M9yPu6huiBJnmDhpAjSU_kSHThpleda-MuJuG1nX0POVcwq5wh4qD2iFYPABnVsCVVGJJ/s1600/2012-09-09+11.56.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyPKorn9W_DO33y3hgCNgU3pHb68ECoeb8xjmNFWEgPDPJx0KDe1yMj95Zkg-Y85H7zTiedB3M9yPu6huiBJnmDhpAjSU_kSHThpleda-MuJuG1nX0POVcwq5wh4qD2iFYPABnVsCVVGJJ/s320/2012-09-09+11.56.14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Guess what this one is supposed to be?<br />
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The damn things seem to be a blast to drive, too! Enjoy a rather moist race in the cockpit of a McLaren MP4/4 quasi-replica.<br />
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<br />PocketAcehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16050134293526099395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-20960526264777691002012-11-26T23:44:00.001-06:002012-11-26T23:44:21.432-06:00A fast turnaround<script type="text/javascript">
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Sometimes a project is a bad decision. In this particular case, I was convinced by a friend that this car was one helluva deal, and that I'd be stupid not to buy it. It's a rare 1979 Volvo 242. The last of the flat-nose coupes! I didn't know what that meant, but it sure sounded like he thought it was important! And R-Sport gauges, don't forget. Very trick.</div>
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I'm not exactly a guy who's owned a zillion cars, but I have had a good number. Most of them have been some sort of basic transportation that I've managed to spend some time on, but I've had the occasional <a href="http://teamresignation.blogspot.com/">fun toy</a> and <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2010/10/righting-past-wrongs.html">nightmare</a> <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2008/12/introducing.html">project</a>, too. This is more along the lines of the latter. </div>
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Short story: I bought, for $1000, this Volvo with a small-block Ford engine in it. And then I realized that this weaksauce, 165-horsepower 302 was a bad answer to any of my car questions. I could swap the drivetrain into a good wagon shell, but the engine's mated to an AOD automatic trans. A five-speed makes more sense, especially compared to this epitome of slushboxes. So this car had to go.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9iPxkCIBoeXuApNrlKCn7L-NUWNeVbFrDcG8JL53lqJue02qRWOBJlxtrqg0CgLFjrmVa8DiZLknjg44BME9ZRkKVWE2Ts8WYHEiNa3m-E82JexrNFSMAfGAlcay7UmmguGd590cT6Y/s1600/ashittypointsignition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh9iPxkCIBoeXuApNrlKCn7L-NUWNeVbFrDcG8JL53lqJue02qRWOBJlxtrqg0CgLFjrmVa8DiZLknjg44BME9ZRkKVWE2Ts8WYHEiNa3m-E82JexrNFSMAfGAlcay7UmmguGd590cT6Y/s400/ashittypointsignition.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Problem is—and that was an especially infuriating problem, souring me on the whole car—the sucker wouldn't start. The foil-hat wearing <a href="http://transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/its1.jpg">survivalist loonie</a> decided that a points ignition was better than an electronic one because, duh, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_pulse">EMP</a>s. If the car gets hit by one, it can keep right on running! Well, if it runs. Also, points ignitions suck. They produce shitty spark and require regular maintenance. They're so shitty, in fact, that no one makes them for automotive use anymore. The guy used a Mallory dual-points setup for marine applications. And it worked like shit. Oh, and did I mention this guy's wiring job was a complete, unfused clusterfuck? Connections were awful and grounds were barely adequate. What a mess.</div>
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Pertronix and other companies make high-energy retrofits for lots of applications, but those cost a couple hundred bucks. I wanted to get this thing running for as cheap as possible so I could sell it. They sell these cheap ones on eBay for right around $50. They're imitations of the General Motors HEI design, so it's a coil and distributor all in one. Shit, a replacement coil at the local parts store is $35 bones alone, so this sounded like a screamin' deal. </div>
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I ordered one up, and waited until my dad came to visit on Thanksgiving. We lined up all the important bits, took out the old unit, swapped in the new one, and fired it up. Boom, right on the first crank. Immediately. No hesitation, no sputtering, a good, solid runner. We couldn't find a timing mark on the crank pulley, so my dad adjusted the timing a bit by ear. That was good enough for me.</div>
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It sure did sound nice, though. Made me reconsider keeping the car. Briefly.</div>
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I posted a video on the internet of it running (to accompany my craigslist ad), and sold the car two days later. The new owner is going to yank the drivetrain and stick it in his 1970 Mercury Cougar. His Cougar has a bad cylinder head, and he's always wanted to put an AOD in it anyway. Perfect.</div>
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All in all, I lost about a hundred bucks, a bit of driveway space, and a bit of time with this car. Not too shabby a price to pay, in the end. And now I know what I really want: an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_Cherokee_(XJ)">XJ Jeep Cherokee</a>. They make more power and similar torque to that 302, there's more aftermarket than I could possibly imagine, they're practical, durable, and available in a five-speed. Also: Have I mentioned I <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2009/06/my-obsession-with-ford-escort-wagons.html">love that two-box shape</a>? </div>
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When I sold my old Mercedes 240D, I told myself I wouldn't buy another car that's older than I am. This Volvo only served to reinforce that notion.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-62883054047933903732012-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-19T08:00:03.068-06:00Busted-ass Miata brakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Not too long ago, I took my Miata to a track day. I had been driving and autocrossing on a set of <a href="http://porterfield-brakes.com/manufacturers/Porterfield+Brakes/R4-S.html">Porterfield R4-S</a> pads for some time and I figured they'd be good for a few sessions at a track with relatively short straights. The fronts were not so happy about this.<br />
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I'll admit the rotors had seen a lot of Chicago road salt and the fins were pretty rusty to begin with. That likely didn't help their cooling ability. After about a 15 or 20-minute session at <a href="http://gorally.com/firm/">The FIRM</a>, I felt the pedal getting soft. I came in and let them cool for a spell before the guy who came with me that day took a stint. The turnout for a FIRM track day is so low that you can go on and off the track as much and whenever you want. My co-driver said the brakes were still soft when he went out, and he came back when they got softer. Another 40-minutes of cooling and I decided to have another go.</div>
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Nope. There were bad noises, and the pedal required some serious pumping to generate a response. We popped off a wheel real quick and saw the above: A cratered rotor. When I took it home, I noticed also the burn mark on this brake pad; that a couple of the front pads cracked; most of the wear material was gone; the fluid, too, was cooked.</div>
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Because my budget is low, I got a set of pads from Autozone for $20-something and a set of their front rotors. I've had good luck with Autozone brake rotors, having run them for 3 races on <a href="http://teamresignation.blogspot.com/">my LeMons car</a>. Some <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidSWallens">whiny bitches</a> are picky about brand and will only buy Brembo rotors. I'm not one of those guys.</div>
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The Autozone pads are way not-grabby. I can't lock up the fronts without extreme pedal pressure. These pads will be going bye-bye soon, in favor of some real track-worthy material. These cheapo things are barely street-worthy.</div>
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Up until now, The Sentimental Mechanic has been a singular entity: Alan Cesar and his crazy (and overworked) brain. Joining the fold is a fellow crazy Brazilian who has a similar love for ridiculous engine swaps with cross-charging. His name is And<span style="font-family: inherit;">r<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;">é</span></span> Molina, the man behind <a href="http://sprokt.blogspot.com/">Sprokt</a> (which I have always pronounced with a German accent, shp<span style="font-family: inherit;">r<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; line-height: 32px; text-align: center;">ö</span>k</span>t). Say hello. He's responsible for that hand-made carbon fiber intake tube attached to that <a href="http://www.benzworld.org/forums/attachments/w202-c-class/232336d1239550059-my-c-class-2jz-ge-turbo-2jz.jpg">2JZ</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-51199063600660572092012-11-08T08:48:00.002-06:002015-04-06T13:49:48.076-05:00Suzuki Swift GTi: Burning the Four-Wheeled Suzuki Torch<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.25in;">Suzuki’s North American operations
just rang their death knell. The maker of many a widow-making sportbike never
could quite get its four-wheeled vehicles to gain as much recognition in the
broader American market. Its last significant effort was the stylish, mid-size
Kizashi sedan. There hasn’t been much in the brand for enthusiasts to latch
onto.</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><br /></span>We’d say it’s not for lack of
trying, but really, it is. While the Samurai has its own cult following in the
off-road community, Suzuki only brought one pavement performer to the U.S. in
recent memory—something small enough that maybe it didn’t seem too foreign to
its sportbike people. It was the Suzuki Swift GTi, sold from 1989 to 1994.<br />
<br />
You’ve seen its sibling around, usually
in the hands of a hypermiler or merely <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/fre/546194826.html">being neglected</a>. The Swift GT—known as
the GTi for only the first year, thanks to VW’s trademark lawyers—is the Geo
Metro’s faster brother. That’s a low bar to leap, but that doesn’t make the GTi
a poor performer.<br />
<br />
The Swift is swift because it’s light.
A cool hundred horsepower come out of its high-revving 1.3 liter engine, and
has just under 1800 lbs. to move around. Unassisted steering means more power
to the ground.<br />
<br />
It’s one of the champions of the drive-a-slow-car-fast
ethos (but it can make tons of power—see the tips on the next page). It’s tiny.
It’ll squeeze anywhere in traffic, revs to the skies and is a hoot to wail on,
even if all that wailing means you’re still side-by-side with that minivan you
just drag-raced from the stoplight. Keep the revs up; this engine has a
sportbike’s spirit and a 7500 rpm rev limit. Stiffer springs and four-wheel
disc brakes round out the chassis package.<br />
<br />
It’s unique from the Metro in cosmetic
ways, too: flush aero headlights and different bumpers gives it a sporty look.
Suzuki tried to make this a significantly nicer car than the Metro, so it has
better—and heavier—interior materials, and racier bucket seats.<br />
<br />
If you’re looking for the nicest one
in the States, $5000 is about the top of the market. Decent runners can go for
$1000 or less, but the sweet spot appears to be about $2000-$3000.<br />
<br />
Buy the nicest one you care to
afford, and put a little effort into keeping it looking good. The community will
thank you for not letting another one of these little toys descend into
disrepair, and maybe you’ll earn a little good karma for keeping the
four-wheeled Suzuki torch burning after the brand departs our shores.<br />
<br />
<o:p><br /></o:p>
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<o:p> </o:p><b>Shopping and Ownership</b><br />
<i>Mike Cove is a long-time Swift enthusiast and the owner of 3Tech, a
company that specializes in the Swift and its rev-happy engine. Jen Imai won
first place in the Performance Stock class in the 2011 California Rally Series
with a Suzuki Swift GT. We mined their minds for these tips.</i><o:p> </o:p><br />
<br />
The Swift community is small, but
active and resourceful. Look to the TeamSwift message board to answer your
questions and help you find high-performance parts. Group-buys come around
regularly for custom-made bits.<br />
<br />
The engine is remarkably robust,
and can make a lot of power on stock internals; It has a forged, nitrided
crank, flat-top pistons, robust connecting rods and great head flow. A set of
camshafts—available through 3Tech—will let it rev to 9000 rpm without problems.
The intake manifold, header and pistons from the overseas Suzuki Cultus GTi are
the hot commodities for naturally-aspirated horsepower, but the easy upgrades
are a larger throttle body and a cone air filter.<br />
<br />
Ready to blow your mind? Add a
turbo. These little 1.3-liters can handle lots of boost, and can push 200 to
250 horsepower. Using pistons from the ’98-2001 Swift/Metro 1.3-liter drops
compression to a boost-friendly 8.5:1.<br />
<br />
Expect to break transmissions with
high power or off-road abuse. Third gear is weak, and the second-gear synchro
tends to wear out. Don’t be surprised with a 1-2 crunch on a high-mileage car.
Rally racing will tend to bust the differential’s spider gears, but a robust limited-slip
is available from Gripper. If you’re adding a turbo, the whole box has to go
(though as of this writing, a group-buy on straight-cut gears is available on
TeamSwift). A stronger transmission from a 1.6-liter Suzuki Esteem can be
adapted.<br />
<br />
Most chassis components and body
panels will interchange with the Geo Metro. The GT’s unique bumpers—which
changed for 1992, too, along with the interior fabric—can be hard to find in
some areas, but Metro parts are plentiful in every junkyard.<br />
<br />
For a great street suspension
upgrade, pair the KYB GR2 shocks with H&R Springs. The cost is low, and it
works very well. If you want to go racing with a hardcore setup, Hot Bits sells
a full coil-over setup. Rear pillow-ball suspension mounts from an Eagle Talon
can be adapted to the rear shocks.<br />
<br />
The four-wheel disc brakes are
capable enough, but good brake pads can be hard to find. Lucky that Honda CRX
front brake calipers are a direct replacement for the Swift’s. Upgrade to the
CRX calipers—they fit with the stock Swift rotors—and a world of pad options
open up.<br />
<br />
Look for rust on the rocker
panels, and on the front frame horns near where the lower control arms attach.
It can be hard to spot. The chassis is rather flexible, too, and cars with weak
frames can exhibit cracked windshields. Look carefully.<br />
<br />
The driving experience is very
sensitive to weight; what’s great fun alone becomes a chore with a passenger.
Likewise, weight reduction is the easiest way gain noticeable performance. The
spare tire, jack, and back seat weigh a combined 100 lbs.<br />
<br />
Avoid fitting heavy wheels. The
stock alloys are a mere 9 pounds. Getting heavy rolling stock only adds
rotating mass, which will make the car feel sluggish. Still feeling sad off the
line? Consider using a 4.39:1 final drive from a ’95-up Metro. It’ll feel a bit
better than the Swift’s 4.10:1 gear.<br />
<br />
<br />
<o:p><b>SPECS</b></o:p><br />
<b>1989-94 Suzuki Swift GTi</b><br />
layout: front engine, front-wheel drive<br />
engine: G13B-spec 1.3-liter DOHC four-cylinder, aluminum block and heads<br />
horsepower: 100 @ 6500 rpm<br />
torque: 83 ft.-lbs. @ 5000 rpm<br />
transmission: five-speed manual<br />
suspension: strut front and rear<br />
brakes: four-wheel disc<br />
wheels: 14x5-in. alloy<br />
tires: 175/60R14<br />
<br />
<b>PARTS</b><br />
<b>3tech:</b> valvetrain and engine performance parts, <a href="http://teamswift.net/3tech">teamswift.net/3tech</a><br />
<b>Feal Suspension: </b>coil-over suspension (Hot Bits U.S. distributor), <a href="http://fealsuspension.com/">fealsuspension.com</a>, (909) 477-3030<br />
<b>Gripper Differentials:</b> limited-slip differentials, <a href="http://gripperdifferentials.com/">gripperdifferentials.com</a><br />
<b>Hot Bits:</b> coil-over suspension, <a href="http://hotbits.org/">hotbits.org</a><br />
<b>John’s Foreign Engines: </b>engine-related parts, <a href="http://g13b.com/">g13b.com</a>, (800) 450-3177<br />
<b><br /></b><b>COMMUNITY</b><br />
<b>TeamSwift: </b>enthusiast forum, <a href="http://teamswift.net/">teamswift.net</a><br />
<b>Redline GTi: </b>enthusiast forum, <a href="http://redlinegti.com/">redlinegti.com</a><br />
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<!--EndFragment--><script type="text/javascript">
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<br/><img src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kC4gp6klGLHrIHBq3IWSGhfFFtKF_rt-LZ9pvgdL3PyfQvcD1jTpeQQWRxPXYRUKrGE2ci6wNjJSICQ4J4vpxzfmJbrQe6wyXIpzvpfgHmDmsJSQQLGbPiJa0gIR_A2z0CShI_SDNu8/' /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-82552046804689428922011-12-29T14:52:00.001-06:002011-12-29T14:52:24.701-06:00Super Porsche Man!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijafYe8ZawGQsgXauS66LL_3qGh4-1tkaLvEE07_Q4q5CgLQWP2N45GmbmmCiZPuTYLaXojiDPkw-kZgkUzKGVr09BfTUZ_Wz8vV_Sil0rg9BFjiP53WJPRJYxMaOGtgCtCKeQjdpBXV0/s1600/SUPERPORSCHEMAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijafYe8ZawGQsgXauS66LL_3qGh4-1tkaLvEE07_Q4q5CgLQWP2N45GmbmmCiZPuTYLaXojiDPkw-kZgkUzKGVr09BfTUZ_Wz8vV_Sil0rg9BFjiP53WJPRJYxMaOGtgCtCKeQjdpBXV0/s640/SUPERPORSCHEMAN.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...flies in to tweak his carburetor!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Really though, he's pointing to something in his engine bay for the other guy standing nearby. I was taking a few photos from this angle, and the car's owner leaned in. This is exactly how the photo came out of the camera. No cropping. This particular car—a 1965 Porsche 356C—will be featured in comparison with a Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder (<a href="http://classicmotorsports.net/project-cars/1963-chevrolet-corvair-monza-spyder/">a CMS project car</a>) in the upcoming issue of <a href="http://classicmotorsports.net/">Classic Motorsports</a>. I shot most of the photos that end up in the story. </div><script type="text/javascript">
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</div>Everyone remembers the uproar over electronic throttles in Toyotas. Everything from floor mats to pedal assemblies to space particles could be causing unintended acceleration. Admittedly, the last bit might just have been the <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/nasalife/features/nesc-toyota-study.html">NASA scientists</a> getting bored and trying to find the problem in every last possible place. They did get into the field because they dig space stuff, after all.<script type="text/javascript">
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</div><div>At the root of the problem, it turns out, was a lot of fat, stupid feet <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/08/autos/nhtsa_nasa_toyota_final_report/index.htm">continuously mashing on the gas</a> pedal instead of the brake. The fact that there's no mechanical cable directly connecting the gas pedal to the throttle body had nothing to do with it, though it did give plenty of automotive Luddites a chance to bitch about technology.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Fact is, drive-by-wire throttles are handy from an engineering standpoint--no need to worry about getting the cable to reach or to work right in a certain orientation, for one. They're also handy in that some cars that don't come with cruise control can be easily retrofitted at minimal cost. Yes, I've finally reached my point.</div><div><br />
</div><div>With <a href="http://dirtyfatgrandpababies.blogspot.com/">Zoe</a>'s 2010 Yaris, there's no computer modules to add. No expensive vacuum diaphragms or OEM switches. A trip to Radio Shack, a little time with a screwdriver, soldering iron, drill, and wire splices, and you're good to go. I'll spare you the details of the install; kind enthusiasts figured out how to do this, and posted the information online. That's how I did it. Here's the step-by-step:</div><div><a href="http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17158">http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17158</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>More and more cars today are throttle-by-wire, so it stands to reason that methods similar to this are possible on a lot of newer cars. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2A_J3KdffxCX6EQhd8IF19ou6yPbogEvyOo_4T58rBnPAkB2P29X4TDk5qD7d5U2fjvHLp2nouw4HOqBUrpmNZZr28NIOY1IJkMLjBBslVvcoDuMY4MTOndDuuOWoZn9RCLQMFbN7l8/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2A_J3KdffxCX6EQhd8IF19ou6yPbogEvyOo_4T58rBnPAkB2P29X4TDk5qD7d5U2fjvHLp2nouw4HOqBUrpmNZZr28NIOY1IJkMLjBBslVvcoDuMY4MTOndDuuOWoZn9RCLQMFbN7l8/s320/DSC_0181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I popped off a plastic panel on the dashboard and drilled holes for these switches. After soldering in the appropriate resistor--a 660 ohm one, I think--and extra wiring, it went back into the dash. I didn't photograph it with the stuff soldered up because it's, well, not my finest work. I can solder strong, but it's not necessarily pretty.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vsagAJ1xArnPlmXdBpboOc5LTwJNq06ESZtjG_8AhH67MEUo1E2GKAEjpbskb1-GiAizbUC-WnLgOyD3pTLPFOBdrpC2h0PEks08y4b6q7oOXzoZdQbH8Q8VdQlL_qPHvnPR1UYBJgQ/s1600/DSC_0191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vsagAJ1xArnPlmXdBpboOc5LTwJNq06ESZtjG_8AhH67MEUo1E2GKAEjpbskb1-GiAizbUC-WnLgOyD3pTLPFOBdrpC2h0PEks08y4b6q7oOXzoZdQbH8Q8VdQlL_qPHvnPR1UYBJgQ/s320/DSC_0191.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>There they are. Both are momentary pushbutton switches. Zoe calls them spaceship switches. Sometime soon they'll get labels. The top one will be Warp Drive; the bottom, Shields.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdNn3RDrqVFQfGirdAtFzQONxOJT8Qf7PWHfUoenETNJr5cNEP2nnupQygtkBfxCYJFV7SObtNUWgwL8IaAzvBgD-zazOVuTJvtCPR23LYlKtRYpXTb6mlYiYQe8z94mk8ai_Jl4p_1c/s1600/DSC_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdNn3RDrqVFQfGirdAtFzQONxOJT8Qf7PWHfUoenETNJr5cNEP2nnupQygtkBfxCYJFV7SObtNUWgwL8IaAzvBgD-zazOVuTJvtCPR23LYlKtRYpXTb6mlYiYQe8z94mk8ai_Jl4p_1c/s320/DSC_0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The actual in-car wiring was way easy, with just two wires to splice into.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJd40WvWY5btZXZ_JLJCzEusRhhyrVLMZyqBb-CnqjZYs25au9INdDLEzX5utLhpLBQ353tqR6IC67CwJqRCsSVT4LdZOsucqkpgVBjU-h8wbsyshtBbfozajOGOpWtVNWeiPvx293O0/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJd40WvWY5btZXZ_JLJCzEusRhhyrVLMZyqBb-CnqjZYs25au9INdDLEzX5utLhpLBQ353tqR6IC67CwJqRCsSVT4LdZOsucqkpgVBjU-h8wbsyshtBbfozajOGOpWtVNWeiPvx293O0/s320/DSC_0189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>How can you run cruise control with just two buttons? Well, it's limited in features. The top button toggles the cruise on and off (illuminating the green indicator in the top picture); the bottom one sets the speed and decelerates the car. You can wire in four switches to get full functionality, but two looks nicer and it does the job.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And it works! For less than $10 at Radio Shack, this car has cruise control. Another option for this particular car is just to install the OEM cruise control switch and cut a hole in the steering column cover for it to stick out of, but the switch—a stalk not unlike the turn signal one—is still a little pricey at about eighty bucks.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-38420412782274996202011-10-31T22:57:00.004-05:002011-10-31T23:10:15.342-05:00Why the Fiat 500 will do well (a long ramble)<script type="text/javascript">
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</div><div>A hip lady-friend of mine recently <a href="http://midwesting.tumblr.com/post/12165881735/autowerk-verde-oliva-i-have-never-really-been">blogged about the Fiat 500</a>. She said:</div><div>"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I have never really been a car person. My dad picked out both of the cars I’ve driven, and they’ve been good cars in the sense that they get me from point A to point B without any scarring or wreckage. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But then I saw this little thing. I want that car. This is the first time in my life I’ve written that down. I want that car. It’s so wee!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;">"</span></div><div><br />
</div><div>We at the Grassroots Motorsports office have been waiting for one to come through the press fleet. We saw a white one in the parking lot at the office a month or two back, and EVERYONE was talking about it. "Is that our press car?" "It's a stickshift!" "Where did it come from?" "I love the interior." We all fought over who would <a href="http://www.carenvy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/gp02.jpg">drive it</a> first. We've been waiting for one to come through the <a href="http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new-cars/">press fleet</a> for some time.</div><div><br />
</div><div>We later found out that it belonged to the meter reader lady from the electric company. It was her personal ride. We all gave her props for driving a stickshift, she enthusiastically proclaimed her love for it, and left.</div><div><br />
</div><div>One showed up at an autocross this summer. It wasn't there to compete; someone just drove it to the event. There were at nearly all times at least four guys gathered around the thing. When the owner was near it, a bigger crowd gathered to ask questions.</div><div><br />
</div><div>All this for a kind of slow, technologically unremarkable, somewhat expensive subcompact car. Why such a fuss? </div><div><br />
</div><div>It is incredibly cute. Sure, your average Camaro shopper wouldn't be caught dead in one, but I'm sure the reverse is also true. But that's less the point, so much as its whimsy. It's fun just to look at. It makes people smile, stop, and have a closer look. The Mini Cooper and New Beetle did these things, but I hesitate to say that they did it so universally.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I thought at first that it was too expensive. It starts at the same price as the Ford Fiesta ($15,500), a considerably larger car. But, while the Fiesta might be more practical to own and perhaps are more capable as a performance car, its fun really only kicks in once you're whipping it around corners and really making use of its delightful chassis.</div><div><br />
</div><div>With a car like this, the whimsy, the thrill, the joy, comes from the minute you sit in it. You get into it, smile, and ask, "So, what can you do?" The same thing happened with my sister when she bought her (also smaller than a Fiesta but 30% more costly) Mini Cooper several years ago. She wasn't a car person, but she became an enthusiastic driver. She learned to live with its small cargo space. She'd tell stories of playing cat-and-mouse through traffic with other Mini drivers. It also helped that she <a href="http://www.caranddriver.com/features/save-the-manuals-official-headquarters-car-and-driver">got a stickshift</a>, I think, but part of it had to be that the car made its existence clear to its owners.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Not many cars do that, or have ever done that terribly often. Even if something is fun to drive, a cheap car will rarely actually say hello. It'll have the same speedometer you see in every other car in the world; the switchgear will look the same; it'll all be in that familiar industrial-plastic black.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Guys are fascinated. Gals think it's adorable. If this car is half as fun to drive as it is to look at (<a href="http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/take-abarth">foreign reviews</a> indicate as much), it'll sell as many as Fiat can make. It might even help get more kids <a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/may/02/double-take-teenage-son-has-no-interest-driving/">interested in cars and driving</a> who previously just thought of it as an expensive mode of transport. I only hope the take rate on stickshifts is high.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-19056611481029264862011-09-24T00:23:00.002-05:002011-09-24T00:44:37.598-05:00Racing Beat knockoff header<script type="text/javascript">
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<div><div style="text-align: center;"><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fdisbelief0%2Falbumid%2F5655782559374151745%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="267" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></embed></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div>I've learned something from my foray into the bottom-of-the-barrel cheap parts: There are two levels of shitty.<br />
<br />
<b>Level One: </b>Low price, good build quality, but materials that aren't the most durable perhaps because of lower quality.<br />
<b>Level Zero:</b> Lowest price, terrible build quality, horrendous materials.<br />
<br />
My recent reviews of <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2011/01/replacement-header-goes-in-painlessly.html">Raceland's header</a> put them squarely into Level One. Their header is well built, looks good out of the box and is well supported. They also have a real company/brand name to uphold, as evidenced by their stickers and catalog included in the order. Their downfall is that their steel isn't pure/robust enough to stand up to the harshest commutes through aggressively salted Chicago interstates. I'm confident that someone living in, say Florida, would be perfectly happy with their product.<br />
<br />
This one, on the other hand, is simply not worth a purchase. I don't mean to single out SpeedyRacer--an eBay seller--as there are multiple people peddling this shoddy product. It's the only header that imitates the <a href="http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/11-1025.html">Racing Beat</a> with a 4-1 design (all the others imitate the 4-2-1 or Tri-Y design of the <a href="http://www.good-win-racing.com/Mazda-Performance-Part/11-1029.html">Jackson Racing</a>); since the Racing Beat is <a href="http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/headers/header-comparison-test.html">reportedly</a> the best off-the-shelf header out there, it's truly unfortunate that the only imitation is so incredibly awful.<br />
<br />
See for yourself in the slideshow. The welds are so awful, I'm surprised I didn't find welding rod sticking out of them. I wonder if they're even airtight. I saw one car with this header at SCCA Solo Nationals (STS class), and wasn't surprised to find it was rusting just like my Raceland unit--though that particular car certainly didn't see the heavy winter commuting duty that mine did.<br />
<br />
The final straw--and this really killed me, because I was nearing the end of my <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2011/07/engine-rebuild-and-swap.html">engine swap</a> at the time, filled with exhaustion, frustration at already too many broken surprises, and anxious to hit the road--was that it just didn't fit. It hit the flat horizontal part of the body below the brake and clutch master cylinders. I was so goddamn angry when I couldn't get the piece of cockblasting assnugget* to fit that I literally bounced it off the fucking concrete floor and across the garage.<br />
<br />
Since I've seen this header fit on other cars and it's gotten some positive eBay responses, I can conclusively say their quality control department and the jig they use to build this header are both not very consistent. And, judging by the fact that a magnet will stick to certain parts of it--most notably the bends, as demonstrated in the slideshow--they clearly use ultra-low quality stainless steel too.<br />
<br />
By "they," of course, I mean whoever makes this piece of garbage, not Speedyracer or any other eBay vendor--though they are responsible for selling a shit product. Much to that vendor's credit, they did take a return on the header even though it was past the 30-day return period. So thank you, Speedyracer, for not totally screwing me.<br />
<br />
There you have it, friends: real buying advice. Don't buy the absolute cheapest garbage. Pay a little extra instead. I'd buy the Raceland header again. You couldn't pay me to use this one--which is just as well, since it seems to no longer be available on eBay.<br />
<br />
*I'm a classy guy.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-22001086138060142682011-08-20T21:07:00.004-05:002011-08-20T22:12:21.695-05:00Chugga chugga Miata speedometer<script type="text/javascript">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TjrQqlgFqz4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br />
</div><div>My Miata's speedometer used to do this. My good friend <a href="http://greatnamesinbaseball.blogspot.com/">Eric</a> described the sound as akin to a choo-choo train. My memory is fuzzy, so I'm going to pretend he used those exact words. He's <a href="http://comedians.jokes.com/pete-holmes/videos/pete-holmes---adults-eating-candy">a grown-ass man</a>. I tried <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2011/03/speedometer-replacement.html">replacing the speedometer head</a> before, but that didn't help.<br />
<br />
As part of the <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2011/07/engine-rebuild-and-swap.html">engine rebuild</a>, I replaced many (<a href="http://topuspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/manny-pacquiao1.jpg">many</a>!!) parts. One of them was the speedometer cable, which is easier to replace than I expected. Problem solved! I lived with that annoyance for way too long considering how simple the fix was. With a little dexterity, flexibility and profanity, I was able to replace the cable without removing the instrument cluster.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-2992197496110459252011-08-05T14:56:00.001-05:002011-08-05T14:57:31.803-05:00Wear your safety equipment, kids.This video is horrifying. Not for weak stomachs.<br />
<div><br />
</div><iframe frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20247765?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ff7007" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/20247765">Killed Myself When I Was Young</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1720912">The Jalopy Journal</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div><br />
Via <a href="http://devour.com/video/vintage-race-car-crashes/">Devour.com</a>. Found on the 24 Hours of LeMons forum.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-38145496748105064042011-08-03T16:05:00.001-05:002011-08-03T16:05:25.741-05:00GRM Blog: Crank pulleys can indeed fail<script type="text/javascript">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtoUfhrQh20ynTrsJ1jnau4sCEf1dB82i7KPyyObn7_wJle40G18-rWCpOW8aWj19eHtH1pamM7WCLiLnlYN2rr9HQcwk4RlTY4cQXx8cfUgXEE_v_XKqZLjN_4oXXFdDZV6212DJCNw/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDtoUfhrQh20ynTrsJ1jnau4sCEf1dB82i7KPyyObn7_wJle40G18-rWCpOW8aWj19eHtH1pamM7WCLiLnlYN2rr9HQcwk4RlTY4cQXx8cfUgXEE_v_XKqZLjN_4oXXFdDZV6212DJCNw/s400/DSC_0048.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>I made a new blog post on the Grassroots Motorsports website. I'm not crazy about the interface and workarounds we have to do to make photo embedding work, but those are things that will hopefully be addressed in the forthcoming redesign. Take a visit.</div><div><a href="http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/staff/AlanCesar/crank-pulleys-can-indeed-fail/">http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/staff/AlanCesar/crank-pulleys-can-indeed-fail/</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6459046781504912154.post-83413169252747041242011-07-13T22:58:00.001-05:002011-07-12T23:02:23.802-05:00A post-wash return to Artsy Fartsy Sentiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-40tp6P7rqS4/Th0KToynrrI/AAAAAAAAJXo/Pgw65mp4rOU/s1600/front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-40tp6P7rqS4/Th0KToynrrI/AAAAAAAAJXo/Pgw65mp4rOU/s400/front.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">High-contrast black and white accents the imperfections. I'm proud that it's a beater.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div></div>This week I washed my Miata for the first time in many, many (many!!) months. It's still not very clean: I need to buy a better scrub sponge to get most of the bug residue off it before I can give it a good waxing -- which is also severely overdue. I miss <a href="http://www.farmandfleet.com/">Farm & Fleet</a>; car cleaning products seem much pricier at Advance Auto Parts, and in much smaller variety.<br />
<div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exmq7Z2kp0U/Th0KRR2X2NI/AAAAAAAAJXc/STT0aQfs40I/s1600/front+side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-exmq7Z2kp0U/Th0KRR2X2NI/AAAAAAAAJXc/STT0aQfs40I/s400/front+side.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Visible Flyin' Miata frame rails. Hot colors and saturation!</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div></div><div>This car has been filthy for a very long time. With the crazy long commute I used to have, deep cleanings only made the car look nice for a couple days. I've also been so incredibly busy ever since the engine rebuild and subsequent cross-country move to Florida that I haven't had a chance to do anything but rinse the ocean's salt spray off of it once. The greasy handprints all over it from my <a href="http://www.sentimentalmechanic.com/2011/07/engine-rebuild-and-swap.html">pre-move engine rebuild</a> stayed on, and now seem to be a semi-permanent fixture.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sg4no2esXZU/Th0KSYbmtHI/AAAAAAAAJXg/e5xdCoaYjfY/s1600/wheel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sg4no2esXZU/Th0KSYbmtHI/AAAAAAAAJXg/e5xdCoaYjfY/s400/wheel.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">These Konig Britelite wheels look so much nicer when they're clean. Toyo R1-Rs are grippy as shit, but getting balder by the day. Anyone want to give me a set of 205/50-15 tires for free?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div>The wheels actually took longer to clean than the rest of the car, and they're not perfect either. From aggressive brake pads and a lot of neglect, brake dust and rotor shavings accumulated on the wheel lips and rusted, making them look super gross. It took a lot of A2Z wheel cleaner and a couple Scotch-Brite <a href="http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Catalog/?PC_7_RJH9U52300V2E0I02BK7KM0GT3_nid=B788N8K547gs7XLWLFJB1BglG9LRBCNNDCbl&prodID=B788N8K547gs&lang=en_US">heavy duty sponges</a> to get them to where they are, though there's still some tough residual brake-dust-rust buildup. (I am not paid for these plugs. Those 3M sponges have served me well from cleaning dishes to removing cylinder head gaskets, but I'm not certain the wheel cleaner is any better than others. Does work pretty well though.)</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5qbUGQu2KQ/Th0KUqzffAI/AAAAAAAAJXs/3Peh5X181Kc/s1600/rear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x5qbUGQu2KQ/Th0KUqzffAI/AAAAAAAAJXs/3Peh5X181Kc/s400/rear.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The suspension looks saggy on the right. I'll have to check for broken springs again. It's only been 2 months since I bought this replacement set from Flyin' Miata. Bummer. I hope this doesn't mean I have a bent frame.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div></div><div>Regardless, its current cleanliness could be considered impeccable compared to its previous state, so I decided to take some pictures. And like any good former-photography-major, I figured it was time to be all artsy again for once. Crouching and bracing myself against myself to take long-exposure hand-held shots brought back memories of my <a href="http://disbelief0.deviantart.com/">film days</a>. As did tweaking color, saturation and contrast levels in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5uR7VC4M">Photardshop</a>.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2