Jake's Garage

Memories of Sammy...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I was browsing through some pictures tonight, and came across this picture of Sammy The Samurai (RIP):

You know, I loved that little $hitbox. I still remember shelling out $400 to buy it, and thinking what a hoot it'd be if I got a year out of it. I dumped another $500 into it to make it legal, and then I whipped it like a red-headed stepchild for 4 years straight. Sammy the Samurai was a faithful friend, a stout sidekick and a reliable mule. It saw me through some of my favorite adventures, missions and fiascos.

See, the beauty of a REAL $hitbox is that it owes you nothing. Every day is a bonus day, so you can whip it mercilessly knowing if it blows up, you've still made out OK.

It's a good thing I was born in this century, because if I treated a horse the way I treat a truck... I don't think I could sleep at night. My heavens, I was a hearless ba$tard to that thing.

Sammy the Samurai's "greatest hits" include:

- Helping me *cough* obtain a genuine MacAvity fire hydrant

- Climbing my pile of firewood evey year

- Taking 1200lbs of shingles to the dump in ONE trip

- Being rear-ended twice in two weeks without *quite* being able to distinguish where they hit me, even when the other car had to be towed away.

- Sliding backwards through the stop sign at the bottom of the Vincent road, in the rain, with Greenie the trailer jacknifed and overloaded with sod.

- Being flipped onto its side at the dump, with Greenie in tow, and having to have one uf the dump's bulldozes pull us out

- Pulling 12 fool logs up the beach at the peninsula, and having it tailgate pulled off (picture above)

- Drowning in the Kennebecasis while launching MS Fortune, and then getting CPR by being towed around West Beach estates by Herb Hegler (trial by water)

- Burning to the ground in the driveway after an electrical fire that I handled a bit too casually (trial by fire)

It's comforting to know that Sammy's happiest days were in its final year... its perforated body all welded up solidly, its wheezy 1.3 engine replaced with a VW turbodiesel. It was ugly, obnoxious and Too Much Fun. I took it everywhere, even when it wasn't really welcome.

I loved that little truck.

Still on a Ferrari kick...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:35:00 +0000

I was checking out a guy's house a couple weeks ago. We're out front, admiring his amazing view, when his neighbor pulls up in his '86 Ferrari 328.

Up until last year, this was *the* Ferrari in town. The owner is a diehard car nut... he's owned a string of really fascinating cars... one of which I worked on years ago; a 1981 Lancia Zagato Spyder.

Since that conversation, I find myself on ebay and kijiji searching for Ferraris... just to see what's what.

But still... it's hard to ignore some of the less expensive (and less desireable) Ferraris:

An '86 Mondial for $28900. The 4 seaters are so cheap. Not quite as pretty, but I do love teh idea of dropping the kids off at daycare. Nice that it's not look-at-me red.

An '84 Mondial for 25,500! Yeah, see that is dangerous territory... way too close to the price of a nice Porsche 911 SC or Carrera.

A '92 348 for $48000. Funny, a few years ago I didn't care *one bit* for the side stakes on the 348... now they have started to grow on me. In many ways, I find the 348 to be a much better looking car than the "classic" 308. 48k is REALLY rich for my blood, but I've seen 348's as low as 40kCAN. I wouldn't want an abused one that's due for serious service, but I'd love a slightly tatty "driver" that has been maintained. Especially in black or green.

An '82 308 for 42k. Black... 17000 miles. That's nuts.

I almost feel guilty about it; I'm even searching for Ferraris BEFORE I search for Porsches. Even if I could afford one (I can't), I don't think a Ferrari would work for me. I'd need a "fun" car that I could also depend on day-to-day, work on easily, and find parts for in a pinch. A Ferrari is more of a weekend car... whereas a Porsche 911 could be driven daily.

Ok, so explain to me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:33:00 +0000

How it is a fellah can get a classic v12 Ferrari for LESS than the price of a Honda Accord Coupe?

Sure, it's not your typical red Magnum PI 308, or even a Miami Vice Daytona... but holy crap, it's still a v12 Ferrari with only 35k miles for under $30,000 US.

I've always liked the Ferrari 400. They are understated... even a bit plain looking. It's kind of like a mix between a Bitter Coupe and a Rover Sterling. They aren't a "look at me" Ferrari; you could take off the prancing horse badge, and it would only be the odd car nut who could spot it.

But hooboy, it's a Ferrari v12, and this particular car has a rare 5 speed manual. If you don't know what the big deal is with a Ferrari v12, listen to the videos on Tom Yang's excellent Ferrari site.

http://www.tomyang.net/cars/movie.htm

And hey, it's a 4-seater, so the kids can enjoy the sound of that v12 too.

Somebody stop me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:12:00 +0000

Before I buy an '86 Porsche 911 with ~390k kms, for $7000 US

Seriously, has the world gone mad? What's a 5 year old Hyundai Tiburon cost? More than a tatty Porsche 911, apparently. Any guesses on the value of the Porsche will be in 5 years, compared to that Tiburon?

It's a good thing I got laid off and have a brand-spanking new baby, otherwise I'd fly to Penticton and do something sensible.

Sure, the price of the 911 will be matched by the cost of the engine rebuild when you accidently drop it from 5th to 2nd coming off the highway, but even then you can sell it as a roller for $4k, or stick in a VW diesel engine and run it on canola. The 911 already has two tanks, so it wouldn't be that hard...

Yeah... you know I would.

Happy Hour @ Jake's Garage

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:44:00 +0000

I bought that 1986 Toyotie diesel on December 30th, and promised Kate I'd have it gone by Saturday.

So, I sent out an invite for a fun night in the garage. Had about 8 people pass through, and everyone had a blast tearing into the Toyotie.

Lots of fun for folks who don't normally work on cars... we were just tearing it apart so they didn't have to be too careful, and it goes FAST. Started at 8pm, and the engine was dangling from a hoist by midnight.

And on Saturday they came to tow away the bare carcass. I even kept the fancy-schmancy aluminum wheels. Goodbye, Toyotie!

SUVs & Safety

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:43:00 +0000

On last week's CBC column, I talked about misconceptions many drivers have about the safety of SUV's.

The interview can be found here:
http://www.cbc.ca/shift/col-car_guy.html

I've attached NHTSA (National Highway and Traffic Safety Association) and IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) documents that I referenced when talking about SUV crash and safety statistics:

Passenger Vehicle Occupant Fatality Rates by Type and Size of Vehicle.pdf

NHTSA- Vehicle Weight & Fatality Risk and Crash Compatibility.pdf

Analysis_of_Impact_of_SUVs_in_US.pdf

Somebody stop me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Before I buy a 1986 Toyota Diesel 4x4 pickup.

No, I don't need a pickup... especially one that's unregistered, uninspected and unbelievably rusty.

But, hmmm.... a Toyota 2l 2.4 liter diesel engine, eh? And with all the bits & pieces to make a bolt-in diesel swap for Quanq the 4runner. Heck, it even has a decent set of rims, and a working CD player. Comes with a spare starter and injection pump. Oh, and that injection pump is from a turbo... so that makes for some interesting possibilities down the road.

All along I've been planning on swapping a VW 1.9 aaz turbodiesel into Quang. I can get an adapter plate for the engine/transmission from acmeadapters.com. Having used their kit in my samurai (RIP), I know they make great quality stuff. However, they don't have anything OTHER than the adapter plate, so I'd have to make my own engine mounts, mounts for alternator and power steering pump, cooling system, exhaust etc. And although I have three (count'em... THREE!) VW 1.9's in the garage, I know deep down inside that they would be underpowered for the 4runner. Not that the Toyota non-turbo 2.4 liter is going to spin the earth the wrong way, with its MASSIVE 83hp... but it might be able to get my up into 5th gear.

So, yeah. I bought the little runt... on the condition that it would be gone by Saturday. Kate has this funny hangup about having engineless cars hanging around.

Garage night on Friday, I'll tear it's leaky little heart out!

And for those of you who read right to the bottom of the page, a special treat:

Top Gear's "Killing a Toyota Diesel"

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4Ksz3nHM

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk

Be still, my heart!

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:15:00 +0000

Oh, how I have dreamt of you. I knew you would return, sooner or later.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280292940223

But is it really you, or an imposter??

An imposter, apparently.

Because the REAL you had a temperature gauge in the center of the dash, so I could watch you overheat in the heat of summer, or miraculously, in the middle of the winter.

And the REAL you had the sunroof cut from another parts car, then pop-riveted in place from underneath. With lots of silicone. Kitchen & Bath silicone.

And the REAL you didn't have some harlot's dream of an interior. No, you had the Renault R5 Sport special seats, in grey, pilfered from a parts car. And a tach! And a leather Gordini steering wheel.

And yes, the REAL you had a high compression crossflow head from Archer racing, with a side draft Weber DCOE, and a racing cam.

So no, it's not YOU. But yes, I think I could love you.

Oil filters... more than you EVER wanted to know

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 02:59:00 +0000

An oil filter is an oil filter, right?

Well yes. And a horse is a horse, of course, of course.

But for ages, I've been told to steer clear of Fram filters. "Avoid the orange can, " they repeat as a chorus.

But why?

Well, I thought I'd have a little fun, and see what the difference is. So I rolled up to Cambodian Tire to buy a Fram "Weatherguard" CPH3569 ($6.11) and a Bosch 72174 ($5.89) to compare. Both are standard issue for a VW 1.6 or 1.9 diesel.

Then, I cut the tops so I could pull them apart and see what's what:

Excited yet?!? Oh boy!

Right off the bat, there are some apparent differences. First off, the filter paper is glued to cardboard ends on the Fram, metal on the Bosch. Without even measuring, the Bosch filter obviously has FAR more pleats and therefore, more filter medium.

Those flat steel springs are what keep the filters pressed against the filter heads. On the Fram one, the red dot is the pressure relief bypass. In the Bosch filter, that's integrated into the bottom metal end. More about that later.

Now, I know youze are all excited about filter mediums and bypasses, but lets stop and look at a detail first. Lets look at how the filters seal up to the tops of the filter "head".

On the Bosch, the filter paper is capped at both ends in metal, so a rubber gasket fits between the filter top and the head. That gasket serves two purposes. First, it seals between the two parts, but its wide shoulder also to serves as a "drainback" valve, not allowing oil to syphon out of the filter when the engine is turned off. Anyway, it's a pretty simple design and it seals up nicely:

On the Fram, you can see the black rubber "drainback" ring, with the little blue mark on it. On mine, it sealed well the whole way around. I've seen pictures of ones where it doesn't, which would defeat the whole purpose. But they got this one on right. Congrats! The filter head seals against the filter end without a gasket, probably with the assumption that the cardboard end serves as a "good enough" gasket:

OK, now onto the fun stuff. Take the best breadknife in the house, and cut the filter paper off the bases. I actually had to use a hacksaw on the Bosch, because the perforated column in the middle is tack welded to the ends, so you have to saw through it. The Fram was way easier, as soon as you got one end cut, the perforated column just falls out. It's also worth noting that the cardboard ends were really flimsy, and got beat in the process.

All in all, the Fram was hard to take apart with having it FALL apart. The Bosh was just harder to take apart.

Now back to those pressure relief bypasses I mentioned earlier... whazzatfore, you ask? Well, if you are like my mom and change your filter every 2-3 years, it's going to get plugged up with old scuzzie oil and shattered dreams. As an analogy, imagine a vacuum filter that plugs up. After a while, nothing will flow through and you have to change it. Well, you can't have an oil filter just plug up, because if oil stopped passing through, your engine would seize and your whole morning would be ruined.

The Bosch bypass can only be seen by taking the filter apart. It's spot welded to the inside of the filter base, and has a tight little spring that pushes down on thick little disk. When there is enough pressure on the back of the base, the spring is compressed and oil gets passed:

The Fram one is incorporated into the flat steel spring that the filter sits on in the "can". The reddish wire spring keeps tension on the red plastic plug. When pressure gets high enough, the bypass opens. Notable on this one is the fact that one of the shoulders of the red plastic plug was not properly fitted over the spring. Nice.

For my next trick, I stretched out the paper filter to compare it side to side. Some poor planning on my part is evident here. Ideally, I should have stretched it out on the floor and taken a picture. Problem is it was mid-day and our floors REALLY needed to be vacuumed, what with having 3 dogs laying around. So I pinned them and stretched them out on the cupboard door instead. Glad I did too, because it shows what a fine finish you can get if you use good paint, a good brush and a delicate stroke. Some people ask if those cupboards were sprayed, but if you look carefully you will see very fine brush marks. I'm really proud of those cupboard doors.

Anyway, problem was that they weren't quite tall enough for a side by side comparison of filter paper. Here's the scoop... the Fram is the ONE piece on the left: 150 cms long. The two pieces on the right are the Bosch; 150 cm & 90 cm for a total of 240 cm.

So, taking into account the overall width of the paper, 9.5 cms for both, I end up with a dramatic difference in surface area:

Fram: 1425 cm2
Bosch: 2280 cm2... 60% more surface area!

Another thing that's noteworthy: When I was stretching the filters out, I had to be careful to not tear the Fram. Even being gentle, it started to tear at the pleats in several places:

So there you have it. The Fram filter is probably just fine, so long as it doesn't plug up 40% earlier, the paper isn't torn, and the bypass spring and plug aren't messed up.

Further discussion on the PelicanParts forum

Somebody stop me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:58:00 +0000

... before I buy a Citroen SM. Worse yet, one that's sat since 1980 and won't start. Yes, I emailed him.

But realistically, it's not like I'd drive to Kitchener to pick up a rusty, non-running SM. Unless maybe it was only $1500. Or $2000.

OK, most I'll pay is $3000.

Seriously, it's a good thing I don't have a ~5k car "slush fund", because this is just the kind of heap I'd end up dragging home. Which is crazy really, because a fellah could fly to the Left Coast and pick up a running, fully operational, non-rusty SM for about 8k USD.

Strange, isn't it, that San Francisco seems to have a lot of the SMs?

But I digress. Fact is, I have a well-documented soft spot for french cars with engines where they shouldn't be. The SM raises the stakes: not only is it mid-engined and front wheel drive, making it nearly impossible to work on... it also has the V6 from the Maserati Merak, so parts are rare and expensive. And Italian. Perfect!

When I lived in Montreal, there was an SM that I used to see parked on McKay st, about 2-3 times a week. Silver, brown leather interior. Not perfect, but a wonderful patina. A couple small dings on the bumpers, faded paint on the hood and roof. But always clean, and it seemed to be driven daily.

I altered my route so I'd walk by every single day, just in case it'd be there. One day I was just walking around the corner, and I heard it start. Well, I heard it TRY to start first. It was a cold fall morning, and it hesitated for a few seconds. The starter was spinning it fast, the odd cylinder catching and gargling gasoline. Then it fired. It roared; Maserati 2.7, sucking air through three fat Webers. Leaves scattered behind it, as the driver revved the engine until it smoothed out, and the hydropneumatic suspension charged itself and raised the car up.

He let it coast back a bit, and then pulled away, spinning a bit on wet leaves and chirping the tires when it caught dry pavement.

Glorious.

Somebody stop me.

Tool time

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Best part of having a welder is making your own "special" tools.

One of the tricky tasks on w210 series Mercedes is getting at the 8mm allen bolt for the cooling fan, which has to be removed to change the accessory belt, tensioner or spring. There's only a small space between the radiator and the fan, and it's pretty far down to reach.

I was only changing the tensioner, and I have a feeling I'll be back in there again to get at the belt and maybe even the water pump; it's getting squeaky. Knowing I'll be revisting this job made it worth the time to whip up a couple special tool to make the job easier.

First up was making a long, thin 8mm allen wrench for getting the center bolt out of the fan. I the end off an 8mm allen key, welded it to the flattened end of a 2 foot length of steel tube, and had Mercedes special tool # 103 589 01 09 00 :

But in order to loosen that 8mm allen bolt, you need to keep the water pump pulley from turning. Hack up some square tube, a couple minutes with the welder and here's Mercedes special tool #603 589 00 40 00 :

Here it is in use:

Neither one is pretty, but they only took 15 minutes to whip up and made the job a BREEZE. Now that I know they work, I'll clean up the booger welds a bit, and paint them Palmer Fleet Blue.

For the fine folks at the mercedesshop.com forum

Lugnuts, more than you care to know

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Just two weeks ago, I mentioned on the radio that people should check their lugnuts after they have work done. It struck a couple people as odd... why should they have to double check something like that?

Well, because there's a good chance your lugnuts were put on too loose, or too tight. Too loose and you have wheels falling off, and you end up on the side of the highway crying into your cellphone. Too tight and you end up NOT being able to get your wheels off when you get a flat tire, and you end up on the side of the highway crying into your cellphone.

So, always check your lugnuts.

And more importantly: do as I say, not as I do. Because I forgot this little rule when I had some work done a couple weeks ago.

Fast forward to last night. Got a great big box of New Shineys from PelicanParts, and was just getting ready to tear into the e300d, new shocks, tie rods, sway bar links, engine mounts... very excited.

Step 1) loosen lug nuts before raising car. FAIL.

Right away, I knew I was in trouble... Usually they "crack" nicely as soon as I put some pressure on the breaker bar. On these guys, I had to put a 4' pipe on the end and STILL really haul on it. The car was in the shop 2 weeks ago to check out the front end; they must have used an impact gun to put the wheels back on.

Several are bent, and worse still, one broke off.

I tried welding a nut onto the shank, but it just broke again further down. Even with the collective wisdom of all who assembled for Happy Hour @ Jake's Garage, we were not able to get it out.

Drilling it out was the only real solution. Fun way to spend six hours... took more time than all the front end work and engine mounts I'd been planning to do.

Upside is that I didn't make this discovery while trying to change the tire on the side of the highway, in the rain. Crying into my cellphone.

So, now you know. Check your lugnuts.

Somebody stop me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:49:00 +0000

...before I buy a Ford 8n tractor

For they are strong, and I am weak.

Seriously.

Here's my meandering trail of justification: I was looking around at plow setups for my 4runner, because we typically pay $3-400/ year in plowing and they beat the heck out of my driveway. Anyway, a decent plow setup costs $1500, maybe $1000 used if I'm lucky. Then, I'd have a plow on the front of the 4runner all winter, a real pain to drive with and it makes the truck a bit (OK, a LOT) less usable as a daily driver. Plus the fact that a plow beats the heck out of a truck. So, looks like even if I could find a plow for $1500, I'm not likely to put one on the 4runner now.

What about a snowblower? Well, a decent one is $800 or so, and to be honest I can't stand the things. I see my neighbor out there at 6 am with a constant gust of snow blowing back on his face... no thanks. I'll go to extraordinary lengths to save a buck, but that has NO appeal. I'll send my pregnant wife out to shovel before I schlep around behind a snowblower.

So then, perusing the classifieds I come across this:

Ford 8n, new 12v electrics, new hydraulics, engine rebuilt 3 years ago. Snow plow & snow chains, PTO $1300.

If I look around online, I see 4-5 within a 3 hr drive for $1200-2000. Some with plows, some with lawn mowing attachments, some even with wood splitters.

Seriously, I am at a loss. I can't think of any reason why I shouldn't have one.

Adding fuel to the fire: Flathead v8 swap kits for $1000 ?!?!

I yi yi... I'm done for.

Somebody stop me...

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Because who can say no to a $200 VW Golf?

Not me, that's for sure. Too many great parts to be had, and just in time for my dieselicious 4runner/VW 1.9AAZ swap.

We managed to get it all torn apart in just a few hours at last Friday's Happy Hour at Jake's Garage (Now Featuring: Ladies!!!) . Dropped the whole front subframe in about 3 hours at a leisurely beer drinking, chip eating and lie telling pace.

The hulk still waits to be hauled away, much to Kate's chagrin. The Towing Dude guarantees that it will be gone tonight. Hard to get cranky when he hauls for free

Some of the bitsas are up for grabs on the "Stuff for Sale" page.

Sammy's replacement is home safe & sound.

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:25:00 +0000

Looked at two 4runners yesterday, this fellah was the best of the two. Had sat for a year and needed some attention, but made the 400km drive home without hesitation.

Brakes calipers are seized, warper rotors, bad front shocks, and the rear suspension has a couple bad mounts, making for some freakiness and wonkitudinal highway driving.

But it's a solid truck and a great starting point for a good "mule".

Once I get it ready for inspection, I'll start on the diesel swap. Currently leaning towards a VW 1.9aaz, unless someone magically comes out with a Mercedes om617 cyl swap in the next few months.

More later!

It lives!

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:58:00 +0000

Crispy Samurai revived with lamp oil and 3 jumper wires

LET'S BURN THIS MOTHER DOWN!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:11:00 +0000

It's better to burn up than to fade away.

Little duder served as a faithful mule for 4+ years. Many fond memories, and a dramatic finale.

Ms Fortune sails again!

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:26:00 +0000

The wretched hag has been on dry ground since '05. The last time I had her moved by boomtruck, I swore I wouldn't launch her again until I had it on a trailer. So, finally found a trailer last year.

Then this spring I set to work. New keel pin & brackets, which meant dropping the ~800lb keel. Also cut 4' off the mast, shortened the stays and made a stainless masthead. I also got a CDI furler and a custom genoa that wasn't really what I ordered, but nice just the same.

Anyway, it sits at the mooring now, after a world-class fiasco getting her launched. I am still waiting on the video of that. It was fantastic.

Sammy the Samurai

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:10:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post pics of this bad little dude for a while. I posted about him back when I bought him, then when I first put him on the road, and again when I swapped in a vw1.6 turbodiesel using an Acme Adapters kit.

Anyway, back in February '07 I converted it to run on veggie oil. Being a trashy old oil sucking engine, I decided to just use a homemade heat exchanger I had laying around, and a Pollak 6 port fuel valves. For a fuel tank, I used a 20 liter aluminum fuel tank that I bought for $5 at a flea market (actually, I bought 3 of them!) and soldered up a copper heated fuel pickup that goes down into the tank. The final heat exchanger is woefully inadequate, I get about 50*C fuel temperature at the injection pump.

I have a really nice 1.9 AAZ turbodiesel that I'll swap in this summer. At the same time, I'll clean up the wiring & plumbing, add a FPHE & vegtherm, and probably even paint it.

The veggie tank: On the top, you can see fuel and coolant lines going into the heated fuel pickup. You can also see the insulated Hose on Hose (HoH) running towards the front of the car.

You can see the HoH going up the driver's side footwell, where it passes through the firewall. You can also see the vacuum gauge in the center of the dash. It reads the vacuum in the fuel line just before the injection pump, so I can see if the diesel or veggie filter are plugging:

The fuel & coolant lines pass through the firewall where they connect to the wacky, inefficient copper heat exchanger. The fuel passes through the center, then out on the left, through the small filter and into the 6 port valve.

Here's another look at the (messy) engine compartment. A couple things worth noting:

-glow plugs have individual wires run instead of the standard "bus bar". This makes identifying dead plugs MUCH easier.

-I used cheapie "worm gear" hose clamps instead of the better fuel injection hose clamps... something I generally advise against.

No, Sammy the Samurai isn't pretty. But he is tough and easy to love.

I've had him on the road for 3 years now, and I've never washed him once, but hit him with a coat of Tremclad once a year.

Cabot Trail by Carrera!

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:07:00 +0000

Classic car, epic road; five day world-class driving experience.

Five days on the Cabot Trail. Got some nasty rain, and some of the roads needed to be mowed, but still... what an amazing drive. We did the whole thing counter-clockwise in the rain and fog, and when the weather cleared we turned around and did it clockwise.

Turbocharger is shot

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 03:24:00 +0000

Pulled it out & apart today and the turbine wheel is toast. Looks like I bumped the fuelling up too high.

I think the trip to Montreal really killed it. I was driving with the foot to the floor most of the trip. On the way there, I had the weight of a cast iron fire hydrant. On the way back I had a 2' x 2' x 3' woodbox on the roof rack... it was like driving with a parachute.

Ah well... I've got access to a few larger k24 turbos. Looks like they'll swap in relatively easy and offer better breathing and more boost than the k03. I'll put in an EGT gauge this time.

Discussion here on the VW GTD forum.

Reverse gear replacement & swearing contest

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 03:28:00 +0000

After a year of nursing a flimsy reverse, Kate came home last week and announced that reverse was completely gone.

Option A: Take it to a shop, have a used transmission installed: $800
Option B: Take the transmission out in the garage, and pull it apart myself.

I had a spare transmission that I could practice on, and it even had a decent reverse idler, so I went with Option B.

Now, I wouldn't want anyone reading this to think that I'm all "old hat" at repairing transmissions. I'm just foolish... I'd never even had one apart before. I did have a decent online DIY guide: http://scirocco.dhs.org/cheapassron/020tranny/index.htm

EDIT: After I did this job, I wrote (what I though was) a fantastic DIY, step-by-step guide to tearing down a VW 020 transmission. Turns out there is one out there now:
http://www.brokevw.com/teardown.html
This link is FANTASTIC... much more detailed than the 1st one (as helpful as that was). In fact, I've jettisoned the whole tech article, because there is NO WAY I'd do as good a job as they did.

Anyway, pulled the car into the garage on Friday night, drove out on sunday. Flushed the gear oil 3 times in the subsequent weeks to get rid of the little bitzas and chunkits of the old reverse. Huge improvement in all gears, and I even swapped in a taller 5th for highway cruising... 120 km/hr is now a lazy 2900 rpms!

Here's some pics:

The culprit:

Homemade tools:

5th gear shift fork tool

Case splitter:

Sammy is home

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 04:34:00 +0000

Dad was down for Easter, and we managed to finally sneak the Suzuki past Kate. Drove up to the peninsula first thing in the AM, and spend 10-15 minutes freeing it from its frozen slumber. Then we... err... towed it home. Because that's the legal and right thing to do.

Kate remains unimpressed, but dad and I love it. Dad had tons of fun in low range, driving around the fence, up our lawn, over snowbanks. A bit loud, with no muffler.

Did I mention Kate was unimpressed?

'96 Jetta vegoil conversion.

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 04:29:00 +0000

This car was seemingly designed to be converted to vegetable oil. I ran the lines inside the car, along the passenger rocker panel. I removed the plastic rocker covers, only to find that there were already plastic hose clips perfectly suited for running my 5/8" coolant lines. The 1/2" vegoil line was zip-tied to the two coolant lines, and then the plastic rocker cover was put back on... as though it was designed for it. This is a VERY slick conversion.

Read more about the conversion here,
or
See the photo gallery here.

The victim:

Plumbing Diagram:

Lines running to firewall:

Lines to trunk:

Lines covered:

I am an addict.

noreply@blogger.com (jake) — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 04:32:00 +0000

Bought this '87 Suzuki Samurai. Actually, went halfers on it with dad. My half was roughly equivalent to a the cost of a good quality pair of shoes or a bus ride to Tillsonburg... either one of which would have been a lot more sensible.

Aaaah but I couldn't resist its charm... a working 12V winch, a great 4 x 4 system, fair brakes, at least a couple passable tires, and a mouse nest. Rusty, gusty and musty. How could I go wrong? Well...

The plan thus far is to do the least amount of work required to get it to pass inspection at the most dubious back-country garage I can find. Once it's on the road, I intend to mete out the worst vehicular abuse I have ever dreamed of.

In all fairness to the beast, it's a great little rig. It starts at the flick of the key, the 4 x4 works really well, and nearly all the lights work. It's been stored in a barn every winter since '95.. so the rust is pretty much superficial. Nothing a can of spray foam insulation and a couple coats of Tremclad can't fix. Well, hide anyway.

Update:

Total investment since puchase:
-$12.63... fan belt.

Still needs:
-jury-rigged exhaust, assembled from Greta the Jetta (RIP) remains
-set of mismatched tires from the Buyer Flyer
-horn from 18 wheeler
-battery pinched from Greta the Jetta (RIP)