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How's Your Ongoing Car/Truck/SUV Project Coming Along?


Razors Edge

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Seems we've had a few folks working on different project vehicles in the past year or so around the Cafe.  I remember @Parr8hed had one (Toyota?), @jsharr was doing minor stuff to his older son's truck (and surely the 300 has needed work), and Jeep projects always seem to pop up.  Heck, even @maddmaxx has a "car" project, and @Rattlecan is in the mix with his trailer build.

So, if you have an update, we'd love to hear about it.

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

"While"?  Unless it is "since" and there is no imminent return to not working from home, why the sale? 

How about "because"? 

There is no need for 2 cars because both Mrs. Grumpy and I are working from home.  The sale will put some cash in our pockets and save us some insurance costs.

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1 minute ago, Mr. Grumpy said:

How about "because"? 

There is no need for 2 cars because both Mrs. Grumpy and I are working from home.  The sale will put some cash in our pockets and save us some insurance costs.

...because you lose money on the sale and then lose money on a re-purchase.  I think that's why, if you will need the Focus in six months or so when we are "back to normal", I'd say hang on to it.  If you were planning to trade/sell it anyway and replace it with a different car anyway, then you're making sense.  You could save on insurance by calling them and stating that it is getting zero mileage and will not be driven. 

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4 minutes ago, jsharr said:

Decided against trying to rehab the Ford Ranger that has been sitting in a field for Ryan.  It was free, but just needed to much work for us right now.

Wade's truck has turned into a money pit.   It sucks for all of us.

 

Yay! The 300 is the flagship vehicle in the Sharr fleet!

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Went out this morning after paying taxes and had the IM washed.  It was pathetic.  I live in the woods under trees and the car was so filthy that I did a double pass through the car wash, on straight wash and another wash and wax.  It looks really good this afternoon.

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44 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

...because you lose money on the sale and then lose money on a re-purchase.  I think that's why, if you will need the Focus in six months or so when we are "back to normal", I'd say hang on to it.  If you were planning to trade/sell it anyway and replace it with a different car anyway, then you're making sense.  You could save on insurance by calling them and stating that it is getting zero mileage and will not be driven. 

I was planning to replace it this fall when dealers start offering deals to clear their lots of 2020 vehicles to make room for 2021's.  

We both have direction that we will both be working from home at least to the end of the year.  Where I work, they've been saying that once the offices are open, going in to the office will most likely be voluntary.

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23 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Went out this morning after paying taxes and had the IM washed.  It was pathetic.  I live in the woods under trees and the car was so filthy that I did a double pass through the car wash, on straight wash and another wash and wax.  It looks really good this afternoon sitting under those trees.

FIFY

 

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2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Well, feel free to write about it, because I am fairly sure you can't shout loud enough for me to hear you anyway.

I was thinking about getting you some pictures but then I would have to talk about the pictures. I'm not sure it's worth it.

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Just now, donkpow said:

Drive it?! I thought I was just supposed to poor money into it and wait for it to pay off.

I think 1) you got the correct "poor" in there, and 2) it is "wait for me to pay it off" not the way you garbled it.

Otherwise, yep, you're on the right path.

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The tailpipe on the Toyota was just a rusted piece of tubing coming off the header and into the cat, then nothing after the cat.  That mess all fell off the other day.  I just put a muffler on the pipe coming off the header (that part of the pipe was in good shape) and put a little down tube off that.  It did well.  Emmy and I drove it to practice the other night.  It did well.  Once the DMV opens full time I gotta get it registered.  Then I plan to drive it more.

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The closest I've come to working on my car was my adventure trying to get my registration card and tag sticker renewed beginning on June 8th and concluding on July 16th.

I have an appointment to get my renewed driver's license and Real ID on Aug. 21. It expires Oct. 1 and in Maryland you're allowed to renew it 12 months after it expired but I'll have my hands full with the house being rebuilt by fall and I want to get things done ASAP, with the pandemic reminding me of the ending of Robert Burns great poem To A Mouse:

But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
          On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
          I guess an’ fear!
 
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I finally was able to get the transmission back in the GTI, and enough engine mounts back on to reduce the white trashiness of the yard by getting the cinder blocks out from under the engine.  But now the yard is littered with lawn tractor parts.  The wife blew up her mower.  I got the new engine mounted, then sitting up too quickly got slammed with vertigo and couldn't finish the job.  Hoped to have it running for her birthday today.

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Impasse. I want a 2 - 3” lift and new wheels and 35” or 37“ taarrs. Wo7 says she’s gotta be able to get into it.  Wo7 does not negotiate. Yet.

So7 recently installed new rotors, calipers, pads and brake lines. Radiator fan. And exhaust from the header to tail pipe. His Jeep is almost legal. He plans on one-ton axle swap later this year with new wheels and tires. Going from 35’s to 37’s.  

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I changed the spark plugs on my 2014 Kia Forte5. It has 75K miles on it and the plugs aren't due until 100K. But I figured it's better to change them sooner than later.

Three of the plugs were very easy. Then came the 4th one. It had all kinds of things in the way so I had to unplug some wiring and hoses to get access t the plug. Of course one of the locking clips on an electrical connector snapped and I had to use a drop of super glue to hold things together. (Duct tape wouldn't work). I'll just remember to sell the car in another 75K miles or so.

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I needed to make an appointment to get a recall fixed on my car, but kept putting it off.  I even had a note taped to the mirror to remind me.  Today someone called me out of the blue saying they were calling from the recall dept on behalf of my local dealer and could they schedule me to come in and fix the recall.  Being the suspicious type, I said thank you but I should probably just call the dealer even though the people on the phone sounded pretty legitimate.  So I called the dealer and made the appointment for next week.

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My son decided he was going to buy and refurbish a Subaru WRX. His ambition is admirable, he’s stripped that thing down and rebuilding. My garage is now littered with fenders, bumpers, bucket seats, lights, etc, and he’s off in Ohio this weekend looking for parts. I am not a car guy, that he’s taken on this project is impressive to me.

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1 hour ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

My son decided he was going to buy and refurbish a Subaru WRX. His ambition is admirable, he’s stripped that thing down and rebuilding. My garage is now littered with fenders, bumpers, bucket seats, lights, etc, and he’s off in Ohio this weekend looking for parts. I am not a car guy, that he’s taken on this project is impressive to me.

That is a heck of a jigsaw puzzle!

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6 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

My son decided he was going to buy and refurbish a Subaru WRX. His ambition is admirable, he’s stripped that thing down and rebuilding. My garage is now littered with fenders, bumpers, bucket seats, lights, etc, and he’s off in Ohio this weekend looking for parts. I am not a car guy, that he’s taken on this project is impressive to me.

Just remember 1) disassembly is about 185x easier than reassembly, and 2) "your" garage is indicative that you may have lost a very early and decisive battle in this campaign.

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I got back from the seedy muffler shop...

A recap: I took the Flex into the dealer with a 9:15 appointment about a week ago. After more than six hours, I called to tell them that I was coming to pick up the car. The miraculously had just finished looking at it, but it would take 45 minutes to get the paperwork ready.  They charged me $65 to check the tire tread, battery charge and confirm what I had told them was wrong.  They quoted me $650 for the repair and a week to order the part.

Seedy muffler shop: I rolled up about 8:30 and the guy told me he would put me in line and  to call back at 11:00. I called at 11:00 and he told me that there would be a spot for me in 15 minutes. I went back and was taken care of right away. About 30 seconds after my car was on the rack, the guy came out and showed me the problem. About 30 minutes later, he came out and apologized for it taking so long. He showed me what he replaced and gave me a bill for $100.  

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14 minutes ago, Forum Administrator said:

I got back from the seedy muffler shop...

A recap: I took the Flex into the dealer with a 9:15 appointment about a week ago. After more than six hours, I called to tell them that I was coming to pick up the car. The miraculously had just finished looking at it, but it would take 45 minutes to get the paperwork ready.  They charged me $65 to check the tire tread, battery charge and confirm what I had told them was wrong.  They quoted me $650 for the repair and a week to order the part.

Seedy muffler shop: I rolled up about 8:30 and the guy told me he would put me in line and  to call back at 11:00. I called at 11:00 and he told me that there would be a spot for me in 15 minutes. I went back and was taken care of right away. About 30 seconds after my car was on the rack, the guy came out and showed me the problem. About 30 minutes later, he came out and apologized for it taking so long. He showed me what he replaced and gave me a bill for $100.  

Yeah, the mark-up for stolen goods has never been as good as the one for OEM ones.

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2 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Just remember 1) disassembly is about 185x easier than reassembly, and 2) "your" garage is indicative that you may have lost a very early and decisive battle in this campaign.

I won because he’s home working on his car instead of hanging out in the community during Covid. I agree it’s a calculated risk, but one way or another it will leave my garage when I need it to.

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7 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Just remember 1) disassembly is about 185x easier than reassembly, and 2) "your" garage is indicative that you may have lost a very early and decisive battle in this campaign.

Another thought, I've gotten to see his engineer brain in full motion. He'll go off to Penn State this fall for likely ME major (possibly EE), but he's proven to me that he's got the mindset for the career he's chosen. I've also come to believe he'd be fine as an Army demolition expert. :dontknow: 

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1 hour ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

Another thought, I've gotten to see his engineer brain in full motion. He'll go off to Penn State this fall for likely ME major (possibly EE), but he's proven to me that he's got the mindset for the career he's chosen. I've also come to believe he'd be fine as an Army demolition expert. :dontknow: 

Hoping he can stay motivated to put it all back together, but remembering my youth (very fuzzy), I think maybe a nudge (a deadline) and a hand from you can speed it up a bit.

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