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I bought a ’74 Javelin on BaT earlier this year and it needs a few things taken care of that I think I can tackle:
-Back up lights don’t work
-Tach doesn’t work (Go Pack dash)
-Temp gauge doesn’t work
-Fuel gauge isn’t accurate
-Carb needs adjusting
The various oil leaks are something I’ll probably need to have a pro look at.
Right now with no garage and winter, most projects on hold. The z28 is stored with trickle charger, DTS fixed to pass inspection, waiting for Spring for the full details.
I also am working with my wife as I fractured my left tibia and cannot drive a stick, she will rotate her Impreza and my Crosstrek to make sure they are driven. This is why I keep one automatic in the fleet.
As for the older cars, I consider the maintenance the cost of the hobby. I don’t have the time, energy, or desire to wrench, I want to enjoy the drive. For me it is worth to pay someone for the hassle of fixing it, finding the right part, making sure it is sorted…
Looked at a rental space last week. Price was right enough. Asked about installing a lift, “NO AUTOMOTIVE!!” Okay, one, I told you very light automotive work and storage. Meaning it’s not 40 hours a week of wrenching – hell, it’s not even 8. And two, the lift is for storage not repairs. Nope, “NO AUTOMOTIVE!!” And you couldn’t tell me that before wasting my time? Assholes.
And everything else, sigh. Furnace broke the day after the preventative maintenance and other repairs (zone valve and a busted thermostat.) Thankfully they waived service call and only charged parts and fractional since they basically broke it anyway.
So of course on Saturday, water starts pouring down the damn wall above the furnace. Which of course, conveniently is RIGHT NEXT TO THE CIRCUIT RUNS FOR MY OFFICE. (Which currently has ~$225k of perennially underinsured equipment on it.) Yank drywall down and oh goodie, it’s the drain line for upstairs which is literally buried behind an indestructible soffet made of 2×4’s and 2×8’s and inside 60 year old fiberglass insulation. So I can’t even see where the leak is. So of course, can’t get a plumber out till yesterday.
He takes one look at it, “oh crap.” Yeah, that’s a great noise to hear from a trustworthy plumber. He gets up on the ladder, gets his head wedged in there, “oh shit.” Pokes the remaining copper section and gets sprayed on. Yep – rotted COMPLETELY through. The entire length just disintegrating and it’s been leaking in some form for a while. But out of sight, out of mind.
Yet another case of 40+ years of refusing to have professionals repair problems, refusing to fix problems correctly, and refusing to even pay enough money to actually fix problems in this basket case of a house biting in the ass again. To the tune of several thousand dollars this time, because not only is the drain line completely wrecked, the entire thing was hacked together completely wrong. So the entire fucking drain upright might have to be redone too, along with at least 20 square feet of drywall, 20 square feet of floor, and who knows what else from the ‘amateur’ upstairs bathroom remodel. Plus the BIG sewer machine because it’s a 4 or 5 inch run at over a hundred feet.
Ouch. That is all rough. Hope you find a space that allows automotive and get everything fixed well.
I still have to replace a stripped wheel stud on my car, but I’m doing all of them at that point. Just need time to take down the car. I also plan on finally swapping over to the brz intake manifold when I go fmic. And now I’m contemplating throwing on the boostlab turbo I have sitting in my garage.
My wrenching week with the LJ was pretty much a 3D printing and epoxy week.
But I did save my broken center console lid and saved $80.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/fixing-a-busted-console-lid.67385/
My project for the winter is my garage itself. I moved this summer into a place with a spacious attached garage, but in a cold climate it’s unheated and lacks adequate outlets. It is insulated but bare (no sheetrock/covering) and I’ve got a torpedo heater that works in a pinch if I have to do some wrenching on my wifes or my daily drivers, but I got a little too spoiled having a heated garage in the last couple of places so I find I’ve got zero motivation for optional projects. My two “enthusiast” vehicles are in storage jail until I get the garage done, but more and more stuff keeps accumulating in there making it a bit overwhelming to even get started on the work. I’ve got the know how and the materials, I just need to get off my @$$ and get it done….
The garage is an important project. If it’ll help you complete your car projects, it’s great. But, yeah, not a fun one. Good luck, and I hope you get motivated.
A heated garage is key. That was one of the first things I did when we bought our house, and it usually doesn’t get too cold here in WNC.
It should have been one of the first things I did while the weather was still warm. Procrastination FTW!!
I was too late last week, but I can confirm that I am still unnaturally attracted to the idea of a $500 Cayenne.
I really need Everybody’s Sick Season to be over with ASAP. I’m getting over a horrific sinus and ear infection that took me out for nearly half of December, and now the friend who keeps my 944 has some kind of crud I don’t want to catch. All I want to do is set timing and swap a clutch!
The Lancer needs new brake discs up front after I waited just a little too long, plus it looks like my caliper is still hanging. I could swap this out in my driveway and go send it. I have a new helmet and I need to go use it, dagnabbit. It’s killing me that all of my cars AND me have been down for so long.
I don’t have a major project, but for the last few days I have been trying to get my ’77 F250 running. It last ran 5 months ago when I parked it in my garage at my new house (I had moved from out of state and only drove it from the car hauler to the garage). At the time, I was looking for a mechanic to address an oil pressure issue (pressure appears slightly low based on readings on an aftermarket gauge the previous owner installed), but since I was busy at work and didn’t know any local shops, I let it sit for too long. After three months I tried to start it. It didn’t start and at one point the starter stuck on (due to a broken ignition switch, I think?) and the wiring to the starter got hot. I haven’t tried to start it since. Over the last few days, I replaced some wiring to the ignition switch and starter. I have the battery on a charger at the moment and I figure I’ll try starting it tomorrow after work. Also, it is worth pointing out that I think the truck was out of gas when I last tried to start it. I’m not sure there was anything preventing the truck from starting, aside from my idiocy.
My goal for tomorrow is to just get the engine started. I don’t have much experience working on vehicles. I’ve fixed minor things (alternator, water pump, a starter, a few minor repairs on my motorcycles) and I’ve done very basic maintenance (oil changes), but that is it. I like working on vehicles, but I don’t think I’m necessarily mechanically inclined. So while getting my old truck running probably isn’t a difficult endeavor for a lot of people, I’m actually a bit nervous doing this simple task. If I can get it running, maybe I’ll try to address the oil pressure issue myself.
One dumb question, though. If the starter sticks on again (i.e. continues to crank after I’ve removed the key), what is the best way to stop it? Do I just remove the negative terminal of the battery cable, or is there something else I can do? Is it bad or dangerous to remove the negative terminal when the starter is cranking?? Any other suggestions for an inept amateur mechanic like myself?
And to think you were doubting your true gearhead nature at one point…you’re the one working on a 40+ year old truck!
Old school, but if the starter does stick again, try tapping it a little with something like a hammer or wrench.
I actually got it to start without much difficulty at all (starter didn’t get stuck on this time). I had to crank it for about 40 seconds, but after that it is starting and running great. I noticed it has a fairly substantial coolant leak now, but at least it can run and drive short distances. That’s better than being broken in my garage.
Sweet when that works out, given how often it doesn’t. Good luck with the coolant and oil pressure!
And I hope your F250 is two-tone. Ford really needs to bring that back.
Currently fixing my kustom painted 62 continental that got hit in the parking lot. State farm took one look and didn’t hesitate to pay me 10k to repair and paint the quarter panel.
42 Chevy truck just getting started
Anybody ever use Spaccer lift kits? I’m looking to add a little body lift to my Niro and there’s not a lot of reasonable options.
I probably shouldn’t lift it, but I do end up finding a shitty road where I scrape under the bumper a little about once a month, and it would be nice not to.
I need to dig into my ranger’s cooling loss issues. I thought I had it fixed but it’s consuming coolant again. It doesn’t end up in the oil or on the ground but I have to add about a quart every 50 miles to the puke tank.
Stupid ranger
I’m intrigued…that’s a lot of coolant.
Years back, my Mustang started consuming just a little. Not an alarming amount like your Ranger, but it was strange as it was relatively new and likewise, the oil was fine and no puddles. Eventually I traced it to what appeared to be a fitting that was weeping just a bit at a time that would then run down the engine and burn off leaving very little trace of things. The perfect crime.
I used a vial of Ford’s own stop leak powder and it seemed to do the trick, but I still inspect things now and again.
Made an appointment to have the Alltrack walnut blasted; it’s at the mileage where it could probably use it. I have no idea what the engine was like when it was new, but ever since I got the car it’s been a lot grumblier and generally unhappy down at the bottom of the rev range than I would have expected. The car keeps telling me to upshift at about 1300 rpm, but at that kind of engine speed the car makes unhappy noises if you have to go up a hill, or try to gradually accelerate without downshifting. I’m hoping a good de-carbonizing will make it a bit less congested, and help it perform better overall.
Getting around to installing the “free” diagnostic software on a laptop to be able have a dealership level scan tool.
I still need to get around to another transmission fluid refill on my 2009 Frontier. The radiator has a fun failure mode where it doesn’t visibly leak, but allows coolant into the integral transmission cooler.
My other project, although not a car is much more fun and gets in the way:
https://mattdecraene.wixsite.com/website
I figure I should be done in another 3-4 years.
Oh man, I feel your pain on that one.
The same thing happened on my ’02 Jaguar XK8, which allowed a “not-good” amount of coolant to circulate within its “not-cheap” transmission.
I still feel uneasy about it even years after replacing the radiator and flushing the trans.
Luckily a radiator hose leaked early enough to save the transmission so far. One of my kids walked out and asked why there was a puddle under the truck.
Whoa, that rules. One of my friends is building a plane in his formal dining room, ha. Honestly, I think that’s the best use of a formal dining room yet.
What kind is plane? I have talked to people building inside before. I have enough trouble not tracking little aluminum filming in from the garage. I imagine you would be sleeping with debris building inside
Gosh, I can’t remember which kind it was—only that there’s a couple wings in progress spread across where the dining table would usually go, haha. I’ll have to ask sometime.
Very cool! It was dreaming about homebuilt planes that convinced me to get my pilot certificate. That was 20 years ago, I still haven’t build a plane but I’ve had a lot of fun flying factory built ones in the meantime. Have fun with the RV!
Burying the lede here… Y’ALL HAVEN’T PERISHED! I imagine you had to thread the needle between the various wild winter western weatherpocalypes and are not currently iced-in and/or drowning.
This week I’m mulling the thought of saving this poor Buick from the crusher, mostly because it hurts my soul when cars like this are scrapped over a bumper cover and a fender.
What says Ye, O Friends of Autopia?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/711308697101609/?referralSurface=messenger_lightspeed_banner&referralCode=messenger_banner
Gosh, that looks pretty nice inside. I say do it.
“If one of your favorite journalists gives you the above advice, you take it.” -Abe Lincoln
Thanks Stef!
Normally I’d be all for it.
But this is not a bumper cover and a fender. I worked on more of these than you’ve probably seen on the road in your life. The “frame damage on the right side” is not an exaggeration.
The front subframe had already suffered fatal rot (a very common problem on these,) and fully gave way in a minor collision. This Century is simply not repairable.
And to be clear: even “rust free” examples have fatal subframe rot. The issue is insufficient drainage at the bottom allowing water and dirt to pool inside the subframe channels. These rot from the inside out. We sent MANY of these to the junkyard when a bump from an oil filter wrench went ‘crunch’ and made a hole.
^^Ah, you’d know more than I would on these (which is nothing, TBH—I went metric-wrenches and never looked back). Definitely worth inspecting further before pulling the plug on it.
Listen to the Rootwyrm. This is a pile of used parts for a car that nobody wants to fix. Let the Earth welcome it into Her embrace.
My biggest wrenching challenge lately is finding the motivation to wrench. I’ve kinda lost the spark and the idea of working on a car all weekend now sounds like a chore, whereas 15 years ago it was something I loved to do.
I’ve been racing the same car in The 24 Hours of Lemons since 2008. We signed up for a race in 2020 and got the car ready for it, but the race got Covided and the car has been sitting as a shelf in the garage ever since. The work needed to get the car in racing shape is very minimal – a couple of front wheel bearings, rebuilding the rear calipers, and replacing or recertifying some safety gear – yet I’m very seriously considering selling the car as-is instead just because I’m kinda over being the chief, cook, and bottle washer for the team when my drivers just swoop in, pay their fee, and don’t have to do much work.
How’s the car culture in your area, Scott?
I’d say it’s good. I could likely recruit some locals to join (in fact, I met one of the main wrenchers on my team through a post about Lemons on J-nik years ago when Murilee Martin was still writing there), but my racing team is exclusively made up of friends. While I am complaining about the lack of help, the drivers on my team are known quantities – they pay their share, contribute where asked, show up on time, treat the car well, and are reasonably fast – so I’d be hesitant to invite new drivers. It’s just a fact of life that adulting just gets in the way. We started racing in our late 20s, and now that we’re in our 40s a couple guys moved away, and the others have kids or demanding careers.
Is it still street-legal or street-legal-adjacent? I haven’t raced my ’67 96 since 2014, having myself become an, ahem, arrive-and-driver, but it remains in my rotation of daily drivers and Lemons Rally vehicles. This helps a bit on the motivational front (although, like you, it’s more of a struggle now than fifteen years ago), it keeps the car from just sitting, and both of these uses are themselves enjoyable.
Your mileage may vary on finding joy in driving long distances on public roads in a stripped, caged, rattle- and death-trap, of course.
Sadly it’s nowhere near street legal and sticks out like a sore thumb, so it’s not the kind of thing I’d risk. I kinda regret not keeping it street legal but it’d be practically impossible in California with the modifications it has.
I do have another weekend fun car, my ’85 Ford LTD (which I’ve owned since 2001, hence my username) and a year ago I performed an engine swap which I’ve just been enjoying for the last year. It’s been nice just being able to hop in anytime and take it to a cars and coffee if I feel like it without wrenching all the time, although to be fair I’ve had 22 years to work the bugs out 😉
Super Roo!
Okay, I’ll bite, how do you remember that?
Who could forget – it’s so damn cool.
(I think it was during the discussion on why Aussie performance cars are often 4 door sedans where you first unveiled the LX to us…a great story with the icing on the cake of the unknown-to-me touch of that great classic Ford sticker. I love the cool stuff I learn from everyone here.)
Ooooooof. I have a different issue: just haven’t had the money, time or practice to get back out there. I feel bad even signing up on other teams because I’ve been off track for so long with no instruction. IDK what the best way to get back into things would be, but yeah.
I will say having the car is great because it’s my own personal track toy when it’s not racing, but damn, arrive and drives are so easy. I always end up needing some goal to aim for to motivate me to work on stuff, though. (And money. That’s a big problem: money.)
Yeah, the money question is among the reasons my own Lemons activities in the last couple of years have shifted towards either working as staff or competing in the rallies instead of the races. There’s also the nifty orange STAFF t-shirt…
Still, Scott’s car would look great on a rally.
Wait, has Scott already done a rally in that car? Am I forgetting something?
I’ve never done a rally, but I would love to. I did meet up with the rally crew in Monterey a couple of years ago and when they stopped in San Diego last year.
Do it, do it, do it. I’ve been working on getting the Porschelump ready to do the Texas rally, but I know Texas has fewer requirements for that. It’s a little disconcerting what will pass inspection here, TBH.
But man, the rallies are fun. You don’t even have to buy a masochist car for them to have fun, either. They seem less stressful than getting a car prepped for a race, TBH, although I think the costs might even out in fuel and hotel costs. Highly recommend, though.
No, no, no! The rallies are much cheaper! This is what I tell myself, therefore it must be true.
Cost is probably the only reason why I haven’t done a rally yet. When it costs as much as a more comfortable vacation that my wife would actually enjoy along with me, or as much as a race that has a higher excitement factor, the vacation or race has always won out.
Yeah even if I sold the car I’d still want to do arrive and drives with other teams. That is how I’ve been fortunate(?) enough to road race a Lincoln Town Car limousine, a Ford Granada, an ’86 Hyundai Excel, a Mini Moke, and an MG Metro. There’s nothing like learning to drive a right hand drive manual car at speed with 100 other cars buzzing around you! I’ve also been a Lemons judge and staff member on a couple of occasions) because Lemons is stupid fun even if you’re not driving.
I also have another track-capable car that’s street legal, so if I feel the itch to go fast I’ll still have that as an outlet.
Did you get a Metro patch after driving it? I’ve still got a bunch if you need one.
How about that:
Rear leaf springs AND shackles for a vintage Mustang for only $260: https://www.cjponyparts.com/cj-classics-leaf-spring-kit-mustang-1965-1966/p/LSK1/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA5NSdBhDfARIsALzs2EDb9epAwcXekSigV_P2xhnBKizG_2OfZLhCIgWhu3X8Ze7KEt6d47UaAmjFEALw_wcB
These machines are DIRT CHEAP to maintain.
Those leaf springs couldn’t have given up the ghost from being punished on your move, with all that weight in the trunk could they?
They were already basically flat. Add a huge winch and a box of books back there, and that was it for them.
That was some major-league Carolina Squat going on in that Mustang.
They go flat after many years with weight on them anyway. If they’re the originals, they’re pushing sixty years old, which is a long time for a flat strip of steel to hold its shape with a thousand pounds sitting on it. “Re-arching” leaf springs used to be a thing, but new ones are cheap and plentiful for a Mustang, so there’s not much point any more.
Definitely the plus side to the ubiquity of Mustangs – there will be parts readily available for them for centuries.
The 1st gen (classic) era has the most available, with the Foxes coming next due to the sheer duration of that run. My SN95 is kinda in the parts dead zone right now…not old enough to attract the restoration crowd, not new enough to attract the performance crowd. Damn.
Ford itself will even now sell you a body-in-white for your vintage. So the one previously irreplaceable Mustang part is now in fact replaceable!
If it’s just flat leaf springs in the back you could go cheaper and easer and just toss in an add-a-leaf for like $50 and make it drivable again.
That’s the great thing about an abundant classic.. parts are easy to get and cheap. My MGB is the same… cheap parts, easy to work on, and everything is available. I just need to learn body work and paint so I can deal with the rotting sills on mine.