(07-19-2008 - 07-20-2008) Working in the shop

Busy weekend. Saturday, Flash and I put up some more lights in the shop, organized the stuff in the shop, worked on the charging issue with the 911 and lots of other little things like mowing the lawn and putting the smoker / grille together. We worked all day, and the shop looks a lot better.

Sunday was Formula 1 race day. Flash, Jason and I watched the race and had a great time - what a crazy race. I did manage to do a little work in the shop on Sunday: mounted the grinder on the bench, bug bombed the shop and created a new battery for the Roomba.

(07-16-2008) - Gah! Summer...

The drive in the 911 was great yesterday, but... On the way home I stopped to work on a computer and when I got ready to leave the car wouldn't start. I suspect that the alternator belt is loose, but I didn't really check it out. Jody gave me a hand getting it started and put her to bed in the shop.

Jody and Shannon hung around for a while in the shop and we watched a movie. It was a good time.

I was thinking it would be good to put a serpentine pulley system on the 911. Also, I'm not happy with the mounting of the alternator. So lots of work to do. Maybe when I get the air conditioner compressor I can rework all of these items at the same time.

(07-16-2008) - Ah, summer...

First of all, the sound issue with the NARC machine was fixed last night, so now the game is 100%. I even recalibrated the monitor settings and it looks like new again.

Decided it was a good day to take the 911 out for a drive. Even had a car acting like remora fish (you know, those little fishes that swim close to sharks) and the driver was smiling and waving. Great fun!

07-15-2008 - The NARC machine lives!!

Today, I got the NARC machine up and running. Replaced the system board to fix the video glitches and it now works great, except now the sound doesn't work. I'll replace the sound board and see if I can fix that, but either way it's playable now and that's the main thing. One of these days I need to start working on converting a Playchoice 10 over to a MAME machine, but that will likely be a winter project.

07-10-2008 - A/C in the shop!

Shannon has been working on my air conditioning system this week and last night he finished it up. All of the vents have been run, the AC is cold. It's great!! I can't thank Shannon enough, and I dread the "favors" he asks of me in return.

The Last Thing the 'Possum Saw...

07-06-2008 - In and around the shop this past weekend...

This was a fairly productive weekend. Several brain cells were killed in the name of keeping cool, thirst quenched and enhancing mood.

Shannon dropped by yesterday, as did Jody and Ed, and helped get the HVAC set up. There is a bit to go, but it's in the right location now. Maybe this week I can get the power run so that Shannon can do the rest of the work. Fingers crossed.

Flash came by and brush hogged behind my shop and we burned the brush. It looks great, even if I have to fight a black snake for the territory. Not sure what I'm going to do back there, but it's great to have it cleaned off so that when I do decide...

Jason and I went washed and went cruising in the 911 on the 4th of July. Drank far too many whiskey sours and enjoyed the fireworks at my brothers house.

Jason and Jody also helped me cut up and install my new workbench in the shop. Looks good, even though I can't really see it through all the clutter now.

So, nothing big, but lots of little things got some attention in and around the shop.

07-03-2008 - Still nothing happening...

Nothing much is going on in the shop lately. Spent some time yesterday with Jason rebuilding my push mower - this will be push mower Mark III, and I think it will be a much better solution. We'll see in a few days when the lawn needs to be mowed.

I still need to finish up the door panels on the 911, but the door pockets still haven't been covered and they may be so far gone that they aren't salvageable. Waiting to hear back from my upholsterer friend.

The shop is in dire need of a complete cleaning, so maybe that will be my next goal.

Shannon keeps after me to get the air conditioning installed, and I'm inclined to agree with him. Maybe one of these days we can get around to that as well.

Jody and I did manage to take two arcade machines to Eureka Springs and install them at Jayme's arcade - Second Life. I worked on several of the machines while I was there trying to make them better to use and easier for them to have free-play options. I brought home an NBA Jam machine for repair and it's now ready to return. Thanks Jayme for the cool shirts and letting us play in your awesome arcade, and thanks Jody for helping me out when I really needed it.

6-1-2008: Nothing much to tell

Not much in the way of updates. Jody has his truck on the road, and as far as we can tell it all seems good. I took the door pockets for the 911 to a friend to have them reupholstered. As soon as they return I will get to work on finishing up the doors on the 911. Things are busy right now, so I don't have much time to have fun in the shop.

(05-10-2008) New speakers, and work on the white lump Mk II.

First, on Saturday I dropped by Wilson TV and Appliance and talked with David Wilson. David is a hell of a nice guy, with a Porsche 911 and a 914. He gave me some advice on speakers for my car and made me a great deal. I hope we can get together with David sometime and go for a cruise or just talk cars. Thanks David!! I appreciate all your help and the deal you gave me.

Next, Jody and I worked on his truck. We didn't get as far as I wished, and we destroyed tools in the process. Several beers gave their lives in the effort to bring this truck back to life, and for that we will be eternally grateful. We've lost the harmonic balancer bolt, so that stopped our progress, but we're close to being ready to put the engine back in the beast.

(05-06-2008) The Great White Lump, Mk II

No, not the same white lump, this time it's a different white lump, but it has the same problem: blown motor. This is my friend Jody's pickup, and after a thermostat stuck and a severe overheat it needs a new engine. The new motor should arrive on Friday of this week, so maybe this weekend we can have it back on the road.

In other news, the door panels for the 911 arrived today and they look great! Still looking for speakers and other hardware to complete the doors. Looking forward to that project.

(04-30-2008) New door panels

I just bought some new door panels for the 911. They should arrive in about a week. I plan to buy some new door speakers in the next few days as well, then redo the doors so that everything is like it should be. New speakers, new door panels, install the door pockets, lube the window regulators and fix any issues with them, wire up the rear view mirrors to work - the whole thing.

4-19-2008 - 4-20-2008 - Cruising!!

Did a little bit of cruising this weekend. Saturday I took a little trip with Jody down some back-roads. Sunday, I drove it on a business trip (of sorts). Both trips were great fun! Can't wait to clean up the car and hit the road this summer.

4-13-2008 - On the road again

Blondie is back on the road again. The coil pack for cylinder #3 arrived on Friday. Flash installed it on Saturday, then gave her an oil change on Sunday. She runs great and is back to her old self. She had been kicking error codes for a while, but now the "check engine" light has gone away, without having to boot up the computer and clear her codes. Glad to have her back, and thanks Flash for doing all of the work (and cutting up my Beetle! - but that's another story).

04/04/2008 - The White Lump Saves the Day!!

So, the Great White Lump has saved my bacon. My GTI laid down last week with a coil pack failure (I hope it's just a coil pack failure...). So, the White Lump is my daily driver right now, and I have to say it's really a good car. There is a bit of vibration trough the wheel and pedals, but other than that the car drives good and seems very stable. I'm actually impressed considering the life it's led up to this point. I need to get the wheels aligned this week (hopefully today), so maybe that will help it be even more stable and road worthy.

(03-02-2008) The White Lump - interior

Saturday (3/1/2008), Flash worked on pulling out the interior and cleaning it. He moved along quite a ways. Sunday (3/2/2008), I borrowed a carpet cleaner from Jason and cleaned the carpets. Then we installed a fresh set of leather seats into the car. The car is now drivable and has a nice clean interior. I need to tint the replaced window to match the rest of the car, but I didn't have the time yesterday. I tried to buy touch-up paint, but wasn't able to find the paint code for this car. We're down to detailing the car, getting a new set of tires and installing a new windshield. A few more dollars need to be spent, but I think it's going to be a very nice car.

(2-16-2008) - The Great White Lump Lives!!!

How do you like the look of the old motor? Terrible to think what this car has been through.

Part 1: On Friday the 15th, Flash finished installing the motor. We started it up and it sounded great, but after warming up the valve train began to make terrible noise and the engine started missing. We feared that the engine had jumped time and that the valves had crashed into the pistons. We checked the timing (no problem) and finally closed the shop and talked it out, over a drink.

Part 2: Flash came back on Saturday, fired up the engine, and it all sounded great, again. Until it was warm, then the same valve train noise came back. Flash removed the oil filter and the engine blew oil everywhere (my shop is a huge mess!). Turns out the oil line was air-locked and was keeping the oil from pumping up the hydraulic lifters. So, anyway, the lump now lives and we can start working on cleaning it up and making it into a nice driver.

The lump is no longer just a lump. It's a living, breathing machine again. I suspect that it will soon be cleaned up and have Herbie stickers applied to it.

2-10-2008 - The Great White Lump - continued

The new motor has arrived for the great white lump, the old motor is out and we're getting parts together to put the new motor in the car. Had to buy a new clutch, pressure plate, oil dip stick and funnel, timing belt and tensioner, water pump and various other little bits. If things go well we could have the motor in the car in a few days - weather permitting (It's too darn cold in the shop!).

(1-18-2008) - The Great White Lump - part 2

Plans now are to pull the motor, pick up a salvage motor in Illinois and drive it. Next week we should go pick up the motor. Looking forward to getting it on the road.

(1-15-2008) - The Great White Lump

The current project in the shop is Flash's new toy. Something that I'm calling the Great White Lump - until it becomes a real car. It's a 1998 Beetle with a thrashed motor, broken glass and a smell that is either pee or puke, or maybe both. He's started pulling it apart to reconstruct it into a running car. The engine block has a fist sized hole in the side of it, and the plans are to try and braise the block (non-compression area) and get it back on the road as a driver. Only time will tell if this works out.