February 2012
6 posts
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AWD Honda-powered 1971 Mini
Ok, yeah…let’s just say that this would be the absolute perfect car for me. Yes, I know I still have two project cars I’m working on…shh!
More info, and it’s for sale: http://bringatrailer.com/2012/02/21/bat-exclusive-awd-1971-mini-vtec-rocketship/
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Did Work
I’m still working on clearing out Sunshine’s engine compartment, and it’s coming along pretty well. I’m removing the wiring harness so I can make repairs to it and clean it. It really needs it, since some of the connectors are messed up or broken and previous owners did some pretty awful repairs to it. I’m surprised the car ran as well as it did…or even at all,...
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Did Work
Last night I pulled the fan, radiator and intercooler, alternator and power steering pump, then stopped for the night because my back was killing me from being hunched over for so long. Anyway, there’s not much left that I need to do in order to get the motor out:
It looks like more of a mess than it really is, trust me. Although, speaking of messes, I did drench myself in antifreeze...
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I bought a shop crane and engine stand last night. My friend Paul helped me get them home and assisted me in assembling the shop crane since it’s too heavy for me to do myself. I wish I didn’t have to buy one, but I don’t have any beams in this garage to hang a chain hoist from, so this is what I have to do. Also, I used to have an engine stand, but I think it’s in NJ...
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Coming soon to a GLHS near me
That’s a remanufactured Turbo II 2.2 longblock, complete with a ported head. I’ll post the rest of my motor buildup once I have it 100% sorted out. I’m almost there.
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Did Work
Last night I cleaned the carbon from the tops of the pistons, using aerosol Sea Foam, a scotchbrite pad and a rag, so I could examine the pistons. They came out pretty clean, but piston #1 has a small ding on it (hard to see in this photo…sorry I forgot to take a picture of it after I cleaned it):
…and piston #3 is damaged as well:
Piston #3 also had the heaviest coating of...
January 2012
7 posts
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Did Work
I finally had time to disassemble the head-intake-exhaust manifold-turbo assembly last night after having it on the bench for a few days. Everything came apart without much fuss, though I couldn’t imagine doing any of it with the whole assembly still on the car. It was definitely easier to pull the head with everything still attached.
The good: The turbo assembly seems to be in good...
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Did Work
You guys will be pleased to know that I pulled Sunshine’s head off the other day. Unfortunately, it’s too heavy/awkward for me to lift out of the engine compartment myself with the intake manifold, exhaust manifold, and turbo still attached. So, a friend is going to give me a hand with it tomorrow. I can’t wait to get it out and on the bench so I can see what I have to work with....
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Triumph Day Party Crashers
Well, there’s my bike and a nearly all-original Buell S3T for starters. Another photo of the S3T and more party crashers after the cut.
Buell S3T
BMW M3 Convertible
Ferrari F430 Spider
Porsche 914
Audi S4
MG Midget
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Triumph Day @ Larz Anderson 7/31/2011
I’m only several months late with these photos…
See them all under the cut. Enjoy!
A seldom-seen TR2 in excellent condition.
The only GT6 at the show.
A beautiful TR3.
Another TR3’s very well-sorted engine compartment.
A very nice TR250.
I really liked the color of this TR6.
Another perfect TR6.
The woes of owning an old British car.
A gathering of...
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December 2011
7 posts
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hellformotors replied to your photo: A little light winter reading material for me.
How is the car coming along?
I haven’t done a thing to it yet. I’m planning on starting to work on it tomorrow. I just got back last night from a week in NJ with my family. The timing wasn’t so great when I bought the car, but I’m ready to work on it now. I’ll post updates as I go...
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hellformotors said: I met him a few years ago at Lime Rock Park and that is a great show. My VW took second in class at the concourse de elegance
What kind of VW do you have?
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prova275 replied to your post: hellformotors replied to your photo: I was very…
That’s probably my favorite get-together of the year… even got to meet Shel there one year. Lots of fun!
Nice! I’d like to meet him too before it’s too late. He’s already signed the dash of my car with a silver magic marker on the map light:
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hellformotors replied to your photo: I was very lucky to score this rare bit of Shelby…
Nice find. There is a big Shelby show at the Lime Rock Park Vintage Festival every year.
I know! I really want to take Sunshine there and to other Shelby gatherings =)
With a little bit of bodywork and new paint, it would definitely be show-worthy.
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November 2011
3 posts
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Say hello to Sunshine!
I just took delivery of my new car this morning, a 1987 Shelby Charger GLHS. And yes, I really did name her “Sunshine.” Photos and more after the cut:
The car is in pretty good shape overall. The only rust I’ve found on it has been at the bottom inside of the driver’s side door, but the passenger side door is totally clean. This is a really common area for rust on...
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Jeez…has it really been almost a month since my last post? Ugh, sorry.
Anyway, I have good news. My new car is being delivered on Thursday of this week. I’m very excited to finally have it in my garage. I’ll be posting photos and first impressions of it once it arrives.
October 2011
2 posts
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September 2011
9 posts
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Hi neighbor!
My GT has some cool neighbors: a couple stalls down is this unfinished Buick Nailhead-powered Devin.
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murdercycles said: you also missed a ton of mgb’s at lime rock yesterday. facebook.com/media/s…
I know =(
If you saw a gray MGA #275, that is my friend Dave’s car. He built that thing himself from a dismantled basket case, which used to be my dad’s car.
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SIA Flashback – MGB GT: Last of the... →
Cool article on Hemmings, with vintage (1988) scans from SIA magazine. It’s my car!
misterdoubtfire replied to your video: New Jersey to Rhode Island in 43 seconds. I took…
Whoa! The night parts are really cool-looking.
Thanks! =)
Yeah, I’m definitely going to try to do more like that. I love the night parts too.
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August 2011
11 posts
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Goodnight, Irene
In case any of you were worried about my well being due to the coming hurricane, you’ll be happy to know that I made it back home last night. I did bring home the seats as I said I would, and of course my GT is safe and sound in the garage. More later.
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It figures a hurricane would hit the week I’m in NJ working on my car =(
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Did Work
Today was the first day of my week in NJ working on my MG. I think things went pretty well for day one. I started out with simple stuff: distributor cap and rotor, spark plug wires, fan belt, drained the cooling system (what was left in it), pulled all the hoses (some were really difficult to get off), replaced some hoses (more to follow), pulled the carbs, bled the brakes and clutch and pulled...
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directionlessdrive said: haha true. adding a different airbox setup might help since you have that new exhaust on it. its always good to let an engine breathe a little bit easier. i like where your heads at. im going to buy one in the next few months what year is yours?
It’s a 2000, first year. I actually had to order it from the dealer since they weren’t stocking the hatchbacks...
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directionlessdrive said: ive heard alot of good things about the vf-engineering mounts. i think this car wants some mods its obviously trying to tell you something. “make me more sporty!” what who said that?
Heh, well I do tend to replace parts with more performance-oriented parts as they wear out. The car has the SVT suspension, for example. I already replaced the other two mounts with the VF...
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Flipper!! What have you done now?? Bad car! Bad...
Look at what I discovered today…motor mount #3 has left the building, after only 6 months. Seriously, how the hell does this even happen? The top is totally missing! I just had the hood open two days ago and it was all in one piece. Obviously, it’s been on its way out for a while as indicated by all that rust in there.
Needless to say, I’m done replacing the stock motor mount...
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Going, going, gone!
That twin-turbo AWD Chevy Beretta on ebay is still up for grabs at only $5k, current price. Too bad it’s not street legal =(
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Cars I'm watching on Ebay
Just out of curiosity…don’t worry, dad!
1987 Chevrolet Beretta Twin-Turbo with AWD (!!!!)
1980 Volvo Bertone 262 with Ford 5.0 V8 conversion
The Beretta is particularly interesting and has only a little more than 7,000 miles on it. Allegedly it’s a prototype. The AWD would be fun in the winter, but I’d be afraid of destroying it, as that’s what the New England...
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A&W Cruise Night, 6/28/2011, Smithfield, RI
On a lark, I decided to head over on my little Honda to the weekly meet at the Smithfield, RI A&W. My bike gathered a small crowd as it often does whenever I bring it to a show, and of course people were compelled to wistfully tell me about their own little Hondas, which are now long gone. But that’s not the point of this post; this is about the cars that were there. It’s a small...
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July 2011
33 posts
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10 Thousand Smiles
Today on the ride back home from Triumph Day at Larz Anderson, Honeybee, my Buell Blast, turned over 10,000 miles. I half expected it to explode, implode, disappear in a puff of smoke, fall apart, etc., but of course it didn’t. When I bought the bike 3.5 years ago it had under 1500 miles on it, and the rest has all been me. It has broken down on me only twice: the first time was out in the...
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I’m finally back from my big trip, and a day late at that. It was quite the adventure to say the least. More on that later soon.
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I just got my first catcall from an old man. I’m surprised it took this long.
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It’s been a whirlwind past few days, and I’ll post more about it later. I just wanted to say I’m at Carlisle at Fighter Fest and it’s ridiculously hot here =P