$2015 Challenge entry - 88 Accord LXi

Tuna being an accomplished engineer and a pretty fart smeller, I'd think the best use of any extra time he could spare for a part time gig would be doing exactly what he's doing now- engineering. There's work out there in the consulting world for folks who need some extra cash and have the skills. I make straight time at my job, but any hours over 40 are paid at my hourly rate. I've also had professional acquaintances come to me for extra help - sometimes I do it as a favor, but if it's more than an hour or so, the clock starts. A guy I used to work with had a particular skillset my company was looking for, and he netted a nice short term, part time paycheck out of it.

Thing is, 9 times out of 10 you need your PE to do consulting work. You also need to be in the right field of engineering. I.e. I'm a piping engineer. Until I've got my PE and at least 20 years exp aint no one coming to me for advice... and even then I can get into a LOT of legal trouble for any decisions I make...

Mad_Ratel wrote: I worked at Homedepot, gosh, 10 years ago for the samish rates... I lost so much weight being a lumber guy. (running around etc.) It is quite frankly amazing how many people will ask for 30 bags of concrete and just stand there to watch you load it... My wife worked in the yard section for a summer. Best shape she's ever been in. Mostly b/c full grown men would watch her 110 lb but load up bags of gravel for them... (still pisses me off to this day.)

The Lowes and Home Depot stuff is intriguing, but I'd really prefer late hours, like 8-12. I am not sure they'd have something like that, also limited weekly hours, maybe two or three days.

Apparently I remembered how to weld

And the whole exhaust is welded. A can of BBQ paint and I can install it for the last time.

tuna55 wrote:

Mad_Ratel wrote: I worked at Homedepot, gosh, 10 years ago for the samish rates... I lost so much weight being a lumber guy. (running around etc.) It is quite frankly amazing how many people will ask for 30 bags of concrete and just stand there to watch you load it... My wife worked in the yard section for a summer. Best shape she's ever been in. Mostly b/c full grown men would watch her 110 lb but load up bags of gravel for them... (still pisses me off to this day.)

The Lowes and Home Depot stuff is intriguing, but I'd really prefer late hours, like 8-12. I am not sure they'd have something like that, also limited weekly hours, maybe two or three days.

They tend to be hiring restockers year round btw... which would be 9 until 1 or so... something like that. basically w/e time they "close" then the restockers come in and work until late in the morning.

Working yourself to death is not a great thing. I'd look for weekend work myself. 1 year of weekends only would be worth it vs everyday working your 7 to 5 (since engineering) and then adding work from 8 until...

UPS evenings? Lots of warehouse type places need evening work.

Mad_Ratel wrote:

tuna55 wrote:

Mad_Ratel wrote: I worked at Homedepot, gosh, 10 years ago for the samish rates... I lost so much weight being a lumber guy. (running around etc.) It is quite frankly amazing how many people will ask for 30 bags of concrete and just stand there to watch you load it... My wife worked in the yard section for a summer. Best shape she's ever been in. Mostly b/c full grown men would watch her 110 lb but load up bags of gravel for them... (still pisses me off to this day.)

The Lowes and Home Depot stuff is intriguing, but I'd really prefer late hours, like 8-12. I am not sure they'd have something like that, also limited weekly hours, maybe two or three days.

They tend to be hiring restockers year round btw... which would be 9 until 1 or so... something like that. basically w/e time they "close" then the restockers come in and work until late in the morning. Working yourself to death is not a great thing. I'd look for weekend work myself. 1 year of weekends only would be worth it vs everyday working your 7 to 5 (since engineering) and then adding work from 8 until...

I'm pretty indestructible though.

I haven't died yet, see? There's proof.

I'm thinking two or three weekdays. I'd really rather leave weekends for Tunawife and I.

So there's this Accord I'm working on... Intake is next.

Split my time tonight between the Tunatruck and the Accord, and all I got done on the Accord was to spray BBQ paint all over it.

Nice exhaust paint. Bet it will cook a mean steak

Maybe try using your repair skills and flip a car occasionally to bolster the hobby fund.

Forgot the budget update for the bbq paint:

$784.86

New "real" (including tools and drinks and such) budget

$883.67

New exhaust is in. It still has a clicking underhood and the idle is too high for some reason, but here:

http://vid188.photobucket.com/albums/z267/BassettPictures/Mobile%20Uploads/303527BF-5AE4-4282-8080-173BCA88514D_zpsucjl3c7v.mp4

2 1/4" magnaflow catalytic converter, 2 1/4" turbo muffler, and stock 4-2-1 header and stock flex pipe.

This car's gonna DOMINATE!

volvoclearinghouse wrote: This car's gonna DOMINATE!

Dern Skippy.

Not sure just what facet it's going to dominate, but we'll find out.

That exhaust was a tight fit. I had to change the muffler hanger because the new one hangs a bit lower back there.

The flat black turndown as a tailpipe looks sweet though.

I re-used the hanger at the catalytic converter and the one in front of the rear axle.

Final steps:

Fix clicking noise

Investigate idle speed issue

Get wheels/tires

Build intake tract

Paint??

volvoclearinghouse wrote:

Yup, probably just the hood, depending on the budget.

Do wheels count in the budget? I think they do, but I am not sure. I know the first four tires do not count.

Maybe I should do flat black and a stripe like this:

John deere blitz black. Best cheap satin hood paint I've seen.

Dusterbd13 wrote: John deere blitz black. Best cheap satin hood paint I've seen.

Is that what Tractor Supply sells? They have a line of pretty cheap enamels. I painted my old Suburban with that once, hid lots of rust.

Another option would be to check out the "oops" paints whenever you're at your big box hardware store of choice. You may be able to score a container of paint that Ms. Prissypants thought wasn't quite the right shade of Ivory Satin Sunset Beige Tranquility or whatever.

No challenge for me this year. This is not the straw that broke the camels back, this is the sledgehammer which knocked the camel into the sand so far that you didn't even know that there was ever a camel there.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/hvac-help/103601/page1/#post1845675

DUDE OUCH.

I can comiserate. bought my house as a builder foreclosure that the bank finished. Moved in this time 4 years ago when it was 100F out and the house stayed at 85F. Bank said "as is where is" purchase and would nto help. Dude they hired to install told me it's fine, houses are supposed to be 85*F...

turned out he'd spec'd the wrong size tower for the house. The air handler was put in by the builder as 4 ton. He installed a 3 ton... My inspector told me bullE36 M3 3 ton is enough... but 2800 sqft is only ok for a 3 ton when you have 9ft ceilings. All ceilings are 10' with every room having tray ceilings up to 14 ft... a considering volume increase of air to cool...

TLDR: bought new house, then paid $4k a week later to have working A/C. 2 hours later full a/c and I've never had a problem until this year when we had that week of ridiculous heat.

tuna55 wrote: No challenge for me this year. This is not the straw that broke the camels back, this is the sledgehammer which knocked the camel into the sand so far that you didn't even know that there was ever a camel there. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/hvac-help/103601/page1/#post1845675

Man, that sucks. I was looking forward to you and Tuna kid going to the Challenge more than I was looking forward to the challenge!

tuna55 wrote: No challenge for me this year. This is not the straw that broke the camels back, this is the sledgehammer which knocked the camel into the sand so far that you didn't even know that there was ever a camel there. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/hvac-help/103601/page1/#post1845675

I don't mean to get too personal so don't feel compelled to answer if you prefer not to, but what will the roadblock be? Time? Work? Money?

I'd be willing to bet this board can find a creative way to get you to the challenge and I'd absolutely be willing to help.

Mad_Ratel wrote: DUDE OUCH. I can comiserate. bought my house as a builder foreclosure that the bank finished. Moved in this time 4 years ago when it was 100*F out and the house stayed at 85*F. Bank said "as is where is" purchase and would nto help. Dude they hired to install told me it's fine, houses are supposed to be 85*F... turned out he'd spec'd the wrong size tower for the house. The air handler was put in by the builder as 4 ton. He installed a 3 ton... My inspector told me bullE36 M3 3 ton is enough... but 2800 sqft is only ok for a 3 ton when you have 9ft ceilings. All ceilings are 10' with every room having tray ceilings up to 14 ft... a considering volume increase of air to cool... TLDR: bought new house, then paid $4k a week later to have working A/C. 2 hours later full a/c and I've never had a problem until this year when we had that week of ridiculous heat.

Heheh...we bought our house as a short sale and found out when winter hit that there was no heat. Like, none. System was completely shot. I spent one very hectic weekend installing a baseboard system downstairs, and we used space heaters in the bedroom and bath.

No A/C is irritating, no heat is life threatening.

rcutclif wrote:

tuna55 wrote: No challenge for me this year. This is not the straw that broke the camels back, this is the sledgehammer which knocked the camel into the sand so far that you didn't even know that there was ever a camel there. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/hvac-help/103601/page1/#post1845675

I don't mean to get too personal so don't feel compelled to answer if you prefer not to, but what will the roadblock be? Time? Work? Money? I'd be willing to bet this board can find a creative way to get you to the challenge and I'd absolutely be willing to help.

Yup.

NOHOME wrote:

rcutclif wrote:

tuna55 wrote: No challenge for me this year. This is not the straw that broke the camels back, this is the sledgehammer which knocked the camel into the sand so far that you didn't even know that there was ever a camel there. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/hvac-help/103601/page1/#post1845675

I don't mean to get too personal so don't feel compelled to answer if you prefer not to, but what will the roadblock be? Time? Work? Money? I'd be willing to bet this board can find a creative way to get you to the challenge and I'd absolutely be willing to help.

Yup.

It's money. Lots of it. The A/C system is 13 years old.

While not life threatening necessarily, I have a wife and one kid who are asthmatic and not being able to get to a place where the temperature and humidity are down can lead to hours of heavy wheezing and potential ER visits.

Since the compressor died (who welds their compressor casings shut? Copeland, that's who?) we don't know what got released into the system. Since nobody will offer any warranty at all on just the compressor, we're replacing the system at just under four grand.

It was awesome when this board pulled together to buy me leaf springs for the GMC, but really this is too much, and I am not really willing to GRM this repair. I'm going to be looking into night jobs but I doubt that will end up paying off well.

Had the same thing happen January a year ago. Closer to 5k for us, and not enough to cover. Oh, it was 12 degrees that night.

Im still buying the Subaru back from the bank.