And we're back.
Early last week I got an email from Chris about someone who may be interested in the TDI. A few emails later and we have a deal. He's coming down from CT with a trailer to get it.
Except I have to unbury it.
Berk.
So... Where did we leave off...
Well... Not too bad.
First order of business is to put all of the tools away. Then to get the remaining bits and pieces from under the cars so they can get back on the floor.
And wheels back on the GT6.
Oops. The GT6 tires have 7 psi in them...
But for the first time in some years, the car is resting on it's own wheels again.
Tomorrow's task will be getting the 2x12s I bought set up under the TDI so it can roll out and over the lifts. When it was parked way back in 2013, I only had the one lift and thus only had ramps for one lift, so this was something I was eventually going to have to deal with.
I'll put the front wheel on when I'm ready to lower the car since having it off makes getting around it easier - did I mention my garage is tight?
I need to get back to this. I did this for the rear suspension refresh on my F body and it works spectacularly. 30 min a day works out to accomplish quite a bit. Of course I tried this with my air intake on the F body and was stymied by unforseen issues, but it's not resolved. 30 min a day.... will even build a decent challenge car I think.
You and me both. I've gotten lazy over the last 6-8 months. I roll in after work and sit on the porch and read instead of heading to the shop. Once my ass hits the chair, that's it, I'm done for the night.
Breaking that habit is going to be tough.
Restart day 2 - getting the TDI back on solid ground.
Step 1. Haul the 2x12s from the van into the garage.
That wasn't too bad. Eventually I'll screw the boards together, but they are already heavy as hell and I will definitely have to move them again at some point, so I'll leave them loose for now.
Like the GT6, the tires were mostly under 10 PSI, so I got them back up to pressure. Bolted the RF wheel on and for the first time in almost 8 years, the car is back on all fours.
As mentioned, room is tight. I honestly kept both cars at max lift height mainly because it was easier to go under them when I needed to get to my tool box.
Down the driver's side of the cars isn't too bad:
The after work task will be getting the front fender off the parts car.
Rust free fender is off the parts car and into the back of the TDI. Yay.
My gut tells me I couldn't get a new fender AND get it painted to match for the $600 I paid for the parts car. Especially since the wagon fenders are not the same as the cheaper sedan fenders.
Anyway... One step closer to getting this eyesore out of my back yard...
... along with the rest of the now defunct shelter logic garage.
I'm in a bit of a holding pattern with the garage until the TDI is gone, but I can work on cleaning up the back yard eyesore, which I'm sure my neighbor will appreciate.
First step was getting whatever metal the scrappers might want to the curb. Finally saying goodbye to the rear leaf springs from the '78 F-150 I sold back in 1992.
Managed to fill a trash bag as well.
Made an ant colony very upset.
Still more work to do, but it's progress...
I'm doing the same if not a bit longer on project D2D..... finally have a long enough time off to make measurable progress. Still might only be a few hrs a day, but it's welcomed than just staring at it as I walk past.
If there's one thing I feel bad about, it's the pile of rotted wood to the right in the picture above. I used to be a ladder my great-grandfather used for his painting business when my grandfather was a child back in the early 1900's.
Still waiting for the TDI to be gone.
My main task today was gathering bits to add some lights in the shed. I've pondered some kind of 12V LED setup run off a small battery with a solar panel to charge it. I'm rarely in the shed for more than a few minutes, so it's not like I need a ton of light for a long time.
Then I stumbled across a YouTube video with this setup. Some Amazon clicks and a trip to Home Desperate and I have this little pile:
Next I have to find the 12V LED strips I bought some time ago... It amazes me how quickly I lose stuff in a 600 sqr ft. house...
And... The TDI is gone to a new life in CT. A little bittersweet, but it was time. Thanks to Chris for making it happen.
The GT6 is back inside, but I need to find a final spot for it before I get back to work on it.
Today was a quiet one, but I wanted to get some time in. Mostly staring at the empty space in the garage where the TDI used to be. Then picked up the ramps and started on the cleaning up process. Some of which will be figuring out where to put what I don't want to toss.
This would probably be a good time to pull out the Gladiator cabinets and the air compressor for some cleaning.
I restarted this on Saturday. 3 days and I can now actually walk around my garage and my shop and my toolbox and work bench are cleaned off. Hopefully tomorrow is the day I can start fixing things. I feel better already just getting everything picked up and clean.
My garage got out of control with all the Forester and Odyssey work this summer. Might be hard to see the difference, but here's the before:
I spent about 2 hours out there last night, salvaging sheet metal from fluorescent fixtures and putting tools away and relocating things I couldn't throw away and throwing away what I could. Here's the after:
I can now start working on my coolant tubes again.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
Still waiting for the TDI to be gone.
My main task today was gathering bits to add some lights in the shed. I've pondered some kind of 12V LED setup run off a small battery with a solar panel to charge it. I'm rarely in the shed for more than a few minutes, so it's not like I need a ton of light for a long time.
Then I stumbled across a YouTube video with this setup. Some Amazon clicks and a trip to Home Desperate and I have this little pile:
Next I have to find the 12V LED strips I bought some time ago... It amazes me how quickly I lose stuff in a 600 sqr ft. house...
Do you have a link to the video? Seriously need to do this in my shed.
10001110101 said:
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:
Still waiting for the TDI to be gone.
My main task today was gathering bits to add some lights in the shed. I've pondered some kind of 12V LED setup run off a small battery with a solar panel to charge it. I'm rarely in the shed for more than a few minutes, so it's not like I need a ton of light for a long time.
Then I stumbled across a YouTube video with this setup. Some Amazon clicks and a trip to Home Desperate and I have this little pile:
Do you have a link to the video? Seriously need to do this in my shed.
What he said ^^^. My wife and I want to build a folly in the back yard at some point, and just a little solar-and-battery 12V lighting would be ideal.
Life was a little hectic since the last post, between work, a weekend riding trip and preparing for two Triumph club drives that I was the rally master for and had to produce two 40+ page event books.
But I took the opportunity last night to stream SNF on my phone while fiddling with the shed lighting project. I now have everything almost assembled. Just need to solder the two sides of the LED strips together.
I've always thought about using the scissor lift as a work bench. After more than a decade, I've finally used it that way.
This is the video about the shed lighting. Some of the Amazon links no longer work, but that's easy to get around.
DIY Solar Shed Lighting! Affordable LED Setup - YouTube
Instead of using zip-ties to hold the aluminum angle to the bottom of the joists, I drilled a couple of holes from the inside out through the edge of the angle so I can use screws to attach them.
There is a guy on the 914world that has a sweet garage and he uses the scissor lifts as banquet tables when he entertains in his shop. I always thought that was badass.
They are also sunk into the cement so he drives right over them...
Well... I knew my soldering technique was rusty... I just didn't realize how rusty...
Getting the power links between the two LED strips has proven to be a challenge for me.
So what I was hoping would be a quick project is dragging out for a bit longer than anticipated. Why am I surprised?
Anyway, we're supposed to get a little warmer weather later this week, so I'm hoping to get all of this into the shed before the weekend.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
Are you using flux? A little dab on the wire before soldering makes such a huge difference in how the solder flows and adheres. I've been using this stuff just because I had some left over from another project: http://www.chipquik.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=310024
In reply to obsolete :
I've always used flux-core solder. I honestly don't know any different/better ways. Usually seems to work ok. The LED contacts are tricky because they are so small. Since the picture above, I ended up going to a smaller wire that was easier to get heat into.
Not posted to this thread yet-
Over the past 18 months I've been moving cross country from MI to WA. Part of the move is a reduction in shop space from 2400 sq ft to about 1300 sq ft. That footage houses a tractor and a number implements to deforest the planet, so effectively maybe 800 sq ft.
I'd lived in MI for 17 years. This thread speaks to tossing stuff. In the course of the move, qty = 3 20yd and qty = 1 30 yard dumpsters were filled. Almost tpo the brim. 3 engines given away, and almost SIX FREAKIN' TONS of metal went to the scrapper. How the hell did I become such a hoarder.
That said, the move still took- I think I'm at 13- trips cross country, carting 5 cars, and one small load to go.
I don't need 30 minutes for 30 days, I need 30 minutes for 30 years
So when this got bumped up I noticed that at the end of my 30 days I said it was time to start on the Challenge car. Well I crammed a whole tube frame challenge car build from scratch in that time since 6/18/20. Huge monumental effort right? The time it took averaged 45 min / day.
My point is don't discount the amount of work you can do in 30-45 min if it's applied consistently over time.
