Garage therapy

We spent an evening in the garage installing some new toys, sharing beers and laughs. When was your last garage therapy session, and what did you do?

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/project-cars/1991-mazda-miata2/evening-garage-therapy/

My little brother came up last weekend. Helped me bleed the Jeep brakes, chase down a leak on the Chevy transmission, then we pulled the front seat out of his Golf, tore it into little pieces and mounted up an aluminum Kirkey on the stock seat rails. Put driver/codriver stickers on the Golf too. No beers, but pretty productive.

Last weekend. Kid was driving me bonkers with the teething, so I packed him up and we went to a friends place. What started as the intention to sit and watch TV turned into helping with a 13b swap into a Miata.

over a month ago - casting some molten aluminum into a belt buckle, just for fun. Theres something very soothing about the soft pink glow of molten metal.

About a month before that, all 4 corners of my DD got new pads. That was fun without my c-clamps or rear caliper retractor tool...

mndsm wrote: What started as the intention to sit and watch TV turned into helping with a 13b swap into a Miata.

build thread or ban

A month ago we were welding in my roll bar and fabricating a wing for the death mod before the Ascutney hillclimb. Many good times were had.

Lately, garage sessions have consisted of me flailing away like crazy to get something done within a limited time frame. I worked on a friend's MINI a few months ago, but that was more like work than anything relaxing. I haven't had a relaxing time in the garage in years...

4cylndrfury wrote:

mndsm wrote: What started as the intention to sit and watch TV turned into helping with a 13b swap into a Miata.

build thread or ban

He's a GRM follower, I'll see if I can get details on the build for you. I know there's piles of pics. He won't post the build himself though, so I have to get permission.

I wish some friends or siblings would come down to my place and spend some time wrenching with me. I end up working alone. Wife is almost always around but doesn't like helping.

Most recent stuffs was a timing belt change and coolant change on the DD. Have a header waiting to go on, when I get the gaskets in a few days and its not a billion degrees inside the garage. Might also dabble with some resistors soon so I can install an aftermarket steering wheel with no air bag light on the dash.

No garage therapy, but I spent almost two hours blowing the trumpet making music. Had a heck of a good time, especially since I'm finally starting to sound good.

I've spent the last eleven weeks working out of town so this weekend I rebuilt the carb on my 47 cushman and started making space for my new to me 78 rabbit. Zztop playing all the while.

DaveEstey wrote:

That looks so sweet!! Have you talked about this car on here previously?

Oh, and edit: Your driver needs some arm restraints. Throwing the horns is cool but not if you're risking losing the arm in a rollover. Safety rant over.

I spent last night refilling a friend's a/c system. Not exactly garage therapy but at least it involved fun tools and a big jug of refrigerant. I've been slowly but surely cleaning the garage up after getting rid of the quad4 crx so it's really starting to look less like a storage unit and more like a nice place to work on cars.. still need to get rid of one shelving unit's worth of stuff.

Sunday, checked over the brakes and fluids on daughter's boyfriend's '75 Monte Carlo. Dipstick was dry so we changed the oil; about 3 quarts of black stuff came out. I taught him how to check the level every fillup. Very relaxing.

If my garage was a bit nicer... I'm getting to where things are fairly well laid out, wish the floor wasn't full of huge cracks, and I'm debating buying a window A/C unit to make it more enjoyable to work out there. But first I need to figure out if I'm going to stay, I rent, and I may end up moving somewhere nicer if I can find something that works.

dculberson wrote: Oh, and edit: Your driver needs some arm restraints. Throwing the horns is cool but not if you're risking losing the arm in a rollover. Safety rant over.

Judging from the scenery, I'm pretty sure he's going down hill, post run, which would explain the reduced safety gear. I seem to recall a lot of the PHA guys have their helmets off for the return drive back to the paddock.

Otherwise, I agree - more info about the car, please.

pres589 wrote: I'm debating buying a window A/C unit to make it more enjoyable to work out there. But first I need to figure out if I'm going to stay, I rent, and I may end up moving somewhere nicer if I can find something that works.

IMHO, buy the window until regardless if it means you'll work out there, even if jsut for a few months. They don't cost that much and they're not permanent, so you can take it with you.

Just lurking, reading the thread when on the radio comes, "In The Garage" by Weezer.

Thought it was kinda funny/cool.

In addition, I would like to see more on that car.

Every Sunday is therapy time. Either the endless Bugeye project or the MGB needing another part keeps me busy. Thursdays are therapy time at a friends bolting a Healey 3000 back together.

I have heard rumours of people actually driving these cars; kinda like bigfoot sightings if you ask me.

dculberson wrote:

DaveEstey wrote:

That looks so sweet!! Have you talked about this car on here previously? Oh, and edit: Your driver needs some arm restraints. Throwing the horns is cool but not if you're risking losing the arm in a rollover. Safety rant over.

It's my buddy Erik's car. I believe it's a late 70's Camaro (or was at one time). It spent time turning left before being transformed into its current state after his previous car (BMW E30) met a birch tree at the Okemo hillclimb. This guy was thrown together in a few weeks and raced for the first time last fall at the Ascutney hillclimb.

It's a "cheater" 350 with some forged internals but is otherwise an unremarkable drivetrain. He's looking to upgrade power now since his new rubber, and new wing, have created a much more stable drive up the hills. He ran a 2:55 up Ascutney this spring in it, compared to my 3:26 in my Miata. Fast stuff.

I was at his place Saturday and he has a new set of aluminum heads and a 4 barrel (600 or 750 I can't remember) carb waiting to go on, right now it's breathing through a 2 barrel straw.

It originally had no hood, but tech demanded one so we cut up a roundy-round metal Camaro hood to cover the engine and nothing else.

The photo was taken on the down run and he does have arm restraints on, but it appears he needs to tighten them up a touch. Photo was taken at check 6, which is a pretty benign spot.

Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDwmRJ2_RWk&feature=plcp

I need to get him on here.

I stopped working on the 8 month new bathroom project last Thursday/Friday/Saturday to finish prepping the M3 for NASA TT. I straightened the rear sway bar mounts and welded in reinforcements, installed brake cooling ducts and backing plates, dual fuel pump conversion, fluids, pads, removal of the slider on the driver's seat, transponder power wiring and vinyl numbers.

It was a mad thrash for 3 days, and I spent last night getting the garage organized to start a much longer mad thrash - I've got the have the Radical back together by July 12 to make a race, and it's a rolling chassis w/ no plumbing or wiring and no header or exhaust at the moment.

Once that's done I'm looking forward to some garage time that doesn't have "Must be on trailer in time to make driver's meeting at dark:30" as a qualifier.

Every weekend involves some garage therapy for me. If I don't have a certain project already lined up, I just hang out listening to CarTalk looking for busy work.

Cleaning the car, adjusting body panels, organizing junk, sharpening tools, or just staring at the ceiling. The garage is my escape from the wife and kids. Peace and quiet is underrated.

Today was great , we pulled the Manx out from its 2 year hibernation. We are going to wrap it with some carbon fibre looking film, roll bar with Bikini top added for sun protection . Tom and I mocked up a roll bar for the challenge alpine , fabricated tacked . Delivered to welder down the street that does mo better blues welding . Made a decision to paint the ford motor black going in to it .

Lately garage time has been stressful instead of therapeutic. 2 months behind on the challenge car will do that. Should have it's first autocross "test session" this weekend.

Even when things were relaxed, no one wants to come over and play. oh well.....

I stole a couple of hours last Saturday to finish building and testing the combustor for the gas turbine. Shop therapy usually happens every weekend for at least an hour or two.

DaveEstey wrote: A month ago we were welding in my roll bar and fabricating a wing for the death mod before the Ascutney hillclimb. Many good times were had.

good gawd, i want a build thread. hell, i weant a clone with plates.

Some good tunes on my iPod and running a sander on the project car for an hour or so is great therapy for me. Funny, when I built this car the first time, 20 years ago, I was in such a hurry to race it that I didn't take the time to enjoy the build process as much as I should have.

I am not making that mistake on the restoration.