Five years (to the exact day) ago I wrote about learning to avoid getting stretched so thin that project cars are more stressful than fun. Apparently I unlearned that lesson because as of tonight, all four of my cars are in need of services ranging from routine maintenance to a complete drivetrain swap. I’ve gotta get cranking, because the Ranchero needs to be race ready for the Arse-Freeze-apalooza at Sonoma Dec 5-6th. If I could just take like, two months off from work I could get all caught up, but alas, we don’t have paid leave for vehicular health issues. I can’t tell my family to fend for themselves while I live in the garage, either. So instead, the plan is to re-jigger what I do for Hooniverse. Ironically, all too often I find myself deciding between working on Hooniverse or working on cars. That’s about to change.
Relax. This isn’t a goodbye or even temporary disappearance post. It’s more a warning about what you’re likely to see Tuesdays and Thursdays (my days to ensure the schedule’s filled out). Instead of beautifully edited prose or eBay/Craigslist finds, you’ll be getting mediocre cell phone picture documentation of the shit-ton of car work I’ll be cranking out over the next two months. It’ll be a mix of How To, How Not To, or even me asking you guys for help.
With that in mind, hit the jump for a rough To Do list
2012 Mazda
- Oil Change
- Four new tires
- Dire need of a thorough detailing inside and out
1964 Ford Falcon
- Replace entire front suspension and steering
- Two new wheels
- New rear leaf spring bushings
- Hopefully not new motor mounts (one looks a little squishy)
- Half-ass methods to slow down roof/gutter rust when really the whole thing needs metal work and a paint job
1969 Jeep Wagoneer
- Address Squishy Brakes (either just a bleed or a new master cylinder)
- One more attempt to make fuel sending unit and gas gauge work properly
- Re-install door panels
- Re-install door speakers
- (Maybe) wire up old stereo/amp components with Aux in from phone (no head unit)
- Re-drill rear spring perches so tires don’t rub on compression
- Shim rear axle/leaves to address driveshaft vibrations
- Address massive oil leak (intake manifold again?!!?!)
- Paint needs love in the form of serious rubbing compound cut followed by a couple coats of wax
- Sell that mofo, use proceeds to buy a 1991 Suburban and car trailer (that logic sound familiar?)
1962 Ford Ranchero
- Buy six new wheel/tires (15″? 16″? 17″? What tires?)
- Rebuild Craigslist 8″ rear axle housing (brakes, brake lines, bearings, seals, etc)
- Install 3.55:1 diff in said 8″ axle
- Install said 8″ axle in car
- Address flipped/fncked up rear spring and shackle setup
- Install rear shocks
- Get cage from Evil Genius Racing
- Source, install seat
- Rebuild column shifter
- Re-wire car with battery in bed and LeMons-legal kill-switch
- Mount Craigslist transmission to motor
- Reinstall motor/trans
- Rebuild 1bbl carburetor
- Lengthen/shorten driveshaft as needed
- Various other LeMons rules required things (taped sharp edges, mount fire extinguisher)
- Apply theme
- DOMINATE!
So yeah, follow along with me, starting later this afternoon.
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