30Oct2011
Odds and Ends
We had to fix an exhaust leak on an SC the other day that was caused by a couple of loose header nuts. Pretty easy fix to drop down the exhaust and re-anneal the copper gaskets on that side. Friday was turbo day in the shop 🙂 Three 996TT’s, a 3.6L 965, and a 951. We have also become a full service Mini Cooper repair facility. Boy, they seem even smaller in person. It takes “mini” tools to work on …
30Oct2011
1994 3.6L Turbo
Prepped this little 21k mile gem for PCA Palooza here in a couple of weeks. Inspection, oil change, and brake flush and she is ready for a romp through the Arkansas hills. But wait, there’s more…..how about some new Bilstein HD’s? Lets see if we can get that done this week 🙂 Great to see the IA billet valve covers in place 🙂
28Oct2011
Sometimes free is worth it.
Had an ’02 Turbo in for a little minor repair and noted the headlights looked like this: Also noted the left front turn signal did not work. These are not what the car came in for and I couldn’t charge for it but I thought it enough of a safety issue to knock out gratis. These things really took some sanding. Here is the after: The difference is night and day. Of course all the turn signals also work now. We …
27Oct2011
Rockin’ Into The Night
Things keep rolling long here at the shop. I have been backing up on my blogging, so will try and catch up by the weekend. Not only have I been neglecting the blogging, but I have been neglecting MiniMoo. For those that don’t know MiniMoo (and i’m too lazy to find an actual picture of him), he is the toy hauler 2500HD that has been featured a time or two on the blog before. The 1-3 settings on the interior …
Replaced some worn out shift bushings in this targa the other day. Over time the plastic bushings crack and fall apart, and your shifter location becomes very vague. Parts are cheap, but it is a time consuming job to replace the bushings. Disassembling the center console to get the shift lever out. Just to the right of the bolt head, you can see the bottom edge of the bushing has cracked. Once the shifter is out of the car, you …
11Oct2011
DE Prep 964 C4 Part II:
Finished up the C4 today by installing new CV axle boots on both rear axles. A quick rebuild of the joints and some fresh grease, and this puppy is ready for the DE this weekend. Hanging the axles, ready to come out. Outer nut takes over 350ft/lbs of torque. And the assembly on my makeshift cardboard bench. And new axle boots installed on the first axle. Repeat on the 2nd and we were done.
08Oct2011
DE Prep 964 C4
This week we will tackle getting the Yokohama car ready for the upcoming HPDE. We have some leaking valve cover gaskets that we need to tackle, bleed the brakes, change out some torn axle boots, and it should be good for the weekend. Here you can see the oil has been dripping down onto the headers and burning off. Without the OEM heatshields/heat exchangers in place, we will likely have to do more valve cover gasket work annually as they …
07Oct2011
Shop Updates
Shop is coming along. We have been cleaning (a lot of cleaning), painting, and trying to knock some work out at the same time. Val has been busy painting walls and floors. We got half of the upstairs floor painted to cover up years of clutch dust, etc, LOL. Then she painted some unpainted walls….. And got some really dirty walls painted…… Meanwhile, my buddy Tim from Learntech Inc. has been by setting up our computers and interwebs. He got …
29Sep2011
993 Seat Motor Cables
Had one left over car in the shop that I need to take care of. A common issue with the 993’s is that if you put the seat in the rear most position, often times it gets stuck there and will no longer slide forward. If you know this, usually repeated tapping of the switch or giving it a bit of a nudge from the back of the seat will jar it loose and it will slide freely. Someone started …
20Sep2011
The Little Bastard
Hey, I didn’t come up with the name, the owner did! Had a little issue with an 88 911 that was rubbing the tire on the fender under certain corners. My buddy Mark had heard a POP from the front left corner one day, then started hearing the rubbing. While simple and quick to diagnose, this is something I have not seen before, the steel contact washer that the torsion bar adjustment bolt rides on shattered, dropping the suspension almost …