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The "What Did You Work On Today" thread

3M views 36K replies 388 participants last post by  cerial 
#1 ·
4 hour work day for me at the shop. Used the time to do a valve body swap on a '01 Jetta 1.8t auto .... I successfully installed a transbrake on the car .... that however wasn't my intention.

Its in 2 gears at once in park, all other gears (R/N/D/2/1) are forward gears.... they all seam to be first gear.

I have it torn back down most of the way. Tuesday I'll actually get the VB back out and see whats up.... but part of me wants to take it out for a test drive the way it is just for the fun of it.
 
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#21,561 ·
foperfoauto, those are tough little cars. Doors suck to work on but theres a lot of transportation value in it if treated nice.

Mitch, I feel better knowing you will have new episodes this winter. Hope you get astronaut pay at CL. Your spot zapper makes me green. Nice fillers for an ugly spot on the Imp. Maybe you can get Camaro surgery pics up and keep them there, I can't seem to. I have lots of questions but will mostly just enjoy seeing your experience unfold. You'll have a car worth a good chunk when you get done.
 
#21,562 ·
Picked up Buick a 4 Door to fix up and flip, or keep and use for in-expensive parts pick up and delivery.
Lots of memories of those cars, my dad was a Buick salesman and my mother in law had one too, damn I worked on a lot of them.

Brian
 
#21,563 ·
Mitch, I feel better knowing you will have new episodes this winter. Hope you get astronaut pay at CL. Your spot zapper makes me green. Nice fillers for an ugly spot on the Imp. Maybe you can get Camaro surgery pics up and keep them there, I can't seem to. I have lots of questions but will mostly just enjoy seeing your experience unfold. You'll have a car worth a good chunk when you get done.
No shortage of winter projects around, as the user name implies. I am itching to get at the '54, especially now with the straight axle sitting in full view, but my better half has been pestering me about this Camaro for a few years now. Can't blame her, as it's one of only 2 cars she likes and I've had it 10 years, so it's about time I gave it more attention.

Pay at CL is about the same level as yours, BUT, I'm not running a household on it either. Both of us had parents pass away in the last few years and left funds to their children. We used ours to pay off our mortgage over the summer, so life is fairly comfortable now. I also get a stipend from social security, but basically live off my younger wife, who is still working. Yep, I'm a "kept man"...:D

My "Keeper"

 
#21,564 ·
No shortage of winter projects around, as the user name implies. I am itching to get at the '54, especially now with the straight axle sitting in full view, but my better half has been pestering me about this Camaro for a few years now. Can't blame her, as it's one of only 2 cars she likes and I've had it 10 years, so it's about time I gave it more attention.

Pay at CL is about the same level as yours, BUT, I'm not running a household on it either. Both of us had parents pass away in the last few years and left funds to their children. We used ours to pay off our mortgage over the summer, so life is fairly comfortable now. I also get a stipend from social security, but basically live off my younger wife, who is still working. Yep, I'm a "kept man"...:D

My "Keeper"

She looks so nice. She is a "keep her" obviously. Maybe its the flowery surroundings. But she must be a clever and pleasant lady. Brings to mind two quotes, one from Marshall Dillon...

A man who grows without the presence of a woman grows crooked like a tree on the side of a mountain. He can make a fine tree, just crooked.

The other was something I said in a letter to HRM about my Ventura that they printed in big letters with the pic- If I had a wife, I would long since have been shot down in flames.

We should keep pushing for astronaut pay. What happened to one job being enough? The Camaro might be fun to do, its little. Just dream up some good gasser names while the 54 is not front burner. I will continue my downward spiral meanwhile and just try not to hurt the Pontiacs.:)
 
#21,565 ·
I realized I am working on lighting more than I want to, chasing a rabbit down a hole. I put up T8s a while back, that did improve the light and tube life over the old lights .

As most know the color temp has a lot to do with the brightness of the light. T8 fixtures came with natural, did not like that replaced all tubes with cool white.

They have been up 5 years, about 3 years in, I start losing a ballast here and there, and tubes. No big deal nothing last forever, but this year spring, two ballast in a 6 tube fixture craped out, replaced same. Last week same fixture, I see a tube flickering and dieing. Then see another tube over the lathe on life support.


I've been reading about the LED tubes, and seeing pictures folks have posted. I really saw little difference in the out put if compared to the cool white standard T8 tubes.

Along the way I read they have the option to be direct wired....fancy name for no ballast needed. There's room for a pun here I resist, no ballast has my attention and eliminates a point of failure.... I'm in,

Ordered and received 30 tubes, up on the ladder, snipping wire and configuring the fixtures to bypass the ballast, left them in the fixer. And installed the LED tubes.

Here is what I think about the LEDs for work lights. I like them, the light is very even, the area they light appears to have a larger pattern. Compared to the standard tubes, tube = tube you can easily see the inconsistency of the florescent, the LED has a very consistent and unformed pattern.

There is a bit of HYPE regarding the LED, most noticeable and because I still have two florescent fitted fixtures up. They claim instant on, well the florescent come on a nanosecond before the LEDs.
If someone wants to split hairs :D
Greg
 
#21,566 ·
I realized I am working on lighting more than I want to, chasing a rabbit down a hole. I put up T8s a while back, that did improve the light and tube life over the old lights .

As most know the color temp has a lot to do with the brightness of the light. T8 fixtures came with natural, did not like that replaced all tubes with cool white.

They have been up 5 years, about 3 years in, I start losing a ballast here and there, and tubes. No big deal nothing last forever, but this year spring, two ballast in a 6 tube fixture craped out, replaced same. Last week same fixture, I see a tube flickering and dieing. Then see another tube over the lathe on life support.


I've been reading about the LED tubes, and seeing pictures folks have posted. I really saw little difference in the out put if compared to the cool white standard T8 tubes.

Along the way I read they have the option to be direct wired....fancy name for no ballast needed. There's room for a pun here I resist, no ballast has my attention and eliminates a point of failure.... I'm in,

Ordered and received 30 tubes, up on the ladder, snipping wire and configuring the fixtures to bypass the ballast, left them in the fixer. And installed the LED tubes.

Here is what I think about the LEDs for work lights. I like them, the light is very even, the area they light appears to have a larger pattern. Compared to the standard tubes, tube = tube you can easily see the inconsistency of the florescent, the LED has a very consistent and unformed pattern.

There is a bit of HYPE regarding the LED, most noticeable and because I still have two florescent fitted fixtures up. They claim instant on, well the florescent come on a nanosecond before the LEDs.
If someone wants to split hairs :D
Greg
One of my new T8 ballasts has tanked also.
What brand of LED did you buy?
 
#21,570 ·
I have 20 8' t-12's that I replaced about 18 months ago. I do hope when it is time again, the led's will be somewhat more affordable.

I jacked up the car today and hooked the chains up to pull the body back off the frame. First work I have done since coming down with the creeping crud.....wore me out. :drunk:

John
 

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#21,572 · (Edited)
One of my new T8 ballasts has tanked also.
What brand of LED did you buy?

I got them off the net, ordered them Monday they were here yesterday.

Direct page to the T8 tubes

  1. T8 LED Tubes

Home page V confusing to find what you want, the link above is direct...
https://www.superbrightleds.com/?utm_sou...0c70263219

The by-pass wiring is very simple

When cutting all wires, cut them where they come out from the ballast .

1 Cut the black and white wires, and let them hang.
2 Cut the red wire at the ballast, and attach it to the black wire hanging .
3 Now cut the blue wires, from the ballast (two), and attach both to the white wire hanging.

Done

No need to remove the ballast

The LED tube have 5 year warranty .... not to shabby

15% discount .......HOLIDAY17
Greg
 
#21,573 ·
I am wore to a nub today. Don't mean to wear you guys out too, with re-redundant pics of this ponycar job but I finally improved the hood gaps to a point where I felt I had done best I could given the circumstances. Again. Still no door latches to hold those just right but here is the current state, with shims only at bottom of left fender. Hood side gaps are only a quarter inch wide at a couple places now but the cowl gap has to stay wide. I could center the striker slightly better and add another shim at bottom of the left fender, etc but you gotta stop somewhere and this needs to be apart to paint some areas. Man there were a lot of little hoops to jump through just to get to here. I plan to give my best shot at shaving the firewall flange in half a day tomorrow so I can resume Pontiacting next week. Oh and bummer it was a Ford crate that showed up yesterday, not the Pontiac I can't wait to scope out. Psyche.

Christmas party feed tomorrow afternoon, woot. Burnt a hole in my "uniform" hoody grinding last week and now don't want to mess up the new one. That makes four I have now, two nice black but different designs, one black with hole, and a grey one I am wearing out now which looks constantly filthy. Did same thing to one of my new shop long sleeve t shirts already too. Sure am glad he provides cool looking swag to wear, I tear it up quick doing metal work.:drunk:









 
#21,574 ·
Rebuilding TH350, yes clutches are not supposed to look like that. Looked at the Buick and thought about doing something, well, maybe tomorrow.
All that material is in the bottom of the pan. A putty knife and some Old Yeller and you'll be in business!

BB :thumbup::thumbup:

(how many of you guys still have some Old Yeller on your pants and red rags?)
 
#21,575 · (Edited)
All that material is in the bottom of the pan. A putty knife and some Old Yeller and you'll be in business!

BB :thumbup::thumbup:

(how many of you guys still have some Old Yeller on your pants and red rags?)

Dont remember Old Yeller,exept the dog,,still use the red rags.
 

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#21,576 ·
Before we had such a wide array of adhesives in the auto parts store we had 3 M's Yellow Weather Strip Adhesive. This was a fall back glue for just about everything. No matter how much you used, pretty much everything around you was covered with this stuff. Red rags became stiff as a board and your hands were dirty yellow for weeks. Old Yeller.

BB :thumbup::thumbup:
 
#21,577 ·
Before we had such a wide array of adhesives in the auto parts store we had 3 M's Yellow Weather Strip Adhesive. This was a fall back glue for just about everything. No matter how much you used, pretty much everything around you was covered with this stuff. Red rags became stiff as a board and your hands were dirty yellow for weeks. Old Yeller.

BB :thumbup::thumbup:
OK..i thought you meant a cleaner,,i always hated to work on anything someone else had already worked on and had that stuff on everything..when used properly it is good stuff,as a contact cement,i use the 3M Black for weather strip now,,very little yellow exept bruch on quarts.:thumbup:
 
#21,579 · (Edited)
And after the EPA gutted most glues/cements, very few are near as good as they once were. I use Ultra Black for most stuff now.
And being a Taurus, I am not allowed to use red rags, or wear red clothes, or own red cars. I have the Grey shop towels in my non-red world...:D
lol.. I use ultra black instead of the end seals on the intake ,it does not leak or push out like the rubber seals,

I still use the yellow contact for carpet and upholstery,by qts,,which I spray it thru a gun.

never any blue or red silicon,dont know if it is still make,,it destroyed many sensors when gm first started using it ,(The vapors) .not sensor safe.
 
#21,580 ·
Finally got yesterdays pics to upload to Photobucket.
The boss man did a bang up job of seam sealing and rattle can painting the filler pieces and entire trunk pan seam overnight. I assembled the rest of the rear components and moved to the interior. It looks a lot more like a car now.





Haven't found the door panels after they have been moved around the shop for a year.

 
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