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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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#12,421 ·
Today I removed the console in the 59, drilled out the rivets in the tunnel seal plate, so I could remove the B&M short shifter setup from the T56. the straight handle was a bit too far forward for my body configuration, and the curved Hurst handle looks a lot better anyway, so I married the two.
Awwww. feels good now. ;)

Russ
Very nice Russ,I love that interior:thumbup::thumbup:
 
#12,427 ·
bodywork all done on the cougar. 40 hours from detrim to primer ready. Today I fabbed a piece for the outer wheel house, welded it in, etch primed it, and seam sealed. Then welded in the quarter patch, and kitty haired and mudded it. Also fixed the fender gap, determined we need a new hood hinge and door pins, and spread the last piece of filler on the car and sanded. People on this site have asked about times and now I know by looking at a sheet. I'll post some pics when it's done. Should be lazer straight after two primes. Burned out on mud right now. Hoping for some fab work to come in. There's extensive fab tools here, even a levour press.
 
#12,429 ·
Yes, there are places. But even without shipping both ways, they charge more than the wheel is worth. If I wasn't able to find this one wheel, I could almost buy a pair of different wheels for what they charge. I have a local guy who does it, but the quote made my jaw drop, and no shipping involved.
. Those wheel doctors are prolly spoiled by the M-B wheels that cost $1500 new each to replace...
 
#12,431 ·
Yes, there are places. But even without shipping both ways, they charge more than the wheel is worth. If I wasn't able to find this one wheel, I could almost buy a pair of different wheels for what they charge. I have a local guy who does it, but the quote made my jaw drop, and no shipping involved.
I never priced it. I guess it's all in how bad someone wants to save a vintage wheel.

Myself, I would get a 2X2 piece of maple, put a nice smooth radius on it and start tapping that bend back out. I think you will be surprised how easy it is to reshape it enough to look decent and hold a seal at the bead again. I've done a few steel but have yet to work an aluminum bead.
 
#12,433 ·
No hot rod stuff for me, I worked on a wheel chair ("scooter") lift on a Toyota. :D Then fiberglassed up the broken spoiler that the lift hit when someone re-ended them. Oh yeah, fiberglass, I'm still itching!

The lift design was damn interesting, had me scratching my head.

Brian
 
#12,434 ·
Got back to my buddy's '68 Camaro convertible today. He just finished shooting paint, and decided to go the stealth look, with satin black. I usually like shiny cars, but the satin black actually looks very sinister. The offsetting chrome, polished stainless, and aluminum makes for a nice contrast. He had a guy weld in the factory hood vent reliefs from another '68 flat donor hood. So his cowl hood has the factory chrome air vents, which is something Chevy didn't offer on a cowl induction hood, and look very nice.
We got the grille, bumpers, locks, wheelwell trim, door handles, and badging all on. He bought SS 427 badges for grille, tail panel, and front fenders; so no doubt what it is.
He's just got the interior to put in now, and she's ready to roll!
 
#12,436 ·
sure wish I had that 9/16" hinge wrench. Would have been helpful today. The gaps are pretty good but what I could have done and handled was ling up the door and the top of the fender lining up to the door. It's close so everything else can be made good but that little top piece above the body line. They often need to be twisted. Either lowering it to the door while raising it to the hood or just the opposite, so I don't want to assume it's "ok" then have to twist that area later. I think I'll get a rod bender first before paying $100 for that wrench and make my own. Still, would have been helpful today. I love lining up gaps and sighting down the side and seeing how the panels flow. I took it for granted all the that the old man taught me cause he was kind of making me do his dirty work but it's sort of a trade off, and now his teachings are helping me see things others don't see and ways to fix him. I think I'll shoot him an email to thank him.
 
#12,437 ·
sure wish I had that 9/16" hinge wrench. Would have been helpful today. The gaps are pretty good but what I could have done and handled was ling up the door and the top of the fender lining up to the door. It's close so everything else can be made good but that little top piece above the body line. They often need to be twisted. Either lowering it to the door while raising it to the hood or just the opposite, so I don't want to assume it's "ok" then have to twist that area later. I think I'll get a rod bender first before paying $100 for that wrench and make my own. Still, would have been helpful today. I love lining up gaps and sighting down the side and seeing how the panels flow. I took it for granted all the that the old man taught me cause he was kind of making me do his dirty work but it's sort of a trade off, and now his teachings are helping me see things others don't see and ways to fix him. I think I'll shoot him an email to thank him.
That's always good to let those guys know. I have done this a few times, called up mentors that I hadn't talked with in years and years. It's always a good chat, some great guys we get to work with over the years.

Brian
 
#12,438 ·
sure wish I had that 9/16" hinge wrench. Would have been helpful today. The gaps are pretty good but what I could have done and handled was ling up the door and the top of the fender lining up to the door. It's close so everything else can be made good but that little top piece above the body line. They often need to be twisted. Either lowering it to the door while raising it to the hood or just the opposite, so I don't want to assume it's "ok" then have to twist that area later. I think I'll get a rod bender first before paying $100 for that wrench and make my own. Still, would have been helpful today. I love lining up gaps and sighting down the side and seeing how the panels flow. I took it for granted all the that the old man taught me cause he was kind of making me do his dirty work but it's sort of a trade off, and now his teachings are helping me see things others don't see and ways to fix him. I think I'll shoot him an email to thank him.
Kinda like "wax on, wax off" you think your just doing slave labor, but later realize that you were learning the basics.
 
#12,439 ·
Last night was upper ball joints and shocks on the '98 1500. Last Friday it was the lower ball joints and lowering springs. Why not do it all at once? The uppers were still good 6-8 months ago when I bought the lowers and springs.:thumbup: Finally got time to install them last week.

On the Camaro (my daughter's '85 Sport Coupe, 2.8), I got the broken TPS screws repaired. Both broke off flush with the throttle body when I tried to loosen them. I clamped a couple of pieces of 1x4 to it so I could keep it vertical to drill the screws out on the drill press. Drilled them out, tapped the holes, new stainless button head screws with anti-seize and we're back in business. Now I can actually get the idle set from where the P.O. unplugged a perfectly good functioning MAF and then set the idle up to compensate.:spank:
 
#12,440 ·
No hot rod stuff for me, I worked on a wheel chair ("scooter") lift on a Toyota. :D Then fiberglassed up the broken spoiler that the lift hit when someone re-ended them. Oh yeah, fiberglass, I'm still itching!

The lift design was damn interesting, had me scratching my head.

Brian
I stopped scratching my head years ago. Too much hair kept falling out.

BB :thumbup::thumbup:
 
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