The Civic has been out for a test run, puttering its way up and down Jefferson Ave. for about an hour on Sunday. No issues to report, although I’m really getting tired of that rattling in the exhaust! That was present since the last time I worked on the engine. I am getting a slight… Continue reading So far, so good…except for the AC (?)
Success? The Civic lives…
Welp… View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Hooptie Garage (@thehooptiegarage)
The Civic weirdness continues…
Finally receiving a Heli-Coil kit for the Civic’s stripped threads, I set about to working on the aborted repair project. My first step was to dig right in and get those threads fixed. Only, I thought I would run the M10x1.25 tap into the hole to see what happened. Well, I encountered resistance almost immediately. … Continue reading The Civic weirdness continues…
Rally survivor’s guide for solo travelers
A road rally, such as the Lemons Rally, often involves elements of deciphering clues and being aware of and constantly searching the surrounding areas to find checkpoints, in addition to several hours of driving. It is a good idea to have a co-pilot who can assist with some of those tasks. Yet, many of us… Continue reading Rally survivor’s guide for solo travelers
Tip for valve cover Heli-Coils
In the past, I had to use Heli-Coils since a previous mechanic had gotten overzealous and overtightened the valve cover bolts, which stripped them out. When I installed a couple of Heli-Coils last time, I ended up ruining a couple of the coils since they did not go into the hole easily. This time, however,… Continue reading Tip for valve cover Heli-Coils
The Civic is grounded for the Lemons Rally
Bad Civic did not cooperate, so Civic stays home from the rally. Yep. There it sits, looking forlorn and somewhat disassembled. Wha’happn? One of the holes in the block has stripped threads. I was starting to get all the bolts in place. Got to this last one, and about halfway down it started encountering a… Continue reading The Civic is grounded for the Lemons Rally
Possibly found the oil burning issue…
I finally pulled a piston on the Civic, and found two things that may have been causing all the oil burning. There was a lot of carbon on top of the pistons, as well as the underside of the cylinder head. The first issue? Cross-hatching. Or, lack thereof. Only faint lines remain. The factory specifies… Continue reading Possibly found the oil burning issue…
Hooptie evaluation–which car do I use for the Rust Belt Ramble?
I have 2½ weeks to get a car ready for the Rust Belt Ramble. I am taking a look at the older CR-V, as it is in decrepit enough condition to do a full-on theme and be enough of a hooptie to fit in. The alternator is frozen up, and the steering fluid leaked out,… Continue reading Hooptie evaluation–which car do I use for the Rust Belt Ramble?
Dear Buick…please leave my Wildcat alone.
Maybe I’m getting old, but occasionally I find myself internally ranting about something I’ve read or seen online: This is part of Buick’s plan to be “all electric” by 2030. And yeah…anyone who knows me, knows that the Wildcat was a badge near and dear to me. My folks owned a ’65 Wildcat sedan back… Continue reading Dear Buick…please leave my Wildcat alone.
Visited the Supermarket of Necessary Evil
Or in other words, I went to Harbor Freight today. 😁 Depending on what you buy there, the quality can be fairly good. Check out the Wrench Every Day channel on YouTube, where Jared and Tavarish have been comparing tool sets, and another episode where Jared compares some of their welders. For my purposes, when… Continue reading Visited the Supermarket of Necessary Evil