Merry Christmas

That is all.

Slow month, no projects on going, just workn' for the tax man comin' and shoveling snow

The picture above is the adventure during our 18 inches we dug out from last week. The deep snow and now cold has keep us running at the shop which helps. It does take away from our fun time though. First time I got the TrailBlazer stuck, but after a little digging it was out and on the road again.

Slave Labor

To hell with child labor laws. Work boys, work hard. ;)

Actually, they came to the shop this afternoon since Dad went home with the Flu early. No way he would get any rest with those two screaming through the house.

At least the floor is clean again!

What Color?

What color or combo of colors should the 320i be? It is in need of paint. It doesn't look like the Metro will come in this Winter unless I can bug Dad enough to get it out. So in the mean time I need some ideas for the Autocross car. Troy and I want to get back into Autocross and the Bimmer needs paint. What should we do? Something basic, single color? Something with stripes again? Something loud and obnoxious like Group 5 320i race cars had in the early '80's?

Fire away.

Very nice

All that needs to be said is. "About God Damn Time"

The Axis

We went out in search of a 320i BMW for LeMon's and found a Alfa. Well, we really didn't find a Alfa since we had seen this car once before when we went this way to look at a Opel GT for Troy. This time though the Alfa had a whole new look about it since we are still in search of a proper car for LeMon's. After wandering around it for ten minutes we snapped some pictures and grabbed the number off the car.....which is disconnected....so now the search begins for the owner. Wish us luck.

Proportion

This is about right. When a small engine comes in for service, have your little man jump in and tear it apart.

Brock insisted on helping me tear the head of this Civic, a D15B7, it was in proportion to his size. He got the plug wires and cover off for me. Next up, I'll have him start rebuilding transmissions ;)

Auto Art

I credit this find to my brother, Troy, who sent me the link and found out the price which is $890 dollars. I guess it is time to get in the art business? Nice find, Troy.

http://vandm.com/1935-Red-Chevy-Truck-Hood-as-Sculpture/0_260_dealer=14729_product=114163.aspx

New Grape Scent

Thanks GM, for making it smell good when I breathe in the harmful vapors.

It's On

We are going to throw our collective tails sides into the racing ring for the 24 hours of LeMons.

Our dream, because every good idea begins with a dream made of Unicorn Farts and Pixy Dust, is to have a car built and ready before this event.

Rod Blagojevich Never-Say-Die-500

This race will be run at the Chicago Autobahn in Juliet Illinois. As of now it is just a scribble on some paper and we don't even have a car picked out to get ready for racing. What we have are four guys who said "Let's do it." Troy, Mike, Shawn and I have all decided we can do this. Shawn has the only W2W racing experience. Troy and I have extensive Autocross experience and Mike knows where the pedals are and how to use them properly.

We still would like two more drivers. We also are sure to need pit crew assistance, maybe a team manager to allow us to concentrate on the race that day. We also need sponsors. Money isn't cheap you know.

For a theme, because every good LeMon's team has a theme, we are going Deer Hunting on the track. Blaze Orange is the color of the day and it will be just like the Second Week of Deer Camp if we actually put this all together and make it to the track.

One year, and some change, I think(hope) we can do it.

.28 Cent Lawn Mower

Not really automotive related but it could easily be a car for free.











When they fall from the sky and are free, you take them and run. This bad boy is a '96 I believe John Deere STX38 Riding Lawn Mower. I scored it for nothing from a friend who had trouble with it and decided to hell with it and bought a much larger and faster Zero Turn Mower.

We talked before I picked it up and he mentioned it was running horrible, throttle was racing, and then it made a horrific rattling noise and went wide open throttle then died. He told me if I hauled it away I could have it. Fine, no problem. The Deck and Chassis are in excellent shape so if it needed a Engine I would spring for it. It sounded as though the Governor took a crap from his description so if that was bad, a engine tear down would ensue anyways.

Well, once in the warm shop I went to diagnosing the problem. On start up it did go wide open throttle, any throttle movement didn't change anything, the cables were fine and the Governor had proper tension and movement. Then we saw the issue.

Taking the carb off the Throttle plate fell completely off.











The Screws, they most likely were the rattling noise. Since they are brass I wasn't to concerned about the health of the engine. Sure, the Cylinder wall most likely are scored some but it has good compression, minimum leak down on the valves and now with two new screws and a LOF it runs like a champ. If it starts to have some engine issues from the screws traveling through it then I'll have to do a rebuild, no big deal.











Lesson of the day? Never ass-u-me what the problem is without diagnosing it first. As for the previous owner? It doesn't bother him a bit it took little more than a Quarter to fix it. He has his new Rider and is happy I have a new Rider.

A '57 Vert for your eyes

Slow few weeks in the auto world. The weather hasn't made for great cruising and with school and Soccer going full swing there isn't a lot of free time for toys.

Winter is almost here. One last piece of eye candy before the snow flies.

Flooded MATC Campus

This one is happening today, and I get to see the results of it.

Here is the News link to the story from Channel 15 in Madison. They should also have some new video's up later and on the nightly news.

Unfortunately, one of my customers cars was in that lot and you can see it in the video and online in pictures. It looks worse than it is. The interior was soaked up to the bottoms of the seat. It will take some drying and cleaning to get it back to normal. Thankfully she was a smart customer. They pushed the car out of the water and she never turned it over, tried to start it or anything. She just had it towed out to us and said "Help!"

I think we can save it, we have the technology ;)

Vintage Festival at Road America

As I mentioned quickly last week I was to be at RA for the VSCDA Vintage Festival on Sunday. The wife and I did make it there just as the last warm-up session ended and got plenty of time to tour the Paddock area, snap some pictures and then enjoy some great racing.

I don't think RA has ever disappointed me, and I expect it never will. There is just something perfect about the place that makes people want to go back again and again. Leslie also now understands why I am such a car junky and why I act the way I do. She got to witness first hand my "kid on Christmas morning" attitude for the day. Which she got a laugh out of.

Some highlight pictures if you follow the link here.

Little Update

Yes, it has been awhile but things have been slow on the auto front. The only little glimmer of fun is coming this Sunday as I and the wife will be going to Road America for the Vintage Racing.

Pictures on Monday that is for sure.

This will be a first for Leslie. She has never gone with me for a day of racing. I hope she has her walking shoes on :)

Wheel Weight Grand Champion

I've never seen this much weight put on a wheel before. It has to be the Grand Champion in attemped balancing I've ever seen.

That is four 2.5 ounce weights and then 1.25 ounces of stick on weight. for a wonderful total of 11.25 ounces on the inside of the rim with no weights on the outside of all four. I guess they ran out of lip style with the stick on used. It was the worst of the four tires. Fronts had 3 on the RF, 7 on the LF and the RR had 10. Amazingly it doesn't have a vibration when driving but with that course of a thread, they howl something terrible at highway speeds.

No, I didn't mount and balance these tires.

Free Pizza!

As I mentioned yesterday. I was off this morning to the Papa John's in Verona to do three things. One, score some free Pizza. Two, to take the Camaro for a drive. And Three, to make the wife happy.

I choose the Verona Papa John's because Leslie works in Verona at Verona Vision Care. I thought what better way to make all of the lady's there happy then free lunch on my Camaro, Papa John's and Jalopnik for helping find John's Camaro. I was second there. The Silver 2000 Z-28 was first.

I did manage to get one slice and it was excellent. I can't recall ever having Papa John's. I may have but today's slice was extra special.

Hey, my Camaro can't get me laid anymore but it can get me Pizza. Almost as good. Now if I could get Miller Lite to give me free beer for painting the Camaro the same color as the Miller Lite Label I'll be in Heaven.

More on Papa John's story

http://www.papasroadtrip.com/

Papa John's, Camaro's and Free Pizza

If any has been following this then you are just as car crazy as I am. Papa John sold his Camaro years ago to help finance his beginning in the Pizza business. Years later, he wanted the Camaro back but couldn't find it. So the search was on.

Jalopnik explains all that is Papa John's hunt for his Camaro.

So tomorrow, at 11 am I will be firing up the 69' and taking a tour into Papa Johns in Middleton to get a free pizza. Hey, it isn't like I need a excuse to drive the Beast but if I get free Pizza for doing so, win-win I say.

Ya, I am a tad bit crazy and weird. I know.

15 Days of Cobra is over

Dan is back to Iraq and the Cobra is tucked back in storage. 500 some miles over the 15 days which is pretty good considering some of the weather he had and all the other places to see and people to do that occurred.

We did another QSL run last Thursday, this time he lead us home and it was a fun drive through some back roads between Mazo and Black Earth. We even had a 944 trying to keep pace with us. It did, in the corners. The straight a ways though, he had a tough time.

0.30$ Makes me look the fool

This was a two part repair. Previous week the car came in
with at the time I was told a "Check Engine Light" on. After
talking with her for a few moments over the phone I
explained to drop it off and I would look at it. Once at the
shop I jumped in and low and behold it was not the SES but
the SVS light, service vehicle soon.

Only one code present, B2585, ALC Parklamp Voltage out of
range. A quick turn of the switch and nope, no lights.
Another quick check of the fuse and the #6 trunk fuse
(10amp) was burnt. I installed a fuse buddy to monitor amps
and they stayed a steady 3.5 with no issues. I left the fuse
buddy in and tried all the lights and switches and no
problem found. I placed another 10amp fuse in and took the
car for a quick drive around the lot, along the bumps in the
back by this time the SVS light was off and everything was
fine, or so I thought.

Customer picked the car up, was happy as heck and I really
didn't have a explanation for why the fuse burnt. I didn't
take it any further than I did since through the day I never
duplicated the problem.

Fast forward 5 days and a phone call with "my light is back
on" which meant I didn't do my job I was betting. Thankfully
the customer was understanding since I was honest to a fault
about not knowing why the fuse burnt the first time and if
there was another problem I'd gladly continue looking. Sure
enough, same code, same fuse burnt so I again put the fuse
buddy in and this time paid more attention. I walked around
the car with my coffee and no one bugging me and just looked
at the car. With the hood up I noticed I didn't see a
Federal Emission sticker anywhere. Red flag!, I brought it
in the shop and could start seeing some areas that had been
repainted up front. Why don't body shops put the Fed sticker
back on?

Anyways. I just started pushing, pulling and tugging
everything up front and when I pushed on the passenger
headlight assembly, the fuse buddy went nuts. I walked away,
let it stay lit and pushed other parts, no issue, then back
to the passenger light and this time I got the fuse buddy to
pop it's fuse.

hey hey, I found something.












Once the Assembly was out I could see where the wires for
the running lights were touching the body edge that was
sharp. A little rewiring and routing and I am good to go.

I really messed up the first time the car was here. You can
pick apart that to death (by all means, please do for
everyone to learn, and to explain I did no good.) but the
second time around I had my head out of my arse and am good
to go now. :)

It is always the little things that get ya.

QSL, Thursday, Aug 6th.

Good times had by all. We got to see some friends with their rides, talk cars, and have a "spirited" drive home.

15 Days of Cobra

The Soldier returns. 15 days. Here he is off to see Mom, grab a Burger at Gordons, then go for a drive.

This will make you cry

A "Cash for Clunkers" Volvo being disabled and prepared for the crusher. This Video is hard to watch if you are a car guy. Watching a seemingly perfect engine be destroyed because the Government has deemed it "Unfit" for automotive society just makes me sick to my stomach.



Hey, don't blame me, I didn't vote for the guy. What you are now watching is a Automotive Holocaust.

Two Edsel's at once

Seeing one is something special. But two at once is really cool. Especially when the second one is a customers. A 1959 Edsel Ranger was in the shop today for a rear axle seal replacement. Great looking car that ran like a top. The owner was not from around our area but had bumped into me once day when I had the Edsel out so I guess he trusted me with working on his.

Wisconsin DOT Up To No Good

The Wisconsin DOT is up to no good. The jist of the links below is they would like to throw more restrictions on 1968 and newer vehicles. Demanding they "display proper manufacturers label" making many customs or rebuilt cars unable to title.

https://apps.dhfs.state.wi.us/admrules/public/Rmo?nRmoId=4183

The worst section is section 123.04 which states

"Upon application to register a vehicle, the department shall register any vehicle manufactured before 1968 for which a vehicle classification exists under ch. 341, Stats. The vehicle may be subject to equipment requirements under s. 347.02(7), Stats. and registration requirements under s. 341.268 Stats."

This basically means if your vehicle is older then 67', we want safety devices on it. What those devices are, I haven't figured out. More research needs to be done. But what does this do you ask? Well, that Rat Rod you saw at cruise night has no seat belts. Poof, it is gone. Hell, that 58 Edsel and 60' Apache we have wouldn't qualify. No wipers on your T-bucket, Poof, it is gone. You get the idea. The safety Nazi's in our state want to fiddle with our hobby a little more.

The DOT is having a hearing on July 29th at 10am at the Hills Farms State Transportation Building. room 254. I think they need to hear our complaints.

All Ford Show, Ballweg Ford

Brock and I ran up and made a day of it at the All Ford Show in Sauk City at the Ballweg Ford dealer. We took the Edsel up around 9:30 and hung out until the trophy's were presented at 1:30. Brock was a real trooper and hung in the whole time with no complaints or any outbursts. I think I have created a car monster with the kid. He had to check out and look over every car there, he even got to sit in a 1995 Penske Racing South Rusty Wallace Winston Cup car. It was the highlight of his day and he voted it, using my vote sheet, the pick of the show. It didn't win but that didn't matter to Brock, it was his favorite no matter what anyone else said. Which is the point of a car show, enjoy what you see, appreciate what you like, and have a good time.

The show was good. Lot's of Mustangs, old and new, a few Trucks, some older Fords I had not seen in awhile and then just one Merc if memory serves, I can't recall any Lincolns and then our Edsel.

No, no trophys for us, I wouldn't expect any since it isn't show quality and I didn't worry to much about getting all the bugs off the grille. Remember, we drive em' :)

A great story

I'm post this with the authors permission, Andrea 'Enthal, I thought it was a good read.

Today every Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, and Saturn went Edsel

I have this sinking feeling that the next time I am looking for a "modern" car, it will be one of those four that follows me home. That is unless I get stuck with a surviving Daewoo.

Just as with our Edsels in 1960, part supplies will become more and more unpredicatble.
My mechanic (who has a 1970 Dodge Challenger) says he is already seeing delays in getting parts, though he can still get them. What used to take an hour now can take a week.

I remember (in about 1967) my father forgetting that you had to order Edsel parts at a Mercury dealer. The people at the Ford dealership just stared at him with an "Ed-what?" look. They'd never heard of the car.
The people at the Mercury dealership stared too because the parts were actually at the Ford dealership, not the Mercury dealership. They could order the parts from FoMoCo, but the parts orders were rarely filled. (My father wasn't car savvy enough to get the part number from the Mercury dealership and drive over with the part number to the Ford place, and buy it by number, not part name).

I remember (also in 1967) when my mother wanted a new car, I suggested they test drive a Citroen because she hated (what she considered) the rough suspension on every car they had tried.
My father refused to consider even a test drive. He said "I already have one Edsel that I can't get parts for. I don't need another."

All those Hummer, Saab, and Saturn owners don't know what they are in for.
But I do.
Today is November 20, 1959 for them, except it is a half century later.

Wonder how many Hummers and Saturns will be around in 2059.
Which 5-10 year old children of today will see them as collectible cars in 2059 and drool?
With all the computer chips and computer systems, will any of those cars even survive 16 years?
I can't see how they would. The internet has given us great support groupings, on a level never possible in 1960. But the parts that make those cars run seem too proprietarily fragile compared to our basic carbs and trannies.

0-5

Our batting average for finding the proper car for Troy is getting abysmal. Even though, we are not giving up. Finding the proper car does not always mean just writing a large check for what you want. Even with a small budget to work with at this time this is doable. We did it before with the 320i falling in our lap, well, two 320i's falling in our lap.

So this week it was down to Monticello for what we thought was a decent Opel GT. I should have known better then to trust just one photo as this was a good parts car, maybe, with Leno money, a restoration project but that isn't going to happen for us right now.

The craigslist photo, looks good.










The driver side photos I took when I inspected it.





















Amazingly it did run and if someone wanted a good parts car this is it. The glass and most of the interior was there. A running engine and what we suspect is a ok transmission means someone could continue on a project if they had a good body. But the body on this one was just too much to deal with right now. Not with a Opel, rust is not kind to them. It may look like it has just a little bondo but if you felt around you would know there was well over a inch in some places. Pop Rivets galore on every fender and inner fender, doors, and well, everywhere.

Oh well, we will continue to swing for the fence and see if we can hit one out.

Black Earth Car Show, 09

Over the weekend I attended the Black Earth Car Show held at the New Heights Lutheran Church. About 35 cars and bikes where on hand. Some very cool cars and trucks. I also got to bump into some new friends and touch base with some old ones. I got there a little early to help Brett setup and then volunteered to help park cars as they showed up. Kids came along and had a fun time since there was a playground across the street and Hot Wheel tracks for them to race on. Unfortunately for the second year in a row the cruise afterward was canceled since the weather was not cooperating with us. I got back home just as it started to get nasty outside.

Next car show for me will be Mazo's on the first of August.

More Tractor Fun

Dad worked like a madman and pumped the Ford Tractor out the door faster then expected. That, and he had the free time.

My final day recapped.

After a long Thursday night and Friday night Saturday morning came way to early. I had to get up at the crack of dawn and be ready for Williams final Soccer Game of the year. It was a rainy morning and it didn't seem like it was going to be a fun cruise day at the Alliant Energy Center but I was determined to head in after Soccer.

My friend, Brett, was going to also head in with me to see the cars in Madison after his kids Soccer Game. Thankfully we both coach our kids and we where also going up against each other that morning. Meaning, when the game was done we could both pack up and head out.

A little drizzle as we got to the Alliant Energy Center but it wasn't too bad. Parking on the other hand was a nightmare. My truck registered as #4254 for vehicles parking in the Power Tour Cruise Night area. Now, I don't think there where that many there at that time, but I do not doubt that that many cars came threw the Madison area all day long. It was crazy packed and we just decided to park up on the hill, away from the main area.

The cars where excellent, something for everyone. For Dan, he missed talking with the Factory Five representatives that where there with all of their cars, even the new Coupe they are producing. Pictures of it are below. He will be happy to know that I have a new DVD containing five hours of FFR cars racing and showing off will be coming his way in the future.










Ring Brothers, GM Performance, Edelbrock, and so many other distributors where showing off new goodys. It was nice to actually put your hands on some of the parts that you only see in the catalogs.

About 3-4ish it started to downpour so we got the heck out of Dodge and headed home. I was hoping the rain would hold off, not enough hoods open to see all the fun stuff people had tucked in the engine bay.

Hope for another Tour threw Wisconsin in the future.

(Pictures are from Ryan, and Nate, from the Wisconsin Car Collector and Madison Street Car forums)