What did you do to your car this weekend?

"GRawesome" (GRawesome)
10/21/2013 at 15:14 • Filed to: None

This post proved pretty popular last week, so I figured I'd make it a regular thing for a while.

Once again a SFW but sexy pic after the jump for your time.

So what did you all do to your cars this weekend?

If any of you guys saw my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I was doing a full maintenance service on my 68 Toyota and found out I probably need a new head gasket... Fun times they are ahead.

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DISCUSSION (58)

ddavidn > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:15

New headlight bulbs. Very difficult repair, obviously...

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:16

I put some cardboard underneath it due to the slow oil leak it has.

davedave1111 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:18

Wiper blade, stripped down the driver's door to get the lock, spent way too long shopping online for tools I haven't bought yet, bits for the car, and so-on. Very little useful, in other words.

Oh, and I found out that I don't have a plug-wrench the right size.

Hoccy > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:19

Nothing. It's currently hibernating in a safe place, and I don't want to wake it up now that it's so cold. I'll check how it's feeling in a few weeks though. Put on a carpet and such things.

Ilike_cougars > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:20

Led a cruise with 6 Prowlers, 1 Magnum and a Cherokee, followed by a Mini Cooper camera car, I'm in the M roadster , taken near Hawks Nest, Port Jervis..

Kinja'd!!!

J.T. Rex > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:23

Unplugged the MAF sensor to alleviate stalling and surging issues it's been having until I have time to check it with a multimeter.

BKRM3 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:29

Took the rear passenger door panel off and re-stuck the vapor barrier that had come loose. It was leaking rainwater right into the rear footwell. Turned out to be a pretty easy fix.

Also - *sniff* - changed the Pagid track pads out...back to OEM for the winter. At least my car no longer sounds like a city bus pulling up to a red light.

Carl (@stuffcarlsays) > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:30

Washed and vac'd my Mini and my wife's Jetta.

CobraJoe > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:31

I bought a set of heads and a cam for my project car.

Don't get too excited, my project is an '88 Thunderbird, so my upgraded heads are a set of E7s from a 88 Mustang, and the cam came from the same engine, but I'm not sure if it is stock.

They really need a lot of cleanup, but I got everything for $40, so I can do some extra work.

Nibbles > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:38

I looked at the SPG, lamented the fact that I don't have a cherry picker, and popped open a beer.

Then I went to the Dakota and mulled over the rear brakes. Popped another beer. Then the wife brought me another beer.

I started to diagnose the electrical system to get the horn functioning again. More beer, no diagnosis. Then I remembered the "lights on" buzzer doesn't work. I fiddled with the door switch and it started working. Congratulatory beer. Then it stopped again. Considered my options over another beer.

Decided my percentages of success was dwindling and it was getting cool outside, so I headed in for a crown and coke.

I do not have a problem.

GRawesome > Nibbles
10/21/2013 at 15:41

Doesn't sound like a problem to me. Unless you run out of beer, then there will be a problem!

GRawesome > Ilike_cougars
10/21/2013 at 15:41

Sounds like fun. You going to post the video from the camera car?

GRawesome > CobraJoe
10/21/2013 at 15:44

$40? That's a good deal.

My mom has a 2003 T-Bird, it is very fast, but tended to blow coils every other month or so. We eventually went through all 8 and it has been pretty reliable since then. Must be something from the Jaguar side of Ford at the time, like they got some Lucas mojo in the build somewhere.

GRawesome > BKRM3
10/21/2013 at 15:46

That is one of the things I do not miss about living up north, having to change things for winter/summer. Its summer driving 12 months a year down here! But that is one less excuse to buy a set of wheels for your car, no need for winter tires.

GRawesome > BKRM3
10/21/2013 at 15:47

EDIT: double reply. Thanks kinja...

Pixel > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:49

Spent 3.5 hours wandering a swap meet looking for bits for the '64 pickup, no luck.

Got to drive the truck the 1.5 hours each way to the swap meet, so it wasn't a complete waste.

MonkeePuzzle > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:51

Kinja'd!!!

bought another hood for the chopping up of for hood scoop insertion.

Sidenote: weekly monday oppo item/feature? someone make a constant fancy header thingy

GRawesome > davedave1111
10/21/2013 at 15:52

Does your car only have one wiper blade, or did you figure the passenger doesn't need to see out?

I spent a good amount of time shopping for parts online this weekend too. I think I have all the tools I need to replace the head gasket, but who know I've never done one before. Guess I'll find out once I locate a head gasket.

Thanks for the reminder on the Plug-wrench. I need one for the big euro/japanese plugs in my old cars. They are not the standard 5/8 and I have some homemade tool someone made by welding a socket extender to a plug socket that fits, but the extender isn't straight so when you screw it in it wobbles all over the place. Gets the job done but I'm afraid I'm going to crack a plug one day.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:53

I drove my MR2, with two of my friends who also have MR2's, 850 miles for the Bear Mountain MR2/Celica All-Trac meet. VA to NJ, the drive involved with the meet, then the drive home was around 850 miles.

will_kern > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:54

I browsed the internet looking at car pictures, and eating ramen, hoping that one day my the laundry quarters that I have been saving will one day magically transform into into a gt40

GRawesome > MonkeePuzzle
10/21/2013 at 15:57

I saw your post about collecting car hoods, funny line there about dropping your wife off and buying your weekly hood.

I was thinking of making this a weekly post, since it seems to be popular. I have no photoshop skills so if someone wanted to make up a logo/banner/header image I would put it up. Then I would just need to find the sexy pic for the week. Man, this is a tough gig!

J. Walter Weatherman > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:57

Took the Land Cruiser off-road with a couple friends. We brought along our mountain bikes, and two of us would bike ahead and scout the road while the other would drive. It wound up being a pretty fun way to have some fun with the car, but also get some exercise at the same time.

Kinja'd!!!

These are some crappy photos (we were having too much fun and forgot to take pictures at the really gnarly parts) but you get the idea...

Just4GP > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 15:59

I fixed the "parking assist when in reverse" feature that's been bugging me. Actually, I realized that I just had to set the mirror button to passenger side if I wanted the feature to work. RTFM!

GRawesome > Pixel
10/21/2013 at 16:00

What kind of truck is it? Finding parts for these old trucks are a pain, right? I am looking for a head gasket for my 68 FJ40 and toyota parts catalogs only go back to 69, of course. There weren't many changes from 68-69 but I like having the peace of mind of knowing something is the right part.

The drive must have been fun, 1.5 hours in a 69 truck, so that would have taken you 30 minutes in a modern car?

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:02

Fixed my temporary side mirror replacement. Somewhat annoying because you have to take the door apart to get to the electrical plug. I strongly dislike working on German cars. They make everything too complicated and difficult.

Kinja'd!!!

GRawesome > J. Walter Weatherman
10/21/2013 at 16:03

Nice Cruiser! Is that an 80? Hard to tell from the pic, its far away and my cruiser ID is a little better with the older ones.

Mine ('68 40) gave me all the trouble this weekend, looks like I am going to need to replace the head gasket...

davedave1111 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:03

Both wiper blades weren't good, but only the driver's side one was completely dead. I'll have to sort them both properly, but for now I just ordered the cheapest one I could find on Ebay - £3 inc postage - and only ordered one to have a look at the quality. It's surprisingly good, actually.

I think I'll go to the flat blades like these at some point, because it'll look good for selling, but when I was ordering I didn't have time to check anything about them.

Kinja'd!!!

GRawesome > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/21/2013 at 16:10

I saw you mirror post the other day, it looks good! Maybe just take the mirror to a band saw and hack the handle off. More aerodynamic that way!

Not sure if it is just a German thing or all modern cars. They seem to make everything so difficult now. I installed a short throw a few weeks ago and had to take damn near the whole car apart to do it. To replace a shifter in my old car would involve about 4 bolts.

Do you have an FJ80 also? My FJ40 is what was giving me stress the weekend, I think it needs a new head gasket.

CobraJoe > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:11

I figure that if one thing works out of the group of parts I bought, then it still would have been a good deal.

I do like those retro T-birds, they still catch my eye even though they're 10 years old by now. It's too bad they didn't try for a bit more performance or something to make them more popular.

lone_liberal > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:12

Cleaned up the underdash wiring (zip ties are my friends), installed the steering column and reattached the steering shaft connecting the column to the box. I didn't have much free time so that was it.

lone_liberal > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:12

GRawesome > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig
10/21/2013 at 16:13

I think we used to play Bear Mountain in Hockey when I was a kid in NJ. From what I remember it was a cool place. Must have been a nice drive up there, hopefully no cops interfered with your good time.

hollanddjw 1 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:17

New front struts which aren't exploded installed on the E46 (Bilstein!!!!11!!!! OE replacement). Sits a bit tall in the front now, because the equally-blown out rear struts haven't been replaced yet.

Aero > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:20

Swapped the sludged up engine from my '01 9-5 Aero with an '04 engine that has the much better PCV system. Also put some poly bushings in the subframe, should help with torque steer and the wandering steering on the highway.

WhyRovers > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:24

New front brake pads for my LR3. EBC Greenstuff 7000 series. Love these pads, very little brake dust and stop like mad. Used them on my Range Rover as well. I was a little worried about doing it since both my other Landys are older, I figured a newer car (2009) might be more difficult. But I suppose a caliper is a caliper and it was a piece of cake.

Only trouble was replacing the damn pad sensor. For anyone out there, remove a few wheel well push bracket things (technical term) and pull the well way out and lay under it looking straight up at the sensor. I tried to do it semi-blind for a while, and like a lot of things car related, you just have to work smarter and it ends up taking 30 secs instead of 30 minutes.

Ilike_cougars > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:24

Here you go, some images from the cruise

And a video

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:29

Its modern cars are certainly difficult. But this car for example doesn't use normal phillips head screws. It uses T head screws instead. Also changing the oil is also bizarre. You need a 36mm (yes you read that right) socket to take the oil filer off. It uses a reusable casing and you just swap out the core. Also to change the rear breaks you need a computer and a special cable to release the electric parking brake. I could go on. I don't like this car one bit, luckily its my roommates and not mine.

I do have an FJ80. Love my land cruiser. 20 years 260,000 miles and still kicking. Here is my most recent issue on it http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/repairing-a-pl…

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GRawesome > Ilike_cougars
10/21/2013 at 16:31

Nice photos! You didn't mention there was an R/T Durango with you guys too. What's up with that truck? It looked like it had a light bar on top like a police cruiser, but it has standard NJ plates.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:33

Not nearly as much as I'd hoped.

I planned to flip the spitfire's chassis over, weight it down, hook it up to the winch and bend it back into shape.

Instead, what I did was drive around like a hooligan with my Alfa's newly-unsilenced exhaust (centre section has stopped sealing):

GRawesome > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/21/2013 at 16:36

36mm? Damn.

Speaking of weird screw heads, does your 80 use the JIS head screws or did they move on from that by the 80s? I've been looking for a set for my 40 but the cheapest ones I can find are $50! I'm hoping a nice used set will show up on ebay or craigslist and I can grab those.

Sucks about your radiator in the 80, does someone make an all metal replacement? Obviously not worth replacing the whole thing for the issues you had, but further down the road it may be worth it.

GRawesome > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8
10/21/2013 at 16:37

36mm? Damn.

Sucks about your radiator in the 80, does someone make an all metal replacement? Obviously not worth replacing the whole thing for the issues you had, but further down the road it may be worth it.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:41

I don't think it uses the JIS standard- I fell like I would have run into issues by now if it was. As for the radiator- I don't think there are any drop in replacements, but when I do the engine swap I will get a properly sized blank and weld it up to fit.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:42

GRawesome > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 16:42

Yeah I saw the video you posted the other day, I like the unmuffled sound.

I would do it on my Challenger for the unmuffled V8, but I just put this exhaust in and don't want to start chopping holes in it.

Ilike_cougars > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:43

My bad I said Cherokee, Yeah we had a R/T Durango, I dint actually notice them when he rolled up, need to ask him, but he has got a lot of mods under the hood, headers, cams the lot.. the more interesting one in the group was my buddies red Prowler, he dropped a 6.1 Hemi into it, you can see the black shaker hood on it..

revrseat70 > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:43

Brought the idle back down from the stratosphere, cleaned the windows, secured a loose dash panel, took the hard top off, and went for a couple of fantastic drives.

Ilike_cougars > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 16:44

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 17:10

Kinja'd!!!

Sealed the bejeezus out of a set of aftermarket headlights because they'll leak if I don't. Bought new H1 bulbs and some protective film too.

Removed rear trunk trim to track down a broken plastic clip. Drove 60 miles to pick up a replacement cargo cover.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 17:11

Kinja'd!!!

Sealed the bejeezus out of a set of aftermarket headlights because they'll leak if I don't. Bought new H1 bulbs and some protective film too.

Removed rear trunk trim to track down a broken plastic clip. Drove 60 miles to pick up a replacement cargo cover.

Pixel > GRawesome
10/21/2013 at 19:10

Kinja'd!!!

'64 Chevy C-10. It is definitely the era of chevy truck with the least following. The route I took was all back-roads, so it wouldn't have taken the same time no matter what I drove, but I could probably have done it in an hour with something that could have done real highway speeds.

GRawesome > Pixel
10/21/2013 at 20:34

I like the C-10, especially the step sides. Nice truck!

GRawesome > WhyRovers
10/21/2013 at 20:38

What Landy's do you have? I guess given they use pads instead of shoes they are a little more modern then mine - a 72 Series III. Getting ready to do a brake job on it too, as soon as I figure out the low compression on my Toyota.

Local Miata Bro > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
10/21/2013 at 22:08

Kinja'd!!!

Dat Noise

WhyRovers > GRawesome
10/22/2013 at 10:33

I've got the 09 LR3, a 98 Disco, and had a 2001 Range Rover. I lost the Range Rover in May in a tornado. But still kinda consider it part of the family. I spend a lot of time under that one. It was my wife's favorite.

Anyhow, I want a series Rover like mad, and constantly look at ebay, private listings on forums, etc.., just haven't found teh right one at the right time yet. Do you enjoy yours?

GRawesome > WhyRovers
10/23/2013 at 21:02

Sorry to hear about the RR getting lost in the tornado, that sucks. I hope that was all that you lost though.
My wife is a big fan of range rovers so we might get one one day, I'm think something along the lines of a 95 classic, you know right before they started added all the electronic gizmos that will eventually fail. I'm sure she will want something a little more modern though.
I love my series, it's a great little truck. People always say that you have to constantly work on old British cars, but my series has been pretty trouble free since I got it. I removed the points and put in a petronix electronic ignition that fits right inside the distributor cap, that has saved some trouble. Did need to replace the coil too but that's a piece of cake.
Keep looking around, eventually you'll find a keeper. I've noticed a lot people in the northeast have been buying them lately to replace the ones they lost in Sandy. Hopefully that only causes a temporary bump in prices. Even if you find one a little rough, there are a lot of parts available and if you need a big purchase you can save a lot by ordering from England direct.

WhyRovers > GRawesome
10/25/2013 at 09:45

Yeah, thats all we lost. I drove it to work that day. Kinda wish I had driven the LR3 so I could replace it with an LR4. The problem with insurance pay outs and 10+ year old cars that aren't yet classics is that it's difficult to replace a paid off car that you have put work into and runs like a damn top and would likely continue to for another 5-10 years. Or completely fall apart in 6 months, it was a Rover after all. When we bought the RR I wanted a classic, but the wife steered me to the P38 since she was really the one that was going to be driving it the most. Truthfully, there are things about that one that I like better than the LR3, interior set up, things like that.

Anyhow, yeah the search for a series continues on, I'll find the right one eventually. Glad to hear yours hasn't given you much trouble, hopefully I'll have the same experience.

Just4GP > GRawesome
10/30/2013 at 20:22

Washed and clayed the paint. I tried to get the white paint splatter off the rear of the fenders but that didn't work out so well. Have to find something else besides goo-gone and goof-off. I also polished the aluminium lips on the wheels and got rid of some left over sticker glue from an old parking pass.

I'm really upset that I didn't get any real wax or sealant on after the clay. I used Meguiars Quick Detailer as the lube for the clay. That did help the water bead the next day when it rained like crazy. But it's no substitute for a good carnuba or synthetic wax. Now I have to wash it, maybe clay and compound it, seal and wax it.