Fun, productive, frustrating evening

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
05/24/2016 at 23:42 • Filed to: None

Got a hell of a lot done tonight, the biggest of which (and the last) was getting the Miata drivable again. Turns out my “lights won’t go up all the time” and “everything’s shorted out” problems were related. The LED retrofits I have mean the H4 doesn’t plug directly into the light any more, it plugs into a pigtail. That pigtail got sandwiched in the pop-up mechanism and got destroyed and shorted out. A trip to Autozone for a new fuse and a new H4 female pigtail which I then crimped on and re-loomed and all is well on that front.

That’s supposed to look less crushed and melty. I’m just glad my LEDs are ok.

I also got my Grant wheel and my Dragonball shift knob installed. The knob is supremely comfortable, since I can rest my hand on top of it and shift unlike the oblong stock shifter which demands more of a sideways gun-style grip. The wheel is TINY. Like, SUPER TINY in diameter. It’s actually really hard to completely see my gauges with it, but dear god it’s fun to have a tiny wheel on a tiny, agile car like this with power steering. Wheeeee~~~~

I spilled some coffee in the Mustang this morning, if you remember my “woe is me” bitching post from earlier. I stole some foaming cleaner the detailers use at work and put some elbow grease into it.

Much better.

As for the Riviera, I got it all put back together and running but my thermostat appears to have chosen this moment to get stuck shut. Everything else works fine and the car doesn’t seem to be overheating but there is nary more than a trickle going through my upper radiator hose, and after turning off the car I hear all sorts of unpleasent noises coming from the radiator cap area. Tomorrow evening I’ll just take the thermostat out and see if that resolves any of this bullshit, and go get a new one.

Oh, hell. Now I have to pick up my tools.

DISCUSSION (14)

Birddog > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 00:04

“Oh, hell. Now I have to pick up my tools.”

That’s the part of the day I hate the most.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Birddog
05/25/2016 at 00:06

I just kinda shoved them into the corner. I don’t have a toolbox with drawers, just an old plumber-style plastic box with a single tiny tray in it, which means sockets are constantly falling off of their racks and getting lost. It’s annoying as hell.

smobgirl > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 00:38

Wow, that cleaner did wonders on that coffee stain. Seriously impressed. Glad you got the lights all sorted too!

Frank Grimes > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 00:40

Just sweep all the tools up with a big dust pan and dump them in a cardboard box. You will need them again some day right?

PorkchoPlissken > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 02:36

I treat tools like my clothes. If I know I’m going to use it in the next few days, it stays out. Probably on the floor. Cuts down on the putting away by about 55%.

Captain of the Enterprise > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 06:45

I like the shifter

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 06:53

How are the LED headlight bulbs? I’m surprised they pass inspection there! I would love them here, but unless they’d been approved by the D.O.T., I wouldn’t legally be able to use them, much less get the car inspected :(

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/25/2016 at 07:00

The hell is an inspection? #justKansasthings

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/25/2016 at 07:04

0_o

Scares me knowing, in that case, what kind of things people are driving around in......provincial inspections are mandatory here every two years! Just had my DD ‘09 Accent hatch inspected about 2 weeks ago, so good for another while! :)

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > PorkchoPlissken
05/25/2016 at 07:28

I do the same, even though this leads to a slippery slope. I tend to err on the side of "well I will use this eventually, so why ever put it away?" Then I end up with a mess lol

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/25/2016 at 16:10

Yeah, the fuck do you people keep talking about inspections?

#californiahasthemoststrictemmisionslawsbutnoinspection

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/25/2016 at 20:00

So....you could drive around with no floor in your car and each half being joined together by duct tape, but as long as the engine meets emissions, it’s fine...? 0_o

CaptDale - is secretly British > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
05/25/2016 at 20:22

Pretty much. As long as you have your front and rear licence plates (this requires the vehicle to be register-able obviously), working lights, a windshield with wipers, and passes emissions every 2 years. Then yeah pretty much.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CaptDale - is secretly British
05/26/2016 at 06:41

This just seems like a recipe for disaster in some cases...