Smog check for the 944

Today the 944 gets a smog check. I'm hoping it passes. I'm also hoping the guy driving it into the stall is going to stop talking on his phone long enough to drive a manual transmission car with both hands.

Great Video of Al Capone's 1927 Cadillac

http://cadillaccountryclub.com/blog/restoring-al-capones-1927-cadillac/

Portal Park CLC Meet

Today was the annual meet for the NorCal CLC held at Portal Park in Cupertino, CA

Here's my car at the end of the Eldorado row... which is always the most colorful row!

This interior is custom but is pretty neat.


The '60 Cad that belongs with the interior.

a 30's cad.

SF Presidio Concours D'Elegance

I got to do some judging at the SF concours, I got to judge a 1924 Kissel, a '34 Lincoln, a 46 Chrysler T&C convertible, a '37 Hispano Suiza, a '25 Bently, and a '38 Talbo Lago.

My Other Vehicle

My Other Vehicle is a Marin mountain bike I bought from a guy in SF about 5 or 6 years ago for a little under $100. I like this bike a lot. It was clearly used for some hard core mountain biking in the past (and has the dings and dents to prove it). But I am a much more casual rider.  But I love the bull-nose handles, and it's all black paint job.

When I bought it I got the cushion seat with the springs, I haven't been riding it a whole lot over the last year or so, but last Christmas I got some new tires and tubes for it, and I just added the bike rack with the panniers last night. I can't wait to do a run to the grocery store!

More Will It Start?

Today I took the 944 on a longer series of errands. I drove it over to Mill Valley where I went to the post office, and let it sit for about 10 min, it had a bit of a pause before it turned over, then to Muir Woods and let it sit for an hour+ and it started OK, then to the gas station, where it had a bit of a pause before it started, then to Novato, where I let it sit for about 30 minutes+ and it started right up, then to some guys house to pick up a part for my bro's jeep, where it sat for 10 minutes or so, and started right up, then to a friends house, where it sat for a couple hours and started right up. Another pass, but I still don't trust it.

I brought a set of jumper cables, and tools to clean the battery terminals...

Will It Start?

Today we played a little game called "will it start?"  with the 944. I drove it around town on some errands mostly to see if it would start at every stop.  It passed.

944 issues

Today my dad came up to help me with all the cars, the '67 eldo wasn't starting, and in my rushing aorund yesterday, I failed to notice that it was because it wasn't in park (Duh - I've been shutting in down while it was still in drive to avoid the dieseling that it prone to do - I'm lucky the emergency brake held). So problem solved in that car.

Then we put new spark plugs in the 95 to see if that solved the misfiring issue - It didn't.

Then we tried testing the alternator in the 944, but in order to get to the alternator to test it, you have to take the air filter assembly off, and in doing so you somehow starve the engine if air, so it' pretty much impossible to do this, with out a lift to take the plate off the bottom of the car to access the alternator from below..

I thought there might be an alternator problem because it would run, but then wouldn't start when I shut it down.

We got it to run for a brief moment with the air cleaner off, but the intake sealed up and it looked like not much current was running through the alternator, but then Jim came home, and reminded me that we had to clean off the battery terminals to get it to run last time. So we hooked the air filter assembly back up and cleaned the battery terminals and it started right up, and the batt. light wasn't coming on any more. My dad suggested getting some Battery terminal sealer, which I happened to have from when the 67 was having battery issues.

I'll test it around town tomorrow...

Rooky move

I went to visit my friend Michelle today, and from her place went to  a picnic. On the way to her house, I went through the Caldacutt tunnel and turned the lights on in my car. I apparently failed to shut my lights off, since when Michelle and I returned to her place, My car would not turn over. I realized my mistake, and checked the trunk to see if I had jumper cables back there. Luckliy I did! So Michelle let me jumpstart my car from hers. I'm glad I didn't have to use my AAA card, I think I only have two calls left to last until the end of the year.

Dash Crack

So the Dash Board in my 67 eldo was already cracked around where hole were cut for speakers on the top part, but today one of those cracks made it's way all the way down the front of the dash board. Which looks 80% worse than it did. I'll have to add dah board to the list of things to get for this car.

New tires

The 1967 Eldo is getting four new tires today. White walls that match even! And we're switching back to the size tire that should be on there: 235 75 r15. What was on it before was a 255 70 r15, which is apparently a truck tire according to Scott at my local Americas tire co.



If you look closely, you can see the orangish-red of the Cadillac sticking out at the end...

I like the thinner whitewalls.

No running cars

93 smoking from engine
67 bad tires
944 alternator

Fetching the 67

I rode my bike to Target this morning and got a can of fix-a-flat, put that in the tire, which pumped it up about half way, then loaded the bike into the car (it barely fit, I had to roll down the passenger window to close the door.), and drove to Chevron down the street and pumped the tire up the rest of the way.  I then drove to America's Tire Store to get new tires, but they were closed so I drove home.

Flat tire

I took BART to a class I was taking in SF today, and when I came back,  I found my rear drivers side tire completely flat. I opened the trunk and there was a spare that seemed like it was inflated, but there was no jack or tire iron. I tried calling a couple of friends who live in the area to see if they could bring me a jack and tire iron, but they were all out of town. So I locked up the car, and walked home and thought about my options. 

Success! kind of...

Today, I cleaned the battery terminal on the 944, and tried starting it, and vrooom! it started right up! but after I started it a second time to move it out of the garage, it gave me a waaa-waa pause... vrooom.

Then as I drove it around the block (ok, more like 20 blocks...), the battery light came on. I'm now afraid I didn't need a starter at all, and that I need an alternator.

Next steps: make sure the belt isn't loose, check the alternator.

New Starter for 944

Jim and I installed the new starter tonight, but the car still does not start. Tried charging the battery, which had in fact lost all it's charge, but that didn't work, all that happens when you try to start it is a click! whirrr... we'll be trouble shooting later in the week...

Starter in 944 and Possible Source of the Thunking in 95 Cad

Today the starter is coming out of the 944. Of course this took some doing, first we had to push the car onto the street and then push it down the hill to push start it. But the lip of the drive way to the street was too steep so we had to pull it out with another car. Then we push started it and put it up on ramps in the garage.

The bolts holding the starter on were on super tight it took a while to get them loose. But it's off now. The original plan was to put new brushes in it, but I ordered the brushes over a year ago, and can't find them now. Also, apparently we need the biggest screwdriver ever made to get to them.

After looking online, it seems the cost of a starter for the 944 has come down, so I'll be ordering a rebuilt one for $99 from Kragen.




We also looked at the Cadillac to see what fell off,  The engine compartment revealed a huge chunk of deteriorating plastic that had fallen off the firewall. After searching for a while we discovered the bushing on the sway bar near the rear drivers side wheel had lost it's fastening strap and bolts. I'll have to find one of those.

Terrible Sounds

Today I drove the '95 Cad to a meeting, not very far away, but the sounds coming from the car were terrible! Lots of metal on metal clunking. I'm not going to drive it until I figure out what it is.

Something Fell of The Car

While I was driving to the bank, something fell off my car, I saw it roll away behind me in the rear-view mirror.  A thumping sound immediately started. I'm hoping it's not the hydraulic engine mount that has gone out...

Cadillac Club tour to Filoli Gardens

Took the 67 eldo to this tour I was leading for the Nor Cal CLC club, We went to Bucks for brunch, and then to Filoli to view the spring gardens.

On the way down 280, the steering wheel cap shifted, and the horn started sounding. I found that holding the cap half way on with the palm of my hand kept the horn from sounding, but once I got off the freeway, found it difficult to turn the wheel and keep the cap depressed half way so I kept sounding the horn off. There were a lot of "sorrys" to fellow motorists. If you've ever heard the horn in a 67 eldo you'll know why. it's like a freight train is behind you...

I tried taking the cap off to stop the horn from blowing, but couldn't get it to pop off, and it was creating way too much noise...

When we got the Bucks, Jim ran into the hardware store next to the restaurant, and got some black electrical tape. We wrapped that around the cap to keep it help in place.

The tour itself was fun there were about 6-7 cars that showed up one other eldo (a '69), an XLR, a LaSalle, and a couple of 60's devilles.

944 died on me, I'm wondering if it's the alternator. battery just died, no warning. also, somethings loose in the suspension too, it shimmies when I make a left turn on the freeway.

To Do for February

The goals for the new year have gone well so far - here's a revised to do list for February

• Smog 944
• Register 944
• Get new vacuum lines for 67 Eldo
• Change Oil in 67 Eldo
• Change Brake pads in 67 Eldo

Test run of the eldo

I went on a hike with a friend, and had left my regular set of keys (to the 95 eldo) in someone else's car, so I took the opportunity to take the 1967 eldo out -  8 miles out and back. On the way out, the car was being sluggish, and then rear wheel started smoking and I realized that the emergency brake pedal didn't pop up all the way...It's supposed to pop up on it's own when you put it in gear. and I swear  I saw it come  up, but it must have just moved. I wonder why it's sticking?

After our hike, on the way back, I made sure to pull the release under the dash so that the pedal came up all the way. It ran OK, there were a couple times where it didn't quite shift at the right time, and there was a little dieseling when I stopped to put some gas in it on the way back. But no problems starting up or running.

944 battery and oil change

I changed the oil in the 944 at 173k miles and bought a new battery - it cost $106 - ouch.

After this was all done it took a while to start the car up - it didn't want to turn over, and once it did start up, it smoked like crazy!

But after I drove it around the block, it was running well and cleanly. Now I need to take it in the get smogged and registered. The tag on the car is from Nov 08...

The extra good news is that it seems there is nothing wrong with the starter. One less thing to fix - hooray!

Academy of Art Collection

Today I went with the CLC to the Academy of Art SF Auto collection.  Two buildings full of awesomely beautiful cars. Including a bunch of Cadillacs - including this purple V-16.

944 Strut assemblies in!

My brother came over to my house to help me install the assemblies, but he ended up just doing it by himself (with me looming over his shoulder). It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be just one bolt on the bottom, and four small ones on the top. So they are in now, and I need to get a new battery before I can start it up an try them out.

Thanks Doug!

Things to do in the new year

New battery for the 944
Oil changes for the 944 and 67 Eldo
Replace struts on 944
Possible starter for 944
New vacuum lines for 67 Eldo

Goodguys show

This Goodguys show in Pleasanton was an all-year show which sometimes are not all that interesting, but there were more Cadillacs at this show than at the last few shows I've been to, and less brand-new Cameros and Corvettes than in past all-year shows. It was also the first show I've been to that had racing - that was pretty cool...

Non-opping the '67 'vert

I decided to register the 1967 convertible as non-operational this year. and take the insurance off of it. I had it insured in the hopes that I would move it to my house (currently stored at my Dad's), but that's not going to happen until I get these other cars running...

Another New Battery

I had to get a new battery for the 67 eldo, there was no charging or jumping it. another $100 - when did batteries get so expensive? But as soon as the battery went in, it started right up no problems.

Also Jim and I had to push the 944 to the edge of our long(ish) driveway which is uphill by the way. We utilized the help of a firelog as a stopper under the wheel for every foot we pushed it, we threw the ebrake on and shoved the piece of wood under the wheel to make sure we didn't lose what little ground we had made. needless to say it took a while to push the car up hill the car length it needed to go.

Forced to move the cars

the '67 Eldo has been sitting in the garage for over a year, maybe two now... but our garage door broke and needs to be replaced, so I have to move it by tomorrow at 8 am. but of course the battery is dead from sitting for so long.

I'm using the trickle charger on the 944, and it's going to take a while, so I'm going to try to use the battery from the '95 Eldo to start the '67 up...

New version of the Cadillac logo

it looks like Cadillac is adding a little dimention back into their sleek modern logo. for more info go here: http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/cadillac_switches_materials.php

Oil Change

Changed the oil in the '95 Cad at 135k.

New Battery

Bought a new battery for the 95 tonight, hopefully that's all that was wrong. Complaint to the Cadillac engineering group: Did you really need a plate of metal over the battery with six bolts? You didn't think this was overkill?

Need new battery

Charging the battery didn't really do anything, It started but won't start again after I shut it off. I'll have to get a new battery.

battery too low to start car

this morning, I tried to go visit my sister, but the car just went click click click... so I checked out the dashboard computer and it said the battery volts were 9.0. I've hooked up the trickle charger to the battery, so we'll see if that is going to charge it up.

GoodGuys Show - Pleasanton, CA

At the Goodguys show this weekend there were a few Cadillacs...

Yellow Custom '57


Blue Caddy



Ratrod Caddy


White Truck conversion


Super-custom Cadillac

Sold the 1993 Eldorado

Today the guy came by again asking about the 93, and I sold it to him. He came back later in the day with a tow truck and took it away. I'm sad because I really love this car, but glad to free up some space and get rid of a looming project. The guy I sold it too seems like he'll take good care of it.

Everyone wants the 1993 Eldo

I've been getting all kinds of notes on the 1993 Cadillac asking if it's for sale. I think It's funny that more people want that one than the '95 that actually runs.

Today a guy rang my doorbell asking if I would sell it, I ended up talking to him for a while, and told him I needed to think about it.

When I showed it to him, I opened the car up and forgot how awesome the grey interior is, I've gotten used to driving around in the tan interior in the 1995. And also the '93 smells so much better than the '95.

Spider Bomb

Launched a bug bomb in the garage today to get rid of any lingering black widows. I might do a second one tomorrow just to be sure that they are not going to be dropping onto me when I go under any of the cars.

Black Widows

So bringing the 944 into the garage was a mistake, apparently it was infested with black widow spiders. I killed 6 of them today with a can of raid and an egg sac, but I think there are more... and the part that creeps me out is that I had rolled the windows down, so they may be IN the car...

Cadillac Show

The Cadillac Club's annual portal park meet was today. There were some great cars there, the Packard club joined us, as well as the freewheelers...

944 comes back to life

The 944 has been sitting for about a year, I've started it a few times over the year, but essentially it's just been sitting. I used the trickle charger to charge the battery in the 944 it took a couple of days with it. At some point I need to get a 12 amp charger. It turned over one the first try and started a little rough misfiring a bit. I took it around the block and then gave it a bath. and tried to knock all the cobwebs off it with a broom, but there are a lot of them. I might need to take it for a longer drive to see if I can burn out any black widow that might be lingering around in the engine compartment. It's now in the garage waiting for a strut transplant and a starter rebuild.

new struts for 944

I got some used strut assemblys off of craigslist today. the claim is that they only have 100 miles on them, as they were replaced with racing struts.

I bought the assembly's instead of the strut inserts because I do not have the tools required to replace the inserts, and having it done by a mechanic would cost about $800 + parts. so buying the whole assembly that I can install myself, is totally easier and cheaper.

misfiring

the 95 eldo is misfiring, I'll have to do something about this soon...

67 battery

I went out to charge up the '67 eldo, and the battery is coated in corrosion. I know that white corrosion is sulfite but this is yellow and blue?

Oil Change

Oil changed in the 95 Cad at 129,030

SEMA show...

I went to Las Vegas for the SEMA show (aftermarket parts) there were very few things there for the Cadillac market. I only saw a few CTS's on display, and of those only a couple that had anything significant done to them, one was a convertible conversion, and the other was a racing car. everything else has a slightly spiffed-up paint job to showcase some fancy wheels...

The single old Cad at the show was a '59 that had it's autotronic eye converted into a night vision camera complete with pop-up display on the dash.

Accident

uh, I got in an accident this weekend while looking for a new dog park. I only dented my fender but crunched the other car in a bad spot, the base of the back door of his truck. I'm feeling a little bit depressed about it, and also nervous about the impact on my insurance.

slacking...

My AAA membership was up in April, and I still haven't renewed it. I must do this soon.

Update

I still haven't purchased a paint gun... I've been cruising Craigslist and Ebay for used ones but they are not easy to come by.

hmmm...

I've really been slacking in the automotive repairs...

2nd Wheel cylinder replaced

This weekend my Dad and I replaced the wheel cylinder on the passenger side of the '67 convertible. The brake fluid in the back end of the Master cylinder was completely gone, so we filled it continuously and bleed the brakes, but didn't get all the air out. So, I'll be in for more brake bleeding next time I get down to where the car is.

Paint Guns

I think I'm going to order a paint gun next week. I'll start with a primer gun, and then get the base/clear gun a little later...

I'm back...

I haven't been blogging in a couple weeks...I only attended a couple days of my last official Week of class, and then skipped all of the unofficial week that followed it. Things got busy at work and I had two volunteer projects due at the same time. I did take my Final...so we'll see what kind of grade I get in the class.

Paint Class - Day 53

Today I pulled up and thought class had been cancelled there were no cars in the parking lot. but there was, it was just that most of the class didn't show up. I had no direction on the civic, so I helped a couple of the other students, sanding. Then I left early.

Paint Class - Day 52

Had to re-tape part of the car. Apparently, the trick is to tape the back side of the edges of the fender and then tape the paper to the exposed tape. Then we got to paint. I painted the fender, my partner painted the fender and blended it into the hood and door. It looks OK. We'll see tomorrow if there are any runs...

Paint Class - Day 51

Today no partner...I taped the car up.

Paint Class - Day 50

Today when I got to class (late, of course) One of the other students was working on the Civic, he took all the trim off the door, and the door handle off, and then we washed the car and sanded the new fender and bumper with 600 grit sand paper, and then sanded the door and hood with 1200 grit (since we were out of 1000 grit). Then put ting on the panels and washed it off. Tomorrow we will tape up the car to prep to spray.

Cadillac Club Tour

Today I co-led a tour for the Cadillac-LaSalle Club. We went to Santa Cruz from Morgan Hill. I think it was a pretty successful tour, there were 14 or 15 people, and 8 cars. We ate at the Cadillac Cafe in Watsonville, and then went on a tour of the Wilder Ranch State Park, which happened to have a very active demonstration day.

Paint Class - Day 49

Today I helped the guy with the Corvette. We blocked his car with 180, and 80 since we ran out of 80...I was complimented on my blocking abilities ;-)

Paint Class - Day 48

Today we fitted the fender and bumper onto the civic to make sure they fit before we prep everything.

Paint Class - Day 47

Today I got the OK to come in late to class for the rest of the semester. I helped the guy with the cop car redo a few things where either parts were missing, or being replaced because they were broken.

I was supposed to fit the bumper and the headlight to the car to make sure they fit on the Honda, and then scothbrite the fenders and areas to be blended, but didn't, mostly because I'm not sure what those areas are, but also becasue this guy with the cop car keeps asking me for help...

Paint Class - Day 46

Today was hard, as I started a new job in the city, and took the train in, and back to my house, and then drove almost all the way back to go to class. It will be like this until the end if the teachers are OK with me showing up about 40 minutes late every night.

Today, I ground the welds down a bit from last week, and then sanded the areas on the frame that needed to be primed and painted.

Then I sprayed primer, color, and a clear. It looked OK, no drips... but the color looked off in the florescent light. We'll have to check it out in the sun to make sure it's the right color before we paint the bumper and fender.

Paint Class - Day 45

I didn't go to class today the teacher said he may or may not show up and since I'm not coming to class from Berkeley anymore, I wasn't going to drive all the way out there if he wasn't showing up.

Paint Class - Day 44

The teacher worked with me today to show me how to fix the frame on the Honda. Today I got to use a MIG welder! It's so weird because you can't see anything through the helmet until you start using the welder.

Paint Class - Day 43

Today, my partner on the Honda wasn't here, and since I really have no clue how to work on frames, I helped out the guy who was working on putting the cop car back together.

Paint Class - Day 42

Today I got a new project. a honda civic that had been in an accident.

scary accident

My friends and I were driving to Auburn to go for a long hike today, and on the twisty turny road, a guy fell off his motorcycle right in front of us. It looked like maybe he was going too slow, and then slid out on some gravel in the road. He was extremely lucky, as his bike caught a small stump and stayed at the top off the hill, instead of falling onto the ravine below. He was probably in his sixties, and seemed to only hurt his shoulder, but he was also limping after we got him back up onto the road. so someone called him an ambulance. There was another guy who pulled off the road too and he had a tow strap, so we looped it through the rear wheel of the bike, and pulled it back up onto the road. It fell into some pretty soft dirt, so there didn't appear to be too much damage to the bike. That guy was really lucky.

Paint Class - Day 41

Today I helped the guy who was putting the cop car back together.

Paint Class - Day 40

Today I helped someone else on their project.

Paint Class - Day 39

Today we got to class and the day class had put the hood and deck lid back on the VW. Unfortunatly we weren't done with it so We had to take them back off. We wet sanded the inside of the hood and deck lid and went to put the parts back on the car when we noticed some huge chips on the edge where the tape had been yesterday. so My partner sanded those areas down with a da and 320 paper,and then sprayed primer over the areas.

Paint Class - Day 38

Today, we found out that the car was not done as we thought, but that we needed to finish some areas we didn't do. We taped off the outside of the hood and decklid on the VW and scotch-brited the inside of them then I sprayed them both with primer. I was feeling especially tired today, and by the time I was done my arm was a little shaky from the weight of the spray gun (maybe also becasue the hood for the VW is huge, and I was holding it up high for kind of a long time...I should start doing some weight lifting to prep for the next time I spray.

Also, we were in class LATE tonight as there were a couple projects that people were trying to wrap up. After the VW, I helped a guy tape up and de-wax his corvette so he could shoot primer, but someone in the class messed up the primer he was going to use. So he didn't get to shoot the car.

944 pt 2

Today I drove home from my brothers, I didn't want to stop anywhere in case the car didn't start again...and when I got home and took stuff out of the back I noticed that the wire to the hood shock is severed and corroded. Maybe there is a bigger electrical problem.

944

Today I started up the 944 (started right up!) and drove down the freeway a bit (just to make sure the battery charged up).

Then later(again, started right up) I drove it down to Redwood City for a Cadillac club board meeting. When I went to leave, the car didn't want to start. After a few trys it finally turned over, and I drove down to where my brother lives. I wonder if it is the starter that's going out...

Paint Class - Day 37

Today, we finished wet sanding the VW, and hopefully, it won't be there on Monday when we go back into class. I'm hoping the next project is something we get to paint.

Paint Class - Day 36

We wet sanded the VW with 600 grit sandpaper, careful not to break through the paint so that it won't rust in case it doesn't get painted for a while.

Paint Class - Day 35

Today I was stuck in the tool room checking tools in and out.

I could see my group working on the VW bug, they put a reduced coat of primer on the Bug, and tomorrow we will wet sand it with 600 grit sandpaper.

Paint Class - Day 34

Today, when I got to class there were staduim-style seats set up in the shop and there was an airbrush demonstration going on.

Cadillac Meet

We had the New Members meet today, and there was a new member with a 67 convertible! Makes me want mine to run...

Spring Break!

This week is Spring Break so no class!

Paint Class - Day 33

Today, I was put on a new team and we moved a Pontiac Gram Am out of the yard to put it back together as best we could so the owner could take it away. These things are really made poorly. everything in the car was plastic and falling apart.

We were supposed to clean out the shop today, but half the students didn't show up. I think it was because the day before, the instructor said to everyone that we would be cleaning the shop up today. So we got out a bit early today.

Paint Class - Day 32

Today I was back on the VW, new teacher, new instruction that it wasn't done yet, now I had to go into the door jams and sand the flaky old paint off that was still there. and get the guide coats bits that I missed yesterday off.

About an hour into the class I was put on a new car. There was a crappy beat-up Jeep Cherokee that had one small section of the drivers door sanded and filled with plastic filler. THe instructor said the filler was not covering enough area, that the dent was larger so we neeede to re-do the filler, and prime that area. Eventually the whole door would be painted. I sanded the area down with a DA and 150 sandpaper (we were out of 180) then mixed and applied the filler, cleaned up and waited for it to dry. then went over it with a cheesegrater, and an long board with 80, then 180 sandpaper. Then back over thesendscrates with a DA and 320 sandpaper. Taped the door up, sprayed the area with degreaser, and sprayed it with a coat of primer over the exposed metal and then another coat tover the whole area that was taped off (less than the whole door).



Luckily, the team next to me was spraying primer, so I got to use their gun, and didn't have to mix and clean and all that.

Paint Class- Day 31

My team had blocked the rest of the VW, and been re-assigned to another project, so it was just me finishing up the edges. Ther e is not supposed to be any of the guide coat showing, but it's hard to get into the crevices, so i folded up a small piece of sand paper and started working on those. then the instructer came by and felt the door panel that was done the day before by my team, and told me it wasn't good enough, so I had to re-guide coat it, and block it agin to level the door (you could feel bumps in the door). I got it pretty smooth, but not perfect, I think the body work done underneath was pretty extreame.

Paint Class - Day 30

I skipped class tonight, I had a volunteer project that I needed to attend instead.

Wheel cylinders

I installed the new Wheel cylinders on the pass side of the '67 DeVille. I'll install the other one and bleed the brakes when I go down to visit my brother again. I forgot to bring my brake tool kit with me, so it made the job a little more difficult, but all went smoothly, and hopefully after this process is finished, I'll have brakes!

Cadillac Work Party

Today one of the members of the Cadillac-LaSalle club had a work party. We couldn't get as much done as we had hoped to but it was interesting.

Paint Class - Day 29

Today we primed the VW bug, first we sprayed primer onto the bondo areas (there were a lot of them). Then, I got to spray most of the body with 2 coats of primer, it was good to be able to spray so much and get the hang of it. The new guy on the team did the roof areas.

Paint Class - Day 28

Today my partner and I were assigned to a new project plus we picked up another team member. We were assigned to a VW bug that the body repair class had finished with, and now we were going to prime it. We spent the day taping the car off so it could be sprayed. then we sprayed some etching primer onto the bare metal areas. My partner showed me how to spray it on, in little spurts lightly over just the bare metal areas. While we waited for that to dry, we ran out of time and had to claen up.

Paint Class - Day 27

Today we vacuumed, cleaned and washed the BMW, and tried applying a hand glaze. but that softest towels we has to use were totally scratching the paint, so we did one more round of glaze with the buffers and the foam pads to get rid of the scratches, and left it alone. Then we dressed the tired and rubber/vinyl on the car. We also had to go through the car and make sure the fluids were all topped off, and the lights all worked.

One of the maps lights did not work, so I tried to replace it, but the two possible bulbs we had in the shop didn't work, so we left it. In the process of finding that out, I dropped two bulbs under the seats, and had to dig them out of the most disgusting stuff that had been living under the seats for god knows how long. and I burned my finger on the bulb that had been left on than shut off but hadn't cooled long enough.

The car looked really pretty by the time we were done with it, but by the time we left, it was totally covered in a layer of dust. I hope they have a swiffer or feather duster or something in the shop.

oil

The oil in the 95 was 1 quart low already (I just changed the oil a couple weekend ago). This car seems to be eating though the oil like crazy... but I don't see any leaks. Maybe I should be a little lighter on the gas pedal...

Paint Class - Day 26

Today we re-did all the detailing on the BMW, except we put the hood and trunk back on the car first, and then detail the whole car as well. We again started with the polishing compound, then moved to the glaze. We had a third person help us, which was nice...I guess he was the one who took all the stuff off the car, because he was the one who put it all back on too (lights, wiring, clips etc...). We wasted a lot of time (not our team specifically, but the whole class moving cars around - what a fiasco), so we ended up staying late, luckily we have no class tomorrow.

Paint class - Day 25

Today we talked about detailing in lecture for about a half hour, then my partner and I started working on detailing the paint on the BMW hood and trunk. First we wet sanded the paint with a 1500 grit sandpaper in one direction. then came back with a 2500 grit in the opposite direction. then we rinsed the panels and dried them, and used a buffer with a wool pad and rubbing compound to buff the paint. After that we used the buffer with a faom pad and glaze to make the paint super-shiney.

Paint Class - Day 24

Short class today. We went over the test we took last Wednesday and then we went home.

duh

This morning, (well, it was morning for me, but it may have technically been the afternoon...) I went out to get the mail, and there were these three teenage guys in a loose formation, making their way across the street from my neighbors house. They look a little hip-hop, they also looked lost. One of them asked if I could "electrify" his car (um he didn't speak English very well) which was around the corner. I said sure, went inside and grabbed my keys (while trying to scarf down the bowl of cereal I had in my had so it wouldn't get soggy).

I grabbed the jumper cables from the 944, and drove around the corner to their Chevy (Malibu?). I assumed they weren't stealing te car since they had the keys for it. They already had cables, so we used them, and I hooked my car up. It wasn't working though. Hmmm. Then we moved the ground, turns out I totally put the ground cable on a painted surface which does not conduct electricity properly, so once we moved it to a metal grounding point their car started right up. I'm going to claim sleepiness on this one, but really I think it's just forgetfulness.

Awesome Inspiration Poster

here the link to where I found it:
http://jalopnik.com/361677/mad_science-makes-bid-for-project-car-hell-poster-child-award

Paint Class - Day 23

I couldn't go to class today. I left my boots and some other stuff at home, and I had to stay late at work to finish up stuff for a deadline.

Paint Class - Day 22

Today my partner sprayed a black sealing primer on both the hood and the deck lid of the BMW, but we noticed some deep scratches from the block sanding the day before on the hood - the trunk looked ok - so we ended up putting a few more layers of paint on the hood two of which I got to spray :-) I learned that the nozzle of the gun should always point straight down at the surface you are spraying, that you want a lot of overlap with each spray so there are no dry spots (which you will see when you put the clear coat on) and I go too fast.

Ordered Wheel Cylinders for deVille

I ordered 2 wheel cylinders(one right rear, one left rear) for the '67 deVille today, Maybe they will get there by this weekend...I ordered from Rock Auto, they had the raybestos versions for $27.79 ea. + 7.90 shiping - $2.90 discount w/coupon vs. $45.99 ea. at Kragen (who also does not have them in stock).